Wip: We Are The Arms Of The Prophets..

[Drakku]

Quick question, anyone ever think about doing a brute costume, considering there posture and body shape is similar to ours it shouldn't be that hard... Maybe I should try it...

I'm considering, if I can get my Elite makin' done, then I could try a Brute. It really wouldn't be very hard at all, 'cuz as you said, it's a lot closer to a human body. If you do try making one, I'll totally help out any way I could, would be awesome to get all the Covenant forces made. Haha.

Just watch out for trigger happy Marines at the conventions after its done (still some bad blood between the UNSC and Covenant).

I'll just be sure to talk the Ship Master out of glassing the whole planet, and it should be good.
;D

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SherryShortcake @ May 22 2009, 03:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Probably because it's so ghetto. <-- Hahaha! Ghetto is the best way to go.

Just out of curiosity, how did you trace them? Did you mold the shape of the clay on top of the paper, then put the base on top of that clay? Or did you put the paper over the clay and sorta poke holes with them with a needle then cut it out? Or none of the above? lol</div>
Pretty much, what I did was roll out the clay with a rolling pin to get it the right thickness and flatness. Then I took the paper template and put it on top of the clay, then used a sharp, needlepoint tool to trace out the shape of the plate. Then I removed the excess from the sides around it (and any other plates I could manage to fit in on that run).

Theenn, putting the paper template back on top of the clay plate, I take the needlepoint tool again and very lightly trace the lines of the template, just enough so it leaves an impression on the clay below it. I take off the paper and use a scoop-ish tool's side to make the lines a bit thicker once I can see how they look. Then I compare it to other plates to make sure the lines line up, then I start carving into it.

And voila, plates. It's a bit uneven in places, but as I said before, I just want to get them mostly done, then take sandpaper to them and smooth them out before I mold them. I've had to add some thickness to a couple, 'cuz I get a little hasty as I'm peeling them off the wax paper to move around and compare to one another, and they start to rip a bit in places.

Aaand.. no pics at the moment, I'll go upload one, but I've only got five more plates to do. Woo! I finished the two mirror-plates last night, planning on doing at least one more before I go to bed. I'll take pics of the process if you guys want. Or video. Hm!

Edit: 100 posts in the topic, btw. Woo!

 

[mikedav17]

The worst thing that I can see is that it looks like you won't be able to wear it to A-kon this year... Oh well, there's always, Animefest and Dragon*con, if you plan on going to it...

Coming along very nicely though

 

[Keegan]

Totally random, anybody use that 5-Hour Energy 2 oz drink of doom thing? I'm tempted to try it, I need a way to keep myself awake during that shift. Gross hours of the morning, especially to a non-morning person.

Dont.
Just dont.
Dont even think about it.
You will regret it...

Anyways, those are some good looking arm plates! Cant wait to copy these designs! (Kidding )

 

[Ender06]

You guys are going to a-kon?!?! I'm going to a-kon! That's why I'm scrambling to complete my armor in 3 days >.< Good job btw!

 

[BFDesigns]

Drakku @ May 19 2009, 10:28 PM
Totally random, anybody use that 5-Hour Energy 2 oz drink of doom thing? I'm tempted to try it, I need a way to keep myself awake during that shift. Gross hours of the morning, especially to a non-morning person.

Don't do that shot sh!t. That stuff is totally bogus and really freaking bad for you! Drink an orange Monster instead. It tastes like tang with a hint of ginseng and it will keep you going for the better part of 4 hours. At least that's what it does for me at 5'10.5"/180lbs. For you, it'll probably keep all your 110 lbs wired for about 5-1/2 hours.

 

[Drakku]

Dont.
Just dont.

Don't do that shot sh!t. That stuff is totally bogus and really freaking bad for you!

D': Weeeell.. I went ahead and tried it.
And I did feel awake and wasn't yawning or anything, and I wasn't jittery, which is what I didn't want to happen. But then when I went home after my shift and tried to nap, I couldn't fall asleep. Ended up feeling worse later in the day because of it. Soo, I think I'm going to find a different way to stay awake that won't comprimise my napping abilities. Lol.
Thanks for the concern, though, guys. I don't think it was really all that bad.

Anyways, those are some good looking arm plates! Cant wait to copy these designs! (Kidding )

Haha, actually, already planning something, so you won't need to. But if you do want to use 'em, you're free to 'em. I'd hold off for a bit first, though, if you get my drift.

No progress this weekend guys, sorry. It's been really insane at work (due to Memorial Day, booo), and family gatherings and such. I'm going to record the process of it tomorrow morning when I do s'more work on them, so maaaybe expect a vid by tomorrow night-ish. But knowing me and my procrastination, I'd expect it later. Haha.

 

[Malechei]

This just keeps getting better and better. I love it. Keep up the fantastic work.

And for staying awake, you could try a trick that I learned in the Middle East. I found that every time I got shot at, I was suddenly wide awake, and as long as they kept shooting, I didn't want to fall asleep. On a serious note, ALL energy drinks are going to have a downside to them, so that's really just a struggle of picking the lesser of two evils. Something I found that honestly works is a cold towel on the back of the neck. There's a major nerve center at the base of the back of your neck that is stimulated by the cold. You could try one of those cooldana things for any future late night shifts.

 

[Drakku]

How appropriate that my sixth Youtube update is on the sixth page.
Or something..

Vid below shows me actually making one, but Youtube fasked up the quality on it big time, you can hardly see anything compared to the original. But I think you guys'll get the point.

Also, gonna go check the glue on the feet. I'll edit with how they are and pics of the toes I finished cutting out of styrofoam. Woo!
Hoping to get the feet 95% complete tonight.

And Malechei, definitely lol'd. I don't have people shooting at me, but I know what adrenaline'll do when you're guarding on stand and some kid starts a'flounderin'. Unfortunately, I'm a desk job now! Blegh.
I like the sound of the cold pack, though, I did that the other morning (for a completely different reason, nosebleed, haha), and it felt nice and, I think, kept me awake..
And uh.. that thing you linked me to actually looks like the coolest thing ever. (No pun intended.)
May have to buy one now, thanks!

Edit: Well, checked the glue to see if it dried, and it had! So, wha-bam, attached the hinges to the toeboards and they should be stickin' forever. (Yay for liquid nails.)
I may also throw some hot glue around the edges JUST in case, but I don't foresee them needing it. I hope.
Still uploading the pics of the toes, but I may wait and upload pics of the toes ON the foot.

Edit 2: Pics up:

The two arm plates I'm particularly fond of, the difficult mirror'd pair.

Toes, freshly carved.

Toes on the toeboards, not attached yet, just to get size reference.

Side view. They look about the right size, ne?

 

[LeeKegan]

Still a good video on how you have been doing the sculpting.

 

[sharkhead7854]

shweetness! your plates are coming along really nicely
cant imagine using those shoes though o__o
id probably run out of energy in 5 minutes lol

 

[Gman]

Haha "you can blame my mac cuz it's poo!" that made me laugh. Your armplates are coming along nicely. I really want to see these done. They have oodles of detail in them.

 

[warhound]

Can't wait to see the finished armor. The legs and shoulder plates look AWESOME!

 

[falcon NL]

I have been watching this threat for a while now and i it seems to been going great. I like your Sculptey sculptures, they look accurate and time consuming I never work before with oil-based Sculptey, but I love Super Sculptey!

I don't know if you are familiar with molding, so if you need any help or advice with some of the molding just let me know. It would be my pleasure to help out on your Arbiter suite.

 

[Drakku]

cant imagine using those shoes though o__o
id probably run out of energy in 5 minutes lol

Hahaha, yeah, I'm still struggling to build up my leg muscles. Even in my demo video I did, where I walked around for all of 30 seconds or something, you can see me start to stand up straighter and straighter. I figure I'll only REALLY try hard when it's picture time, but walking I can handle to stand up a bit higher.
Nevertheless, these things are gonna be a beast to walk in for more than 5 minutes. Haha!

Haha "you can blame my mac cuz it's poo!" that made me laugh. Your armplates are coming along nicely. I really want to see these done. They have oodles of detail in them.

Psshh, my Mac IS a poo, stupid thing. I'm not even exaggerating, I tried recording the end bit at least 6 other times, and each time, it either cut me off after 15 seconds (though kept looking like it was recording), or didn't record with sound.
I'm actually really excited about the prop weapons I got and wanted to show them off, but I get frustrated easily. Hah.

I have been watching this threat for a while now and i it seems to been going great. I like your Sculptey sculptures, they look accurate and time consuming :chuckle: I never work before with oil-based Sculptey, but I love Super Sculptey!

I don't know if you are familiar with molding, so if you need any help or advice with some of the molding just let me know. It would be my pleasure to help out on your Arbiter suite.

Yeah, I've never touched this brand before, and I dunno how to really feel about it yet. It's very easy to work with, though even with it covered up and sealed, it starts to get a bit brittle. Then again, I'm sure it wasn't intended to sit for a week before it sees an oven, soo.. yeah.
Thanks for the offer! I'm sure I'll need all the opinions and advice I can get before I actually go through with it. I was lucky enough to watch Dave and Chris do a mold of one of Dave's boot bits, and that was even more complicated than what I'll be doing. So I feel okay, but I always like hearing tips.

Anyway, quick update on the feet, the liquid nails actually failed me. Either that, or I did it wrong, but I'll pretend I'm not at fault.
I've scraped away all traces of glue and epoxy, but I'm going to save the rest of the work for tomorrow. That'll include sanding them down and roughing them up so the glue will take easier. Then I'll attach the toes and cover up the feet, put on the pep'd armor on top of it, then walk around for a final test. Which I will record, so get excited! I'll even get my mom to record me walking outside so you don't have to deal with my dark recordings on my Mac. Haha.

And uhhm.. what else got done this evening..
My brother-in-law-to-be came over and helped me sort things out on my Gravity Hammer I got from DogWizard, and we officially got the entire bottom half done. I'll need to go get a new tip for the pull-drill we've got, or whatever it's called, we don't have the right size for the hammer head. But once we can drill that hole and get things in place, we can do the smaller peg drilling, etc. Then I'm done dry runnin' it, we'll glue it together and shazam.
We're also going to do some painting sometime this weekend, he of his Assault Rifle, me of my Brute Spiker I got from smick6. It's so beautiful, I can't wait to finish it up!

While I'm thinking of it, I'll message that guy on Youtube I mentioned that did a motorcycle hand and keep you guys updated on what we discuss. I'm hoping it'll work with my intentions.

 

[Drakku]

Sorry for double post, buuut.. half of a walking demo up!

And that's about all I've got.

And as far as other projects goo..
We busted out my dad's dremel to help sand down Brian's AR and Recon and my Hayabusa, and oh my god does that thing speed up sanding processes. What the heck have I been thinking using regular old sandpaper thus far? I need to go to Wal-Mart and pick up a tip-kit or something, though, all my dad's are either broken or missing. Haha.

I have to wait to finish putting the hammer together until this weekend, when my dad is able to help. I en't one of those drillin' people. I'm really just waiting to attach the PVC inside the hammer head (for those that know the kit), then I can drill the last two holes for the blade support, and a few other holes, then shazam, it be paintin' time.
As for the Spiker, it needs, I realized, just one more hole to wire the LEDs, and then shazam-paintin'-time for it, too.

Anywho, gotta run and find out what this unknown rash is that's been plaguing my skin the past three weeks. Any bets? Winner gets a shout-out. Fo'sho.

 

[DogWizard]

*WORT-WORT-WORT*

Niiice - looking good! How durable is the foam that you used for the extensions? I thought I head an odd "crunchy" sound but it could have just been you walking on the driveway...

 

[Drakku]

*WORT-WORT-WORT*

Niiice - looking good! How durable is the foam that you used for the extensions? I thought I head an odd "crunchy" sound but it could have just been you walking on the driveway...

The foam is holding up surprisingly well! There is a bit of crunching, but that was mostly the driveway. I hope. I noticed that the foam is coming up from one of the feet, so I'm going to have to reinforce their glue. D; Sad day.
I'm hoping they'll be able to hold up to the extra weight of everything. Haha.
But thanks. ;D

~~
On a side note, just got back from the skin doctor. My insurance just paid some woman $100 to tell me I'm allergic to something and give me a prescription.
I should go into dermatology.. big money for obvious problems.

If it's a contact allergy, then why is it spreading to my face, other parts on my arm, and legs? Guess how fast I was brushed off with that question.

 

[Das Brutus]

Sorry to hear about all the issues... it will all work out.

Off topic, it was great to meet you over the weekend! Sorry for the short visit, but apparently the Red Bull was in excess and I crashed hard! How's the recon treating you?

 

[Drakku]

Sorry to hear about all the issues... it will all work out.

Off topic, it was great to meet you over the weekend! Sorry for the short visit, but apparently the Red Bull was in excess and I crashed hard! How's the recon treating you?

Thanks Das.

And yeah, it was great meeting you! I wish I could've come over sooner, but dang those work-related responsibilities. And crashing is completely understandable, I saw those vids Dave posted, you guys did a ton!

And btw everyone, next up is (aside from putting the toes on the other foot and finishing the smoothing process on 'em), I'm covering the feet with duck canvas, as I've decided that'll prolly be what the skin will be.
Before that, however, I'll be putting foam padding on the bottom of the feet to help absorb some of the walking shock. Then I'll wrap 'em in the "skin," and then I'll put the shoes on the bottom.

Shoes being cut-up flip-flops in the pattern of the bottom-of-the-foot armor. Then ta-dah, aside from painting, I think feet will be done. I expect it to be so in the next week or so, then it's on to the body cage. Woo!

 

[salival462]

Once you got the squeak out of the toes these looked, worked, and sounded great. I have my money on an unfortunate allergic reaction to plastic