TD-0013's ODST build Progress (Pic Heavy)
- Thread starter TD0013
- Start date
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Shadowofintent
Jr Member
Loving the ODST build so far, it seems like using foam is a much faster & easier approach to building armor like this!(not to mention cheaper)I'm thinking about doing a custom Elite Minor foam build thanks to seeing your highly detailed progress! Keep up the great work!
Update #6
Rearranged my work space in the garage. Took a goodly amount of time, but I have a lot more space to move around and work on things, so I'm happy.
13's Armor Workshop
Started working on the shoulders and side plates of the chest assets. I have the side plates cut a shaped, but I'm not at all sure what goes here:
I know that it's something that links each angled piece, but I don't know if it's a webbing strap, braided hose, or what. If anyone who's built this suit before or has a really good high-rez reference pic of this part could answer that question, I'd be most grateful.
Anyhow, here's the progress on the shoulder so far:
Here are the larger cut pieces laid out. I bridged together the bottom plate (sometimes referred to as the bicep) and will use craft foam for the top detail plate once everything's form and glued.
Here, the main shoulder box is being constructed.
I used the channel technique in order to get the sharper bend in the foam, and eventually just cut some 45° angles into the channel to ensure a sharp enough bend.
Constructed shoulder box.
Constructed shoulder box with 'bicep' plate.
After getting this far I noticed that I lost a bit of real estate on the bicep plate's 'wings' since I had to cut and bend the whole plate in opposite directions. I have since scrapped this piece and have redesigned and am reconstructing it to fit properly.
Hopefully, I'll have both shoulders built and hinged properly in the next couple days if not sooner.
Comments welcome.
Rearranged my work space in the garage. Took a goodly amount of time, but I have a lot more space to move around and work on things, so I'm happy.
13's Armor Workshop
Started working on the shoulders and side plates of the chest assets. I have the side plates cut a shaped, but I'm not at all sure what goes here:
I know that it's something that links each angled piece, but I don't know if it's a webbing strap, braided hose, or what. If anyone who's built this suit before or has a really good high-rez reference pic of this part could answer that question, I'd be most grateful.
Anyhow, here's the progress on the shoulder so far:
Here are the larger cut pieces laid out. I bridged together the bottom plate (sometimes referred to as the bicep) and will use craft foam for the top detail plate once everything's form and glued.
Here, the main shoulder box is being constructed.
I used the channel technique in order to get the sharper bend in the foam, and eventually just cut some 45° angles into the channel to ensure a sharp enough bend.
Constructed shoulder box.
Constructed shoulder box with 'bicep' plate.
After getting this far I noticed that I lost a bit of real estate on the bicep plate's 'wings' since I had to cut and bend the whole plate in opposite directions. I have since scrapped this piece and have redesigned and am reconstructing it to fit properly.
Hopefully, I'll have both shoulders built and hinged properly in the next couple days if not sooner.
Comments welcome.
onmi shift
Active Member
looking good. i dont remember those side pieces though. i wish i had a work place like that. i work in my bedroom on a foldable dinner tray that i use for projects, lol
GuitarMaster157
Member
Awesome work man! I'm definitely gonna use some of your ideas on my ODST build!
Well it’s been almost a year to the day since I’ve done any updates. (I'm ignoring the whole site move thing) Real life’s been hectic and filled with ups and downs, keeping me from my build, but lately I’ve had a bit of time to work on a couple things and I thought I’d share my ongoing progress.
I got a bucket from Sean Bradley and it’s gotten the lion’s share of my time recently. I don’t have any progress pics of my cutting, sanding and prepping it for paint, but I do have a few pics of it at the first stage of paint. Honestly, if you’re doing an ODST, you’ll do yourself a favor by ordering one of Sean’s helmets. I laid down a few coats of Rustolium's "titanium silver" then gave it the ol' toothpaste treatment in the areas I wanted to look damaged. Then covered that with a few coats of Rustolium's "Dark Steel" and then more toothpaste before giving it the red stripe. Once the paint was dry, I wiped off all the toothpaste (and the paint layered on it) with a damp cloth, thus exposing the silver beneath, giving some great 'scratched/peeled paint' effects. Bear in mind that this helmet is still not finished being painted. I still need to add detail stencil work/markings as well as give the entire bucket a black-wash to dull and age the entire thing.
Next I’ve been working on the chest box and a couple other parts, mostly painting and experimenting with various techniques. Since almost everything from the neck down will is/will be constructed out of OVA foam, I wasn't positive that the toothpaste weathering technique would work. I was concerned that the foam might soak in the paste and defeat the entire purpose. To combat this, I gave each piece around three or four coats of spray on Plasti-Dip to seal the foam and then two coats of the 'titanium silver' to give it a nice, smooth surface. This did the trick and allowed me to continue the toothpaste process on the foam bits as well.
I’m using a font called “Denmark” for my stencils, since it is reported to be the one actually used in the original texture maps of the characters in H3:ODST (or at the very least, damned close to it). I put the white ‘tomcat’ insignia from in game, since it is the insignia I have used ever since H3. I’m not entirely happy with how the stencil work turned out and will likely get some brush on paint color matched to the spray I used in order to do some clean up around the edges of the stencils, giving it a crisper look.
One of the unexpectedly cool things about using old EVA foam I had lying around my garage was that much of it is already weathered with small pockmarks, dents, and other blemishes across it's surface. Rather than try to cover these up, I decided to accentuate them with the toothpaste and paint so that the looked like dents and dings in the 'metal' armor. I'm really happy with how those turned out as it gives the detailing another dimension. This also applies to a couple mistakes I made during the construction process and the like.
(cont. next post)
I got a bucket from Sean Bradley and it’s gotten the lion’s share of my time recently. I don’t have any progress pics of my cutting, sanding and prepping it for paint, but I do have a few pics of it at the first stage of paint. Honestly, if you’re doing an ODST, you’ll do yourself a favor by ordering one of Sean’s helmets. I laid down a few coats of Rustolium's "titanium silver" then gave it the ol' toothpaste treatment in the areas I wanted to look damaged. Then covered that with a few coats of Rustolium's "Dark Steel" and then more toothpaste before giving it the red stripe. Once the paint was dry, I wiped off all the toothpaste (and the paint layered on it) with a damp cloth, thus exposing the silver beneath, giving some great 'scratched/peeled paint' effects. Bear in mind that this helmet is still not finished being painted. I still need to add detail stencil work/markings as well as give the entire bucket a black-wash to dull and age the entire thing.
Next I’ve been working on the chest box and a couple other parts, mostly painting and experimenting with various techniques. Since almost everything from the neck down will is/will be constructed out of OVA foam, I wasn't positive that the toothpaste weathering technique would work. I was concerned that the foam might soak in the paste and defeat the entire purpose. To combat this, I gave each piece around three or four coats of spray on Plasti-Dip to seal the foam and then two coats of the 'titanium silver' to give it a nice, smooth surface. This did the trick and allowed me to continue the toothpaste process on the foam bits as well.
I’m using a font called “Denmark” for my stencils, since it is reported to be the one actually used in the original texture maps of the characters in H3:ODST (or at the very least, damned close to it). I put the white ‘tomcat’ insignia from in game, since it is the insignia I have used ever since H3. I’m not entirely happy with how the stencil work turned out and will likely get some brush on paint color matched to the spray I used in order to do some clean up around the edges of the stencils, giving it a crisper look.
One of the unexpectedly cool things about using old EVA foam I had lying around my garage was that much of it is already weathered with small pockmarks, dents, and other blemishes across it's surface. Rather than try to cover these up, I decided to accentuate them with the toothpaste and paint so that the looked like dents and dings in the 'metal' armor. I'm really happy with how those turned out as it gives the detailing another dimension. This also applies to a couple mistakes I made during the construction process and the like.
(cont. next post)
(Cont. from previous post)
One of the unexpectedly cool things about using old OVA foam I had lying around my garage was that much of it is already weathered with small pockmarks, dents, and other blemishes across it's surface. Rather than try to cover these up, I decided to accentuate them with the toothpaste and paint so that the looked like dents and dings in the 'metal' armor. I'm really happy with how those turned out as it gives the detailing another dimension. This also apllies to a couple mistakes I made during the construction process and the like.
I also added the Blood Type badge to the left shoulder (link in my sig) as well as continued the paint scheme and weathering.
I also made a lot of progress on the other torso assets, including a complete rebuild of the rib area pieces. After looking at some hi-rez character shots from the game, I decided that the base plate of these pieces should be flipped, showing the textured side. I rubbed the edge details on the 'h' looking pieces with the pointy end of the paint brush and used a leather hole punch to indent the rivets. After paint, I decided to put some actual rivet heads in the appropriate places, rather than painting them on.
Since I never heard back from a 405[SUP]th[/SUP] member in my area who said he was going to cast his. (No harm, no foul. Poop happens) I decided to just make my own center piece and am fairly happy with it. Like everything else from the neck down, its made from EVA foam, with the exception of the ring in the center. I ended up placing a slice of PVC pipe there, which was much easier than trying to cut a perfect ring out of foam.
Here's a shot of all these components put together on the chest base:
I will be adding a lot more to this thread and I'll be a very, very busy.
As usual, comments are most welcomed and appreciated.
One of the unexpectedly cool things about using old OVA foam I had lying around my garage was that much of it is already weathered with small pockmarks, dents, and other blemishes across it's surface. Rather than try to cover these up, I decided to accentuate them with the toothpaste and paint so that the looked like dents and dings in the 'metal' armor. I'm really happy with how those turned out as it gives the detailing another dimension. This also apllies to a couple mistakes I made during the construction process and the like.
I also added the Blood Type badge to the left shoulder (link in my sig) as well as continued the paint scheme and weathering.
I also made a lot of progress on the other torso assets, including a complete rebuild of the rib area pieces. After looking at some hi-rez character shots from the game, I decided that the base plate of these pieces should be flipped, showing the textured side. I rubbed the edge details on the 'h' looking pieces with the pointy end of the paint brush and used a leather hole punch to indent the rivets. After paint, I decided to put some actual rivet heads in the appropriate places, rather than painting them on.
Since I never heard back from a 405[SUP]th[/SUP] member in my area who said he was going to cast his. (No harm, no foul. Poop happens) I decided to just make my own center piece and am fairly happy with it. Like everything else from the neck down, its made from EVA foam, with the exception of the ring in the center. I ended up placing a slice of PVC pipe there, which was much easier than trying to cut a perfect ring out of foam.
Here's a shot of all these components put together on the chest base:
I will be adding a lot more to this thread and I'll be a very, very busy.
As usual, comments are most welcomed and appreciated.
I appreciate the kind words, Spyda! Well, my friend, wait no more because here's another update!
Another couple of pieces I’ve been working on are the thigh armor. If you’ve been reading this thread, then there’s not a whole lot of new technique being used on these. Lather, rinse, repeat. I did however run the top edge of each thigh on my belt sander to put a smooth beveled edge on it, which I think looks nice. Honestly, I’m a little upset at myself for not taking more photos of the construction of these.
Thigh armor before Dark Steel paint. The white areas are toothpaste painted on with a brush to act as a mask, giving the finished product believable paint scratch and peeling effects
Remember the hip plates? Those the very first pieces I’d built in this long journey. Well, as per the norm, I find newer/better reference materials that show me that the files I was using initially are wrong. Rather than scrap the plates, instead I opted to literally tear the center piece off of them, leaving this lovely mess in its wake, since the glue is stronger than the foam itself.
No worries, as I’ve decided to make the flash-bang and other grenades to hang on these plates, thus covering up the mess.
The two yellow are Flash-bangs and the two blue are...well.. no one seems to know, but they are in the game, so there they are. I'm still trying to decide if I want to make two more of these or two 'pineapple' frags instead. I wanted these to look weathered and battered up since they are hanging on the hip plates of some weathered armor. I didn't use the toothpaste technique with these pieces though as the Olive drab paint the military uses on its equipment is usually fairly resilient and scratch resistant. The color marker paint on the other hand? I wanted that to be a bit banged up.
I’ve also been reworking the details on the chest asset side plates. I was completely unhappy with the foam wedges I’d put on there. The files showed them, and I’ll be damned if they were wrong again! So… I grabbed some wood and freehand shaped some replacement pieces on the trusty belt sander, and I’m much happier with them.
I wanted to make myself a Combat knife for the chest plate and after looking at many, many different references to Buck's knife, and the Reach blades, I decided to just throw caution into the wind and freestyle one myself since I'm not replicating Buck's gear and not every ODST is going to have the same exact knife.
I started out freehand drawing out the shape of the blade and handle onto a piece of paper, then transferred that shape onto some scrap ABS plastic I had in my garage. I cut that out, cleaned the shape up on the belt sander and then made the handle out of some EVA and craft foam and a piece of ABS for the cross-guard. Then I traced around it on some 6mm craft foam and made the sheath, shaping it on the belt sander. Overall, I'm okay with it, but the handle bothers me because it's just not symmetrical enough. It looks homemade, which isn't what I'm going for. I may make a whole new knife, and if I do, I'll be sure to take pictures of the build process this go around.
More to come...
Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
Another couple of pieces I’ve been working on are the thigh armor. If you’ve been reading this thread, then there’s not a whole lot of new technique being used on these. Lather, rinse, repeat. I did however run the top edge of each thigh on my belt sander to put a smooth beveled edge on it, which I think looks nice. Honestly, I’m a little upset at myself for not taking more photos of the construction of these.
Thigh armor before Dark Steel paint. The white areas are toothpaste painted on with a brush to act as a mask, giving the finished product believable paint scratch and peeling effects
Remember the hip plates? Those the very first pieces I’d built in this long journey. Well, as per the norm, I find newer/better reference materials that show me that the files I was using initially are wrong. Rather than scrap the plates, instead I opted to literally tear the center piece off of them, leaving this lovely mess in its wake, since the glue is stronger than the foam itself.
No worries, as I’ve decided to make the flash-bang and other grenades to hang on these plates, thus covering up the mess.
The two yellow are Flash-bangs and the two blue are...well.. no one seems to know, but they are in the game, so there they are. I'm still trying to decide if I want to make two more of these or two 'pineapple' frags instead. I wanted these to look weathered and battered up since they are hanging on the hip plates of some weathered armor. I didn't use the toothpaste technique with these pieces though as the Olive drab paint the military uses on its equipment is usually fairly resilient and scratch resistant. The color marker paint on the other hand? I wanted that to be a bit banged up.
I’ve also been reworking the details on the chest asset side plates. I was completely unhappy with the foam wedges I’d put on there. The files showed them, and I’ll be damned if they were wrong again! So… I grabbed some wood and freehand shaped some replacement pieces on the trusty belt sander, and I’m much happier with them.
I wanted to make myself a Combat knife for the chest plate and after looking at many, many different references to Buck's knife, and the Reach blades, I decided to just throw caution into the wind and freestyle one myself since I'm not replicating Buck's gear and not every ODST is going to have the same exact knife.
I started out freehand drawing out the shape of the blade and handle onto a piece of paper, then transferred that shape onto some scrap ABS plastic I had in my garage. I cut that out, cleaned the shape up on the belt sander and then made the handle out of some EVA and craft foam and a piece of ABS for the cross-guard. Then I traced around it on some 6mm craft foam and made the sheath, shaping it on the belt sander. Overall, I'm okay with it, but the handle bothers me because it's just not symmetrical enough. It looks homemade, which isn't what I'm going for. I may make a whole new knife, and if I do, I'll be sure to take pictures of the build process this go around.
More to come...
Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
Spartan214
Member
Wow, everything looks great! I love the battle damage you're doing; that toothpaste technique is incredible, it adds a lot of realism to the pieces. I've never seen that used before, I'll have to give it a try. Does it leave a scent at all?
Another update of sorts.
I thought I'd outline the entire process of making an ODST Flashbang grenade (http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Flashbang_grenade) out of foam. It is a very simple design and shape, and if you're new to working with foam, then this could be a really great practice for you before tackling the more complicated pieces of armor and equipment.
First, here's what you'll need:
Xacto Knife
Scissors
Template of what I'm calling the TMNFB Mask. (see below for link)
A rectangular piece of standard EVA foam that's 6 x 4.5 inches.
A sheet of 6mm craft foam
A sheet of 2mm craft foam
A heat gun
Belt Sander (or a really shard knife and an amazing ability to cut angled curves)
Hot Glue Gun (w/glue sticks..duh)
Gaffer's Tape (or if unavailable, painter's blue tape will work)
Metal Straight Edge (ruler)
Plasti Dip Spray
Spray Adhesive
Olive Drab Paint
Silver Paint
Yellow Paint
Black Tempra Paint mixed with water in a spray bottle (Blackwash)
I use EVA foam for the main body (tube) because it has a good solid feel once it's completed and the thin stuff (6mm craft foam) is a little too flimsy. Heat up the EVA foam on both sides, moving the heat gun about six inches above the surface to prevent burning the foam. Keep the heat gun moving and don't sit in one place too long. You can tell when the foam is heated up because it will turn a slightly darker shade of gray. Flip the piece over and repeat until both sides are heated up. Then bend/curl the foam, textured side in, into a tube, using the gaffer's tape to hold it together. Be sure to match up your edges or the tube will be cock-eyed and wonky, and no one wants that. You want it to look like the photo below.
Next, squeeze/pour/apply hot glue into the tube over the seam. This will help weld the tube together and hold it's shape. Once that's dried/cured, take the tube and stand it onto the sheet of 6mm Craft foam and trace around it.
Next, take a pair of scissors and cut out around these circles, leaving about a cm around the line. This will act as an overhang when you glue the pieces onto the tube.
Apply a standard bead of hot glue on one end of the tube, keeping it towards the center hole of the tube. This helps cut down on glue seepage when putting the pieces together. Place the 6mm foam circle onto the tube, then flip it over so that the 6mm piece is on the table. Now press down on the tube. This will help keep the 6mm foam straight and flat during the gluing process.
Repeat this step for the other end of the tube and allow to cure/dry and then remove the tape.
Print out the supplied template at 100% scale. The template is 180mm long and 40mm tall. Here is the link for the full size template:
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/...y/ODSTGrenadeMaskTemplatecopy_zpsc723cfbb.jpg
Now it's time to make the TMNFB masks for your grenades. Trace out the template on the sheet of 2mm Craft Foam and cut it out, leaving on a few centimeters on on side of it.
Place the cut out 'mask' on a sheet of wax paper and spray an even coat of spray adhesive on one side of it. The wax paper is to keep the adhesive from getting all over the work surface. Note in the picture below how there is extra foam extending past the right side. This is to ensure both sides meet in the back when you wrap it around the tube.
Now carefully wrap the mask around the tube, centering the mask opening to the front of the tube, keeping the tube's seam in the back. Be sure to push the top edge of the mask up to the overhanging circle of 6mm foam at the top of the tube. Once both sides have met in the back, use a knife to trim away the excess so that the edges are flush. Put a small bead of hot glue on the back seam to reinforce it. You now have a proud member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Flashbangs! (Now you know what TMNFB means. Hyuck.)
Next comes the belt sander. I have a small, Task Force brand unit that cost me under $100 at Lowes. If you can get one of these, I would highly suggest it, especially for foam work as it allows you to shape the foam very, very easily. First, using the belt sander, carefully sand off the excess 6mm foam from the top and bottom of the tube, like shown below.
Next, hold the tube at around a 45 degree angle and sand around the entire circumference of the top and bottom, as shown below.
Now your Flashbang is constructed! Next comes the paint.
First you need to seal your foam with the Plasti Dip spray. There are other methods of sealing foam, but honestly, this is the easiest and the best, so just do it. I usually put around three to four coats of Plasti Dip on my pieces to ensure they are completely sealed. The grenade on the right has been sprayed with the first coat of Plasti Dip.
Once the Plasti Dip has dried/cured fully (about 30 min per coat) spray the entire grenade olive drab, as shown below.
Next you'll want to mask off an rectangle on the front to spray your indicator color. Flashbangs are coded Yellow, so that's what I did. When the ywllow is still wet, I usually scratch it up with a nail, pen lid, or whatever else is lying around the shop to give it a weathered look. Once the yellow dries, mask of the entire tube except the bottom and the 'mask' and top. These will be painted silver.
Once the paint has completely dried, use some high grit sandpaper to rough up the silver a little. This helps the blackwash stick to it. (Below, you can see the blackwash beading up on the silver because I forgot to do this step.) Once that's done, spray the whole grenade with the black wash as shown below.
Let the blackwash sit for a few minutes then wipe down with a dry rag. Spray it again. Wipe it down again. Then, spray it one more time, but this time set the grenade on it's top to let the blackwash seep into and cake-up the bottom edge of the 'mask'. Then blot at it with the rag, leaving a nice texture across the entire surface and viola! You have this:
You now have a UNSC Issue Flash Bang Grenade to hang on your hip plate, or wherever you feel like hanging it.
Wondering what those things are that the grenades are sitting on during the painting process? My next post will discuss them and show pictures of them so you can make your own!
Comments and questions are appreciated!
I thought I'd outline the entire process of making an ODST Flashbang grenade (http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Flashbang_grenade) out of foam. It is a very simple design and shape, and if you're new to working with foam, then this could be a really great practice for you before tackling the more complicated pieces of armor and equipment.
First, here's what you'll need:
Xacto Knife
Scissors
Template of what I'm calling the TMNFB Mask. (see below for link)
A rectangular piece of standard EVA foam that's 6 x 4.5 inches.
A sheet of 6mm craft foam
A sheet of 2mm craft foam
A heat gun
Belt Sander (or a really shard knife and an amazing ability to cut angled curves)
Hot Glue Gun (w/glue sticks..duh)
Gaffer's Tape (or if unavailable, painter's blue tape will work)
Metal Straight Edge (ruler)
Plasti Dip Spray
Spray Adhesive
Olive Drab Paint
Silver Paint
Yellow Paint
Black Tempra Paint mixed with water in a spray bottle (Blackwash)
I use EVA foam for the main body (tube) because it has a good solid feel once it's completed and the thin stuff (6mm craft foam) is a little too flimsy. Heat up the EVA foam on both sides, moving the heat gun about six inches above the surface to prevent burning the foam. Keep the heat gun moving and don't sit in one place too long. You can tell when the foam is heated up because it will turn a slightly darker shade of gray. Flip the piece over and repeat until both sides are heated up. Then bend/curl the foam, textured side in, into a tube, using the gaffer's tape to hold it together. Be sure to match up your edges or the tube will be cock-eyed and wonky, and no one wants that. You want it to look like the photo below.
Next, squeeze/pour/apply hot glue into the tube over the seam. This will help weld the tube together and hold it's shape. Once that's dried/cured, take the tube and stand it onto the sheet of 6mm Craft foam and trace around it.
Next, take a pair of scissors and cut out around these circles, leaving about a cm around the line. This will act as an overhang when you glue the pieces onto the tube.
Apply a standard bead of hot glue on one end of the tube, keeping it towards the center hole of the tube. This helps cut down on glue seepage when putting the pieces together. Place the 6mm foam circle onto the tube, then flip it over so that the 6mm piece is on the table. Now press down on the tube. This will help keep the 6mm foam straight and flat during the gluing process.
Repeat this step for the other end of the tube and allow to cure/dry and then remove the tape.
Print out the supplied template at 100% scale. The template is 180mm long and 40mm tall. Here is the link for the full size template:
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/...y/ODSTGrenadeMaskTemplatecopy_zpsc723cfbb.jpg
Now it's time to make the TMNFB masks for your grenades. Trace out the template on the sheet of 2mm Craft Foam and cut it out, leaving on a few centimeters on on side of it.
Place the cut out 'mask' on a sheet of wax paper and spray an even coat of spray adhesive on one side of it. The wax paper is to keep the adhesive from getting all over the work surface. Note in the picture below how there is extra foam extending past the right side. This is to ensure both sides meet in the back when you wrap it around the tube.
Now carefully wrap the mask around the tube, centering the mask opening to the front of the tube, keeping the tube's seam in the back. Be sure to push the top edge of the mask up to the overhanging circle of 6mm foam at the top of the tube. Once both sides have met in the back, use a knife to trim away the excess so that the edges are flush. Put a small bead of hot glue on the back seam to reinforce it. You now have a proud member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Flashbangs! (Now you know what TMNFB means. Hyuck.)
Next comes the belt sander. I have a small, Task Force brand unit that cost me under $100 at Lowes. If you can get one of these, I would highly suggest it, especially for foam work as it allows you to shape the foam very, very easily. First, using the belt sander, carefully sand off the excess 6mm foam from the top and bottom of the tube, like shown below.
Next, hold the tube at around a 45 degree angle and sand around the entire circumference of the top and bottom, as shown below.
Now your Flashbang is constructed! Next comes the paint.
First you need to seal your foam with the Plasti Dip spray. There are other methods of sealing foam, but honestly, this is the easiest and the best, so just do it. I usually put around three to four coats of Plasti Dip on my pieces to ensure they are completely sealed. The grenade on the right has been sprayed with the first coat of Plasti Dip.
Once the Plasti Dip has dried/cured fully (about 30 min per coat) spray the entire grenade olive drab, as shown below.
Next you'll want to mask off an rectangle on the front to spray your indicator color. Flashbangs are coded Yellow, so that's what I did. When the ywllow is still wet, I usually scratch it up with a nail, pen lid, or whatever else is lying around the shop to give it a weathered look. Once the yellow dries, mask of the entire tube except the bottom and the 'mask' and top. These will be painted silver.
Once the paint has completely dried, use some high grit sandpaper to rough up the silver a little. This helps the blackwash stick to it. (Below, you can see the blackwash beading up on the silver because I forgot to do this step.) Once that's done, spray the whole grenade with the black wash as shown below.
Let the blackwash sit for a few minutes then wipe down with a dry rag. Spray it again. Wipe it down again. Then, spray it one more time, but this time set the grenade on it's top to let the blackwash seep into and cake-up the bottom edge of the 'mask'. Then blot at it with the rag, leaving a nice texture across the entire surface and viola! You have this:
You now have a UNSC Issue Flash Bang Grenade to hang on your hip plate, or wherever you feel like hanging it.
Wondering what those things are that the grenades are sitting on during the painting process? My next post will discuss them and show pictures of them so you can make your own!
Comments and questions are appreciated!
Foam Part Holders
These are some very useful little tools you can make for your foam builds. I came up with these when made the first set grenades because I needed a way to be able to paint all sides of it and keep it from rolling around while it dried.
You will need:
Two push pins
Scrap EVA Foam
Hot glue gun
Razor knife
It's really quite simple. I cut the scrap into rectangles, cut out notches for the push pins to sit in, glued them in place, then cut the 'legs' out of more scrap and glued them onto the sides as stabilizers.
I place the back of the object onto the pins...
Press it down and voila. The part stays put and I can hit 98% of it's surface when I'm painting it.
Since the foam is so lightweight I can use the holder to...well...hold the part and turn it while I'm painting.
So there you go. Easy-peasy.
These are some very useful little tools you can make for your foam builds. I came up with these when made the first set grenades because I needed a way to be able to paint all sides of it and keep it from rolling around while it dried.
You will need:
Two push pins
Scrap EVA Foam
Hot glue gun
Razor knife
It's really quite simple. I cut the scrap into rectangles, cut out notches for the push pins to sit in, glued them in place, then cut the 'legs' out of more scrap and glued them onto the sides as stabilizers.
I place the back of the object onto the pins...
Press it down and voila. The part stays put and I can hit 98% of it's surface when I'm painting it.
Since the foam is so lightweight I can use the holder to...well...hold the part and turn it while I'm painting.
So there you go. Easy-peasy.
Still looking excellent!
The toothpaste method is definately something that I will be putting away into the memory banks for when it comes time to paint my armor.
The grenade making and painting process was very helpful too.
Builds like this inspire us noobs to work extra hard on our own armor builds (and we can only hope ours end up as good
)
The toothpaste method is definately something that I will be putting away into the memory banks for when it comes time to paint my armor.
The grenade making and painting process was very helpful too.
Builds like this inspire us noobs to work extra hard on our own armor builds (and we can only hope ours end up as good
)- Status
