Wip - My First Armor

[gmstrowabarton]

I got some more progress mostly done with the chest armor I have some pics of progress and me wearing it all below.

 

[TwitchBoxx]

It all looks great! Nice folds and amazing scaling done. I can't wait to see more pictures and I really can't wait to see how the suit looks in the end!

 

[momoss]

I see you have that Sette body armor, I just ordered mines. Cant wait to get it and I hope it fits right :lol Your armor is looking pretty nice. I dont know how some of you people get those HD chests on when its almost done. The only time I could put mines on was when the back wasnt made yet.

 

[jake11124]

You must be really motivated to do all of this peping so quickly

 

[gmstrowabarton]

It all looks great! Nice folds and amazing scaling done. I can't wait to see more pictures and I really can't wait to see how the suit looks in the end!

Thanks, the scaling took a bit I think I built part of the chest about 3 times before I got it right it was frustrating. But I am happy now that the chest is about to be completed.

I see you have that Sette body armor, I just ordered mines. Cant wait to get it and I hope it fits right :lol Your armor is looking pretty nice. I dont know how some of you people get those HD chests on when its almost done. The only time I could put mines on was when the back wasnt made yet.

I think mine is the TMS brand but they are all the same, mine the straps it has on the forearm are a bit tight if I use them but I don't think I will be. I made a slit around the neck so I could fit it on but I had a bit of trouble the last time getting it off with the back mostly on.

You must be really motivated to do all of this peping so quickly

Yeah I am trying to get the armor completed before May 27 which is when I am going to the convention that is here in Raleigh, NC. It is a anime convention I go to every year.







I plan to have the Chest done this morning and to try and finish at least one thigh piece or 2 and then I have one boot left to pep and then I will just be fiber glassing and then bondo and paint. So much to do in one month time.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

Ok so I ran into some problems and had to find a new pep file for the thighs I had since I don't know what the original scale was for the thighs I had but I know it wasn't set to MC size. The new thighs the unfold was so much better than the old file I had. It wasn't a big deal but it put me behind finishing pep work by about 2 days. Here are the pictures.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

I have run into a problem with my Helmet the front warp and made it so the visor area is much smaller than it should be. It partly is because the pep file I used had no supports for it but I will be redoing the helmet and with a better looking model with supports. This will make all the original pep works I did replaced with new ones. I also cleaned up and rearranged my work area out side which I will have pictures of what it looks like now up in this post as well as the warped helm. I also found out that the art store close by carries Smooth-on products and for the same price as on-line but with out the shipping costs.

 

[AlexSpartan177]

Sucks about the helmet.

If a pep doest have support struts just add a couple pieces of cardboard.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

Thanks for that info Alex that will help in the future peps that I do and still working on.

 

[xlovex]

looking good so fare

 

[gmstrowabarton]

looking good so fare

Thanks xlovex







And here is another update. I decide to try rondo since I have been having trouble with use fiberglass it seems to hate me But I am liking the rondo better so far. I mostly worked on the boots but with out further a due photos.

 

[justanuthercap]

Nice progress. Good job as fiberglasssing is my LEAST favorite part of this whole process and it looks like you are knocking that out quickly.



Just curious, how many layers of glass are you using? I always wonder if I am being paranoid and overdoing it with too many layers.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

Nice progress. Good job as fiberglasssing is my LEAST favorite part of this whole process and it looks like you are knocking that out quickly.



Just curious, how many layers of glass are you using? I always wonder if I am being paranoid and overdoing it with too many layers.

Thanks. The Resin on the outside I just used 2 coats, the fiberglassing on the inside on the part I did I only did one layer. But I don't think I will be fiberglassing the insides again now I have tried rondo and it works great.

 

[momoss]

For having trouble with fiberglass it sure looks like it turned out well. :lol I hope fiberglass is nice to me when I do my armor. All this rondo and mudglassing stuff is interesting, I read another thread about it and I'm sure I'm going to rondo all the outside of my armor now. I may try mudglassing instead of fiberglassing since I hear thats the strongest method. I really think you should add fiberglass cloth to the toe caps for reinforcement. I've done some reading and I think rondo is strong but also can be brittle. It might crack if it gets hit by a blunt force. Feet tend to bump into things a lot, especially at big conventions. Wouldnt want to see your hard work get cracked after a convention.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

For having trouble with fiberglass it sure looks like it turned out well. :lol I hope fiberglass is nice to me when I do my armor. All this rondo and mudglassing stuff is interesting, I read another thread about it and I'm sure I'm going to rondo all the outside of my armor now. I may try mudglassing instead of fiberglassing since I hear thats the strongest method. I really think you should add fiberglass cloth to the toe caps for reinforcement. I've done some reading and I think rondo is strong but also can be brittle. It might crack if it gets hit by a blunt force. Feet tend to bump into things a lot, especially at big conventions. Wouldnt want to see your hard work get cracked after a convention.

Well the only things that are pure fiberglass right now are the hand plates, the cod piece and one of the forearms. The ab plate is fiberglass in the center area and rondo with fiberglass reinforcement on left and right sides. The toe cap is quite durable right now I tossed it down from about 3feet onto my wood deck and it had no chips on it but it does need some more rondo inside to fill the top. One of the best parts of doing the rondo that I found is you can keep the support struts inplace while slushing it around. but I might just do mudglassing for the toe cap.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

 

[momoss]

That new helmet looks great! I think keeping the visor in will keep it from warping this time. Boots look nice too, they have a lot of space for your boots in there from the looks of it. I hope mines will be okay. I barley have room for my tactical boots in mine and I havent even hardened them yet.

 

[tomvdog]

looking good keep it up. your pepping is awsome.

 

[Mayawizard]

Really liking the armor there man. keep up all the great work and I am not sure if this was a problem...but it looked like your helmet was a tad big...you can buy some foam or think fabric from walmart or another store like it on the cheap. good luck man.

 

[gmstrowabarton]

That new helmet looks great! I think keeping the visor in will keep it from warping this time. Boots look nice too, they have a lot of space for your boots in there from the looks of it. I hope mines will be okay. I barley have room for my tactical boots in mine and I havent even hardened them yet.

Thanks. Yeah the last helmet didn't come with a visor and the new model is much smoother too. The boots I got luck with I did the tester and on the first try I got the scaling right, it was one of the few items that was scaled right the first time. XD

looking good keep it up. your pepping is awsome.

Thank you very much

Really liking the armor there man. keep up all the great work and I am not sure if this was a problem...but it looked like your helmet was a tad big...you can buy some foam or think fabric from walmart or another store like it on the cheap. good luck man.

Thank you. Without the armor yeah it does look big but when I was getting close to the end I thought the helmet was going to be a tad small, but when I put it has just enough room for padding and my head. I will have to cut away some of the rim do to it not liking my ears and trying to push them off my head. My first helmet next to the new one I would say that was too big.