[WIP] ODST Armor
- Thread starter llNomadll
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Thank you for your kind words sir!
UPDATE:
Okay I have very very bad news. The minor warping on my ODST chestplate became worst after I filled it with Polyester Resin+Talcum Powder sludge. What did I learn from this, ALWAYS REINFORCE THE FLAT PARTS. I assume that there's no repair for this?
And I think I did a terrible job at the "bondo-ing" stage. I've searched around and I couldn't find any tutorial on how to bondo. They're all very vague. Can someone give me advice? I don't wana mess up my next armor piece.
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Hugh Holder
Well-Known Member
Hey llNomadll nice progress!
You are welcome on the hip plate, hope it works out for you.
This warping isn't the worst, I wouldn't panic. There are ways of getting your flat surface back, depending on how thick the part is now. If it is thin enough you might just be able to simply cut a small triangle shape on each end of where you want to bend the piece back.
As for bondo, everyone has their own way of doing it. And a lot of people like to cake the stuff on the part which is probably the best way to set yourself up for days of sanding. The best tip I can give you is only use bondo in very small batches, and as the last resort if you can't get the smooth surface you are looking for.
I always resin, harden, sand, then primer before I even touch bondo. While it does make things pretty and smooth, there is quite a bit of work that is required to get it pretty and smooth. See, when you cake bondo onto your part you are basically encasing your armor part in a big, uneven, pit riddled rock. Then you have to sand and chisel at that part to get to your old shape back. And THEN, because of applying the bondo on the part unevenly you are left with tons of pits and craters that need spot putty to fix anyway or another layer of bondo entirely. I don't really understand why this is the standard, it just seems like a lot of unnecessary work.
Fortunately, we are making armor. And with this style of armor there are a lot of clean, flat faces. Though some guys will hail bondo as having that ultimate high grit finish for your paint, you can still sand cured resin down (it works better for me when I sand by hand).
Look at the part that you will be working on first and notice it's contours and flat surfaces. Notice the parts that the paper card stock is already giving you the smooth surface you need. You will notice that you can get a flat surface by merely focusing some sanding on areas where two pieces of the pepakura cut out meet. I don't know if that makes sense to anybody?
I always take time to just look at the part I'm making in 3d. Before I start unfolding I begin to pick out the areas that I already want unfolded on my page and which areas I will be ok with sanding. I already know where the paper is going to overlap and be glued together and where I'm going to need to focus some sanding. Basically it is about building smarter models.
Your chest piece had a small warp because it was a 'bubble' object without any reinforcement for the broad flat areas. It looks great, and honestly I wouldn't be too concerned with it. But if the outer walls would have bee just a tiny bit wider it would have added a decent amount of shape support.
To other 3d modelers: While building objects in bubble format is quick and easy you ever notice why building support struts with the model is becoming more and more common? It's because the card stock is not stiff enough to support it's shape on its own with these kinds of parts. You can build support struts to be included with your model, but that sort of thing gets in the way during the hardening process imo. These kinds of objects can support their own shape if you simply break it up into blocks. The ODST chest plate I built is in 3 parts, and I know that some will argue that the chest plate is one object, well that's what you can make it after you harden and sand it
The beauty is that the chest plate is very sturdy and I don't have to worry about warping the part because the individual pieces are supporting their own shape by remaining smaller and when the parts are glued together it only doubles the strength of the part while it's still paper.
I guess it more or less comes down to your own preference in building. Most people want a quick and simple paper build to start from and do the bulk of the work after. I would rather spend more time during the pepping phase to ensure that the parts look the best they can before I even start resining.
Keep up the good work man, and I look forward to seeing more progress on your project!
You are welcome on the hip plate, hope it works out for you.
This warping isn't the worst, I wouldn't panic. There are ways of getting your flat surface back, depending on how thick the part is now. If it is thin enough you might just be able to simply cut a small triangle shape on each end of where you want to bend the piece back.
As for bondo, everyone has their own way of doing it. And a lot of people like to cake the stuff on the part which is probably the best way to set yourself up for days of sanding. The best tip I can give you is only use bondo in very small batches, and as the last resort if you can't get the smooth surface you are looking for.
I always resin, harden, sand, then primer before I even touch bondo. While it does make things pretty and smooth, there is quite a bit of work that is required to get it pretty and smooth. See, when you cake bondo onto your part you are basically encasing your armor part in a big, uneven, pit riddled rock. Then you have to sand and chisel at that part to get to your old shape back. And THEN, because of applying the bondo on the part unevenly you are left with tons of pits and craters that need spot putty to fix anyway or another layer of bondo entirely. I don't really understand why this is the standard, it just seems like a lot of unnecessary work.
Fortunately, we are making armor. And with this style of armor there are a lot of clean, flat faces. Though some guys will hail bondo as having that ultimate high grit finish for your paint, you can still sand cured resin down (it works better for me when I sand by hand).
Look at the part that you will be working on first and notice it's contours and flat surfaces. Notice the parts that the paper card stock is already giving you the smooth surface you need. You will notice that you can get a flat surface by merely focusing some sanding on areas where two pieces of the pepakura cut out meet. I don't know if that makes sense to anybody?
I always take time to just look at the part I'm making in 3d. Before I start unfolding I begin to pick out the areas that I already want unfolded on my page and which areas I will be ok with sanding. I already know where the paper is going to overlap and be glued together and where I'm going to need to focus some sanding. Basically it is about building smarter models.
Your chest piece had a small warp because it was a 'bubble' object without any reinforcement for the broad flat areas. It looks great, and honestly I wouldn't be too concerned with it. But if the outer walls would have bee just a tiny bit wider it would have added a decent amount of shape support.
To other 3d modelers: While building objects in bubble format is quick and easy you ever notice why building support struts with the model is becoming more and more common? It's because the card stock is not stiff enough to support it's shape on its own with these kinds of parts. You can build support struts to be included with your model, but that sort of thing gets in the way during the hardening process imo. These kinds of objects can support their own shape if you simply break it up into blocks. The ODST chest plate I built is in 3 parts, and I know that some will argue that the chest plate is one object, well that's what you can make it after you harden and sand it
The beauty is that the chest plate is very sturdy and I don't have to worry about warping the part because the individual pieces are supporting their own shape by remaining smaller and when the parts are glued together it only doubles the strength of the part while it's still paper.
I guess it more or less comes down to your own preference in building. Most people want a quick and simple paper build to start from and do the bulk of the work after. I would rather spend more time during the pepping phase to ensure that the parts look the best they can before I even start resining.
Keep up the good work man, and I look forward to seeing more progress on your project!
Thank you sir! I'm not sure how I'mma keep up because I'm really stuck at the bondo-ing and sanding part XD
Hugh Holder
Yup, your hip plates are DEFINITELY working out well for me
Anyway, I'm pretty new to this so I'm not really sure about alot you're talking about.
The triangles you spoke of, do you mean like cutting one huge isosceles triangle with a large angle at the tip (refer to picture) so I can bend it to a lower, more flattened level?
Oh, alright, so I should bondo a piece part by part? Meaning, like left section, right section then center section? So as to get it as even as possible?
And in my next projects, I should actually resin, cure, primer it, sand, THEN bondo? and By bondo you mean, Bondo-ing ONLY the parts that needs filling/smoothen-ing? Yeah, me too, I normally focus extensively on my pepping so as to prevent anything biting my butt in the future. Because this sanding part is killing me, ESPECIALLY the talcum dust.
Lessons Learnt
1) Bondo (or in my case resin+talcum) in small amounts and on places that needs to be smoothened out
2) Work in small batches
3) When resining/fiberglassing/bondo-ing make sure my model is supported/reinforced to prevent warping
4) Make Resin+talcum composite LESS thicker. Its really uneven because of the thickness of the putty mixture
5) Work in this order Resin > Cure > Sand > Primer > Sand > Bondo
6) Start shaping bondo BEFORE it fully cures
Gosh, Thanks for your lengthy post Hugh. Learnt alot and I hope I'd do a better job in the future. AND ALSO HOPEFULLY Salvage my warped Chest Plate. But I'm gonna need your guidance!
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Good news! I have finally completed the primer phase! I'm pretty happy with the results. For first try, I think it didn't turned out as bad as I had anticipated!
But I do notice that the Chest Plate is still not smooth. Any tips?
Or should I use this to my advantage and use at is a "worn" effect?
But I do notice that the Chest Plate is still not smooth. Any tips?
Or should I use this to my advantage and use at is a "worn" effect?
Roadkiller
Well-Known Member
Spotting and Glazing Putty, normally used with auto-body filler ("Bondo"), will help fill in those "pen holes". These are the annoying indentations the size of the end of a pen. Put it over the affected area in a thin layer, let dry (read the label, about 10 - 15 minutes) then sand.
Once you've gone as far as you feel you can with auto-body filler ("Bondo") and the spotting and glazing putty, I am finding you can still gain some smoothness with the primer. Use a good quality primer and apply several layers, sanding with a high grit paper in between.
Once you've gone as far as you feel you can with auto-body filler ("Bondo") and the spotting and glazing putty, I am finding you can still gain some smoothness with the primer. Use a good quality primer and apply several layers, sanding with a high grit paper in between.
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