First build, or "How to Anger Your Housemates in 5 Easy Steps!" (Pic Heavy)

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colinmon22

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Merry Christmas all!

So I'm finally getting around to building some armor - something thats been on my to do list for years now. I'm going for a MkVI (because there are never too many of those \sarcasm), but it will be slightly modded. I have some ambitious plans that I'll get to later in this post. First up though, I finished the helmet pep tonight. Theres some warpage in the front, but that can be fixed (I hope) When I apply resin using some props as shown below. But enough chit-chat, heres some pics:

0x9uo.jpg

Looks good from this angle.




xa5GI.jpg

wah-wah




gtSy3.jpg

Proof of concept of a support strut that will fix warping while I resin it. Other suggestions welcome.




GRxln.jpg

Here it is on me for reference. It might be a tad bit big, but I'll wait and see how it looks with the rest of the armor to decide if I should redo it or not.




cOQxi.jpg

I noticed that I never see much detail like this in the pep builds. The file I used had templates for details, so I made a few layers and glued them on to the visor. Not sure If I'll kick myself for this later or not, but I hope it will lead to less work during the bondo stage.




r6oIg.jpg

I also notice that the neck details are often ignored on most MkVI builds. Since I couldn't find any good reference pics, I decided to take some artistic license on the details. Also, the warpage in the back isn't nearly as bad as it looks in this picture.




jS0un.jpg

Note: custom neck details also double as awesome mustaches.




Now for my ambitious plan: Helmet electronics.
I plan on having the standard LEDs and fan inside, but I figure that even without the fan, everything's probably a pretty muffled and hard to hear, so why not help improve that? I want to try putting microphones in the crevice near each ear, pictured here:
NlCY9.jpg





and have them wired to some headphones that are secured inside. I also figured that my voice will probably be muffled as well, so why not have a microphone toggle-able but a push switch near my chin, that is wired to speakers in the front vents (pictured below)?
ue8WL.jpg





And as if thats not going to be challenging enough, I want to modify the left forearm to house my smartphone, and have the headphones in the helmet also wired to the headphone jack. I figure I could have some sort of switch that toggles between the external mics and my phone. No pics for reference on this one, sorry. Anyways, I hope to have this thing done by Comic-Con. I figure 7 months isn't too little time. I'm sure I'll have questions along the way, and hopefully I'll be able to give the first updates soon!













Tutorial on how to anger your housemates coming next month when I begin on the next piece (probably chest or thighs). In the meantime, have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

*Edited for profanity.
 
Update for those who have viewed this. I've finished resining, and have started glassing. After some research, I've decided to try out the mudglassing method (rondo + fiberglass). The first fiberglass sheet is curing as I type this. Heres some pics on how the hardening turned out:

DePVQ.jpg

As you can see, I hot glued some popsicle sticks onto the tabs that were meant for the faceplate. This more or less held the chin in line with the visor.



bmYHC.jpg




PBaU2.jpg




HY4Qv.jpg

And here's how it looks after resining!



scH8L.jpg

unfortunately, the visor is a bit droopy now, but its still somewhat malleable, so hopefully I can prop it to how I want it when I glass it.



qLIHn.jpg
Also the back is a bit warped, so I'll have some fun detailing that later...



Thanks for viewing!
 
Nice start!

In the future, when you resin the outside of pieces, I'd recommend doing a very thin first coat. It will really decrease the amount of warping! Once cured, you can add another coat on top for strength. It also helps eliminate big globs of resin in corners and such.


Keep it up!
 
Your project seems to be going along first rate. Just refrain from the language usage. You may get in trouble with the thread title on this.

-Seth
 
Nice start!

In the future, when you resin the outside of pieces, I'd recommend doing a very thin first coat. It will really decrease the amount of warping! Once cured, you can add another coat on top for strength. It also helps eliminate big globs of resin in corners and such.


Keep it up!

Thanks for the advice. It will definitely come in handy on the rest of the build. Actually I basically did this on the chin which is probably why it turned out so much better than the back... which I rushed. Oh well, lesson learned.


Your project seems to be going along first rate. Just refrain from the language usage. You may get in trouble with the thread title on this.

-Seth

Thanks. Its been a few years since I last lurked here. I forgot how touchy it can be. Its a good thing I suppose. Lots of kids here, want to keep it a friendly and open community.
Edit: Changed title!


I'm almost done glassing it actually, hopefully I'll have another update by tomorrow!
 
I don't think my housemates would be all that pleased if I were to start fibreglassing just outside the kitchen!
Looks like a good start!
 
It looks like you're using the file that I used, so why didn't you use the support struts? They basically eliminate the problem of warping.
 
When something warps on you and you haven't laid down your fiberglass yet, you can use a heatgun on the resin and it will give, allowing you to shape it back up with some pressure. I suggest getting it back to the shape you want, and dremeling out those droplets that hardened when you start your bondo work.
 
It looks like you're using the file that I used, so why didn't you use the support struts? They basically eliminate the problem of warping.

Probably not the same file. This didn't come with support stuts, just a face shield that didn't help at all, so I removed it so I could make my supports better.

When something warps on you and you haven't laid down your fiberglass yet, you can use a heatgun on the resin and it will give, allowing you to shape it back up with some pressure. I suggest getting it back to the shape you want, and dremeling out those droplets that hardened when you start your bondo work.

Dang, really wish I knew this before I started glassing it. It's more or less symmetrical, just the right side of the visor droops a bit, nothing a little (*ahem* a lot) of sanding won't put straight. And the visor seems to be sitting lower than it should, which doesn't look bad, just different from the correct helmet. It's kinda a squinty mkvi helm. Wish I had more of an update, but there won't be too much to post until its glassed all the way. Just waiting for the weather to dry up so I can finish that job!.
 
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