Project Mjolnir: Mark Iv

[tomboy]

In honor of the soon to be released "Halo Wars", I'll be taking on a Spartan sized mission, to make the impossible possible, to create a good set of armor in time for the game's release and go through a workout regimen that'd make CPO Mendez proud. So with a 12 hour workday, lots of stress and little spare time, let's do this! My wallet hurts already...

Day 1: 27Jan2009

Day 1 was all about ordering supplies and finding reference pictures. The hardest part of this is trying to find a decent picture of the back of the suit, so after bugging Bungie and Ensemble, these were the best I could find. It's a start. Your best bet for references will be McFarlane's next line of Halo figurines. Any other references you can find, especially pictures of the back, would be greatly appreciated.





Also, I found that here had some really good prices on modeling clay.

Day 2/3: 28/29Jan2009

Searched nearby stores for more supplies. Sadly, the ones that I knew would have what I needed close very early. And so, there was nothing left to do until Friday but to clean up the work station.

 

[box o crayons]

i love that armour i cant wait till you start on it and im not sure if your going to be able to finish for the halo wars release unless you make the armour very undetailed

 

[spartan114max]

wow you really do have a spartan sized mission staring from square1 and you only have a month plus to get it all done in all your chaos try to keep up updated on all your work.

 

[tomboy]

I'm going to start using a different method of numbering days; more specifically, I'm going to use the method I was introduced to in boot camp. It's a fairly simple system. So, "Day 1" is now "P-1" or "Preparation, Day 1" and 1-1 is read as "Week 1, Day 1."
_______________

P-4: 30JAN2009

So, after properly stowing all my junk, the room and workstation is ship-shape. The modeling clay I ordered is at the FedEx and I should be able to pick it up tomorrow, so after calling a cab, it was time to do some real shopping. First stop, Home Depot:

Some items I purchased include, but are not limited to:<ul>[*]Exacto knife[*]latex gloves[*]respirator[*]Dremel rotary tool[*]brushes[*]duct tape[*]lint free rags[*]tarp[/list]and other products that will eventually be used later down the line. After that, I went to look for supplies at Wal-mart and and Arts and Craft store, where I got modeling tools. Tried to get fabric, but that store closed by the time I was done with everything else. Guess that's tomorrow's project.

 

[GarzakAzur]

You seem well prepare. Haha if my girlfriend would not force me to clean up my place a little bit im prety sure that my place would look like the before.

Pat

 

[sirblood]

I would also suggest a cutting pad so you don't cut up whatever surface your working on.

And
painters tape
goggles

there's a few more, but that's the bare minimums

You're off to a good start, starting out prepared will save you tons of headaches.

A little suggestion when its time to apply the resin... get several extra tubes of liquid hardner

 

[mrdeth0]

Wow. I never thought I would even have my armor done by Halo Wars. And from the sounds of it, you are going from the ground up here. I have just been inspired to try and finish my armor.

 

[tomboy]

1-1: 31Jan2009

We've hit a snag. My driver's course ran late and the FedEx closed before I got out. Also, I wasn't able to get out and around town until after the fabric store closed. So, the only things I was able to work on was making a dummy of myself to eventually mold the armor on. I originally learned how to do this when I was thinking of making a Cortana costume and is meant to be used to create a dummy to sew on. It's relatively simple and only requires a few materials. So, after slipping into an ultra-constrictive boot camp bra (they shrink you two sizes), I began the process.



Step 1: Get the supplies<ul>[*]several rolls of Duct tape[*]Cling wrap[*]scissors[*]a friend[/list]
Step 2: Wrap yourself
After you gather all your supplies, start wrapping an area with cling wrap. I did individual pieces since I did not need a full dummy. Try to keep the wrap as smooth as possible to make the next step easier. And ironically, this will make you feel anything but fresh.

Step 3: Apply Duct Tape
Do not try to wrap the tape around like a bandage. It will just get wrinkled, you'll wrap yourself too tightly, cut off circulation and have purple extremities. I recommend using relatively short strips of duct tape. They are easier to control and you are less likely to wrap yourself too tightly. Keep it loose. You're trying to copy the shape of your body, not cut off circulation. Also, for harder pieces like the torso, get a friend. I didn't and will now have to redo that piece. Do two or more layers per piece. This will give the piece better support, allow yourself a little more room and help it retain the shape of your body.

Step 4/5: Make the cut and peel
Carefully cut the duct tape and cling wrap off of your body and gently peel it off.

Step 5: Tape it back up
Using very small strips of duct tape, tape the piece back together along the cut you just made. Bend it slightly as you go to help return it to it's original shape.

Step 6: Fill the inside with stuffing so the piece will stay the shape of your body and to give it some support.


I feel like I should be some sort of amazon/warrior chick.

 

[sirblood]

Well, at least the day wasn't a complete loss ^^;

I would have 1 piece of advice for you... I hope you had some clothing on under that duck tape otherwise whatever you make might be a little tight, and chest binding has been known to make it difficult to breathe... crap I've been to too many conventions... I actually just realized I know quite a bit about chest binding and its most certainly not from personal experience... lol

another trick is track down an old manequin... they aren't very expensive if you buy them used. add a little padding and you have a lot easier method than body casting... but your method sounds simple enough.

 

[HeavyGunner]

Hey good luck with this! I personally love the Mk IV armor. There's something amusingly retro about it. haha But hey just so you know, on a topic that was just started, MasterBest posted that he had the Mk IV files from the game. I pm'd him about it, and you might want to too. Not sure if that was the route you were planning on taking, but it sure would save time! I think it was titled something like, "Halo wars pep files"

 

[tomboy]

1-6: 05FEB09

Progress over the last few days has been more than disappointing. The last two days, I effectively came home, ate and passed out. However, decent progress was made tonight. I was able to work the clay more for an arm piece, downloaded an AR pep file, and ordered visors and these.

I don't think more perfect spartan gloves exist.

 

[Veritech017]

Someone finally making the MK IV Mjolnir? I'm keeping my eye on this thread.

 

[SPARTAN1803]

nice find on the gloves, i think i'll be getting that set as well once i get to where i need a undersuit

 

[animemannn]

if you got long slender fingers snow gloves look good with the grip on the palm.

 

[tomboy]

Well, obviously, I missed my deadline, and now that I live on a ship progress has slowed to little or none. My cat sitting on the Assault rifle (before I moved of course)didn't help either. However, I haven't given up. Just expect this project to take forever.

 

[Macattack64]

It can take longer than first assumed.. :\ I'm still working on mine.. and I think I'm a year in?