I am currently working on a MK VII build that is nearing completion (albeit not as quickly as I would like)! Most of my pieces are sanded and primed and ready for a final sand and the paint job. Before I do these last steps though I'm wondering how others who have done this already assembled their suits.
A few notes about me and my suit:
- I am 6'0" and 225lbs. 36" waist and 44" chest.
- I have used darkside501st's pep files for the majority of the suit except for the boots which I had to do some redesigning. The boots I am using now more closely resemble the Iron Patriot boots.
- Each piece has been scaled to fit the appropriate area as well as accommodate the pieces that will assemble next to it. Scales for darkside's pep files range from 25.5 to 27.
- 90% fiberglass build. The only pieces not fiberglass are the helmet, gloves and fingers, which I am currently 3D printing, and the boot soles which have been cast out of polyurethane rubber in a 3d printed mold I designed.
- I have sewn many 1" nylon webbing straps with plastic buckles attached at set lengths. These will be used to attach to the following areas:
Hopefully this description provides a rough idea of how I plan on wearing it. I have attached some older pictures from early may when I was just completing the fiberglassing stage and started bondo work. I have not yet had the full suit back on the mannequin to take a better picture.
So, my armored brothers and sisters, here are my questions to you!
1) I have tried to balance movie like performance with real life wearability. I've seen a lot of people create a cover from the pep files and just wear that over a regular boot or shoe. I felt that to get the full effect of Iron man, I needed to assemble the boot as shown in dark side's pep file - lifts and all. Has anybody made the full boot? If so, how did you manage the pivot from the toe section to the heel section? Any issues around durability, structural integrity, or wear and tear on the paint job?
2) When connecting the boot to the shin I can't seem to be able to avoid scratching pieces while walking. Very close, but not 100%. The MK VII has 2 plates in between the shin and the boot. I originally intended to attach the top boot plate to the shin, then while walking it would just fall forward and not touch the bottom plate or the boot. This hasn't worked. I have attempted to overcome issue in question number 2 by attaching the top plate to the bottom plate, then when walking the shin just kind of rotates forward while the boot plates stay vertical. This is still a little problematic because the aluminum supports I attached are too thick to make a smooth transition during a step - the aluminum catches the sides of the top plate when my knee is bet. I may need to go back to square one and make these plates taller and narrower. Suggestions?
3) I have not yet connected the thighs and shins to each other. I feel like I am going to run into the problem of this joint not being able to mimic the natural movement of the knee closely enough to function. I have watched the MK VI build on robots.co.uk but I am not thrilled about the idea of the shin and thighs being separated from each other. What have you done to work around this?
4) My original plan for the arms was to have the bicep, elbow, and upper forearm piece all attach at the elbow pivot point. This has worked swimmingly. However, I had also planned to have the lower forearm free rotate around the upper piece so it would turn with my hand. The problem is that I cannot figure out how to attach this to the glove well enough so that when I rotate my wrist, the forearm rotates while maintaining the ability to quickly remove the gloves if I needed to. Has anybody figured this out? Right now I am leaning towards just fiberglassing the lower forearm to the upper forearm from the interior of the two pieces after they are painted, leaving the forearm as one solid piece not capable of rotating.
5) Harnesses. I think my harness is pretty solid, but I would like to see what others have come up with!
I have attached two pictures of my suit which were taken back in early may when I had just finished the fiberglass stage and had begun to apply body filler to a few pieces. Most of the suit is ready for final sanding and painting after I figure all these issues out.
I appreciate all criticism - constructive or otherwise - and look forward to hearing your feedback!
A few notes about me and my suit:
- I am 6'0" and 225lbs. 36" waist and 44" chest.
- I have used darkside501st's pep files for the majority of the suit except for the boots which I had to do some redesigning. The boots I am using now more closely resemble the Iron Patriot boots.
- Each piece has been scaled to fit the appropriate area as well as accommodate the pieces that will assemble next to it. Scales for darkside's pep files range from 25.5 to 27.
- 90% fiberglass build. The only pieces not fiberglass are the helmet, gloves and fingers, which I am currently 3D printing, and the boot soles which have been cast out of polyurethane rubber in a 3d printed mold I designed.
- I have sewn many 1" nylon webbing straps with plastic buckles attached at set lengths. These will be used to attach to the following areas:
- Abs: I have separated the abs into two pieces, left and right. They will be bucked in the front and back. The gaps will be covered by the ab plating and a spinal cord cover. The abs will also attach to the waist piece
- Waist: The front of the cod is attached via velcro (for easy removal for urination!) and the abs will be attached on the left and right sides. The front and back of the waist will have straps leading up to the shoulder/neck harness to keep it pulled up.
- Arms: The arms will be attaching the top of the arm (bicep) to my neck harness going directly over the top side of my shoulder. The arm itself will be pre bolted and donned as a whole sleeve.
- Chest/Back: These pieces will be somewhat independent from the rest of the suit. The back will rest on my shoulders and have straps from the front of the silver area on the shoulder pieces to behind the chest. The underarm areas for these pieces will be locked together with a combination of peg/hole pieces on the edges for alignment and the straps behind them to hold it tight.
- The legs will be stand alone (rimshot) pieces similar to the arms. The thighs will be bolted to a pivot point on the shin at the knee, and the shin will be bolted to the boot at the ankle pivot point. I have also placed aluminum strips on the inside shin, thighs, and boots at all the pivot places to boost structural integrity around the moving areas. I may do this as well on the arms and abs to avoid as much wear on the fiberglass as possible.
Hopefully this description provides a rough idea of how I plan on wearing it. I have attached some older pictures from early may when I was just completing the fiberglassing stage and started bondo work. I have not yet had the full suit back on the mannequin to take a better picture.
So, my armored brothers and sisters, here are my questions to you!
1) I have tried to balance movie like performance with real life wearability. I've seen a lot of people create a cover from the pep files and just wear that over a regular boot or shoe. I felt that to get the full effect of Iron man, I needed to assemble the boot as shown in dark side's pep file - lifts and all. Has anybody made the full boot? If so, how did you manage the pivot from the toe section to the heel section? Any issues around durability, structural integrity, or wear and tear on the paint job?
2) When connecting the boot to the shin I can't seem to be able to avoid scratching pieces while walking. Very close, but not 100%. The MK VII has 2 plates in between the shin and the boot. I originally intended to attach the top boot plate to the shin, then while walking it would just fall forward and not touch the bottom plate or the boot. This hasn't worked. I have attempted to overcome issue in question number 2 by attaching the top plate to the bottom plate, then when walking the shin just kind of rotates forward while the boot plates stay vertical. This is still a little problematic because the aluminum supports I attached are too thick to make a smooth transition during a step - the aluminum catches the sides of the top plate when my knee is bet. I may need to go back to square one and make these plates taller and narrower. Suggestions?
3) I have not yet connected the thighs and shins to each other. I feel like I am going to run into the problem of this joint not being able to mimic the natural movement of the knee closely enough to function. I have watched the MK VI build on robots.co.uk but I am not thrilled about the idea of the shin and thighs being separated from each other. What have you done to work around this?
4) My original plan for the arms was to have the bicep, elbow, and upper forearm piece all attach at the elbow pivot point. This has worked swimmingly. However, I had also planned to have the lower forearm free rotate around the upper piece so it would turn with my hand. The problem is that I cannot figure out how to attach this to the glove well enough so that when I rotate my wrist, the forearm rotates while maintaining the ability to quickly remove the gloves if I needed to. Has anybody figured this out? Right now I am leaning towards just fiberglassing the lower forearm to the upper forearm from the interior of the two pieces after they are painted, leaving the forearm as one solid piece not capable of rotating.
5) Harnesses. I think my harness is pretty solid, but I would like to see what others have come up with!
I have attached two pictures of my suit which were taken back in early may when I had just finished the fiberglass stage and had begun to apply body filler to a few pieces. Most of the suit is ready for final sanding and painting after I figure all these issues out.
I appreciate all criticism - constructive or otherwise - and look forward to hearing your feedback!
