Hunter Build (concept)

[Green Theorem]

I've been thinking it over for a while and have pretty much decided to construct a hunter costume. I was hoping to bounce some methods/ideas for it off this community for some tips and such. It would be a life size hunter costume so I'm guessing around 9 or 10 feet tall. To compensate for this, the bottom half of the leg would be solid instead of just stilts. For the lack of eyes, the method I thought of would be kind of complicated but effective nonetheless. It would consist of one or several small cameras mounted within the helmet connected to one or several LCD screens mounted within the helmet. Due to it's large size, I would most likely be able to fit many accessories and have room for air flow. As for building materials, I was thinking a simple pepakura build/process for the armor and foam strips for the skin. Being constructed as one gigantic piece, the back would contain an "easy access" point or panel to enter/exit the suit. Within the head would be a microphone attached to a somewhat small speaker (just for talking to people). Also within the suit, I would most likely include something similar to a camel pack but build into the suit and can be easily filled with the back panels open. Finally, for the coup de grace, an pre-recorded sound file of the various hunter sounds played controlled to be played through a large speaker for that menacing roar.

 

[SoaringAlex]

This seems like a very big task, if your up for it then go ahead! just some of the camera and microphone stuff looks a little complicated.

 

[Carpathia]

I've seen a few attempts at a hunter before, but the builds I have seen were never completed. I'd love to see one to completion. Good luck and stay positive!

 

[MikyVengeance]

The cameras seem hard to do. Not impossible. But there's a lot of things to consider. What if the battery runs out? It can overheat, the glare of the lens might look weird. If it's so tall, how are you going to get through convention doors? If your boots are going to be solid, you'll be carrying the mass with each step even if it's all expanding foam. What if you fall lol. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want to make you think of the possibilities of each thing. Maybe you'll want to scale it down, to like 7 feet. You'll still be giant and tower everybody. For the eyes, make a fake head and wear it like a hat and hide your face so you nobody can see you. I've seen many people do it with an elite.

 

[DBmike]

I like the sound of this project because I like challenges. As for the camera stuff you'd need a simple CCTV camera which hooks up to a monitor via some sort of control box. I've seen some on the net before, try RadioShack. You'd need to also make sure you put a decent cooling system in.
I wish you luck with this buddy, I think it's going to be awesome If you can get your head round it

 

[Darthoblivious]

go big or go home is certainly an understatement here! you got a great idea! do consider stilts tho and maybe scaling the suite down a little, because that suite will be pretty unweildy for moving in a building with people around. im not trying to be pesimistic, just dont wnt the fall to be too great ya know. best of luck dude!

 

[runcornstuntman]

Theres the full pep package for the hunter available i believe iit was recently released. Ud be able to scale it to suit. But if ur going life size ud be able to scale to whatever u feel like. I dont think itd be to bad. I wanna see a hunter like fifteen feet tall. There are some places they get that tall aye. Anway best of luck.

 

[Green Theorem]

The cameras seem hard to do. Not impossible. But there's a lot of things to consider. What if the battery runs out? It can overheat, the glare of the lens might look weird. If it's so tall, how are you going to get through convention doors? If your boots are going to be solid, you'll be carrying the mass with each step even if it's all expanding foam. What if you fall lol. I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want to make you think of the possibilities of each thing. Maybe you'll want to scale it down, to like 7 feet. You'll still be giant and tower everybody. For the eyes, make a fake head and wear it like a hat and hide your face so you nobody can see you. I've seen many people do it with an elite.

Battery running out would be a simple fix of getting out of the suit and replacing it. With the extra space provided, I plan on doing a full cooling system. Because it is so tall, the head of the suit isn't actually where the head of the person is. I was planning on having the speakers and power for cooling in the head. The camera idea might be scrapped altogether and be replaced with a concealed viewing port from where the head (of the person) will be. I haven't entirely thought out a plan for the stilts yet but something that requires little constant balance. For falling over, which would suck ass beyond belief, I'm hoping to have something to stop me from doing that all together or at least have enough control to break my fall.

 

[Green Theorem]

go big or go home is certainly an understatement here! you got a great idea! do consider stilts tho and maybe scaling the suite down a little, because that suite will be pretty unweildy for moving in a building with people around. im not trying to be pesimistic, just dont wnt the fall to be too great ya know. best of luck dude!

Compromise of aesthetics is not an option in this case, for sure. I'm going to need all the help I can possibly get for this build to be successful.

 

[abrant3]

I admire your vision, because a good Hunter build is something I'd really like to see! Check out my Hunter Pep file Thread below my signature; it will give you access to some decent Halo 3 Hunter models, as well as my opinion on the topic.

 

[XxDrxNinjaxX]

Instead of cameras, sorry if you are hooked on them, you could make the "skin" see through. Im assuming that your head would not be located exactly where thtet hunters would be. If so then there are many ways to conceal eye holes. Pros: Eliminates unnecesary heat sources, Long run be cheaper than replacing batteries, Don't have to worry about falling onto/bumping lenses, no "beedy little eyes" effect from the lenses. Cons: won't have awarness of where head is, possibility of not conceling eye holes well and have a gap in overall appearance. Another thing, and this is coming from experiance working with stilts for years, stilts are easier to mantain than full bodies.
Example, Stilts can be covered and "filled in" to give the appearance of a full body without the added weight and if they get bumped or dinged up it is easier to fix than replacing the whole thing. Full bodies are heavier which would mean in the long run you have less time before you are exhausted, being heavier you have less control and are more likely to fall/bump/scratch the material it is made from which would mean you would either have to replace the whole thing or make premade sections to attach on which would create a whole other mess of problems haha. Best bet is to go for simple aluminum tubed stilts which a foam carving to put around it. Aluminum is easy to work with yet strong enough to support a full grown adult with the right structure. If you have ever seen the guy who did the full scale elite look at what he used, Foam and metal stilts and it still came out prettyt darn swell if you ask me. Either way I am just putting in my opinions with some valid arguments. Great idea and I hope you get around to building it! Sorry if I wounded rude or condescending, but I know a lot about stilts haha. Have fun!

 

[Green Theorem]

Instead of cameras, sorry if you are hooked on them, you could make the "skin" see through. Im assuming that your head would not be located exactly where thtet hunters would be. If so then there are many ways to conceal eye holes. Pros: Eliminates unnecesary heat sources, Long run be cheaper than replacing batteries, Don't have to worry about falling onto/bumping lenses, no "beedy little eyes" effect from the lenses. Cons: won't have awarness of where head is, possibility of not conceling eye holes well and have a gap in overall appearance. Another thing, and this is coming from experiance working with stilts for years, stilts are easier to mantain than full bodies.
Example, Stilts can be covered and "filled in" to give the appearance of a full body without the added weight and if they get bumped or dinged up it is easier to fix than replacing the whole thing. Full bodies are heavier which would mean in the long run you have less time before you are exhausted, being heavier you have less control and are more likely to fall/bump/scratch the material it is made from which would mean you would either have to replace the whole thing or make premade sections to attach on which would create a whole other mess of problems haha. Best bet is to go for simple aluminum tubed stilts which a foam carving to put around it. Aluminum is easy to work with yet strong enough to support a full grown adult with the right structure. If you have ever seen the guy who did the full scale elite look at what he used, Foam and metal stilts and it still came out prettyt darn swell if you ask me. Either way I am just putting in my opinions with some valid arguments. Great idea and I hope you get around to building it! Sorry if I wounded rude or condescending, but I know a lot about stilts haha. Have fun!

These are all FANTASTIC ideas that I might have to add to the final blueprints before I start anything. One main issue to address first and foremost would be the back panels to enter/exit the suit. That issue also happens to be linked to how the suit is assembled, hopefully in a way that would allow the suit to be able to stand without a person in it. That would primarily provide the balance and control for the person using it.

 

[Sangheilioz]

I wish you the best of luck, sir! I was hoping to do a hunter build myself at some point down the road (My Reach build comes first, and probably N7 afterward).

 

[thorn696]

I would scale it down a bit. Door's alone become a pain. The weight on the legs get hard to move after 2-3 hours. In other words yes I have done a costume with 4 foot drywall stilts. By the end of the night I could barely lift my legs. 2 foot stilts would go along ways to mobility and are easier to get into. As for mine I had to bend over and down just to get threw a door and almost didn't make it in, that was at the 10 foot mark. Just my 2 cents. I wish you well on you're build.:cool

Side note: the legs did stand up by them self's.

 

[Green Theorem]

Well the 10 feet was mainly just an estimation. Of course some scaling/minor tweaks will occur and I'm not entirely sure of the specific specs of the suit but I'm pretty set on the back panel doors. The two doors/panels would span basically the size of the back of the beast which would provide plenty of room to enter/exit.

 

[Davik]

This sounds like an incredible build, much like my Spartan, which will have HUD, fans, lights, refridgeration packs, (to help keep cool too) padding, 2-mile communication system, AI integration, and a whole bunch of bells n' whistles. this looks to be a very good project to try, but I would recommend 8 feet, as it would look hunter-esque, but you can fit in a room.

 

[Green Theorem]

I mean i guess it would work scaling it to 8 feet since most people with spartan armor scale theirs down from 8 feet. That way it would be life size relative to all the other people at PAX... although I still wish to be a hulking beast over the crowd and I think I've picked out a nice speaker for that menacing roar but I still need to decide which one to go with. any suggestions? I'm looking for ear-shattering sound (figuratively speaking) for under $100.

my find: http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-PDX-11...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337799784&sr=1-38