Reach armor idea

[agentflorida]

this is for people making a halo reach armor. this is just an idea. when you start creating the armor you should first make the base parts like the ones for the knees, the shoulders, chest, and possibly the arm. While creating those base parts add or integrate a magnet into the base parts. If you choose to create a armor part that you usually buy in the armory that is a add on to the shoulders, chest, and the knees, you should add or integrate another magnet. So then the pieces will connect to the base via magnets and possibly have some type of lock for it. If you ever want to change some of those parts simply unlock it and create the new part while integrating a magnet and so the armors pieces and the base will be interchangeable.

 

[Reclaimara]

Not a good idea. Either you use magnets so strong that they won't come off again or you use weaker, but then if someone bumps into you, it may fall off.
Magnets are not reliable.
Also, if strong magnets are used on foam, they will most likely tear it apart. If magnets used on hard resin/bondo part, if it falls you risk it getting cracked or broken.

It's better to use different things to connect pieces... or just make multiple parts, so there will be no chance for it to fall of and possibly get damaged.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I think it's a good idea, it just needs some practical application and tests to figure out the best way to go about it. But, the idea of having interchangeable armor is pretty cool. I'm thinking weak magnets and a peg system for resined armor. Resin in a metal peg that holds the armor in place, while the weak magnets keep it from wiggling around. Maybe for foam you could use weak magnets and interlocking foam pieces. Cm. Palmer's points are valid though. Magnets are not the end all in cosplay. They are handy, but they have their faults as well.

 

[peterthethinker]

Funny.. the way I made Eriqs Noble was VERY modular. it all attachis to a a garment Under the tech suit so really I can with ease swap parts in a pich ..
In the end we used 0 straps .

 

[TurboCharizard]

I think the best course of action would be a series of female snaps on the underside of each armour piece with the male on the adjoining nylon webbing, or other way round, as long as you're consistent it shouldn't matter. I'd also add in a pad of a good soft material that's anti-slip such as EVA foam to prevent any damage from the underside of the upper piece damaging the section that it's resting on.

If done with three or more contact points it shouldn't move around and if tensioned correctly it'll stay in place and look pretty skookum.

 

[CPO mendez]

Here's what i did with my Iron man Mark 6 suit, which was basically one big magnet experiment VERY similar to what you're talking about.

TLDR straps and buckles are the best for a reason. magnets can't really hold armor together

I did this with both my Iron Man Mk 6 suit and war machine suit. I did a lot of experimenting with your standard neodynium magnets to figure out what they were and weren't suited for. the main things i used them for was the knee joint of iron man, and holding the chestplate and backplate onto the internal torso brace, like so:

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I used duct tape and hot glue to keep the magnets in the cutouts i made for them. when it comes to EVA foam, putting hot glue down and duct tape over it created the absolute STRONGEST bond possible, stronger than the foam itself honestly. That's CPO Mendez's secret recipe.

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To figure out how to position the neodynium magnets on the outer pieces so that they lined up EXACTLY with the brace inside the chest, i traced the magnet on the brace where i wanted it, after positioning the brace inside the chest and back piece, and then used a small nail to poke holes through the brace and into the back/chest pieces on the other side:
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Overall, the neodynium magnets were great at holding the pieces together, however they really just couldn't hold together completely with the shifting forces of my body (things like turning, moving around, bending over, even just the movements of walking) and honestly nothing really beats nylon straps and buckles. i ended up having to add them to the bottom front of the brace, since the LED "arc reactor" needed to line up with the hole in the chestpiece:

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Now for the knee joints: they actually had a really good unintended effect. Like i said before, the magnets will disengage with enough force. however, with the knee joint of the Mk. 6, it allowed me to bend down and take a knee (which, if you've ever cosplayed and done pictures, you should know is INSANELY useful for the little kids that want pictures) however, given the nature of foam, its hard to get it into the perfect position for a rotating knee joint like that, so the plastic on the bottom of the thigh piece that held the other magnet had a tendency to shred the little circular foam piece on the calf:
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And here's what the thigh part of the joint looks like (the blue is from a character mashup paintjob i did, same suit though)
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And the damage i mentioned:
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Hope this helps! i did a few more things with magnets, so if you have any more questions i'll be happy to answer.

 

[agentflorida]

I mean the magnets would have a lock keeping them in place or some type of adhesive. But you know the circle parts of the shoulder base armor? I was thinking that could be a magnet possibly covered with something

 

[agentflorida]

But now I have no idea what this turned into. I am pretty new to this but I will learn to understand it. I appreciate all the replies and comments (even the negative ones). I also have many more ideas if anyone is interested. But I was trying to keep this idea simple. I come from a family that doesn't have much. Once again thanks and keep posting your ideas and thoughts on the subject. Post any ideas you have.

 

[agentflorida]

Oh and a new idea just popped up in my head. This is kinda complicated but for reach helmets you can install some type of lock for add on upgrades for the helmet.

 

[savvyandstuff]

I did a foam build and used a sturdy velcro for such connections. I tried snaps, but they just tear up the foam, and any magnets I could find were just too weak. The velcro is perfect as it's just strong enough to hold but won't tear off of the foam when pulling it apart. The only magnets I have in my entire build are to hold the magazine of my M64 in, and those are fairly weak magnets. I couldn't imagine using them to hold on armor parts.

 

[agentflorida]

Ok then I have one or two words: Electromagnets. And we could possibly come up with a way to strengthen the electro magnets. Mabye not for the add-ons though. Sure it means more wiring and power if u wanted lights. To be honest I am just a kid trying to give away my ideas. If someone ever does this send me a picture and give me .05% of the credit. Not that much. I also just posted another idea involving halo 5 weapons and helmets. Feel free to check that out.

 

[agentflorida]

Appreciate the support PerniciousDuke. And I wish you good luck on your builds and current projects.

 

[agentflorida]

300 views, never thought it would happen. I guess this just goes to show how united the 405th is. This unison is what makes me proud to be a part of 405th.

 

[Schankerz]

300 views, never thought it would happen. I guess this just goes to show how united the 405th is. This unison is what makes me proud to be a part of 405th.