EliteRouge
Jr Member
Hello fellow costumers this....this my story:
Over a year and a half ago (in the summer of 07) I had a great urge to create my own Spartan armour (with the upcoming release of Halo 3 and all). A bunch of friends and I enjoyed playing LAN halo 2 quite a bit and I, being a halo fanatic, wanted to do more than just puppeteer the Master Chief. My first google searches found this nugget of gold Chris Bryan . Filled with desire and envy i quickly attempted, and failed, to produce a suitable Mark VI helmet out of styrofoam. It didn't look too bad i guess but its weak, dangerously flimsy, and not smooth at all. After becoming throughly depressed I continued my search which yielded this forum. (The stuff on the outside is a hobby type of plaster that you dip in hot water then apply to any surface.
At this time Halo 3 had not been released, thus only Halo 2 low definition pep models were available. (Part of the reason I waited so long to post this topic was that no one really wants to see yet another noob with half decent pep armour). I created every piece of Mark VI armour to my body size...then fiberglassed the outside of everything (except the helmet).........nearly $60 down the drain, not to mention the dozens of hours I had spent creating the armour, but I had learned. Why didn't I fiberglass the helmet from the outside you ask? Myself, I really do not know. At the beginning I thought that I could use my dremel tool (procured in a golf tournament) to carve the required detail straight into the glass (not knowing at the time what bondo was or how to use it). This was a most grevious error but it was part of the learning curve of Spartans.
But with the helmet....I'm not sure, I just tried the fiberglass on the inside (possible because I had an inkling that the carved fiberglass was not going to work) and it seemed to result in a strong yet detail retaining helmet. Soon after this I discovered bondo, how it was used, and why it was needed for all Spartan makers. This is the pep file that I used for my helmet *How to use Pepakura *, (in the first post there are pep pictures) needless to say there is no detail what so ever. At this point in my incompetence this was not a problem as my main concern was getting the darn thing smooth. Nearly a month, 2 L of fiberglass resin, and over a pound of bondo later I had smoothed the helmet (using Rondo)...without giving any thought to detail.
Using a cheap mouse sander and the previously mentioned dremel tool, I began carving away at the pink shell, which came away quite quickly and easily. Many sanding pads later I had a smooth and partially detailed top. At this point I was quite excited and spent a number of happy hours every summer day detailing this weird pink mass. As the top became detailed, I was not pleased at the smoothness of the two hemispheres to the right and left of the trench down the middle. To remedy this I mixed up a small amount of bondo with a couple drops of resin (to prevent stiff peaks if anyone here has every whipped eggs) then applied it to the surface using a small drywall mud smooting tool (just a flat edge will do like a credit card for example). Just a few minutes with 150 grit paper was enough to make it smooth enough for my tastes.
The process contunued down the back, sides, then jaw of the Master Chiefs helmet. Some detail went in easily and other pieces were more difficult. Often I would go back to a section of the helmet I thought I was done with then redo it by plastering the bondo on. I used this site for detailing specs, thank you a ton bluerealm. Bluerealm Studios MC helm specsAfter many searches through Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Home Depot, and various automotive stores I found the correct shades of "Master Chief" green, matte (means not shiny) black, silver, and a suitable primer. Of course since I live in central Alberta and winter is nearly here (at the end of September no less... >:$) my shop teacher graciously allowed me to continue to work in the large school workshop. This is the result of nearly $200, 200 hours, and many days spent combing the forums for tidbits of information:
Tips to announce:
-just above where the jaw connects to the side, and just above where the lights go, there is a small flat trapezoidal piece. On the original pep file this was a small triangular pyramid and there is no way that a visor will fit in that, thus i cut it out and made some new pieces that (in my opinion) look quite good. This just goes to show you that you don't/shouldn't do everything by the book, feel free to make changes or variations on your armour
-as I was applying bondo/rondo, I used just the bondo catalyst. It worked in that it provided a hard surface but at the same time dried withing 20 minutes in the sun so that I could smooth another piece of the helmet a number of times an hour instead of having to wait many hours to continue smoothing. However I always waited about 6 hours before sanding with my mouse sander (so that it did harden enough)
-semi new bondo (6-12 hours) eats through sandpaper, I didn't wait overnight for it to fully harden cuz i did it in many small steps so my sandpaper would end up with many little bumps on it (anyone who has tried to sand down s finish on a piece of wood without using a chemical to take it off knows what i'm talking about). there is a compromise between sandpaper and speed
-use latex gloves when working with wet fiberglass. the first time i started using fiberglass resin and cloth I used my bare hands. Besides taking years to scrub off, it burned! there was some sort of chemical reaction with my skin that caused a massive rash, it was horrible. I bought 200 gloves for just $10 and its definitely worth it.
-for the side vents i'm going to use black corrugated tubing applied from the inside after the final coat of paint
-*sanding* it does take many, many hours of crouching sanding this bondo to make a smooth surface. I thought "yeah it should be smooth after paint" but the primer only fills really small imperfections and you can never ever sand enough
Of course with these photos you can't see the imperfections around the edges and in the crevices but all in all I think it turned out ok for a first attempt. My advice for beginners includes:<ul>[*]you will make mistakes and they will be discouraging, but persevere[*]make sure when you apply that first layer of resin that the helmet is symmetrical, else the deformities will haunt you[*]make sure to fibergalss ever square inch of the inside, otherwise, like in my project, details will snap off and it takes time to put them back together[*]don't be afraid to experiment with paint, you don't have to follow to the letter what the experts in this forum use[*]it will cost a fair bit of money, but hey! its halo, of course its worth it[/list]I used Rondo to do the original smoothing. This is because there was no detail on the original helm thus I needed a base that I could both carve into and build up for detailing. Those pictures above have about 2 coats of light primer on them. I"m sanding hard in between coats to remove as many mistakes as I can. I will be done it be halo-ween. Other current projects include a set of Halo 3 gauntlets as well as a MA5B assault rifle.
*side note* not to be arrogant or anything but would an admin mind moving this topic to a channel where people will be able to see it and use it? The pep and cardboard channel for instance? I haven't got enough posts up to be able to post it there.
Over a year and a half ago (in the summer of 07) I had a great urge to create my own Spartan armour (with the upcoming release of Halo 3 and all). A bunch of friends and I enjoyed playing LAN halo 2 quite a bit and I, being a halo fanatic, wanted to do more than just puppeteer the Master Chief. My first google searches found this nugget of gold Chris Bryan . Filled with desire and envy i quickly attempted, and failed, to produce a suitable Mark VI helmet out of styrofoam. It didn't look too bad i guess but its weak, dangerously flimsy, and not smooth at all. After becoming throughly depressed I continued my search which yielded this forum. (The stuff on the outside is a hobby type of plaster that you dip in hot water then apply to any surface.
At this time Halo 3 had not been released, thus only Halo 2 low definition pep models were available. (Part of the reason I waited so long to post this topic was that no one really wants to see yet another noob with half decent pep armour). I created every piece of Mark VI armour to my body size...then fiberglassed the outside of everything (except the helmet).........nearly $60 down the drain, not to mention the dozens of hours I had spent creating the armour, but I had learned. Why didn't I fiberglass the helmet from the outside you ask? Myself, I really do not know. At the beginning I thought that I could use my dremel tool (procured in a golf tournament) to carve the required detail straight into the glass (not knowing at the time what bondo was or how to use it). This was a most grevious error but it was part of the learning curve of Spartans.
But with the helmet....I'm not sure, I just tried the fiberglass on the inside (possible because I had an inkling that the carved fiberglass was not going to work) and it seemed to result in a strong yet detail retaining helmet. Soon after this I discovered bondo, how it was used, and why it was needed for all Spartan makers. This is the pep file that I used for my helmet *How to use Pepakura *, (in the first post there are pep pictures) needless to say there is no detail what so ever. At this point in my incompetence this was not a problem as my main concern was getting the darn thing smooth. Nearly a month, 2 L of fiberglass resin, and over a pound of bondo later I had smoothed the helmet (using Rondo)...without giving any thought to detail.
Using a cheap mouse sander and the previously mentioned dremel tool, I began carving away at the pink shell, which came away quite quickly and easily. Many sanding pads later I had a smooth and partially detailed top. At this point I was quite excited and spent a number of happy hours every summer day detailing this weird pink mass. As the top became detailed, I was not pleased at the smoothness of the two hemispheres to the right and left of the trench down the middle. To remedy this I mixed up a small amount of bondo with a couple drops of resin (to prevent stiff peaks if anyone here has every whipped eggs) then applied it to the surface using a small drywall mud smooting tool (just a flat edge will do like a credit card for example). Just a few minutes with 150 grit paper was enough to make it smooth enough for my tastes.
The process contunued down the back, sides, then jaw of the Master Chiefs helmet. Some detail went in easily and other pieces were more difficult. Often I would go back to a section of the helmet I thought I was done with then redo it by plastering the bondo on. I used this site for detailing specs, thank you a ton bluerealm. Bluerealm Studios MC helm specsAfter many searches through Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Home Depot, and various automotive stores I found the correct shades of "Master Chief" green, matte (means not shiny) black, silver, and a suitable primer. Of course since I live in central Alberta and winter is nearly here (at the end of September no less... >:$) my shop teacher graciously allowed me to continue to work in the large school workshop. This is the result of nearly $200, 200 hours, and many days spent combing the forums for tidbits of information:
Tips to announce:
-just above where the jaw connects to the side, and just above where the lights go, there is a small flat trapezoidal piece. On the original pep file this was a small triangular pyramid and there is no way that a visor will fit in that, thus i cut it out and made some new pieces that (in my opinion) look quite good. This just goes to show you that you don't/shouldn't do everything by the book, feel free to make changes or variations on your armour
-as I was applying bondo/rondo, I used just the bondo catalyst. It worked in that it provided a hard surface but at the same time dried withing 20 minutes in the sun so that I could smooth another piece of the helmet a number of times an hour instead of having to wait many hours to continue smoothing. However I always waited about 6 hours before sanding with my mouse sander (so that it did harden enough)
-semi new bondo (6-12 hours) eats through sandpaper, I didn't wait overnight for it to fully harden cuz i did it in many small steps so my sandpaper would end up with many little bumps on it (anyone who has tried to sand down s finish on a piece of wood without using a chemical to take it off knows what i'm talking about). there is a compromise between sandpaper and speed
-use latex gloves when working with wet fiberglass. the first time i started using fiberglass resin and cloth I used my bare hands. Besides taking years to scrub off, it burned! there was some sort of chemical reaction with my skin that caused a massive rash, it was horrible. I bought 200 gloves for just $10 and its definitely worth it.
-for the side vents i'm going to use black corrugated tubing applied from the inside after the final coat of paint
-*sanding* it does take many, many hours of crouching sanding this bondo to make a smooth surface. I thought "yeah it should be smooth after paint" but the primer only fills really small imperfections and you can never ever sand enough
Of course with these photos you can't see the imperfections around the edges and in the crevices but all in all I think it turned out ok for a first attempt. My advice for beginners includes:<ul>[*]you will make mistakes and they will be discouraging, but persevere[*]make sure when you apply that first layer of resin that the helmet is symmetrical, else the deformities will haunt you[*]make sure to fibergalss ever square inch of the inside, otherwise, like in my project, details will snap off and it takes time to put them back together[*]don't be afraid to experiment with paint, you don't have to follow to the letter what the experts in this forum use[*]it will cost a fair bit of money, but hey! its halo, of course its worth it[/list]I used Rondo to do the original smoothing. This is because there was no detail on the original helm thus I needed a base that I could both carve into and build up for detailing. Those pictures above have about 2 coats of light primer on them. I"m sanding hard in between coats to remove as many mistakes as I can. I will be done it be halo-ween. Other current projects include a set of Halo 3 gauntlets as well as a MA5B assault rifle.
*side note* not to be arrogant or anything but would an admin mind moving this topic to a channel where people will be able to see it and use it? The pep and cardboard channel for instance? I haven't got enough posts up to be able to post it there.
Wouldn't get hopeful on the move however. Mine's been in the noob forum forever and had documentation on every step including links. Don't worry where your armor resides, you did an outstanding job, don't stop building.
