Visogoth's MK VI Build WIP (pic heavy)

[visogoth]

Greetings one and all!
So after months of reading forum topics, building smaller random project and refining my skills with the techniques that are covered here I have started my armor build.
The goal is to be done in time for Halloween, if I miss that I’d like to wear the armor to pick up Halo: CE Anniversary edition. To complicate matters I need to build 2 sets of armor, one for me and one for a friend so I will also have to mold and cast. Don’t worry, I did not start today I’ve actually been working for a while and I’ve reached a point where I feel I can and should let the community know what’s up.
So I’d think it’s only appropriate to start with credits. As with most projects here I am not the originator of the 3D models nor did I do the Pep unfolds. Also, without the tutorials and mentoring of more experienced prop builders this would not be possible. In general, before I get to specific credits and gratitude, I’d like to thank all of the 405th. This is an awesome community of very talented builders. If you’ve taken the time to write a tutorial on Pep, resin, Bondo, sanding, shaping or detailing, I’ve read it. Thank you!! Now to the specific credits:
Helmet HD by FlyingSquirrel, Unfold by unknown
Chest HD by FlyingSquirrel, Unfold by Ral Partha
Cod piece HD by crakhead09, Unfold by Ral Partha
Shoulders HD by Robogenisis, Unfold by Ral Partha
Forearms HD by Nugget, Unfold by Ral Partha
Handplates HD by Robogenisis, Unfold by unknown
Thighs HD by crakhead09, Unfold by Ral Partha
Shins HD by crakhead09, Unfold by unknown
Boots HD (2 piece) by Robogenisis, Unfold by unknown
Assault Rifle by Nugget, Unfold by Ral Partha
Pistol by unknown (it’s the M6_Magnewm file)
Frag nade Modeled and unfolded by Garland
Plasma nade Modeled and unfolded by Garland
All of the armor components came from the Halo Costuming Wiki.
All of the weapons came from the 405th.
Also I’d like to add a shout out to Halogoddess for her awesome scaling tutorial, it works and it’s easy.
STATUS: I have cut and built everything on the list except for the pistol. I will knock that out next week. I use a Silhouette SD cutter/plotter so I can cut and score every piece of armor in about 2 days. Each piece built in as little as 2 hours and as long as 2 days. Here are some pics of the pieces. There are more pics on my blog (see my signature block).
Helmet

Chest

Biceps

Forearms

Codpiece

Thighs

Shin

Boots

Handplate

Assault rifle
Several pics in this set. Wanted to show off the detail and give you an idea of how straight I was able to keep the model during the build. Its not perfect but its good enough to work with.

Everything

Next Step:
Resin and Rondo, I plan to get that done tonight and Saturday. I’ll update tomorrow.

 

[Bishorzidi]

Ok. I'm impressed. This is one heck of a way to start a thread. Fantastic job dude it's all so clean and beautiful. Keep up the good work

 

[LongShot X]

Ok. I'm impressed. This is one heck of a way to start a thread. Fantastic job dude it's all so clean and beautiful. Keep up the good work

I could not agree more!

Visogoth. I am so impressed with the presentation that I know that this is going to be EPIC.
Having that SD craft cutter is a HUGE plus. I'll need to get one of those... and soon!
I see that your using all the same Pep files that I used and from the same site too. xD Epicness indeed!

Looking forward to future progress reports.

Cheers!

 

[Fudz073]

Wow... pretty aggressive strategy. I like it. How long did it take to assemble? And please, PLEASE, if you create molds for your armor, please share your method. It's the part I love the best and I love learning new ways to mold and cast.

 

[ratchet fan]

holy cow!!! thats incredible!! I can never get my peps that clean! you pep work rocks! can't wait to see where this goes!!

 

[visogoth]

Ok. I'm impressed. This is one heck of a way to start a thread. Fantastic job dude it's all so clean and beautiful. Keep up the good work

Bishorzidi - Thanks!! I'm never happy with my pep work (I've always been critical of myself). I'm pleased to hear you think it looks good.

I could not agree more!

Visogoth. I am so impressed with the presentation that I know that this is going to be EPIC.
Having that SD craft cutter is a HUGE plus. I'll need to get one of those... and soon!
I see that your using all the same Pep files that I used and from the same site too. xD Epicness indeed!

Looking forward to future progress reports.

Cheers!

LongShot-X - Thanks!! That means a lot to me. The SD cutter is awesome when it works. When it doesn't work it will make you more crazy than any other piece of IT on Earth.

Wow... pretty aggressive strategy. I like it. How long did it take to assemble? And please, PLEASE, if you create molds for your armor, please share your method. It's the part I love the best and I love learning new ways to mold and cast.

Fudz073 - I agree it is a very aggressive timeline. Wish me luck and if you have the power please add hours to the day. It’s funny you ask about how long it’s taken to get to this point. I'm actually keeping a spreadsheet that tracks my hours. I can tell you that scaling, layout for the cutter after scaling; printing, cutting and building have taken just under 19 8 hour days. You have my word that when I start building molds I will carefully document that process.

holy cow!!! thats incredible!! I can never get my peps that clean! you pep work rocks! can't wait to see where this goes!!

Ratchet_fan - Thanks!! I pep very slowly but the patience pays off. I still hate all my peps but your feedback beats back all my personal criticism.

UPDATE: I have resined all the pieces. I'm pleased to report that there was ZERO warping during the resining phase. I have put Rondo onto several pieces. Sadly the ab plate for the chest piece did warp with the Rondo so I will have to rebuild it. The ab plate was the only casualty of Rondo so far. I have to go out of town for business starting tomorrow. While I'm on the road I will build the pistol and rebuild the ab plate. By the way, if you live in Orlando and want to meet and talk Halo and prop building please let me know.

 

[visogoth]

Wanted to post a quick status update. Sorry for the long delay. I was out of town on business for a week. To further complicate matters i dropped my laptop and killed it. It is with Dell now and due back any day. So everything has been resined and Rondo'd. There was a little minor warping on a few parts. Sadly the cod piece warped beyond use so i'll have to rebuild that. I moved onto foaming tonight. I haved successfully foamed 6 parts. The assault rifle did not survive the addition of foam. It kinda blew up. Tomorrow I hope to finish the foaming. I have not decided if I will rebuild the assault rifle or not. I will update with some pics once the laptop is back up.

 

[Fudz073]

Can't wait to see it!. If you don't mind, I have quick question. I here alot about "foaming" armor. I assume this is a form of reinforcement...? If so, what kinda foam? Is it stiff floral foam or spray foam? I'm looking for an alternative to fiberglass. I used a polyurethane resin for my helmet but it's too expensive to do an entire suit. So yeah, just curious. Thanks and sweet build. Keep it up man!!!

 

[visogoth]

Can't wait to see it!. If you don't mind, I have quick question. I here alot about "foaming" armor. I assume this is a form of reinforcement...? If so, what kinda foam? Is it stiff floral foam or spray foam? I'm looking for an alternative to fiberglass. I used a polyurethane resin for my helmet but it's too expensive to do an entire suit. So yeah, just curious. Thanks and sweet build. Keep it up man!!!

Fudz073 - I'm sooo sorry it took this long to get back to you. I've been in the garage everyday working on the armor. To answer your question, the foam is used to fill the piece so you have something to carve into when you add detail. I've seen this approach used here when the builder knew he/she was going to mold and cast. If you just glass (or resin) the inside you only have the thickness of the glass to cut into. If you foam the inside you have a deep, dense foam to carve into. While the foam does make the part very strong it also prevents you from putting your body part into it. I used a closed cell foam. It is mixed in 2 parts and forms a hard, chemical resistant foam. It is used for spray in insulation in homes and to make boats buoyant. I get it from Aeromarine. That's also where I get my casting resin and silicon. Their product is as good as Smooth-On but costs less.

UPDATE TIME!!!
I've been in the garage putting in crazy hours. I wanted to share some pics, prove I'm still alive and still working. Everything is getting close. I think I can finish sanding, add details and do final prep for molding this week. Next week I want to get the molds built (lots of photos and updates for that). I think I can make Halloween. All feedback is welcome and appreciated. Thanks!!

Helmet WIP

Chest WIP

Shoulder WIP

Forearm WIP

Space Diaper WIP

Thigh WIP

 

[visogoth]

Update time. Nearly done with details. I will be building molds next week.
Here are some shots of the finished helmet - I just need to mold it:

Here is a shot of some miscellaneous parts:

Here is a shot of the back (final), just need to build the mold:

 

[Naughty Lemur]

All of this looks incredible! Job well done

 

[visogoth]

All of this looks incredible! Job well done

Thanks!! I should be able to post more pics tomorrow. Halloween is rapidly approaching. ;-)

 

[Naughty Lemur]

Thanks!! I should be able to post more pics tomorrow. Halloween is rapidly approaching. ;-)

I know! Its really intimidating. Hopefully my armor will be done in time aswell as yours

 

[Fudz073]

Very impressed with the helmet. Fantastic job. Haven't seen this thread in awhile (sorry!) But I'm very glad to see it coming along. Your progress is just making me itch to finish my mk v build so I can start the mk VI. Keep up the awesome work and can't wait to see more!