Here are some pictures of a statue made to promote Half-life 2 :
http://www.mucklefiguren.de/content/e2/e673/index_ger.html#
http://www.mucklefiguren.de/content/e2/e673/index_ger.html#
Half Life 2 ~ Gordon Freeman Armor
- Thread starter NuggetWarmer
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Wow, that's not at all what I was expecting. I might just have to use some foamies to make that pattern on mine. I was never a huge fan of the handle and it was such a pain to pep I already decided if I have to make another I'll leave the handle off. The only problem is that that statue doesn't have the weird hunchback shape of the pep model.
EDIT: I also just noticed the kevlar "assguard". Do not know if want. On one hand it hides the most exposed area on your body, but on the other hand it makes it look more ridiculous and probably isn't great for sitting.
EDIT: I also just noticed the kevlar "assguard". Do not know if want. On one hand it hides the most exposed area on your body, but on the other hand it makes it look more ridiculous and probably isn't great for sitting.
I don't know I kinda like the 'glutguard' lol I really like that back better then the pep file handle also! I'm thinking about getting rid of the handle also... again I have 3DSM and thinking of redoing the back with an indent area then maybe with a resin ver. of the beta, that's why I wanted more pictures of it up close.. if anyone can help that would be awesome.. I tried googling it and can not find any others like it... 
Well I'm having a lot of fun with this model, but I'm still figuring out sizing. It looks like my limbs are in way different proportion than Null's, even though I'm only an inch or so taller.
I have the feeling this is a newbie question, but I haven't been able to find the answer by searching: is there any way to measure distance between points in the model file, without having to physically print and assemble it?
The first piece I pepped, the right lower leg, turned out to be way too narrow to fit around my calf. I had to redo it about 20% bigger. The upper leg seems to be a reasonable size for me without rescaling. It's just hard to be sure if it's really right, or if the paper is being bent out of shape in places I can't see. I guess I'll find out for sure after each piece is resined, glassed and hinged, but it would suck to put that much work in only to realize that it doesn't fit.
I have the feeling this is a newbie question, but I haven't been able to find the answer by searching: is there any way to measure distance between points in the model file, without having to physically print and assemble it?
The first piece I pepped, the right lower leg, turned out to be way too narrow to fit around my calf. I had to redo it about 20% bigger. The upper leg seems to be a reasonable size for me without rescaling. It's just hard to be sure if it's really right, or if the paper is being bent out of shape in places I can't see. I guess I'll find out for sure after each piece is resined, glassed and hinged, but it would suck to put that much work in only to realize that it doesn't fit.
Welcome to my world of making pieces over and over again. From what I can remember, only some of the pieces are actually scaled appropriately, some are completely off.
So I'm almost done with my right bicep and forearm, I just have a little bit more smoothing to do on the bicep and a lot more on the forearm, but both are mudglassed. It's really surprising how heavy those pieces are. I have one forearm that's plain old glassed too and the difference in weight and feel is incredible. The mudglassed pieces actually feel like ARMOR.
I've just got one problem. Because I'm mudglassing I'm not screwing around with bondo anymore, it's a pain and in the long run I tend to just make my pieces less smooth by putting it on, not to mention the weight it adds. Instead I've just been sanding the corners off of the outsides of the pep models after glassing. There's plenty of material on the inside so I don't have to worry about making any holes. The problem is, when I sand down through the resin I hit paper and it gets a little fuzzy. I tried priming over the fuzz and sanding smooth with a fine grit of sandpaper and that didn't work all that well. I tried glazing putty, but as mentioned earlier that just made the surface less smooth. Anybody have any recommendations?
So I'm almost done with my right bicep and forearm, I just have a little bit more smoothing to do on the bicep and a lot more on the forearm, but both are mudglassed. It's really surprising how heavy those pieces are. I have one forearm that's plain old glassed too and the difference in weight and feel is incredible. The mudglassed pieces actually feel like ARMOR.
I've just got one problem. Because I'm mudglassing I'm not screwing around with bondo anymore, it's a pain and in the long run I tend to just make my pieces less smooth by putting it on, not to mention the weight it adds. Instead I've just been sanding the corners off of the outsides of the pep models after glassing. There's plenty of material on the inside so I don't have to worry about making any holes. The problem is, when I sand down through the resin I hit paper and it gets a little fuzzy. I tried priming over the fuzz and sanding smooth with a fine grit of sandpaper and that didn't work all that well. I tried glazing putty, but as mentioned earlier that just made the surface less smooth. Anybody have any recommendations?
Risu said:
I'm a huge noob, and this probably isn't the right way, but how about just coating the fuzz with a very thin coat of resin? I did that with the halo forearm I'm making right now and it went really smooth. Again, no idea if it'll work, so don't try it without a second opinion.
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Dick Motorman
New Member
really excited about this build. Good luck with it!
Every time I complete a step, I think of another question.
A leg piece is resined now. Once that's set, I will mud and cloth the inside. It occurs to me that I could set pairs of magnets into the mud at this stage, so I don't have to glue them on or drill holes for them later.
My idea would be to mark where I eventually want each "hinge" seam, and lay pairs of small NIB magnets on the interior along that line. Tack them down with superglue (or hot glue?), and then mud right over the top of them. When the mud is set, carefully cut the seam right between the magnets, and pull 'em apart. Then they would be guaranteed to match up perfectly when the armor piece snaps together around my leg.
The major issue with this is that I don't know a good way to make the cut. Would you normally use a Dremel cutting wheel for opening a seam? Those have a noticeable kerf (the thickness of removed material), which would leave these magnets standing a little proud of the facing surfaces. The seam would then remain an ugly open gap when the piece was magnetted back together.
Is there a known technique for doing what I'm talking about? Or is there just a better way of installing magnetic closures?
A leg piece is resined now. Once that's set, I will mud and cloth the inside. It occurs to me that I could set pairs of magnets into the mud at this stage, so I don't have to glue them on or drill holes for them later.
My idea would be to mark where I eventually want each "hinge" seam, and lay pairs of small NIB magnets on the interior along that line. Tack them down with superglue (or hot glue?), and then mud right over the top of them. When the mud is set, carefully cut the seam right between the magnets, and pull 'em apart. Then they would be guaranteed to match up perfectly when the armor piece snaps together around my leg.
The major issue with this is that I don't know a good way to make the cut. Would you normally use a Dremel cutting wheel for opening a seam? Those have a noticeable kerf (the thickness of removed material), which would leave these magnets standing a little proud of the facing surfaces. The seam would then remain an ugly open gap when the piece was magnetted back together.
Is there a known technique for doing what I'm talking about? Or is there just a better way of installing magnetic closures?
I think Pepakura is the program embodiment of the devil. This is totally unrelated to the HEV suit, I just have to vent. I decided to make an HD MkVI helmet that actually fits me and I got halfway done with it when I realized that at some point Pep resized it for me and now I have half a child-sized HD helmet. I just wasted 10 solid hours working on it.
To make this post relevant, I went to my local art supply store that has a huge paint section and got a couple cans that I think will work great. They had 4 different cans of Montana Gold paint that looked VERY close to the light orange of the suit. Any of them would have worked, but I ended up going with the one that was slightly more orange than SA because I liked the way it looked better. It's still WAY closer than the cone orange Krylon. I also picked up a can of "Alien" brand paint that's a gloss black with a slightly blued hue to it for the arms. Now I've got everything I need to paint up the right arm as soon as I get it smooth.
To make this post relevant, I went to my local art supply store that has a huge paint section and got a couple cans that I think will work great. They had 4 different cans of Montana Gold paint that looked VERY close to the light orange of the suit. Any of them would have worked, but I ended up going with the one that was slightly more orange than SA because I liked the way it looked better. It's still WAY closer than the cone orange Krylon. I also picked up a can of "Alien" brand paint that's a gloss black with a slightly blued hue to it for the arms. Now I've got everything I need to paint up the right arm as soon as I get it smooth.
Risu said:
Well I agree on the, "embodiment of the devil" part. I'm still having a problem finding the right scale for the HEV suit and I've been away for a while... new possible employment!.. so I don't think I'm going to make the Halloween deadline this year... grrrrr! :angry
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Scaling is my major concern at the moment, too. I think I may have it right, but I won't know for sure until I have each piece glassed, hinged and fitted. In my original estimates I tried to err on the side of being slightly too big, so if I'm reasonably close, I can add thin padding to the inside and not have to redo the entire piece from scratch.
Right now I have glassing partway done on all the right limb pieces. I haven't even started the left yet. Once I finish each right piece and am sure it fits, I'll scale the corresponding left one to match. The torso will be done last, after I've practiced with the smaller parts.
Right now I have glassing partway done on all the right limb pieces. I haven't even started the left yet. Once I finish each right piece and am sure it fits, I'll scale the corresponding left one to match. The torso will be done last, after I've practiced with the smaller parts.
That's a good way to go about it. After messing up on the scaling several times I just started cutting open my pep files and trying them on. I can't use that piece anymore, but at least I know if it did or didn't fit. I haven't made any progress on my suit in the last couple of weeks. Since I knew I couldn't finish it in time I picked a new costume for Halloween and I've been devoting all my free time to that. After Halloween and a couple other events the week after I'll get back to this one though.
I do try on the pep pieces. Rather than cut apart a finished piece, I try it on before gluing the last seam. Hold it closed with masking tape or some other weak tape, just enough to keep the seam aligned while it's on you. That way you don't have to pep the exact same thing twice. It's just hard to know the fit for sure when it's only paper, because there has to be enough room inside for the fiberglass. I guess after finishing a few pieces I will develop a sense of how much allowance to give for that.
And, I knew I was never going to finish in time for this Halloween. I started the project with the goal of being ready for DragonCon 2010. My timeframe might be speeding up a lot, though, because I just found out I'm being laid off from my job. Unless I quickly find something new, I'll have a lot of free armor-making time.
And, I knew I was never going to finish in time for this Halloween. I started the project with the goal of being ready for DragonCon 2010. My timeframe might be speeding up a lot, though, because I just found out I'm being laid off from my job. Unless I quickly find something new, I'll have a lot of free armor-making time.
That sucks, good luck finding another job. It's hitting my parents pretty hard right now as well. Luckily my job is somewhat recession proof. Knock on wood.
Fiberglass doesn't take up much space on the inside unless you're REALLY caking on the mud. I poured a layer of mud into my bicep piece, put in the fiberglass, and then poured a thick layer of mud on top and let it cure and it doesn't even come up to the edge of the lip at the top. The whole coating is roughly 1/8 inch thick.
Fiberglass doesn't take up much space on the inside unless you're REALLY caking on the mud. I poured a layer of mud into my bicep piece, put in the fiberglass, and then poured a thick layer of mud on top and let it cure and it doesn't even come up to the edge of the lip at the top. The whole coating is roughly 1/8 inch thick.
It's only been about 10 days so I am hoping this isn't a NECRO. Awesome Idea for a suit. I have been dying to find one for sale somewhere and cannot. I need one for halloween this year. I just have a couple things to say.
1. I work with Fiberglass a lot, Having completely re-fiberglassed my canoe, and made several models with it. If you do it right, 1/8th of an inch is more than thick enough for one layer of fiberglass. You only need a thin coat of fiberglass resin laid down, then the fiberglass cloth laid over, and another thin coat of fiberglass resin over the top, just enough to wet the fiberglass cloth and turn its color brown (or whatever color your fiberglass resin is.) and soak through it. Any more than that and it's overkill and making it bend too easy.
2. Can anyone design a nice COD plate to attach to the belt? There looks like there is sort of one in the under armor. I need this costume for work, and I don't want my boss to yell at me because my junk is sticking . (especially if I see a hott chick... that would be BAD NEWS) Or maybe give me some ideas?
3. Where do you find those progress picture thingies?
1. I work with Fiberglass a lot, Having completely re-fiberglassed my canoe, and made several models with it. If you do it right, 1/8th of an inch is more than thick enough for one layer of fiberglass. You only need a thin coat of fiberglass resin laid down, then the fiberglass cloth laid over, and another thin coat of fiberglass resin over the top, just enough to wet the fiberglass cloth and turn its color brown (or whatever color your fiberglass resin is.) and soak through it. Any more than that and it's overkill and making it bend too easy.
2. Can anyone design a nice COD plate to attach to the belt? There looks like there is sort of one in the under armor. I need this costume for work, and I don't want my boss to yell at me because my junk is sticking . (especially if I see a hott chick... that would be BAD NEWS) Or maybe give me some ideas?
3. Where do you find those progress picture thingies?
After the transition to the new forum, the pep file links are broken, and I've had a couple of requests for the files, so I will repost their location:
HEV Belt: Unfolded @ 32 inches
HEV Chest: Unfolded @ 38 inches
HEV Left Arm Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Left Arm Upper: Unfolded @ 8 inches
HEV Left Leg Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Left Leg Upper: Unfolded @ 14 inches
HEV Right Arm Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Right Arm Upper: Unfolded @ 8 inches
HEV Right Leg Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Right Leg Upper: Unfolded @ 14 inches
To reiterate, these were unfolded and scaled based on my measurements of 67" (170cm) in height and about 160lbs (72.6kg) weight.
The scaling may not fit your body exactly. I will not rescale for you, so play around with the sizing yourself before asking questions.
Everything that needs to be said has been discussed in this thread or in my build thread over here.
That being said, this thread is more a reference thread now than any form of discussion.
I encourage prospective builders to download the pep files and start building, then once you get some work done, start a build thread and ask any questions you might still have after READING THE EXISTING THREADS in there.
Have fun!
HEV Belt: Unfolded @ 32 inches
HEV Chest: Unfolded @ 38 inches
HEV Left Arm Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Left Arm Upper: Unfolded @ 8 inches
HEV Left Leg Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Left Leg Upper: Unfolded @ 14 inches
HEV Right Arm Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Right Arm Upper: Unfolded @ 8 inches
HEV Right Leg Lower: Unfolded @ 10 inches
HEV Right Leg Upper: Unfolded @ 14 inches
To reiterate, these were unfolded and scaled based on my measurements of 67" (170cm) in height and about 160lbs (72.6kg) weight.
The scaling may not fit your body exactly. I will not rescale for you, so play around with the sizing yourself before asking questions.
Everything that needs to be said has been discussed in this thread or in my build thread over here.
That being said, this thread is more a reference thread now than any form of discussion.
I encourage prospective builders to download the pep files and start building, then once you get some work done, start a build thread and ask any questions you might still have after READING THE EXISTING THREADS in there.
Have fun!
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