First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique? + the start of my Iron Man build.

[Weekend Warrior]

Ok everyone, I stumbled across this forum during a google search for I don't remember what and have since found myself completely amazed and inspired by all of the incredible work you post!

I have spent some time learning about prop / costume building and would like to give a big shout out to just about everyone on this forum for all of the inspiration and especially to Stealth for his series of you tube vids that make everything so much easier to comprehend!

I decided to try my hand at pepakura since the materials involved were more familiar to me than anything else I had seen (Paper seems straightforward enough and I have some experience with auto body work...) I needed to find a pep that I would want to display on my wall. It needed to be challenging and have both smooth curves and hard edges to be able to gain some experience with the process to see if I could make it work for my eventual dream project later...

I found a file for a Predator Bio by someone named bollomonkey and decided to give it a go.

Printed out the pages:

Started cutting and gluing:

and soon had a paper mask!

Added resin and fiberglass:

...and then started in with the filler:

and sanding:

and more filling:

and more sanding:

Finally ready for primer:

Then a coat of flat black paint:

Some "dry brushed" silver:

...and then a little weathering:

Got me to this (nearly) finished product:

Total build time was just over 2 weeks, still have "lasers" and some accessories to add for the hoses etc, but I'm pretty happy with everything overall.

Here is a link to the full gallery with higher resolution copies of the photos above as well as a few others not posted here. https://plus.google.com/photos/112381312962467075509/albums/5806672966572691409

I think I did ok for a first time build, feeling very confident to start on my "real" project now... :love

 

[Alpha Proto]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I am no expert, but I think you did great.
From start to finish I think everthing went the way it was planned. Nice work.

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I am no expert, but I think you did great.
From start to finish I think everthing went the way it was planned. Nice work.

Thank you!

 

[CaptainJudgment]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Dude, for your first build ever? Even if it wasn't, the Predator would be proud to have that helmet resting on his one ugly mother ****** face!! A fantastic build!

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Dude, for your first build ever? Even if it wasn't, the Predator would be proud to have that helmet resting on his one ugly mother ****** face!! A fantastic build!

Lol, thanks.

I do have a bit of an artistic side, but yes, this is the first "prop" I've ever put together, and the very first time I've tried pepakura at all.

I appreciate the kind words, you guys are encouraging me to start the project I had in mind when I found all of this but was afraid to due to the... ambitious nature of it.

 

[crabra comander]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

First prop...I'm jealous dude, every time I put hands on anything with resin or fiberglass it looks ROUGH...

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

First prop...I'm jealous dude, every time I put hands on anything with resin or fiberglass it looks ROUGH...

Thank you.

The secret in my opinion is to start with the most detailed pep you can so that the filler can be applied in thin layers just to smooth out the ridges. You should have 80-90% of the finished shape just in the paper. Also, work the filler in small areas and stop just short of any edges or detail lines, do those last and focus on smoothing the larger areas between them first. I've seen too many examples of people covering a detailed pep in a heavy later of filler just to sand back down to the paper and hand sculpt all of the detail they already had...:rolleyes

Less is more with fillers, and practice really does help.

 

[EyeofSauron]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Thank you.

The secret in my opinion is to start with the most detailed pep you can so that the filler can be applied in thin layers just to smooth out the ridges. You should have 80-90% of the finished shape just in the paper. Also, work the filler in small areas and stop just short of any edges or detail lines, do those last and focus on smoothing the larger areas between them first. I've seen too many examples of people covering a detailed pep in a heavy later of filler just to sand back down to the paper and hand sculpt all of the detail they already had...:rolleyes

Less is more with fillers, and practice really does help.

well it appears the difference for you is that you did the research of how to do it right the problem with most first time builds they just start head over heels, and afterwards are unhappy because its lots of work sanding all that excess down.

im working on a bio too, allbeit the wolf predator bio, but yours looks very amazing!
mesh for the eyes and the laz0rs and its perfect especially for a first time build!

 

[made007]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Looks really nice, i have the same one, i was working on it but lost interest because it was too small to fit my mask, so its unfinished, it was one of my firsts pep so i just pronted it forgot to scale it right

 

[STEALTH]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

wow, amazing bio. I always loved that version of it.
That's the P1 right?

I'm actually watching the first movie. It's playing in the backround on my computer as I look at this

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

well it appears the difference for you is that you did the research of how to do it right the problem with most first time builds they just start head over heels, and afterwards are unhappy because its lots of work sanding all that excess down.

im working on a bio too, allbeit the wolf predator bio, but yours looks very amazing!
mesh for the eyes and the laz0rs and its perfect especially for a first time build!

Thank you very much, and yeah, I spent a good amount of time lurking before I really dug into anything.

Looks really nice, i have the same one, i was working on it but lost interest because it was too small to fit my mask, so its unfinished, it was one of my firsts pep so i just pronted it forgot to scale it right

Yeah, scaling can be a real PITA, I was lucky with this because it was always just intended for display but I could imagine it would be discouraging to get far enough to find out it didn't fit and you had to start over. I love the full Predator builds I've seen with this mask over the latex / silicone monster. Don't give up, take some measurements from the one you made to figure out the right scale and build that thing!

wow, amazing bio. I always loved that version of it.
That's the P1 right?

I'm actually watching the first movie. It's playing in the backround on my computer as I look at this

WOW, a reply from Stealth himself! I'm actually a bit starstruck, lol. Seriously though, your youtube channels have been extremely helpful man, the way you break down the process and make it straightforward enough to understand is awesome. Thank you for that!

And thank you for the compliment! Yes it is the P1, not completely screen accurate - there are a couple of contours on this pep that are not in the film - but honestly I like them and left them on. Besides, I wasn't going for 100% on this one, just wanted to give pep and fiberglass a try, now that I have the experience I don't think I'd have any trouble modding future projects to my liking.

 

[aliensfx]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Looks outstanding! Your finish work really gives it the right look. Are you doing a full suit or just bio/ mask ?

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Looks outstanding! Your finish work really gives it the right look. Are you doing a full suit or just bio/ mask ?

Thank you!
I will just be doing the mask, Will probably add the dreds and some accesories, but this is destined for wall mounting. I don't quite have the build to pull off a proper Predator costume - I'm 5'8" and fairly lean - actually a cyclist and built like one...


Which brings me to the REAL reason I joined this forum:

I know, I know there are a thousand billion builds already, but when I saw a couple examples of Iron Man armor on this site I was absolutely HOOKED. I plan to do a pepakura and fiberglass build of either a MK III using mostly the DancinFool files or a MK IV using Robo's. I am absolutely interested in accuracy and intend to wear as well as display the finished version. It will probably take a year or so to complete, but worth it!

Which brings me to the question; I think physically I have a bit of an advantage as I will be able to proportion the suit closer to the screen version and still fit into the thing. Generally I like the more aggressive look of the MK IV and am using Fingaz' build as the inspiration and benchmark. http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-mk4-wip-fingaz-knight-con-114270/

(good job on that by the way mate!)

BUT, I think the proportions of the MK III are much closer to my build and I may be able to pull it off a little better. Inspiration here comes from Maulfett: http://www.therpf.com/f24/iron-man-costume-puerto-rico-100-complete-84004/

(seriously man?! holy crap you did awesome on that!)

The one thing that bugs me about the MK IV is the friggin legs. :angry
Take a look at this photo of the hot toys models side by side,

(I know, it's a MK VI - but they are the same legs) See how narrow the knees are on the MK IV (VI), and how disproportionately long the legs are? Robo addressed this in his build thread, He had to widen the knees and enlarge the calves even more to try to get the right look. There was a lot of CGI involved in the movie shots showing the legs - the toy looks right, but no human has those proportions. The costumes I've seen built of the MK IV always look just a touch off to me and I think if I made the thing skinny enough to fit me I would be disappointed with big dis-proportioned clunky legs.

... but damn Fingaz you did a great job on that!

I'm leaning towards the MK III, but would like any thoughts you may have. :confused

 

[Snow Builder]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Beautiful work. Great first project and look forward seeing your IM build.

 

[STEALTH]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I wouldn't follow the toys as a reference point, The proportions are really exaggerated, just make it work for YOUR body. Those are the proportions you want.

I'm telling you, stay away from CGI and toy references.

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I wouldn't follow the toys as a reference point, The proportions are really exaggerated, just make it work for YOUR body. Those are the proportions you want.

I'm telling you, stay away from CGI and toy references.

No worries there, I'm staying far away from using them as modeling references.

However, they do look "right" and overall I think my body fits with the look of the MK III a heck of a lot more than the MK IV. I love the IV armor, but I don't think I would love how the finished product would look proportioned to ME. that's all. Will probably go with the MK III for exactly that reason.

Thanks again for the input and keep it coming please!

 

[STEALTH]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I actually don't like the proportions of those toys at all.
They don't look like a human could fit inside there.
I rather look at replica costumes that people create here.
It's more appealing to me and what I feel is accurate and how it should look.

especially the examples you've shown of member's builds.

 

[Weekend Warrior]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

I like the builds better myself too.

How about the real deal?

Again with the legs - shorten them down and widen the knee and it just doesn't look right to me. The suit looks awesome, but I just don't think I'd get the same effect scaled to my proportions. The build Fingas did was the closest I have been able to find, but I'm a lot smaller than the guy that was wearing it and I'm feeling more and more like the MK III is the way to go for me.

It is still a beautiful suit, and there's something to be said for it being the original... :thumbsup

 

[tumbucu1]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

you did an outstanding job on your pred bio verry cool . i did my first set the paper and fiber glass way but i had a hard time moving around and bending so most of my pics are me standing with arm out like im firing repulsor lol so now that armor is for display now i made another set i did it in foam just so i could have more movement are you thinking of foam or fiber glass armor and good luck with your iron man armor

 

[STEALTH]

Re: First ever build: Predator Bio. Critique?

Yeah, get as many "real deal" Hero suit reference pics you can find. He did actually fully wear the Mark II and III. Not sure if he moved very far in them but he did wear them.