Another Iron Man Fanatic!

[Ease]

Hello y'all. I'm new to this forum, as you can probably tell from my post count, but it is my current intentions to build an Iron Man suit, or at the very least a helmet. The thread that brought me to this forum was: http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26103&st=0&#entry424255 Though I've been unable to find the files used for that helmet, which is a real shame. My current inspiration is: http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24735&st=0 as it even includes files!



My original intention was to build the Iron Man suit out of metal, but as the weight of that would be so great it would need to be powered by something, and remote power is not one of mankinds strengths yet. However, as an Electronic Engineer I would have to count any project as a huge failure if it did not include some electronics! So my current plan is this: to build a suit/helmet from Pep, and then use fibreglass and resin to make it wearable/durable. Then I intend to mount a large amount of subtle flexible solar cells, which will store all of their charge in small 9V batteries hidden around the suit. These in turn will power the 'Arc Reactor' (aka: lots of LEDs) and the motors that will open/close the helmet (ambitious or what? But feasible, hopefully).



However, I am completely new to the Pep-process and was hoping for some advice. How much (approximately) will it cost to make a full-size wearable suit? Also, how long (approximately) will it take? I have three months off this summer, and I might even have access to a large workshop for a month of that.

 

[p0g1]

hello fellow fanatic.

i have all the pep files for the helmet if you could send me your email. also the making the helmet is pretty cheap. if you can get a hold of some cheap cardstock and use loctite control glu gel you can probably build that it 8 hours or so (including the cutting and gluing). the resin and bondo go quick. Bondo and resin will probably run you $70 for a gallon at an autoparts store. walmart only had the small pint sizes. Work with one scoop at a time this hardens quick. also, its a good idea to mudglass (bondo and resin mix) the inside of the pieces for rigidity, no fiberglass cloth needed. I'm also new to this whole pep'ing process but the sanding if you have a dremel and a mouse sander these work best for me so far but i don't know what you have access to. this will take most of your time. if you have acess to machine to make all the pods and round pieces for you suit you'll save time. and if you do i'd appreciate any copies of those pieces. so far this is all the knowledge i can gather so far from reading all the forums. i currently have a helmet done and have one arm bondo and ready for sanding but if i can be of any help let me know. welcome to the 405th

 

[Ease]

hello fellow fanatic.

i have all the pep files for the helmet if you could send me your email. also the making the helmet is pretty cheap. if you can get a hold of some cheap cardstock and use loctite control glu gel you can probably build that it 8 hours or so (including the cutting and gluing). the resin and bondo go quick. Bondo and resin will probably run you $70 for a gallon at an autoparts store. walmart only had the small pint sizes. Work with one scoop at a time this hardens quick. also, its a good idea to mudglass (bondo and resin mix) the inside of the pieces for rigidity, no fiberglass cloth needed. I'm also new to this whole pep'ing process but the sanding if you have a dremel and a mouse sander these work best for me so far but i don't know what you have access to. this will take most of your time. if you have acess to machine to make all the pods and round pieces for you suit you'll save time. and if you do i'd appreciate any copies of those pieces. so far this is all the knowledge i can gather so far from reading all the forums. i currently have a helmet done and have one arm bondo and ready for sanding but if i can be of any help let me know. welcome to the 405th

Thanks for the warm welcome! I have sent you my email address and look forward to the files! I think I will start with a helmet, and then move onto a suit if I think I can spare more money and time. I don't have a Dremel or a Sander, but I'm sure I can find a friend who does! Unfortunately I don't have access to any such machine, just a soldering iron and a virtually infinite supply of electronics components that I have built up over the years.

 

[rdwombat]

There is a way to build metal armor. I have been issues finding it again but someone on here built a very nice set out of 22 gauge steel sheets if I remember correctly. Between tin snips, a lot of hammering, and welding it together. As far as Pep goes make sure to read all the stickies at the top of the forums, especially in the creation pep section. And if you want a REALLY detailed build look up Thorssoli's build. That is who first inspired me. Good luck however you do it!. And make sure you post pics!

 

[Ease]

Using heavy paper (about 90gsm) and celotape (i.e., sticky tape) I have started on the helmet! It's already going well, though I was catching up with some TV Series that have subtitles (and thus require watching as well as listening) at the same time, so progress was slow. I have pretty much all the 'gold' parts of the helmet done, and will do the 'red' parts tonight, hopefully! I was surprised at how easy it was, even with paper. The only difficulties I'm having are with really thin folds (these really slow me down), and navigating the pile of 16 A4 sheets on my desk =P

 

[vshore100]

Welcome there fellow iron man fanatic. I too am embarking on an iron man suit (Mark 2). Hope to have the helmet pepped today or tomorrow. Will post pics then. I used dungbeetles 2nd helmet design. . I also found it to be not as hard as I thought, just time consuming, but well worth the wait! Good luck on yours and hang in there!

 

[keith hendrix]

Welcome to the 405, and as a IM fan I wish you good luck on your project!

 

[12382]

hello fellw ironman fanatic, as everyone adress you,

i see that you have also only a limited time during your sumer vacation and as do I, creating a complete suit take hard work, dedication, time, and more hard work, (at least to me since im only 13 and have very little time.)but in oder to do it, you need to enjoy what you are making.creating a helmet is very basic, or at lest it becomes basic as the more peps you make. each pep doesnot have to be perfect each time, but needs to at least have a basic shape, for bondo, or another detailing substance. and btw, it is possible to make an ironman out of metal, just thin sheets of it as shown in this vid:

you can see his progress in his chanell. i am wising you luck and i am hoping for the best in you.

 

[Ease]

Thanks for all the replies and well wishes!



Thanks 12382 for that youtube link, it was very interesting! I am tempted to go to my "local" Blacksmith (only 160 miles away! Lol!) and ask to rent his furnace and workshop... but it would be very expensive, and as I have very little knowledge of metal work it could be quite embarrasing, though I can't imagine anything in the world feels better than relaxing after a hard day over the anvil!



My helmet is almost complete now, and although this was only meant to be a practise run, I'm tempted to try and Resin and Fibreglass it. However, I only made it out of paper, will it be strong enough? If I push too hard on it now it buckles, though it can takes some force. What do you guys think?

 

[Foxw]

Hate to say this ease, but well, most likely it will collapse under the weight of the resin. But ya never know, i've heard stranger things happen

 

[Ease]

I had thought as much. I'm quite good with melting/manipulating small sticks of plastic (and have a huge stack of them lying around) so I might make a support wireframe for the inside of the helmet, just to hold it up for the resin. And hey, if it fails, I just buy some card stock and try again! Also, as I "wisely" decided to use celotape to hold it together; will the resin work over the celotape or will it fail to hold properly?

 

[p0g1]

I had thought as much. I'm quite good with melting/manipulating small sticks of plastic (and have a huge stack of them lying around) so I might make a support wireframe for the inside of the helmet, just to hold it up for the resin. And hey, if it fails, I just buy some card stock and try again! Also, as I "wisely" decided to use celotape to hold it together; will the resin work over the celotape or will it fail to hold properly?

hello again,

skip the celotape and just start with the cardstock. but don't get anything too thick. if you use cardstock it will be stiff enough for the resin. what i did was use cardstock and then mix up a batch of resin and hardener and lightly brush the outside of the pep first. then of course a second coat to stiffen it up. after that i rondoed/mudglassed (bondo and resin with hardener) the inside. that makes it plenty stiff. anyways if you try that and bondo and shape the outside you'll have a durable helmet.

 

[Ease]

I'm going to order some cardstock tonight (can't find any in the UK so will have to pay absurd shipping costs =( ) but for now I'm going to continue Pepping, just for the experience. Oh, and for kicks and giggles, here is my attempt at making an Iron Man costume two years ago:

I'm the guy with the fake goatee, not the creepy Joker guy.