New to 405th, not new to armor builds.

[Road Kill]

nice job, but they are all right it does look a little warped, but it is still good. BTW i just finished making the exact same helmet

 

[The Black Hatter]

First of all congrats on stepping up to the plate and having a go at making your own armour.
For a first attempt its not bad.
Now I'm going to be brutally honest with you what I say next is not meant to be mean or nasty.
Your Helmet looks very very crooked and mishapen...Did you use supports to help hold the helmet in place when applying the resin coats ? Be honest!
Your Bondo work also looks very rushed to me its un-even and the lower front part of the helmet just below the visor has not been rounded off properly.
Basically what I'm trying to say is when done properly you cant tell its made from cardstock unfortunately with yours you can.
There is lots wrong with the helmet but I wont list them all.
I can tell you have put alot of work into the pepping stage of the helmet and your chest piece is coming along nicely. But it would be a shame to ruin all that hard work to not do the rest properly.
As for the helmet personally I'd start over as they say practice makes perfect.
If you don't already own one I'd suggest purchasing a mouse sander it will really help with the bondo stage.
Also read some of the stickies regarding painting techniques particulary the ones regarding highlighting the details.
Like I said I'm not trying to be mean I'm just being honest with you and for a first attempt it not bad.
But dont be afraid to start over.
Thanks for posting your progess and I hope to see more from you.
Cheers

No no, i dont take anything personally. All of what you said was ver well put, and helpful.
I do agree, its totally crooked. the whole helmet slid on its y-axis about an inch. I'm not sure what you mean by supports for my helmet, if you mean like the chest piece has (pep. support structures) no i didnt, it didnt have any in the print, guess ki jsut assumed.
One note you made though, about my bondo work, is very incorrect, in that i never applied any bondo to it! I know i should have, and i had planned on doing so, but in the end i put it off. THis helmet was mostly just a "lets see how well i can do on my first try. I plan on re-doing the helmet a little later, but as for now ive begun my chest which is taking up all my time.

Any more advise like how to aviod my chest sto slumop etc. feel free to post. Im glad someone here has more to say than just "Nice work"

 

[carnage]

Well its nice to see someone can take critism
and thanks for pointing out my mistake...to be honest I just skimmed over peoples replies and I assumed you had done the bondo work.
Have you tried the MKVi HD helmet as that has supports in the pep. If you can't find it I'll check my files and send it to you if you like.
I learnt most of my building skills from going through all the stickies...I know it can be a little long winded and boring but trust me its worth it in the long run.
I often go back through them as a refresher from time to time myself. In a few days I'll be making a topic myself regarding a build I'm doing and It will show you that I don't just speak the words I also follow my own advice (try try again).

 

[The Black Hatter]

Well its nice to see someone can take critism
and thanks for pointing out my mistake...to be honest I just skimmed over peoples replies and I assumed you had done the bondo work.
Have you tried the MKVi HD helmet as that has supports in the pep. If you can't find it I'll check my files and send it to you if you like.
I learnt most of my building skills from going through all the stickies...I know it can be a little long winded and boring but trust me its worth it in the long run.
I often go back through them as a refresher from time to time myself. In a few days I'll be making a topic myself regarding a build I'm doing and It will show you that I don't just speak the words I also follow my own advice (try try again).

Well, right now the download hub is all wacked out still, but ill take a look around if i cant ill message your something.
AS for stickies, i read them all the time, ive read just about every one, and found some good tips, but there are so many thing i think in my mind, a few are conflicting causing me to be confused.
As for your thread, be sure to send me a link, id love to keep a watch on that.
Feel free to continue to check out my work and critique me, i do need a mentor so to speak.

 

[carnage]

No worries if you cant find it I'll look through my many files and try to find it just give me a shout when you are ready.
I finally started my own thread as promised here is the link
http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/25589-Finally-happy-with-my-Iron-Man-Helmet-Pep

 

[The Black Hatter]

Alright, probably the final chest update for PEP stages. Yah! Unfortunatly, i ran out of super glue right at THIS point. But iom making a run up to ace later today, should have it finished by the end of tonight. Unfortunatly, with the forth of july being tomorrow probably wont get any work with resin etc. until monday. But i do have it off from school so, horray for me.

Now i have a question for anyone whos still watching this thread after 5 pages. I know you need a slice the chest in half in order to fiberglass the inside easier, but what point do you do that after. I assume after a coat of two of resin on the outside. Same question for the support structures. Im sporting a Flying_Squrl chest piece, not that it should make that huge of a difference. So, any answers from my peeps?

 

[Trando434]

Wow, looking good! Actually i was wondering on the last pic, if it was being held at a weird angle because it looks a little lopsided (imma feel really bad saying that if it is) but the front looks amazing! So if you are not new to armor builds, what method have you used before?

 

[The Black Hatter]

I made a really ugly top half of a suit from scratch of cardboard and duct tape. No idea what i was doing, just from memory.

 

[carnage]

In response to your question do not cut the chest in half yet. make sure you have fibreglassed it completely. I know it can be a bit of a pain to try and work around the supports but take your time.
Here's a little tip.
Apply a light coat of resin to the outside first.....let it set.
Apply a second coat of resin to the outside ...let it set.
Then inspect it looking for any parts that don't have a shine to the surface. The dull area's are parts that you either missed or the resin has been completely soaked in.
Precut strips of Fibre glass ...not to big just big enough that you can work with easily.
Apply a light coat of resin to the inside....let it dry until it becomes tacky.
This will help you keep the fibre glass in place.
Apply the fibreglass to the inside and give it a good coating of resin making sure to use a stabbing motion to really work the resin into the fibreglass.
Dont try to do it all in one go just work on one area at a time.
The trick is to work quickly but carefully.
Once this is all fully set then its up to you ...you can either go straight to the bondo stage or cut it in half now.
Whatever you feel more comfortable with, just remember that the 2 halfs have to fit flushy back together.
I normally cut at this stage and then tape them back together and I use walls of tape as a guide on the edges when applying bondo
Here's a cpl of pics to give you an idea of where to cut when your ready.
!st pic Red Line Highlighting suggested cutting place

2nd pic highlighting suggested cutting place/ You could also cut around the sidebuckle cutting around the front part the choice is yours

Hope this helps

 

[The Black Hatter]

Thanks to you carnage for your help! I just came into a nother interesting development. As im finishing putting the last few pieces in and on, i foud i had made a strange sectio that doesnt seem to have a place to attach. It has no open glue tabs, so i dont know what to do. DX Heres a picture.

 

[carnage]

AA! the Absection this is the fun part.
Now here you have 2 choices... You can either attach it to the chest piece now by cutting strips of card and glueing it into place using the strips of card.
Basically glue one end of the card to the lower part of the chest and then glue the other end to the absection then resin and fibreglass them together.
Making sure you line them up properly as well as making sure it doesn't stick out or inwards to much.
The 2nd choice is to leave it seperate glass resin as normal and bondo the to pieces seperately.
Then when you are all done take a cple of pieces of Webbing strapping and glue or use resin to attach it to the chest piece.
This way the absection will hang from the chest contoring to your body shape.
Both methods have been used to great effect the choice is yours however you feel would work best for you.

 

[The Black Hatter]

AA! the Absection this is the fun part.
Now here you have 2 choices... You can either attach it to the chest piece now by cutting strips of card and glueing it into place using the strips of card.
Basically glue one end of the card to the lower part of the chest and then glue the other end to the absection then resin and fibreglass them together.
Making sure you line them up properly as well as making sure it doesn't stick out or inwards to much.
The 2nd choice is to leave it seperate glass resin as normal and bondo the to pieces seperately.
Then when you are all done take a cple of pieces of Webbing strapping and glue or use resin to attach it to the chest piece.
This way the absection will hang from the chest contoring to your body shape.
Both methods have been used to great effect the choice is yours however you feel would work best for you.

Wow, ive seen alot of costumes that dont have it. But im not sure what ill do yet. I'll contmplate it the next few days. Thanks for the help . . .Again.

 

[carnage]

No problem its what we are here for.
I may build myself another MKVI set myself but for now I'm gonna concentrate on the Ironman build.
Just finished glassing the Helmet gonna wait till the morning before the nerve racking seperation of the face plate.

 

[The Black Hatter]

No problem its what we are here for.
I may build myself another MKVI set myself but for now I'm gonna concentrate on the Ironman build.
Just finished glassing the Helmet gonna wait till the morning before the nerve racking seperation of the face plate.

Oof, thats not going to be fun. But i wish yiou the best of luck. I'll check your thread for how it went if you dont post it here. Im planning on resining the chest tomorrow.

 

[Trando434]

Lookin good so far!

 

[The Black Hatter]

just got done resining the first coat onto the front of my chest! I actually got stung by a bee a minute into it, but waited till i was done and out of resin in my container before examining it. AS we all know, resin waits for no man to harden. So i stood on one foot and worked quickly through the pain. If that doesnt show dedication, i dont what to know how i would.

 

[The Black Hatter]

Dang it. It turns out i added to little hardener to my resin, now its sticky still. DX Guess ill just have to wait for it to dry. I keep getting resin on my fingers!

 

[carnage]

what type of resin hardener are you using? the liquid type or the paste?

 

[The Black Hatter]

what type of resin hardener are you using? the liquid type or the paste?

Liquid, it comes with my "Bondo brand Fiberglass resin."

 

[carnage]

I use the paste version I use David's FastGlas instructions say to use 2-3cm per 10ml but in this heat 1.5cm is all you need ...even then it goes off pretty quickly I get an average of 5 mins if I'm lucky of working time.
I prefer the paste version as its easier to see if its all mixed properly normally only need to mix for 10 seconds and I'm good to go.