Rubber Soles Ideas

[JUSTINIAN 117]

For my Mark V suite I want to make game accurate rubber soles for the bottoms of the feet.

I would like it to be durable to walk on, but also soft enough to have a little cussion. Something like tennis shoes soles.

I am not very familiar with mold making, but I think that this is a small enough project that it would be a good first try. Let me know what materials to use, and how to use them.

Also, if there is something that comes in a small sheet that I could cut out that may also work.

Keep in mind that I don't have a very large budget to spend, but right now the soles are made out of solid wood, and they are heavy, and have no flex or cussion, so just about anything would be better.

 

[Brandon McClain]

You can cast urethane rubber for soles and it will bond with urethane foam. So I you look at the way that thorssoli molds his boots, instead of putting foam on the bottom you cast in urethane rubber. Hope that helps

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

Thanks for the input Brandon. That sounds exactly like what I needed.

I have been doing some research, and this is what I have come up with.

http://cgi.ebay.com/URETHANE-LIQUID-CASTING-RUBBER-Shore-75A-1-2-GAL-KIT-/330526810136?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf4eee018

I will make a mold for the detail and poor the urethane in it (about half an inch thick). Then I will use layers of foam for the cushion.

If you guys have any better ideas let me know.

 

[alix965]

I was thinking about this as well, But I wanted it for height DOH! the solution that I will employ but has yet to be tested is EVA foam. I plan on making platform boots by stacking layers of the stuff together and using carriage bolts and or hot glue to secure them into some old boots im gonna buy. Those deep industrual nothces that are seen on MC's boots can be ground in with a drum sander attachement and a dremel. If you cut in the center of the eva pads you should get some felxion thus making it easier to walk. Plus the sound of the metal bolt heads should add soemthing to your SPARTAN prescence....or make you sound like a tap dancing cyborg.

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

I was thinking about this as well, But I wanted it for height DOH! the solution that I will employ but has yet to be tested is EVA foam. I plan on making platform boots by stacking layers of the stuff together and using carriage bolts and or hot glue to secure them into some old boots im gonna buy. Those deep industrual nothces that are seen on MC's boots can be ground in with a drum sander attachement and a dremel. If you cut in the center of the eva pads you should get some felxion thus making it easier to walk. Plus the sound of the metal bolt heads should add soemthing to your SPARTAN prescence....or make you sound like a tap dancing cyborg.

That sounds similar to what I did for my original suit. I used a few layers of wood, but it was hard to walk in, and they made a lot of noise.

To minimize some of the noise I put a bunch of felt pads on the bottom.

For the new and improved version I was going to cast the bottom detail out of urethane rubber, and use urethane foam or layrs of foam sheets. I will have to experiment with both.

As for the tap dancing cyborg, I originally made sheet metal to go on the bottom, but it didn't like the gorilla glue very much, so it started to come off. It made incredible loud tap dancing noises. I pulled it off soon after. Try to stay away from metal if you can.

 

[dsbass09]

I'm also contemplating using this technique for my suit. How well will the urethane rubber hold up to abrasions and pressure? Obviously it will need to be replaced eventually, but does anybody have an estimate of how long it will hold up?

 

[terryr]

I had actual store bought shoes with urethane soles. On certain surfaces they were VERY slippery. I almost wiped out at the mall several times.
They were very hard and durable though. Maybe soft urethane would be better. People have talked about making soles for the Fetts too, but I haven't seen anyone actually do it.

I stopped wearing the shoes and gave them to the second hand store.

 

[Nintendude]

I have a HD 3D Model of a H3 Spartan Boot if that helps, it's the same model that Thorsolli used for his boot sole. If you want it just send me a e-mail cylonproject2000@yahoo.com I doubt you can unfold the file but feel free to if I send it to you.

 

[WrathPrime]

I'm also contemplating using this technique for my suit. How well will the urethane rubber hold up to abrasions and pressure? Obviously it will need to be replaced eventually, but does anybody have an estimate of how long it will hold up?

Most of your shoes have urethane rubber out soles and the most common mid sole is eva rubber because of the cushioning it provides.

 

[Liamthedevastator]

The felt pads look like the Flubber that Robin Williams puts on the soles of his son's basketball team to make them jump higher

You could probably find a foam-ish alternative that would have better grip? or you could buy some turantilla (<--spelt horribly wrong) gear shoes and rip the sole off

 

[JUSTINIAN 117]

I have a HD 3D Model of a H3 Spartan Boot if that helps, it's the same model that Thorsolli used for his boot sole. If you want it just send me a e-mail cylonproject2000@yahoo.com I doubt you can unfold the file but feel free to if I send it to you.

Thanks, email sent. I am not good at unfolding, but I guess this will make good practice.


I actually ended up going with silicone caulking, because it was less expensive for such a small project. It was also a metalic silver color already.

I Have not completed the entire thing yet, but so far it seems to hold up very well.

I linned the inside with the foam mats from Harbor freight.