Iron Man hand and helmet display WIP

jimbob1986 · May 30, 2011

Hey, I've been a member for a while now and have finally decided to start a project.

I got the opportunity to buy a helmet cast and I'm just waiting for the materials to finish it being delivered, I have also been pepping an Iron Man/War Machine hand from zabana's hd files, this has been a challenge as it was my first real attempt at pepping.

I'm going to be strengthening the hand soon and was wondering if I could get some advice.

It's no where near perfect, but I'm quite pleased with it and I'm sure most problems can be sorted during finishing.

I'm planning on using polyurethane resin, not sure on which brand as I'm in the UK.

My question is, if I paint a few layers of resin on the outside, can i tape up the finger/thumb holes and the slush the inside with resin to strengthen, then cut out the finger/thumb holes?

Updates to follow when i have enough time.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

jimbob1986 · Jun 5, 2011

Made a bit of progress on the helmet in the last few days, still plenty of work to do on it though.

I have also recently purchased an x acto knife and cutting mat, so hope to make a bit more progress on pepping the fingers soon, currently I only have a thumb. The x acto knife certainly makes cutting fiddly sections like the fingers way easier than using scissors.
I am also hoping my casting resin will be delivered tomorrowl, however I'm going on holiday next weekend so don't think I'll make much progress for a few weeks.
As there are so many talented members here, any help or advice would be much appreciated.

jimbob1986 · Sep 27, 2011

After months of inactivity, I've finally managed to make some progress on my hand pep. I've struggled to find any free time for too long and it was really starting to get to me.

I'm quite possibly the worlds slowest at pepping at the best of times :unsure
I've managed to finish the pep of the hand and hope to have it strengthened within the next week (emphasis on the the word hope)

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures to show my very slow progress.

As you can see from the pictures, I've got a rough idea for the cuff, I'll be using 3mm craft foam for the cuff and finger joint inserts, although I still need to add the grooves to the foam and cut the finger inserts to size.

I've got this picture for reference

Thanks for looking.

Zlurpo · Sep 27, 2011

Could you direct me to where I could get the hand Pep file? My friend is being Tony Stark with just the chest arc and one half-done glove, he's looking for a way to do the hand.
Looking good so far!

jimbob1986 · Sep 28, 2011

The file came from Zabana's hd War Machine thread, it can be found here
www.therpf.com/f24/war-machine-high-def-pepakura-team-up-113492/

darkside501st · Oct 3, 2011

Hey there, I like how your project is coming along. I am putting together the complete gauntlet for Halloween. Your peps came out real good, especially for your first time at it. I put a coat of resin on the outside of the pep and a layer of fiber-glass on the inside. My little project is curing at the moment but soon I will finish the outside with bondo and paint.

I dont think I would add more than one layer of resin to the outside, especially on the fingers. The joints wont fit together very well if there is too much added to them. I am concerned about that after I add the bondo. Anyways, Zabana made his pieces and then cast them. However, I have never made a mold or cast of anything this intricate so I am not sure how to do it that way. Good luck on your project.

jimbob1986 · Oct 6, 2011

Hey Darkside, thanks.

I've made a bit of progress on my hand in the last week. I managed to get the palm fully hardened, although because i'm a resining novice, I got a little carried away/careless and managed to fill the grooves that run around the hand with plastic. :unsure
I've sanded these grooves back in, it was a bit of a pain, worth it in the end though.
I've also managed to get some resin on the fingers, although I will have to give the insides another coat or two to achieve the desired strength.

Here's a couple of pics to show progress, the second shows a possible idea for cuff/stand using some mixing cups, i've poured a small amount of resin into the cup and let it harden to keep a more oval shape. I'm planning on wrapping the cup in foam to form the cuff.

Hope your gauntlet comes out well, i'll keep an eye out for updates.

jimbob1986 · Oct 10, 2011

Well, I've made a small amount of progress over the last few days.

I've finished applying resin to all my fingers, I also managed to apply a nice thin coat to my actual fingers as I forgot to wear gloves :unsure

Here's a picture to show a couple of fingers tips that I've been smoothing with milliput

I'm also in the process of modifying the helmet slightly. There were a few parts on it that annoyed me slightly, the main ones being the top scoop being deformed, the groove running from the left eye not lining up with the groove on the side of the head and the screw heads not being properly formed.

Here's a picture of the side, after applying some milliput and roughly sanding it back out, I've since cleaned it up and reformed it to a nice square groove. I don't have any pictures of that yet, as my phone died :thumbsdown

And here's a picture showing my reworked top scoop, although unfinished, again using milliput.

I'm also going to smooth over all the screw points, then drill them out and mount some modified screw heads in place, as I'm not really happy with the current look.

I'm hoping to have the hand ready for priming by this weekend, I'm still struggling to find as much time to work on this as I'd like and I haven't even started applying putty to the palm yet so won't hold my breath.

Any offers of advice are welcome

Thanks for looking

darkside501st · Oct 11, 2011

Hmmm, milliput... I havent heard of that. I am guessing is is some kind of putty that has a long workable time before it hardens. Does it harden like bondo where you can sand it?

jimbob1986 · Oct 11, 2011

Milliput is a 2 part epoxy putty that will adhere to and bond almost anything solid, like plastic, metal, wood, brick, glass etc

After mixing, it seems to stay pliable for at least half an hour and sets hard in a few hours (i prefer to leave mine overnight to be sure)

Once hardened, it can be cut with a saw, drilled, tapped, turned on a lathe, sanded and apparently takes paint well without primer (I've never tried this so can't back this claim up)

It tends to be used for scratch builds and modifications for scale models.

Here's a few examples, not my own work.

The top three are pretty obvious, the bottom image is a camping mat made to drape over some WW2 tank's smoke launchers.

I'd Imagine you could get milliput or something just as versatile in America, it really is great stuff :thumbsup

darkside501st · Oct 11, 2011

Sounds like pretty cool stuff... I'll have to check it out. Thanks.

jimbob1986 · Oct 14, 2011

I've made a little bit more progress on the hand, I've got a full rough coat of milliput on the palm. It will require a little filler to smooth out some little dimples, but I'm quite happy with how it's coming along.

I'm still hoping to get some primer on the hand this weekend, I doubt I will though.

Thanks for looking.

jimbob1986 · Oct 14, 2011

I couldn't resist assembling the hand to see what it looked like.
On the down side, I've ran out of milliput, so I'll have to wait for some more arriving in the post before finishing the hand off.

Sean · Oct 15, 2011

I think that is awesome work! I'm new to all the new things to work with.if I may ask a dumb question.is there a resin that can be used indoors and doesn't smell? or you probably did that part outside.

jimbob1986 · Oct 16, 2011

Hey, thanks.
I used a two part plastic resin to strengthen the hand. I did do it inside, however, it is always advisable to wear a mask. There wasn't really an odour given off, but that doesn't mean there were no dodgy chemicals coming off it. I'd also suggest making sure the room is well ventilated.

Sean · Oct 16, 2011

Cool thanks.and again Nice work....

VaultUK · Oct 16, 2011

Looking great I had all the files saved on my laptop but that went bang and so did my files so I gave up.

darkside501st · Nov 2, 2011

Hey jimbob1986... I just wanted to post a link for you to check out my thread since we are doing similar projects.

My Iron Man gauntlet/arc reactor project

morcon1223 · Sep 25, 2012

Great work on the hands, i wish I have even half of your skills

martcpl705 · Sep 25, 2012

That looks great, also original display style, I have seen one like that

Iron Man hand and helmet display WIP

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