SpartanT117
Well-Known Member
It looks great man! hope the rest of the build goes just as swell! and other people don't understand our finger pains, lol. Keep up the great work!
Rex 084's MK VI MC Suit WIP (with LOTS of pics) :-)
- Thread starter Rex 084
- Start date
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Hey all. Not an update, but my girlfriend had taken some pics of me when I started my first (now on hold) project. I did the complete newb thing and decided that I was going to build the HD FlyingSquirrel helmet. My exact thoughts: "How hard could it be? It's only paper..."
Yay! It's printed!
Something tells me this is NOT the way it's supposed to go...
Enough fooling around, time to get busy.
Holy crap... therenare some damned small pieces in this file.
Cheerio, my helper, trying to sneak a sip of my "concentration booster", lol.
My girlfriend works at a winery, so Sunday's (the only day I don't work) I spend there, pepping away.
Seriously detailed pieces, and damned technical to cut out.
Alrighty then, this particular helmet is all cut out, but I got really intimidated and ended up doing the LD by Robogenesis instead. I'll be building it soon, and I'll post up some new pics as the build gets going. Hope You all enjoyed your holiday!
Happy New Year everyone!
Rex out.
Yay! It's printed!
Something tells me this is NOT the way it's supposed to go...
Enough fooling around, time to get busy.
Holy crap... therenare some damned small pieces in this file.
Cheerio, my helper, trying to sneak a sip of my "concentration booster", lol.
My girlfriend works at a winery, so Sunday's (the only day I don't work) I spend there, pepping away.
Seriously detailed pieces, and damned technical to cut out.
Alrighty then, this particular helmet is all cut out, but I got really intimidated and ended up doing the LD by Robogenesis instead. I'll be building it soon, and I'll post up some new pics as the build gets going. Hope You all enjoyed your holiday!
Happy New Year everyone!
Rex out.
Our cat has a taste for beer, she doesn't get access to fine spirits! Haha!
The winery looks like a more comfortable spot than the floor, good luck and I can't wait to see the finished pep.
I didn't see a response to it, even though it was asked a week ago, but here's my take on fiberglass versus smoothon! They are very different things. The fiberglass I don't personally think is good for long term, it's more dangerous and its strength to weight ratio is pretty crummy. It works better as a stepping stone to hold the pep piece stiff enough to support the weight of bondo and silicone. The better smoothon plastics have very good strength to weight ratios, and if you have a good mold you can always cast replacements for the helmet which takes a few minutes + painting time, if one breaks; where-as if you break the fiberglass master model, you'll have to re-pep/resin/fiberglass + paint time, all over again, which would take a lot more time. Also, smoothon helmets would be a lot thinner, lighter, and clean. I only have two layers of fiberglass in my helmet and it's pretty thick and heavy, not to mention the stray fibers that are poking out inside..
But ultimately if you don't have the patience, money, or practice to make a good silicone mold (though nothing's stopping one from making several trial molds on the same helmet to practice), the fiberglass helmet is an okay cheap alternative. Though I'd put a layer of thin plastic or something inside just to keep that fiberglass from touching you, I don't trust the stuff. The smooth-on DOES add a bunch more steps to your project, and it's mostly for weight reduction and insurance to most users, since I'd imagine most people would only be casting one or two smoothon copies. Advanced users might be doing things like modifying the molds or experimenting with different types of plastic.
PS: I say good mold because if the silicone OR smoothon get air bubbles or it glops weird or doesn't dry right, it will royally ruin the thing... But you can always just recast either pretty easily!
Whew, I talked a lot, but it's all ultimately up to the individual though!
The winery looks like a more comfortable spot than the floor, good luck and I can't wait to see the finished pep.
I didn't see a response to it, even though it was asked a week ago, but here's my take on fiberglass versus smoothon! They are very different things. The fiberglass I don't personally think is good for long term, it's more dangerous and its strength to weight ratio is pretty crummy. It works better as a stepping stone to hold the pep piece stiff enough to support the weight of bondo and silicone. The better smoothon plastics have very good strength to weight ratios, and if you have a good mold you can always cast replacements for the helmet which takes a few minutes + painting time, if one breaks; where-as if you break the fiberglass master model, you'll have to re-pep/resin/fiberglass + paint time, all over again, which would take a lot more time. Also, smoothon helmets would be a lot thinner, lighter, and clean. I only have two layers of fiberglass in my helmet and it's pretty thick and heavy, not to mention the stray fibers that are poking out inside..
But ultimately if you don't have the patience, money, or practice to make a good silicone mold (though nothing's stopping one from making several trial molds on the same helmet to practice), the fiberglass helmet is an okay cheap alternative. Though I'd put a layer of thin plastic or something inside just to keep that fiberglass from touching you, I don't trust the stuff. The smooth-on DOES add a bunch more steps to your project, and it's mostly for weight reduction and insurance to most users, since I'd imagine most people would only be casting one or two smoothon copies. Advanced users might be doing things like modifying the molds or experimenting with different types of plastic.
PS: I say good mold because if the silicone OR smoothon get air bubbles or it glops weird or doesn't dry right, it will royally ruin the thing... But you can always just recast either pretty easily!
Whew, I talked a lot, but it's all ultimately up to the individual though!
Awesome! That put everything into perspective for me. Thanks Katsu! Now just gotta get money together to make sure i have all the materials. Ugh, *in my best Homer Simpson voice* Why do things cost things?!
Haven't had a whole lot of time to really work on this but there's some progress. I've got the right shoulder pepped, lol. No pics yet, as it looks just like the left one, but I'll post pics when I get the next bit done. Will be starting today on the forearms. Woot. Anyway, thanks all for following my thread and for the words of encouragement. Lately, it's all thats really keeping me motivated to get this thing done. Stay tuned for more!
Rex out.
Haven't had a whole lot of time to really work on this but there's some progress. I've got the right shoulder pepped, lol. No pics yet, as it looks just like the left one, but I'll post pics when I get the next bit done. Will be starting today on the forearms. Woot. Anyway, thanks all for following my thread and for the words of encouragement. Lately, it's all thats really keeping me motivated to get this thing done. Stay tuned for more!
Rex out.
Annanymous
Well-Known Member
Hey this is looking good! Does this mean that you are done with the helmet, chestpiece, and one of the shoulders now?
Everything looks nice and clean... and be very cautious with heaters around Fiberglass resin, that stuff is HIGHLY flamable. Make sure you are at least 3 ft. away if heater is over 80 degrees. Happy Building
Lmao! Oops I had a heater at about 80 degrees when I cured the resin on my hammerburst.
Back on topic the helmet looks great so far and you asked about a different glue to use I use gorilla glue super glue it's got a blue stripe of the label. It's more of a gel so it doesn't dry instantly and it doesn't soak the card stock either. Just remember to squirt a fair amount into a coke, pepsi, mountain dew bottle cap and dip a tooth pick and use that to 'paint' the tab. And I swear by this glue that it doesn't dry fast I had used a capful for at least three days before it hardened on me.
@Annanymous
Thanks! The shoulders are done, the new helmet is about halfway, and I haven't started the second chest yet. I need to. I've been a bit slacking on this project lately. But hope is not lost! I want to have 2 suits done by October, my MC and I want to have a second Mk VI done up as Donut from RvB (yes, the light-ish red guy) so i can do the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure in costume, lol. I think it'll be pretty nifty.
@Cloviz
Thanx for the info. Yeah, so far it's all been done with Elmers Glue-All. Working well so far.
Alrighty folks, expect some pics by the end of the weekend! I'll show everything I've got done so far, and maybe some new randomness (since half my photos seem to be that kind of stuff).
Stay tuned!
Rex out.
Thanks! The shoulders are done, the new helmet is about halfway, and I haven't started the second chest yet. I need to. I've been a bit slacking on this project lately. But hope is not lost! I want to have 2 suits done by October, my MC and I want to have a second Mk VI done up as Donut from RvB (yes, the light-ish red guy) so i can do the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure in costume, lol. I think it'll be pretty nifty.
@Cloviz
Thanx for the info. Yeah, so far it's all been done with Elmers Glue-All. Working well so far.
Alrighty folks, expect some pics by the end of the weekend! I'll show everything I've got done so far, and maybe some new randomness (since half my photos seem to be that kind of stuff).
Stay tuned!
Rex out.
Annanymous
Well-Known Member
a donut costume! Well, at least its not pink
Thats really cool that youd be in a pink suit for a breast cancer walk though!
Thats really cool that youd be in a pink suit for a breast cancer walk though!
Rex, maybe I read something wrong, but it looks like you're cutting all of your pieces out before you assemble them. If that works for you, great, but for me it's like turning all of those neatly-organized, handy sheets into a massive jigsaw puzzle. If you don't mind my saying so, I usually find it's helpful to have the model open in pepakura on my laptop while I'm building it. I keep the printed pages next to my cutting board and using the "check corresponding face" button in pep I'm able to find exactly where each piece is on the sheets.
I only cut out the parts as I'm ready to glue them together. That way I don't spend hours sifting through all of the bits while I'm trying to build them.
Your work so far looks great. Good luck with the rest of the build.
I only cut out the parts as I'm ready to glue them together. That way I don't spend hours sifting through all of the bits while I'm trying to build them.
Your work so far looks great. Good luck with the rest of the build.
@Thorssoli
Yeah, that was the HD model I printed out before realizing my mistake. I did the LD one the same way you do, building as I cut. Works sooo much better, lol. I restarted the HD build and am currently doing it that way. And thanks for checkin in on my build. It was yours that inspired me to build mine.
@Vshore100
Yup! the HD helm is the only one I cut out all the pieces before I started to assemble it. Everything is else was "cut, score, fold, glue, cut, score, fold, glue..."
Life's been a bit hectic, so the going has been much slower than originally planned, but it's still going. I'll see if I can get some progress photos up here soon.
Thanks for following! Look for more soon!
~Rex
Yeah, that was the HD model I printed out before realizing my mistake. I did the LD one the same way you do, building as I cut. Works sooo much better, lol. I restarted the HD build and am currently doing it that way. And thanks for checkin in on my build. It was yours that inspired me to build mine.
@Vshore100
Yup! the HD helm is the only one I cut out all the pieces before I started to assemble it. Everything is else was "cut, score, fold, glue, cut, score, fold, glue..."
Life's been a bit hectic, so the going has been much slower than originally planned, but it's still going. I'll see if I can get some progress photos up here soon.
Thanks for following! Look for more soon!
~Rex
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