collinE83 Armored Mega Man Build!

[collinE83]

Just finished with a modified base helmet. I made it larger, extended the jawline down a little more, and pulled it under the chin a little.



I'm really hating the smoothed look of heat gunned foam when I do it, so I built this new one without any heat gun.



I tried a couple different things. The one I like the most was bringing the hard angles from the crest down into the visor portion. The thing I liked least was that I made it too large this time. It's almost comparable to a motorcycle helmet now and I want it to fit a little more snug than that.

On the bright side, it gives me a couple of pieces that I can test paint. I have a sample set of Smooth-On's 45D that I want to harden the helmet with. I'm going to try documenting that process as detailed as possible, because I know a lot of people, including myself, still have some questions about the results you can get with it.

I think I'm going to build another one slightly smaller than the bigger one I just finished. I'm comfortable enough with some of the trial and error that I'm going to start adding detail to the model and foam them out. Unfortunately, instead of "measure twice, cut once", I'm the type of person that measures 5 times and cuts 5 times. So it's always just a slow methodical process, with a whole lot of thinking and pondering when I do something like this. Pretty fun though.

 

[collinE83]

I've been doing a lot of experimenting. Just a ton of trial and error. I resized the helmet and built a third to the perfect scale... or so I thought. I made a crucial error and got 3/4 of the way through building it before realizing it was actually smaller than the smallest helmet I already put together.



More like Mega Baby, amirite? So then I built the collinE83 Mega Man helmet Mark IV . This was scaled just right and is the one I'm finally able to run with.

I promised some discussion with a sample set of Smooth On's 65D that I was planning to use to coat my foam. Remember the "trial and error" I mentioned? This falls under that. I took the first helmet I put together and did some testing. I slapped on some extra pieces of the helmet and then began mixing the 2 part resin for coating.



As you can see, 65D is the new foam seal of the futuuuuuure.

The stuff has some strange properties. The short work time is the biggest issue. One weird aspect of it is that the longer it sits in the cup, the faster its going to set. That frustrated the crap out of me, because the first bit that I brushed on was the last bit to actually set. The other strange thing is that it it's not like plaster, where it progressively gets thicker until it's a rock. This stuff starts out super thin and goes on like watered down PVA glue, then becomes snot for 20 seconds, then becomes plastic. It's extremely finicky and has a steep learning curve.



Once it had all set, it looked best on the the places where it was the thickest. Still ugly, though. My biggest problem was noticing that this method works best only on smooth or round pieces. If you're trying to coat foam with hard valley cuts, or where two pieces create a 90 degree angle, then it's going to get in the crack and cover up that hard edge you want.

It sands well at least, so you can easily get a nice smooth and even surface with a little sanding.



I found mixing small bits at a time was best and made the 65D more manageable.I needed a way to mix small amounts together without having to keep grabbing new mixing cups and measure it out. I got two syringes from the grocery store and put them together. I mirrored the two part epoxy resins I see at the store usually, but with the added bonus of being refillable. When I needed more, I just squeeze a bit out and doesn't have to worry if it's equal parts or not.



I tested out doing three thin layers over a small area with this.



It looks a bit like it's splotchy, but that's mostly just due to the foam texture and the 65D's self leveling. It set pretty smooth and shiny for how thin the layers were. I only waited long enough for each layer to set before adding another, but it ended up delaminating . Looking back, I think I should sanded each layer just to rough up the surface. I peeled it up to show how thin it is, and to show the layers.



I plan to update some more in a little bit. I just wanted to throw this much up before going to bed. If there are any questions I can answer, feel free to ask.

 

[dedguy]

It's looking really good. Very happy to see more updates on that.

 

[collinE83]

I've been building the helmet with the X-visor foam piece in place for the purpose of making sure the curve of the face piece stayed true. With the helmet scaled and built correctly, it was time to get some work done on the visor. I settled on vacuum forming it so that it matches the shape and contours of the faceplate.There might be better ways to go about it, less time consuming ways, but ooohh well.

I wanted to cut the visor portion out while making sure it retained its shape. I decided to coat it with 65D, since I'm such a pro with it now. First step was taping off the visor pieces.



Once completing that, and before cutting the X out, I knew I also had to stabilize the faceplate portion of the helmet that would most likely deform once I did the cutting. I took some wooden dowels and glued those in place where I thought the most deforming would take place.



I then mixed up some 65D and coated the X little by little. The helmet is curved, so if I had mixed too much, of course it would spill all over the place. Once it was thick enough to my satisfaction, I removed the tape and cut it out. I wanted to sand the 65D, and smooth it for forming, so I coated the back of the X with J-B Weld epoxy, I then sanded the front of the X and gave it a quick coat of Krylon Fusion.



I'm not able to do much for the visor itself until I get some clear styrene or acrylic or whatever to form, but last step I did was make a sort of base for the X during the forming.

 

[collinE83]

It's looking really good. Very happy to see more updates on that.

Thanks! The hardest part has been making regular updates. Sometimes I get work done and don't think it's worth sharing, so I wait. Then when I finally have enough progress to share, I have a hard time sitting down and actually posting it.

 

[JWKruser]

Great job. Keep up the good work!

 

[RichardJones]

Great work! Subscribed for sure! Also, i am not sure why but that elastic bit in post #13 had me dying! keep up the good work!

 

[IronMeg]

It is really nice to see the different ways to seal foam. I've always used the PVA glue and water method, but I feel it is a bit lacking. Seeing different methods helps me formulate what I'll try on my next project. Thanks!

 

[superher0g33k]

This is awesome, yhis is like... Mega Iron Man! idk but it looks fantastic! Keep up the good work!

 

[collinE83]

Great work! Subscribed for sure! Also, i am not sure why but that elastic bit in post #13 had me dying! keep up the good work!

Thanks! I joke about my hopelessly messy apartment to keep from crying.:cry

It is really nice to see the different ways to seal foam. I've always used the PVA glue and water method, but I feel it is a bit lacking. Seeing different methods helps me formulate what I'll try on my next project. Thanks!

The 65D is finicky, but it definitely has its place. If you do end up using it, definitely practice a bunch first so you don't mess up anything important. To be honest, I really want to play with StyroSpray 1000 since it has a longer working time. Seems a bit softer and more flexible than 65D, though.

This is awesome, yhis is like... Mega Iron Man! idk but it looks fantastic! Keep up the good work!

Thanks. I'm trying to walk the line between making something original and cool, while preventing it from becoming a hot mess of random parts. A Mega Iron Man is definitely what I'm working towards, so that's nice to hear. and I'll try to take some breaks to work on that Batman model,too.

 

[IronMeg]

Hmmm... StyroSpray 1000.... I'll have to look and see if I can find some of that. Thanks for the tip!

 

[collinE83]

I got the painting itch. I was going to wait until I was done foaming before working on the color scheme, but I needed to see it a little closer to being finished. I've had some blue Plasti Dip in my closet for some time now, so the neck got blued.



I didn't seal it at all, just straight Dip on foam. I wanted it to stay as flexible as possible and the white glue stiffens it more than I like. I also didn't do anything to the seams, like filling them in, because I just happen to like the way the model was unfolded, okay? hmph.

Also got the shoulders out of the way.



I forgot to take a picture of the shoulders before painting, but here's a poor attempt at filling the seams and pits in the foam surface with some paintable caulk.



It wasn't until after painting that I realized a little more work needs to go into it than just smearing it on. It looks kinda crappy.

Luckily, this caulk is also sandable, so on the helmet, I spent a little more time. This side of the helmet got some caulk and sanding.



Better! But on the other side of the helmet, I thinned out the caulk with water. Yes, it was water soluble! I layered it on like I was building a pyramid, then I sanded. This method took longer, but really made a smooth, even surface. Like bondo-ing,but flexible and no smell.



I painted part of the shoulders with some silver Rustoleum enamel, and it looked nice. but then I flexed it. :cry



I have some Rustoleum Universal of about the same color, so I don't even know why I didn't use that. Rustoleum Universal has the flexibility and durability that'll work great for silver parts. I'll be redoing that here.

So here's the painted parts together. I stole my son's blue school folder and cut it up so I could make a quick visor for the picture.



AND ME WEARING IT. WEEEEE.

 

[collinE83]

Oh, hay there. I've been working on a few different things, but wanted to throw this up before retreating back to my hole.

First thing I gotta mention is that I went ahead and built a set of the Mark 40 abs.



The torso and the abs were both default scale for a 6 foot tall individual, which I assumed were were basically close enough, as I'm 5'11". This was actually pretty unwise of me to assume. After trying on the torso, the abs, and the cod, it's safe to say I'm going to have to rebuild. On the plus side, I've edited the model of the torso itself with a few minor improvements and completed the unfold of it. I'm going to do it in thicker foam, so it's more rigid. The second time something's built, it's usually cleaner looking anyway. I'm hoping this will all be for the better.

The other thing I've done, and I'm fairly happy with, is edit and build the left hand for Mega Man. Just the left hand. The right hand will be inside of the arm cannon, so no need to waste time on something that won't be seen. Also, I want to keep the right hand bare for dexterity when I put the cannon down. So I modified the Iron Man Easy Hands file.

Last time I checked, Mega Man didn't have repulsors built into his palms, but who wants to build a new hand armor from scratch? Not this guy.



Most notable changes are in the palm itself. I tried to have it follow similar contours of the hand. I also extended the wrist down another centimeter. It seemed a little short for my taste.

I found a nice glove in the auto accessory section of Walmart - $5. The fingers on it were too short and it didn't rest all the way down into the... finger... crotch. So I solved that problem by chopping off the finger tips. There's still enough glove finger for the Easy Hand finger tips to be glued onto, so no big deal.



I was going to use 2mm foam, but I thought the bulk of the 3mm foam I had was cool looking. I still need to glue the pieces on, and I want to work on the knuckle pieces a little so when I bend the fingers, it doesn't show glove, only more foam. The movie Iron Man has something like this for when he makes a fist. It really helps for lining up the pieces so they're not all wonky after the first time I make a fist.

And lastly, because there isn't a lot of room to slide my gloved hand in, and the wrist part is extended, I had to make a little flap. and since I'm so fond of magnets...



It all works really well and I'm pretty happy with it. I need to clean up the foam around the palm side of the fingers, but that's not difficult.

Next post will hopefully be showing off the rebuilt torso and abs. I should also have another thread or two up by then; one for a Halloween Ash Ketchum costume, and also for a super secret project that I hope will be a sufficient contribution to the RPF community, enough to justify all that I've taken from it.

 

[collinE83]

Not a huge update, but the most important thing is that this project isn't dead! I took a little break because I was getting caught in a cycle of build, make adjustments, rebuild, make more adjustments, rebuild. I wasn't getting anywhere. I figured better to take a step back, put some energy into some other projects I was also passionate about, and pick it back up after letting it simmer.

I resized the chest and back, like I mentioned I needed to do. I needed it to be a little tighter. I think it's the right scale now, but it needs to be built before knowing that. I messed with the model of the torso and unfolded it. I'm also using half inch (12mm) foam to make the armor more armor-y. I'm hoping the slight increase in thickness doesn't affect the scaling that I did. I'm sure it'll be fine.

This is what the current status of the torso is:

 

[Rojerlockless]

Keep it up man this is awesome.