spn_phoenix_92's Halo Reach Foam Armor Build (Pic Heavy!)

[JayAndhek]

This looks really good - I like what you did with the visor!

 

[spn phoenix 92]

So I went to Lowes earlier to grab some supplies, & I just happened to come across some cans of Plasidip, for less than $6 a can. I bought these two for less than the price of what ordering 1 can off of the internet would. I looked everywhere for this stuff, but for some reason I never thought to look there.

I also happened to find this paint there as well, it's a color changing paint that nosaint used in his Plasma Pistol thread.

http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/37430-Halo-Plasma-Pistol-Repaint

The cheapest I could find this was $30 on ebay, but I snagged it for $10 at Lowes.

Since I have now decided to go the Plasidip route with my foam, does anyone have any tips on using it? I've read a crap ton of threads on people building foam suits, but have never really seen anyone really go in depth in detail on this part. My questions are;
Do you need to prep the piece before using plastidip?
Can plastidip be sanded?
Do you need to use an adhesion promoter before priming/painting?
How smooth does Plastidip cover a surface?
Are there any spraying procedures to using Plastidip correctly for foam armor?
And finally, How many coats should I spray on?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to learn as much as possible before moving forward. I've literally spent all my free time the past few days researching all the different ways people make armor, especially Cereal Killer's tutorial videos on smoothing and detailing. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Caboose vs Grif]

To answer most of your questions:

No
Ive never tried
No
Really smooth for the exception of a few miniscule air bubbles
Just shake and spray Not an excessive amount though.

 

[Camaro91]

Plasti dip is super easy to use. I'm fairly sure that you can sand it but have never needed to try as it goes on smooth as long as you spray well (start to the side spray over and past to avoid bubbles).

For mine I did 2 coats, looked pretty good after 1 but I wanted to do another one just in case

 

[drack]

Plastidip is a rubber based paint and is not sandable. If you try it will just tear and snag. I have never tried it but I have used so much of the stuff I know it well enough to say "get your piece right first" then there will no need to sand

If you read the first page of my Ironman build the steps for foam painting are mentioned there. It's parts 4 and 5.

Tom.

 

[spn phoenix 92]

Thanks everyone for the answers to my questions


Last night my wife came home from college classes, and on the way home she stopped at a local pharmacy store and happened to come across the Halo Reach Cqb Armor pack I've been looking for forever, so today after work I got the paint I wanted and picked up the last Jun figure I could find near where I live (for certain armor pieces), and got to work on customizing it.

I really don't like how low they made the security shoulder fit on this, so I'm thinking about cutting out the tab and gluing to the arm piece.

Afterwards I decided to take my wife's air assault figure she had and paint it up too.

Best freakin spartan couple you've ever seen :cool

Random pic of my little helper, her name's Meeko and she's my 5 year old Siberian Husky. Most loyal pet I've ever had, she never wants to leave my side. :$

Thanks to IRONBLODDEDCROW for advice on making these.


Tomorrow I'm going to push myself to finish at least one part, now that I've stocked up on all needed supplies and have had countless hours of researching. For tonight I need to do more work on finishing my friend's Halo 3 helmet (in sig if interested) and then after I am done I'll have full focus time for our suits.

 

[spn phoenix 92]

UPDATE TIME!!!

I got my handplates cut out and have their second layer of Plastidip drying right now, I didn't print out pepakura for any templates for them, I drew them up at my scale on paper and traced it on foam, and dremeled the holes, so everything may not be perfectly symmetrical. Tomorrow I will prime and (hopefully) paint them. Told ya I would do something today.

These were before final sanding on the edges.

Two layers of plastidip later.

I also fixed the left shoulder on my spartan figure I pointed out last post and fixed the paint up + battle damage. I got bored and used the spare parts from the Jun figure and leftover pieces from the Cqb armor pack and made another figure, it's the color scheme I've used since Halo 2, Crimson and Rust Orange. (the orange looks like peach in this pic, but it's the camera.)

I also found some of my old cd's today from MxPx (stands for Magnified Plaid), an old 90's punk rock band who was the inspiration for bands like Blink-182 and Sum41. Listening to them helped me work better today.

So did this stuff

Any comments or criticism is welcome! :cool

 

[spn phoenix 92]

Sorry for the triple post, but I need to know something, can I use filler primer to fill in the air pockets in the foam, and then use the dark grey automotive primer on top before I paint?

 

[spn phoenix 92]

Update Time!

Today I Finished sealing and priming the hand plates, and until I can find a good flat dark grey spray paint, this primer will be the main coat for my main color. They are still drying at the moment, hence the darker color in the middle.

I'm probably gonna use some silicone to seal these little spots and add more primer, they keep bugging me, and use an xacto knife for the little bits around the outer edge.

After I did that, I decided to grab my Ua/Base Security shoulder piece and get to work prepping for Plastidip. I decided to do something most people would hate to do with foam+hotglue pieces, I used sandpaper to smooth out all the joined edges. It was a huge pain in the butt, but it was well worth it. I also drew up some details and took my dremel to it, never worked with a dremel for detail lines in foam before, it was kinda scary trying not to ruin the whole piece. After that I used my silicone sealer to fill in the edges and other spots, tomorrow will come plastidip.

This is the stuff I used, worked like a charm. :cool

Sorry for my 4th post in a row, this thread has been pretty much dead from visitors lately.

Tomorrow I will do the last finishing touches on the handplates and then Plastidip the shoulder, but that's all I will get to do cause the rest of my time will be spent fixing up my old Ezio Auditore costume for my work's Halloween Costume contest on wednesday, I'll add some pics after it's over for how that went. For now, any post will be greatly appreciated!

 

[IRONBLOODEDCROW]

Best freakin spartan couple you've ever seen :cool

Thanks to IRONBLODDEDCROW for advice on making these.

Have to agree on yall being a nice spartan couple ...... but only after me and my wife lol...... the figures came out great.... ready to see a helmet form up in the thread with your awesome red visor.

 

[Ghost01]

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of the painted shoulder. I still need to silicone coat the pieces I have built before I paint them and I would like to see what the results of that process should be. Enjoying your build, keep up the good work!

 

[LNB AKA Killer 7]

5 words: The Red Visor of Awesomeness.

Good Luck Man. :]

 

[spn phoenix 92]

I guess alot of people really wanna see a red visor lol, thanks guys

I got to do a little work today on my pieces after getting home from work, The shoulder has it's 2nd coat of Plastidip drying at the moment, put the first on before I left for work this morning. That sanding and sealing really made the difference in hiding the bends and joint angles.

I ended up giving in and using some sealer for the tiny holes on the handplates. Last night the primer split in a few places, but I don't know why. Can anyone help me with that? I have a feeling that I might have put the coats on too thick at a time.

While I was on my break at work today I looked at kmart and found the paints I'm gonna use.


I can't decide on the two as my primary, I'll have to do a test with both and decide.

This is my secondary.

I also got some matte clear of the same brand and type for finalizing.

So what do you guys think? :cool

EDIT: Got the 3rd and last layer of Plastidip drying, will start priming either late tonight or tomorrow morning. Somehow I always manage to get a fingerprint on things at some point. -_-'

 

[LNB AKA Killer 7]

You: So what do you guys think?

Me: I think it SUPER COOL.

 

[spn phoenix 92]

URGENT UPDATE

The last layer of Plastidip is dry, but all these pits and bubbles formed, what do I do? Please someone respond to this asap, I don't know how to fix this problem.

I was thinking either trying to sand it a little or using extra filler primer, but idk. :confused

 

[TheReconSpartan]

Lookin great so far! What are your intentions for the three sniper bullets on the security shoulder? Pepakura? Foam?

 

[spn phoenix 92]

Lookin great so far! What are your intentions for the three sniper bullets on the security shoulder? Pepakura? Foam?

Actually I have a real sniper bullet that has had the internals removed and I'm gonna mold/cast a few of them. I couldn't decide on both shoulder pieces so I'm gonna just add them to the ua/base security shoulder.

 

[Skullptura]

The last layer of Plastidip is dry, but all these pits and bubbles formed, what do I do? Please someone respond to this asap, I don't know how to fix this problem.

I was thinking either trying to sand it a little or using extra filler primer, but idk. :confused

I would reccomend sanding them down very gently and just repaint it. The air bubbles can form from air trapped in the foam segments getting out as the paint dries. Good luck. There are foam gods out there hopefully someone better can give a better idea.

 

[spn phoenix 92]

I would reccomend sanding them down very gently and just repaint it. The air bubbles can form from air trapped in the foam segments getting out as the paint dries. Good luck. There are foam gods out there hopefully someone better can give a better idea.

I did that and sprayed a few layers of filler primer and it covered the bubbles, but made more in the process. x(

 

[TheReconSpartan]

Actually I have a real sniper bullet that has had the internals removed and I'm gonna mold/cast a few of them. I couldn't decide on both shoulder pieces so I'm gonna just add them to the ua/base security shoulder.

Oohh thats a good idea! Thats what I need to do but ibstead it needs to be a shotgun shell for my wrist piece.