Hello

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 15, 2014

• #1

Hi, My name is Cameron, I am 14 years old (turning 15 in January) and i live in a small town called Freeling, which is in South Australia, Australia. I heard of the 405th through pictures and different pages on facebook and so far i have been amazed by what people have come up with. I guess what i am hoping to do here is to learn new techniques and learn how i can become a cosplayer as i have never cosplayed before and i really want to. I am unemployed and am still in school. I love all the halos equally, apart from wars (bit different, didn't have the same feel) and ODST (your not the chief, story wasn't the best). My other interests include reading, video games, projects, sleeping and watching Rooster Teeth, more clearly Achievement Hunter and Red Vs Blue. I hope to have fun and make friends with you guys, i think i'll make my project a halmet to start off easy maybe the mk vi from halo 3 or the mk v helmet from 3 or 4.

 

Z

Zaff

Well-Known Member

Colonial Regiment

• Aug 15, 2014

• #2

Welcome to the 405th. Feel free to browse around and gather information, watch tutorials, ask questions, check out other builds to see the techniques being used and get a feel for what you think will work best for you. As exciting as it is to want to jump right in and start building, sometimes it's better to take a little time, get a grasp on what's involved in it, and start putting together a plan. The New Recruits section is full of helpful threads (conveniently titled as "Help for ____") that will get you started, and provide categorical places to ask any questions you may have on any aspect of the process.

Again, as exciting as the thought of jumping right in can be, don't feel like you have to rush right into building a suit to be a part of the community. I've been here a little over two years and have yet to complete even one full piece, much less an entire suit.

 

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 16, 2014

• #3

yeah i'm going to start small, i've only been on for maybe a week or 2 but because i have school i only got round to it now. i'm going to start small with helmet, finally got the paper and figured out how to scale, will still need to do a lot of reading before i continue.

 

Z

Zaff

Well-Known Member

Colonial Regiment

• Aug 16, 2014

• #4

In some ways the helmet isn't the best place to start because of size and complexity. It's often better to start with something smaller and more simple to get a feel for the pep process. I've been thinking the Destiny Ghost model that Demogorgon made is probably a great introductory piece (you can find his thread or pull the file from the link in my signature). It has an even blend of large and small structures while being overall fairly simple in shape. Great for getting the feet wet, so to speak.

 

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 17, 2014

• #5

yeah i have looked around on the pep database and i was also thinking like a frag grenade but i'm going to have a look at the ghost. i've already printed out the helmet, but i am going to put it aside when i have a look at the ghost

 

Z

Zaff

Well-Known Member

Colonial Regiment

• Aug 17, 2014

• #6

Another method (although still a little bit wasteful) is to print a model on regular printer paper and do a practice run, just to get use to the process and familiarize yourself with that particular piece before building it with the cardstock. If something goes wrong, it's better to have to trash a plain paper mock-up than the higher quality (and more expensive) cardstock. I've put together 4 helmets so far, and only one was cardstock.

 

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 17, 2014

• #7

that is a good idea, i downloaded the pep database and i saw that a frag grenade is only like 7 pieces. i think i'll do your idea of normal paper first with the ghost and grenade before i continue with the mk vi helmet

 

Z

Zaff

Well-Known Member

Colonial Regiment

• Aug 18, 2014

• #8

It's a good way to get used to the way things fit together and practice lining the numbers up (before printing always check the "2D" dropdown menu and make sure "Show Edge ID has a checkmark, otherwise there won't be any numbers to work with; sometimes unfolders forget to turn Edge IDs back on when they're done).

 

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 18, 2014

• #9

out of curiosity how long did it take you from when you first started to your first actual pep build?

 

Z

Zaff

Well-Known Member

Colonial Regiment

• Aug 18, 2014

• #10

Honestly that's a bit of a hard number to figure. When I just sat down and pepped a helmet from printing to finished paper model, like I did with the JFO, it took maybe two days working about 5-6 hours each day. When I just did a little here or there whenever the mood struck (never really putting more than an hour at any given time) like I did with the H3 Rogue, that ended up taking me several months. At this point I haven't done anything beyond the paper stage on any build, mainly due to a lack of funds for obtaining resin and fiberglassing materials, so I can't give a personal time estimate for the full process. That you would have to ask more experienced members for.

 

Lazkin

RXO and RMO

Midwest Regiment

• Aug 18, 2014

• #11

Time to build varies for me. I might be able to jam something out in a week, or it might take months.
Tiny pieces are my personal bane...
Basically I think it boils down to how complicated the piece is vs how familiar you are with it.
I can do a complete Mk 6 Chief in under 10 hours (pepakura only) but a set of leg armor may take twice that long.
But, you have to go at the pace that lets you go at a good pace but not sacrifice detail and quality.

 

M

Mr Boombas

New Member

Australian Regiment

• Aug 19, 2014

• #12

yeah today before school i tried doing a h3 frag grenade, didn't work out when i tried to fold it, should point out this was normal paper, on the other hand i'm making good time with my Mk 6 chief helmet as i'm half way through cutting it out compleatly, should i start a new thread when i finish cutting all the pieces out on a project or i can start whenever when i do a project?

 

G

Gilmortar

Member

Southern Regiment

• Aug 19, 2014

• #13

As you probably know, cardstock is a bit more expensive. But the good ole moniker "measure twice, cut once" is just as practical in pepakura.

Take your time...and DON'T RUSH!

I don't really use pepakura but the same goes for building any costume in any method. When you rush...you won't be happy with the results. I know when I was your age I wanted it done NOW.... but believe me, have patience and TAKE...YOUR....TIME.... use that cardstock, make clean precise cuts and then take your time folding the parts and glueing them together and you'll find your build becoming of that of the elite statuses...