1st Build Halo Reach Female build

Yeah, you gotta assume that there's some closet somewhere at 343 or Legacy with a bunch of dusty Spartans in it. The behind the scenes YouTube video shows an IRL elite suit as well, which I would really like to get a better look at.

Well, this is not a tempting testimonial for armorsmith. Sounds like it just automates all the failures that I'm quite good at making on my own.
Armorsmith is pretty decent for me and has saved me a few times, its just not built to deal with a feminine shape very well.
 
Pardon my shoddy unfinished papersmithing, was trying to rush and get it done but I was silly and printed out the complex pep pattern instead of utilizing the foam pattern.

Not even sure if I trust my own measurements at this point.
I understand will be thicker but these seems pretty far off on me compared to my measurements plugged into Armorsmith. Yikes, I don't know what to think at the moment. Next test I make will be on foam, thigh tests made of paper don't really help in any sort of way.

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I really don't want to move on to anything else until I figure this out but I might have to if I'm going to get this armor done.
Happy Friday, have a good one.
 
Have you thought about making your own template? What you can do is wrap your thigh in plastic wrap, then wrap it in duct tape, this will make a hollow copy of your thigh. Then you can start tweaking it and adding the details, until you get something that looks close to if not the same and have it fit.
 
Have you thought about making your own template? What you can do is wrap your thigh in plastic wrap, then wrap it in duct tape, this will make a hollow copy of your thigh. Then you can start tweaking it and adding the details, until you get something that looks close to if not the same and have it fit.
I have never made an in-person foam template before; I have done it for things like fabric but I'm not sure how I will be able to account for the foam thickness. I am working on a female thigh in blender to transfer to foam but it's much more tedious and a bit of a mystery on if it will fit or not.
 
I have never made an in-person foam template before; I have done it for things like fabric but I'm not sure how I will be able to account for the foam thickness. I am working on a female thigh in blender to transfer to foam but it's much more tedious and a bit of a mystery on if it will fit or not.
Welp, If all else fails, consider my idea, and as for the foam thickness, you where some really thick pants to account for the thickness. Either way, good luck.
 
Another quick but late update:
I have come to the realization that whatever I do to my thigh armor they will not fit me- so they won't need to. I remember having a conversation with Danielle months back and how she had to make her thigh armor and belt bigger than anticipated, she ended up using upholstery foam to fill in the gap between her thighs and belt.

I have a very similar bodybuild to Danielle, though I never wanted to add extra thigh padding as I'd like to be able to use my natural shape but unfortunately that's not going to be the case if I want this build to look somewhat "correct"

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I wish I utilized this extremely important tip from Danielle from the start, I've been trying so hard to fit something on me that was never meant to fit an actual human. Tomorrow I will be making another test out of foam this time to see how I can make things work and if I can tolerate the size and shape of the thigh itself.

I am not quite giving up on my female thigh pattern, but I also need to start facing reality that I am never going to get this project done if I aim for perfect shaping.
 
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I am not quite giving up on my female thigh pattern, but I also need to start facing reality that I am never going to get this project done if I aim for perfect shaping.
All the way through building parts I'm like "this is terrible this is terrible", and then there's a point where it starts to come together and I see it with new eyes. Might not be the same for you but maybe if you push through it a little bit you'll be surprised with the result
 
To echo what Crimson just said:

There comes a point in any project where you just get fed up and want to quit. Sometimes there more than one of those points, depending how big the project is.

The key is to push through that point, break down that wall, and once you're through, the whole project changes.

Keep your stick on the ice, my friend. We're all in this together.
 
Hello everyone, Its been awhile but I hope you can read this and give your input. I know the entire post is long and tedious so just do the best you can. The last month I have had a HUGE breakthrough, thank you to NerdForgeDesigns making me a custom avatar for armorsmith to more accurately represent my bodytype (excluding head size, helmet in armory file accurately fits my head) I also had the energy to finally make a duct tape dummy and GOT A THIGH TO FIT thanks to those two things! A breakthrough like this after all this time of uncertainty and inactivity due to life struggles have been extremely encouraging.

Due to the items above I am close to figuring out scale, but I do need all of your eyes and help for this as I am still stalled on a few things. As much as I am trying to aim for accuracy, I also want to be comfortable. I do plan on making an accurate undersuit after the armor is complete if that means anything. Please note there are a few things that need to be slightly tweaked but input is still greatly appreciated on it all. I would of posted this sooner but my armor plans got delayed when I had to speedbuild a certain something for a certain LA event..

Some concerns:
  1. Chest depth - The chest length (front view) Looks great for the most part besides for the underarm straps needing to be brought in. The side view of the chest however looks very bulky compared to the rest of the armor fitted to myself. My dilemma is wondering if I non-uniform scale the chest to fit me better from the depth, leave it the way it is, or make the chest smaller.
  2. Overall scaling- I don’t expect things to be perfect but if something looks off it would be awesome to know what. I am currently struggling on the legs, especially the shin compared to the boot.

File 1: Fitted but referenced armor
For the most part I am happy with the sizing. I sized the spartan mesh down to my height to get a more accurate reference on where things went and the size. The only main concern I have is the depth of the chest (Side view) and the thigh width and depth.

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*Underarm straps are going to be pulled in manually as they are out to far and belt is still in a WIP pattern stage and might be extended farther out. (Thigh armor does fit, just clips in the model)
Fig 1:
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Fig 2:
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Figure 1: Comparing my custom made avatar with the Armorsmith avatar to show an overall estimate on how things will fit.
Figure 2: Showing Chest depth in uniform scale vs non-uniform scale to show how it could be better fitted and not appear as bulky. All armor scaled to myself is non-uniform besides for the helmet, boots, kneegaurds, and shoulder guards.

File 2: Original VS Uniform
This file demonstrates all armor pieces being completely uniform which has grown on me (excluding forearms and how the thigh might fit) but is more ill-fitted to my body and may take more work to fit me properly.

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File 3: Smaller chest and belt
A chest that would fit my body much better, but throws off sizing for everything else that was referenced from the spartan mesh scaled to my height. (Spartan reference scaled down to show the size of the new chest and belt.)
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4: How the chest looks on my tape dummy
*Test items are either old or beaten up tests and need to be redone at some point. (Chest is size of current original armorsmith file)
*Tape dummy is slightly overstuffed in some areas and needs to be redone at some point anyway.

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Input would be so incredibly appreciated as this is something I've struggled with for so long. Forward the link, ask your dog or goldfish, its all helpful! Thank you for your time lovelies, and Happy Easter if you celebrate it. :)

EDIT: Waiting on approval but if it's accepted there will be a link here to download my Armorsmtih file if you feel so inclined to fiddle with it.
 
When it came to scaling my armor I too wanted it to be as game accurate as possible. I soon found that everything other than the boots, knees, torso and helmet had to be custom tailored to me. I tried to avoid un-uniform scaling but this got me nowhere fast and parts started getting let out and shortened in every possible direction. With the different options you're playing with I can't say which looks "better". I really like how my in game spartan is so chonky but still looks like he could run a mile in a few seconds so I opted to scale the torso uniformly and made it just a bit bigger than it was originally.This helped the helmet not look oversized in my case and along with how much I had to scale up the thighs to fit, I got that look. I might not be the tallest spartan but the armor still looks powerful.

I don't know who this was but I recently saw an incredible MK7 cosplay that was far more condensed and slim than in game. But it fit its wearer and looked so clean and natural. If you want your suit to be sleek and agile looking go for the slightly more narrow options you're looking at. If you have doubts scaling the armor to fit your proportions is still a safe bet, it's going to look good either way!
 
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It all looks pretty nice to me, I see what you mean about the underarm straps looking bulky. Have you looked at the other reach chest in the armory? Ithe ones not in the foam files. mk5 chest A is what I used and I didn’t have to stretch anything on it.
Looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
oh wow.... I didn't realize how far along you were, you've got this, its looking really good to be honest, keep up the good fight and dont get discouraged on nit picking yourself.
 
I can't really say for Spartans but I almost always use non-uniform scaling for my ODST. They way I see it, were I a real trooper in the UNSC, they would fit amor to me. All the Spartans are various heights and builds and their armor all looks perfectly fitted. As such, you can assume that each suit is specifically made to fit the body of the wearer. I think you should feel encouraged to do the same for your armor. Non-uniform scaling is likely the best way to do that (Im my opinion). Also, one of the tier criteria for our deployments is fit and scale relative to the wearer. If that matters at all to you, I think straying from "game look" to how it looks right on you is the way to go - especially since this is a custom character anyway.

Your work all looks great so far! Scaling and fitting is a giant pain in the asterix but it's totally worth taking the time to do it. Throwing away or redoing pieces that don't fit sucks.
 
Well heya there 405th! Long time no see on this thread. Here is take two on my Reach Spartan!
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Armorsmith file

I decided to make the thigh first; because if they fit, everything else would too!
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A little big, but nothing a harness and some padding won't fit. Pardon the shoddy craftsmanship on the thigh; it was a test, I heated it up to much and the contact cement seams popped, and I have to remake it to be a little longer anyhow.

BOOTS! Look at these BIG stompers!
Test to see if I could walk in something with this big of a sole. I stomped around downstairs at 11PM, fun times!
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Fabrication...
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These were ROUGH to make, I used a game rip that I should have simplified down more. Once the soles are attached, I will skin the front and sides with detailing, that and foam clay will make my mess disappear!

I do have a question for how to attach the soles on the boot; what is the best way to go about it without ruining the integrity of the foam? It does look like I'm going to have to bevel the sides, but I am worried that will make the bottom of the shoe too weak.
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Up next is to size up a shin and make one to test it out! So far, the sizing has turned out well! Let us hope my good luck continues!


Until next time lovelies,
 
Yayyy Spoon progress!!! Looking so good! I highly recommend buying some shoe sole material to contact cement to the bottom, it's so nice to not have to worry about the bottoms wearing out and it gives a solid grip rather than slippy foam. If you're wanting to attach that piece to the bottom of the shoe I'd say your options are attach it how it is if you're okay with adding to the profile of the shoe, or (assuming there is currently a hole in the bottom of the boot where your real shoes touch the ground) cut away from the edges of that piece until you can slip that foam in like a puzzle piece to complete the solid footprint. Hopefully that makes sense lol
 
H
Yayyy Spoon progress!!! Looking so good! I highly recommend buying some shoe sole material to contact cement to the bottom, it's so nice to not have to worry about the bottoms wearing out and it gives a solid grip rather than slippy foam. If you're wanting to attach that piece to the bottom of the shoe I'd say your options are attach it how it is if you're okay with adding to the profile of the shoe, or (assuming there is currently a hole in the bottom of the boot where your real shoes touch the ground) cut away from the edges of that piece until you can slip that foam in like a puzzle piece to complete the solid footprint. Hopefully that makes sense lol
Thank you for the suggestion, I definitely don't want to have any slipping! Do you have a product that you can recommend? I've been looking on Amazon, but I am not sure what would be the best.
Get after it! Those boots look good.
Thank you!
 
H

Thank you for the suggestion, I definitely don't want to have any slipping! Do you have a product that you can recommend? I've been looking on Amazon, but I am not sure what would be the best.

Thank you!
I bought mine off etsy, though I don't think the seller sells it anymore. It was 4.5mm thick gum crinkle rubber (the closest material pattern I could find to the bottom of the Reach boots) listed under shoe making supplies. It was a bit expensive, probably $50, but nice and thick and makes my boots so much stronger and easier to walk in
 

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