Pepakura HALO Mk VI armor build

[boomshakra[TK]]

Mods: Please move this over to the "Non-Star Wars costuming" forum - thanks!

 

While my Mandolorian build is languishing without funding, I decided to see what kind of mischef I could get myself into over on the HALO side. I have seen 405th Infantry members at different cons, and I have always thought their armor was extremely cool. After checking out the forums over there and also watching "Forward Unto Dawn" (highly recommended, even for non-gamers such as myself) I thought I'd give it a go. What the hell, right? Just the cost of some 110# card stock, some hot glue...and a TON of time.

 

I downloaded the software needed to open the pep files and took a look at an ODST helmet first - a lot of my Squad are going to do that build from pre-molded armor this coming year (me included, pending budgetary approval). After looking at 45 pages and ~1400 pieces to be glued...I went for the Mk VI - only 16 pages and 70something parts.

 

Got everything printed and realized I had used the sizing for an ODST helmet...ok, so it might not fit, be a little small - no worries, it will be a practice run to see what I'm getting myself into. If nothing else, the experience will be worth it & if it is too small the kiddos can have it. Apologies in advance for the crummy cell phone camera pix...

 

Over the course of last week, I estimate I put in at least 8 hours here and there cutting and scoring the pieces. Here's what the fruit of my labor looked like as of Friday night:

 

 

So, out comes the glue gun. They call it a HOT glue gun for a reason...my fingertips will never be the same, but should I find myself doing something outside of the law, the authorities will never be able to match my fingerprints to the scene of the crime

 

Yesterday morning's progress:

 

 

Note I said 'morning'...I kept finding myself back at the dining table waiting for the glue gun to heat up again

 

End of yesterday:

 

 

Creating/gluing in the lights (the two bumps by the cheek/ear) and the rebreather tube (jawline) was difficult to say the least. The sad part is that once the resin/fiberglass/bondo is done, the lights will be drilled out for LEDs and the rebreather area for actual tubing. All that work and gluing itty-bitty tabs...for nothing (other than solidifying the build in those areas).

 

No rest for the wicked today:

 

 

You can see that the top and bottom are not connected at this point. My original thought was to keep them separated until the resin process so that they would be a bit more solid and easier to work with. Then I realized that should they harden in a shape that I couldn't match up/glue the remaining tabs together...well, I'd be hosed and back to square 1. The tricky part I was now facing is having to glue the tabs while they are inside of the helmet. Granted, it turned out to be larger than I expected (as you'll see below...I think even Master Chief would find this bucket roomy!), but fumbling around with a glue gun and then trying to get everything lined up and stuck together before the glue cooled off was challenging. But, off I went.

 

The result:

 

 

(Dark Helmet emulating Princess Vespa's voice) "...your helmet is so BIG!" (/end Dark Helmet voice).

 

 

Of course, the finished product won't be sitting that far forward on my head once I get padding installed. Also, the chest piece and its 'exhaust' vents on the shoulders should make it all more proportional.

 

This was definitely one of the more challenging projects I have ever undertaken, and I still have a long ways to go - I will probably tackle the chest piece next to get that one over and done with...so don't expect any updates for a couple of months. Seriously, I am optimistically projecting that I will be done with the armor, resined, fiberglassed, bondo'd, painted and strapped by then and not a day before. Having that finish date so far out takes the self-imposed pressure off a bit, but there is a long way to go still.

 

Thanks for looking and wish me luck! See ya'll in a couple of months, if not on a Troop before then

Edited January 8, 2013 by boomshakra

[HockeyTrooper[TK]]

Looks great! I've been tempted to do a Mark VI Spartan as well lately, but no time for that kind of work and not the kind of confidence to pull off pepakura. I've come very close to buying a Stony Props resin cast helmet, but am holding off since it would pretty much be a display piece at this point.

Looking forward to the rest of your build, good luck!

[TK-42779[501st]]

[NaomiRuth]

Hi,

The helmet you have done is fantastic, I just recently completed a set of Noble 6 armour and a Master Chief armour...

looking forward to seeing it completed

[D00M99]

Yay Halo!

 

Curious though, have you taken a look at using EVA foam for armor building? Take a look at that, you might want to consider it because personally I've always found Pepakura files quite daunting to assemble, fiberglass, and sand down/refine.

 

Personal favorite is Sean Bradley's Halo 4 MC build:

http://www.therpf.com/f24/halo-4-master-chief-done-156872/

 

But anyhow. Good luck! Hope it turns out preeeettyyyyyyy

[boomshakra[TK]]

Yay Halo!

 

Curious though, have you taken a look at using EVA foam for armor building? Take a look at that, you might want to consider it because personally I've always found Pepakura files quite daunting to assemble, fiberglass, and sand down/refine.

 

Personal favorite is Sean Bradley's Halo 4 MC build:

http://www.therpf.co...ef-done-156872/

 

But anyhow. Good luck! Hope it turns out preeeettyyyyyyy

 

Actually, I am going to give foam a try for the rest of the armor - I found some files to use for the patterns and hopefully will start on that part some time in the next couple of weeks. Yeah, pepakura isn't the easiest way, and there are always sizing challenges:

 

 

Probably not going to use that one in my build...and given the difficulty of just putting that handplate together I will probably opt for the LD files and add details afterwards.

 

Started on the resin - safety first!

 

 

I managed to get most of the top of the helmet covered before I ran out of daylight & the temperature started to drop. I should have the outside done by the end of the week and hopefully can schedule some time this weekend to start on the interior. The visors are shipping - I'm going to use two, one with the cut out that will go over the inner one. I'm not using the HJC visors at this point - found some $7.95 gold visors on amazon that i'll use to experiment with for cutting before dropping the $30 for the good ones.

[Kaden]

Been contemplating trying my hand at this. I wanna see how this turns out.

[boomshakra[TK]]

Been contemplating trying my hand at this. I wanna see how this turns out.

 

You should give it a go! While cutting/folding is VERY time consuming, I find it to be kind of relaxing..."Zen and the art of Pepakura"

[boomshakra[TK]]

A cold front blew in for the holiday weekend...grrrrr (and brrrrr ). I have the first layer of resin covering about 80% of the exterior of the helmet, but I'll have to wait to do more until after it warms up. But, I am catching up on reading more build threads over on the 405th forum which certainly helps me fine-tune how my build will progress. The helmet I currently have pep'd is definitely too large for the armor, but I'm going to finish the build for experience sake. There are other HD pepakura helmet files that are a little easier to work with (fewer small parts), so that will (hopefully) speed up the next build.

 

I found modified pepakura files for using foam...but they are for the Mk VII armor...just a LITTLE different. Since I won't be able to do any resin or fiberglass over the next few days I will probably play with that to see what it is like. There are a TON of foam build files for Iron Man armor, so that will be added to the future build list

 

Now if I could just get my darn Mandolorian armor finished...!

[BananoPower22[TK]]

This is awesome! I'm a Halo fan since the first game came out and I've always wanted to do an armor that's halo related. I want an ODST, I'd do it, but I have no clue how pepakura works so that's where I'm stuck :/

[boomshakra[TK]]

This is awesome! I'm a Halo fan since the first game came out and I've always wanted to do an armor that's halo related. I want an ODST, I'd do it, but I have no clue how pepakura works so that's where I'm stuck :/

 

You can get ODST armor pre-made - it uses thinner ABS than TK armor (at least from the source I will likely buy from), so it is a good idea to fiberglass or rondo (or both) the inside of the plates to add strength. I'll be investing in a set sometime next year, but until then will keep working on this. Pepakura is a matter of time and patience...and nimble hands Some of the folds are kind of tiny and I don't have the steadiest hands to glue them quite as well as needed. You should give it a go - just use 110# card stock, not regular printer paper. Check out the forums over on the 405th.com - TONS of info and tutorals there

 

I haven't picked up any foam to work with just yet, but did start on fiberglassing the helmet - no pix just now, letting the resin set. I have to say that the strands from the fiberglass mat get everywhere and stick to EVERYTHING! I had some residual resin on my gloves so that made it all the more fun to put the mat down inside...and now my gloves look like Wampa claws . Still, progress made - hopefully the warmer weather will continue through tomorrow and I can get a little bit more done. I am almost out of catalyst for the resin so I will get some more of that tonight. Next week will be really cold so other than taking some pictures I won't have much progress to show. I might go ahead and print out a properly-sized helmet file and start on the cutting/folding for it to keep me busy...or move on to another part.

 

The visors I ordered arrived today and...well, they are gold-ish when you look at them at an angle. They're for practice anyways, so no worries, although I did notice they might be a bit small for the opening on my oversized bucket...oh, well - that's what bondo is for, right?

Edited December 22, 2012 by boomshakra

[boomshakra[TK]]

The cold snap continues...but I did get the helmet fiberglassed about 99% - I didn't get the underside of the visor of the helmet (the part sticking out above where the gold visor goes...). Once it warms up I'll be coating the inside with rondo to smooth it out & get into all of the nooks & crannies I didn't cover with the fiberglass. I have to report that using spray adhesive before putting down the fiberglass helped TONS - much more efficient that way and didn't have to worry about the resin curing prematurely.

 

Here's a comparison of size to my RT-Mod bucket:

 

 

 

Since I can't do anything with chemicals for the time being I printed out another helmet and started scoring/cutting. As I work through it it seems like it is going to end up on the small side, but I said the same thing about the one above! I plan to be brave this weekend and cut out one of the "gold" visors with the dremel this weekend. Once it warms up it will be back to the land of toxic fumes - looking forward to getting this thing shaped! Even though it probably won't be used with the rest of the armor, I'm planning to see it through to the end and plan to install the LEDs that MC has on his helmet - stay tuned!

[boomshakra[TK]]

It warmed up enough today that I could have done some resin/rondo work, but I opted to keep on with the pepakura work on my 2nd helmet. I finished cutting it all out on Thursday and did a lot of gluing today - not done, but getting very close. The forecast for next weekend looks promising, so if all goes well I can start on the bondo/shaping of my 1st helmet and at least a coat of resin applied to the second one.

 

getting VERY close - I think most of the tiny (read: frustratingly difficult to work with using my hulk-hands) parts are in their correct places:

 

 

If I can get an hour or so a night of gluing I should have it put together by the end of the week & ready for resin

[boomshakra[TK]]

Ok, not pepakura, but a nice addition to my armory:

 

 

I plan on attempting to make my own MA5 and/or MA37 rifle from foam or pepakura (or a combination of both)...but that is still a ways off.

 

Glue gun warming up...off to get some work done!

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

For any curious troopers about pepakura you can pm me. Anyhow I have some unfinished stormtrooper parts up for grabs. Resined and glassed, need to be sanded and bondo'd.

 

I've built a war machine helmet, captain America shield, Thor chest piece, lots of resin fumes have clouded my head lol. I plan on doin the operator helmet from halo reach after the TX armor is complete.

 

I have a link to 405th's entire halo pep file database if you need it

[BananoPower22[TK]]

I just finished my ODST helmet yesterday but the weather here hasn't allowed me to resin it up.

 

 

It's not the cleanest build ever but I'm hoping that the bondo stage will make it all smooth and nice

 

and btw, that entire halo pep file database sure sounds appealing...

[boomshakra[TK]]

You might want to cut out some supports from your card stock and glue them inside your helmet to push out some of the areas you think you might be having trouble with. My 2nd helmet has a bit of a warp in the visor I'm going to have to correct somehow, even with the supports in place (lined up the edges of pieces on one side different than the other side...oops). But, it's still a learning process and I'm not on a strict timeline with my armor. My 2nd helmet is a bit small, but definitely closer to scale than the Death Star sized one I made the first time around

 

Sizing is the scourge of my build - even following the tutorals I don't think I am scaling properly. My 2nd helmet is all glued together (can't access photobucket from work...so no pix) but has very little room for padding & electronics and tough to get on my head. I think my daughter is secretly hoping i'll move on to V3.0 so she can have this one . Last night I assembled a hand plate and while it looks right in pictures, it still feels a bit small to me - and I don't have the paintball (armored) gloves i'm going to use for a better compairison. Oh, well. Tonight i'll go ahead & make the other one and then move on to the boots - the weather is supposed to clear this weekend so I want to have as many parts ready as possible to resin and/or fiberglass, and hopefully start on the bondo stage of my V1.0 helmet

Edited January 9, 2013 by boomshakra

[boomshakra[TK]]

The weather forecast is giving me a very limited window of opportunity to get any resin done this weekend...here's hoping I can make good use of the time!

 

apologies in advance for the quality of the pictures

 

Here's helmet V2.0:

 

To be or not to be...and this helmet is borderline "not to be"...

 

 

But, I have something to use if I go for a Bane costume:

 

 

I will definitely have to trim the opening to the bucket once it is resin & glassed to get it this far - or cut my ears and the tip of my nose off...

 

 

There is a slight warp in the visor, much more pronounced when it's not sitting on my head straight

 

 

Here's the hand plate - I made another one this evening...but it is kind of wonky and might have to be rebuilt unless I can correct it with resin (no picture of 2nd plate...)

 

 

So, if the weather is bad & I can't bust out with the chemicals I'll continue on with cutting/gluing the boots. After that will be the chest piece, which I am DREADING...it will be a bear, but i'm up for the challenge. Hopefully I'll get it sized right on the first attempt. Of course, I might procrastinate on it and just build helmet v3.0...upsize it about 20mm or so to see if I get any breathing room. One other side project is to get some foam & start on a MA5C assault rifle - I have the 'sliced' files and got some feedback from another builder on sizing it correctly. At least with that project scaling isn't an all-or-nothing build like the pepakura armor parts - I can print out just enough pages to make sure the overall length is correct before any cutting commences

 

More to come - stay tuned!

Edited January 10, 2013 by boomshakra

[BananoPower22[TK]]

where would you get your foam for your assault rifle? I want to get some foam to see if i can make the armor out of foam instead of fiberglass and bondo

[SubSkip[TK]]

EVA foam can be found at many places these days. Home Depot sells a 16 sq ft section for under $20US (site says it weighs about 3 lbs). Look in the flooring department. Just Google EVA foam.

[boomshakra[TK]]

where would you get your foam for your assault rifle? I want to get some foam to see if i can make the armor out of foam instead of fiberglass and bondo

 

Like Craig said, home depot carries eva foam, and the "anti-fatigue" mats from harbor freight seem to be popular over on the 405th site. I plan to get a sheet of ABS or sintra to put in the center to give the rifle some rigidity.

 

there are a few foam armor builds over on 405th - mostly Spartan armor, but there might be ODST as well. The files I found weren't for Mk VI, so I probably won't use them. The suggestions I have read are to build your helmet from pepakura and do foam for the rest of the armor. Foam helmets are a bit labor-intensive to get right, apparently. Getting details into the armor using foam looks a bit challenging as well. I'll stick with pep for now...will give foam armor a try when I start on an Iron Man suit

[boomshakra[TK]]

The weather continues to be a hindering factor in getting work done on the helmets that are out of pepakrua stage. I got some resin on V2.0 but the humidity has inhibited it curing completely... I did slap on a bunch of bondo on V1.0...probably too much, but since it is my first time out I'll get a lot of practice on the most difficult skill to learn of all: sanding . It is cold and dry today, so I'll see how long I can stand being out in the garage (with the door open) and mouse sander in hand. There's plenty to be cut & glued, so that will certainly be a (warmer) option.

 

A couple of pictures:

 

you can see that I need to scale right inbetween the sizes of these two:

 

 

I didn't get all of the nooks & crannies or around the bottom of the helmet. Was hoping for warmer weather today to get the bottom half finished but it doesn't look like that will happen

 

 

You can see the visor warpage that I am going to try to fix with some popsicle stick braces

 

 

Getting to this stage reminded me that I have a LOT of work ahead of me for this project...stay tuned

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

I saved the database link on my laptop, so I'll have to post it when I get on it again. Why isn't this thread in the non sw costuming?

 

A tip from my pep experience, use a heat gun after glassing on sides of the chest, biceps, legs and helmets to make sure everything is symmetrical and fits before bondo

[boomshakra[TK]]

I saved the database link on my laptop, so I'll have to post it when I get on it again. Why isn't this thread in the non sw costuming?

 

A tip from my pep experience, use a heat gun after glassing on sides of the chest, biceps, legs and helmets to make sure everything is symmetrical and fits before bondo

 

I posted a request up at the top of my first post to have it moved...they haven't seen it yet...

 

Thanks for the tip - anything helps

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

Well when it comes to measurements and scaling, most of the halo files used to be scaled to 1:1, which equals a real 7 foot Spartan. Everything had to be fit to regular size, it was just easier to know that everybody who build armor had the same scale from the start. Since everything is in millimeters, you have to measure yourself by whatever means, then convert it.

 

The pep designer program is what I use, I don't use viewer. When it says the helmet is X millimeters, it's measuring from the farthest ASSEMBLED points. Such as the tip of the ears. When I build helmets I measure the distance and add 10 or 20mm for some wiggle room and space for foam. So with your giant handplate lol, you only needed to convert the width of your knuckles to mm and change the scale in the 2D menu