Reach Spartan COMPLETED! (Kinda)

[GStam66]

Hey everyone. I've been skimming through threads on this site for a while (actually got some really good fiberglass info/techniques when I was working on last year's Halloween costume, and I think I also saw the idea for SmoothCasting the inside of the helmet instead of using fiberglass), and since this year I've decided to build a costume from the Halo universe, I've finally signed up.

I'm pretty new to the pepakura aspect of costume and armor building, even though I've been building my own costumes for a few years now. Last year I made a Boba Fett costume completely from scratch. Helmet, armor, jetpack, belts, pouches, braids, gauntlets, cape, etc. Nearly everything scrounged together from scrap pieces found laying around, or sewn/constructed from the ground up. It was my first intensive build, but wasn't that heavy on the pepakura part. All I did was download templates for the helmet and armor, print em onto some cardstock, cut it all up then reassemble it. The jetpack and gauntlets had no templates so I had to build em up from reference photos. Everything else was pretty much soft parts. Got the whole costume done in about 2 months or so (I'd say the last 2 weeks were all weathering by hand, which sucked), and I was pretty happy with the outcome, but it wasn't 100% movie accurate. Some things I wanted to improve on were things like sizing (helmet seemed too big, and chest armor was a bit too small), and smoothing the resin on the outside (hours and hours and hours of sanding, but the helmet still didn't look as smooth as I liked. Still had some rough edges and uneven spots).

Like I mentioned though, I'm hoping to get better with pepakura, considering a MJOLNIR armor costume is pretty much 80-90%, well, armor. Not sure on what I want to do yet though (Halo 3 Master Chief, or my in-game Noble 6 character from Reach), but the latter might be a bit more difficult considering I'd need pep files for all different kinds of armor.

 

[sandy1973]

Welcome , I am looking forward to see your build and I am happy to give you a hand if you need.

 

[thehunter7]

Welcome to 405th! I did a suit and the chest, and cod was too big, and shins too small. But people still loved it when I went to a fall festival downtown.

Looking back on the thigh pieces I would have used Eva foam for the inside pieces, because it would feel better than padded fiberglass, as well as flex a bit more. But if you scratch built a boba fett, you will do some good work! By the way can you post a pic of it? I'd love to see. As well as any progress when you get to work on your halo suit

 

[GStam66]

Thanks everyone! I took a crapload of pictures of the Fett build, but here are a few of em:

What the core of the jetpack was made of. Like I said before, random items from around the house haha.

(not the finished product, still needed accents and weathering, can't find the finished pic though)

Wookie braids (done by the girlfriend, because I can't braid worth a damn)

Ammo belt and pouches

Weathered rifle and gloves

Eyeball-built gauntlets

Weathered armor

Helmet after hours and hours and hours and hours of freakin sanding

Finished product

It wasn't 100% movie accurate obviously, and I'm ok with that for spending such little time and money on it. Had a few costume malfunctions such as a jetpack strap coming undone after multiple drunken idiots bumpin against it, armor pieces sliding around, and the jetpack being so heavy that it kept pulling the collar armor into my throat. Plus I may be just a bit more muscular than Jeremy Bulloch haha.

It had great reception though. I won a few contests, bunch of pictures taken, people kept wanting to wear the helmet (never fogged up by the way, so I'll chalk that up as a win haha), and a pretty funny exchange with security/bouncer at one of the bigger parties:
Security: "Sorry Fett, you'll have to leave the gun in the car."
Me: "It's part of the costume. Isn't real, just makes noise."
Security: "Yeah I know, but any prop weapons, guns, swords, axes, whatever, aren't allowed in."
Me: "No weapons, eh?"
Security: "Yeah, sorry man. Don't worry though, haven't seen any Han Solo's walk in here haha"
Me: "Well, guess I'm not allowed in. Got like, 17 different weapons on my gauntlets alone haha."
Security: "Yeah, you're pretty much a walking weapon haha, have a good time dude."

Always nice when people know what your costume is haha.

 

[Sky Walker]

Being a die-hard Star Wars i can tell you that that Boba Fett costume is awesome! and i've been around Pepakura enough to answer most of the questions you may have about it and the process in which follows Pepakura. So WELCOME and ask anytime!

 

[GStam66]

Thanks Sky_Walker, really appreciate it man.

The first hurdle I have to jump is finding an inexpensive printer that can also print well on cardstock. The one I have now sucks (HP5650), and I doubt it can print on cardstock. Searches haven't said if it can or can't. For the Fett templates, I had to print em on normal computer paper, then glue the templates to the cardstock (really thick posterboard kinda signage stores use to advertise), then cut em out, and peel the weak paper off. Not a big deal since there were only templates for the armor pieces and helmet. Considering I'm probably going to have 50 sheets or so for the whole MJOLNIR suit, I might wanna invest in a better printer and save myself unnecessary work.

 

[Largo Usagi]

Thanks Sky_Walker, really appreciate it man.

The first hurdle I have to jump is finding an inexpensive printer that can also print well on cardstock. The one I have now sucks (HP5650), and I doubt it can print on cardstock. Searches haven't said if it can or can't. For the Fett templates, I had to print em on normal computer paper, then glue the templates to the cardstock (really thick posterboard kinda signage stores use to advertise), then cut em out, and peel the weak paper off. Not a big deal since there were only templates for the armor pieces and helmet. Considering I'm probably going to have 50 sheets or so for the whole MJOLNIR suit, I might wanna invest in a better printer and save myself unnecessary work.

50 sheets, my helmet was 20ish, and i just printed my chest piece, that is 30 without supports if we are talking 8.5x11. I bought a ream of the stuff 250 sheets and I will probably need to buy another, but that is only because I had some printer problems and some scaling issues.

Other than that, NICE build on the fett costume, looked amazing.

 

[DBmike]

thats a sic Fett costume you got there!! mine's bought and doesn't have a jet pack, I think you've just inspired me to build one as soon as i'm done with my Noble 6 build

 

[IRONBLOODEDCROW]

or my in-game Noble 6 character from Reach), but the latter might be a bit more difficult considering I'd need pep files for all different kinds of armor.

http://www.4shared.com/dir/iLZI7Rb-/halo_reach_files.html#dir=57753902 has almost everything if someting isn't there hit me up i might know where you can find it.

 

[thorn696]

Hello and welcome to the 405th. Looking forward to seeing more of you're work.

 

[GStam66]

You guys are awesome, thanks a ton! I'm really looking forward to doing my MJOLNIR armor build.

DBmike, if you're doing a Fett costume, I'd definitely recommend building a jetpack, or buying one of the plastic ones a few people sell. The plastic ones should be much lighter than the one I built, therefore being a hell of a lot easier to work with haha.

I've been browsing 4shared, got Jorge's grenadier helmet, the default Noble 6 chest piece, fj/para shoulder pieces, and the template for the combat knife. I'll do a search for the rest.

I might opt to incorporate using "real" materials in this costume too though, and use a nice combat knife and sheath I got a while back. I don't see many opportunities for that in the Noble/Master Chief build though, since the armor design is pretty uniform and clean. With the Fett build, there were random things like screws and bolts, pieces of pens used for the darts, etc.

**EDIT**
I'm pretty sure I have all the .pdo files I need to build my Noble suit, should I decide to do it. Got the .zip file of the full Reach suit from the pepakura file sticky thread, as well as the grenadier kneecaps, fj/para shoulders, boots, and Jorge's helmet. I'm just hoping that the fj/para shoulders and the grenadier kneecaps fit onto the upper arm and shin pieces that are in the full suit file. Now to learn me some sizing and scaling techniques! ...And find a better printer lol

 

[GStam66]

UPDATE:

Got a decent printer (finally). Just need to buy some cardstock and get some measurements to scale the armor. Really don't want to assemble a piece just to see it won't fit right. Measure twice, print once, ya know?

Here's the player models for my Reach Spartan:

Only difference is it has a gold visor now.

 

[Lobokai]

fett costume looks awsome. Great Job! I am currently constructing my own fett armor and I hope it turns out as well as yours.

 

[GStam66]

fett costume looks awsome. Great Job! I am currently constructing my own fett armor and I hope it turns out as well as yours.

Thanks! The Fett costume was pretty fun to build. My favorite parts were the weathering, and watching the helmet come together.


I've been trying to find Grenadier Knee Armor pep files, but google isn't helping, and I didnt see a file in the Reach Pepakura Files thread. Anybody know where I can get it? It's the only file I'm missing.

 

[Road Kill]

wow really nice suit and good luck with the reach suit

 

[GStam66]

Slight change of plans, might be doing a "Halo 3 Permutation" kind of suit. Been catchin up on my Red vs Blue as well, so I guess that's steering me toward the Master Chief-styled armor. Also not really liking how the reach torso came out. I know Halloween's only 2 months away, but I have about a week of vacation time coming up, and I'm a pretty quick worker.

 

[GStam66]

Figured it's about time for an update. Haven't abandoned the project, I've just been extremely busy, with only a couple hours a day to work on it. I was off all day today so I was able to finish the codpiece and about 2/3 of the helmet (which I changed my mind on, decided to go with the Mark VI. Got the helmet in-game and after watching a few cutscenes I really liked the "bulkier Master Chief" look). Went with the HD version (holy minute details Batman!) so I'm hoping there's not too much sanding involved. Sanded for what felt like weeks on the Boba Fett armor, was not fun.

So that makes the total of finished pieces so far:

1 shin
1 handplate
1 upper arm
1 FJ/Para shoulder plate
1 cod piece

The cod piece looks huge, but fits me pretty well I guess. I'm hoping everything will even out once all pieces are assembled and mounted. I'm averaging 1 piece of armor finished every 2-3 days, so I'm fairly sure I'll be able to get everything done in time. I'll be ordering the extra materials (foam padding, SmoothCast, straps and buckles) next week so I won't be waiting on shipping too close to the deadline (Halloween parties).

I'll probably be posting up some pictures soon as well.

"Oh hay! Just chillin."

"I AM NOBLE SIX!! THE VEHICLE DESTROYER!!"

EDIT: Yeah, there's some very well-defined ridges between some pieces... Might have to dedicate a week to sanding just the helmet.

 

[GStam66]

Helmet's all done as of yesterday, working on forearms now.

I feel pretty confident with the helmet shape considering all the support struts lined up and fit perfectly.

 

[Frozensnot]

Your build is coming along nicely. The helmet is looking pretty good.

I personally like having the visor installed, but you look like you know what you are doing.

 

[GStam66]

Finished the chest and forearm today. All that's left is 1 thigh, 1 shin, 1 bicep, 1 shoulder, and 1 forearm. Everything seems sized appropriately, except the forearm's circumference is too big. Gonna have to remove a section to shrink it down. The chest is still wobbly even with the support pieces, so I'm probably going to secure it a bit more.

Ordered my visor and Smooth-Cast, gotta look for suitable foam, as well as paint. Not sure what I'm doing with the undersuit right now, as Halloween is approaching fast. Might have to use my old Boba Fett jumpsuit (dark olive green) if I find myself in a pinch. I'd rather not use black pants and UnderArmor. Seems too plain, even though the colors would match better.

Really kicking myself for not devoting more time to this project over the summer. :/ Definitely want this to turn out the way I envisioned, and drop some jaws at the Halloween party. Everyone loved the Fett and V (V for Vendetta) costumes so I guess I have a reputation to keep up now haha.