Corweena's Mk. VI Custom build

[Corweena]

What's up 405th! I've been lurking on the site for about a month, but I finally decided to make an account and introduce myself.

I actually found this site by accident, a friend told me about Pepakura, and some of the things she's made with it. I decided to do my own research on it, because it looked like a hobby i would like. Well, if you Google "pepakura," this site is the 4th search result. One thing lead to another, and here I am, starting my first armor build. My goal is to have it done by next Halloween, for the costume part I attend every year, but if it goes longer, so be it. I'd rather take my time and do it once, than rush something, only to have to redo it down the road. I hope I can make a believable Spartan.....being 6' 4" finally has an advantage!

Now with regards to my armor choice......I will definitely be building a Mk. VI helm. It is by far my favorite design. As for the rest of the armor, my decision is still up in the air. Whether it be all Mk. VI, or maybe incorporating some parts from Halo 4 (Mk. VII I think?), I will most likely be adding some custom parts/designs. I'm a pretty artistic person, so I like to add my own little flair to things.

Now before I get any further, I want to give a shoutout to Cereal Kill3r. When i started looking around on this site, I was 90% decided I was going to switch to foam to build my suit. I found his video tutorial series however, and he changed my mind back. His simple step-by-step method of dealing with resin, bondo, rondo, etc. answered 99% of my questions about the process, and made me realize that it is definitely doable. Thanks again!



Now, onto the build........

I started with the part most people start at, the Helmet. I downloaded Flying Squirrel's HD Mk. VI pep file. Yesterday, I printed and cut out all 188 pieces. My hands hurt hahaha. Hopefully I sized it right (282mm height, I'm pretty sure this will be good), I don't want to do this again.

Because I'm a very organized person (when its not my room :rolleyes), and the high number of pieces, I used a bunch of plastic slip over covers to separate each piece of paper. This will also enable me to easily see all the numbers and not have to sift through a pile of pieces.

Today I started scoring all of the pieces, using pens (a trick my art teacher taught me, not sure if anyone else uses this method). I should start gluing everything together in the next couple of days. When I get to that, I'll make sure to post pictures, because I know that's what you really want to see!

Anyways, thanks for looking, and I am open to any feedback, comments, criticism you have!

-Corwin

 

[craigsoup]

Wow! That's what I call organized! I wrote page numbers on all my pieces, but nothing like this.

I also use pens to score. A lot of people (myself included) use a red pen to score the mountains and black to score the valleys. Makes it easier to tell which way it needs to be folded.

Best of luck!

 

[Corweena]

Thanks! I used a red pen for the mountains, and a green pen for the valleys.


I should have some pics up in a bit, I'm in the final stages of piecing together the helmet.

 

[Largen]

Good luck with the build! You are WAY more organized then me! Ha ha
The resin coating and bondo applications are not too bad fret the first try if you have never worked with them before

 

[Corweena]

Here's just a quick photo, I complete the bottom of the helmet. The whole front half of the top is done as well...I just have to do the back.

I'll post more pictures when I finish.

 

[BlueFreeze128]

wow! you are super organized (wish i could be like that lol) and your helmet is really coming along ^_^ can't wait to see how it will come out! subscribed

 

[Inheritor95]

Your pep work is looking good!

 

[Corweena]

wow! you are super organized (wish i could be like that lol) and your helmet is really coming along ^_^ can't wait to see how it will come out! subscribed

Thank you! I'm actually very glad I kept everything organized, I haven't wasted any time searching for pieces. I should finish the helmet tomorrow....I wanted to tonight, but I went to a school basketball game, and now I'm off to see the midnight premier of Skyfall.

Your pep work is looking good!

Thanks! Overall I'm pretty happy with it. Not as nice as I would like, but I'm satisfied, since that is my first pep, and an HD one at that.

It looks like the helmet will fit fine, I just might have to trim the bottom.

 

[spartansonny]

first off we;come to the 405! i also lurked here for a little and took the plunge into making awesome things out of paper. been hooked since. Your pep work looks very clean. I hope to see this done at some point. You seem to be well onto the right track and I like your orginizational binder there, good idea!

 

[Evilpenguin]

i just cut mine as i need the bits, keeping track of ten or eleven pages is easier than a few hundred bits as for the trimming wait till you have resined and glassed it, sometimes they can cause it to shrink a little more as they cure, i found my helmet fit perfectly when just pepped but when i glassed it i had to take off a half inch all around the neck hole

 

[ViperB77]

WOW! That's a great first pep job (hehe) there, yessirree. Hey if you need some tips, you can check out my thread, its my only one on my profile.


I would suggest using this:

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100661959/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=superglue+gorrilla+glue&storeId=10051#.UJ1GEcWHL_4 for glue.



Don't forget your respirator!

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100143655/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=respirator&storeId=10051#.UJ1GqMWHL_4

For this!

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202077791/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=resin&storeId=10051#.UJ1HVcWHL_4



and this

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202077814/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=resin&storeId=10051#.UJ1HnMWHL_4

 

[Corweena]

first off we;come to the 405! i also lurked here for a little and took the plunge into making awesome things out of paper. been hooked since. Your pep work looks very clean. I hope to see this done at some point. You seem to be well onto the right track and I like your orginizational binder there, good idea!

Thank you sir!

i just cut mine as i need the bits, keeping track of ten or eleven pages is easier than a few hundred bits as for the trimming wait till you have resined and glassed it, sometimes they can cause it to shrink a little more as they cure, i found my helmet fit perfectly when just pepped but when i glassed it i had to take off a half inch all around the neck hole

That's what I was planning on doing....I read that a few places about it shrinking a bit. Also, it will be much easier to trim symmetrically when its rigid.

WOW! That's a great first pep job (hehe) there, yessirree. Hey if you need some tips, you can check out my thread, its my only one on my profile.

Thank you sir. I found that I like using hot glue better.....I have callouses on my fingers from playing guitar, so it really doesn't burn lol. And I've super glued my fingers together one too many times in previous projects hahaha.

I will be getting all needed safety equipment and all of my supplies from Lowe's, since I work there and get a discount.

 

[Corweena]

Sorry for the double post, but I finished the helmet tonight. Its not perfect, but for my first pep build I'm happy with it. It may be a little small, even if I trim it to be able to fit my head in. If I have to remake a larger helmet, thats ok, this one will be my practice piece.

 

[Early90z]

(wipes drool from mouth)

 

[Corweena]

(wipes drool from mouth)

Thanks hahaha. All my friends that have seen me working on the project were pretty impressed. All I can see are the imperfections lol.




But anywho, I did some measuring tonight, and sadly the helmet going to be too small. My nose would end up touching the visor. I'm perfectly fine with this though, as this helmet will be my practice one. Hopefully, I can perfect my bondo, fiberglass, and painting skills on this thing. When completed, I'll probably end up giving this helmet to my cousin for his birthday, since he is a huge Halo fan.


Next week, I will resin the practice helmet, and if time allows, begin fiberglassing the inside. If not, I will start pepping my properly sized helmet.

 

[ViperB77]

Damn girl! That camera is either hiding something, or you're waaay too bashful! That's a great build, so keep with your pace and don't get ahead of yourself. I keep burning ****. lol. But Hot Glue, eh, I thought about it, but I don't really want to do it that way (I have parental issues, as my mother works with hot glue a lot, and I don't want to be like my mom, weird eh?).

By the way, I'm kind of jealous that you're six-foot-sexy. I'm only 5'8" and I know I'm gonna be a short spartan, so I'm gonna try and make mine more "breakdanceable". Anyway, post some test fit pics with shades on! Never show your eyes, Chief never did!

... But then again, Kat looked pretty darn fine in that armor.

Keep trucking, it looks symmetrically STUNNING.

 

[Corweena]

Damn girl! That camera is either hiding something, or you're waaay too bashful! That's a great build, so keep with your pace and don't get ahead of yourself. I keep burning ****. lol. But Hot Glue, eh, I thought about it, but I don't really want to do it that way (I have parental issues, as my mother works with hot glue a lot, and I don't want to be like my mom, weird eh?).

By the way, I'm kind of jealous that you're six-foot-sexy. I'm only 5'8" and I know I'm gonna be a short spartan, so I'm gonna try and make mine more "breakdanceable". Anyway, post some test fit pics with shades on! Never show your eyes, Chief never did!

... But then again, Kat looked pretty darn fine in that armor.

Keep trucking, it looks symmetrically STUNNING.

Who said I was a girl?

Hahahahaha, I'm not.

I'll get some test pics of the helmet when I pep the replacement one....even with trimming, there is no physical way I could fit my head in it. Going to begin on the new helmet tonight. Like I said before though, the old helmet will be my practice surface for practicing with resin, bondo, and fiberglass.

I'm pretty happy with the symmetry on the bottom of the helmet, its the top that irks me. I built the top first, so its kind of sloppy, and is all I can notice lol. I'm just a perfectionist when it comes to certain things.

Just finishing up one of the forearms now, will post pics in a bit when I'm done.

 

[Octorock]

Who said I was a girl?

Hahahahaha, I'm not.

My reaction upon first entering.

 

[Corweena]

Small little update.......finished pepping the left forearm! Nailed the size first time, really glad about that. Much more satisfied with the quality of my work with this one, although glue the final seams was a PITA. My hands are much to big to fit through, so I will be trimming the wrist opening once it is resined and fiberglassed.

Also printed out my resized helmet, and started cutting out pieces. I went quite a bit bigger this time lol.

 

[Corweena]

Quick little update for you guys.......yesterday, I bought all of the materials needed to begin to resin and fiberglass my peps (resin, fiberglass cloth, brushes, respirator, gloves, safety glasses). Sadly, this weekend was one of the few times we have rain in Southern California, so I'm putting everything off until the weather clears up.

But, in the meantime I pepped out a handplate, which will be my first piece to resin (because of its small size, and easy construction in case I ruin it).