Halo 3 Elite / Sanghelli leg extentions.

[aussiellama]

Just before i start, I'd like to make it clear that I'm not completely new to this, i've already got one complete set of amour (halo 1 marine), and now I'm looking to tackle a bigger project.

caution - image heavy​

master chief/ spartan seems a little overdone, so I've decided to go for the arbiter.
which presents a problem...:

for those of you who don't know, they have double jointed legs. i do not.
so, the solution.
i want to build extensions for my legs. like a cross between shoes and stilts, that change my legs to be more similar to an elites. i've got the know-how to do this, the materials and the equipment. what i don't have is the wealth of knowledge held by the members of the 405th (a resource which i have not yet tapped)

i am aware that there are other things, and retail products out there to do this, but that's no fun. i also couldn't find a comprehensive start to finish walk through (or any other resources for that matter) using search. so I'm going to make one.

here we go, into the gritty bit.
Designs.

at this point, probably largely aluminium for the frame, etc. it's lighter (important when you're walking around in something), and a 40x40x5mm square tube should give me the strength i'm going to need.

These are a few sketches i drew today, just percolating ideas. please, tell me what you think.
the first is, as you'd expect, my first design

the second is more refined, and more detailed. (but without annotation)

looking forward to your feedback,
Aussiellama

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

If I was going to make it this is how I would do it. Really this kind of thing will just need to be done trial and error. But keep us posted so that there is a detailed thread on how to do it.

 

[livinthedream]

The idea looks good, only thing I see may be a problem is holding your self in a squatted position for any length of time.

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

The idea looks good, only thing I see may be a problem is holding your self in a squatted position for any length of time.

Yes. This will require that the person is in great shape, but it would be worth it to be an Elite.

 

[Ravenwolf]

NOt necessarily...
Depends on how much range of motion he allows in the joints. It's not inconceivable that he would be able to stand nearly vertical.
As he said others have done this before, andin fact i beleive Weta studios does sell one. If anything I'd take a look at how they did it, and compare to how you're planning to do it. (actually looks quite similiar from what i remember)

 

[SLane972]

Seen these made out of wood, kinda interested in how the aluminum would come out. really if you think about it the idea is an oversized high heel without the heel. though you make it seem so much more epic.

 

[tmccarty23]

The idea looks good, only thing I see may be a problem is holding your self in a squatted position for any length of time.

I would install some heavy duty resistance springs to take a good deal of weight off of your legs. Or better yet, put some kind of stop mechanisms on it so when you are not walking, you can basically "sit down" and the legs would come to rest on these stop bars. It would appear to the person looking at you that you are standing, but you are in more of a squat with the majority of the weight on the frame and not your legs. I don't know, just a thought as I have never made anything like this.

I think this is a very ambitious project and I will definitely be following this one. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Troest87]

ah.. very good design... a similar to one if seen used in a theater, i worked at back in the day.. prop department, i think they were used for Nania, the goatfella, we had a hell of a time playing with them.

anywho

one thing you might wanner consider is using something a little stronger then velcro-straps, maybe leather or a combo.

another thing is, if you want stability, i think you should be careful about having to many moving joints, like the one under the foot and the 'spring-loaded' one, if you get my drift.

looking forward to this

 

[aussiellama]

Yes. This will require that the person is in great shape, but it would be worth it to be an Elite.

i'm not gonna lie.... i am pretty damn huge ...
but yeah, i do agree, the entire thing should be fairly rigid, with only 5-10 degrees of movement in the actual back 'knee'. having this spring loaded is an excellent idea, as it should reduce the strain on the wearer's muscles. as tmccarty23 said, i deally you should be able to 'squat', and let the back joint assembly take all of your weight.

one thing you might wanner consider is using something a little stronger then velcro-straps, maybe leather or a combo.

one thing i did want to experiment with was vaccuform moulds of my calves, like the ones they used in underworld. byt yes, now that you mention it Velcro does seem a little..... you know..... also, vaccuform would personalise it to jsut me.... not so great.

anyhow, it's 5:00 am here, and i'm off to rowing training. will try to post back here sometime today. 5:00 ish, western australian time. (GMT+8)

thanks for your input!
Aussiellama

 

[Cobbatron]

Really great idea! that is along the lines of me and my bro's idea for his arbiter that was scrapped. Hope to see it work for you!!

PS: that is why most people make spartans, elites legs are so weird (which is why it is hard to climb ladders (their legs bend forward instead of backwards (got that from Contact Harvest)))

 

[saint ignatious]

i had a similar idea for a velociraptor suit (it was 4 am and it semed like a REALLY good idea at the time) my issue was finding a material that would support my weight without looking to bulky, and finding a proper center of balance is hard to. with the raptor prototypes i had a tail that allowed me to hang forward without flling (counter balance) but here it seems like hunching will be a faling issue. i wanna see how this gets done, so keep the info coming

 

[Night Fury]

wow lol. check out the guy that built a 10 foot tall elite on google.

 

[mikki429]

Here's the link to Gizmodo's article on said 7-foot tall elite.
This was made by a team of proffesional costume makers, so it should be the perfect starting point for anything you want to make. His leg stands are clever in that the person's foot remains flat.

 

[Jeff Torres]

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/25551-WORT!-WORT!-WORT!-(translation)-My-Elite-Build

This is my Thread Showing how I did my Elite...The Suit Construction is Paused (too much going on)

Enjoy!

 

[Deputy Dog]

Dude, You'll have calfs of steel if you wear these. Cool idea, can't wait to see your progress.

 

[Sean Bradley]

Something like this?:

Go rent Underworld and Underworld Evolutions on DVD, check the special features. There's some excellent info there showing Tatapoulous Studios stilt designs. Kim Grahams's Digilegs were halted from production with Weta, but I think she's probably still selling them through he website. Either way, she's got some useful info there as well: http://www.kimgrahamstudios.com/gal-legs.html

Hope thats helpful!

-Sean

 

[SLane972]

Oh Sean watching that video and checking out the other stuff gives me evil ideas, and that's not a good thing... my wife has almost recaimed her kitchen now as it it is!

 

[Jeff Torres]

http://i953.photobucket.com/albums/ae11/Jefftorres/IMAG0003.jpg

Thats as far as I got...

 

[aussiellama]

right.... that was a trek. exams SUCK!

so, holidays now - time to do some serious work.

 

[wiyumishere]

wow, pretty epic. This would definitely give you the right size scaling considering elites are really tall. Even though if you abandon the digileg things you could still make the standard thing, just extend the back of the shin like in the picture to kind of trick the eyes. Pretty sweet so far though