Foam Spartan S-229 Build

[S229]

Hello Hello everyone! S229 here! Some of you may have seen my ODST build thread that i've currently got going here in the forums, but I am nearly finished with that, and i've been wanting to build my own spartan for sometime now. Please do note that i will not be starting my spartan just yet, as I have not finished my ODST. But I have been researching, trying to gather as many references as I can. Now all of that to say, I am just one person, and I don't have access to a lot of resources like many of you fine people do, so I was hoping to be able to gather some help and advice from all of you fantastic people. (This may be a long post, so hold on to your butts) Now, on to business.

I am going to be building my spartan from Halo: Reach on the MCC, Spartan S-229 (hence my username lol) out of EVA foam, probably relying heavily on the RandomRanger tutorials on youtube. My spartan is currently looking like this:

Helmet: Hazop, with the goggle/NV thing attachment on the top of it, which will be 3D printed using the fantastic MoeSizzlac files on Thingiverse. The visor will be either be gold or black depending on how I think it'll look.

Chest: I've decided on the Assault/Sapper chest piece that can be seen being worn by Emile in-game. all of the grenades/canisters will be 3D printed, and i'm still looking for a solution for actually strapping them to my chest.

Right Shoulder: I am planning on making the right shoulder the Commando variants, as seen on Carter's armour in-game, though I haven't decided on whether I will be printing this or making it out of foam.

Left Shoulder: I am planning on making the left shoulder using the CQC variants, again I have no idea if I will be 3D printing this or not. This shoulder armour however, I have been unable to get very clear or good reference images for, and was hoping for help getting some. I am aware of NerdForgeDesign's files for sale on Etsy, and other sites, however I am unable to access the site for some reason, and so i've not been able to get a clear picture of them in order to make them out of foam. Help would be appreciated in regards to this.

Wrist: I was planning on making the UGPS module on my right wrist. I was also contemplating putting the shotgun shell attachment on the opposite wrist, but i am not 100% on board with that idea. For now though:

Utility: for the hip attachment, i was planning on making/ buying the soft case attachment, but if i'm unable to make it, or find a reasonably priced one, I will just do the hardcase out of foam.

Extras tech suit: I have been scouring the internet for references, files, and/or in-game pictures, but the only real references that I could find was for the gen. 2 tech suit that is seen in halo 4/5. i have watched the video by Electraknite that is up on youtube, but that can only go so far in regards to reference. (absolutely cool tho, looks really good, i wish i could sew that well) if anyone has any reference of any sort, or anything that you may think could help, it would be greatly appreciated.

So, all that to say (whew that was a lot) I still need to research/get advice on harnessing or rigging for the suit (as i have never done it before), how to make shoes/boots that increase my height, and how to get the line designs into the visor, while still being able to see out of it.

I probably will be checking on this thread regularly, though the actual building of the armour will come much later after i am finished with my ODST and I have gotten a plan laid out for the construction.

Edit: I will post a pic of my full suit from in game in a few hours when I get home.

 

[Electraknite]

Nice, I left my MCC open for 1000+ hrs just for reference pics. Though the textures were shifted slightly from the geometry, not sure if it was just me. Anyways still really helpful.

 

[RandomRanger]

Awesome! Looking forward to when the build starts

 

[S229]

Alright, here is what i'm going for, pretty much. i'm still undecided as to what colors I want, but that's a problem for future me. I also realized that that I forgot to say that the knees are going to be the grenadier variants. This pic is also rocking the alternate loadout of the Assault/breacher forearms.

v this is the gold visor in the helmet v

 

[S229]

So as i've never done this before, I have no idea what i'm doing. How do these harness thingys work? I?'m trying to sketch one out but i've no idea what I should be going for or what kind of attachment points I should do?

Also, random side note, i'm trying to join a regiment, and I have the required amount of posts, and i've been here for more then 90 days, and I have also asked to be added to the regiment in the appropriate thread, am I missing anything, or have I missed a requirement to join?

 

[Electraknite]

might be taking longer to join a reg beacause of the chaos around the halo premier, you could remind them or be patient.

are you making a harness for strapping your armor to? usually you start with a belt and suspenders, have straps hanging from the belt for your thighs and from the shoulders for you biceps, add bracing across chest and back if necessary. if you have more armor you need to attach you just add more straps wherever they would be useful. it helps to have the armor built first though.

I was originally going to use a harness but found i didnt need one. though you could argue my undersuit does a lot of what a harness would. my biceps snap to my undersuit and the thighs attach to my belt (i have girl hips that hold the belt up though, not sure if that would work for guys). my boots hold the shins in place.

 

[S229]

Thank you Electraknite
I'll probably just be patient, its only been like 3-4 days or so.....

As for the harness, you just like, rocked my world and I feel kind of dumb . Never thought to use suspenders! This information is very useful... Many thanks.

 

[TurboCharizard]

S229 toss your request into the and reach out to the Southern staff (brkiker, AugmentedHuman013 and RandomRanger)

Regiment membership - please all read

I'm noticing a great deal of people who qualify to be part of a Regiment (ie: Type B Membership with 50 posts and 90 days) but have not yet been added. Please take a moment to let us know here if you wish to be added and we'll get that taken care of for you. So, what is a Regiment? The 405th...

www.405th.com

 

[brkiker]

S229 We'll get it worked out. Be sure to join the regiment's Facebook group too.

 

[RandomRanger]

S229 I've submitted your southern regiment join request.

Update: Welcome to Southern Regiment! You've been added

 

[S229]

y'all officers are awesome! Thanks RandomRanger and brkiker, happy to be apart of the crew! I feel official now lol.
I'm glad that got all sorted out, back on to the oh-so-scientific research of making a spartan.

So, i'm thinking that i'm going to use the harness for the suit, but what should I be wearing under the harness? Obviously something black, but i've never built a spartan and my ODST is rockin' a set of Urban Camo fatigues... any ideas? Maybe some sort of spandex suit perhaps?

 

[brkiker]

y'all officers are awesome! Thanks RandomRanger and brkiker, happy to be apart of the crew! I feel official now lol.
I'm glad that got all sorted out, back on to the oh-so-scientific research of making a spartan.

So, i'm thinking that i'm going to use the harness for the suit, but what should I be wearing under the harness? Obviously something black, but i've never built a spartan and my ODST is rockin' a set of Urban Camo fatigues... any ideas? Maybe some sort of spandex suit perhaps?

If you're talking about your under suit. It largely depends on how much work you want to put into it. A lot of people will wear just a black flight suit or body suit. If you want the full texture and what not, you'll need to make it yourself. Some of use will make a foam ab wrap and skin it with fabric. You can buy a Reach ab at 850 Armor Works. It's about 1/2 inch of urethan rubber.

 

[S229]

So I switched gears a bit.... Sealing the foam armour. I've worked with EVA foam for round about 5 years at this point, and none of my builds have ever been sealed or anything like that. I pretty much just paint the costumes or whatever it is i'm making, and call it good. Over time however, the paint wears away and it gets banged up and whatnot, leaving me with a prop/ costume that is a shell of its former glory. My question with this is what exactly should I use to seal my foam? I'm trying to go for a good balance of rigidity, but also something that wont crack too bad, if it does get hit, or my clumsy self runs into doorways like I always do. I've seen that Rustoleum has Leak Seal, though I don't know if this is what i'm looking for. Maybe Flex Seal? Ya know, 'cuz that's a lot of damage and all....

 

[TurboCharizard]

So I switched gears a bit.... Sealing the foam armour. I've worked with EVA foam for round about 5 years at this point, and none of my builds have ever been sealed or anything like that. I pretty much just paint the costumes or whatever it is i'm making, and call it good. Over time however, the paint wears away and it gets banged up and whatnot, leaving me with a prop/ costume that is a shell of its former glory. My question with this is what exactly should I use to seal my foam? I'm trying to go for a good balance of rigidity, but also something that wont crack too bad, if it does get hit, or my clumsy self runs into doorways like I always do. I've seen that Rustoleum has Leak Seal, though I don't know if this is what i'm looking for. Maybe Flex Seal? Ya know, 'cuz that's a lot of damage and all....

I stand by Leak Seal. If you warm it up slightly and shake it well it goes on smooth. If you don't get a perfect application it's sandable and doesn't peel up.

 

[RandomRanger]

Leak Seal is great. But it's also expensive and can be difficult to work with. I use it because I believe it gives me the best final product. I did make a YouTube tutorial about using leak seal, perhaps you'd find it helpful.

 

[TurboCharizard]

Leak Seal is great. But it's also expensive and can be difficult to work with. I use it because I believe it gives me the best final product. I did make a YouTube tutorial about using leak seal, perhaps you'd find it helpful.

Strangely it's cheaper than PlastiDip in a lot of Canadian stores.

 

[RandomRanger]

Strangely it's cheaper than PlastiDip in a lot of Canadian stores.

That's wild. It's nearly twice as much down here

 

[Electraknite]

Strangely it's cheaper than PlastiDip in a lot of Canadian stores.

whAT. why have i been using plastidip all these years? OMGGGG

 

[S229]

Hmm, Very informative. RandomRanger i will go and check out that video! Just out of curiosity, whats the difference between plastidip and leak seal?

 

[TurboCharizard]

That's wild. It's nearly twice as much down here

I often snag cans of Leak Seal on sale for $14 (regularly $16-$18). PlastiDip is commonly $21. It's likely a mix of environmental fees and import costs but honestly just a thing to keep an open eye out for sales on.

Hmm, Very informative. RandomRanger i will go and check out that video! Just out of curiosity, whats the difference between plastidip and leak seal?

The easiest explanation is that PlastiDip was designed to peel off of smooth surfaces in as few pieces as possible. Leak Seal is made to waterproof surfaces and be a pain to take off of as many different materials as possible.