Revenant's Metroid Prime Varia suit build

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Revenant1988

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Hello All,

I've wanted to tackle this build for a long time and I finally feel comfortable enough with my abilities to give it a try. One barrier that has always been in my way is a lack of good pep files. About a year ago I finally acquired the files I needed, though I had to pay for them. One thing I've learned after studying them is that just like the Spartans, Samus is not exactly real-world friendly. Simply put, her armor's proportion in the game are exaggerated quite a bit, and don't translate to well to your average Joe or Jane.

I'm not under any deadline for this build like I was with my previous one so I plan to take it very slow. I'm also doing this build as I remake my MK V suit with the goal to make an excellent master that I might be able to use to learn how to mold and cast with.

Here we go!

Varia Suit Build

While I was working on building one helmet, I stumbled upon a wonderfully talented RPF members Varia build, and had to check it out. Talaaya is creating an absolutely beautiful 3D printed suit, and she's also sharing her homemade pep files!

After comparing her version of Samus' helmet to the one I was pepping, I decided to use her superior (and way easier to build) file. I've had some... issues with scaling it :rolleyes

Whoops
SJOsxYhl.jpg

The one on the right is my first attempt. I tried using the same scale I did for my MK V helmet, and while it does fit, it is on the small side. I'm not a very big guy, but Samus' helmet presents some challenges. It's a bit flatter in the front, wide on the sides and elongated in the back.

The one on the left is after a 14% increase in size. Now it is too big. -_-

I'll end up re pepping it (hopefully perfectly) but I decided to go ahead and use it. Right now it is scaled for someone who is closer to 6 feet tall, so I might donate it to a friend, use it to mold someday, or just to use as a display piece.

I have no idea what I'll do with the child sized one. D'oh!

01geVThl.jpg

I think the work I did on this one was pretty clean. I opted to NOT fold the lines on the visor while I assembled it to make the curvature more pronounced. Hopefully that will pay off down the line.

I also went ahead and added some braces. The top of the helmet is a little too flat, and I needed to prop it up so future bondo work will be easier.

The braces are made out of dowel rods and hot glue.
UlGVKVkl.jpg


Here is is after 6 coats of resin (3 inside, 3 outside)

gF64AScl.jpg

After a days work, this is what I have.

SDomemVl.jpg

There are a couple areas I'll need to go back and add additional braces to such as the chin area. The top of the dome looks slightly misshapen but It will be pushed out once when I start glassing.


Progress in this build will likely be very, very slow. I have not decided how I'll be making the entire thing. I'm still a noob at foam but all you cool kids make it look so easy.


Thanks for reading :)

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UlGVKVkl.jpg


gF64AScl.jpg


SDomemVl.jpg
 
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Looks great so far! Very clean pep work.

You have to be careful with pepakura and Samus. Her proportions are so messed up that you will find some pieces are way too big and some are way too small. I made a Samus build where I did pep for the helmet and it looks like the same one you did, but I didn't like how the front part of the helmet fit on my face so I replaced the front part with the Samus from the Nintendo Papercraft website. Everything else I built with foam.

It was my very first armor build so it's not perfect, but I did try and document some of my progress here

Check it out and if you have any questions, just send me a message :)

Good luck!
 
Looks great so far! Very clean pep work.

You have to be careful with pepakura and Samus. Her proportions are so messed up that you will find some pieces are way too big and some are way too small. I made a Samus build where I did pep for the helmet and it looks like the same one you did, but I didn't like how the front part of the helmet fit on my face so I replaced the front part with the Samus from the Nintendo Papercraft website. Everything else I built with foam.

It was my very first armor build so it's not perfect, but I did try and document some of my progress here



Check it out and if you have any questions, just send me a message :)

Good luck!

Wow very nice scratch build! Thanks for sharing :)

Samus is indeed not shaped like a normal human, at least not any that I know haha. The Prime model of her in particular is not very accurate in terms of what a normal person is built, but the fun of this stuff is making it appear that way.

I admit I am excited and not excited at the same time to begin working on the torso area in particular :rolleyes

that is some great pep work, I am envious of how you can pull such a feat off.

Thank you! I don't mind the pepping stage of these projects at all- I think I have a natural talent for working with the paper, but when it comes to say, the bondo stage, I am an armature haha. Patience is what helps me pep.

Update time!

I had a chance to start glassing the helmet over the weekend and I gotta say, this one is really easy to do. The round shape and openness of it allows me to use somewhat large pieces of mat and that speeds the process quite a bit. The plan is to do 3 layers of glass- 2 mat and 1 cloth. I left the struts in for the first layer to prevent warping from the heat reaction of the resin. The last two layers they will be removed.

Here is a quick shot of the first layer of glass. Not really much to show in this stage but it is moving along well.
dt4YqTcl.jpg

Here is a shot of the outside. The helmet is starting to change color. On another note, I also had to fix the front of the re-breather area- I neglected to add a brace up there and it warped a little when I did the first coats of resin. Luckily, I was able to fix it by using my heat gun in that area and making it pliable enough to adjust with my hands. All I had to do then was just hold it in the shape I wanted as it cooled and it wasn't warped anymore! :D

Pi6hGJal.jpg

Just for fun, here is a bad picture of me blinking and holding the helmet- it is pretty big in comparison to me haha!

pdlV4RTl.jpg

Thanks for reading!

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Pi6hGJal.jpg


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Update!

Not much to show picture wise, but I spent all weekend finishing the last layers of fiberglass and first layers of bondo.

Man, I hate bondo. Hate it.

O1TYpwql.jpg

9TuU2vil.jpg

Doesn't look like much right now, kinda sloppy even. This is my fault for taking a picture after I put on my last layer of bondo for the day. This helmet so far has required a lot on top to round it out from its paper shell. This is relatively easy, just time consuming.

Not looking forward to spot putty... I am terrible with it :/

Thanks for viewing!

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any new updates? I have never seen a Samus build get this far and wanna see it completed

Ask and you shall receive...

Weekend update!

Still working on the bondo stage of this bucket right now. I work a little in the evenings when I have time but most of the progress I make is done on the weekend.

Went ahead and smoothed out the areas I've built up and rounded out thus far,

0MbUo6ol.jpg

JlzUllml.jpg

After more sanding, I decided to give a quick coat of primer to see the progress I've made and areas that still need any major work. The result? I've still got a long way to go..........

yAksz9el.jpg

BO5mdPol.jpg

PjxiUcnl.jpg

As you can see, I've still got plenty to do in most areas. Thankfully, the piece is very smooth in the areas it needs to be, I just have some holes to fill.

I'm not that good with spot putty..... anyone have any advice when using it?

What do you guys think so far?




Thanks for reading!

0MbUo6ol.jpg


JlzUllml.jpg


yAksz9el.jpg


BO5mdPol.jpg


PjxiUcnl.jpg
 
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Well, you say you have a ways to go, but that's sure one heck of a lot better than anything I can do with resin and bondo.
 
Need some help with Spot Putty :(

Halp!

Hey guys,

So I started to work on filling my imperfections and pin holes and I'm not having much luck with spot putty. I must be doing something wrong and could use some tips or advice if anyone here would be so kind.

The problem

So,

I take my putty and apply a reasonable amount to fill a pin hole or other small gap.

Then I smooth over it with a spreader.

The hole appears to be filled. I wait several hours for the putty to dry and cure.

I take high grit (fine) sandpaper and begin to sand away the excess putty I don't need

At this point, the putty that was in the hole or gap just pops out, re-exposing the hole.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I don't think I'm using too much force or an incorrect motion. The area around the hole is as smooth as butter but the hole just comes back, like the putty just covered the top but didn't penetrate the hole or fill it, or its getting pulled out (??) somehow.


What am I doing wrong? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!!
 
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Bondo can't do small holes. This is what Spot Putty is for but I am not sure which one you're using.

If you are having this problem with the spot putty, then you need to apply less! I generally try and only get the spot putty in the hole, and then use a 200 grit sandpaper to smooth it down. If you glop it and it covers beyond the hole, then when you sand it can dig it out of the hole. You also shouldn't use any low grit sandpapers, in theory this step is done after the rest of the helmet is smoothed down as much as 80grit will get it.

If you want to take the "glassed earth" approach, you can carve the hole bigger (not by much) and then apply some bondo, but that doesn't always work.
 
Bondo can't do small holes. This is what Spot Putty is for but I am not sure which one you're using.

If you are having this problem with the spot putty, then you need to apply less! I generally try and only get the spot putty in the hole, and then use a 200 grit sandpaper to smooth it down. If you glop it and it covers beyond the hole, then when you sand it can dig it out of the hole. You also shouldn't use any low grit sandpapers, in theory this step is done after the rest of the helmet is smoothed down as much as 80grit will get it.

If you want to take the "glassed earth" approach, you can carve the hole bigger (not by much) and then apply some bondo, but that doesn't always work.

I am using Spot putty for the small holes, not full on regular body filler. I've only used bondo itself as a hole filler for larger holes, but the ones I have on this helmet are maybe no bigger than the tip of a ball point pen.

Perhaps I'm using too much as you said. I've got a feeling when I apply it that its not filling the hole, its just covering it, like there is still air trapped below.

I've never applied spot putty that early in the sanding process ( 60-80 grit stage) so I will definitely keep that in mind for the future, though I fear it is too late now as I've already moved onto higher levels. The piece overall is very smooth, probably the best I've done but the holes.... damn them.

Thanks for the advice Katsu!
 
Halp!

Hey guys,

So I started to work on filling my imperfections and pin holes and I'm not having much luck with spot putty. I must be doing something wrong and could use some tips or advice if anyone here would be so kind.

The problem

So,

I take my putty and apply a reasonable amount to fill a pin hole or other small gap.

Then I smooth over it with a spreader.

The hole appears to be filled. I wait several hours for the putty to dry and cure.

I take high grit (fine) sandpaper and begin to sand away the excess putty I don't need

At this point, the putty that was in the hole or gap just pops out, re-exposing the hole.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I don't think I'm using too much force or an incorrect motion. The area around the hole is as smooth as butter but the hole just comes back, like the putty just covered the top but didn't penetrate the hole or fill it, or its getting pulled out (??) somehow.


What am I doing wrong? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated!!

Try filling the back of your holes, put tape on outside, cover about 1/2 inch around (from inside with rondo maybe!) remove the tape and then fill from outside if you need (rondo might go out a little on the outside forming kind of a rivet!)
It should stay in place :)
 
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You may want to try roughing up the inside of the holes with a file, to give the spot putty more room to grip. Also, be sure to clean them out. If there is bondo dust or anything in there, it will prevent the putty from setting in.

Lastly, I had heard that it's best to let the putty sit for at least three hours, and as much as 24 hours to give it time to fully cure. If you apply it and sand as soon as it "looks" dry, it may be too soon.
 
Update Time!

Hey guys!

I meant to post some progress before I went on vacation but there just wasn't enough time. I was still having some trouble with the spot putty after trying the suggestions above so I decided to grab a new tube to be sure it wasn't just me- turns out the putty I had must have gone bad as the problems I was having disappeared with the new tube, so that was good news.

I got the helmet pretty smooth and even, and then hit it with some white primer.

0l8Ow0tl.jpg

8MlijpKl.jpg

I am pretty pleased with it so far, but there are a few places where I sanded too hard and it became more angular on a few spots where it needs to be round. So, yeah, I got more bondo work to do :rolleyes


I really needed to take a break from bondo though, and decided to tackle how to address the rear helmet vents. The model I have for the helmet does not have this feature built in, so it has to be done by hand. I went to a local art store and bought some air dry clay to try out.

I taped off a guide line to follow, and then scored the area I wanted the clay to join to. Hopefully, the lines I cut in will help promote adhesion of the clay.

eFnhz97l.jpg

Here is what it looked like when the clay was applied, still wet.

5V8ym4Hl.jpg

Here is a shot about two days after I had applied it. You might be able to tell, but the clay was still plenty moist.

S2uisI7l.jpg

Apparently it takes several days to dry all the way through, and it shrinks just a tiny bit. Right now it has had plenty of time to cure, and is hard and ready to start sanding and carving.

I hope to have more progress pics this week.

Thanks for reading!

0l8Ow0tl.jpg


8MlijpKl.jpg


eFnhz97l.jpg


5V8ym4Hl.jpg


S2uisI7l.jpg
 
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Your helmet is coming along nicely. It's kind of strange that the back vents weren't part of the original model but you filled that gap well. Looking forward to more updates.
 
Applying clay to your builds? You're a braver person than I; the thought of working with the stuff terrifies me.

The build looks amazing so far, even if it's not as smooth as you'd hoped right now.
 
Your helmet is coming along nicely. It's kind of strange that the back vents weren't part of the original model but you filled that gap well. Looking forward to more updates.

The creator for this model originally had vents in, but she figured it would be less of a headache to smooth out that area then add fins in later
 
The creator for this model originally had vents in, but she figured it would be less of a headache to smooth out that area then add fins in later

Who actually provided these files? I'd like to get my hands on them, if they're still available somewhere.
 
Who actually provided these files? I'd like to get my hands on them, if they're still available somewhere.


You can find the files in my first post, linking to the original authors thread. Her files are shared on her blog and are very well done. They are a WIP, so you won't find everything, not yet at least.

I have 3 different files for the helmet, each of them different yet not one of them has the back vents.

The helmet I am building now is quite large, and is more suited to someone who's 6ft or taller. I'm still working on it because I think it will look great on a shelf for display, but as a master copy it is already very heavy due to the size, bondo and now clay.

I do plan to pep myself a smaller version that fits me much better- but for now I'm using this as practice. I really want to get into molding and casting and would love to do this helmet.

This will be a very long build for me haha.
 
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