Mk VII - Phase 2

Fallen

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Member DIN
S922
Never made a build thread for this since it was more of a "how quickly can I build an entire Spartan suit to have one in time for Planet" situation. Back around Jan 3 I had a helmet that needed to be re-sanded, handplates and one forearm that had been constructed. From there I built as quickly as possible being ok with close enough to get done in time for the con this week. Figured I'll make a thread as I plan to go back and build a new version after the con and want to make sure I'm documenting those upgrades.

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Set up a makeshift crafting space w/ an old PC and short throw projector to view templates and/or watch videos while working. I took lots of notes about what I want to improve on v2 usually things like scale this thing down 5-10% or make this shorter but wider or whatever.
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Originally had been building the chest out of foam too, but I hated it enough and was stressing about not finishing that I reached out to Emp Frosty who printed me a chestplate allowing me to move forward to the back and take the pressure off of one of the most up front pieces of the suit besides the helmet. One bonus piece I wanted is inside the thruster packs I have a shelf and a removeable cover that I can fit these tiny bluetooth speakers that pair to each other and your device to be able to play music in stereo. Still some changes I'll want to make to how they fit in for the next set, but works pretty well.
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Just a few pics from throughout the build process. I believe by week 7 I had everything constructed and ready to be primed and painted.


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Wanted just about everything to be adjustable and easy to swap out for a new part. I separated the inner thighs and after making a prototype inner thigh w/ some scrap canvas picked up some material and sewed some new ones that attached via velcro. The lower piece is connected on the back and uses velcro to attach at the front as well.

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My shins are separated into front and back w/ 2 elastic straps and velcro on the back piece and velcro attachments for the front to slap onto it w/ enough overlap. My gloves are also just a piece of velcro E6000'd to some gloves and velcro on the backs of the hand plates.

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My shoulders attach to my biceps using magnets, but I can't put those on myself thanks to being hard to close my arms around the printed chestplate well. While there's pieces missing particularly for the undersuit and definitely adjustments in scaling for a more comfortable fit, given the timeframe of this build I'm happy with the end result.

What's next? First up adjustments I want to make:
1) Foam chest, as much as I like 3d printing, I prefer a foam chestplate for the flexibility
2) Scale up biceps width and depth slightly to slide onto my arms more easily
3) Scale down gauntlets length in particular and separate the wrist section so it's easier to fit over my hand
4) Scale down the thighs especially length.
5) Boots steeper angle on the top bit and fully enclosed boots with a tread and wedge instead of the existing sacrificed shoes glued into the rest of it.
 

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Planet Comicon is over for 2023, and I've had a chance to test out this build over the course of the weekend. Now that my suit has made it home, and I've looked it over for repairs I have a list of alterations/remakes. First, the good news, there was no major damage to any part of my armor despite wearing it nearly all of Friday and Saturday at the con. I still want to do my dirt/grime weathering as I never got the chance to do so, but I don't have any high priority repairs if something came up quickly that I wanted to attend before adjustments are made.

Before my list of improvements enjoy some photos from the weekend.

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Photo Credit: @savag3ly

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Photo Credit: @george_not_available

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Photo Credit: @george_not_available, Color Correction: WandererTJ

For updates:
  • All​
    • Finish weathering​
  • Helmet​
    • Reattach velcro for front fan, thankfully didn't fall during con, but easy fix​
    • Would love to print another eventually​
  • Chest/Back​
    • Foam chest or printed back​
    • Improve battery holder for lights/add reachable switch while in armor​
    • Speaker mount to replace duct taped speaker​
  • Shoulders​
    • Better magnets or permanently attach (I basically just didn't wear them all weekend; kind of leaning towards just one shoulder plate)
  • Biceps​
    • Scale up ~2-3%
    • Improve strapping to undersuit; it felt too far back and prefer hidden
  • Gauntlets​
    • Scale length down ~3-5%
    • Separate inner wrist and attach via elastic
  • Belt​
    • Replace velcro w/ clips
  • Thighs​
    • Scale down ~5% for comfort
  • Knees​
    • Velcro or snap to undersuit instead of straps
  • Shins​
    • Scale down 2-3%
  • Boots​
    • Sharper angle on top
    • Ideal: fully enclosed boot w/ tread and slight wedge
  • Undersuit - didn't have time to complete​
    • Different pants
    • Knee wrap
    • Ab wrap
    • Neckseal

There's certainly a lot there that I want to rebuild from scratch, but that's to be expected considering if something was close enough when I built it the first time I let it go until after this event. I'll try to do a better job recording my build process as I make these changes.
 
I saw a post of your spartan on Instagram and couldn't figure out who it was, then I saw your name on the post. I'll be honest, you whipped it out so fast I actually forgot you built it! I mean no offense, but it just came outta nowhere. Looking forward to seeing how much further you can take this suit.
 
I saw a post of your spartan on Instagram and couldn't figure out who it was, then I saw your name on the post. I'll be honest, you whipped it out so fast I actually forgot you built it! I mean no offense, but it just came outta nowhere. Looking forward to seeing how much further you can take this suit.
That's part of the reason why I want to make sure I document updates and the other one I'm building. I was so rushed trying to get this done that I never shared progress pics w/ the community. That's deadlines for you.
 
Had no idea this was you. It turned out great. And I'm glad you didn't do the inner thighs in green like the skin has. This is better.
 

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