Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/FCBD - Finished Pics pg. 3

[Psicorp7]

Now that my Dr. Doom build is done I have been tasked to build the New Mark 43 for appearances at a local theater opening weekend and on Free Comic Book Day. My hope is to finish the torso and Chest and Back plate this month and then the Arms and Legs in March. This will leave me April to finish up touch ups and strapping and then painting. I am using 5mm foam in mostly double layers to main parts and then 3mm for detail work. The helmet will be a resin cast since I never quite like the look of foam helmets. I also want to automate the faceplate at some point down the road.

I have the abs done now. I made a basic shape that wrapped around my torso and then I added the armor plates and cod in various layers of foam. This is a bit quicker for placing all the little pieces. Not as accurate but much faster. In this build speed is sometimes going to trump accuracy. Here is how it sits now and a few WIP shots.



The files I am using are the awesome Mark 42 Foam files by Helagak so thanks man for all your hard work in making those and putting them out there for everyone!

 

[Helagak]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

glad you like them. looking good!

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Good progress so far!

 

[zeromission]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Looks good. Hope you make your deadline.b

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

The back plate is now done! I started with the spine and built out from there. It took a little less than a week but, man are there a TON of pieces in the back!!! I miss the simplicity of the Mark 6!



Here is the finished piece on my mannequin. I have a bit longer torso than the dummy, so between that and attaching the breast plate it should sit a bit higher. Now onto the chest plate!

 

[Bogleo]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Nice and Clean!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Nice and Clean!

Thanks! I hope the chest goes faster!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Well the chest was a breeze compared to the other pieces so far. It came together really quick! Here are the WIP pics. I used a plastic cup with a lip to make the well for the arc reactor. This will make the light install quicker and make sure the reactor is 100% round as foam can sometimes deform under pressure.



And the finished chest on the mannequin.



To make the process go faster I mark out all the pieces that nest together on the foam. Each piece is traced with an old ball-point pen. This embosses the line and makes them easier to follow when cutting. I then cut out each piece that needs to change depth. Lines that do not change depth are not cut out and I just leave the embossed line to save time one gluing. It looks that same in the end and makes the piece stronger and faster to build.



Now onto the shoulders and neck to finish up the torso!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Shoulders are done! They are only attached with tape right now so they are a little saggy. I will not attach permanently until after paint.



Quick onto the neck and then the arms!

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

You're breezing through this and it's looking great!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

You're breezing through this and it's looking great!

Thanks! I have to keep my momentum up since I know there is always some unknown delay down the road! I hope the arms and legs come together fast so I can put some time into the helmet when it arrives.

 

[fyreant]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

To make the process go faster I mark out all the pieces that nest together on the foam. Each piece is traced with an old ball-point pen. This embosses the line and makes them easier to follow when cutting. I then cut out each piece that needs to change depth. Lines that do not change depth are not cut out and I just leave the embossed line to save time one gluing. It looks that same in the end and makes the piece stronger and faster to build.

View attachment 443733 View attachment 443732

Now onto the shoulders and neck to finish up the torso!

Wow. That's actually genius man. I am about to build this as my second Iron Man suit (first was a Mark VI). I am curious on two things though.. first, how do you get your ball point pen lines so perfect? When I Trace out my lines with an old ball point pen they do not look as precise and seem like they want to tear up the foam. Second, are you using different thickness foams for the more details parts? if so, what thickness? I typically use 1/4" but a lot of the Mark 42 builds I am seeing look like they are using thinner foam in certain spots.

Ant

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Thanks, fyreant! My first foam suit was a Mark VI as well. To answer your questions in order, I use two to three passes with the ball point pen until the depth of the line is where I want it to be. If you try and go full depth in one pass it will tear the foam. I use mostly 5mm foam for all the parts and just adjust the depth to get the effect. In a few cases I am using 3mm foam where the 5mm is just too thick. It worked best in the abs section where I had a 5mm base to build on top of to start with. The 3mm just does not have much structure so it only works for decorative parts.

 

[fyreant]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Thanks, fyreant! My first foam suit was a Mark VI as well. To answer your questions in order, I use two to three passes with the ball point pen until the depth of the line is where I want it to be. If you try and go full depth in one pass it will tear the foam. I use mostly 5mm foam for all the parts and just adjust the depth to get the effect. In a few cases I am using 3mm foam where the 5mm is just too thick. It worked best in the abs section where I had a 5mm base to build on top of to start with. The 3mm just does not have much structure so it only works for decorative parts.

ah. that makes sense. are you using regular EVA floor mat foam or a different kind of foam? I am using floor mat foam (the kind with diamond plate design on one side) and its about 6MM or so thick. Did you find your 5MM at a local retailer by chance?

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

ah. that makes sense. are you using regular EVA floor mat foam or a different kind of foam? I am using floor mat foam (the kind with diamond plate design on one side) and its about 6MM or so thick. Did you find your 5MM at a local retailer by chance?

I get the 5mm in 11" x17" sheets called "foamies" at Hobby Lobby. It has the same finish on both sides so it cuts and bends better than the diamond plate stuff. You can order them online and the shipping is pretty reasonable since they are small sheets. Having used this stuff I will not go back to the floor mats unless I need thick stuff for a really big build. Try it, you'll like it!

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

It has been a few days of distractions from Iron Man but I did manage to finish the two biceps. I have left off the joint details until I decide whether or not I am going to make a functional joint with the forearm piece. Once the forearms are made I will try them on and see if I want to go that route. We will see.

 

[fyreant]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

It has been a few days of distractions from Iron Man but I did manage to finish the two biceps. I have left off the joint details until I decide whether or not I am going to make a functional joint with the forearm piece. Once the forearms are made I will try them on and see if I want to go that route. We will see.

View attachment 448229 View attachment 448228

looks great. You should take a pic with the shoulder pieces on there. Have you done the neck or helmet yet? Also, how did you do the scaling for your chest piece? I have noticed that the Helagak files have some where the scale is like 49.xxxx for size, but then for the chest it shows as like 418.xxxx for the scale which is totally off. I finished my shoulders, though they are not as nice as yours. I am working on the neck right now..

Ant

 

[Psicorp7]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

looks great. You should take a pic with the shoulder pieces on there. Have you done the neck or helmet yet? Also, how did you do the scaling for your chest piece? I have noticed that the Helagak files have some where the scale is like 49.xxxx for size, but then for the chest it shows as like 418.xxxx for the scale which is totally off. I finished my shoulders, though they are not as nice as yours. I am working on the neck right now..

Ant

Thanks! I think after I finish the forearms I will get some strapping done to see how the shoulders, arms and chest fit. I increased the scale of the chest by 10% more than the abs. It made the chest a little too big but I needed the space to allow the chest to swivel over the ab plate. It is still a little too binding on the abs for my taste. I f I had to do it over again I would leave the scale the same as I used for the abs but add some extra under the arms to make it fit a little more loose. Hope that makes sense.

I have not done the neck yet. Hopefully soon! I have a three piece resin helmet coming from therocketeer since I want to eventually make a motorized faceplate. Did you start a thread on your build yet?

 

[Artimis]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Are you using hot glue or another type of adhesive? Very clean and impressive work! I'm even more impressed that it's a speed build!

 

[fyreant]

Re: Avengers: AOU - Iron Man Mark 43 - Speed build for Opening/Free Comic Book Day

Thanks! I think after I finish the forearms I will get some strapping done to see how the shoulders, arms and chest fit. I increased the scale of the chest by 10% more than the abs. It made the chest a little too big but I needed the space to allow the chest to swivel over the ab plate. It is still a little too binding on the abs for my taste. I f I had to do it over again I would leave the scale the same as I used for the abs but add some extra under the arms to make it fit a little more loose. Hope that makes sense.

I have not done the neck yet. Hopefully soon! I have a three piece resin helmet coming from therocketeer since I want to eventually make a motorized faceplate. Did you start a thread on your build yet?

How tall are you and do you know what the "scale by" sizing was that you used for your chest/abs? I have not started a new thread for it yet. was planning to get it started once I get the chest done. Figure it would be better to give everyone something to actually look at rather than just a few shoulder caps lol. I'm hoping to have mine finished for the movie premier so I am going to pretty tight on time since I just started mine a couple days ago. fingers crossed!

Ant