My first build- ODST

[d1omede5]

Howdy! I figure after hanging around here for so long, it's about time I stop watching everyone else do this and start on my own project. I decided on ODST after watching the live-action video on youtube. And though I stay pretty busy with school, I'll work and post as often as I get the chance. So here we go...

...as soon as I get this whole picture posting thing figured out. I wonder what this button does...

...nope. OK, if anyone can help me with this mess, I'd greatly appreciate it. Until then, here's what I got so far: pep file is scaled and glued up, which took me about three or four days, working for an hour or two each day. Fiberglassing will be up soon...

 

[d1omede5]

How about that one? Anybody see that?

 

[Roceifin]

Nope, nothing

 

[SquishyShoes]

http://s1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd463/eric_mesa/?action=view&current=IMG_0192.jpg
How about that one? Anybody see that?

These aren't your image locations, if you put your mouse on the picture, or there might be a box nearby, you will see a bunch of text that should already have IMG tags on it. Try pasting those in and preview post before posting. That should help.

 

[d1omede5]

OK, I think I got it figured out here...

There's my brother trying out my in-progress helmet.

The first thing anyone does when a pep is done: wear it!!

OK, enough fooling around. Helmet is ready for fiberglassing...

BAMCIS, FOOL! I'm the greatest! OK, that's figured out, so I'm going to go to bed now. Fiberglass pics coming soon, so stay tuned...

 

[SPRTNBD50]

*headbangs* THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST EPICKEST ODST HELMET I'VE SEEN!! Awesome job!

 

[d1omede5]

These aren't your image locations, if you put your mouse on the picture, or there might be a box nearby, you will see a bunch of text that should already have IMG tags on it. Try pasting those in and preview post before posting. That should help.

Thank you for your help, sir. I'm only 24, but I felt a lot older about fifteen minutes ago...

 

[SquishyShoes]

My background is extremely similar to your shirt, except that the red and grey are swapped and there is like seven different types of science. And now less importantly, haha, that's some fine pep work. Very clean.

 

[rvonfrankenstein]

Nice work on pepping the helmet! I got to say that is the best looking odst helmet ive seen!! thumbs up

 

[Swift]

Way to go mede! Very clean pepping O:

 

[thorn696]

Very nice, clean pep work. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

 

[Ral Partha]

EDIT: never mind.

 

[0235]

i really doint think that i have seen a pep as clean as that! and no numbers! a really clean build. i hope that the rest goes as well as that because the nwe will get some more epic ODST's

 

[d1omede5]

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! Now that the easy part is over, I figure I might as well write a brief narrative of my pepping experience- hopefully other newbies might benefit from a tip or two, or at least get a good idea of what not to do!

First and foremost, thanks to RUNDOWN for the helmet pep. I printed it out on normal-weight paper and used Elmer's All-Purpose Glue. That was a bad call, but it was for the best anyways, because I saw early on that it was going to be too small. The other big mistake I made there was building without a specific attack-plan. I would build on one side, then move off to another area, then cover the top... that seemed to predispose the model to warping. But like I said, it was experience earned at the right time- the beginning. I learned that just any weight of paper would not do, and that Elmer's glue takes time to dry, which means the parts can move in the mean time. Also, it makes the parts soggy. And that's not cool.

So I rescaled the helmet with the height around 280-300 mm, then printed it out on the heaviest card stock I could find (110 lb.). I also decided to start at the top and work my way down as symmetrically as possible. This did seem to help with the warping issues. Before I cut each part out, I scored the folds with a metal ruler and two micro-thickness pens (blue and red ink, each corresponding to a type of fold). Laying the card stock on a magazine helps, too.

Instead of using water-based glue, I used rubber cement. It dries faster, cleaner, and doesn't soften the paper. I found the best way to do it was to apply glue to each contact face of the parts to be joined, wait for them to dry, then join them. The down-side is that you only get one shot to do it right, but the good part is that the joint looks much better. On the smaller parts (less than 1/4 inch of contact area), I suggest the white stuff. Rubber cement ain't perfect.

Well, that's about all I got for now. I hope some of this helps.

 

[d1omede5]

Thanks for hanging in there, everyone! Initial fiberglass is done, and I couldn't be happier! Pics first, though. Enjoy!

I found out a little too late that I had the wrong filters on my respirator. Oh well, maybe next time.

Predator Shoulder-Cam!

Once the resin dried, I poured what was left of the can into the helmet and slushed it around a bit.

Sometimes things need to get a little uglier before they get prettier...

Rondo was poured at night, as you can see here.

Fiberglassing was pretty straightforward; just mix, brush it on, rinse, repeat. Mixing small batches in cheap disposable cups was an awesome idea, thanks to Ben Streeper for that tip. Once again, I tried to start at the highest point and work my way down, in the hopes that the helmet won't warp. My next ambulance clinical set doesn't start until June 1st, so I'll get as much done as I can before then. Once that hits, I doubt I'll be able to get much else done for a week or two, so wish me luck!

 

[ventrue]

Looking good

The filters look like organic vapour filters (black label) with particle filters on top (pink) - just what you need. What's wrong with them?

 

[d1omede5]

Really? I thought they were only particle filters. There was a strong breeze out, but near the end of the resining, I thought I could smell the resin. I just figured I got the wrong ones.
Anyways, I was up late, playing around with ideas for my helmet with some sharpies and a ruler. Though I'm not really sure about it, I thought putting my E-5 stripes (Army!) on the helmet would be cool, along with a couple personal touches. Also, my brother and his friends call me 'Doc' sometimes (partially because I'm going to be a paramedic, but mostly because of the picture below), and I thought of throwing in a couple RVB Doc references in there. Let me know what you think!

First, why they call me Doc... I'm sure there's a personality similarity with the character in RVB, but I'm sticking to the first part!

Next, the helmet art...

I put a shark mouth on all my paintball/airsoft masks, so it seemed logical to follow suit.

One more thing: I have been looking at pictures of the ODST in-game helmet, and I'm getting a bit frustrated. Sometimes they look silver with a very light blue tint, other times they look completely black. I'm still a long way from the visor, but I think it's best to plan ahead. But which color is it?!

 

[CoolC]

Like everyone said, very clean pep. And I am surprised that you are able finish the whole helmet without numbers. The numbers help with the placement of the pieces and also to line them up properly. I also noticed that you made the same noob mistake. You do not need to fold every single lines. The crown of the helmet looks very angular because of the lines. If you leave the lines unfolded, you can achieve a curve surface. This will help when you apply bondo.

See my ODST thread to see what I mean.

 

[0235]

YES!!! someone who personalises their armour!!!
if you have playd ODST then you would realise that ODST's do allsorts to their armour! i definately say go ahead with the personalisation, and dont forget, you can personalise the rest.
and like CoolC said, that is an amazing helm! especialy wit hno numbers!

 

[d1omede5]

Thanks, 0235! If I stick with my chevrons, I'll probably use a light grey paint so it doesn't jump out too much. But I'm keeping my shark mouth! And I'm honestly surprised that so many people are surprised there are no numbers- I just forgot to include edge numbers and just rolled with it because I didn't want to print out twenty more pages! It wasn't too difficult- I just spent a lot of time in front of my computer!
And thanks, CoolC. I would humbly suggest, though, that folding all the lines on a model isn't as much a mistake as a personal preference. I knew that doing so would add work to the filler process, but I accepted that as a necessary evil to help ensure the helmet stay as even as possible, especially during the resining process. But I do see how not folding could make work a lot easier in the end. Like I said, just personal preference. I saw your ODST build, and I must say it looks sharp! You have some lucky kids!

I'm on ambulance clinicals now, so I'll be busy for a little while. Here's a couple progress pics of how far I got with body filler. It's not pretty, but I was in a hurry to get as much as I could done. Messy or not, I got a lot of filling and sanding ahead of me!

I also noticed that during resining, the edges of the helmet's opening sagged down under the weight of the resin. Now I can barely get my head in! So I marked a line on the opening where I will use a Dremel and widen the opening a little.

Is this thing working?

I just can't resist wearing this thing...

That's all I got for now. More updates when I get back to it next week!