Fear Itself/Asgardian Iron Man WIP

[aenderw]

So, this is my second Iron Man build and second costume ever. I have soldering experience and the very little experience with foam/Pep I gained during my first build completed for HeroesCon 2 weeks ago. For reference, this is what I'm going for:

For the helmet, I'm using DocHoliday's method of Mod Podge Acrylic Spray/Rondo. My first time using either, but the foam aspect I'm comfortable with, so I know I can churn those out easily if I muck one up. This is my first helmet from two weeks ago and the new one covered in Mod Podge:

From here, I am still considering the easiest method to make this armor. As there are very few details apart from the spikes, I think the "trash can" build might be the way to go. To start, it's already black and somewhat shiny, so the paint job wouldn't be too difficult.

The lights on the build will be EL wire/sheets, though a bit less bright than pure LEDs, I feel it will be easy to illuminate the creases of the suit. So, orange EL wire for the creases, sheet for the eyes, and maybe wire wrapped with copper wire for the reactor (still up in the air on this one.)

The hinge system is still a big question mark, as I'm not sure what I want to do with it. As for the helmet itself, I went the traditional route. I like the regular shape of his helmet, but will do a black/gunmetal paint with the orange EL wire.

That's all I've got for now. I plan to Rondo this thing on Saturday. Any tips/tricks from you guys would be appreciated. Thanks!

The helmet is Sharkmark's, by the way.

 

[G33k]

Be careful putting el tech on any joints. It flexes well for a while, but eventually it shorts out and you loose the effect. Have you considered recessed led strip lights? Pehaps shining onto reflective tape?

 

[aenderw]

I actually haven't read anything about that yet. I chose the EL for ease of use, but I'll look into that. I was worried about the EL losing its glow over time, especially when it got to the fingers and tighter bends of the suit.

 

[G33k]

El wire works by encasing one wire in an electroluminesant (spelling wrong I'm sure) powder, which is coiled with a second, finer wire. When a current runs through the wires, it passes through the powder, makng it glow. When you repeatedly bend the wire at any point, the powder gets pushed away from the bend, and the two wires touch, shorting out the line from that point foreward on the wire

I found all this out doing my green lantern. There're some pics on one of my threads.

If you mount the wire on fixed, rigid elements, and not joints, you could still do it...

 

[aenderw]

Sorry for the delay, the holiday has kept me away... There will be rigid edges on each of the areas that EL wire was to be mounted, but still somewhat worried as to the life of the wire after I bother mounting it. I'll be finishing up the helmet in the next day or so, after that, I'll start exploring lighting options.