original noble team group build
- Thread starter briger
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SuprWeenieHutJr
New Member
I'm working on a Jorge build as well, but due to me being at school it will take me a very long time because I can only do the resin and bondo work at home. Kilted Klingon will propably finish before me but I'll let you know.
Briger,a good tool for getting the right size is the "measure distance" option. Right-click in the 2D window and select "measure distance between two points" from the drop-down menu. I tend to focus on making sure the neck hole is large enough to fit over my head. The rest usually falls in place. At least theoretically. Haven't actually built any helmets since I started making the adjustments. Although I do have the Obsidian Mind finally printed out and ready to go.
Tron Paul
New Member
I'm not sure if I fully understand this post, but it seems that you have been creating the same piece for the same suit multiple times. If this is the case and you put over $800 into this build already, I would suggest a few things for those who feel they spend too much on builds...
1. Have your mind made up before dropping any money. I get that everyone makes impulsive decisions, but give yourself some time (at least a week) to go over everything before actually starting. Nobody wants to start a build and a month or two out realize that they don't really like the suit and waste the materials and money put into it already. Considering the cost ($$$ and time) needed to create a fully completed project is often overlooked, so give yourself a bit before taking the plunge. All too often, we see people scrapping their build and selling it for a fraction of what they put into it. The best way to prevent all of the negative consequences of incomplete suits is prior proper planning.
2. Research, research, research. If there is a fandom, there is at least some info about costuming in that fandom. Too often I see people become impatient and buy the materials only to find that they screwed up and need to buy more. This can all be prevented for the most part through careful research. On this forum, there is SOOOOO much information whether through personal WIPs or the stickies that is often overlooked. Even if you are the type of person who hates reading, give it a try for something you are potentially going to drop around $1000+ and days of time on.
3. Experiment. Before purchasing a TON of materials, go out and buy a small quantity. Sometimes all the research over the internet cannot prepare for the skill required to use bondo, resin, eva foam, pepakura, etc. Start small and do some testing before starting the real project. Print out a simple pep file and put it together before starting on that helmet. Get your hands dirty and practice those skills before diving in right away, making a mistake later down the road, and having to spend additional hours and $100+ on more materials. Get a good feel for the medium and get your big screw ups first so you probably won't make mistakes later. Scale those pep files right. Make sure the method you want to use is right for you. This sorta goes hand in hand with...
4. Drop money on materials incrementally. Unless it takes weeks or the material is hard to get, dont purchase a ton of it at the beginning of your build assuming you'll use it all down the road. It may be much more cost-efficient to buy materials at one time, but being stuck with a glue you thought you would use, but decided to take a new route with another one is no fun. Twenty minute trips to the local hardware store wont ruin your day. What will ruin your day is being stuck with untouched material you cant return or will have to throw away.
5. Work efficiently and carefully. If you use resin, mix a small batch and use all of it. Get your piece right the first time. I understand this is easier said than done, but having a reasonable plan in mind before building is less stressful and will save time/money when you don't have to wait for things to dry/harden. We all make this mistake to an extent, just keep this in mind at all times when building.
I'm writing this here not because I hate seeing others make the same mistake I made. Hopefully this post will save others some time and money in the future.
ErMaC
Well-Known Member
This is my first suit tron. Scaling everything was costly. I needed practice with everything. I plan on making my creations into a mold. I've completed building everything for my armor a while ago and I progressed since then. I'm almost complete with my helmet and it will be ready to paint soon. I resined slot of pieces I threw away. But now anything I resin will not warp, anything I bondo comes out looking awesome and I can throw my pieces across the room and not worry about it getting damaged. I will get my money back. I didn't know what I was doing before. But I know exactly what I'm doing now. I waisted a lot of everything. And now I'm good 
Tron Paul
New Member
This is my first suit tron. Scaling everything was costly. I resined slot of pieces I threw away. But now anything I resin will not warp, anything I bondo comes out looking awesome and I can throw my pieces across the room and not worry about it getting damaged. I will get my money back. I didn't know what I was doing before. But I know exactly what I'm doing now. I waisted a lot of everything. And now I'm good
And this is why I posted previously. You and I both have made mistakes. I'm looking to prevent others from making the same mistakes we have in the past. I'm trying to convey the basic ways to keep costs down and make costuming more affordable: don't resin a completed pepped out piece without testing the method on a scrap piece, try not to waste expensive materials on multiple "screw-ups," and keep mistakes to a minimum. I'm not pointing fingers (it seems you are getting that idea from my post), I'm just trying to help those who are new to the more "expensive" builds keep unnecessary costs to a minimum.
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