ODST Build 1: The Journey Begins

With spray adhesive, the resin didn't get under the cloth for me as well. It probably seals is up so resin can't get under it easily. I just did it by soaking the cloth on resin and then putting it on. It gets pretty messy, but it did as well with spray adhesive. For it coming loose, the resin probably desolves the adhesive. Are you using epox or polyester? For the bubbles, you can either ignore then and just be careful not to sand into them, or you can fill them with resin, for example by filling a syringe with resin, poking a hole into the bubble and then filling it.
 
With spray adhesive, the resin didn't get under the cloth for me as well. It probably seals is up so resin can't get under it easily. I just did it by soaking the cloth on resin and then putting it on. It gets pretty messy, but it did as well with spray adhesive. For it coming loose, the resin probably desolves the adhesive. Are you using epox or polyester? For the bubbles, you can either ignore then and just be careful not to sand into them, or you can fill them with resin, for example by filling a syringe with resin, poking a hole into the bubble and then filling it.

I am using Bondo branded polyester resin. I think I will try the messy way next and see how it goes. I found the spray adhesive was messy but controllably messy. WIth dipping the cloth in resin, did you find it difficult to control dripping from resin to helmet?
 
I am using Bondo branded polyester resin. I think I will try the messy way next and see how it goes. I found the spray adhesive was messy but controllably messy. WIth dipping the cloth in resin, did you find it difficult to control dripping from resin to helmet?
I wouldn't suggest dipping cloth in resin if this is the route you are going. Also I can say.. no matter what method you choose, fiberglass is gonna get messy and suck. that being said. I bought about 10-12 $1-2 disposable paint brushes (used for painting walls and stuff) and would hold down the piece with one hand, slather on some resin and put in the helmet. Please also, but a 50 pack or more of nitrile gloves if you do this because the gloves become unbearably sticky. If you can do the dip method, more power to you. I've heard it's a good way to do it but might need more than one person.
 
I wouldn't suggest dipping cloth in resin if this is the route you are going. Also I can say.. no matter what method you choose, fiberglass is gonna get messy and suck. that being said. I bought about 10-12 $1-2 disposable paint brushes (used for painting walls and stuff) and would hold down the piece with one hand, slather on some resin and put in the helmet. Please also, but a 50 pack or more of nitrile gloves if you do this because the gloves become unbearably sticky. If you can do the dip method, more power to you. I've heard it's a good way to do it but might need more than one person.
Do you mean that I would need one person to hold the helmet in place while I dip and stick? What if I painted a small amount of resin inside the helmet, then stuck the pieces of fiberglass to the resin? Like, basically, replace the spray adhesive with resin, but work in a smaller area at a time. Then, after it dried, I could go back over it with resin and it would have the same effect as soaking the strips in resin maybe?
 
Sitting at my rescue squad last night waiting for someone to get sick or hurt, I decided to do some modeling on Amorsmith. I am pretty unfamiliar with the program, but I have heard that it helps take the guesswork out of scaling. I modeled my whole suit out and it looks pretty awesome. I hope the final project looks this good. Pics below

Screenshot.jpegScreenshot1.jpegScreenshot2.jpegScreenshot3.jpeg

One thought tho. Have any other ODSTs out there decided against making the “butt” piece (circled below)?
InkedScreenshot2_LI.jpg

I just don’t get how it's supposed to fit on the armor and it looks kinda weird...
 
The polyester resin is probably the reason the spray adhesive desolved, as that t contains styrol, which is a solvent. Epoxy doesn't contain solvents afaik, since it hardens by making the polymer instead of just the solvent evaporating. I had quite a lot of dripping with dipping the cloth, but I didn't have any issues with the cloth becoming stuck in the wrong place, but I was working in a 10°C basement, so the epoxy was workable for over one hour. Putting some resin on the inside and then putting the fiberglass on that woudl probably be the best way to do it. Also, get your helmet sturdy enough so that you can set it upside down on the table first by just coats of resin. That should help with deforming while being able to easily access the inside.
 
Small update: Pepped the shoulders today. The first one went really well and the second one was frustrating as hell. Not sure what the difference was but they are both done now. Just waiting for warmer days to do more resin and fiberglass work. In the meantime, I will just keep on cutting and folding.
WIN_20200416_18_33_55_Pro.jpgWIN_20200416_18_34_04_Pro.jpg
 
Does anyone ever pep weapons? I printed out the pattern for the pistol haven't started cutting yet though. The SMG pattern looks mildly insane to pep...
 
Small update: been working on the knife. I think it's pretty good. Needs a lot of clean up and paint and whatnot. I am using the files from the Armory and the file for the knife is set up so that the blade does not fit into the sheath entirely. Maybe I just messed it up somehow but the pattern looks like it just doesn't go in all the way. So, I fabricated a small extension to the sheath that hopefully won't look so funky once it's all resined and painted and everything. You can see it in the picture as the part that is white still. I have lots of thoughts and lessons learned from making the knife. If any new people are looking for tips and tricks, feel free to message me. This is not a Tutorial post so I am not going to get into it here.
WIN_20200421_17_03_19_Pro.jpg
The other thing I have been working on is the helmets. My test helmet (blue) got fiberglass a couple of weeks ago, and I noticed that it got warped pretty badly. WIN_20200421_17_04_21_Pro.jpg
So, for the cardstock helmet, I decided to put a layer of resin inside before moving on the fiberglass. The thought is that the added rigidity may prevent the warping. I am also going to go real slow with the fiberglass and let it dry all the way before adding the next section. So, I finished the resin inside the cardstock helmet yesterday as well.
WIN_20200421_17_04_48_Pro.jpgWIN_20200421_17_04_57_Pro.jpg

The weather is warm again today so I am hoping to resin the shoulder pieces and finish up some of the knife pieces that don't have resin yet. Also, hopefully, I will do a little fiberglass for the cardstock helmet. I do have other stuff to do today so, some of this might get delayed, but we will see!
 
Spent most of the week working on the pistol. It was slow going and then I realized...

IMG_20200430_174053.jpgIMG_20200430_174059.jpg
Yeah, it's enormous. I know what went wrong. I have fixed it. The upside is I learned more about how to use Armorsmith in my journey to fix this issue. That knowledge has helped me and now I have rescaled a whole bunch of everything else. Time to move forward!

I'm not sure if I am going to finish this ridiculous hand cannon or not. It might make for a funny decoration or something.
 
Spent most of the week working on the pistol. It was slow going and then I realized...

View attachment 289872View attachment 289873
Yeah, it's enormous. I know what went wrong. I have fixed it. The upside is I learned more about how to use Armorsmith in my journey to fix this issue. That knowledge has helped me and now I have rescaled a whole bunch of everything else. Time to move forward!

I'm not sure if I am going to finish this ridiculous hand cannon or not. It might make for a funny decoration or something.
Think of this as scaling the weapon to Spartan size. I would finish it. Considerate a practice run. Then turn it into a decoration piece. Mount it on the wall or sor something.
 
Spent most of the week working on the pistol. It was slow going and then I realized...

View attachment 289872View attachment 289873
Yeah, it's enormous. I know what went wrong. I have fixed it. The upside is I learned more about how to use Armorsmith in my journey to fix this issue. That knowledge has helped me and now I have rescaled a whole bunch of everything else. Time to move forward!

I'm not sure if I am going to finish this ridiculous hand cannon or not. It might make for a funny decoration or something.

Haha, to be fair, the SOCOM is a pretty large gun. Finishing it as a practice run/decoration isn't a bad idea if you have the supplies.
 
Been a while since I updated. I have finished Rondo on the inside of the helmet, resin on shoulders, hip plates, and cod piece. I also have fiberglassed one shoulder. I am getting close to finishing folding up the giant pistol, but I am going to resin and fiberglass parts of it before final assembly so that it can have some of that good old fiberglass strength. The weather has been crappy and I have been busy so I dont have any pictures. I have been thinking ahead though. Has anyone tried applying something like cerakote to their pep armor? I am thinking it might help prevent cracking if anything gets dropped (looking at you helmet), and just generally improve the durability and longevity of the pieces. I am worried that weathering and painting may be much more difficult if I go that way though...

Anyone have any experience with this?
 
Moving on a little. The big pistol has been mostly fiberglass and is ready for final assembly. No pics now but I will post some when its more done. I also got burned out on the pistol a while ago and made the cod and side plates. Those were bondo'd along with the practice helmet. I think it went a little heavy on the first layer and now will spend the rest of my life sanding most of it off.
IMG_20200528_135406.jpg Been sanding forever and got them more like this: WIN_20200610_21_02_09_Pro.jpg

Also been working on the chest piece. got the main plate folder, but didn't know thatn the armory patterns made this piece WIN_20200610_14_57_52_Pro.jpg actually be in three separate pieces...WIN_20200610_14_58_17_Pro.jpg not really a problem just kinda interesting. After the workweek, going to do another layer of bondo on the relevant pieces, resin the chest plate, start working on the ab pouches and whatnot that are part of the chest armor, and do some more sanding on the practice helmet. Also, hopefully, I will get the big pistol put together.

I definitely did not realize how long this project was going to take. Sigh, at least all cons were canceled for this year so I have plenty of time!
 
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