Help a kind stranger? - New to this

[FlawlessCowboy]

Hello all, hope this is okay to post! I have been pondering the thought of making my own Mark V armor like chief wears in Halo: CE and I have just recently decided that I am going to do it, however I've never done this before...

I know of some resources like pepakura and eva foam, but was wondering if maybe some veterans could offer some advice to a rookie, maybe point me in the right direction? I'm a little confused at this point on how to proceed.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Logan

 

[EndlessForrest]

I'm pretty familiar with faom. 1 thing to be sure you'll need is a way to sand down your foam. I currently use a belt sander. Its literally my MVP tool. Otherwise you may want to get a dremel. contact cement is good for foam. if you can afford it Barge cement is also a nice alternative adhesive. Before you paint your foam you'll want to seal the foam either with wood glue or a coat of platidip. to shape the foam a heat gun is very handy to have as well
also I would invest in multiple thickness of foam so that you can make your base product then add details to the foam.
on paint, you want to make sure that you include not just your base coat but you want to have shadows and highlights.

Please feel free to message me for more information

 

[Electraknite]

Check out Evil Ted or Punished Props on youtube. They've both got great tutorials for foam fabrication among other things.

 

[Voren Marr]

I watched many many videos before embarking on my kit. Angelegend on YouTube. Give it a rattle

 

[SI3RRA 117]

I too like punished props and evil teds videos. I always keep an eye for their new videos.

 

[Jme]

Spacemeat has a good video series on foam as well.

Basically there are three ways to go about making armour.

First, you could 3D print it. I have no experience with this except for receiving an amazing MA5D from another forum member. There are some people here who have a lot of experience if you have access to a printer.

The second method is pepakura. Here you fold paper into the model that you are making, use a fibreglass hardener to strengthen the piece and bondo to sculpt and finish. This takes a lot of time and patience but produces fantastic results.

The third method is foam (EVA). Generally foam is considered easier to produce than pepakura but the results aren't quite as sharp (although with some of the pieces people are making these days there could be a good argument on this). You basically use foam connect-a-mats to sculpt the armour pieces.

Some people do a combination. For example, they will pep their helmet and use foam for the rest.

It really depends on what you are comfortable with. Personally I like foam and used it to make my Halo 3 Mark VI armour.

Whichever way you choose the most important thing is research. Read threads of people who have built pieces before (A thread relating to your specific armour that already exists is invaluable), read tutorials, watch videos.

Once you start, begin with some easier pieces. Everyone wants to bang out the helmet cause they are super cool but there really is a learning curve here.

Also, start a build thread and seek out honest opinions. It is great to hear that you are doing well, it is even greater for someone to gently point out an error that you have made. There is a ton of experience and skill here that you can draw on and quite honestly builds can take a while so it is nice to get some at-a-boys to keep you motivated.

Welcome to the insanity.

 

[waterdemon]

Hello all, hope this is okay to post! I have been pondering the thought of making my own Mark V armor like chief wears in Halo: CE and I have just recently decided that I am going to do it, however I've never done this before...

I know of some resources like pepakura and eva foam, but was wondering if maybe some veterans could offer some advice to a rookie, maybe point me in the right direction? I'm a little confused at this point on how to proceed.. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Logan

I was wondering what d oyo udo if your helmet is made

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Then you are one step closer to being finished........start on the next piece of your armor.

 

[CrimsonViper97]

Check out Evil Ted or Punished Props on youtube. They've both got great tutorials for foam fabrication among other things.

Evil Ted and Bill Doran taught me everything I know about foam, as well as a lot of useful knowledge on patterning! Additionally if you ever want to learn some casting stuff Bill (punished props) has a lot of videos on resin.