MWiggs
Well-Known Member
Hi All! I've finally scrounged up the courage to post my first build! Hopefully the geniuses here can help me in a few spots as i'm completely new to making.. well anything really. In a freak tornado of circumstances my love of movies and video games crossed my creative and innovative side and the chain reaction sent me down a path that ultimately led me here, to what I have learned is an epicenter of talent, knowledge and comradery. I'm happy to be a part of the RPF and i hope i can add some of my own experience and insight to an already overflowing stockpile!
OK mushy stuff out of the way, I've started with an ambitious build, the CMC Marine Armor as featured in Starcraft II, worn by Jim Raynor, Tychus Findlay, General Warfield and every other Terran marine, medic and expendable cannon fodder in the fight against the Zerg. I loved this suit since the first suit-up cut-scene in the game where Tychus walks out onto a platform and the suit is bolted, welded, and assembled around him. Such brilliant engineering! Never crossed my mind i could actually build one of my own until I ran across Syligian's 40K Space Marine build. Needless to say, i was enormously impressed and instantly inspired to attempt such a thing myself.
Thus, the design phase started. I stock piled every useable photo, rendering, painting, screenshot, and reference material i could get my hands on (if anyone out there needs a quick stepping stone just let me know!) and, since I'm a designer and certified Solidworks professional, i used the (limited) tools at my disposal to start modeling the suit. Namely, Solidworks and Photochop. I will not post any reference pictures on here unless requested as I don't want to impose on copyrights etc. Therefor, all pictures shown are my own design, never before seen by the public! Behold! :cool
I started with a poseable mannequin model that I found on GrabCAD, and scaled it to match my exact height (6'1"). I lined up the reference pictures i had and started at the feet, modeling upwards. The gun i had done previously and had to scale it to match the reference photos as well. Here it is for scale. I'll have a write-up on building that thing too. Stay tuned!
I was trying to hurry through because at this point, I didn't really have a direction to go after modeling. I figured I'd find a way to turn the model file into a 3-Dimensional part later on down the road. Only once i got to this point, when i was nearly done with the preliminary design, did I realize how awful it really looked. the perfectionist in me was screaming at me that it was all wrong. I decided to listen and try something else. That's when I found the RPF and started reading up on pepakura, extracting game files, and papercraft. Intrigue! So I ran down that road a bit. I extracted the game models, downloaded the pep viewer, and attempted to unfold the geometry.
I kept running down this road for a while, doing research about unfolding and printing and cutting and gluing and getting the 3D shape, but then I hit a snag. What to do after it was built?? Everything I was finding said fiberglass, sanding, bondo, etc. Sounded like a lot more time and expense than I was willing to throw at it at that point. Also, I wanted the smoother more organic look as opposed to the blocky angles pep would give me. HOWEVER! I was not deterred and started looking into other mediums for building. EVA foam caught my eye and I started reading up like mad. As I said before, Sylgian was a HUGE inspiration and ultimately ended up being my go-to for information on this type of build. I took the fork in the road and plowed ahead.
I imported the extracted geometry into my Solidworks model, scaled it up, and started over using those as a template. About 60 hours later, this is what I had come up with:
Aaahhhh much better! And keeping in mind that my primary material would be 1/2" thick foam sheets, I modeled it the same way I'd build it for real. It's not just a shell, but has accomodations for strapping, mounting, pivots, supports, electronics, lights, etc! Glamour shot!
At this point, I ran to the hardware store and started stocking up on supplies.
Thanks for watching! opcorn (sorry I tend to rant)
More to come! Stay tuned.
OK mushy stuff out of the way, I've started with an ambitious build, the CMC Marine Armor as featured in Starcraft II, worn by Jim Raynor, Tychus Findlay, General Warfield and every other Terran marine, medic and expendable cannon fodder in the fight against the Zerg. I loved this suit since the first suit-up cut-scene in the game where Tychus walks out onto a platform and the suit is bolted, welded, and assembled around him. Such brilliant engineering! Never crossed my mind i could actually build one of my own until I ran across Syligian's 40K Space Marine build. Needless to say, i was enormously impressed and instantly inspired to attempt such a thing myself.
Thus, the design phase started. I stock piled every useable photo, rendering, painting, screenshot, and reference material i could get my hands on (if anyone out there needs a quick stepping stone just let me know!) and, since I'm a designer and certified Solidworks professional, i used the (limited) tools at my disposal to start modeling the suit. Namely, Solidworks and Photochop. I will not post any reference pictures on here unless requested as I don't want to impose on copyrights etc. Therefor, all pictures shown are my own design, never before seen by the public! Behold! :cool
I started with a poseable mannequin model that I found on GrabCAD, and scaled it to match my exact height (6'1"). I lined up the reference pictures i had and started at the feet, modeling upwards. The gun i had done previously and had to scale it to match the reference photos as well. Here it is for scale. I'll have a write-up on building that thing too. Stay tuned!
I was trying to hurry through because at this point, I didn't really have a direction to go after modeling. I figured I'd find a way to turn the model file into a 3-Dimensional part later on down the road. Only once i got to this point, when i was nearly done with the preliminary design, did I realize how awful it really looked. the perfectionist in me was screaming at me that it was all wrong. I decided to listen and try something else. That's when I found the RPF and started reading up on pepakura, extracting game files, and papercraft. Intrigue! So I ran down that road a bit. I extracted the game models, downloaded the pep viewer, and attempted to unfold the geometry.
I kept running down this road for a while, doing research about unfolding and printing and cutting and gluing and getting the 3D shape, but then I hit a snag. What to do after it was built?? Everything I was finding said fiberglass, sanding, bondo, etc. Sounded like a lot more time and expense than I was willing to throw at it at that point. Also, I wanted the smoother more organic look as opposed to the blocky angles pep would give me. HOWEVER! I was not deterred and started looking into other mediums for building. EVA foam caught my eye and I started reading up like mad. As I said before, Sylgian was a HUGE inspiration and ultimately ended up being my go-to for information on this type of build. I took the fork in the road and plowed ahead.
I imported the extracted geometry into my Solidworks model, scaled it up, and started over using those as a template. About 60 hours later, this is what I had come up with:
Aaahhhh much better! And keeping in mind that my primary material would be 1/2" thick foam sheets, I modeled it the same way I'd build it for real. It's not just a shell, but has accomodations for strapping, mounting, pivots, supports, electronics, lights, etc! Glamour shot!
At this point, I ran to the hardware store and started stocking up on supplies.
Thanks for watching! opcorn (sorry I tend to rant)
More to come! Stay tuned.
Last edited: