FABRICATING a real IRONMAN suit out of STEEL.

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Okay, not picking sides here, but I have been working on an aluminum Mark 42 since August. My house is littered with cut-out pep files because you Have to get the size right, otherwise you are wasting material. I will be using different thickness depending on what the part does, cod piece is thick 0.15 (you can sit on it!), shoulders will be 0.04. I don't like telling people I've done something before I get the ball rolling, but working with metal takes time.

Not here picking sides, because metalwork takes time , but people shouldn't celebrate a win before kick-off.

EDIT : My BAd! Jackies, Helegak Zabana, GImpe files THANK YOU! But don't give me any kudos until I am wearing this thing
 
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sorry for the delay!! its been hectic around here lately with my business and was out of town until last night. but i have posted my pep helmet to show that i have been making progress on my build. as i stated in an earlier quote, i will be building my steel helmet around my pep model to keep the right shape as i am building it. this was my first ever attempt and pepakura, so naturally i took it upon myself to do it in a way that i thought was best. instead of cardstock which i hear is the popular material to use, i used watercolor paper which i believe is considerably thicker than cardstock.

i cut all my pieces out with scissors and an exacto knife and scribed all the fold lines with the tip of the xacto blade. i then used turbo tacky glue to glue all parts together, which dries farely quickly but allows enough time to position the parts.

once i had the helmet all together (with the eye pieces and support pieces) i then applied super glue to all the seems and edges of the helmet which allowed me to make any fine adjustments needed to keep the shape as perfect as possible. with the heavyier paper i used and applying the super glue, the glue will seep into the paper, making it extremely rigid but still porus for the application of resin.

as i said before, i did this pep build using my own ways of doing so. i am in no way an experienced pep builder but i do feel that my way of doing this made it go extremely fast and was very easy to do. the key to it is the heavier paper (i had to give each piece a littke push into my printer as they printed because of the thickness) and the use of super glue. i have not yet resined it, but i am confident that i will have no problem with warping; even after the removal of the cheek,eyes,and supplied support pieces that i used for the anitial assembly.

if anyone has any question about my methed, feel free to ask for any details that i might have left out. more pictures are to come, just bare with me. thank you
 
on a side note, does anybody know of anyone who has made an arc reactor prop that is an actual working electro magnet? i think i am going to start building one aside from working on my suit in my down time considering i can do most of it in my house and not out in my shop. the way i look at it, the principle is already there for the electro magnet to actually work. so why not replace the fake plastic parts with steel and wire the transformers up in series, which should theoretically become an actual working electro magnet when connected to a power supply.

i would like to hear everyones thoughts on this. i think it would be pretty cool to have an arc reactor that actually does something other than light up and just look cool.

-and yes i have my hands full with my suit but this is something fun to do on the side to keep me from getting burnt out on the rest of my build.
 
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Okay, not picking sides here, but I have been working on an aluminum Mark 42 since August. My house is littered with cut-out pep files because you Have to get the size right, otherwise you are wasting material. I will be using different thickness depending on what the part does, cod piece is thick 0.15 (you can sit on it!), shoulders will be 0.04. I don't like telling people I've done something before I get the ball rolling, but working with metal takes time.

Not here picking sides, because metalwork takes time , but people shouldn't celebrate a win before kick-off.

EDIT : My BAd! Jackies, Helegak Zabana, GImpe files THANK YOU! But don't give me any kudos until I am wearing this thing

it looks like youve got the right idea for your build. from what i can see, you have found yourself a successful method for building. as far as comparing my way of doing the build, yours is probably the closest. i will keep an eye out for more pics of your build, and i look forward to showing everyone my own work as i begin to roll on it. thanks for the comment!
 
I would really really really really like to see (if any at all) progress with this build. You have a great idea sir and would like to thoroughly watch you build this. Please supply SOMETHING . Not trying to be a forum Goblin but their has to be something you can show us.


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its all good man i understand, im just in the middle of getting the slow part done. it sucks having to wait on other people for stuff! but anyway, i should have something put together fairly soon and will be taking plenty of pictures along the way. i have posted a few pics of my pep helmet to show everyone that im not completely insane lol. so check those out and feel free to voice your opinions on anything you see!
 
on a side note, does anybody know of anyone who has made an arc reactor prop that is an actual working electro magnet?

Why would you want to do this? That doesn't sound like a great idea in a steel suit, especially with something that will be right over your heart. How would you even power the thing?

WHO | What are electromagnetic fields?

Also, you have properly sized your suit first, to ensure it will fit before committing to all of the trouble to cut it out of steel, right?
 
Why would you want to do this? That doesn't sound like a great idea in a steel suit, especially with something that will be right over your heart. How would you even power the thing?

WHO | What are electromagnetic fields?

Also, you have properly sized your suit first, to ensure it will fit before committing to all of the trouble to cut it out of steel, right?

I would not be putting the electromagnet arc reactor In the suit because of the exact reasons that you just described; unless I put an on/off switch for the magnet. It's just a little something extra that will be fun to tinker with because it will imitate the arc reactor from the movie, which was a magnet itself.

As for the power supply, I will be using 4 rechargeable lithium ion battery cells out of cordless drill batteries that will be wired in series with an attachable plug for charging.

-and yes I will be properly sizing the suit in my pep files to fit my body; which I am building the pepakura suit before I begin to add steel to the mix. Just like my helmet, I am building the steel structure over top the pep model to ensure everything is proportionate and correct. Also by doing that, I will be able to make my own templates out of less pieces to form around the pep model so that there is a few less seems.
 
I am also aware of magnetic fields and how they can be harmful to your body. I have been a welder fabricator since I was 15 and a very close friend/mentor that taught me most of what I know, has A-fib because of the magnetic fields that welders put off. That is why (in case anyone doesn't know this) when using a welder, Always make sure your welding leads are not twisted together; because it acts exactly like a large electro magnet which indeed puts off a magnetic field. And I know first hand that it is true, due to the fact that just by having my pocket knife in my pocket and welding all the time; it has become magnetized enough to pick up my keys by the metal key ring.

........pretty freaky huh? Lol
 
i explained in earlier posts that i am playing the waiting game for the material, but i have also decided to make some changes with the parts to be adapted into a steel helmet. with my changes, i will be able to construct my helmet with less/ larger pieces which is much better from a frabricating standpoint. give me a little time, i know everyone is anxious to see what i come up with but this is steel, not paper. of course i could rush the build and post pictures of a glorified soup can with ironman characteristics, but that aint how i roll. i will get pics up as soon as i can.
 
:popcorn Still eating popcorn....While people wait for picture progress they can read this similar thread: http://www.therpf.com/f9/my-homemade-advacnded-action-suit-57960/

whoaa... dang it, that is exactly what i was going to do..other than my suit being able to fly of course. i actually plan to walk on mars before NASA does. im almost done with my actual arc reactor that i envented to power my flight capabilities as well as my chest and palm repulsers; and EVEN my onboard cappuccino machine. ugh.. i cant believe my suprise is ruined. ill have to break the news to JARVIS in the morning, he is going to be so upset. oh well i guess.

Anyway i better get going, i have to charge the batteries in my teleporter when i get home or i wont be able beat the morning rush at mcdonalds for my breakfast. it was nice talking, and thank you for the input! May the shwarts be with you.
 
Ok folks, finally I'll be working on some stuff tonight in my shop. I picked up some sheet metal today and will be making some parts with some templates I have cut out. As for now, I am going to make the face portion of the helmet to see how the pepakura templates work as far as using steel instead of paperI'll be taking numerous pictures of the process and should have some decent progress to show by tomorrow. Stay tuned.
 
Ok, this is what people want to see... Well, a step in the right direction anyway. I am waiting with interested to see the metal pieces come together.

People here love to see progress shots, and descriptions/tips on what you are doing at each stage. Especially as working with metal is less common here.

Good luck with the build.
 
Ok, this is what people want to see... Well, a step in the right direction anyway. I am waiting with interested to see the metal pieces come together.

People here love to see progress shots, and descriptions/tips on what you are doing at each stage. Especially as working with metal is less common here.

Good luck with the build.

Yessir! I am looking forward to showing everyone my progress as I get more in depth with the build. I know I am being doubted by a good amount of people; which they have every right to. I'm going as fast as I possibly can lol. But thank you for the support and keeping an eye on my project. I just figured out this tap talk app for my phone, so posting pics will be a lot easier now. Anyway, Thanks again and feel free to let me know what you think of my progress!
 
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