First build - Foam Mark VI armor

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aareth2000

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After a short period of furtively lurking around the friendly 405th, I too have found my inspiration. I choose foam primarily because I love the excellent foam builds done by LilTyrant and RoxyRoo. So, having gotten a lot of good advice via the threads I've read through, I felt it fair to post my own progress. This build is actually two full suits, one for me and one for my brother. I figure I'll goof up and learn the tricks with mine and make a good suit for my sib. While more time consuming, I can't imagine it to be significantly more difficult to make two as opposed to just one.
So, the details:
I found foam templates on www.therpf.com created by robogenesis and crackhead09 and adapted for foam by demolition
I utilized HaloGoddess' very helpful scaling tutorial and her tips for working with foam
I watched drack's foam tutorials - very helpful!
After all that - I jumped right in.
View attachment 14358
So, I started first with a cardboard mock up of the chest and helmet...
View attachment 14359(<---- Showing only the good side of the helmet here)
which I found very useful in getting a feel for these entertaining 3-D puzzles. (Please ignore the clutter!) This also allowed me to double check the scaling done on Pepakura Designer.
Taking my lessons from cardboard, I went to foam. I bought black EVA foam - 10 mm, which necessitated picking up metallic markers so I could see my marks.
View attachment 14360
Straight pins secured my templates. I planned out one arm and then...
View attachment 14361
the other by flipping the templates. That gave me this:
View attachment 14362View attachment 14363
Many #11 blades sacrificed their edges for what I have lovingly named Forearm B.
The backs were scored to ease shaping of the pieces.
View attachment 14364
Prior to applying the heat gun and hot glue, I pinned together the pieces, just to double check I hadn't missed anything important, and that I had a good idea where I was going.
View attachment 14365View attachment 14366
Which then allowed for glue!
View attachment 14367
And more glue...
View attachment 14368View attachment 14369
So I now have a forearm to make Popeye jealous. On to Forearm A!
 
you sound like you have this well thought out, so keep up the good work.

though you do seem to have a bit of trouble with the pictures. try uploading through a secondary site (like photobucket) and pasting the image code to the place desired in the text box.
 
Oh, the mystery makes it all the more exciting :D! Hope your picture situation can be sorted soon. Would love to see what you're building. Indeed it sounds like your making quick progress!
 
Thank you for the replies and advice! Trying to get these pictures displayed.
Mock up of chest...
Mark VI mock up_chest.jpg
and helmet
Mark VI mock up_helmet.jpg
 
I ended up uploading the pictures to my album on the 405th, making it easy to add as an attachment to the post.
Foam pics as follows:
Forearm_1.jpg
Templates for one forearm...
Forearm_3.jpg
and the second.
Forearm_4.jpg
I attribute my placing skills to making Christmas cutout cookies :)
As to these little pieces
Forearm_4.1.jpg
I decided they were far too small for 10 mm foam. I will be cutting those out of 2 mm craft foam.
 
Foam was cut out...
and scored...
Forearm_5.jpg
and pinned...
Forearm_6.jpgForearm_8.jpg
and then glued together....
Forearm_9.jpg
In the end, I have one finished forearm with every intention of improving as I go!
Forearm_10.jpgForearm_12.jpg
 
Totally subbing to this thread to keep up. The forearms look great! And your cookie skills are coming in crazy useful haha. Very neat and clean. hope I can turn out something that good :).
 
Totally subbing to this thread to keep up. The forearms look great! And your cookie skills are coming in crazy useful haha. Very neat and clean. hope I can turn out something that good :).
Thank you! Your build is looking great as well and far more colorful than mine. :)

As for this week, I've made some progress. I finished my second forearm...
Forearm_15.jpg(Sorry for the busy background, but the chair was free, and so convenient to pose my armor on.)
And then I moved on to my brother's forearms and marked out my biceps.
Forearm_17.jpg
Cut, heat gunned, glued, and I abruptly realized that my brother has really, really long skinny arms.
Forearm_18.jpg
See? It is huge compared to mine.
Forearm_20.jpg
And huge on him as well. So, I will be returning to the templates and the pieces for the left forearm where I will trim off excess width while keeping the appropriate length. I'll be showing my questionable success with that as time goes on.
Then on a happier note, I also pinned up my bicep so I have plenty to keep me occupied this coming week. :)
Forearm_19.jpg
Have a great week 405th!
 
Whew! It's been a long ending to summer semester.
From last posting, I've heated and curved the bicep pieces...
Bicep_2.jpgBicep_3.jpg
and began assembling...
Bicep_4.jpgBicep_5.jpg
to get my biceps.
Bicep_6.jpgBicep_6.1.jpg
Ditto my brother's build.
Bicep_7.jpg
I also worked on resizing his forearm piece, which was way too large. I ended up removing 1 to 1.5 cm width from each side of each half of the forearm. This gave a 4 to 6 cm decrease in width while keeping the necessary length. I marked the templates and assembled his forearms anew.
Forearm_rescale.jpgForearm_rescale_1.jpgYou can see the difference - it isn't very large.
On finding that it was still loose in the bulk of the forearm, we decided to line the interior with padding foam. While it will constrict air flow, it will help with the fit.
So, the current state of the build is arms are done.
Arms_scale.jpgAnd it is here I realize how much larger my brother really is....
Happy building 405th! Now to tackle my shins....
 
really looking awesome! scaling can be such a pain when the piece comes out to big, but it looks like you manage really well :D.
 
It's been a while. I'd blame it on life, but in truth it was the shin pieces. They drove me short ways into frustration. Unfortunately, I neglect to take any pics when alternately burning my fingers and pulling my hair out. So I start with this
Calf_1.jpg
and then viola!
I have this...
Calf.jpg (actually two of them)
These pieces of armor seem really large, but I'm debating a rescale until I have a boot and thigh piece made. If they are in proportion to each other, then I'll just pad the inside for fit.
On a less puzzling note, I moved to the easiest part of the build, the hand plates.
With such small parts and details, I took a page from LilTyrant and RoxyRoo and used craft foam.
Hands_2.jpg
I then used Pepakura Designer to reform the main hand plate and cut that from the 10 mm EVA foam. Some heating and folding later yields a nice, straightforward build. Yay!
Hands_3.jpg Hands_5.jpg
And now, to a thigh and a boot!
Happy building 405th!
 
I have to say, your work looks impeccable. You have a gift for this. Your lines are clean crisp and sharp. The gluing is fantastic and the way everything fits together. WOW - an inspiration. "I think I can I think I can." I'll be starting my own soon and watching your two suits evolve is a guiding light. Seriously - great job!
 
Your foam work is super clean. All your pieces look really good so far. Can't wait to see more progress.

Thank you! It's always nice to be complimented. :D

I have to say, your work looks impeccable. You have a gift for this. Your lines are clean crisp and sharp. The gluing is fantastic and the way everything fits together. WOW - an inspiration. "I think I can I think I can." I'll be starting my own soon and watching your two suits evolve is a guiding light. Seriously - great job!

I appreciate that very much! I admit there is a little bit of OCD in me about things lining up properly, so that is a significant focus during my build. I assemble with the Pep file open in front of me so I can continuously see how the pieces are supposed to fit.

Now, I have an update! Yay. I have to add another burned finger to the list too, but that is a small price to pay, I guess.
So, boots. I admit, at my towering height of 5'4'', I'm tempted to do as some others have done and build my boot around some wedge booties I own, but 1) they aren't my most comfy shoes and 2) I tried it and it requires a bit more scratch building than I'm able to do just now. So, I instead shifted to a build around my favorite athletic shoes. Besides, this will make my brother seem even taller, total benefit for him. :)
Toe first. The shaping was rather important as the cover of the instep is surprisingly flat.
Boot_7.jpgYou can see it in this photo. The necessary curvature was achieved by scoring and gluing the inside, as shown below.
Boot_6.jpg
The toe was shaped based upon the sole, giving a nice, firm foundation and making the proper shape easier to end with.
Boot_2.jpg
Craft foam provided smaller details. Boot_3.jpg
Giving the final toe. Boot_9.jpg
I then moved on to the heel.
Boot_10.jpgBoot_11.jpgBoot_12.jpg These side pieces were a huge focus as I will be attaching my buckles to the outside strap on each boot and I wanted these built and sturdy. You can see how I used the red craft foam to "bridge the gap" between the pieces, a discrepancy I saw in the Pep files. Easy enough to accommodate with 2 mm foam.
Boot_14.jpg So I completed the upper to my boot, ready to attach to the lower heel.
A solid base....
Boot_18.jpg
some glue...
Boot_22.jpgBoot_21.jpg and I'm quite pleased with the the result.
In the case of scale,
Boot_20.jpg I think it will be just fine with the calf, so I will not be re-scaling that piece, a huge relief!
Keep building 405th!
 
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