Sepheus 13's Forging of a Mk V. (Foam)

Sepheus 13 · Sep 2, 2013

First off! This thread has been re-named! It was originally "Sepheus 13's NEW Halo Reach Foam Build"
(I didn't like it) The NEW inferred that you had known about my previous work.

Hey there guys and gals, I've started a new build a while back. I just wanted to get some progress before posting anything.

'Teaser picture' On page 7, Post #62

My goal with this costume is accuracy and cleanliness. I always rush my costumes, normally for PAX, (alas this year I couldn't make it) but I said enough! I will take my time, and when it is done (which is never) it is done! I hope to really wow people this time around. I have been lurking around the forum for the past year or so. Learning all I can, putting all of it in my arsenal of techniques until I felt comfortable enough to resume my passion.

Now before I bore you with words, (there will be time for that later)

what I have done: 9/2/2013

with my Halo Reach MA37 (has seen better days)

I need to give these pieces a nice detail go through with foamies, I just need to find some first (i'm trying locally first)

More progress to come shortly, I am currently cutting out the pieces for the right bicep.

Thanks for viewing!
Please leave any questions, comments, and suggestions. I would greatly appreciate any creative criticism.

Josh/Sepheus 13

sarlume · Sep 2, 2013

I'd say you're sure off to a good start; that does look pretty darn clean (as in, really, really clean). It makes me wonder just how much foam I truly need to ruin to get such clean seams and indents like that in the future. Are you using foamies at all? On a side note, I know that those are paintball gloves and that they are commonly used for suits, but where did you find yours? They are perfect!

Sepheus 13 · Sep 2, 2013

Thanks Sarlume, you helped me remember a few details I was going to put in my post. I do plan to use foamies, quite a bit in fact. They are such a great small detail builder. I just need to find a place locally that sells them, or I'm going to have to make an order online soon.

After I finish the right bicep in the next few days, I'll start working on the torso, where I'll go into detail on my workflow and the techniques I use to build it. but in short the smooth edges are created from taking two pieces and taping the seam with packing tape, this creates tension on the pieces which merge together very nicely. and then any hot glue that seeps through the gap gets blocked by the tape and creates a nice flush surface with the rest of the piece. (i'll include pictures later)

and for the gloves, I couln't find the original posting on amazon. But here are the exact same gloves.
http://www.amazon.com/Rap4-Paintbal...d=1378147009&sr=8-8&keywords=paintball+gloves

sarlume · Sep 2, 2013

You're awesome. I'll definitely be subbing this thread to school myself. Heh. I will be trying that packing tape method for seams; the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

I am loving how those arm pieces look even without the foamies. Great stuff, sir. Now I'm off to buy those gloves...

spartan IV · Sep 2, 2013

I would suggest going to joanns fabrics website. you can by rolls of 36" by 24" black 2mm foamies for 7$ a piece. Otherwise you are going to need to buy many small sheets.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 3, 2013

Quick Late night teaser

So I finished the main work on the right bicep. this is just the teaser picture. I'll have much better pictures in the morning.

thanks for viewing, please feel free to ask any questions etc..
Josh/Sepheus 13

Sepheus 13 · Sep 4, 2013

Hey guys and gals!

I'm back with a bit more work completed. I started working on my torso piece, and as promised I have a picture tutorial of how to use packing tape to make nice clean seams with foam. let's call it "Packing tape method" Cause, That's original and all.

Okay to begin you're going to get your two pieces that are going to join together Don't forget the packing tape!

Next you're going to take a piece of tape and lay it on one of the foam pieces. making it tight.

Now attach the other piece of foam and make sure its snug against the joining edge. And I mean snug. when you bend it, the edge should round out a little. like this

Now apply your hot glue, giving a thick bead all the way down it.

Now set the pieces in their final resting positions.

After a few minutes (to let the glue cool) peel off the tape, and enjoy your nice new smooth edge.

Pros:
Clean,
Easy,
Great looking results
Avoids messy hot glue eyesores.

Cons:
Time consuming,
cost for tape? (it's worth the investment though)
I'm having a hard time coming up with cons..

So, this is what I was able to accomplish by the time I posted this post! (minus the time I worked on my VW bus engine)

and I'm now settling in to make much more head way! So I guess I'll have progress for you all tomorrow!
But before I go, Check out this comparison of my work from three years ago (PAX 2011) to Now! It's almost comical.

Well That's it for now! Please ask questions, leave suggestions, and constructively criticize me! I would love to hear all of it!
Cheers,
Josh/Sepheus13

sarlume · Sep 4, 2013

That chest piece is certainly lookin pretty promising!

Great little tutorial! I will certainly take it to heart after I finish my undersuit and get back to the actual armor pieces. Gotta go stock up on packing tape. With cultivating, improvement is inevitable. The comparison pic is a great one. ^^

Fireryne · Sep 4, 2013

Brilliant idea, if i try foam i will have to keep that method in mind. Looks great, and that is a bit of a difference from a few years back to now.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

I'm just going to drop this off here for the night, I'll have a nice descriptive post tomorrow. I'm off to bed now.

CrazedOne1988 · Sep 8, 2013

Very nice work. Thats an interesting method for clean lines I may have to try!

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

Hey gals and guys!

Welcome back, so, I finished the foam work my torso piece, well.. 92% finished. I've got a few more things to do with it. I'll present pictures now.

Here it is all together.

I think it's a touch too big, I may have to cut more out! yes more! I already took out 16mm to make it smaller. But I'll wait until I have the abs/back pieces all together.

and a shot where I can show off as many different angles as I can!

Continued below.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

I never posted what I wanted my spartan to look like

I've noticed a lot of similar builds popping up around here, and mine if one of them. Blue and orange, Gungnir.. etc.. I hope I don't "overstep my boundaries" and upset any of you with a similar build.

And I think I have a genius idea for how I'm going to see out of my gungnir helmet.

SO, I'm going to take this! (20$ rear reverse camera on Amazon)

and I'm going to put it here!

secondly, I'm going to take this 4.3" monitor. (about 20$)

and I'm going to place it in the helmet

and I'm going to link both 12v DC connectors with this (this is going inside the helmet as well)

A 12V DC cord will run down to this battery pack (9800mA, It can be smaller as long as it can give power throughout the day.) I might use a second one of these to run all my lights.

AND this battery pack is located in my Mjonlir Mk. V "nuclear" power pack. HERE!

sarlume said:
That chest piece is certainly lookin pretty promising!

Great little tutorial! I will certainly take it to heart after I finish my undersuit and get back to the actual armor pieces. Gotta go stock up on packing tape. With cultivating, improvement is inevitable. The comparison pic is a great one. ^^

Absolutely, I took about a year off of costuming, and just lurked around the forums when they went haywire, and I just learned all I could. when I came back, I could put to use a bunch of knowledge that I scavenged.

and you really don't need all that much packing tape, I'm still on my first roll, and I've made all of these pieces here.

CrazedOne1988 said:
Very nice work. Thats an interesting method for clean lines I may have to try!

Thank you sir CrazedOne1988, I appreciate it. and the tape really pays off, it gives me much better results, also I don't have to hold the pieces together waiting for the glue to cool. This keeps it in place.

Well, that's all for now!
PLEASE post comments, questions, criticism. ANYTHING! I want to hear your input!

Thanks for viewing,
Josh/Sepheus 13

Chernobyl · Sep 8, 2013

That foam work looks really nice and clean. I'm genuinely impressed.

As for the screen, are you absolutely certain? I've a feeling it's not designed to go so close to your eyes, and if it doesn't blur from the proximity, it'll certainly give you headaches and ruin your eyesight if used for prolonged periods.

If you can get it to work, I'll eat my words, but I'm concerned that it might cause more issues than it solves.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

Arcanine said:
That foam work looks really nice and clean. I'm genuinely impressed.

As for the screen, are you absolutely certain? I've a feeling it's not designed to go so close to your eyes, and if it doesn't blur from the proximity, it'll certainly give you headaches and ruin your eyesight if used for prolonged periods.

If you can get it to work, I'll eat my words, but I'm concerned that it might cause more issues than it solves.

I thought of that, but I guess I didn't think too much about it. When I placed my cell phone approx. 4" from my eyes it clears up, and isn't that disorienting. but I still have all the space behind my cellphone that keeps me oriented. When I start closing it off. It gets more disorienting, I'll have to test this fully before I dedicate myself to the idea. I think I just got excited and jumped the gun a little.

and it's the same principle of why a HUD wouldn't work.

and thanks, I like feed back.

Chernobyl · Sep 8, 2013

My point was more the 'prolonged periods of time' comment - your eyes are designed to focus at the mid-distance. Putting something right up in front of them, especially something like a backlit screen, will just damage your eyesight.

RoxyRoo's foam GUNGNIR build might give you some ideas - the helmet build begins HERE.

Swatze · Sep 8, 2013

This is a good build, I have noticed a lot more detailed foam build lately. Also, Arcanine is correct on the fact that this screen will be too close to your eyes, this monitor will cause permanent eye damage and you would not be able to wear it long without your eyes being in pain ad taking it off anyways. It is a cool idea, but not practical. Good luck.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

Arcanine said:
My point was more the 'prolonged periods of time' comment - your eyes are designed to focus at the mid-distance. Putting something right up in front of them, especially something like a backlit screen, will just damage your eyesight.

RoxyRoo's foam GUNGNIR build might give you some ideas - the helmet build begins HERE.

Yeah, hmm, That's a disappointment.. Thanks, I'll be saving a lot of time, money and tears now. haha. And Roxy has an amazing build! she was a great influence to this build,

Swatze said:
This is a good build, I have noticed a lot more detailed foam build lately. Also, Arcanine is correct on the fact that this screen will be too close to your eyes, this monitor will cause permanent eye damage and you would not be able to wear it long without your eyes being in pain ad taking it off anyways. It is a cool idea, but not practical. Good luck.

Thanks, maybe there's another creative idea on how to see out of this bucket.
and thanks for the support!

spartan IV · Sep 8, 2013

I Believe the helmet cam is possible. that said you need to make sure it has little if no lag. I have attempted the gungnir helm with a wireless cam. Because of lag and the fact that their is only one cam my depth perception is almost zero when using it. I hope you have better luck because it is a sweet concept.

Sepheus 13 · Sep 8, 2013

spartan IV said:
I Believe the helmet cam is possible. that said you need to make sure it has little if no lag. I have attempted the gungnir helm with a wireless cam. Because of lag and the fact that their is only one cam my depth perception is almost zero when using it. I hope you have better luck because it is a sweet concept.

What did you use for a screen? and how much space do you have in your Gungnir helmet? To me it looks like there are a few inches of space from where your face would be.

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