Another Robocop Build

[askernas]

Torso is starting to be finished.
Today was spent clear coating all silver pieces and painting the torso with glossy Plasti-Dip and the only bit left to make is the bum...

I've also finished the right glove...

One more week until I hope to wear it properly.

 

[joberg]

Looking mighty goodEager to see the next update.

 

[askernas]

 

[joberg]

Looking very good The bottom of the helmet should hide your nose (my two cents) Is it easy to walk in the costume and if so, what kind of inner suit did you designed to make it so?

 

[askernas]

Yes, the helmet is not on 100% and a picture from a low angle doesn't help. A future update will feature an outline of my own face.

I could actually dance in the costume, so it is quite on...

I made the undersuit of EVA foam and coated in glossy Plasti-Dip.

 

[askernas]

 

[askernas]

Oh... and about how much I can move, Check out this video:

 

[Darth Lars]

Great job, Micke! I almost got teary-eyed when I saw you in videos on Youtube from last weekend's event (for multiple reasons).
Would have loved to have been there, but it still felt too soon to go back to normal.

 

[joberg]

Great stuff...the pics you've just posted are looking way better. That helmet would look better if more elongated toward your upper lips.
When I was making that type of costumes (a long time ago) I always glued pieces of black felt on parts that were rubbing on each other; it removed the "click-clack" noise when walking. Did you put some inserts in the arms, legs and calves? Apart from that, great results and great job making it

 

[askernas]

Well, obviously the costume is not *finished* .. I had to make so many shortcuts in the last weeks leading up to ComicCon.
It was all about making it wearable for ComicCon, the rest will be "fixed in post", as they say.

I have a list of items that will be addressed to increase wearability, reduce clatter, and some things that will need to be slightly repainted, some items remade in stronger materials.

Here's a list off the top of my head of things that will be altered:

• Helmet might be a little too tight with chin piece and neck piece. I might go with a resin cast I have instead. We'll see.
• Helmet will also need to have a small "lip" underneath to follow the contour of my face. It will remove a lot of the visibility, but will be way more screen accurate. (Might need to reprint once I've 3d scanned my face...
• Neck piece is not sitting as well as it could. Will need to add more magnets and possibly a shim to give a little more space for my neck and undersuit.
• Neck seal is sitting a little too high, making turning my head difficult. At least without snagging on the lower neck piece.
• Distance between calves and thigh pieces will be reduced by about 5 mm.
• Calves and thigh pieces will be joined together with aluminium brackets so they are screwed in place, rather than snapbuttons. This will ensure that the knee always bends in the same place and the calves and thighs do not rub together while walking (main source of sound)
• Shoes will need some minor adjustments.
• Straps that hold thighs in place will need to be adjusted.
• Have hydraulics holders on feet remade in stronger material. Brass tubing soldered together?
• Add "stomper" to get sound effects while walking
• Alter how the front of the shins are attached to the main shins
• Main cod piece. and possibly the bum will be remade in EVA foam. Will reduce walking noises and can stop rubbing noices.
• Stronger magnets in gauntlet "locks".
• Re-glue TPU fingers on gloves for better adhesion
• Remove Plasti-Dip onTPU parts on gloves.
• Smooth out gloves with flexible resin and repaint
• Possibly reprint palms (or cut and reglue) for tighter fit to make holding the gun a lot more comfortable
• Repaint the sides of the foam undersuit where the biceps are attached to not be plasti-dip. Rubber does not slide so well... who knew...
• Figure out if I need to do something else than repaint as just mentioned in order to be able to move my biceps more.
• Cut open grille on chest to allow for speaker inside.
• Go over entire suit with a wash to make the scored details pop out more
• Repaint the scuffed areas after the premiere of wearing the costume
• Rebuild the inserts in the elbow out of foam to allow me to bend my arms more.

This might seem like a huge list, but really, it is all relatively minor stuff compared to the adjustments I made on Saturday.
I hopped in the suit on Friday and were at a position where I could only walk 3-4 steps as things locked up.

I spent all of Saturday at the convention cutting up the foam undersuit, trim, reglue it together and changing the entire strapping system to allow me to use it and even dance on Sunday.

Considering I bought the new 3d model on April 9th, and spent a lot of time not really doing anything, I think I managed quite well in quite short time =)

To be continued...

Oh, I also got a request to build a costume for someone else, something I will be documenting heavily here as well... videos and all =)

 

[joberg]

Yes, I see that, by wearing the suit, details have to be fixed, changed, improved...and that's in the short amount of time you had to create the whole thing The more you walk and move, the more improvements you'll design to make it perfect!

 

[askernas]

 

[masterjedi322]

Just amazing!

How did the soles of the feet hold up?

Sean

 

[askernas]

Just amazing!

How did the soles of the feet hold up?

Sean

After crunching the hours to get this done.. I have no soul...
Oh sorry.. you mean SOLES....

There are no soles on the feet.
I have a pair of neoprene shoes with rubber soles inside, attached with velcro.

Essentially the feet are the same as on C-3PO: It's only a shell over a different shoe.
It worked great. =)

 

[talizman]

Looks amazing buddy.

I’m about half way through printing the armour pieces and hope to get it looking half as good as yours.

Can I ask, what colour(s) of paint did you go for?

 

[askernas]

Looks amazing buddy.

I’m about half way through printing the armour pieces and hope to get it looking half as good as yours.

Can I ask, what colour(s) of paint did you go for?

Thank you =)

I went with a base colour of VHT Engine Metallic "Silver Blue" and airbrushed on top of that with Vallejo paints:
- Vallejo 70938 - Transparent Blue
- Vallejo 72014 - Warlord Purple

For the paint scheme, I started off with airbrushing a light coat of blue in every fold and joint and every edge of the suit, and followed it up with the purple, but a thinner layer. Some "folds" in the mode were painted with blue from one side and purple from the other to simulate a shine to it.

Oh, incidentally, I was asked for a commission for a completed Robocop Build. I got a down payment of half the amount in advance, but due to family issues he had to cancel a few months into the build.

He told me to keep the down payment but as I've had my fair share of family issues (my daughter got brain cancer at age 3 and sadly passed in 2019 at age 6), I immediately refunded everything. Not because I needed to, but because it is the right thing to do.

So, with that in mind, if anyone wants to buy a complete set of part for Robocop printed in PETG, please let me know.
(I still have some pieces to print, but easier to unload a full set, I reckon)...

 

[joberg]

Really sad news askernas I cannot imagine losing a child...how are you coping if it's not too personal a question?
PM me if you don't want to answer here.

 

[askernas]

Really sad news askernas I cannot imagine losing a child...how are you coping if it's not too personal a question?
PM me if you don't want to answer here.

What keeps me going, is really building things. It is what kept me sane during the intense hard times.

I did everything in my power to find a way to prolong her life with quality, to try and find a new treatment, a new medical trial we could be part of. I spent the last year of her life caring for her full time, and during that period, I made it my mission to make her laugh every day.

Towards the end it really got harder and harder, but she was a wonderful and kind soul.

During the entire ordeal I have stopped counting the times where I was obliterated into tiny fragments by worse and worse news, and somehow managed to assembled myself into something that was sort of a functional human being again.

I miss her every day. No exceptions. There are days that are quite ok, and it took some time to understand that it is ok to have a good day. I don't have to feel guilty that I can in fact have a good day on occasion.

I have one tattoo. It is her name on my arm. No dates, just her name. I don't need a reminder that she is no longer here, but rather she is with me all the time.

I need to be challenged, to keep my brain going and solving problems, non stop. I can't really afford to stop and think, because it is very easy to go into a dark place.

Emma loved life. She loved the droids I was building, she loved laughing. I know that she would have wanted me to be happy.

I try to be. Every day.

Facebook memories, holidays and certain dates are the worst. That, along with a full gallery in my phone (and heavily backed up on several places) that I can't fathom myself looking through. There are videos in there and they break my heart every time I stumble across then. Sometimes the masochist in me have to, and I dive deep down into a dark hole of emotions and mourning and watch more clips of her than I really can, and surface up sometime later, usually with a headache, anxiety, and for some reason, the front teeth in both my upper and lower jaw completely numb.

So. I'm not really coping. I am trying to steer my mind away from diving too deep into dark places, while still trying to focus on the positive impact she was on my life. I am a better person for having had her in my life. I know she'd want me to stay that way.

Sorry for the long rant, but that is in short how I cope. Building more and more advanced things and focusing on sanding something smooth for a few hours is strangely therapeutic. Problem solving keeps my brain sort of occupied...

Thank you for asking and for your concern.

 

[Malibu139]

That sir was NOT a rant, it was a deeply personal response to a genuine question. Thank you.
My thoughts are with you , keep sanding.

 

[askernas]

This is right before she got her diagnose.
She was happy and she loved the robots. Both BB-8 and R2.

Thank you all for "listening".

Next up will be about my upgrades to the Robocop suit for the next outing.