ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM (COMPLETE, for now..)

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Re: ODST build with EVA foam

This would be an active IR illumination system rather than passive photomultiplication. The former just needs an IR-sensitive camera unit and some IR LEDs. The latter obviously needs the large, sensitive, expensive electronics. It would basically be an "invisible flashlight" rather than "night vision".

That said, I have wondered from time to time about DIY photomultiplication. I know one method of it, though how that would work for imaging I have no idea. Never looked into it.
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam

^ this
Thanks for clarifying, I didn't know the terminology. It would be primitive and relatively short range, but a cool gimmick I thought. I just discovered that the board I salvaged is damaged though, I'll have to inspect further and see if I have the patience to tinker with it.
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam

Ahhhhh ok I get you, I wonder if you could mod Romeo's sniper goggles with some old school gen I NODs to go with the illuminator.... Hmmmm.....
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam

ooooo, I don't have the budget to experiment with any new gizmos but I like the Idea of installing my original idea in a set of ODST goggles. At the very least it makes space a non-issue for the components and it would be easier to work on as a separate component.
Thanks guys!
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam

What if you found a cheap pair of those MW2 NODs on eBay and ripped them apart? Could be a lot cheaper, image quality wouldn't be great but it would be quite an interesting experiment!
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Wow,
i got to say, I'm absolutly mezmerized.

So far we have all seen amazing foam builds and some that discourage because they seam quite crappy.

But this build is really amazing!
Could you please show some insight on your templates and how exactly you assamble the parts?

Keep up the amazing work!
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Very nice build! I was between making the halo 4 MC or an ODST and I think I might have to go with the ODST, after seeing your build.

May I ask if you made your own templates or used the 405th's?
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam

(Help)
I don't know how to PM.. I need help looking up the blue prints for odst armor made out of EVA foam,. If anyone can help I deeply appreciate it.
And by the way awesome job on the armor ..
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Howdy all! my absence has mostly been due to my partaking in holiday festivities, so I'll be back up and running soon. I've started a couple cool new projects in the time past as well, will threadify them soon.

@vbcustoms, PM is as simple as clicking on the user's name, the option becomes available in the drop-down menu. My advice is that you will likely see the best results by modifying files for foam use yourself. That's what I did with Hugh's collection on the parts I didn't scratch-build. They can be found here (http://www.405th.com/odst/download-714-odst-hugh-holder-files-all-them-zip-file.html) and it is pretty simple once you learn to eliminate the faces that provide depth, since this effect is much more easily achieved by raising/lowering and re-gluing the relevant shapes you cut from the foam. Earlier in this thread I posted shots of the templates I made myself, If that helps. Good luck!

@ODSTSatterfield, Thanks! I got a kick out of your post from a while ago, little people in armour amuse me, haha

@Absol898, Thank you muchly, glad I could sway you towards the way of the ODST. It's a better place to start if it's your first build IMO.

@vapir, That's high praise, I'm flattered :$ the suit in your avatar pic looks pretty slick too, love me a good reach build. Did you notice the template pics I posted previously in this thread? They are just the ones that I did myself, didn't include hugh's modified files because those where pretty straight forward. If you would like to see more then feel free to be as specific as you want in your request and I will try to deliver if you think it would help. As for assembly I suppose a video would provide the most clarity, kind of missed the mark there with the suit being done and all. I pretty much follow the same process as most of the skilled foamers I've observed. The only discernible difference between myself and most others, as far as I can tell, is that I spend considerably more time on gluing my seams. I go very slowly and take great care not to allow any overflow to the outside surfaces. I have seen people get the same effect in shorter time using contact cement, but I just feel like I have more control with hot glue.

Hope that helps, and feel free to ask any more questions guys. Thanks for checking me out, I'll probably be back up and running with updates in the next few days to a week.
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

M00se,
I really love the cardboard helmet. Cardboard is a great build medium that doesn't get a lot of love due to the challenges of getting compound curves. All of your cardboard helmets look great. I did a whole costume in cardboard, but didn't have to do the helmet. I learned a few things along the way: Wet the top layer lightly with a sponge after gluing. The corrugations inside loosen slightly and shift before re-drying permanently into the shape you've formed. I used acrylic floor wax to harden the outer layer of cardboard before using filler. For filler, I mixed paper mache' with the plaster to make it more flexible and crack resistant as well as easy to sand. When I was done, I painted my parts inside and out with oil-based paint that I found surplus. The paint shrunk everything fractionally, putting everything under tension. That really strengthened my parts.

Despite good success filling and sanding, there were a couple areas where corrugations were slightly visible. When you weather, never drag your dry brushing perpendicular across the corrugations. The flaws won't pick up the weathering and thus they become largely invisible.

Maybe those tips help or maybe you're past that?

As the owner of one of the the heaviest props on the forums, I'd advise you to make sure that any imaging equipment you add is removable for going to CONs. Any extra weight in the costume or prop quickly becomes fatiguing. That said, absolutely go for it. I love functional props! I'd second NTSAIG in suggesting that the MW2 goggles offer a light, inexpensive, and largely prepackaged way to get started--and add the high power IR LEDs from your camera donor. The MW2 goggles also offer lenses that are already set for the focal length of your eye.

Redshirt
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Wow Redshirt thanks for all the input! It seems we more or less use many of the same techniques, albeit in varying orders. I had never thought to use an oil based paint for the topical layer though, I'm interested to try that in the future. I usually just slather on a few coats of heavy duty enamel to seal it up but it's never been perfect.

I assume you're talking about your splaser..? which is amazing btw. Yeah, I am trying to stay very conscious of the overall weight, since keeping things light and easy was a huge benefit of the foam to begin with. If I can't keep the helmets weight below about 3-4lbs I probably won't bother. I'm still sourcing parts and relearning the relevant electrical skills so that idea is very much up in the air at this point.
 
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Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Wow @Redshirt thanks for all the input! It seems we more or less use many of the same techniques, albeit in varying orders. I had never thought to use an oil based paint for the topical layer though, I'm interested to try that in the future. I usually just slather on a few coats of heavy duty enamel to seal it up but it's never been perfect.

I assume you're talking about your splaser..? which is amazing btw. Yeah, I am trying to stay very conscious of the overall weight, since keeping things light and easy was a huge benefit of the foam to begin with. If I can't keep the helmets weight below about 3-4lbs I probably won't bother. I'm still sourcing parts and relearning the relevant electrical skills so that idea is very much up in the air at this point.


Thank you. Oil paint as a final coat before finish painting really made a difference and it doesn't dissolve the glue inside the cardboard. Future or Mop N Glo type floor polish on the outside surface before the plaster helps it not to 'fuzz out' during sanding. The Spartan Laser still weighs about 13-15 pounds after stripping out the airsoft motors, barrels and magazines because of the animation gear and the all-metal receiver. In costume, you end up holding that further from your chest than you'd like. If you do add a weighty visor mod, add a counter weight to the back of your helmet. Military aircrew using goggles do. The extra total weight is actually less strain on your neck muscles than imbalanced weight far from the ideal center of gravity.

Redshirt
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Most definitely one of the greatest ODST builds I've seen thus far. Those clean cuts, smooth curvatures, impecabble detail.. wow. I can only hope mines comes out as great as yours. I might have to use some of your pics (with your permission of course) as reference for my ODST build. And that cardboard work is phenomenal. The dragon is pretty cool!!
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

It's so clean and smooth. I love it! Did you use foam files in the pepakura software for the armour?
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

damn that's probably the cleanest odst foam i've seen :O
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

Good lord how do you get those foam edges to fit so perfectly?!?!! I have never seen one so clean. Are you using a hot knife or just standard sharp razerblades?
 
Re: ODST build with EVA foam + M6 SOCOM

@Raddnwulf
Howdy! thank ya' muchly, and please feel free to use anything you find useful as reference, that's what its here for. :thumbsup I'm also glad to see people enjoying the cardboard work, it's my favorite medium.

@Aiden26
Thankss! keeping everything clean and smooth was pretty important to me and I think taking my time paid off. I did use pep files during the template making process, it involved a lot of simplifying and trimming down/adding where the foams depth needed to be accounted for. I got away with using the shoulder and breastplate files without needing to change much since they are fairly simple parts already. I've posted pics of the templates I eye-balled already, post #30.

@D3FEKT
That's high praise, Thankss!! certainly what I was aiming for :D

@BPipkin
I'm afraid my setup is boringly simple, just a couple o' straightedges with a sharpener... I have a rotary tool and hotknife as well but a majority of what I make is done using the tools pictured (+ glue of course).
IMG_20150428_220904.jpg

@Swollengoat992
Many thanks! That's very nice of you to say, game accuracy was a big goal since the whole point of prop-making, to me, is in bringing part of the game world to life. If I don't feel like a build I'm working on has the right look or character I usually just move on pretty quick, so I'm glad this came out well.

So... as far as updates go, I know its been sparse. The weather was great for a week and then i got hit with a cold snap that decided to stick around. I've been toiling away on the helmet and am almost ready for detailing. No pics yet becauseee... laziness. But in all the time I was stuck indoors I made a lot of headway on plasma rifle and BR85 builds I started ages ago, so maybe when I get around to posting those they will serve as some sort of consolation.

That's all for now, thanks all!
 
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