My Custom Build (Armoury Spartan)
- Thread starter Shadow Of Intent
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Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Working on the left thigh at them moment, and only just realised it's another right thigh! Luckily the first page is symmetrical enough for me to not need to start over again, but it got me pretty worried. I had to amputate a few tabs and splice some onto the other side in an attempt to mirror it. Found out that the .rar folder they came from (Forged Reclaimer's) has the left and right files swapped around, with a correct right thigh in there, so I just saved the left and righ thighs which were actually both right ones. It doesnt help either that when you choose mirror design in pepakura designer it doesnt actually change the 3D image =(
Anyway... good news is that I now have a proper respirator, not a superfluous dust mask! I would have preferred one of the replaceable filter 3M versions (Like the more stylish 3M 6000 series) but they were a bit too expensive, and a 28 day mask should be plenty long enough. Here are some pics of the one I have... It's got a reallt good fit and I can't smell the fumes at all when wearing it (I realise now that the dust mask had almost no effect!)
Anyway... good news is that I now have a proper respirator, not a superfluous dust mask! I would have preferred one of the replaceable filter 3M versions (Like the more stylish 3M 6000 series) but they were a bit too expensive, and a 28 day mask should be plenty long enough. Here are some pics of the one I have... It's got a reallt good fit and I can't smell the fumes at all when wearing it (I realise now that the dust mask had almost no effect!)
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
More electronics arrived today! First picture is everything that has come so far, with gold reflective foil at the back (Looks silver because it is the inside), five 9v battery holders, ten SPDT switches (Gives me enough components to add LEDs if I wish later on!) and both the 40mm fans from yesterday. The foil is probably 10-15% opaque when viewed by the wearer, but at least 95% opaque when viewed from the other side, provided no light shines through from the wearer's side. Last picture shows the with/without comparison of the foil, although the camera makes it look a bit darker than in real life, especially with a downsized thumbnail.
I think the foil goes on the inside of the visor, which will help protect it from being peeled off, although I'm still figuring out a way of adhering it... best idea so far is to glue around the very edges, because it may not stick well to plastic. Anyhow... I hope that serves as a useful reference for anyone considering a gold visor at a low cost.
I think the foil goes on the inside of the visor, which will help protect it from being peeled off, although I'm still figuring out a way of adhering it... best idea so far is to glue around the very edges, because it may not stick well to plastic. Anyhow... I hope that serves as a useful reference for anyone considering a gold visor at a low cost.
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
I can't decide wheter to fix the visor "inside" or "outside" the helmet. Both would look the same, but they have their advantages and disadvantages. The picture below shows what I mean.
In visor "A", I leave a small lip around the visor cutout section ang epoxy the visor to that. It should be a perfect fit in either case because I'm making a custom visor from a curved sheet of plastic. This method would mean the visor is attached more securely, with no chance of the reflective foil peeling off, although the 2-3mm lip would reduce the field of view slightly.
Version "B" attaches it on the inside, so there is no need to perfectly resize the visor, as the overhang is hidden. Actually securing it could be a problem though, because I need to create a new lip on the inside from bondo or something similar (Marked as adhesive on the picture). The visor would peel of without being glued on around the edges.
Here's the picture, front of helmet is to the left of each diagram, and the inside is on the right:
In visor "A", I leave a small lip around the visor cutout section ang epoxy the visor to that. It should be a perfect fit in either case because I'm making a custom visor from a curved sheet of plastic. This method would mean the visor is attached more securely, with no chance of the reflective foil peeling off, although the 2-3mm lip would reduce the field of view slightly.
Version "B" attaches it on the inside, so there is no need to perfectly resize the visor, as the overhang is hidden. Actually securing it could be a problem though, because I need to create a new lip on the inside from bondo or something similar (Marked as adhesive on the picture). The visor would peel of without being glued on around the edges.
Here's the picture, front of helmet is to the left of each diagram, and the inside is on the right:
spartanx360
Active Member
i suggest B, but use bolts to secure the visor, that way you can change the visor more easier if you make an other one (for example, an other color)
Satchmo III
Well-Known Member
If you haven't checked out BLACKULA727's (and company's) tutorial on face-plate mounting it might be helpful (http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/31352-Tutorial-Install-amp-Detail-your-visor). He and a couple of people have detailed how they've approached the task.
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
I think I have seen that tutorial, but it's more suited for motorcycle visors which hold their own shape. I'm going to be using a 1mm clear sheet of plastic, so I need it to be held with gaps of under an inch, ie, many small bolts under an inch apart (Impractical) or gluing around the whole edge. That putty would be ideal for making a lip, but probably too expensive and not guaranteed to work.
Your JFO looks amazing... I need to look into some dremmelling details and grooves into the pieces!
spartanx360
Active Member
you can give your sheet a curved shape by heating it and hold it in position until it cools down (after its curved you can still use window tint sheet to give it color)
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Hmmm... I hadn't thought of heating it, but now you mention it, that'll stop it from trying to straighten out as much!
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Progress update... the torso is now fully pepped! I'm going to resin the outside then the inside, then cut off sections under the arms, make some end pieces from spare card, then fibreglass as normal. Only a tiny amount of warp by the collar, easily fixable when resining =D
It seems I'm going to have to make more of the neck seal from foam than I previously thought. Even without the collar section, it is the minimum width my head can fit through without tearing my ears off (Deduced from helmet clearance). I've seen good close ups of foam build collars, but can anyone direc me to a card/foam hybrid torso? Here are the updates anyway...
It seems I'm going to have to make more of the neck seal from foam than I previously thought. Even without the collar section, it is the minimum width my head can fit through without tearing my ears off (Deduced from helmet clearance). I've seen good close ups of foam build collars, but can anyone direc me to a card/foam hybrid torso? Here are the updates anyway...
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
I've finally located a file for the last JFO attachment, but looking at it pepakura viever, it looks very hard to fibreglass (Mostly enclosed, and I'm not up for rondo slushing!). Secondly, it also looks a bit plain, and I actually prefer the later upgrades for the default helmet. Heres the JFO upgrade and here's the Mk V upgrade
Do you think I should stick with the correct attachment or break the mould and go with the other one? Tell me which you prefer too!
Do you think I should stick with the correct attachment or break the mould and go with the other one? Tell me which you prefer too!
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spartanx360
Active Member
if you think that the other one feels better, then go with it, it's your armor, we won't kill you
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Sorry it's only a small update... I've made the helmet blast shield or whatever it is called. It's enclosed, so I'm going to have to slush rondo or resin around the inside, and should just about be able to fibreglas some of the main bends. If possible, I'll use foam on it once it's strong enough. I also updated the post on the first page... wont be able to do any resining or a few days , as I've used up my first litre of resin (Held in a bolognese jar XD), but I should have more by the weekend. Here are those attachment pics:
Vigilnt sniper
Jr Member
looks great! keep up the amazing work my friend.
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Wow... ForgedReclaimer is a legend! His shin and gungnir models were super easy and fast to make... I pepped a shin and knee in abiut 4 hours, which is pretty quick for me. I find pieces made from similar shaped strips much easier to make. More good news... I now have another liter of resin. They're the sort that come in "repair kits", but slightly larger tins. I also have a small amount of a different kind of fibreglass: It's much thicker than the tissue paper sort I was using before, and it has an almost rubbery texture to it. It's the one on the left of the picture below... does anyone have a preference when choosing between the two, because not many people use roving mesh.
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Something I meant to mention earlier... the two sections on top of the helmet blast shield were not part of the pep file, so I made them myself. The two on the bottom were an absolute nightmare to try and make, so i'm just going to make them out of foam or MDF after fibreglassing the piece.
The new resin I have didnt come with its own catalyst, but I still have some left over from my other resin. I've tried mixing a few ml of the new resin with a few drops of the old catalyst, probably a ratio anywhere between 2 and 5%, but after about 4 hours in the sun it is still only gooey. The last time I had issues with slow curing resin it was fine after a day or so, but this is hot weather and large proportions of catalyst (Mixed thoroughly I might add). Catalysts tend to just be some sort of peroxide based oxidiser, but do you need a specific type of catalyst for each type of resin?
On an unrelated note... my new avatar allows transparency in the forums, but not on my profile... is there a way to sort this?
The new resin I have didnt come with its own catalyst, but I still have some left over from my other resin. I've tried mixing a few ml of the new resin with a few drops of the old catalyst, probably a ratio anywhere between 2 and 5%, but after about 4 hours in the sun it is still only gooey. The last time I had issues with slow curing resin it was fine after a day or so, but this is hot weather and large proportions of catalyst (Mixed thoroughly I might add). Catalysts tend to just be some sort of peroxide based oxidiser, but do you need a specific type of catalyst for each type of resin?
On an unrelated note... my new avatar allows transparency in the forums, but not on my profile... is there a way to sort this?
Shadow Of Intent
Active Member
Update on the helmet: I only just realised that the very edge of the visor pep file isn't actually visor... it's sort of the visor rim, so that will make it a lot easier to glue or otherwise attach the visor, since it's parallel to the visor. Unfortunately, I already cut the whol visor out, so i have to re pep and fibreglass the rim, and superglue doesn't stick to resin/fibreglass. Will have to use hot glue =[
The collar/breacher chest piece is very confusing... for starters, I decided not to pep the backs of 4 enclosed sections, so I can fully fibreglass them. There are also 3 pieces which don't attach: One glues nicely into position, but the other two just float near the model. May fix with more hot glue. Thirdly, the strap and buckle will be more accurate to make from webbing and metal respectively, as will the shotgun shell bracket, which does not include shotgun shells (For these, I plan to obtain 7 used shells if possible).
Also... opinion on the shin + gungnir knee... I think the knee looks a little oversized, but in the photo it isnt too bad. They were in a single file, so I left the scaling to default, and the shin was fine.
The collar/breacher chest piece is very confusing... for starters, I decided not to pep the backs of 4 enclosed sections, so I can fully fibreglass them. There are also 3 pieces which don't attach: One glues nicely into position, but the other two just float near the model. May fix with more hot glue. Thirdly, the strap and buckle will be more accurate to make from webbing and metal respectively, as will the shotgun shell bracket, which does not include shotgun shells (For these, I plan to obtain 7 used shells if possible).
Also... opinion on the shin + gungnir knee... I think the knee looks a little oversized, but in the photo it isnt too bad. They were in a single file, so I left the scaling to default, and the shin was fine.
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