Legendary Armor Spartan Armor Progress....

[tubachris85x]

Here's a good question that I think can help new builders (moreso pep builders):

How are you guys adjusting the 3D/physical CnC milled models to make the armor pieces fit an actual human form? We know that these models, like Master Chief, were built on a human based model, but it's obvious these forms and proportions to be very far from real human physiology, and while the Reach models appear alot more true to real world form, they are still slightly off.

I say this relates to pep builders since, in a sense, you are using 3d models, of which could have come from an original source

 

[box o crayons]

hmm that is a good question, and the renshape about how much is it for a block and is it easily cnc'd despite being rough in the end

 

[BishopX]

Actually, Skullcandy has model most of the Reach models from scratch. She has been building on a 3D scan of an actor who happens to be 6' tall. He's not ultra skinny or overweight. He ends up being a good candidate for our base for modeling. If you are trying to size your parts for human, Poser has models built into the program. You can scale the model up or down and change proportions to mimic your proportions more closely. You will need some basic skills in another 3D software other than Pepakura though.

We scale everything prior to output. We end up with parts that are too small or too big sometimes though. Unfortunately, there is not easy way to determine exact fit unless you have a 3D scan of yourself to work with.

 

[BishopX]

Actually, the Renshape isn't really rough in the end. The Renshape is the the green material shown below. The other brand is the whitish material shown below. Renshape doesn't have the gritty problem that the other material has. Renshape green foam costs $900 for 48"x96"x4". The other material is $825. $75 isn't enough of a reason to switch over.

I actually used both for these biceps because I had thin boards of Renshape that I could laminate to the other material to add thickness. It looks like layered ice cream as Stormy mentioned about.

 

[box o crayons]

oh i see and yea for the price differance renshape is a lot better and can you buy it in smaller quantitys than a 900 dollar block?

 

[BishopX]

That's a good question. We always just buy the full boards.

 

[BishopX]

LOL. I just changed my avatar. I found this animated gif of the skulll from Independence Day. When I was working as a playback graphics operator on Independence Day, they came up with this really stupid idea of the virus skull thing. I hated it but made this thing and it's probably one of the more hated BS computer hack virus things ever.

 

[Ruze789]

Hah my wife loves that movie, and you mentioned that you made that graphic way back when you guys were on here before... I've thought about that every time I've watched that movie since then. So cheesy, so funny.

And nice bicep, that looks pretty excellent so far. And it does look like space ice cream, I love that stuff!

 

[tubachris85x]

That's a good question. We always just buy the full boards.

Just then you find another source offering them for a few hundred bucks less :lol

 

[Stormy151]

Just then you find another source offering them for a few hundred bucks less :lol

Sure, but then you have to pay for the shipping on a 4'x8' block across country. At that point getting it locally just makes more sense, because it ends up being almost the same cost and you can get it sooner. Renshape is pricey everywhere. But for quality and its ability to hold detail, accept no substitutes!

 

[tubachris85x]

Sure, but then you have to pay for the shipping on a 4'x8' block across country. At that point getting it locally just makes more sense, because it ends up being almost the same cost and you can get it sooner. Renshape is pricey everywhere. But for quality and its ability to hold detail, accept no substitutes!

I completly understand and agree, more just joking as I know how much the stuff cost (generally at least). I'm just curious if there are any other substitutes that can achieve the same results for cheaper? I haven't researched the chemical make-up of the material, but it's obvious that it's designed to have a high tolerance to friction and structural integrity when being subjected to the stress of high speed milling.

IDK, maybe I'll do some research on that....

 

[Yodajammies]

This entire board seems to be a recurring theme of "yeah thats awesome but how can I do that for 1/4 the price."

Simply put, you can't.

It's an expensive hobby. If you don't have the cash to pony up, take up knitting. It's cheap.


That being said, I have got to get my hand on a sample board of renshape. Using the mcmastercarr tooling board makes me feel like I"m building props at the beach with as gritty and sandy as the final product ends up being.

 

[Jack7226]

Looking great as always you all, Keep it up. Cant wait to see more
Thank you for sharing your progress with everyone, Its and inspiration to us all

 

[tubachris85x]

This entire board seems to be a recurring theme of "yeah thats awesome but how can I do that for 1/4 the price."

Simply put, you can't.

It's an expensive hobby. If you don't have the cash to pony up, take up knitting. It's cheap.


That being said, I have got to get my hand on a sample board of renshape. Using the mcmastercarr tooling board makes me feel like I"m building props at the beach with as gritty and sandy as the final product ends up being.

Cutting cost is always a plus, but I'm not in that "$20 for Adam's AR" mental group. I've already put over $1000 in my own MasterChief project, not too mention my already complete near movie accurate Snowtrooper. I was merely suggesting the possibility, never stated that there was, I was moreso asking. It wasn't a declaritive statement.

Just a rule of thumb when building something; you have to choose your materials and method of madness to produce the product to the specifications you require. One person prefers pepakura, others prefer sculpting and molding. In your guy's case, with funds appropriatly available and tools, you guys prefer CNC. Yea, it's expensive, but even within CNC'ing, there has to be a relatvely cheaper alternatives, wether it's a only a small difference. It's like me wanting to order white resin from smooth-on vs. white resin from Freeman. Granted, the Freeman is higher quality, but you still get the same results with the cheaper smooth-on resins.

It's all relative depending on your methodology, and that's what I'm suggesting. Thats just for the materials to be used, not even factoring the tools cost requirements based on length of use and maintenence required, plus labor to operate it (applies to those who contract someone to use the specific tool you do not own)

 

[nexnox]

This topic came up at work today. You can get A / B rigid foam kits and make your own foam blocks. Some
Of the stuff he have seen has been coarser than the Renshape 5025 we are using. So it would be good for larger details vs fine. Any thing below a 1/4" endmill would probably be a waste.

 

[Jico]

Here is another shot of my helmet if you haven't seen the pep file yet^^

If you want all the little details, I could allow skullcandy to edit it

 

[Arioch]

I am quite certain that you could do a suit out of soft wood if you want. If you change equipment like the router bits and things Im absolutely certain you can make armor out of aluminum or cheese or whatever you can fit in the work area. Foam is just a very good material to use.

Just look up cnc on youtube and you will see several different materials used for creation. These guys are setup for and prefer to use foam. For them, it just makes the most sense.

And it looks excellent when finished!

 

[Skullcandy Girl]

I will go on record say all my models are from scratch. Ruze provides stellar reference, and all I do is start with a primitive cube or plane in Maya, and go from there. So far I can't/don't use pre exisiting models, it's too much of a pain in the heiny to work over someone elses mesh, and on my normal and non distracted days days I can model one of these pieces of armor in a couple hours. Combine that with my knowledge of anatomy and physiology, with regular communication and landmarks with the guys, we get a useable proportioned model in a matter of a day or so.

 

[BishopX]

I like to slather my naked body with water and flour to get a nice fit and then build armor on top of that. This will ensure a very nice fit. Make sure to cover yourself with Pam or some vegetable oil first so the parts will release.

 

[Arioch]

Hey.. I never thought of using my "slippery time" for that! Next time Im all greased up, Ill make some armor instead of going outside and doing calisthenics in the cul-de-sac! Good Idea!