has anyone attempted a life size x-men sentinel suit?

A

anubis online

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i dont think anyone has ever attempted a life size sentinel. the giant killer robots that fight marvel comics x-men so often.

i want to see the reaction people would have to such a sight. while i test out various designs, i think i will test out my skills on a mere head of a sentinel. so if i decide to cease my project, at least ill still have a head that other people can pose around at dragoncon as if they "destroyed" a sentinel. a head would be about 4 feet tall.

the generation one bots that are used in the 90's era x-men cartoon vary in size, but some comics that are more realistic from 2005 show the generation one sentinel to be 20 feet tall. i think i have to give up on arm movement, but side to side head movement should be possible with a built in pully system. the head would be set looking down a bit. my feet (im 6 foot tall, and built well) would be strapped into the middle of the upper legs, or mayhap the top of the knees. i will need a torque/pully system to hold up parts. this will be more like a giant-walking-parade balloon.



and even if people steal my idea....that would just be more awesome. imagine......4-6 20 foot tall sentinels walking down dragoncon's parade. lol.


i had wanted to be able to pick up people with the hands, and sort of give people a ride, but while i can figure out a pully system to move fingers and the thumb, i don't think it will be easy to hold the person up, even with a light wood frame over foamboard, with plastic over that. i could rig a pully system to a wood peg and shove the peg in to hold up a person, but i think i should start out small.


any suggestions as to what wood is light and strong? perhaps a metal pipe frame?
 
looks more and more possible. the generation one has lots of gaps. its does not have near perfect seams like iron man, or ultron. so that makes it easier.

i have found some examples of past giant robot work. but i'd still be the first interactive giant robot costume.

a life size gundam. it head moves, lights can turn on, and smoke comes out it's jet pack. it cant walk. or fly (duh). still, 18 meters......wow.

Real Gundam - In Odaiba Tokyo - 18m 1/1 scale

some people tried to build a battlemech. it moves its arms and has a real flamethrower..... but still cant walk.

mech walk - YouTube


a armored core chrome hound. which can walk....er shuffle. no it cant. it can wiggle i'd say. it would never be able to keep pace in a parade. also, it's gas motor would stink up indoor areas.

Real Armored Core ChromeHound - YouTube



ill plan out the basics head to toe. set a budget, and buy the material for the head only, to see how it goes. ill need to make a special bottom for the head i think, for when it is removed from the body parts. else as a prop it wont have the full impact..... like dangling wires/cables etc.
 
it is big. but only about 12-13 1/2 feet tall. it needs to be 20 feet tall. the girl bending over a bit is probably 5' 6", were she to stand up straight. you can figure the size from that. And it looks like it cannot walk either. certainly not in a parade. still, not bad for nothing to consider beforehand. thanks for finding the extra pics.


im going to have to have a huge wooden pully puppet that is good at movement on the legs, and can support a little weight. then drape over rubber portions painted dull silver. then lock on foam board backed plastic plates over that (painted light and dark purple, with a car wax buffed shine). my feet will be just above the knee. which will bend. it will take both my legs and arms to move the legs. once standing still, i will dare to allow myself to use the levers to move the head back and forth.

the arms will do nothing but sway naturally. i suppose ill make them so they can be posed, like the hand and elbow joints for it to kneel. or have it look like it is grabbing someone.

giant robot at 22 feet all, not done: (pause at 32 seconds in to get the full effect)

Life-size Optimus Prime - YouTube

this robot is 10 feet tall, using the same "tech/style" as the person who made the sentinel. a very good looking 10 foot tall one. but still at 10 feet, he cant really walk.

Transformers Optimus Prime Costume "Transforming Into Prime" - YouTube


20 feet tall is about as tall as a two story house. the head needs to be 3 feet tall on mine, and 1/4 foot wont show as it sinks into the lip of the torso. ill get some time over the next few days to build a head. i dont need to wait for a wooden skeleton to hold it up to make that much.
 
oh it must be 15 feet tall, that girl must be like 5' 11" then. i think the 10 foot tall bot in the u tube video i posted is the same one in those pics. and it states that it fell apart in 15 minutes.... ouch. wood frame is a lock. foamboard has it limits i guess. it also states from a witness that it could only move its head. so it was more of a statue.

still, the 501 stormtroopers started out with like 5 people. now they march in formation in dozens, if not over a hundred at dragoncon. imagine if a sentinel group formed, lol.

for me, it needs 2 things. it needs to look real, and it needs to be able to walk well. cant have it fall over at 20 feet tall, even if im only 6 feet up in it. i need it to walk so well that if someone falls into me, i still wont fall over. not impossible, just a pain to suffer before getting to making the shell. you know that awesome feeling of watching something taking shape. ill have to delay that awesome feeling for safety reasons till later.
 
25 feet all robot statues? so 5 feet taller than my target. :

http://images.travelpod.com/users/lvdesignz/2.1244779200.robot-shop.jpg


here's a toy maker working on the same exact version that i plan to, but as a toy- 5 feet tall. :

The Toy Collector: 5 feet tall X Men Sentinel Part 2


that last link helped alot, since the offical toy lines are altered so much to make all the limbs move. now i need to find some more examples of exo-skeletal walking. mine is okay, but the only other reference ive found so far is for stilts. if this costume did not have such a wide foot pattern, id have given up by now.
 
so far, with what ive come up with, the undercarriage would cost close to 5000 dollars. so this project is on hold. i will do the full size head for it though. i cannot find a easier way of getting the legs to work.

in order for the sentinel to be 20 feet tall, and have the same body outline as the comic version, the lowest i can put my feet is fully above the knee. at that point it needs alot of safeguards. there is a reason why none of these mechs walk, and why even that 13 foot tall sentinel, which is really a statue, is tapered smaller as it rises up.

Since i was desperate, i turned to every avenue, including the far fetched. i even looked up huge versions of animatronics, going full seat in torso mecha-style, but robot legs with the computer to keep track of balance costs like 90,000.


i did find huge costumes worn by one person. which had elevated height built in. but often they are simple. like this one:

Walking Dinosaurs Allosaurus2

edit: better, larger example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp2KkGLTOLQ


perhaps a 11-13 foot sentinel could be possible and well done. i dont want to do it unless the end product has a chance of looking like it walked off a movie set. i have to wonder if it would still have a serious impact on people at that height. it's more like a ...half-size sentinel.


ill keep this project in the back of my mind so if anything comes up, ill note it for future use. cause me wants darn it.......
 
looking into robotics as a long term solution, and perhaps a werehouse storage place that charges by the year/monthly.

found a parade that had a 40 foot tall robotic elephant that has a house on it's back. it can lift cars with it's nose. however, it has like 8 operators. hmmmmmm...... its from 2006, weve come a long way..... if i save for 3 years...... hmm......


The Sultan's Elephant - YouTube


i need to keep my goal to just getting it to walk safely. i must resist the urge to have the arms and hands work.
 
okay, if i increase my budget, and take a few years to do this, i might get what i want. the tech i want is also rapidly dropping in price too.


i found close to what i want..... its like a robot chair with legs...... given different dimentions, i could just wrpa a wood frame around,then drape and pin the hard parts to the outside. lots of prices all over the place,and all the data and marketing for all these different robots are outdated by HALF A DECADE. all good news for me.

Hubo FX-1 Walking Robot. - YouTube
 
5374578221_bbde16d1be_z.jpg


I built a human sized Sentinel helmet a while back.
 
and that is awesome. with so little reference material, every picture that is not a comic book piccy helps. its good to see how people solved the problem at hand in 3-D.
 
I have built many Giant Robots before...I do not want to burst your bubble, but at 10' it becomes almost insane for the weight/levarage problems. Your distance from hip to knee will not change, thus you will not be able to walk if you do not keep that part functioning. With stilts below the knee( 3'?) and building above your head, you might be able to get 10-11 feet..but at a parade pace....think 1000' would be a major chore.
I hope you can overcome these challenges, good luck
 
i need the legs to carry speakers so i can say things like "mutant detected" and have the crowd hear me bumblebeerecycd. and using only foamboard above, and heavier things below is what i use to offset weight. not that i wont have 105 lbs on top of me. but since ive gone far with the wood frame, and found a few ways to walk safely, it can now hold up allof the weight. the legs would be 6' at the knee.

every time i look into a 12 foot version, which due to asking 15 people what would they find the minimum height, and still find it impressive/amazing, i find that a 12 foot tall version is in some ways harder. so,i might as well go for the whole kit-and-kaboodle, so to speak.

i plan on using games-workshop plastic. stuff costs me 10 dollars for about a 5 inch by 6 inch pounded flat peice. it wont melt as easily as the plastic some here boil and apply. it is expensive, but durable, and quality. and lightweight. ill use it to round things out and sand down. with a power sander. some auto paint, and a wax job with the same tool used for sanding refit for buffing.

the pace wont be hard to deal with in a wood frame ( wood, pipes, clips, glue, pully wheels, etc) that for supplies alone will cost me just shy 5000 us dollars. the darn outer frame, the shell ("candy" coated shell, lol) will cost me not even half that. i could make one heck of a statue for myself cheap though, lol. it would make for a very uncomforable couch.

edit: just in case one thinks it is impossible to hold up massive items, look here, where there is nothing covered- no smoke or mirrors........

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vittoriogiorgi/5054438531/
 
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i've heard there is some cable show that attempts to prove things possible or not. would this task be legendary enough for them? what is the name of that show i keep hearing about?
 
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