Commander Shepard-first build

[Snail3Productions]

So I've been lurking around on the forums for a while and at first I found everything to be a little bit overwhelming. And after looking around I figured I'd give this whole armor building a try. At first I thought I'll do a halo build, but I finally decided to do the N7 Shepard armor from Mass Effect. I like the idea of pepakura, but I'm going to do a build in foam. I've looked around and I think I'm going to use the way that stealth from the Hero tutorials does his builds. The main problems I have are:

A) There's barely any pep files for anything from mass effect and most of it hasn't been unfolded. (I know that Ithica made templates, but I don't really like the method of resizing them.)

B) I'm not sure what to use for lighting this bad boy. Originally I was going to use this: http://www.westaby.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=7&zenid=bd0a13dd342412adbde57f784fe87f81 But now I'm not 100% sure what to use.

I already have the razor pens and such, but I could use a cheap dremel, and a heat gun if anyone could provide links that would be awesome. And thanks for being understanding!

 

[TJX62]

Glad to see some more N7 builds popping up. There are a couple of templates floating around.

A)You already mentioned Ithica's, I know Volpin has the front and back ones on his blog, and Narayas on the forums just released some files as well( http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/36174-N7-Armour-Templates-Patterns-amp-Prop-Codex). No matter whose files you choose, you still need to scale them to your body, otherwise they don't fit right. For mine, I measured my body for the piece, went into Photshop (GIMP is free and works very similar to photshop), set the height and width to the piece, and then just brought the edges on the armor to the edge of the canvas. if you do it this way, you need to add an inch or so to the template to compensate for the width of the foam.

B) For lighting you can either use LEDs with something to diffuse the light, or you can go with EL wire. I went with the EL wire route and was pretty happy with the results of it.

You can easily find a heat gun on eBay for roughly $20, not sure about a cheap dremel though.

Heres a link to my N7 build if you want to see how I did my suit (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/35961-FoamShep-build-for-ME3-launch) Can't wait to see what you have in store! Happy building!

 

[Snail3Productions]

Thanks dude the templates are super helpful! Much better than Ithica's videos. And your suit looks amazing I gotta say!

 

[Snail3Productions]

Also do you know where I can find unfolded pep files for the whole build and the helmets?

 

[TJX62]

The only one I know of is ACDCrockr's and he is still in the processess of working on it (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/36121-Mass-Effect-3-Shepard-armor-for-the-masses.) I would just keep an eye on that thread for a release.

 

[Snail3Productions]

So I was planning on using just the EVA foam, but I've seen that the other builds used other materials, the only one I've recognized is craft foam. Should I just use these or are there other important things I need (besides paint, straps, and buckles).

 

[vshore100]

You can get some amazing detail with eva foam. It's all how you work with it. You will need plenty of sharp blades and lots of hot glue. Also, you might want to change the title of your thread until you actually get to building something and posting pics. Otherwise, it might get locked. Best of luck with your project.

 

[Snail3Productions]

So I'm currently cutting out the pep files for this helmet:

More pics as they become available.

 

[Snail3Productions]

Update 2. Today I cut out and started putting together the helmet:

Any comments and constructive criticism would be great!

 

[thorn696]

You have pic's, great. It's always fun to watch a new build start up.

 

[rasendori04]

Im excitedto see how this will turn out. Good luck dude.

 

[Snail3Productions]

You have pic's, great. It's always fun to watch a new build start up.

Thanks dude! I'll post more pics tonight as I progress.

 

[Snail3Productions]

Im excitedto see how this will turn out. Good luck dude.

Me too!!! I can't wait till I can start working on it after I go on spring break today!

 

[Skyfox]

gotta say i've been playing mass effect only since the second game but still i'm freaking excited to see this build going on i'll defiantly be watching this one

 

[Nessy]

If you are doing foam N7 armour read these 2 blogs

Volpin Props N7 armour

http://bioweapons.wordpress.com/ For this one you need to start reading at the beginning. He goes through the entire build process and gives good tips throughout his posts.

Best of Luck and have fun!

 

[Snail3Productions]

Yeah I checked them both out I can honestly say I was inspired by bioweapons to make this armor, his was the first armor build I ever saw. Volpin also has an amazing build though!

 

[Snail3Productions]

Update:
So I have completed the pep process and am moving onto the resin. My main concern is that the helmet ends up to small and I have to re-do everything.

That's all for now!

 

[Cereal Killl3r]

Looking good man!
Hope the sizing ends up being ok.
If it's not, don't stress too much, everything you do all banks towards experience!

Cereal.

 

[Snail3Productions]

Looking good man!
Hope the sizing ends up being ok.
If it's not, don't stress too much, everything you do all banks towards experience!

Cereal.

Yeah I guess that could be an upside, I've learned a lot from building this first one. do you have any tips for making it the right size?

 

[golem95]

not to break up this party but to me it looks like you mightve scaled it too small D:
what did you size it to? because i know i had to build this helmet 3 times to get it right
i scaled the height to be 290