Two Pilots engaged in Neural Bridge: Gipsy Danger and Cherno Alpha online

[dbsamurai]

Thanks! It's really a testament to that lady's skill at video work that we look as good as we do

It's been a while, but for those of you wondering how we been doing this should probably give it away:

Though this is just the foundation, I'll be sculpting the foam and adding layers on top of it to get the right look.


"99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs...take one down, patch it around...228 little bugs in the code"


So the stilts worked great...unfortunately they weren't very fitting with the rest of the legs. We'll be vacuforming them probably so they can clamshell around the stilts...that way we can effectively strap them to her legs (which is a problem we had on sunday when we tested them out)

On the other side of that...well...

I need a sword:

So here we have all the plates that I vacuformed, but they still need some work, some sanding to get them smooth and some proper spacing to allow it to release and retract, then it'll be inserted into my forearm since the whole thing is about this big folded up:

 

[Dumontrudisel]

Now you're vacuum forming? Well that escalated quickly. To this day, I still watch that video. Its just so amazing. I'm going to take a guess that the foundation you got going is a base for Leatherback. Doing Kaiju's now? Pretty cool. Awesome update. Keep up the good work

 

[Sir Cam Of Ron]

I have been hoping to do a Jaegar build for some time now, but I haven't ever really found a good start.

What did you do after you got the .pdo all printed out/glued together?

 

[azri84]

This is incredible! Super job!

 

[dbsamurai]

Now you're vacuum forming? Well that escalated quickly. To this day, I still watch that video. Its just so amazing. I'm going to take a guess that the foundation you got going is a base for Leatherback. Doing Kaiju's now? Pretty cool. Awesome update. Keep up the good work

Your wish is my command! It just takes a while...because of classes and stuff...

I have been hoping to do a Jaegar build for some time now, but I haven't ever really found a good start.

What did you do after you got the .pdo all printed out/glued together?

I don't...I don't glue them all together at all. Instead when I print them out I use them as a stencil to cut out the pieces in foam and assemble them that way. It does take a bit of getting used to, but on the plus side it means you only have to print out half the parts (because of course, opposite parts can be done with one stencil by just flipping it over). The downside is it takes some experience to be able to determine when to use foam and when to use foamies to maximize your detail and surface finish.

This is incredible! Super job!

thanks a lot!

The sword has proved to have some problems with aligning everything properly so it slides in and out easily, not to mention a wealth of other things have delayed me. Every class I'm taking has had a class project of some sort due this past week and finals start tomorrow...


On the plus sides I've gotten Leatherback's hands done:

With the yellow bits being sanded so they fit flush against the hands, making the spikes look like they're bone pushing through the skin


Also the foam for the rest of his body has arrived!

And who boy is it enormous...so if anyone shipped some L200 foam about a week and a half ago, thanks a lot!

 

[magtwin91]

These suits look freaking amazing. Great work to you guys!

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[Sir Cam Of Ron]

I don't...I don't glue them all together at all. Instead when I print them out I use them as a stencil to cut out the pieces in foam and assemble them that way. It does take a bit of getting used to, but on the plus side it means you only have to print out half the parts (because of course, opposite parts can be done with one stencil by just flipping it over). The downside is it takes some experience to be able to determine when to use foam and when to use foamies to maximize your detail and surface finish.

Apologies, this comes down to really poor phrasing on my part. I was trying to ask how you went about gluing the larger foam pieces together (ie. Head and chest on Cherno). Did you just build each major piece separately then glue the together, or did you start from one point and build the rest off that?

 

[dbsamurai]

Apologies, this comes down to really poor phrasing on my part. I was trying to ask how you went about gluing the larger foam pieces together (ie. Head and chest on Cherno). Did you just build each major piece separately then glue the together, or did you start from one point and build the rest off that?

They exist as separate components actually. While we glue individual pieces together to form the big pieces (currently Gipsy is: Chest, head, shoulders, arms, hands, feet, shins, thighs, lower torso piecewise) and the big pieces are rigged together using snaps, buckles, and the like.

As far as the overall process (as you can see in this whole process) I started with the chest to get the scale right, build the front first because it was simpler to calculate its dimensions and it gave a good idea of the sort of detail that would be necessary in the final part, then I build the helmet to make sure it could fit in the neck guard, then the back and joined them together into one chest piece so that the whole array could be more stable. I usually start with the largest piece to give me a rough idea of the sort of details that will go into it.

As far as where to start on each individual piece, I usually start with the biggest piece I can because it's more immediately gratifying, it's easier to cut out and detail, and it more quickly confirms that I got the scaling correct. In fact, if I'm unsure about scaling (this happened when I was scaling Hailee's Spartan IV chest recently, actually) I'll print out a sheet with just the biggest piece I can for that part, and then check it against the body part it's supposed to fit over. Then, since the biggest piece is typically part of a half, I cut out the other half, and cut out the pieces to join them together.

I like to work in such a way that I can see immediate progress and rough shape before getting details done, as it keeps me interested in the project and makes me feel like I'm accomplishing more, faster.

 

[dbsamurai]

Speaking of working on the biggest parts, I got the superstructure for Leatherback's forearms done:

The next step here is to add the superficial details, use a hot glue gun to burn in the skin texturing, and then add a layer of EVA foam underneath to act as "musculature" and fill in the foam.

Also super exciting: I sent in my parts today to be 3d printed! In order to save on costs I'm only having the most complex parts, the fingers, 3d printed. Specifically 1 finger and 1 thumb for each Jaeger. Then I plan to resin cast them. However, I am a bit unfamiliar with the specifics of resin casting over, say, sand, investment, or lost foam casting...and am looking for tutorials. If you guys know any good ones I'd love to see them.

 

[dbsamurai]

Well ladies and gents it's that time of the week again! Namely, an update!

Leatherback is coming along nicely:

His chest and back:

His head, with the spots for his teeth to be put in:

And his eyes glow, though we'll be adding more LEDs to make them brighter.

Also we got our fingers 3d printed, and are attempting two different casting methods. One uses RTV Latex foam as the mold material while the other uses Aluminite mold putty. Tomrrow we'll see how they do for casting. If things go to hell in a hand basket we'll try a brush on mold using silicone with an acrylic paint mixture to allow it to cure properly:

 

[joethibodeau]

Where did you find your templates?

 

[dbsamurai]

What templates? My pep files are from the official pacific rim pep thread here on the rpf. I made the cadd files for the fingers myself

 

[dbsamurai]

So sadly things got really hectic these past couple weeks, in part because the two classes I was going to take over the summer in order to graduate by august got cancelled due to not enough people signing up for them, but also because we were actually making two suits: Leatherback, and a Spartan IV. Specifically, Cherno was making her own spartan IV, which meant she was unable to help us work on leatherback despite putting in literally 12 hour days nonstop for a month...and here's the fruits of her labors:

The visor was originally transparent (vacuum formed by me) but when following the "how to make a transparent master chief visor" tutorial over at the 405th, we accidentally laid the metalizer on too thick and it became too opaque to see However, for a month's worth of work I was suitably impressed, particularly since, while the Arizona heat was punishing to all our suits, the only critically important thing that broke on her suit...I made (the undersuit)

She went friday in it and things turned out pretty good (I went in my XV22, seen here:

But we managed to miss Roxyroo in her spartan (which is a bummer...wanted to thank her for giving me the idea to use duct tape to cast Hailee and make making the suit a lot easier)

Also unfortunately, because of how hectic everything was getting Leatherback wearable and ready for Comic con, we didn't really get a lot of pics of him, just stuff from the masquerade really. Still, here's what I've been able to find of our time there!

And of course a video someone was kind enough to post:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=312480662244395

Which, thanks to some awesome music we set up with Audacity and the sheer awesomeness of two Jaegers beating on a Kaiju at long last, we won First Place in the masterclass!

We also met some great people at 8 Bit brewery who gave Hailee a nice mug that was awesome (don't have pics unfortunately ) and a guy at the booth next to them who gave me a pretty cool poster:

And what I believe is his tumblr @DXVISUAL (but I don't know if that's a tumblr account, deviantart, or what). The poster was a conglomeration of a bunch of pins and temporary tattoos he was selling, which look I think pretty bitching as tats and I totally wish I had more of them

 

[Dumontrudisel]

Another first place for this incredible work you've done. Trust me, I had little time to work on my Striker Eureka suit. But I just graduated High school yesterday, so I have all the time in the world to finish it. Hope to get it done for Halloween and some cons in 2015. Also Its quite impressive that your suit is durable enough for you to do that. Especially falling on your knees. That Leatherback is looking good too. Keep up the great work

 

[dbsamurai]

Another first place for this incredible work you've done. Also Its quite impressive that your suit is durable enough for you to do that. Especially falling on your knees.

Thanks It helps that they're not technically the suit's knees, they're mine I'm just glad that I didn't snap the toes getting back up. That's the real danger when I go down on one knee

I spent the better part of the last week moving and trying to work up the courage to toss my ironman I'd still rather sell him, but no one wants to buy him...which I guess is reasonable since my body is so weird and his magnets are compromised that people don't want to spend 100 bucks for what amounts to a display piece So many magnets to remove...


Anyways, I've started testing to see if I can get the design down for Cherno's hands to allow them to move properly:

I just need a way now to undo super glue xD I think acetone or something will get rid of it? Anyways, once that's solved I'll go on to finish casting gipsy's fingers that I can then use to fashion the plasma cannon and a proper hand.

 

[Alfonso Almanza]

super neat!

 

[dbsamurai]

This past week has been...interesting. My a/c broke and for those of you who don't know I live in arizona...so that was a fun experience, dying of the heat every day for a good week despite the poor a/c repair guys coming three times to fix the damn thing. Despite that I managed to get a pull of my gipsy hands!

I have one for both hands, but this is the right specifically which will be the plasma cannon hand. As such I got a name placard and the material to go in it to act as a sheer rail system for the handplate to retract (which is the rectangle on the left), some PVC to act as the wrist (and as a counterweight on my wrist to give me some more balance with how front heavy it's going to be) and the hand, thumb, and palm plates. Next up is getting some time on the laser cutter to cut out the doors and panels that will allow it all to sit together, and then attempting to cast the fingers...again...

 

[Alpha Proto]

Is that vaccu formed?
-----
Just saw the video of you guys on stage. I thought the costume's pictures looked good, but they look awesome in action. :thumbsup

 

[dbsamurai]

Yup! I currently have both hands vacuum formed, the piston assemblies to allow Cherno's hands to extend, and some elbow assemblies that I needed to improve on Gipsy (they needed to be more rigid and this was the easiest way to do it). Obviously they're a little coarse right now but running them across a sander should clear that up pretty nicely and leave a nice deburred edge.

 

[dbsamurai]

So what's the policy on necromancy...


Ahem


Now that I'm all graduated and attempting to find gainful employment as a propmaker/mechanical engineer, I've had a LOT of free time. Mercifully ASU still lets me use their equipment, which has allowed me to get back to work on Cherno and Gipsy.


Early in the year I fixed Cherno's rig, and Hailee's dad fixed the stilts by sacrificing mobility for sturdiness, but the end result is more comfortable if just as fast. So with that done it's on to fixing the smaller bugs and actually completing the hands!


With how fast I had to move out of my previous dorm I did some quick cuts to get the pulls I made a year ago out:

Which means I now have the superstructure ready for both the sliding mechanism in Cherno's fists and the internals for Gipsy's hands. I did some 3d printer work under a professor over the last semester, which means I may be able to complete printing out the rest of the fingers for far cheaper than originally anticipated rather than casting them, but that remains to be seen.


Most promising is the new laser cutter that the school's purchased. With it I'll hopefully be able to cut out a series of cross pieces like those used to make the hulls of old wooden ships in order to assemble the hands for gipsy and cherno and make them more sturdy.


Most of the past six months has been spent testing my various plans on more expendable projects, so now that I've found what I can make work and what I can't I'll be pressing on with finishing up all the details I can so I can get it to San Diego Comicon