Thanks. I feel pretty insane for attempting this build with only 2 weeks left.Wow man this is just insane
Have you seen xRobots method for plastic coating foam? I've given it a try and it shows promise, though you have to sacrifice some of the flexibility of the foam to take advantage of it, or at least be very conscience of it so you don't crack your butt plate when you sit down or something haha.
It basically involves foaming a piece, and then covering it in PVA glue (regular old elmers glue). Once it dries, you can put some smooth cast on it and slush the outside of the piece. The plastic won't stick to the foam itself, but the PVA gives it a substrate to hook onto. Then you sand it down and can finish it like you would any other plastic part. I tried on a boot I was messing with, got mixed results. It's a TON of work.
I think hybrid foam/fiberglass is the way to go myself. Foam for pieces like the cod and boots, maybe the thighs so you can sit etc easily.
On my previous suit I did the plasti-dip method on my boots only- it does work pretty well, but you need liberal amounts of plasti-dip. It does have a little elasticity to it so if you bend a piece while wearing it you may not ruin it, but it might cause a seam or bend mark to appear in the finish.
Good luck! Loving that helmet too.
OH, Keep your eyes open for Volpin Props and his Needler (it is BEAUTIFUL)! He's said he wants people in Halo costumes to pose with it and your suit(s) would look snazzy
Thank you both. I have seen his stuff. I have done some tests with it. It is a very tedious process, and there are just too many fine details in spartan armor to do it effectively. But I did figure out that you can do it to the inside of parts, and not have to worry about sanding. Some of my parts need to be reinforced to hold their shape properly, and this does the trick.^^^^^ What Revenant said.
I can't recommend James Bruton's site enough to people, he's a wizard at what he does. www.xrobots.co.uk
I was also wondering which low-def file you have based you're chest piece on, can you provide a link?
Keep it up, it's looking astonishing.
and it took me about 5 hours to do the forearms also, I think they were the hardest part to build on the whole foam MKVI, also I wouldn't worry about smoothing everything out so perfect, as long as you have clean cut lines and you weather the armor good, you won't notice any unsmooth areas on the foam unless your going for the glossy look, when you look at my Busa suit you can't see rough spots and its white with no battle damage
It does not cut the angles. I still have to do those by hand.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one. I do like how the weathering can cover any imperfections.Whats with these 2 week builds lately
Thank you.
I did some rondo to fill in the gaps between the seams. Then I did a slush coat of smooth cast. It really strengthened it well. I accidentally dropped while sanding, and nothing happened.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I will be doing a double layer visor. Down the road I may even do a vac formed version.that is amazing, i gotta say, if the visor comes out looking nice like the rest of this, then this will be the best build ever, the second one is that red suit that looked exactly like the halo 2 model
I have also reinforced it with smooth cast. It is very sturdy right now. I dropped it while I was sanding it, and nothing happened. But this is just my master. Once the mold is finished, it will go in storage for safe keeping.
Thank you.
A friend of mine is a 3D modeler. He set it up for me.
