Pep to Molded Plastics War Machine,Gatling Gun,Stronger Mount and Other WM Weaponry!

If that isn't a teaser I dont know what is LOL! I do promise that I really have a good mounting Idea and will post it when I am at prototype!
The title has been changed to reflect the changing goals and parameters of this build.

So like any good hospital administrator, I sat evaluating my goals vs progress... Since I have decided to go the pep, harden, bondo :P sanding priming, molding process for my MK3 Pepakura build;
http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-mk3-build-149350/
I had to be honest and admit that I (and my MK3) would not make Halloween this year with a finished armor and doubtful Comicon as well. There is always next year though!!
So since I wanted to do War Machine as foam build any how, I made the decision to not stress about my mk 3 as I want it perfect!
Got to thinking, "self" your wife has a foam work-out mat, you have sissors, knives, hot glue and a printer why not give a simple WM piece a try...
Here is what I did.
By the way a huge shout out to JFcustoms for his foam techniques! You really gave me some insight into the cleanest way to do foam.
[COLOR=#0066cc]http://www.therpf.com/f24/foam-speed...on-man-148889/[/COLOR]
I honestly cant wait for your War Machine files!!!

OK? not too bad for a first try? finished it in a couple of hours, covered in a coat of PVA...The wife came home and said, "WOW what a great neck piece!" NOT!!!
I can't possibly match the indignation and squeeky voice but she really said, "WHATDIDYOUDOTOMYWORKOUTMAT!!!???" It was a lot funnier in person because you could hear the squeek!! LOL!!
I of course am still going to work on my MK3 as that is my priority! But I figure a piece a week for the War Machine will get me there by Halloween for my friends party.
I have to tell you, I love the Pepakura better. I know a lot of you foam guys will think I am nuts, but you cant beat the crisp edges and details of the pep. I think each application has it merits and down-sides though, so the need decides the build...as for me I noticed with the foam it is so hard to keep your lines and seams straight and sharp. That will get better with practice though!!!

I have an idea that maybe if you PVA the piece, glue your templates back on to the foam then resin/smooth-cast or Smooth on 65D it, you might get a really nice hybrid type of end product???
I have started this War Machine thread as I also have some really really great ideas for mounting the mini-gun as I hear a lot of guys complaining about trying to get the foam armor to hold up the gun due to compression/bending issues!
I am also modifying the Nerf Mini-gun (very heavy) too, I will be putting that up here as well. I also think we need way more open discussion on modifying Airsoft/Airzone/Nerf and by God cool looking squirt guns for the armor as well!!
I don't think near enough attention has been devoted to building/modifying and making the weaponry for the War Machine armor!
Anyhow, since the Punisher gatling gun is way to heavy for the foam, something needs to be made to solve the issue. The cool thing is that it does spin and go bang bang bang! So being that it is way too heeavy for a foam mount and I hadn't seen any solutions beyond stacking huge blocks of non replica foam ect, something needed to be made....I have a good solution! However I have to build a back piece for the WM so I can measure it in and have proper placement! After the armour is done, I have some basic robotics books and tons of RC experience, so maybe we can mechanize it after the build is done
You all will like the ideas, as they are cheap, simple but very effective. I will be posting the ideas in this thread.
I may have rushed a lottle on the neck piece due to the mat situation and wanting to work on my MK3, but I think for me the foam will be ok for this WM build and I'll just keep the peps for the featured presentation! My MK3!

Oh and by the way, an electric carving knife cuts the foam like butter and gives nice long straight cuts as the blades are 8-10 inches long!! Give it a try! Way better than dulling an X-acto blade for each part!! You will still need blades and sissors for some cuts Especially the visible ones, but the electric knife will add another tool to your arsenal. They can be hard to find, but Wal-Mart carries them under 20$

Enjoy my War Machine thread!
M

Thanks! I was going to wait until I was done with the foam back piece to start the thread, but to tell the truth I see so many builders having gatling gun issues. I have designed an under armor support system that once I can prototype it and put up actual measurements I will post.
I have spent a couple of weeks looking for the right materials and have bought everything so all I need is my back built...mostly for the ability to measure and place my support structure.
It seems to me that most folks focus on the armors skin and then spend time trying to incorporate the gun "onto" the suit rather than the other way around!
Especially if your intention is to put something heavy that actually runs up top. I mean, not to take fantasy and put to much weight on it in reality, the gun would have to be integrated into the frame work and structure..just like in the movie, Stark built the frames first then skinned them.
I flew RC planes and used a lot of Kevlar and Carbon Fiber in my undertructures and frequently threw out stock parts. I then took my plane out and let very very skilled combat and pattern people try to tear the wings off with extreme aerobatics and high G maneuvers... and it was funny to see peoples faces when I took what looked to be a simple and basic aircraft with an apparently stock airframe out to do extreme flying and doing better that planes designed for that! It was alot of fun for me.
Same principle here. If your frame is weak the landing gear will crump everytime or worse parts fall off and you loose and expensive plane.
You can focus on pretty skin/paint jobs but if the frame is weak the process fails.
We spend so much trying to be movie accurate on the skin of the suit, but might be better suited (pun intended) to do just like the movie Stark and work on the frame first! I am not saying you need a whole endo skeleton, but some sub structure is cleary needed.
You will see! I am excited that the solution I have is light, and should be a very fast and cheap build. LOL!
The only problem is I am a slow fussy builder! I am almost done with the new neck. It hates the old precious and had to try my foam skinned with the actual template.

This is a first attempt, I wanted some ridge on my neck rings.
I will PVA the foam edge then one coat of resin to soak the template, then on to a coating in plastic..
Even though it's not perfect, I think it will be nice when coated in plastic then filled with Dyna lite and sanded/primed ect.
I greatly sympathize with having to rebuild part and some of the great folks at RPF have given me clues and some ideas... still alot of trial and error though.
M

So, I am really stuggling with the decision as to which War Machine torso I am going to do. I want foam, but I want detail.. I think I will need to hybridize and do a mixed foam/pepakura set.
I did order a War Machine helmet from Masked Rider! What a sweet looking War Machine helmet! Here is the link;
http://www.therpf.com/f13/iron-man-w...nished-148748/
Masked is a super nice person and an absolute pleasure to do business with! He has stayed in communication with me as well which is very appreciated!!
He also worked with me very patiently as I want to do a different version of War Machine as far as color goes, so I asked for no paint as I would hate to ruin such a work of art as his finished helmet just to repaint! Thanks Masked Rider!
Image seems to come and go and is not always visible when I look at my thread, so here is a link to some pictures of the Hot Toys Special edition Warm Machine
Hot Toys - Iron Man 2: 1/6th scale War Machine Limited Edition Collectible Figurine (Special Version) | YouBentMyWookie
&va=war+machine+special+edition"]Image Search Results for war machine special edition[/URL]

This color scheme is ultra matte black, dove grey and silver. It is almost as hot as Iron Mans Red and Gold! (At least to me! )
Have to thank my new friend Propnoob74 as well for his help!
I have some serious planning to do tonight.

Made a tiny bit of progress this afternoon. I am still messing with the foam/template hybrid and so far it is working great! A little slower than straight foam and wayy faster then pep. I like that I am getting a pre finished starter skin to plastic coat over and will only have to clean up the not so sharp edges when I Dyna Lite the armor pre sanding! I had hoped that when I glued the pieces together that the cardstock edges would tighly seal, but the foam pushes it aparts. When filled with resin though, they are very rigid and will be easy to fill in and sand!! This should yield the ultra sharp edges I want!


To stick the template to the foam I PVA'd the foam like Xrobots did before he plastic coated his test piece. I then PVA'd the template to the foam. I only had one small area lift when I really stressed a piece with heat applied. A small paint brush and PVA stuck it down again!
I also epoxied the foam/template neck today and was very happy about the resin penetration into the paper! The only areas it didnt penetrate well were areas that got too much PVA on the paper. That happened when I sealed the foam edges and had some spillage.
Lesson learned for the future. No glue on outside of paper. Excited that the cardstock template is solidly stuck to the foam like...well glue? LOL!
My case of 65D should be here this week and I will probably have the foam/template speed build chest and back done in time to resin then plastic coat everything torso. The speed build will hopefully be my alignment jig for the BIG Gun mount!!
I also want to build the pep the War Machine torso using my friend Propnoo74s modified torso files. I will then compare and contrast the two... or combine them? we'll see.
I am very excited that Propnoob turned me on to Wondersquids awesome gatling/arm gun vacuform! I believe he will be posting a thead soon!
I will post pics as soon as mine comes in!

Just a super quick post then off to bed very very early for me, but an early work day ahead so got go.
This is a thing of beauty. Assembling the War Machine chest pep!
Thanks Propnoob74 for sharing these lovely files with me! You sir, flat out rock!
You can't beat the feeling of getting a section done and seeing the sharpness and fine detail. Cant wait to see the whole thing!
I think foam is cool, but pepakura just is the coolest thing I've ever done, yes, it even beats RC planes LOL! Well maybe, just maybe women beat pepakura, but they are certainly as complicated as pepakura!

Goal is chest and back sections this week then to post under armor gatling gun mount sometime next week!!!
Coming soon to a thread near you!

I am not sure which is the biggest qualifier for progress on a build!?
This???? LOL
My fire hazard, heat gun, paper and foam!

Or this!???

or the frowny face my wife gives me when she see's the first option?

Either way, I had a comp day for work as I'm salary and had to shed hours!!! Yeah! But I tell you it always takes longer than anticipated!

You know you got me curious about the Rondo and I think I may get the fiberglass fiber Bondo and try that on the inside of mine as well.
I love the idea of a gel/coat type finish on the inside. Then plastic and body filler the outside... we'll see how your turns out my friend!
Thanks for the kudos! Your pics and the streamlining of stagefivedrifts files helps so much!

Exactly half way there! Had to post this before I went to bed tonight! I figure most folks have at least one shot wearin the pep files, so I had too as well!
It looks a touch beefy, but once I get the back on and the neck holes in the right position, as well as tucking everything up tight, it will be just about right!
It is the position I am holding it in as well as there is no back to pull it together so it is flared out some and I am not standing with it square to my body

Goal is to finish the back over the weekend and start on that internal gun support assembly.

As promised here is a rough outline of the gatling gun mount issue as I see it and a possible solution.
The problem is that even a light foam gun mounted on the shoulder of a foam suit causes compression and bending issues, due to weight and leverage as the gun is long and mounted on an arm which makes it longer. Thus you get even more leverage forced onto an externally mounted gatling gun with a small mount point. This is as you can imagine is not to good for the suit and could mean alot of fuss when you are trying to wear your armor to a party or a Con
I have seen quite a few really good solutions, but most involve building up more foam/glue and tape in an effort to make a strong base to mount the armature and gun onto.
Even on a fiberglass/plastic suit the weight of the gun on the suit could crack the glass, especially if you want a heavier working gun as I intend to build!
So I want to build an understructure of aluminum and PVC that will be worn under the armor with only a single mount point protruding through the armor at the point in the upper back plate that the gatling gun armature is mounted too. Like the movie armor


As a possible bonus, an internal harness could even be fiberglassed into the back piece so that it is all one unit that rides on the shoulders and allows for solid mounting points for straps and clips to hold up cod pieces, thighs/upper arms ect.
I drew up a rough picture on a napkin (Hospital stationary lol) and started to look up things off the shelf I could modify. Not much luck there...The last post had the ALICE army back pack frame that I thought was closest to a solution and I ruled it out due to size and thickness due to the stapping and supports. Even adjusted as tight as it would go it still stuck out too far and hung too low on the back to be of use without heavy mods.
I had the drawn up pic with me and the Army surplus store guy said it looked like a snare drum rack. Here is one with some notes.

A snare drum mount is worn in front with the drum at low hip level hence the design.
I opted out on this idea as enough of the suit is costing me money and lots of it! I would rather have that money to buy parts I need from the junkyard like a helmet or Bigturcs new bolt set for all the joints...(check it out in the junkyard!) Plus I would need to modify the snare holder, so why should I spend 129$ plus on something not quite right.
This next pix is my roughed out ideas that I had...
I wanted a fixed back structure that allowed the gun mount to pivot freely to the left and right yet was rigid enough to hold even my soon to be modied Nerf Punisher Gatling gun which weighs a ton.

Sorry this isnt in CAD! Please pardon the poor draftmanship..
I bought 2 inch by 1/4 in aluminum bar stock for 10 $ at SkyCraft surplus, some metal screw and nuts from Home Depot for 3$ and the PVC came from my scrap box so zero$
The idea is to make the shoulder bends and join them with a bridge piece that will run across the shoulder blades. I will pad the shoulder bends with foam of which there is no shortage around my house right now
The main holder will be a U bend in which I plan to drill 1-1 3/4 holes to run the PVC though. The length of these ears will need to be determined by body thickness and armor position.
The cool easy and cheap part of this build is that the PVC couplers will not only keep the pipe in place but allow it to pivot freely right and left!
The lengths of all parts are yet to be determined as I have to finish the back piece first. I believe that the PVC pipe lengths will be easy to modify to put the pipe out of the back piece in the right spot and the length of the pipe can be adjusted (cut) to fit any mounting choice. PVC can also be painted to match the armor.
I will have to explore fixing the armature to the PVC pipe, this shouldn't be an issue, but I was thinking a block of wood inside the end of the armature with an angled hole drilled in it to accept the PVC pipe and a set screw so it can be removed for storing the suit for transport. Could also just glass the whole armature and fill the ends with 320 or 321 then drill a hole and go back to the same principles as with the wood.. I am still waiting on building the gun and arm before I solidify that set o plans...
I made a mini model just to get a better visual take on it.

The popsickle sticks represent the aluminum and the green straw the pvc. (Check out my Youtube video on "The art of Popsickle bending!" ) Just kidding!
The black tape represents the PVC couplers . The ear lengths on this were arbitrary and picked so taking a picture was easier. I believe that the PVC pipe support ears will only be a few inches long rather than the scale 2--3 feet long LOL!
You can see the "couplers" would cradle the aluminum ears but still allow the PVC pipe to pivot freely. If you really wanted to kill it you could put a track inside made out of C bend aluminum and make it so the gun can pivot and be moved right shoulder to left and back. *sigh* so many ideas so little time.
I will take pictures as the build progresses! I am super excited about this and hope the idea has merit for other builders...
TTFN