A Few Questions About Armor

[009 SPA]

Hi there 405th members, I just wondered if you could enlighten me on some things:



Is it just me, or do people I've seen wearing MJOLNIR armour on this site wear their belts far too low? For example, in this picture:

I don't mean any disrespect to the creator in person, the armour's awesome, and this was literally just the first picture I found to illustrate my question.



Secondly, along the same lines, do people make their helmets too big? Again, I do not intend any offense to anyone on this site or otherwise.



Thirdly, how strong is fibreglass? I understand that it's generally frowned upon to suggest using it in paintball, but why? When I went paintball and got shot, the paintballs really didn't seem like they were going penetrate anything, they just left a bit of a bruise. I plan to make my suit out of just moulded fibreglass, so how thick will it need to be to support my weight? I'm thinking of adding 3mm plates of aluminium for reinforcement and maybe even a steel interior 'roll cage' if necessary.



And finally, has anyone on the site made a RECON chest or shoulders? If so, could I be directed to it, since I'm interested in making that part of the set.



Thanks for reading,

James

 

[Bamabat]

Your questions are ones that spark great discussions. First of all, scaling is one of the most difficult parts of making armor because nobody is build like the Chief. Once you spend 40 hours cutting, folding and gluing a pep file together and discover it is about 3 scales too big you too may develop the attitude of 'looks good enough' like many of us have. I have yet to find files that if scaled to the sacred formula all fit me perfectly. This is an art form and models need to be tweaked once the pep is built. I had one chest file I did for my nephew that fit like a glove in the length and height but the width was way off. This is when you have to be crafty and custom fit your piece to your model. I think the photo you show has this exact example of what I am talking about. It could be a bit longer but the detail and size of the other pieces is excellent. Great job who ever you are.



Second, since I am kind of new here I have not read anything on using armor for paintball. In my opinion if you build it strong enough it may work but you have to remember if you mess up you will get hurt. I have played paintball and it can be painful.



Finally my advice is build your armor and you will answer your own questions. This hobby is about trial and error and it is something often better learned than taught. Good luck with your builds.

 

[Arithen]

Question 1: Do people make their "belts" too low?



It's technically called a COD piece, and no its in the correct spot. it isnt intentional, but it is difficult to correctly resize a model (for some people) to fit their needs.

Question 2: Do people intentionally make their helmets too big?



Once again, it's not intentional. the same thing goes for size and scale. unless your the 7 foot tall in your armor, your going to have to resize the models in pepakura designer to fit your needs, and this can be difficult. a lot of trial and error is needed if your on your first suit of armor. but there are topics in the forum that will teach you how to scale armor properly.





Question 3: How strong is fiberglass and why is it frowned upon to use it in something like paintball.



The truth is, if properly made, the armor could generally hold up against a paintball shot. the reason it's frowned upon is because in the likely hood that you didnt make your armor perfectly, the chances of getting some shard of whatever flying somewhere where it could hurt is possible. and we, nor any paintball place want a news report going up saying that someone got hurt because of either of their products.





Question 4: Is there anyone here who has made recon chest or shoulders?



Use the search button, there are plenty of recon related armor pieces floating around the forum.

 

[welshwarrior123]

Bamabat has pretty much nailed the sizing question, scaling is one of the hardest things to do with pep. With my build it was just trial and error, but it does give you good practice at pep. As with the paintballing idea, this is popping up quite alot ive found. The 405th is a costuming site designed for props and display and not paintballing, so many would prefer you didnt use it for paintballing for safety reassons as the 405th could get the blame for showing you how to make armour in the 1st place. Not that I endorce it but If you do decide to use it for paintballing wear a licensed mask or goggles underneath for safety, But after seeing this i dont know why you would want to paintball in armour, http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20887



And heres where all the armour variations are;



http://halocostuming.wikia.com/wiki/Pepakura_File_Index#Recon



The recon section is half way down, have fun

 

[kensai111]

I think everyone pretty much nailed it, the belt can sag over time yes so there are plenty of pictures with the codpiece not in the proper place. With these suits it's advisable to keep the thighs up rather than worrying about the cod sagging a little, that's our good friend gravity hard at work.



Yes, people intentionally make EVERYTHING too big. If you make it form fitting against your skin.. well it's not going to fit once you build up the rest of your underarmor. Plus you need room inside the helmet for padding, electronics and ventilation. A tight fitting helmet is going to result in an extremely hot,uncomfortable, and blind master chief cosplayer.



As for the paintball question, it's 405th.com and 405th.com forums policy to tell you that we do not approve of it or discussion of it. If you're going to use it for that, we warned you fair and square now don't talk about it an encourage others to walk in your footsteps and get their eye shot out when one of these visors bust (and they will) into a shrapnel grenade in your face. These suit designs are for display use.. they barely stand up the daily cosplay walking around in without falling off or breaking in one way or another. So ye be warned, do what you want but don't sue us when it fails on you.



Cheers,

Kensai

 

[009 SPA]

Thanks for the in-depth answers guys. I know this sounds really ignorant, and it is, but I don't think I'll encounter most of the problems brought up here. For example, I've thought up an idea for a combat harness to keep all the torso plates in the correct position, without impacting mobility. I've also tried a way of keeping the codpiece at a nice height, while still guarding the important stuff. But as I said, I really appreciate all the information, so thanks again.

 

[Ithica]

Questions have been answered very well. I won't beat a dead horse. I do make recon shoulder attachments and chest.



Ithica

 

[mr slopig]

I think you should make sure you can buy a visor before you make it

 

[Goomerspartan10]

whait, how would you (James-second post) istall 3 mm aliminum to the inside of armor, i plan to do the same, mabey use spray adhesive on the inside and use tin foil ( a few layers) on the inside with some fiberglass.

 

[009 SPA]

I thought I could attach it to the outside, by using the original mould as a guide to beat it around, the guiling it on with that bogey glue stuff or screwing it on.