**Carpathia's Mk VI Armor: Master Chief Going into Cryostasis!

Loads of awesomeness in this thread. The paint job is gorgeous, and the blackwashing method is really good, I'm bookmarking this for further projects! In the meantime, I'm keeping an eye on this awesome thread! Keep up the good work!

Redshirt said:

I have a couple of tips I've learned on these two topics. Spot putty was a lifesaver, but brittle and prone to cracking and chipping when flexed. It is also slow drying and prone to shrinkage if you use a lot. My fiberglass supplier talked me into using Auto body Icing by USC. It is a catalyzed spot filler that is fast curing (because it is polyester resin based) and very easy to sand with a much finer 'grain' than Bondo. I'll never go back to the toluene-based red stuff--just a much more predictable and stable result. I got mine at NAPA, but here's a place that features it:

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/usc-icing-polyester-finishing-putty-p-10969.aspx

For black washing, I have two solutions. Sometimes I use mineral spirits. It is thicker and less volatile than paint thinner so it flows out with less likelihood of attacking the base paint. If my base paint is spray paint, the most susceptible to oil-based solvents, I'll use an acrylic black in with a 50/50 mix of water and rubbing alcohol along with a couple of drops of dish soap (to help everything get along). Also, if my black wash is too harsh, I'll add a little brown or my base color to soften the effect. Another trick I use to keep the effect soft is to airbrush in subtle shadowing before the black wash.

Redshirt

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Wow! I will definitely take a look at the auto body icing in the future. As of now, the $25 for a 24oz tube is a little out of my price range. I had thought of using mineral spirits rather than thinner, but by applying a few coats of clear coat before I blackwash, the thinner does not attack the paint job, but the clear coat. I may look into using brown in certain places rather than black in future builds, it may look good down on the boots and shins where you would be treading through mud. Thanks for the advice!

ZMX said:

Loads of awesomeness in this thread. The paint job is gorgeous, and the blackwashing method is really good, I'm bookmarking this for further projects! In the meantime, I'm keeping an eye on this awesome thread! Keep up the good work!

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Thanks! It's always nice to hear words of praise.

Well, I didn't get any work done this weekend as I was out of town. I did bring home my cod piece though, so I can work on that soon. Tomorrow, I plan on starting the bondo process on my biceps and attempting to finish them up by the end of the week. Like my thighs, I will have to wait on the electronics since I seem to have misplaced my blue LEDs. Hopefully I find them soon.

This is an incredible build. I love the attention to detail that you have, and the undersuit looks fantastic. I'm not a huge fan of the blue LED lighting, but to each their own.

Keep up the great work!

TheRabbit said:

I'm not a huge fan of the blue LED lighting, but to each their own.

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Well, you know, it's just part of the attention to detail. Master Chief's armor lights (with the exception of the lights in his helmet) were blue in Halo 3. If I was doing what MacAttack64 has done and creating a custom multiplayer Mk VI suit, then the LEDs would be that respective color. However, blue is my favorite color, so I'm loving the blue LEDs.

I started working on the padding for the forearms last night since it was too hot to bondo. I'm taking pictures as I go and will post a mini-tutorial on how I pad my armor soon.

Ok, here's that mini-tutorial I mentioned. First off, the material I use for padding...



This is called Poly-fil foam. It's mainly used for furniture padding and other random crafts. It works perfectly as a padding for this armor.

The first thing I did was figure out the shape. I did this by cutting a square section that fit around my forearm and shaping it by placing it into the armor and trimming. This is what I ended up with...




Now, that would be good enough for a lot of people, but frankly, I can't stand the feeling of that stuff. It has a habit of snagging on the rough parts of my skin, and every time I would put my hand through, I know I'd cringe. The feeling of this stuff to me is like nails on a chalkboard is to others. It's great stuff, I just don't like the way it feels, so, I cover it in some cloth...

I cut a section of black cloth large enough to fold over the foam piece...



Then I pin the sides together...



...and sew two edges, leaving an opening...



Then I pull out the poly-fil foam, turn the sewed up cloth inside out, and reinsert the foam so the seams are on the inside of the pad. Then I sew up the remaining side. I do this for both shapes...



Now comes attaching the padding to the inside of the armor. For this, I use velcro...



I cut a few strips to size for each piece...



Now, this is where I may get a few concerned comments about how I do this. I could sew the velcro onto the pad, but the type of velcro I have (which was free for me) has sticky, plastic backing, very difficult to punch a needle through, so I glue...



Yup, hot glue holds onto this stuff beautifully...



Finally, one by one, I pull the backing off the connecting pieces of velcro, add some glue and put the padding into the armor, attaching the velcro to the inside...




And we're finished...



And here are a few shots of the gauntlet on my arm...




Keep in mind that this is the way I install my padding. The reason I use velcro is in case I ever need to clean or replace the padding for any reason, it's removable.

Anyway, hope at least someone enjoyed that. Of course, that means that my gauntlets are finished. I should have an updated completion picture up soon. As I've mentioned, it's been far too hot outside to bondo my biceps. It's really starting to be a problem. I leave for vacation on Saturday and will not be back until the end of the month, so it's likely that I will not get to work on my biceps until then. Hopefully the heat breaks by then.

Let me know what you think.

I think that was a fantastic tut. I will be useingit as a refrence for when I pad my stuff for sure lol.
As far as to hot to bondo, I know what u mean. I live in las vegas and it has been above 110 most of the week. Bleh lol
Have fun on your lazy days

Very nice tutorial, I'll probably be doing something very similar with my armor. Is that poly-fil stuff expensive? Could you use something like the bags of pillow stuffing instead?

TheRabbit said:

Very nice tutorial, I'll probably be doing something very similar with my armor. Is that poly-fil stuff expensive? Could you use something like the bags of pillow stuffing instead?

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The poly-fil foam was fairly inexpensive. I got the large roll you see in the first picture for less than $20. It comes in smaller sections as well for less $$. You might be able to get away with the pillow stuffing, but since I have no experience with that stuff, I couldn't say for sure.

I really liked your tutorial, very clear and easy to follow. I think that making the padding removable is a great idea, I can only imagine what sweaty Mjolnir armour smells like.

Mstruvmgc said:

I think that was a fantastic tut. I will be useingit as a refrence for when I pad my stuff for sure lol.

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Nessy said:

I really liked your tutorial, very clear and easy to follow. I think that making the padding removable is a great idea, I can only imagine what sweaty Mjolnir armour smells like.

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Thanks! Your comments keep me motivated to complete this project. I don't have a lot of people around me who would really enjoy this, so I draw much of my inspiration and motivation from here.

The padding looks great! I didn't cover mine but I painted it black. You don't really see it or notice.

Macattack64 said:

The padding looks great! I didn't cover mine but I painted it black. You don't really see it or notice.

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Well, you're wearing that pressure suit under your armor. So, you probably don't need any padding do you?

I only have padding in the helmet, forearms, and shins. I also put a square of foam at the top of the biceps to space them a little bit

Ok, I just made a HUGE improvement to my thighs. The actual modification was small, but the impact is gigantic. Before this improvement, I could put the thighs on fine, but when it came time to put my shins and boots on, I could not bend my leg sufficiently. To top it off, the back ridge of the bottom opening was digging into my tendon on the back of my knee, bruising it. So, I did this...




I took my Dremel cutting wheel and cut about an inch off the back half of the opening. Now, not only can I bend my leg, but I can kneel (important for the highly requested t-bagging, I'm sure)!!

That's awesome! I have a feeling I will be doing the same thing to mine lol

I feel for you man, I had to do the same thing to my thigh pieces, your looks alot better than the plain arch I gave mine, nice job

Comfort is important. What's the point of having mjolnir armour if it can't be worn?

I don't think I had much of a problem with mine, but honestly, it wouldn't hurt to do it. It just adds to your mobility and comfort.

I remember doing that to my thigh pieces on my MC build last year. But since this build that I'm working on now has foam thighs, I don't need to cut those parts out, really.

I also would like to say that your build has been of great inspiration to me. I look back through your thread almost all of the time for references and ideas that I probably would not have thought of before-- like the treads on the bottom of the boots-- and when I feel like I need inspiration, I also look at your thread for that extra boost of morale. I love seeing what you have to offer next and I can't wait to see this finished!

Keep up the great work!

-Alexis

I went back a page and saw how you put the foam in. Since I am almost done pepping the parts, and getting ready to resin/fiberglass, I was thinking ahead to padding. Good tips, and I hope that you don't mind that I try out your technique. Thanks, and great job!!