Spitfire22V's LD Mark VI build - Now Completed

Spitfire22V said:

Thanks man!

Yup, foamboard should be available at Wal-Mart. Also, Staples, Office Depot, CVS, etc. I definitely think foamboard would work just fine for a Sniper. For the record, I'm using about 4-6 layers for the weapons. At that thickness, they tend to have some weight, stiffness, and sturdiness, but are still super light for their size.


I'm going to be starting another weapon with foamboard again soon, and this time it will be a bit bigger than a Magnum.

Edit: Just realized you said posterboard instead of foamboard. You did mean foamboard, right?

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oh lol foamboard is what i need I guess also I picked some up thanks for your help man.
keep up the epicness and catch you on XBL

Hyperballistik said:

Hey Spitfire great job getting the M6 attached to the thigh piece, I tried to do this also but failed, I hardened my pistol with Smooth Cast and the gun got to heavy for the magnets to hold, Do you plan to hide the magnets on the pistol, or paint black over them, also they do sell foamboard at Walmart saw it there the other day, are you planning on doing a sliced MA5? hope so I'd like to dee how a sliced one turns out but overall its going to look cool having a sidearm attached to your leg VS having to carry it the whole time

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Thanks man! Too bad it didn't work out for your Magnum; it's so cool and I've been playing with it constantly, pulling it on an off the thigh. If I remember to, I'll try to weigh my finished pistol. I didn't take photos of it, but I did Bondo and sand the magnet installation in the pistol, and then painted it black to match the grip. It's not perfectly smooth due to the dried epoxy under it, but it's not a big deal.

At first, I was going to do an AR, since it's the Chief's iconic weapon, but I think I'm going with the BR. Seems a little easier to build, and I haven't seen too many of them. :cool

RoxyRoo said:

I couldn't resist. It was just too good to pass up. XDD
<3

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OMG! Hahahahaha! I love this much! Thanks for doing this, it came out perfect! It would be so cool to see this "demotivational" poster gain popularity all over gaming forums. :cool

workbook51 said:

oh lol foamboard is what i need I guess also I picked some up thanks for your help man.
keep up the epicness and catch you on XBL

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Foamboard seems to be a great material for making weapon props. Light, cheap, easy to work with, and sturdy. Thanks for the comments, and feel free to send me an invite when you see me online! I'm always looking to avoid having to play with randoms, who tend to suck...

Well, I've got another little update on the upgrading of my suit. Let's just say that when I finished, I took a look at my suit.

Then I looked at other people's suits.

Then I looked back at mine.

And thought..."NEEDS MOAR LIGHTS". :cool

So that's exactly what I did, considering that I had enough LED's, switches, batteries and accessories for about 4 more light installations. I decided to add LED lights in the chest piece, since I had enough lights to keep it "even", and it had lots of room for the components.

First, I cut out the openings for the lights. For the front of the chest, I went with those little "vents" under the pecks.


For the back of the chest, I chose the bottom vents. (Pretty much the standard places people install lights on the chest piece).


I created the LED mounts using hobby-grade plywood.


I also created two 9V battery holders out of wood. The batteries are strapped to these mounts using velcro straps.


The "windows" were cut out of random sheets of semi-opaque plastic that I had laying around from somewhere. I used small amount of hot glue applied with a toothpick to install them.


Finally, all that was left was to wire and solder the circuits up, which I did last night.

Front off.


Front on.


Back off.


Back on.


Very last step was to glue patches of vinyl over the light installations to hide any light "leakage" from the inside.




Here's the view from the outside, all lit up. What do you think?




*BONUS PHOTO*
My BR plans all taped up and ready for cutting and transfer to foamboard. It should be about a 3 ft long when finished.


Thanks for stopping by!

Looking fantastic Spitfire! I just love all the extra goodies people add once they "finish" their armor . Keep up the great work.

Man, I'm really impress with how far you have pushed the low def model. And its great to see someone who posts as often as I do. There is just something fun about keeping a running record of the build. I can't wait to see more from the BR build.

The most interesting detail for me is that my local electronics store sells the exact same 9V battery clips. More proof that everything we buy comes from China :-D

I like your attention to detail by the way. Everything neatly packed away in heatshrink tubes. Nice!

I see that Light... And now you're just adding to my build aren't you? Now I know I have light it Too. Of course I have to say thanks for showing me how.

You're build just keeps getting better and better. Keep me drooling....I mean posted.

Neoproks said:

Looking fantastic Spitfire! I just love all the extra goodies people add once they "finish" their armor . Keep up the great work.

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Thanks! I'm sure you've heard the expression "you never really finish a project, you just stop working on it". Definitely true for this hobby!

Starvinartist80 said:

Man, I'm really impress with how far you have pushed the low def model. And its great to see someone who posts as often as I do. There is just something fun about keeping a running record of the build. I can't wait to see more from the BR build.

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Thanks! Yes, it was quite a joy for me to add the little custom details myself to bring the low-def pieces to life. I'm fairly sure that I have the most detailed low-def suit around. Though, as I've previously stated, if I were to do it again, I would go with the HD files to obtain that relief that I was unable to duplicate. I also really enjoy sharing my progress and work with others so that they may possibly benefit from it. My camera is always at my worktable, with 3 charged batteries, so it's always ready!

ventrue said:

The most interesting detail for me is that my local electronics store sells the exact same 9V battery clips. More proof that everything we buy comes from China :-D

I like your attention to detail by the way. Everything neatly packed away in heatshrink tubes. Nice!

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Thanks man! Yeah, no surprise there about the battery clips. They're probably the same all over the world!

As for the wiring, I attribute all my ability/neatness to my father patiently teaching me how to solder, since he is much more into electronics than I am. I feel like I'm still not that experienced with it, but I'm getting better and more confident at it. Still, I look at that wiring and wonder how I could have made it even neater.

thorn696 said:

I see that Light... And now you're just adding to my build aren't you? Now I know I have light it Too. Of course I have to say thanks for showing me how.

You're build just keeps getting better and better. Keep me drooling....I mean posted.

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Haha thanks Thorn, and sorry about adding to your work load! Don't worry, you won't regret it; the lights really bring the suit to life. Glad to hear my build is giving you the same reaction that yours does to me, namely, drooling. lol Keep building man, you're going to have a suit we're all envious of!

Awesome! just plain awesome! the feet are great, i like the way you use those wood pieces as details, the thighs, i like the way you made the inner black parts, and the magnum is looking great! if i may, i think the details are a little bit hard to notice because they aren't raised high enough, maybe on your next build, you can try using some thin foam? ~~ Someone get this guy into the Elite forums!

I just finished some HD forearms and a bicep, and I am over the HD models after looking at your suit. I like your poster board mods, and that is what I'll be going with. Just to many little folds with HD models. Thanks for posting all your steps, it has given me alot of good ideas, and I am sure alot of other people find the info useful too.

hi i want to start making armor and i want to use this type of armor, Mark IV. i have paperkura downloaded, but i cant find files for it!
can i have the link you used for this AWESOME set or armor?! sorry for being a N00B!

THX!

RogueSeven said:

Awesome! just plain awesome! the feet are great, i like the way you use those wood pieces as details, the thighs, i like the way you made the inner black parts, and the magnum is looking great! if i may, i think the details are a little bit hard to notice because they aren't raised high enough, maybe on your next build, you can try using some thin foam? ~~ Someone get this guy into the Elite forums!

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Thanks! Yes, some of the details parts aren't that visible, though it helps to see it in person. Still, it doesn't compare to the depth of the HD parts. Appreciate the comments.

paulrb02 said:

I just finished some HD forearms and a bicep, and I am over the HD models after looking at your suit. I like your poster board mods, and that is what I'll be going with. Just to many little folds with HD models. Thanks for posting all your steps, it has given me alot of good ideas, and I am sure alot of other people find the info useful too.

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I hope my thread serves to inspire or provide helpful ideas to others as the complete their own armor! An LD suit can be made to look rather good provided one is willing to put in enough effort. Though, looking back, I wouldn't have minded an HD suit. Oh well!

TheEpicPerson99 said:

hi i want to start making armor and i want to use this type of armor, Mark IV. i have paperkura downloaded, but i cant find files for it!
can i have the link you used for this AWESOME set or armor?! sorry for being a N00B!

THX!

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Please check out the All-in-One Halo Pepakura pack and the Halo Pepakura File Index for just about all Halo Pep files you will need, including those used in my armor.

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Well, I know I haven't posted in my thread in a long time. I was away on vacation for 3 weeks, and recently decided to get back into my "first" hobby of radio-controlled airplanes.

However, I did more work on the BR before I left over 4 weeks ago. The main hold-up was not wanting to continue on the model until I finished the magnetic magazine, and I had to wait for weeks to get more rare-earth magnets. I got them right before I left.

Copied the main body template on the black foamboard.


Cut out the 6 slices/pieces for the main body.


I had an old 7.62 dummy round, as well as an unused blank. I could have used the dummy on it's own, but the blank's shell was longer, so I wanted to use that.




I cut off the top crimps from the blank, and manually fired off the primer (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME LIKE I DID, though I did use heavy gloves and ear protection).




I used the rest of my epoxy putty to mold the rough shape of a bullet similar to what I did for the Pistol ammo. Still haven't finish shaped it though.

And that's it really. Not much. Not even sure if I'll ever finish the BR. Baltimore Comic Con is coming up this Saturday, so no time to finish it for that. Maybe I just need a break from prop making. Maybe I'll finish it before Halo-ween, and Halo: CE Anniversary release.

Thanks for stopping by!

hey it looks great so far man..... what did you use for under armor and what grade cardstock did you use?

Pack hunter said:

hey it looks great so far man..... what did you use for under armor and what grade cardstock did you use?

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The under armor is, well...Under Armour brand spandex in black. That's it. I might try to figure out a way to improve the detail using the rest of the vinyl material I have, but for now, the suit is hot enough when you wear it...

As for the cardstock weight, I'm not sure since I didn't use regular printer cardstock like everyone else (I didn't know you could buy it in 8.5" x 11" for printers like regular paper). I ended up buy posterboard and measuring and cutting out the sheets myself. Tedious yes, but it worked. It was at least 100 lb cardstock, which is what you should use to get strong Peps. Got to Wal-Mart, Target, Staples, or Office Depot and look around where their computer paper is; you're bound to find it.

that looks awesome man and the armor looks great, keep up the great work =D and good luck

Well, yesterday was the first day of Baltimore Comic Con 2011, my first con ever, and my first time wearing my Chief suit in public....

IT WAS AWESOME!!

It was probably the closest I'll ever be to being a celebrity and having paparazzi following you around. I posed with dozens of people (at least), and probably had my photo taken hundreds of times! It was so cool to walk into a room and have people turn around and gasp, and stare at you with a smile on their face. I heard at least a few people say "That's the best costume here", people were calling out "Hey Master Chief!", and overall the reaction was phenomenal. Even outside on the streets walking to the convention center from the car, my crew was worried that cars were going to crash because they were staring at me as they drove by!

After a few hours of roaming the convention floor, it was time to head to the costume contest at 3:00 PM. They divided all the costumes into groups, and I was in the "Male, Over 13, Non-Superhero" group. When they called me up, I walked down the aisle, got up on stage and "performed" a bit for the crowd and the judges, strutting my stuff. The applause and cheering from the crowd was the loudest it had been so far! When all the contestants had presented, the winners were announced. I'm pleased to say that I was

WINNER
MALE, OVER 13, NON-SUPERHERO CATEGORY
Prizes:
-One $100 gift certificate to Cards, Comics, and Collectibles of Reisterstown Maryland
-Two free passes to Baltimore Comic Con 2012
-Free passes for a sneak preview of the upcoming Avengers movie.
-Various hats, T-shirts, and random other swag for participating.

Baltimore Comic Con 2011 Costume Contest

Unfortunately, I did not win the overall Best Costume and the $1000 grand prize. However, I'm fairly sure I would have won if it were not for the incredible 9 ft tall Optimus Prime costume that did win! Honestly, he deserved it, and I'm glad I lost to such a spectacular costume.

I'd like to thank my sister Aline, her bf Dennis, and my friends Luis and Rebecca for being my awesome costume crew and helping me throughout the day. Couldn't have done it without them!

Suit malfunctions:
To my pleasant surprise, very little.
Right when I got in, I had a thigh-codpiece strap come loose. This was quickly repaired with the hot glue gun I brought in my emergency repair kit. Then, over the course of the day, 2 more thigh-codpiece straps came loose. This happens when I sit down, as it puts too much stress on those straps. But I had to sit down, I was just too tired sometimes.

Walking to the convention center from the car. Hadn't put the neck guard on yet.


First group of amazed admirers. Note the magnetic Magnum in action, working perfectly!


Ready to hit the convention floor (and to get swamped by photographers).






The children were great. They had awesome costumes themselves, and kept telling me "I play your game!" lol!




Met up with an ODST. Sorry I didn't get your name or screenname. I believe he told me he saw my build on here and he'd post pics on the 405th, if I heard correctly in all the chaos. Awesome suit though! And this photo really shows that I don't really have the proper height to pull off the Chief correctly.




Link (who ended up winning the Male, Under 13, non-superhero category later in the day)




Awesome posing with these guys. At the contest, they got a standing ovation for stating that they were here representing those that couldn't.


All the category winners, including yours truly.


And me with Optimus. You HAVE to admit, it is an incredible costume.




To anyone who has never been to a con in your Halo costume, I highly recommend it! It was incredibly fun, and it's nice to enjoy your 15 minutes of fame. For the time you're in costume, you take on a completely different persona, and it's great.

Thanks for stopping by!

Epic build is epic. Btw, the guy who dressed up as Optimus is pretty epic as well. lol.

Very cool, Spitfire22V! Congratulations! Awesome photos.

Here is the pic we took. It took me awhile to find your thread again. I wish i had my Kashyyyk trooper costume on. You and the ODST looked real good. The ODST is a member of the 501st Garrison Carida.

Looks like it was allot of fun. Pic's turned out looking great. And finely CONGRATS on you're win.