Trouble with ODST armor/ Looking for a Mentor

[Spartan721]

Having a little trouble figuring out how some of the ODST armor templates go together, especially the base mid-section

Upper Torso Base ODST http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php?do=download&downloadid=978
Lower Torso Base ODST http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php?do=download&downloadid=979

It looks like none of the parts of the Lower Torso base would actually glue together for pepakura and the upper torso base seems to have some inconstancies as well (it appears that some pieces don't glue together at all). Now I am completely new at this so no one take any offense, please. Appreciate it if someone with experience building this armor would be willing to take a look and explain the steps that would need to be taken. I'm excited that I finally found a community that shares my interest in prop and costume building.

All need to mention that I don't much like working with EVA foam, which I think these templates might be for. I prefer the epoxy/cardstock method. I can usually get cleaner lines. If there is any way to convert these files for paper usage I would appreciate that info as well.


If anyone would actually be willing to mentor me, even over the internet, that would be fantastic as well


Thanks

 

[Ashuraa]

Greetings and welcome to the craziness that is the 405th.
My husband and I have both recently compleated ODST armors. I did the Veronica Dare version, and he did a generic with pieces from Hughs, and one other unfolder. I can say i have never seen the lower torso file that you're looking at.
The upper build my husband did. I will get him into contact with you for specific questions you might have.

 

[Spartan721]

Thanks I appreciate it!

 

[Noble 10]

welcome to the form mate if you need help with pep files or just know how on pep (pepakura ) don't be afraid to ask

 

[Spartan721]

I actually do have a couple other questions.

So I found this ODST build that I think I am going to follow (its just that all the pieces are in one place) http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=24388
Only problem everything is on 4shared and for the life of me I can't figure out how to download the files. Do I need to sign up for an account or what?

Next, I was hoping to figure out how to create a pdo file of a gun I found. I know you have to create a 3d model in another program but I have no other ideas of how to go about this. What steps do I need take? I would like to keep everything but the scope

 

[Noble 10]

try the file arcive for the files here it is http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php?categoryid=23

what did you find that gun i do not know if thats from halo or not

 

[Barroth]

It looks like the lower torso part that you are looking at is more undersuit style. It is meant to go under the armor and the reason the wing shaped pieces do not look like they attach to the back is that they are articulated pieces.

Looking at this picture:



we can see that those pieces fit under the armor worn over most of the torso. They are articulated to allow for the wearer to bend and twist without restricting movement. what I would suggest for these pieces is making them out of thin cardboard, not cereal box thin, but thin and resining those pieces and attaching them to a strip of fabric. these pieces are actually meant to be separate for this reason.

 

[Kusak3]

Ash said I should roam over and give some input. The Lower torso you have listed I didnt use. I Used as a base the HD torso by Nighshade http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php?do=download&downloadid=153 I modified it to be similar to the torso vest that you have listed as your upper. I did mine as a foam build in half inch foam. If I decided to do a rebuild of it I am going to do it in 5 MM foam to make it a bit more flexible.

 

[Crimmson]

I actually do have a couple other questions.

So I found this ODST build that I think I am going to follow (its just that all the pieces are in one place) http://www.405th.com/showthread.php?t=24388
Only problem everything is on 4shared and for the life of me I can't figure out how to download the files. Do I need to sign up for an account or what?

Next, I was hoping to figure out how to create a pdo file of a gun I found. I know you have to create a 3d model in another program but I have no other ideas of how to go about this. What steps do I need take? I would like to keep everything but the scope
View attachment 13039

send him an email asking permission first. he looks like he updates his page often. he might sell or give you a low poly version, but you wont know if you dont ask.

try the file arcive for the files here it is http://www.405th.com/file-archive.php?categoryid=23

what did you find that gun i do not know if thats from halo or not

i dont think that it is halo. here is the deviant art page. he has amazing skills with the concept weapons.
http://peterku.deviantart.com/art/Boxer-P1-362621917

some of my favs are the elah and the hyperion laser

 

[Spartan721]

Yeah I'm not quite doing a traditional ODST costume. I'm talking various parts and pieces and mashing them together for a short film my friends and I are doing for a college project. Hence, the very unique gun.

Crimmson, when you say low poly what do you mean? I'm not quite familiar with that jargen. With this low poly image would I be able to import it into pepakura designer and create a pdo file?

Also thanks for tracking down the owner. I found the image but when I went looking again I just couldn't remember the search term I used to find it.

Also an update, I was able to figure out how to download from 4shared and I am really liking the results that I found. Its using Kusak3's chest core base still but adds some things when it comes to the chest plate and abdominal plating.

Barroth thanks for pointing that out. I guess I should collect some more reference pictures before I kick this project into full gear.


Thanks everyone for the info! I should be getting my cardstock here shortly so I'll be posting pictures soon as long as work doesn't get to hectic

 

[squibs]

as for the gun thing, When the artist that made that render modeled the gun he made a high polygon model which is why it looks all nice and smooth and clean. That is the kind of model someone would use for a CG film or such. If you brought a model like that into pepakura designer it would be so overwhelmingly complicated you would never be able to put it together. So what you need instead is a low polygon model which is something that would be used in a real time program like a video game. This model is just a simplified version of the high poly model where only the major silhouette is seen. This model can be brought into pepakura designer and will be much easier to understand. Now you need to get the 3d model from the artist unless you plan on modeling the gun on your own, you can't model anything in pepakura designer you need to do it in another program like Blender, then save an obj file to import and unfold in pep designer.

I hope this kind of helps you out a little

 

[Barroth]

Have fun with resin and cardstock. I made my newer helmet out of that and it came out ok even for a rushed job. I made my armor out of EVA foam simply because I play a lot of Humans versus Zombies where I use my armor because it looks cool. (if you don't know what it is, it is a giant game of tag but the humans have nerf guns) If you are planning on using it for more rough applications, I would suggest EVA foam. It allows for a large amount of flexibility where sometimes resin, fiberglass, and bondo would make it very uncomfortable to be trapped in. I say that because I was crushed up against a corner one time when a horde overran my position. Also if you are having explosion type events where you get thrown around, having something softer would help, and likely wouldn't crack. Don't get the wrong idea, resin and bondo are very strong, but also very hard. Plus EVA foam can be made to look really good. I compiled a playlist for EVA foam type armor here. It is by DaFrontlineTrooper, and it is a great tutorial.

 

[Spartan721]

Well what I am planning on doing is making everything out of pepakura and then doing a huge model and then cast everything in Smooth-on 300. Several action movies like 300 and Lord of the Rings have used Smooth-on for their props and armor. Since this will be for a film I need something a little more durable the EVA foam since we will be tumbling and falling but not quite as hard as the bondo and resin like you said. Its kind of a happy medium. It will also be a lot easier to cast since I need to make three of these suits that are (at least in basic structure) identical. Don't know to much about explosions yet though. We'll see what happens. Its a college project after all.