COMPLETE! "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Jim Raynor Armor *PIC HEAVY*

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

WOW thanks everyone! Can't tell you how great it feels to finally wear this thing, really feels like i'm finally getting close to the end!

I'll have to message you as September gets closer to make sure I'm at the next con while you're wearing it. I'm definitely more excited to see this in person than any celebrity there. That thing is a beast.

I'll be there all 3 days (Sep. 1st - 3rd) tho not suited up the entire time, but I'll be at the costume contest Saturday night for sure. Anyone have any pointers on transporting this thing into a convention center??

Man it's been a year! You're the best of the best!!!! I'm soooo glad to live this day to see this... Please come to blizzcon

I'd love to go to Blizzcon but i'm still having a bit of an issue coming up with the funds to make the trip... If I can figure that out before tickets sell out I'll be there! Fingers crossed!

FANTASTIC! Hell of a job mate. I bet that smile won't disappear for a while.

You know it! I think my cheeks are still sore from all the smiling that night!

WOW.

Amazing dude, well done.

Did you decide on colours in the end?

I keep thinking I've nailed it down, then I change my mind and decide on something else. I'm bouncing back and forth between the black/grey like Raynor's suit and something vibrant that'll stand out. Not that a 7-foot suit of armor won't already be standing out, but you know what I mean. I can't decide! The time is coming up quickly where I need to figure that out......

On that note, finally bit the bullet and did the most monotonous thing EVER. Nubs around the outside of the boots... 24 of them to be exact... each one hand carved with a dremel and flexed to fit in their particular location, and glued together.



UGH seemed like it took forever... ok only a week but still. At last it's done and it's amazing to see what a difference those little things make! The boots went from this:



to THIS!



I know you're probably thinking it's not that different, but when you put that much time into something as painfully monotonous as that it's a huge relief and probably makes that part look all the better.

More to come! Thanks again! :cool

 

[CJGrimm]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Awesome build. Even caught the attention of Blizzard. https://twitter.com/DaveKosak/status/733761561353986048

 

[dedguy]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

I was actually thinking the opposite of "no so different". Amazing how much a little detail like that really makes it look "right".

 

[Krush]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

How durable is that thing? Does it feel pretty solid once you have it all on? Looks awesome btw.

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Awesome build. Even caught the attention of Blizzard. https://twitter.com/DaveKosak/status/733761561353986048

Oh my gosh that is so cool! I'm totally geeking out about this! Man pressure really is on now with the big boys watching....

How durable is that thing? Does it feel pretty solid once you have it all on? Looks awesome btw.

Thanks! It's all EVA foam so far and all the structural seams are done with contact cement and backed with hot glue, and of course all the major pieces have a pvc endoskeleton so as far as durability goes it's pretty stout! When the surface coating and paint go on I'll be a bit worried about that durability tho... I haven't decided what the best method for sealing the foam will be so I'm conducting tests on scrap Eva to figure out what's best for me. And of course there's no one correct way to do it either. What works for one person might not for someone else so I need to try a few things and find out what I'm most comfortable with. Oh and wearing it feels very solid. The hands pull a bit on my wrists but I think the straps just weren't quite tight enough. But all in all I'm pretty happy with it so far! Just need to readjust where the weight is distributed and I think I could dance in the thing! If I was ever prone to do such a thing...

 

[AlphaTech686]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Alright dude, I just spent the last hour pouring over you build. I don't know how I didn't see this before. Truly excellent work. I thought my build was time consuming but this is so crazy. I will be going back over it to read more. Just beautiful work. I am getting ready to start on the hands for my Grommash and I have to say you hand build has inspired me greatly. Again just awe inspiring work.

 

[TomVDJ]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Wow, this really turned out great. Would love to see some video of this suite moving...

 

[dedguy]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

MWiggs, is all of the surface detailing done? I see you have what looks like some panel lines marked out with marker.

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Alright dude, I just spent the last hour pouring over you build. I don't know how I didn't see this before. Truly excellent work. I thought my build was time consuming but this is so crazy. I will be going back over it to read more. Just beautiful work. I am getting ready to start on the hands for my Grommash and I have to say you hand build has inspired me greatly. Again just awe inspiring work.

Wow great honor to hear that from you! You, sir, have an amazing talent. I've been following Grommash for a while and I must say, incredible! the realism is unbelievable! Can't wait to see more progress on it. Thanks much!

Wow, this really turned out great. Would love to see some video of this suite moving...

Thanks! Yep I'm working on the video now - I shot it on my phone for about a half hour so the quality isn't great but the file size is almost 4Gigs... not great for uploading. I'm trying to edit and trim it down but I'm inexperienced with such a thing. Anyone have any suggestions as far as video editing software goes?? I'm fumbling thru Adobe Premier and it's kind of working but the learning curve is pretty steep so it's time consuming. Tips? Suggestions? Advice? Anyone?

@MWiggs, is all of the surface detailing done? I see you have what looks like some panel lines marked out with marker.

Almost all the detail is done, with the exception of those marker lines. Those I will be going back over with my soldering iron to cut a groove in the surface just like on the legs, arms, etc. I'm about to give in and start on the weathering too, which I guess qualifies as surface detail as well. Soon!

 

[CLOTHAR]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

I have used windows Movie Maker in the past. Basic and easy to use. Unless you aren't on PC, then you might be out of luck.

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

CLOTHAR - That was my first attempt, but apparently if you upgrade to Windows 10, they've discontinued Movie Maker in favor of a more iTunes-esque "app store" full of useless editors that work better for a tablet or phone than an actual PC. :facepalm Be warned people! Also, the default Windows media player and the new "Movies and TV" app don't have the right codecs to play any of the iPhone-shot videos, so I'm having to use Quicktime. It's been frustrating... BUT! I've played around a bit with Premier and I think I can get something put together here in the next few days.

"By the numbers!"

 

[CLOTHAR]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Brutal.

 

[Doomfist]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Oh. My. God.

magnificent.

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Ok, Here's the first vid! No idea if I'm doing this right but here goes nothing... Hand operation!

If that didn't work here's the link as well.

WHEW! Video editing/uploading is hard... I'm working on the full suit up video too, should be able to post that up in a few more days!

 

[collinE83]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Look at that dexterity. Much better than I thought you'd have with those extensions

 

[bummer6]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

My god that is amazing!!! Will you be selling the files on Etsy like Sylgian did with his power fist design?

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

My god that is amazing!!! Will you be selling the files on Etsy like Sylgian did with his power fist design?

Thanks again B6! Hadn't really thought about that but SURE! Why not? If there's enough people who want it I'd be happy to share.

And on that note, finally got this video up and running too!! Enjoy :cool

 

[bummer6]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

I'd definitely buy the files for those fingers! I may even use them for the power fist I plan to build for my Space Marine.

That video is sick! The first suit-up is always the hardest... It definitely has a learning curve to it. haha! How is the mobility in the elbows? It doesn't look like you can bend them too much because your elbow is located pretty much in the middle of the bicep.

 

[targus]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

Thanks again B6! Hadn't really thought about that but SURE! Why not? If there's enough people who want it I'd be happy to share.

And on that note, finally got this video up and running too!! Enjoy :cool

https://youtu.be/lN-C_NQSy-w

That looks awesome ... great build. I am truly impressed, and the hands articulating is phenomenal. Great job.

 

[MWiggs]

Re: "It's About Time!" Starcraft II Terran Marine CMC Armor WIP *PIC HEAVY*

I'd definitely buy the files for those fingers! I may even use them for the power fist I plan to build for my Space Marine.

That video is sick! The first suit-up is always the hardest... It definitely has a learning curve to it. haha! How is the mobility in the elbows? It doesn't look like you can bend them too much because your elbow is located pretty much in the middle of the bicep.

I might just have to do that then! They will require a bit of modification first. There were a few problems with them that had to be modified after they were printed in order for them to fit together correctly and to run the elastic thru the top. When I get some time I can work on that and I'll get em posted!

And yeah, the elbows don't move a whole lot, mainly because my wrist acts as the elbow and that joint isn't made to support that kind of movement carrying that much weight. I've got a possible solution in the works right now to solve that issue tho, and I'll keep y'all posted!

As work continues, I've shifted my attention to the spine. Not only will it be the final major body part of the suit, but also serves as an actual spinal support for the torso! Originally I was just going to have it attach and finish off the back portion, but after putting the entire thing on, I need some extra support to help out my shoulders. So I've integrated a PVC pipe support that contours to my back to transfer the weight of the torso back down to my belt. I'll have two more supports on the front as well, and all three will attach to the belt with these clever little brackets I designed and 3D printed. I've still got to measure to cut the pipe correctly, and there's a lot more detail work to go into it, like the base structure and hose connections, but I'm liking how it's looking so far.




Also, I've started my foam sealant tests! I'm trying three main methods: straight plasti-dip, 4-5 layers; 1:1 PVA glue/water, 3 layers so far; and 3:2 Mod Podge/water, 3 layers so far. I'll coat the PVA and MP versions with Plastidip after there are enough layers. Results are looking good so far, and I'll do the durability tests soon after.