Mark VI Bicep Help

[muppetsman]

Hello, I recently started building my Mark VI Master Chief armor and have run into a slight problem. My pepekura biceps seem to be too wide, even though i belive i scaled them correctly. I am 6' 4", and the scale was 86'' (Master Chiefs Height in inches). So i plugged in 79 in. for my scale, because i figured i'd add 3 inches onto my height to add some mobility room to my armor. However,when i have finished both biceps/shoulders, it appears that they are not snug fitting around my bicep, and are indeed VERY loose. Do you think that my scale is off, or is this just how the biceps are supposed to look? Please let me know anything that you know about this, and if this is correct, or if there is a way to fix this. I may be able to cut out some of the excess paper, but ill make that a last resort. Thank you for you time, and any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i464/muppetsman/Mark IV armor/

 

[Roadkiller]

I am less concerned with the circumference of your piece than their length vertically. I haven't added more than 1 (maybe 2) inches to my pieces for padding.

In order to be comfortable and allow freedom of movement, I found that the top edge of the bicep should be in line with the shoulder, and the very lowest point should be above the bend of your elbow.

The circumference you can play with before you start hardening the piece. Just cut a chunk out of the portion that will be on the inside of your arm, and glue it back together. Ensure you leave room for padding and put a form inside to hold its' shape when you start to resin the outside.

 

[muppetsman]

Thank you. will most definitely take in the circumference a bit when i got to start the hardening processes. By the way, your Master Chief armor is very nice looking. I have a picture in the link i posted with the biceps, and i think the pep file im using incorporated the shoulder into the bicep piece. So by the way im wearing the arms in the picture, does that look correct to you? I want to make sure i get the biceps and shoulders down before moving on to harder parts of the build. Thanks you again, i really appreciate your help.

 

[Roadkiller]

Despite how the piece is labelled, it is not a "shoulder" in the sense that most people think of it.

Your shoulder, the part of your body extending vertically out from your neck, will be covered by your chest/backpack. The shoulder/bicep piece you are working on covers the bicep (muscle of the forearm) and the outside and back of the upper arm. Like you, I struggled with what exactly this single piece is supposed to cover, which is crucial for sizing it :confused

I decided it should be, more or less, the length of my upper arm. I believe this picture of me with a Storm Trooper shows my decision best:

IHMO, your pieces are too long. Remember this will be hard fibreglass (or whatever you are hardening with) so it won't bend when finished.

 

[muppetsman]

Alright. Thank you very much. Your information was very insightfull. Its going to be a pain completly redu ing my biceps, but it'll be worth it in the long run. Thanks for your help. Ill show you a picture when the suit is completly done. Hopefully it'll look as boss as yours. Thanks again for your imput, I appreciate it.

 

[Roadkiller]

No problem, again just my opinion. Keep updating as you build, others will no doubt jump in with tips along the way.

 

[muppetsman]

Ok, i certainly will. Thanks again.

 

[muppetsman]

Oh, one more thing. I just finished my right forearm and ran into the same issue with scaling. I set my pepekura scale to 76'', because im 6' 4''. The orginal scale for the desighn was 86'', so am i doing somthing wrong with the scaling. I really dont want to redu three pieces, now, so im going to see if i can trim off some of the extra cardstock off some of spots where the paper comes in contact with my body. Am i doing the scale wrong. I used these pep files: http://halocostuming.wikia.com/wiki/Pepakura_File_Index#Mark_VI:_Normal_Detail_parts
If you have any clue as to what im doing wrong let me know. thanks.

 

[becks]

Mine are like this as well. Keep in mind this armor is meant to be worn with a bulky under armor suit as well. Also while Chief may be 86" and you scaled down the armor, his muscle mass is drastically larger than a normal person and that does not go away with smaller scale. Spartans are rather bulky from all that fancy smancy genetic alterations after all! Long story short just bulk yourself up with under armor suits to make the armor fit and you look more Spartan-esque.

 

[Roadkiller]

Becks is correct.

Further, the human body is not symetrical. Your arms are different lengths, and are certainly a different length than another 6' 4" person.

Scaling is more an art than a science. One scaling "factor" will not work for all your body parts. Likely once you've settled on a scale for one piece, say a left forearm, its' companion piece (in this case the right forearm) can use the same scale. But there is a good chance that that number won't work for your legs, or other body parts.

 

[becks]

Exactly! While much of my armor was all the same scale certain pieces...e.g. my hand plates had to be scaled down a HUGE amount just to fit. Trial and error! Print out key parts of the armor and use that to check so you can only have to scrap one sheet to get it right by trial and error instead of an entire piece of armor.