Halex's MkVI Build (WIP)

[Halex]

Hey all, back with a little progress. The weather wasn't cooperative today for painting at all, but I was able to make a little bit of headway on the shoulders. Pics!

They're nearly symmetrical now, with additional fiberglass mat on the "arm band" portions to keep the shape correct.

Little bondo to flatten out some of the faces that sank in while hardening.

Gave the back a coat of primer to see what it actually looked like... no bondo necessary, just some spot putty/sanding to cover the seams and they'll be set.

The actual bicep portions got their first coat of bondo, too. Came out nicely for an initial coat.

Also smoothed out the band that goes on the inside of the arm. This one's almost done already, while the other needs a light second coat.

And lastly, of course there's something wrong =( This bicep warped pretty badly while it was hardening, but I think I can fix it by building up the bondo on the outside and sanding away the interior part. Probably move it about halfway between where it is and actually straight, enough to match the small warp on the right piece.

Starting to feel like I've finally reached that "critical mass" point with bondo ability, where I can get it work for me most of the time rather than against. It was a good feeling to put that first coat on the biceps and have it come out with a nice, smooth shape right away and not be left feeling it'll take 4-5 coats like the helmet.

Let me know what you guys think! Supposed to be beautiful weather tomorrow so expect an update on more of the upper body pieces.

'Till next time!

 

[Spartan_127]

Looking good with the initial bondo and everything.
Keep up the good work.

 

[DBmike]

Coming along nicely

 

[Tigersgrace]

Great looking bondo work!

 

[boomshakra]

This is the first time I have had a chance to look in on your build - great job fixing your helmet! I like what you did with the forearms - I was thinking about gluing a piece of either webbing or elastic instead of a hinge, but that looks a lot more practical. Keep up the good work!

 

[Halex]

Looking good with the initial bondo and everything.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks Spartan_127!

Coming along nicely

Now, when I get it finished I need to find a place like you did and get some good photos!

Great looking bondo work!

Thanks for checking in, Tiger =D

This is the first time I have had a chance to look in on your build - great job fixing your helmet! I like what you did with the forearms - I was thinking about gluing a piece of either webbing or elastic instead of a hinge, but that looks a lot more practical. Keep up the good work!

Appreciate you stopping by to check it out! Helmet is almost ready to start painting again, but not quite. Elastic for the forearms has promise too, if you can keep it closed during movement. I just found the hinge to be pretty easy to do and a solid closing mechanism.

--

And another update! Today was busy: got the helmet patched up and nearly ready for a first final coat of primer. Ended up ripping off the stupid veneer layer that kept peeling off of the forearms when it showed signs of doing the same on the helmet detail. Not worth dealing with. Re-sealing with a couple coats of resin, then it'll be ready.

Took an updated picture of the handplates. Never posted one of them after they'd been truly finished/sealed, though the gloves themselves still need work (tag removal, cover the name plate).

And last but not least, forearms! Not sealed yet so they're a little too shiny, but I'll get them clear coated when temperatures allow.

Not 100% happy with the dry-brushing on the top, but using two shades of silver did give a better effect than my first attempt on the handplates. They still need sealer and lighting effects, but that's to come. I'm going to try my hand at some soldering tomorrow and get LED's up and running, while also putting together the padding to keep them steady. I already cut the plexi to go under the triangular cut-outs and am trying to get enough frosting on it to actually diffuse some light.

Lots and lots to go but it feels good to have another part almost done. Let me know what you guys think!

'Till next time!

-- Jacob

 

[spartansonny]

wow halex, you are putting in some serious overtime into your project, thats great and its looking phenomenal!

 

[Tigersgrace]

HOLY CRAP!!! that paintjob is flippin sweet!

 

[Spartan_127]

Paint looks great.
Hope the resin fixes the tear off.
Keep it up!

 

[markanator13]

Definitely watching this thread. Keep up the awesome work bro!

 

[Halex]

wow halex, you are putting in some serious overtime into your project, thats great and its looking phenomenal!

Thanks spartansonny, I've been trying to step it up a little since I have all the pep work done now. It's hard for me to keep focus sometimes but I just have to look back here at all the encouragement from everyone and that helps me keep going.

HOLY CRAP!!! that paintjob is flippin sweet!

Thanks Tiger, I had originally intended it to be more of a dark grey color, but after I sprayed the first coat of this onto the handplates I realized it was black... and loved it. And everything I do has to be blue somehow!

Paint looks great.
Hope the resin fixes the tear off.
Keep it up!

I think a couple coats of resin and maybe a little bondo will do the trick. This is what i get for trying to take the shortcut and not build the detail in bondo. Appreciate you checking in!

Definitely watching this thread. Keep up the awesome work bro!

Thanks man, trying to get something that's a bit different than the norm.

--

Quick no-pic update. Got some cloth and sewing supplies last night, cut down the foam to the right shapes and fit it inside the forearms. It fit nicely (if a bit tight) and I think it'll work pretty well, but... my attempt at actually sewing the cloth over the foam was pathetic at best. Going to give it one more try tonight with a little different approach, but if that doesn't work either it's off to the store to get the cheapest sewing machine I can find. Also got battery boxes and wiring supplies for the two forearms last night so that's on the list as well. Hopefully soldering goes better than sewing...

The shoulders are coming along, but unfortunately my second coat of bondo hasn't fully cured after three days. Not sure what happened, but this tube of hardener hasn't been cooperating very well. Tonight I'll be sanding off whatever hasn't hardened fully and applying another layer over what's left. It should be close to the last for the forming of the curved pieces. The tricep covering has been sanded down to a much smoother look than in the pictures posted earlier, and the actual pauldron needs minimal work apart from the bottom detail, which I've decided to change again.

Lastly, a question. Does anyone have experience weathering black armor? I'm debating trying to make mine look a little more used, but my try at using a wash just ran right off of the paint. I'm guessing a clear matte coat then a grey wash or some sort of sponge, but I really don't know much about the detail painting. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks for looking in and I hope to be back with another update soon!

 

[Tigersgrace]

I would say, with my limited painting knowlege, do a coat of silver as a base and then spray the black and dry-brush to add the weathering.

 

[Halex]

I would say, with my limited painting knowlege, do a coat of silver as a base and then spray the black and dry-brush to add the weathering.

That's close to what I'm doing now. Three coats of primer, a coat of hammered silver to give a slight bit of texture and cover smaller imperfections, then the black and blue accents. Acrylic silver mixed with black for the first layer of scratches, then straight silver for the second. It just seems too clean still. Granted, I want a lightly-used look with no major projectile strikes (weapons set is medium-long range, so unlikely it'd be hit often), but still... can't do the standard black wash on black armor. I tried going directly onto the paint but it's entirely too glossy/smooth for anything to stick. I might give some things a try after I put on the matte clear coat, but I'd hate to mess it up somehow at this point so wanted to ask around first.

 

[Lycanthropica]

It looks great, I like the wider helmets.

 

[Scrub]

Love the color!

 

[DBmike]

looks great

 

[Spartan_127]

To weather the black to make it look a little "older" or worn so to speak, you could mist it with a light gray and that would dull the paint. It should give the final paint a worn look like it has been exposed to the elements. Get a good quality light gray primer and hold the can about 12" - 18" from the piece and just spray a light mist over the entire piece. You may want to practice on some scrap stuff that you've painted like a finished part first to figure out how much of a mist you need to put on it for the desired effect.

 

[Starport592]

OMG This is AMAZING. The weapons I am especially impressed with.

Btw, I found this video on how to add battle damage. There a few methods, I gather:

And this video shows another method. I think this is the one you want:

I have never done either method but it makes sense to me.

P.S. My favorite colors for my spartan are blue and black.

 

[Halex]

It looks great, I like the wider helmets.

Thank you! The more I look at it, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be just fine when I get around to working on that project.

Love the color!

Thanks, had to re-do the blue panel on the right forearm three times before it looked right. First was too heavy, second was too rough, third was juuuust right.

looks great

Thanks man, really liking these a little too much now. I sometimes wear them around the apartment with the gloves just because it looks so badass. They've got some weight to them, but I like it. Gives a sense of actually wearing armor.

To weather the black to make it look a little "older" or worn so to speak, you could mist it with a light gray and that would dull the paint. It should give the final paint a worn look like it has been exposed to the elements. Get a good quality light gray primer and hold the can about 12" - 18" from the piece and just spray a light mist over the entire piece. You may want to practice on some scrap stuff that you've painted like a finished part first to figure out how much of a mist you need to put on it for the desired effect.

This is a good suggestion and I may give it a shot if I can paint up a test part in short order. Going to try a few things this weekend with acrylics on the handplates since they're painted and clear-coated already. Too cold to do any more painting outdoors right now, sadly.

OMG This is AMAZING. The weapons I am especially impressed with.

Btw, I found this video on how to add battle damage. There a few methods, I gather:

...

And this video shows another method. I think this is the one you want:

...

I have never done either method but it makes sense to me.

P.S. My favorite colors for my spartan are blue and black.

Thanks for the video links. I do an indoor version of the dry brushing already (acrylics instead of spray) but harican89 had some nice additional techniques.

--

Quick update.

I CAN SEW! Sorta. Made three of the four pads I need to finish the forearms. Cut my time for sewing one by hand from about two hours down to 45 minutes. Also did some wiring with mostly positive results. The switch seems a little picky about being in the EXACT right position, but overall I have no complaints. It's a small, discrete switch that does what I need it to while being nearly invisible, yet easy to operate. Will post up some pics tonight/tomorrow when I finish the last pad and wiring for the left forearm.

 

[Halex]

From one to the other and back again... time to re-post some updates throughout the next day or two. Big thanks to the entire mod/admin team for getting the site back up and running again. I'm sure it wasn't an easy task, but I know the community appreciates your hard work. Haven't seen stats like this in awhile... "There are currently 69 users online. 18 members and 51 guests."

--

Okay so it looks like at the time of the last post here, I hadn't quite finished the forearms yet. I'll start with re-posting some of those pics, because if you haven't seen them they're new to you! And if you have, well, I hope you like them a second time!

Finished forearms


The padding and LED's in those all turned out well. The only issues I've had have been related to the hinges not adhering well to the rondo on the inside. They've each fallen off several times, so this week I'll fix that with some epoxy.

Next up are the shoulders. They're complete but apparently I've yet to take a final picture. Added in my Reach emblem for a little extra eye candy.


And here we have... helmet! Primed and ready to go...


Visor prep and painted...


And done!




The visor looks gold in the picture, but it's actually a standard silver mirrored finish. Helmet turned out really well. Still needs fans and padding to make it a little more snug, but right now I'm focusing on finishing up the torso.

Speaking of the torso, that's continued in the next post due to image limits...