First time making an armored character, need some guidance

[Bizarro Lois]

I was toying with the idea of working on the First Appearance version of Iron Man - the big clunky one from the 60s. I'm sure I can sculpt the head and have someone vac-form it or something. I might be able to modify existing boots. I'm mostly worried about the torso and gloves at the moment. Would it work to make the main torso out of something like WonderFlex, basically shaping a large sheet or two into a cylinder and sealing it? Or would I be better off with harder pieces, like fiberglass? I don't think this costume is nearly as complex as some of the more modern versions of Iron Man. Below is a picture of what I mean. I can get some better ones from a book later on, including more views. If anyone else has done this armor, please chime in.

 

[Dark asylum]

I was toying with the idea of working on the First Appearance version of Iron Man - the big clunky one from the 60s. I'm sure I can sculpt the head and have someone vac-form it or something. I might be able to modify existing boots. I'm mostly worried about the torso and gloves at the moment. Would it work to make the main torso out of something like WonderFlex, basically shaping a large sheet or two into a cylinder and sealing it? Or would I be better off with harder pieces, like fiberglass? I don't think this costume is nearly as complex as some of the more modern versions of Iron Man. Below is a picture of what I mean. I can get some better ones from a book later on, including more views. If anyone else has done this armor, please chime in.

I think wonderflex is going to cost a bit much on the larger scale and you can't get it in very large sheets I think ABS is a better material and you can get it in 8x4 foot sheets at a decent rate and it's easy enough the bend shape heat and reshape or sculpt and you can find ABS piping cement for bounding the plastic in most plumbing sections same as ABS pipes be stronger and more cost effective in the long run when working with Armor type costumes.

 

[Maelstrom]

Sintra. The wonder plastic to beat most plastics. You can bond it strongly using GOOP glue (best glue ever IMHO). Just have to be careful heating it. Do it outside and wear a mask the fumes are toxic.

I've bought 4x8 sheets from Sign shops for $40. There's a polymer place in the next town over that will sell it for $25 per sheet, but you have to buy at least 3 sheets. Just never need that much at one time.

 

[Hamsterstyle]

I would just make a flexable ab area. Add a little detail to the joins so that they are more flexable.

I've only done a tiny amount of 'armor' work, but here are a few things that I do that might be helpful.

Template out what you are going to make out of cardstock paper. Get a hole punch and some paper fasteners to fake 'rivet' them together. Or use a bit of scotch tape. Make a template for whatever you are going to build.

The easiest stuff to use to build armor like this is going to either be styrene or sintra/pvcfoam, both are mostly inexpensive. Just buy a heat gun and use that to soften them into curves. Then you can either rivet or glue things together.

Those are just a couple thoughts. I personally hate fiberglass/resin due to how very toxic the stuff is, and the fact that since I have a normal 10-6 work week in a gloomy climate, I rarely have more than 1 weekend day of sunlight a week. Which makes fiberglassing quite hard to manange. Plus your neighbors will HATE you if fiberglass/resin in your backyard. Stuff stinks to high heaven.

For the gloves, go look online for some midevil gauntlet patterns and use one of those. Because that is basically what he has going on there.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

I'll throw out another material: HIPS. high impact polystyrene. I think of it as sort of a middle point between sintra and abs. I find HIPS easier to work with than ABS, but more forgiving of overheating / bending than Sintra. When I've tried heat forming Sintra, I've sometimes ended up cooking it to where the outer skin sort of peels and separates, exposing the foamy core.

HIPS is pretty cheap... I think I pay around $50 for a 4x8 sheet of 1/8 thick, and quite a bit less for thinner stuff.

I think that this suit is a great candidate for hand forming like that, since it was sort of a rough made thing in the first place

 

[clonesix]

Check out this thread: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=84554 and scroll down. There are some pics of construction with foam.

 

[Bizarro Lois]

I thought of something else that could be an important factor. For those of you who do a lot of armor costuming, do you make the lower abdomen pieces easy to take off/apart for when you need to use the facilities? I know it's slightly easier for guys, but I want to have an idea how easy it might be it Nature calls.

 

[Hamsterstyle]

I thought of something else that could be an important factor. For those of you who do a lot of armor costuming, do you make the lower abdomen pieces easy to take off/apart for when you need to use the facilities? I know it's slightly easier for guys, but I want to have an idea how easy it might be it Nature calls.

I think it is something that new people forget to do once, then take 'that' into consideration for every new costume that they make. There are many aspects that are a part of comfort.

Someone should start a thread on here talking about how to take care of, "issues" like that.

 

[Knowone251]

Something you might want to look in to is "pickle barrel" armor on SCA web sites. Pickle barrels are those big plastic one(that are usually blue) people tend to use for yard scrap ect. Google blue barrel and tons of pics show up. The SCA uses these all the time for hard suit armor, mainly because its already curved, and seeing as how the old school iron man is a pretty basic shape this might work out well.

 

[Bizarro Lois]

My husband had a similar idea. He told me to use a trash can. I think I like the pickle barrel better

 

[TMP]

join us at the ironman buildersboard www.siwdat.com
Nice project.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

I have absolutely no "facilities using" capability while in armor. I just don't go until I'm done in costume.

 

[jackdoud]

I just don't go until I'm done in costume.

^THIS^

You just won't be in the armor long enough that you'll need to use the bathroom. If you are then having to go wil be the least of your worries as you'll also be sore, tired, sweaty and possibly bleeding after wearing it for so long. If there's one thing pop culture has failed people on it is accurately showing just how little people actually wore armor and how quickly they took it off after its use.

 

[Harmonic_Distortion]

Here's another RPF thread with some GREAT armor work:
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=85129

The material is minicell foam which can be heat formed..bends...AND can be painted and sealed.

This is a costume Ive never seen done and think would make a GREAT one!!

EDIT: Opps its the same foam stuff Pardon.

 

[franz bolo]

I was toying with the idea of working on the First Appearance version of Iron Man - the big clunky one from the 60s.

Check out the mini figures at Target. They made this character and seeing it in 3D might help you figure things out.

FB

 

[Bizarro Lois]

Check out the mini figures at Target. They made this character and seeing it in 3D might help you figure things out.
FB

I was actually just checking those out today. I was also looking at the one released with the Marvel Legends line on eBay. If I can get the 6" version for a good price, I'm going to get that as reference, as we already have a pretty good collection of that size figures. As nice as the little ones are, we've decided not to start buying them. Another thing I can't believe I noticed about them, is that the mini figure doesn't have the electrical sockets that were in the comic art. There are two small circles on the torso in the right place, but they only look like circles. The figure is not so small that this detail would have been impossible. I'm not ranting, nor does it make me like the figure any less. I'm just suprised at how much more into those little details I've become since starting to customize action figures and make costumes.

 

[Bizarro Lois]

^THIS^

You just won't be in the armor long enough that you'll need to use the bathroom. If you are then having to go wil be the least of your worries as you'll also be sore, tired, sweaty and possibly bleeding after wearing it for so long. If there's one thing pop culture has failed people on it is accurately showing just how little people actually wore armor and how quickly they took it off after its use.

Bleeding? :eek How long do costumers usually wear their armor? I never really thought about that before. I often see the 501st at events, and I always assumed that the Stormtroopers pretty much stayed in character for the entire thing. In Pittsburgh, I saw some great Spartans from Halo, and it looked like they were on the show floor from morning til at least 2(or whenever the costume contest was over).
What do you normally wear under armored costumes, by the way? I'm assuming you want your arms and legs covered to avoid any chafing, but it should also be light so you don't just pass out on the show floor.

 

[RPGnerd]

I think thin T6 Aluminum would look best and be easy to work with. People in the SCA make armor from it all the time as it's a material anyone can work and produce the look you want.

 

[TMP]

I got all the close up details of the MK2 photos added in the siwdat forum.
I spent over an hour alone with the piece and took allot of photos.

 

[jackdoud]

Bleeding? :eek How long do costumers usually wear their armor? I never really thought about that before. I often see the 501st at events, and I always assumed that the Stormtroopers pretty much stayed in character for the entire thing.

Yeah, most stormtroopers can wear their armor for extended periods, I've worn mine for about 7-8 hours at a time. It really depends on how well you make it fit though. Any 501st guy can give you stories about "armor kisses" where the parts will pinch at the joints. At best you'll just have a sore spot, at worst...:cry. Stormtrooper armor is also vairly well ventilated as armor goes, usually just a light bodysuit is worn underneath it.