Bloxxer
Member
Hello again, forums!
It's been a minute since I've posted my own stuff on here. I've mostly been stalking and replying here and there. However, I'm back and excited to get to work again!
The Plan
Originally, I was planning on building a new Mark V suit for C2E2, or at least replace my chest piece and helmet. Time has caught up to me, my printers have been causing trouble, and C2E2 is now just a couple of months away. I still plan to completely rebuild my suit from the ground up, as I have many plans for re-sizing, re-rigging, electronics, and more, though two months just isn't enough time to do that well.
So, with that being said, I have decided to make repairs to my suit in its current state and add some details that I have been meaning to add now for quite some time.
The Accident
As some of you may know, I had a little accident with my armor back in late November. I had my armor displayed on a mannequin in my basement, and when I came home from work one night, I found the mannequin face down on the floor. I lifted it up to reveal a shattered chest piece, and a pretty badly messed up helmet. I'm not entirely sure what happened, I guess gravity just decided to do its thing.
As you could imagine, I was pretty disappointed. Discouraged, too. Looking on the bright side however, I saw the broken armor as an opportunity to rebuild and redesign the pieces to make them easier to put on and take off on my own. That's when the printers started acting up. I had just recently (at the time) purchased a used Ender 3, and a new CR-10. Both of them decided they were going to be a problem, so I spent the next couple of months troubleshooting them off-and-on.
Tonight's Progress
Now, for the main event. Tonight, I decided to take the plunge and completely repair my chest armor to a wearable state. I cleaned up an old folding table I found at work that was going to be thrown away and got to work.
Luckily when the armor broke, it was entirely on the seams where the 3D-Printed parts were glued together, so putting them back together was an easier task than I had expected. I was able to clean up a lot of the glue on the inside of the armor, sand down the seams where the armor would be joined, and glue it back together. The chest is back in one piece! The back would be too if I hadn't run out of glue (I was running low to begin with). A run to the hardware store is needed!
I also decided to begin sanding down my thigh armor, as I was not happy with the current paint job. I used plasti-dip on the "rubberized" parts of the armor, and over time it had peeled up pretty significantly. I plan to redo them with either a rubbery looking black paint, or Flex Seal.
What's Next?
After I get the pieces put back together, I plan to sand down the chest and back, clean them up, and give them a nice new paint job. The helmet will be next, which a new one is already printed and in the process of being finished!
I have also printed out a new set of boot covers, which have been edited by me to fit around a different, more comfortable pair of shoes. My original boots were size 13 boots with giant 4 inch inserts in them. Wearing them felt like walking around in clunky space high-heels. My new rendition uses a pair of shoes that I found on Amazon made by a company called Calto. They are designed to discreetly raise your height by a couple of inches. They are actually my size (US 11), and they are WAY more comfortable than my old boots, and I look forward to having them finished up.
Lastly, I plan to add some small details here and there that I find necessary to make my suit feel a little more "real." As time allows, I will update this thread with more progress!
I look forward to making this suit as good as new once more, and I’m excited to show it off at C2E2!
Until next time,
Bloxxer
It's been a minute since I've posted my own stuff on here. I've mostly been stalking and replying here and there. However, I'm back and excited to get to work again!
The Plan
Originally, I was planning on building a new Mark V suit for C2E2, or at least replace my chest piece and helmet. Time has caught up to me, my printers have been causing trouble, and C2E2 is now just a couple of months away. I still plan to completely rebuild my suit from the ground up, as I have many plans for re-sizing, re-rigging, electronics, and more, though two months just isn't enough time to do that well.
So, with that being said, I have decided to make repairs to my suit in its current state and add some details that I have been meaning to add now for quite some time.
The Accident
As some of you may know, I had a little accident with my armor back in late November. I had my armor displayed on a mannequin in my basement, and when I came home from work one night, I found the mannequin face down on the floor. I lifted it up to reveal a shattered chest piece, and a pretty badly messed up helmet. I'm not entirely sure what happened, I guess gravity just decided to do its thing.
As you could imagine, I was pretty disappointed. Discouraged, too. Looking on the bright side however, I saw the broken armor as an opportunity to rebuild and redesign the pieces to make them easier to put on and take off on my own. That's when the printers started acting up. I had just recently (at the time) purchased a used Ender 3, and a new CR-10. Both of them decided they were going to be a problem, so I spent the next couple of months troubleshooting them off-and-on.
Tonight's Progress
Now, for the main event. Tonight, I decided to take the plunge and completely repair my chest armor to a wearable state. I cleaned up an old folding table I found at work that was going to be thrown away and got to work.
Luckily when the armor broke, it was entirely on the seams where the 3D-Printed parts were glued together, so putting them back together was an easier task than I had expected. I was able to clean up a lot of the glue on the inside of the armor, sand down the seams where the armor would be joined, and glue it back together. The chest is back in one piece! The back would be too if I hadn't run out of glue (I was running low to begin with). A run to the hardware store is needed!
I also decided to begin sanding down my thigh armor, as I was not happy with the current paint job. I used plasti-dip on the "rubberized" parts of the armor, and over time it had peeled up pretty significantly. I plan to redo them with either a rubbery looking black paint, or Flex Seal.
What's Next?
After I get the pieces put back together, I plan to sand down the chest and back, clean them up, and give them a nice new paint job. The helmet will be next, which a new one is already printed and in the process of being finished!
I have also printed out a new set of boot covers, which have been edited by me to fit around a different, more comfortable pair of shoes. My original boots were size 13 boots with giant 4 inch inserts in them. Wearing them felt like walking around in clunky space high-heels. My new rendition uses a pair of shoes that I found on Amazon made by a company called Calto. They are designed to discreetly raise your height by a couple of inches. They are actually my size (US 11), and they are WAY more comfortable than my old boots, and I look forward to having them finished up.
Lastly, I plan to add some small details here and there that I find necessary to make my suit feel a little more "real." As time allows, I will update this thread with more progress!
I look forward to making this suit as good as new once more, and I’m excited to show it off at C2E2!
Until next time,
Bloxxer
