My very first "Reach"/Noble 6 build W.I.P.

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ImpactBlue

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Hello 405th!

(sorry for the long prologue)

After months and months of research, reading, watching youtube and following along quietly on some spectacular builds on here so instead of just sitting back as the world goes by I said "Hey, let's do this!"

I decided on a Reach / Noble 6 build with the templates from "L3X's foam database". I'm going for a foam build not because from what I hear is faster to put together it's just something I feel a bit more comfortable working with than the traditional pepakura method. I've also had to build some things out of foam during school so tips and tricks I applied there I can apply to this build.

For the most part I'm hella' n00b in all of this and excited and nervous to see this come into fruition. I anticipate a number of mistakes however hopefully I can hopefully receive some feedback to resolve the issues that arise that I can't solve on my own.

I'd like to credit some of the members on here that really made it push to shove when it came to finally getting started on this. I really admired LilTyrant, Nick Nack Patty Wack, Roxy Roo, kill kill kill's builds just to name a few and also watched Drack's, Roxy Roo's and some other video's on youtube and from here regarding foam. Will mine turn out like their's? Hopefully! Realistically probably not but that's what I've set my goal to be. My timeline is relatively open and I'll be working on this as much as I can after work and after work activities...I do want it finished for the most part for the Calgary Comic Expo in April and for sure ready to go for the one in my hometown Edmonton Comic Expo. (Any local builders in my area that are willing to show off their work and exchange tips and tricks over coffee I'm open to that!)

Anyways (sorry I get wordy but that's out of the way)....here's pics...I'm starting with the forearm, according to my measurements using HaloGoddess' method this forearm "should" fit...we'll see when I start with the foam....

Cut out the template on cardstock, I figured it would stand up to slightly more abuse so when I screw up and need to cut out another piece I can re-use them. No reason for the pink...just some left over cardstock from my work that will never ever be used...

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"Theoretically" it should fit....I have a runny nose...still sick....

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My desktop buddy/reference

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Next I'm headed off to home depot to get the foam matts, glue gun and hot glue sticks. I see some of the builds using craft foam as well and some builds not using it, I noticed in mostly in LilTyrant's and RoxyRoo's build, was it to add further detail or thickness to it?

I've got the bicep template printed and just in the process in cutting out the template.
 
Welcome. So good so far. Don't let any lack of feedback discourage you. Some threads go weeks without comment, but watch your "viewed" numbers. That's the secret.

Oh, and I should let you know, any wall's of text is a trademark violation. Anything over three paragraphs and not separated by a picture will be charged a dollar. I am the owner of the WALL-O-TEXT™ trademark. :cool
 
Welcome. So good so far. Don't let any lack of feedback discourage you. Some threads go weeks without comment, but watch your "viewed" numbers. That's the secret.

Oh, and I should let you know, any wall's of text is a trademark violation. Anything over three paragraphs and not separated by a picture will be charged a dollar. I am the owner of the WALL-O-TEXT™ trademark. :cool

Thanks so much! Noted...I've already budgeted this build so I'll make sure not to go over budget on trademark violations...

Seems interesting. Subscribed.

Cool cool! Thanks! I'll do my best to keep all of this up to date, nothing like a bit of peer pressure to ensure to keep myself motivated.
 
Shopping day: I'm picking up the foam later today after work, here's my initial shopping list.

- Foam (getting the interlocking garage/floor matts)
- Craft foam
- Hot glue sticks
- Lots of spare exacto knife and box cutter blades
- Masking tape (to piece everything together prior to glueing)
Maybe a heat gun

Am I missing anything for my initial shopping trip? I also noticed on one of the tutorials a heat sealing method to heat seal the foam to make it easier to paint later on, is it a necessary step to do since I'll be using plasti dip (or equivalent or better alternative upon suggestions) and priming it?
 
Shopping day: I'm picking up the foam later today after work, here's my initial shopping list.

- Foam (getting the interlocking garage/floor matts)
- Craft foam
- Hot glue sticks
- Lots of spare exacto knife and box cutter blades
- Masking tape (to piece everything together prior to glueing)
Maybe a heat gun

Am I missing anything for my initial shopping trip? I also noticed on one of the tutorials a heat sealing method to heat seal the foam to make it easier to paint later on, is it a necessary step to do since I'll be using plasti dip (or equivalent or better alternative upon suggestions) and priming it?

A heat gun is a high priority item when working with foam. And yes, you should heat seal the foam prior to plasti-dip. It won't soak in as much and will give you a better surface over all in my opinion. :D
 
take care with the heat gun... i bought a cheap one and after i use it steam was comming out of it ... steam clouds lol ... should give it back to buy a better one ...
 
A heat gun is a high priority item when working with foam. And yes, you should heat seal the foam prior to plasti-dip. It won't soak in as much and will give you a better surface over all in my opinion. :D

Good to know! It didn't even dawn on me but I guess it helps with shaping pieces as well, thanks for getting my brain jogging!

take care with the heat gun... i bought a cheap one and after i use it steam was comming out of it ... steam clouds lol ... should give it back to buy a better one ...

Warranty! If it's still under warranty. I'll rummage around to pick up a relatively reliable one...or at least one with a good warranty haha
 
Welcome to the 405th!

Going to CCEE, hopefully as a Spartan?
Well then... You have another subscriber. :)

Good luck on your build!

Cheers
 
I got mine from a craft store and it sucks rocks. Get Black & Decker. Full warranty and it is big and black, not purple and sparkly. So, that means it will last longer!
 
Welcome to the 405th!

Going to CCEE, hopefully as a Spartan?
Well then... You have another subscriber. :)

Good luck on your build!

Cheers

That is the plan for CCEE! Perhaps one of the shorter Spartans out there standing mighty at 5'3 haha....thanks a lot!

I got mine from a craft store and it sucks rocks. Get Black & Decker. Full warranty and it is big and black, not purple and sparkly. So, that means it will last longer!

MEGA LOLz!!!! Can't go wrong with Black & Decker, they make man stuff...my old sign shop used Millwaukee, another good brand, we dropped it, threw it at each other and it still did the job without exploding!

Hopefully I'll have an update tonight after running around.
 
Got my supplies tonight, since I find one of the common questions is cost I figured I'd also document my cost going into this build since a little can be $50 and a lot can be $1000 hopefully by doing this it'll help others have an idea what the monetary costs is for doing something like this. I'll just keep numbers simple:

Stanley heavy duty glue gun: $20.00

Glue gun sticks 10" 12 pack: $16

Masking tape: 1.50

Heavy duty knife (i already have my smaller knife): $12

Spare blades x50 AB50 (small): $21

Spare blades x50 LB50 (large): $25

Foam matts x24: $25

Millwaukee digi heat gun: $35

Total: $155.50

Edit: this is in CAD

I still need to get craft foam, I'll get that tomorrow, I'm starting on tracing the templates tonight.
 
After spending most of the day doing errands I finally got some time this afternoon to get the forearm put together. I'm figuring out how all of this goes together, right now I've got the bottom half but I'm definitely not satisfied with it.
Pinned the template to the foam so it won't move

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Visuallizing how it goes together

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So far the bottom half, I'm not satisfied with it and I'll most likely end up redoing it.

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looking good keep it up... i just finished my noble 6 and it was worth building one.
 
looking good keep it up... i just finished my noble 6 and it was worth building one.

Thanks! I'd like to check it out!

Forearm round 2!

Traced pinned the templates onto the foam.
img0335r.jpg


All cut out and laid out, helps me visualize.
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The top part of the forearm. Angled the edges and sanded it for a cleaner fit to the joining pieces.
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Section that will join with the top part of the forearm piece.
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Taped together so I can figure out the fitment, so far we're looking good for fitment.
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So far it seems like I got the scale right, I've adjusted the scale for it to fit over one of those pressure suits. Thoughts on scale so far? I can bend my arm but not completely but then again it's against my bare arm so before I push forward just wanted to see what people's thoughts are on it.
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I'll be using craft foam for detailing and for a much cleaner finish to it and hide the seams or any excess glue.
 
i use it steam was comming out of it.


Jeebus dude. I would have thrown it out already. I seem to have a knack for buying faulty things. Last christmas i bought myself an electric helicopter. I took it back to get replaced due to faulty parts three times lol. So yeah I'd take it back and get a replacement or different model all together.
 
Looks like it might be a tad big, but you'll be able to tell when you get the biceps built. I know how laying it all out helps visualize the final product. I made four of these last night (working on dual suits lol)

Keep up the good work!
 
Welcome and good works are all i see. Want to see more so ill stick around and see what the end looks like.

Thanks! As for the heat gun I've picked up a Milwaukee digital heat gun from Home Depot, it actually wasn't as expensive as I thought and it's working wonders, I can adjust high or low setting and temp setting, I particularly like the cool down prior to shut down.

great job so far! i'm very interested to see how this will come out :) take your time!

Thanks a lot! I've got 'till April, plenty of time to get this thing completed and with Christmas coming up and a generous break from work I can take the time to work on it and really clean everything up.

Looks like it might be a tad big, but you'll be able to tell when you get the biceps built. I know how laying it all out helps visualize the final product. I made four of these last night (working on dual suits lol)

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for the feedback! I used HaloGoddess' scaling method so hopefully once the bicep is put together I'll know for sure if it'll work or not, it sits on my arm the same way as my forearm guard that I use for sparring so I thing it's just the way it is that restricts my range of motion. Worst comes to worst I'll just make it a smaller, I'll have to soul search if I'm willing to give up range of motion.
 
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