First Timer Foam Mark VI for Child

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topless68

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Hey Everyone,
So glad I found this site and its resources. My 6yo is determined to be Chief for Halloween this year. But before that, he wants to go to our local Comicon (Windsor), as the famed Spartan.
So, my work begins. I've ordered him the Amazon helmet to save a little bit of trouble, and gave him the option of the Halo 3 (MK V I think) or the Halo 4 (MK VI) style armor.
He's decided on the Halo 4 style (it matches the helmet style anyway). I've installed Pep and have scoured The Armory for foam templates.

I'm going to start diving into this on the weekend and will keep you posted. I think the tricky part will be scaling the templates down to his 60lbs body.
 
Welcome to the 405th topless68. Before you start, just do a quick read of a few of the tutorials here courtesy of PerniciousDuke. The info there is invaluable. It also couldn't hurt to watch a few YouTube vids on foam smithing. Post pics of your progress and there are plenty of us on here that can offer a suggestion or friendly advise as well as constructive criticisms. I know we all hate those that are too critical, but I believe that we are our own worst critic. We're here to help you w/ your build. Good luck and happy building.
 
Welcome topless68. Building costumes for your kids is always exciting and fun. Just be aware when scaling the armour to fit a child proportions may seem a little weird.
Just last year I did a Chief suit from H3 for my son (at the time he was 8). Project Mini Chief
Feel free to check it out and see if it will help you with any ideas to tackle your build.
 
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Thanks PaiganBoi, I've already poured over your project and its helped a lot with ideas. Luckily I won't be building a helmet from scratch, but will need to figure out the proper dimensions for skinny arms and legs. I'm tempted to try a cardboard tester to see how things line up.
 
That's a great idea topless68.....you don't want to waist time building a foam piece if it doesn't fit.......I found that using 110 lb paper is also a waste but sometimes you can make better templates out of that heavier paper and adjust where needed.
 
Ok, so things have been going well. Bought foam, krazy glue, blades and printed out the templates. I've watched some videos by Angelegend, and tackled the shins first.
Thoughts?

I've learned not to use marker to trace the shapes.

20180806_223223.jpg
 
Doesn't matter if you use marker, since you'll be sealing, priming, and painting the pieces. I used marker for my chest pieces. think those shins turned out really grand. Very very clean cut and uniform. Really did a heart job on those.
 
Doesn't matter if you use marker, since you'll be sealing, priming, and painting the pieces. I used marker for my chest pieces. think those shins turned out really grand. Very very clean cut and uniform. Really did a heart job on those.
Thanks Sean. I'm not too worried about the painting with the marker on there, it's my fingers are all black now.
 
Thanks Sean. I'm not too worried about the painting with the marker on there, it's my fingers are all black now.

Ah. Yep. Yeah, been there. Been there a lot... you'd think I'd put latex gloves on to do that. Nope. Haha

Seriously, I'm impressed with the shins. Good job!
 
Wait....Krazy Glue? Are you using that to attach the foam?
 
Its not officially "Kra Gl e", but LePage Professional instant adhesive. A Canadianized version of Loctite. That bonds the EVA really well, and then I reinforce it with hot glue.
 
Its contact cement........ok just so you know, Krazy Glue east EVA.
 
This is the exact stuff I used. Super Glue Ultra Liquid Control | LePage®

I was using Angelegend as a reference, he uses the Loctite Professional 5 second glue on his armours, with hot glue reinforcement. "its bonds on a molecular level with the eva". I've found that it holds extremely tight, and sets quickly. So far so good...we'll see how it holds up when a 6yo plays with it.
 
Looks wonderful. I'm on my first build too, a complete Spartan armour. I've found it invaluable to use corrugated card (usually from Amazon boxes) to mock up the pieces on myself before going forward with the foam. There's an example on my thread - not sure how to link it though. Good luck!
 
This is the exact stuff I used. Super Glue Ultra Liquid Control | LePage®

I was using Angelegend as a reference, he uses the Loctite Professional 5 second glue on his armours, with hot glue reinforcement. "its bonds on a molecular level with the eva". I've found that it holds extremely tight, and sets quickly. So far so good...we'll see how it holds up when a 6yo plays with it.


No....it's Krazy Glue.......just a different packaging. It says not good on items needing high flexibility. You may not think it but the EVA when you wear it, flexes a lot.
 
No....it's Krazy Glue.......just a different packaging. It says not good on items needing high flexibility. You may not think it but the EVA when you wear it, flexes a lot.
I have used the same stuffs on my build. I found that it can become brittle and come apart/tear easily on high stress areas. So now I have demoted it to only attaching details and and greebles.
 
This has stirred quite the debate. :)

we'll see how it goes. The hot glue should help to keep the seems tight, and still allow some flexibility if the super glue fails. If I decide to go deeper into building more armour then I may go a different direction. First time build, so a kid....nothing lasts forever. :lol:
 
Dude.....you have no idea. Debates of Foam vs Pep......Hot glue vs Contact Cement.....Red vs Blue......the list is endless.
 
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