Custom Reach Foam by the Turbo Rider

Turborider · Dec 31, 2015

-UPDATE-

The project is completed for now and you will find more pics of this armor here:
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=79&page=15&p=764380&viewfull=1#post764380
Hall of Honor post #364

Hello Guys.

I startet my first foam build in october and now the construction of the foamparts is (allmost) done. I wanted to show you what i did so far and i like to hear your opinion.
I startet with an Air Assault Helmet, which i completed... but i had some problems with the breathing inside the helmet, so i decided to make a new one. This time i took a CQB helmet and i prepared more holes for the airflow just from the start. i dont have a visor ready yet, but i think it will help alot. For the helmet i used some pepakurafiles from the archive and i modded it to fit for foam... iam pretty happy with the result.

I think i need to make new toes as well... these are looking somehow wierd. i think they are to big at the top, i need to make them more curvey.

As you see, some parts are only ductaped to me... thats because not everything is connected yet...

Undersuit needs some work as well... didnt do anything at the undersuit yet.

Next step will be filling all the gaps with acryl and then plastidippin. But thats my job for the new year... so enjoy the pics, i hope you like it

Benton188 · Dec 31, 2015

It's looking really good

I do agree with the toes on the boots though, they do seem pretty round at the top. Do you have shoes underneath the foam or are you barefooting it?

Turborider · Jan 1, 2016

yes, i have shoes underneath!

B1ondeange1 · Jan 2, 2016

nice job! I kinda cheated with my boots for my Reach Noble 6 build, I made them all one piece and designed so that they 'lock down' over my regular shoes with tabs at the heel and toes: as I have a bad ankle I have to wear proper supporting footwear. I then just built up layers for the details. They don't look 100% but I had never aimed for that and at the same time people don't tend to look at your boots too closely

This is them pre- fully weathered:

You look like you have done a good job though! How do you find your mobility? I made sure that my leg movement was pretty good, to the point I can lift my leg at least to waist height and my suit is designed so that I am able to sit down (again, ankle concern) but I find my arm mobility is absolutely rubbish. The chest is quite big and bulky on that armour and trying to adjust the suit dimensions to fit me (since I'm female) blew some of the proportions out. Then once I add the shoulder pieces that's it, reaching the other side of my body is completely out of the question!

A bit funny, since I can't physically reach the knife with my right hand nor hold any weapon bigger than a pistol or needler!

Turborider · Jan 4, 2016

I like your boots, i dont think its a problem if some parts dont look 100% original, as long as you still see the typical style of the halo armor design.

About mobility... i think its similar to you

no issues with the legs, i can move them and sit without problems... but i cant close the torsopiece alone. I just removed some parts below my arm (another custom piece now, not 100% original

)... but i can hold a small rifle like weapon... even if it looks somehow strange not holding the gun tight to the body ^^ maybe thats why hipfire has a tradition in the halogames

B1ondeange1 · Jan 4, 2016

haha, perhaps! I have an assault rifle on its way, but the most it'll do is sit permanently strapped to my back (now I'm gonna have to figure the attachment system out!) or it'll remain in the weapon rack we take when we do 405th events with a stall set up.

How are you planning to have your thigh mounted side arm attached? Personally I used the shaping in what I assume is the under armour/suit to add in an extra piece of armour that has rare earth magnets mounted on it. My pistol has two flat headed screws that line up with those magnets to stay put- plus I cheat and have a retractable keyring line attached to it and onto my belt so it doesnt get knocked off or stolen! It isn't as secure as it could be and I have had a magnet fall off, but it does the job well enough and if it does fall off the line holds it at the same height so it sometimes reclips back into place on its own

.

(very high tech using a hair elastic to attach the gun, to the line, I know

)

Turborider · Jan 6, 2016

I have no idea about my weaponholstering yet... i didnt even build a weapon yet. i think i will finish the armor before i gonna start to build a weapon, but your idea about the magnets sounds very solid to me. I think the biggest problem here is to lose it just by walking arround. Maybe it drops when you take a seat and you dont check it.
Another idea would be velcro fastener (is this right? i just googled the english word for it

).... this:

why-do-Velcro-fasteners-make-a-ripping-sound-when-they-are-pulled-apart.jpg

it would make at least a loud sound when you lose the weapon

i will use fastener for other parts of my armor as well... kneepads, thights and biceps will stick to my undersuit with the fastener.

Currently i have some problems with the visor and trying to research how to make it fit better to the helmet. i think i will try to heatshape the motocyclevisor i have...

Dirtdives2424 · Jan 6, 2016

I just found a clip for an old style cell phone. Its a 2 part clip that you: a) put the phone in to a sleeve/holder and; b) clip to your belt. It looks like a raised button that slides into the catch piece and clicks in. If you can find something like that, it will hold even when walking around a crowded room or sitting w/o worrying if it falls.

http://www.carid.com/holders-mounts-stands/

Its the Arkon Swivel Belt Clip. $5.

B1ondeange1 · Jan 7, 2016

Dirtdives said:
I just found a clip for an old style cell phone. Its a 2 part clip that you: a) put the phone in to a sleeve/holder and; b) clip to your belt. It looks like a raised button that slides into the catch piece and clicks in. If you can find something like that, it will hold even when walking around a crowded room or sitting w/o worrying if it falls.

http://www.carid.com/holders-mounts-stands/

Its the Arkon Swivel Belt Clip. $5.

View attachment 21685

They are called covertec clips. One option used for clipping lightsabers to your belt (the alt is usually a D ring that slides onto a hook style clip). They are used on phones, pagers, etc as well. The only thing you need to worry about then is the belt clip falling off or belt or whatever piece of clothing it is on (can happen if someone bumps into you hard, you try to squeeze past something and it catches, you turn the object upside down- so no hand stands

). The only problem is if you mount it to a belt your sidearm is too high to match in universe, if you put it on your thigh piece it might be hard to get to the push studs on the side to release it from the clip (though some people have made alternative belt clips for lightsabers to enable quick draw). Speaking from experience, those studs are not easy to press in while wearing full gloves (with my Jedi fingerless gloves I am fine) and you would have to be careful about where you mount the covertec wheel on your weapon otherwise you might have real troubles even getting to the studs (you push both in on either side to release). For lightsabers its fine, you learn how to press them in and draw your saber all in one smooth movement, but for a pistol it might be trickier.

I use a retractable keyring like this clipped to my belt, which I hook onto my weapon securely. It means if it is knocked off the magnets it doesnt go far, and the weight of the foam sidearm balances the retracting mechanism at about the magnet height funnily enough so it doesnt fall further down. The string pulling back actually helps hold the pistol in place against my thigh piece. The retractable cord means people cant try and snatch it from you either (this is sadly a very real issue), it can move with my movements (walking, sitting, jumping etc) without trying to pull the weapon off and I can still draw the pistol for photos, holding it at various heights and the string is barely visible.

B1ondeange1 · Jan 7, 2016

sorry to double post (edit didn't wanna work for me, does that sometimes), just as an extra note velcro can be fine especially if you get the really heavy duty stuff but some cautions. Unless you get the heavy duty stuff velcro can easily clog up and stop working properly and can manage that after a few uses, then theres very little fastening strength in it. Especially if there is any weight or tension on it. Also when you are wearing your helmet, or in loud places you won't hear the tearing noise of velcro as something comes loose.

I can walk around without issues with my magnet set up. Husband has a solid suit, he has two rare earth magnets mounted on the inside of his thigh and two on his pistol and they are far more solid than mine, however occasionally the magnets do fall off the foam because it can be hard for the glue to keep a hold. Most the time neither of us have issues- and we do a lot of costuming- but if bumped around or moving too much his pistol can and will come loose which means it'll hit the deck, at least with my set up it then just swings on it's string. In crowds, like at cons etc, I keep one hand on my pistol and then I don't need to worry.

Dirtdives2424 · Jan 7, 2016

Yeah cons get super crowded. Keep 1 hand on your pistol and the other on your wallet.

Turborider · Feb 12, 2016

Short Question: I just started to plastidip my armor... how many layers do you guys recommend? Or better, when will i know it did enough layers?

HaloSniper · Feb 12, 2016

Turborider said:
Short Question: I just started to plastidip my armor... how many layers do you guys recommend? Or better, when will i know it did enough layers?

This never occurred to me. Are we talking dip over foam? Will the solvents in the dip eat the foam?

On the layers, I dipped the wheels on my Challenger. I sprayed about 8-10 light coats. It lasted over a year through a pretty harsh DC winter. One thing may not correlate to the other but a bunch of light coats looks and wears better than a couple heavy ones.

mikejusten · Feb 12, 2016

That is a great 11st build keep on building

soldier466 · Feb 12, 2016

I usually do a few unless I sealed the foam first. It smoothens it self out and you can see when it's smooth enough to your liking

Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Turborider · Feb 13, 2016

This never occurred to me. Are we talking dip over foam? Will the solvents in the dip eat the foam?

I think there is a missunderstanding. I thought thats the normal step? The foam is glued and shaped (as you see in the pictures) and the next step would be sealing it with plastidip, then priming it and then start to paint it? Did i something wrong plastidippin it now? Iam using dip over the foam, yes. It doesnt eat the foam, but it eat the cup i used to dose a small portion of plastidip in seconds

That is a great 11st build keep on building

thanks, that means a lot to me

Chiefwannabe · Feb 15, 2016

this is a really cool build!!!

Im interested to see how this comes out! Looking great so far!!!!!!!!

Turborider · Mar 5, 2016

Here are some pics of my progress... iam allmost done with my helmet... i need to do weathering on it and some blacklining... but iam currently out of colors i need. I need to clean up the visor and some of the tape i used to protect the visor... then i need to install the electronics... but that will be the last step ill do on my armor when its complete... hope you like the colors

hopkins77 · Mar 5, 2016

Cool colors, helmet looks nice.

Turborider · Apr 10, 2016

My progress is very slow... but its going forward...

Meanwhile i deceided i make a new chestpiece. I wanted to make the chest tight, so i can move better and the upper part of my previous chest had a bad ankle. i tryed to recycle some parts, so i dont have to make it all new. the backpart was very good for example. So i had a little difference in the size of several parts and it looked strange. My idea was to cover this section up with a security reach chestplate. Now i have a very good fitting chestpiece... i can even touch the top of my helmet as you see. i deceided to remove the inner "soft-parts" under the shoulder for more comfort. i think i wont replace them... its not 100% original reach style, but i think its ok. i really really happy with the new look.

then you can see, ive reworked the toes from my shoes. looks better now i think

Iam looking for some leather now to start working at the undersuit. i need a gorget to cover my neck, i dont like the mask, cause it doesnt fit well. i will make some patterns on the undersuit as well.

Next thing are the shins... iam thinking about a rework... i have very thin legs and maybe the shins are too thin as well. iam think about some oversized Jorge-styled shins to give it a more massive look. whats your opinion? i would like to hear

Also, you can see some new finished parts. Hope you like it

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