Hello fellow builders! It is a lot of fun to be able to say that now. O.K. About 3 weeks ago started my first pep helm for an IM mk4. My son Alfred asks me to repurpose my helm into a WM suit for him. His logic was he is smaller so I can make it faster and I can learn from my mistakes on his build and do even better on my Iron Man. I saw his 10 yr old wisdom and began his build. I amd 3 1/2 weeks into this and here is my first attempt ever at playing in you world.
I started with paper, moved on to eva, gluecoated with wellbond, and painted with adhesion promoter, hammered metallic and used silver Rub n Buff for the weathering.
How cool of a dad are you! That's great man, you'll have a very happy son.
I am still tweaking it out with filler panels on the joints and flat bungee straps like tendons for connections, and I still get to make the sidearms and the mini gun or as Al calls it, his very own "Old Painless"!
Thanks Darthsideous, He is pretty happy with it, i catch him playing video games wearing the helmet!
One of the things that you don't pick up on here on these threads is the fact that there is a whole other suit to build inside of the suit you just busted your a** making! I am still working on connecters and padding for comfort, Then cutting out that same padding just so he can breath! This has been an education, with mult trips per day to depot, Harber Freight, Wal-Mart, and ace, Not to mention auto zone and west marine. when I was building houses, all the guys at depot were a big help, not so much when doing this kind of building! For the first two weeks they would just stare at me blankly and shrug but as pics of the suit began to take shape they became far more helpful. Thank you to everyone here for posting your pics and for all the free training!
Here is my thread.. you may find it useful.
http://www.therpf.com/f24/war-machin...-build-122426/
Where are you getting the flat bungee cords? I have been using 1.5 inch elastic with snap buckles for a lot of my joints.
You are right though.. the undersuit is hard too! I thought I was on the downhill slope when I got my final piece put together but that I had to pad, attach, and make it fit right.
For the paint, I am all about the plasti dip spray. It acts like a primer and paint in one. When I get the whole thing together, I will probably try out the rub and buff weathering. That looks good on your suit.
FANTASTIC!!! I know you mentioned that you were working on the suit for your son, but I had NO idea what a STUNNING job you were doing! Congrats - this is the best child-sized War Machine I've ever seen!
Allright here are some update pics of the sidearms (ForeArm guns) These were a blast to make and they are a good adddiotion to the suit. as you can see from one of these pics my son is beginning to feel the power of the suit.
Wow, your son is very lucky to have you as a dad. This was truly a labor of love and it shows.
Whew! This "Finishing Phase" is kicking my tail. Yesterday I couldn't get started til 1:30 pm and worked until 9:30 but I now have a very funcional pair of booster boots for his suit! I took an old pair of his sneaks and used 30 hot glue sticks. I am going to double sole the boots with 2 sheets of foam mat and I picked up a roll of that elusive treadmill matting. I'm using that for durability on the bottom of the sole.
Does anyone out there have a better way to glue besides the low temp craft hot glue gun? I am not kidding, I have lost sensation in my two trigger fingers. It makes it really difficult to play guitar, bass, or type.......or tie shoes........or work the T.V. remote in the dark........really it messes up alot of normal life. I need something easier. does Hi-temp glue melt through the foam? I'd like to use one of those...
Geez! I wish I had parents like you and indiefilmgeek when I was little!Fantastic work!
Now I get to post some delays! I finished the booster boots and I used caulk to level out the layers of foam on the sides of the soles and the stuff will not dry! its been 3 days and I cant topcoat the shoes until the caulking firms up. #2 on the mini-gun, I ran out of funds for the project for this week so I cut down some steel pipe for the five barrels of the gun and it weighs about 8 lbs now. Not good for mounting on the suit. waiting for pay day to replace with pvc pipes! Good news is that I did get all of the connector discs and base mount for the gun precut and symetrical. I would love some advice on mini-gun mounting PLEASE. If I can solve these last 2 issues then the suit will be complete and we can head out to some industrial parks and get a proper photo shoot of this bad boy in action.
ZacharyHurst said:
You can try super glue gel.
*counts small blisters on fingers*
Hey Zachery, I use Barge cement, it's a contact adhesive you brush on both sides of the foam pieces and then stick together. It has a toxic Oder, so use it outdoors, but it should save your fingers. I agree with everyone else, I wish I had a father like you growing up. It's one of the reasons I do things like what you're doing for your son. I made a Big O robot costume for my stepson a few years back and he won a Halloween contest because of it. It's so great to see the happiness in there faces isn't it? PM me if you need more info on gluing, I swear by this stuff.
It's all looking SO good! You're detailing is fantastic! Can't wait to see pics of the boots you're working on.
Thank you Indie, Wonder, and celtic! I really am enjoying My son's anticipation of his own WM suit. I did this because when I was his age all i wanted was the Adam West Blue/grey Batsuit from the old series! It was in reruns everyday after school. My grandmother had been a pro seamstress all her life and told me that seh would make me that suit so perfectly that I would look like I stepped out of the t.v. I waited three years for that frikkin suit and never got it. I grew oput of ther adam west phase in '89'. one guess why! anyways, I have 3 girls older than Al and he is my last and only son. He has alot of issues socially and his I.Q. is not helping him at school, Adults are the only ones who understand most of the things he says. Kids can be mean if your really, really smart. He is, and I feel pretty bad for him, I grew up the same way but without the tics and off-putting mannerisms. His classmates this year are already wanting to see him at the halloween party at his school this year so I am hoping that a real movie looking suit will blow away all there $14.99 onesies costumes from walmart and give him a boost in respect from some of the kids. Irony, I had to make all the weapons on the suit dettachable cause the school will not allow toy guns of any kind!
I finally registered here after lurking for some time just so that I could tell you I understand where you are coming from. I have a 10 year old that I am currently building a Halo Spartan costume for, for the exact same reasons. I made him a Tron Legacy costume last year and he was so happy. It makes all the work worth it. Great build and continue on being an awesome father.ZacharyHurst said:
Hi Guys!
These are some progress pics on the shoes, minigun, and back plate. I riggedt the minigun into the backplate and spent four days trying to figure out how you are supposed to support the position of the gun and also making it removable. Three diferent rigs later and what you see here is two broom handle a swiffer handle, a flag pole wall-mount and a lot of hot glue!. No paint or final finish on the parts yet but I like to see other peoples projects in the bare bones state so I can see how they solved their design problems.
It is a little difficult to see from the photos but it appears that the flat piece coming off the back of the minigun fits in a slot in the back plate? If that is the case and the fit is not tight you could add some velcro in the slot and on the flat piece to add the extra stability and keep it from coming out when your son moves. I like what you did with the shoes. Looking amazing.
Here It Is!!!!! I am one day from saying it is finished! I just have to fit the shoes to the shins and it finito
Hi Everybody,
Al and I got to take the suit out for a test flight in downtown Clearwater tonight and He was a big hit! here are some pics, Some of them are really blurry because of the camera phone. Mid way through the night the back plate and chain gun fell off the suit right onto the street but it only chipped a bit of the paint! I like small repairs. I was quite nervous about the outing but He did a great job and was very popular.
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