Odst Paintball Suit

[Kasterborus]

I've let this thread go on because theres good discussion going on here, but I will remind you and all reading this that the official 405th standpoint of using costume armor as protective equipment is not recommended or endorsed by the 405th.



In short; play at your own risk, don't say we didn't warn you.



Just had to say it. I'm kinda like obligated to do so.





Carry on, just be safe please.

I understand the official stance, if those of you wish to give advice that will look bad being on the 405th, please, feel free to E-Mail me.



-Kaster

 

[mc halo3]

Well,man whats happening,I'm on posting fever so excuse my crazy ness,you should see what 5 monsters at 1.30 am does to you.ALOT>>>>>>.....

 

[Kasterborus]

heh, same as 3 cans of mother in 15 minutes at 3am...man that was a crazy night...



Anyways, pretty much I am still in the "Will this be good, or would this be better?" phase of it, still trying to work out some things, such as best material to make it out of, I'm actually thinking that a cast would be better than a pep+fibreglass helm. As I can make it out of plastic which will be a lot more impact resistant than the fibreglass, and I can then fit other things into it easier.



Opinions??



-Kaster

 

[the stig]

If you're seriously going to do an ODST Paintball suit (Which I think is a ridiculous and pointless idea, considering paintballs don't do $#!T, the last thing you need is protection), I say do the Halo 2 ODST, Or the Low Def WETA helmet.

Theres no point making something incredibly detailed if you'll ruin it within a single day paintballing.

Not only that but fibreglassing the inside of a detailed piece is difficult, if you fibreglass something more smooth on the inside itll be easier. And stronger (providing you use larger pieces of fibreglass mat).

 

[Kasterborus]

I'm not looking at it to protect me, as I have stated...too many times to go back and count, I have played in a lot less.



Basically, I'm looking at molding for the simple fact that the pieces will come out stronger and thus not be destroyed in a single days play.



-Kaster

 

[mc halo3]

Hmm...stig has a point,but Halo 2 ODST is a good choice,considering the detail is not very high,the loss of it in an accident is not tragic.

 

[Kasterborus]

True, but the flipside is, I can then weather some damage and call it battle damage, that would last me for a few rounds up until I need a new helm.



-Kaster

 

[Malechei]

My only concern is the fiberglass itself. WHEN a piece of the armor breaks (because it seems we've all agreed that's a foregone conclusion), there's a chance of the fiberglass pieces penetrating clothing and then skin. If that happens, it can lead to all kinds of fun medical problems, especially in a dirty environment like a paintball field. If that's a risk you're willing to take, I'd at least recommend wearing very thick, sturdy clothing under your armor. I wish you the best of luck.



Mal

 

[mc halo3]

Oh and if a fiberglass piece breaks,the shard could cut deep,causing very bad pains,and even in some places cause internal bleeding.

 

[Kasterborus]

Did most people miss that I'm now looking at moulded plastic instead?



-Kaster

 

[mc halo3]

Yes but casts a very penetrable too,meaning they're just as vulnerable as Fiberglassed armor.

 

[Kasterborus]

I will be thoroughly testing everything (Including the helm) down at the paintball fields BEFORE I wear it, to test I am going to put meat into the piece of armor and then fire between 50-200 rounds at it from maybe 1-2 meters away to see how it copes



-Kaster

 

[mc halo3]

Man,making a cast would be alot of money,and too discover it doesnt work would be a let down.

 

[Kasterborus]

If it doesn't work for my intended purpose, I go back and just make custom ODST suits and flog them to ODST fans within Australia.



-Kaster

 

[Flyerfye]

No helpful opinions here, except that I really like how so many people aren't even reading half the thread and feeling the need to chime in with opinions that don't even have any relevance anymore.



Cast armor will PROBABLY hold up better than homebrew, but you're venturing into new and uncharted territory with testing the durability of these things against paint rounds. Use test pieces, document your processes, and take lots of pictures! (And videos if you can.) And be safe! (I'm fairly confident you will, I just have to say it.) Also, that stuff Sean said about condoning and endorsing, etc.

 

[the stig]

I know I'm being useless but I just don't see the point...

Please don't take this offensively, but from wearing an ODST suit in paintball, what are you gaining?



Protection is a poor excuse, because paintballs dont hurt, they sting for a few seconds, then go away.

(I've had 17 paintballs pelted on the same spot in my ribs from the same gun, it hurt for what, a minute?"

Not only that but it probably won't protect you anyway, no matter what method is used, It will break eventually, nothing is indestructable.



It makes you MUCH heavier, slowing you down big time, and that's the last thing you want on the battlefield.



It restricts your movements ALOT. Put a chest piece, and a shoulder piece on, and try moving your arm. Restricted, it's pretty difficult even holding and aiming a gun with the armor on. Also, try running in armor. The ODST shins are in two pieces, easily loosened and a great advantage for the other team if your pieces to fall apart.

Not to mention sight restrictions .



Sorry but the ONLY thing you're gaining by ODST (or any) Armor for paintball is a the badass feeling you have, You'll be slow, damaged, restricted and probably breaking alot of armor. No way is that worth just a small feeling of badass on the inside. (PS, I can garuntee a percentage of the people you're playing with/against will find it humorous and laugh at you, simply because making armor alone is "nerdy" enough, that's something i can accept. But taking it so far to go and paintball in it is much sillier).



All of these points are probably the exact reason why they haven't started using armor in the REAL battlefield.



Please please PLEASE don't think im doing this to annoy you, I'm just trying to save you alot of time, effort and money going down the drain because your idea (probably) wont work.



-Stig

 

[Kasterborus]

Protection is a poor excuse, because paintballs dont hurt, they sting for a few seconds, then go away.



It makes you MUCH heavier, slowing you down big time, and that's the last thing you want on the battlefield.



It restricts your movements ALOT. Put a chest piece, and a shoulder piece on, and try moving your arm. Restricted, it's pretty difficult even holding and aiming a gun with the armor on. Also, try running in armor. The ODST shins are in two pieces, easily loosened and a great advantage for the other team if your pieces to fall apart.

Not to mention sight restrictions .



(PS, I can garuntee a percentage of the people you're playing with/against will find it humorous and laugh at you, simply because making armor alone is "nerdy" enough, that's something i can accept. But taking it so far to go and paintball in it is much sillier).

I'm not doing it for protection, it is for the "Well, I'm here, as an ODST, to play paintball"



Slowing down, well, not so much, everyone goes pretty slow on the fields where I play due to the bush terrain.



I realize that the stock design restricts movement, I'll likely end up modifying it slightly from the original design.



And well, everyone I know thinks me a Nerd, plus my mate who is like...well...biggest Halo Nerd I know (Pretty much memorized EVERYTHING ever written about Halo) is also a paintball fan like me, and he said that, if it's not too hard, we may both make a suit and go in it as a team. 2 ODST's at Paintball is better than one.



Also, yes, we will take many pictured and videos.



-Kaster

 

[Underdogg13]

I know I'm being useless but I just don't see the point...

Please don't take this offensively, but from wearing an ODST suit in paintball, what are you gaining?



Protection is a poor excuse, because paintballs dont hurt, they sting for a few seconds, then go away.

(I've had 17 paintballs pelted on the same spot in my ribs from the same gun, it hurt for what, a minute?"

Not only that but it probably won't protect you anyway, no matter what method is used, It will break eventually, nothing is indestructable.



It makes you MUCH heavier, slowing you down big time, and that's the last thing you want on the battlefield.



It restricts your movements ALOT. Put a chest piece, and a shoulder piece on, and try moving your arm. Restricted, it's pretty difficult even holding and aiming a gun with the armor on. Also, try running in armor. The ODST shins are in two pieces, easily loosened and a great advantage for the other team if your pieces to fall apart.

Not to mention sight restrictions .



Sorry but the ONLY thing you're gaining by ODST (or any) Armor for paintball is a the badass feeling you have, You'll be slow, damaged, restricted and probably breaking alot of armor. No way is that worth just a small feeling of badass on the inside. (PS, I can garuntee a percentage of the people you're playing with/against will find it humorous and laugh at you, simply because making armor alone is "nerdy" enough, that's something i can accept. But taking it so far to go and paintball in it is much sillier).



All of these points are probably the exact reason why they haven't started using armor in the REAL battlefield.



Please please PLEASE don't think im doing this to annoy you, I'm just trying to save you alot of time, effort and money going down the drain because your idea (probably) wont work.



-Stig

Nerdiness is considered a burden in the battle field? Hah.

 

[Kasterborus]

Especially when the nerd of the squad is the one handed the Javelin...



-Kaster

 

[haji]

Okay, 3 layers will eaily stop a paintball, all detailing you do with body filler is very brittle.



haha make your helmet out of scratch with plastic? dude your gonna need a lot of experince. The ODST helmet profile has a lot of curvature, and plastic, doesnt curve especially if its thick.



You cant just mold it, its gonna have to be heated and then it will be very senstive to how you shape it in short period time before it cools back down. There will be a big margin for error and more than likely the helmet will be unsymetrical.





look man, This is the best advise i can give you. Make your armor from pep or out of whatever is easiest for you .... its going to be your mold dummy.



This is going to be cost extensive. Your gonna have to make a silicone mold, and you'll be looking around 180 dollars of it. On smooth-on i saw urethane plastic that was labeled impact resitince. You can look into that. your going to order at least 90 dollars of it because the sample size wont be enough.



Now you dont have to worry about your helmet shattering.





You could do the same for the armor peices, but you'll need more silicone. Since your not worried about it stopping a paintball, just leave it fibeglassed, but dont be suprised if the resin starts to crack from stress/tension or impact.





or You can use 1.75mm polystyrene plastic sheets to make the armor since most of the surfaces are flat and it wont be to difficult to work with. I think Link4044 did a portion of his armor with plastic.



Reason i wouldnt use plastic is because Im more concerned about accuracy then durability.

its not as easy to sand, your peices have to be evenly measured and designed and cut accordingly. With Fiberglass+body filler, You easily sand into the desired shape.



lol btw... 4 pages?!?! have you even started?