Targetxd's Mark Vi Progression Thread

[TargetXD]

Hiya! I'm new here to these forums, and I've been a huge halo fan for awhile, so I thought I'd give armor-making a shot. Anyhow, I started my project when the forums weren't open for registration, so I couldn't exactly get any help if I had a question, Well..I did my first mark 6 halo helmet over February break, pepped it, resined, fiberglassed, resined again, skipped bondoing because I wasn't (and still not sure) What exactly it does, then painted it. It came out...bad..like..REALLY bad, infact, it's the most screwed up and warped thing i've ever seen, it's also low-def.

Here's how it was finished pepping:

Yeah...here's a tip for all those really newbie newbies, NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER use yellow glue sticks when your hot gluing, ALWAYS use clear, or else if your not neat, you'll have huge yellow globs everywhere, like seen here:

Anyhow, did resining, fibeglasses, etc. etc. Warped like hell, etc. etc. Here's the final helmet all painted:

I think I didn't sand enough >.>



So after putting in padding, I realized it was way too small, and when I finally got my head in, I couldn't take it off, arrangements had to be made, and I wound up cutting like the whole bottom off the helmet, now I can finally get my head in! and...everything was tight..REALLY tight..my nose was pushed hard against the nosepiece, I'd just realized I made it to small...Oh well though, it really looked...REALLY bad...so I was deciding whether I should chuck it or not, but then an idea came to me, I know I've only done like one thing out of pep so far, but what if I tried this again, but in Hi-def, with a small, low-temp glue-gun, and with clear glue sticks? So I thought my idea through, and printed out the pages. So heres the start:

And what I'm up to so far:

So here's a side by side comparison of my new helm, and my old one:

 

[Jtd18801]

The 2nd one is coming out really well. A tip for the bondo: don't do the whole thing at once take an area and apply a thin layer, sand, apply another small layer, sand, repeat until you have the shape you want, Then move on to the next area. This will be tedious but it will look really good.

 

[mkshane81]

Unless my eyes deceive me, it looks like you glassed the outside of the first one. Just be sure and glass the inside of the second one, which is definitely coming along well. And like jtd said, apply multiple thin coats to your armor when doing bondo, sanding them a little bit a time.

 

[TargetXD]

Hahah, No, I didn't glass the outside, that's just the extremely crappy paint job my brother did, he did it outside while I wasn't home, then it started raining, so he brought it inside and the paint looked like it was cracking. Anywho, what exactly is bondo for? Could you go without it? Like, is it necessary?

 

[Bigalt424]

Bondo is used to add details and to smooth the helmet out like low areas and rough spots.

 

[TargetXD]

Is it really needed though? Or can you skip it, and still have the helmet look pretty good?

 

[Bigalt424]

If you do skip it, it won't necessarily turn out bad. You just need to pep it well so it has the correct shape.

 

[TargetXD]

Heres another question, about mudding, is that needed aswell? What exactly does it do? I mean, when you add it to the helmet it looks REALLY smooth, unlike my 1st helmet that looks very unsmooth. Also, how do you make/apply mudding? Thanks!

 

[TargetXD]

Alright, well, here we go with more pics.


These are some armor pieces I forgot to put in the first post, Here we have the Left Forearm, low-def, and the belt/space diaper

The left forearm is currently resined, and the belt is finished and resined, also cut that annoying space that grabs your crotch in the belt.

I also did a left bicep, but not sure where the pictures are of it. Anyway, that one I'm probably going to chuck, as it's low-def, and somethings wrong with it. The left bicep i'll probably chuck too, I mean, it came out really good for my 2nd pepped piece ever, but it has that nasty yellow glue, plus I'll just make the bicep and forearm in Hi-def like I did the helmet.

 

[JediStumpy]

I think that you need to stop using hot glue and use elmer's school glue. I think the hot glue is causing to much thickness in the tabs (where you glue at) That is why you are getting too much warping. Elmer's works just as well as hot glue, resin does not affect it. Plus it gives you more time to adjust your alignment.
Also, how are you scoring your folds? I think that might by also causing some of you warping issues. Try using a ruler and different color pens, Red for mountain, blue for valley.
Other than that good start. Lessons learned from your first one will help you out in the long run.

 

[timonemycat]

I really think your biggest problem is the paper. Maybe someone has already mentioned it, but you really need to get cardstock for more rigidity. I use clear hot glue, and I honestly cant imagine why everyone doesnt use it, Elmer's takes so long to dry! Stay with hot glue in my opinion. But most of your problems will be solved by cardstock

 

[JediStumpy]

Elmer's takes so long to dry! Stay with hot glue in my opinion.

Elmer's takes to long because people use to much in a spot. If you spread in thin it will hold in 5 seconds giving enough time to still adjust it. It's fine if people want to use hot glue, I understand because it dry quick, But I just think people don't use Elmer's correctly and give up.

Just from his pics he was using just a bit to much hot glue.

 

[Richie]

I like using super glue, luckily I haven't messed up bad enough to have to rip a piece off.

Using support struts are really going to help keep it from distorting when resining it. Second attempt is looking good.

 

[TargetXD]

I'm not sure why everyone assumes if something is warped, it has to be that it's not cardstock. I use 110lb cardstock. Also, I think the problem is I just put on way too much glue, I was using a huge glue gun on the 1st one, and had yellow glue sticks. Now I have a smaller glue-gun, I only put on a tiny amount, and ofcourse, I have clear sticks. Also, I score my lines with my X-acto, I slightly go over them, not cutting them, but making it hard enough so it'll make a crease, then fold it mountain or valley.

 

[dragonknight146]

Looks like you're armor is coming along nicely. It look's like you've learned from your first attempts which is a good first step. Remember that experience is the best teacher. (I learned that the hard way lol.) Just take your time and it should come out very nice.

 

[TargetXD]

Gonna delay the armor-making til' Spring Break