My Custom Build (Armoury Spartan)

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Shadow Of Intent

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Making a new thread each time I complete a different piece of armour seems a bit pointless and wasteful of thread space (Especially when I am a slow worker!). Instead, any updates on my spartan armour will be here in the first few posts (I'll include the most recent). The build is going to be mainly based on the picture from the Armoury on Halo Reach, although the colour scheme and shoulders are not yet final. Here's the progress so far... please comment on the design and pics, and I'll try to update the work frequently!

ARMOUR NOW COMPLETED!
 
Making a new thread each time I complete a different piece of armour seems a bit pointless and wasteful of thread space

Glad you realized this, since some people tend not to.

I don't think you really need to "reserve" posts for other pieces. That's the great thing about Work-in-progress threads; the progress in the thread comes with the actual progress on the build. Plus, there may be some other unexpected things you wanted to show/include.

Good luck with the build.
 
I know it's not entirely necessary, but I just find scrolling through the whole thread to find the progress pictures when they're right at the end or beginning, and the rest is full of other people's comments is counter productive (Although now you mention it, if those reserved spaces are just for my most recent pictures, they won't actually fulfill their purpose! n00b mistake XD... maybe toward the end I'll fill those spaces with all the stages of cmpletion for each part.)

And ironically, in reference to conserving forum/thread space, I accidentally re-submitted the thread somehow (I think I clicked back, and instead of "save comment" there was just a "submit thread" button. Another mistake already! Do you know if there's a proper way to delety the thread? So far I just renames it "Please Delete" and deleted everything inside it to make it more obvious. Cheers for the advice anyway!
 
And ironically, in reference to conserving forum/thread space, I accidentally re-submitted the thread somehow (I think I clicked back, and instead of "save comment" there was just a "submit thread" button. Another mistake already! Do you know if there's a proper way to delety the thread? So far I just renames it "Please Delete" and deleted everything inside it to make it more obvious. Cheers for the advice anyway!

I hope you post more than only finished product photos, as it's usually enjoyable to see how an individual accomplished something, since we all have our different ways of doing things. And like I said, you may come up with something new to do, or something specific you want to show. You never know where a project like this will take you!

As far as accidental posts, we've all done it. :) I'm fairly sure you can't delete your own thread. The best you can do is Report it, and in the reason, explain its an accidental repost. It should get the attention of a mod or admin that can delete it for you.
 
I'll try reporting the old thread, and don't worry... I won't just be posting finished photos: I'll use the rest of the thread for interesting points in the manufacturing process, as well as problems I encounter and stuff like testing them for size.

I've been looking for resin, and the only stuff I can find is online, although it says the polyester resin (Link) is for casting, so maybe it will be the really hard and clear stuff and not suitablke for pepakura?
 
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I've been looking for resin, and the only stuff I can find is online, although it says the polyester resin (Link) is for casting, so maybe it will be the really hard and clear stuff and not suitablke for pepakura?

If you can't get anything else, a casting resin will probably work, too. But you're in luck: That same seller also has polyester laminating resin. It's cheaper even.
 
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Thanks! Hadn't noticed that one. That seller also has 1.3kg for the same price (Although that's called "Easy laminating polyester resin", so dunno what the difference is"). I'll look into those and hopefully get on in the next week!
 
Thanks! Hadn't noticed that one. That seller also has 1.3kg for the same price (Although that's called "Easy laminating polyester resin", so dunno what the difference is"). I'll look into those and hopefully get on in the next week!

I'd just ask the seller :)

It seems that this is their own web store, with unknown shipping costs and without Amazon's guarantees, but with lower prices and more products.

Remember to buy safety equipment, but don't buy the mask they have, you can't replace the filters on that.
 
It seems that this is their own web store.

They also have some mold making stuff on their page (May have been a different seller, but worth a look if I ever consider casting)

An update on the resin situation... my dad has found a local supplier (Or at least a company with access to large quantities of resin) who do work with GRP, so if all goes according to plan I'll have some resin on monday without the need to use online sellers! It's also pretty annoying how the cost per square metre of fibreglass goes from about £3 to under £1 when spending a total of £10 and £40 respectively, so finding a company who'll let you have some "offcuts" for a small fee is definitely the best way to go if it's possible.
 
I now have about a litre of (Blue?!) resin, hardner, several square metres of thin fibreglass mesh, latex gloves and a jar of acetone. Does anyone bother with that little attachment on the top of the bicep, or is that just if you aren't putting shoulder pads on?

Also, I'm a bit concerened about the scaling of the bicep piece. I haven't actually been scaling anything I've made so far, and it doesnt seem to have been a problem until now. I checked the bicep against the gauntlet in the armoury, and it is about 81% the length of the gauntlet. It does feel very spacious at the top, but at the bottom it fits pretty well. Has anyone had any problems with the size of their bicep pieces, and regardless, how does the size of mine seem? Advice greatly needed!

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If you're unsure about the size, you can always just pep more pieces and see how they look on you before hardening any of them.
 
I was strongly considering making an 85% scale version, but It's 6 pages, which for me means another 5 ish hours of cutting and sticking. My page per hour ratio on average is just over 1, so I'm not sure if it's worth it. Where's the shrink ray when you need it!
 
Resized the biceps and the shoulders, so I'll cut them out soon and do a size comparison.

I've resined the outside of the hand plates (The blue resin turns into a pale yellow with thwe catalyst XD) and they've been drying almost an hour now. The ratio is supposedly "a pea of catalyst to a tennis ball of resin" which puts it at almost exactly 0.1%, which seems a little low to me. I was only mixing about 3 teaspoons of the resin though, so i guessed and put in several small drops from the tip of a screw (This probably puts in nearer 1% or 2% catalyst). I was able to scrape out the remainder from the plastic cap I mixed them in, and it had the texture of latex - Very eas to tear and rubbery, not hard. Is this normal for the curing process of resin, or do you think i have the wrong resin type / catalyst to resin ratio?

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Nice work so far. Looks great!

Cheers! I'm pretty good at pepping now... I just need to master the resin stage.

Update on the handplates... the resin seems to have almost fully hardened now, although it is still quite flexible (Though at least twice as strong than the card alone). Hopefully the fibreglass will give them the rigidity they need!
 
I've resined the helmet and fibreglassed the inside of one handplate now. The trouble with the fibreglass is that it seems to want to stick to the brush more than the handplate, and keeps fluffing outwards. Is there any way to prevent this? It's also turned the resin a funny shade of pink.

The resin is also giving me problems... I tried to match the supposed 0.1% catalyst more closely, and I used about 1/4 the ratio I used for the handplate exteriors (About half a golf ball of resin to 5 tiny drops from a screw head). It's been out in the sun for at least 3 hours now, and it's barely even tacky. It still leaves smears on my skin if I touch it. Do you think it will fully cure, or have I just ruined a helmet and a handplate? =( pics of both included below...

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I had that same problem on my first time with resin. U have to use more than 5 tiny drops of hardener. I pour out a few ounces of resin and use about 20-30 drops of hardener for one batch.

And don't worry about your already resined piece, just leave it to cure overnight and the next day and it will eventually harden up
 
It seems to be doing alright now. It's just the bits underneath that were left in the shade that are still sticky... but I'm sure they'll be fine if i leave it in the sun tomorrow.

I think I solved the mystery of the disintegrating fibreglass mesh too. One side is smooth and well held together, the other fluffs up when you rub it, so I guess I just placed it the wrong way round! The handplate is amazingly strong now, though I'm not sure if its the fibreglass or the double thick layer of resin it absorbed... maybe both XD
 
I think I solved the mystery of the disintegrating fibreglass mesh too. One side is smooth and well held together, the other fluffs up when you rub it, so I guess I just placed it the wrong way round!

Fibreglass mat is supposed to disintegrate when it comes into contact with resin. If you don't like that, you can try fibreglass cloth, where the fibres are woven instead of glued together.
 
Fibreglass mat is supposed to disintegrate when it comes into contact with resin. If you don't like that, you can try fibreglass cloth, where the fibres are woven instead of glued together.

I've read up on the cloth, and it's stronger but about twice as costly. I'll try tomorrow using the fibreglass the other way wound, but I think I can further improve the neatness by stippling rather than "painting" it (As suggested in the sticky threads).
 
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