Iron Man Mark 42 - Halloween 2013

[Kaver84]

Halloweens coming up so I decided to start working on my costume. This year I'm making the Mark 42 armor. I'm hoping that creating a thread will give me the motivation to finish in time. I'm going with cardboard and resin/bondo for this one. I made a foam mark IV last year and It was awesome, but I want a little more detail this time. I'll post pics of progress as they come. Big thanks to Gimpee for the helmet files, Helegak, JackiesRockin, Darkside 501, and Giatron for the rest of the suit files, and James Burton (Xrobots.co.uk) for the 3d printed arc reactor tutorial. If I missed anyone I apologize, as I appreciate all the work that you guys do.

 

[ironmaided]

lookin' forward for you mk42 build :thumbsup

 

[Kaver84]

Here are some pics of the helmet:

 

[Kaver84]

Here are some pics of my arc reactor as well. I 3D printed this on my PrinterBot LC. I watched a youtube video from James Burton (Xrobots.co.uk) and modeled the parts using his design as a reference. Turned out pretty good. I am going to 3D print a socket in the chest that this will twist and lock into.

 

[John Adrian]

Looking great o believe you will finish this suit before Halloween and impress everyone in your town

 

[Kaver84]

Finished the left forearm, bicep, and shoulder. Things are going pretty well. Still lots of work to go. I'm going to get all of the pieces done before I fiberglass/resin so I only make a mess once.

 

[ironmaided]

great job on this :thumbsup

 

[dimensionalbat]

looking forward to seeing the end product.....Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

[Kaver84]

Got a lot done this weekend. Chest, both forearms, both biceps, both shoulders

 

[Kaver84]

Abs and Cod


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Back


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Boot

 

[Kaver84]

Sorry about the photos not showing a thumbnail in the post and then being sideways when you click the .jpg. Not sure why whats happening. The files on my computer look right, and the first few images showed up ok. Now i cant get them to come in right. If anyone knows how to fix that I'd be happy to repost the pics.

 

[EndGame94]

Superb work! Keep going.

 

[Kaver84]

I've been working on the armor off and on while juggling work and other stuff. I'm making good progress but have a ways to go. I have all of the parts created. I've tried everything on ensure a proper fit and more importantly to make sure the suit looks proportional. So far so good. The weather turned crappy so that's slowing down my progress as well. I finished all the fiberglass, it was a pain because its 40 degrees and the fiberglass took awhile to dry. The next step is filling/sanding. Cutting and articulating the abs, painting, 3D printing the hands, and finalizing the electronics. Sounds like a lot but i think i can get it done by the end of the month.

 

[Briciius]

that is unbelievable !!!

Awesome work man or like i love to say : OMG u_u

 

[ironmaided]

wow. . .just wow. . .i really like the attention you put on the ab details and also the biceps :thumbsup nice to see a proportioned suit made of cardboard lookin' forward for more

 

[thedragon1]

This is AWESOME! I've done foam builds Mark6 and Master Chief) but I am finally going to attempt on doing a cardboard build. Is there any suggestions or tips that you can give me? I'd really appreciate it. THX

 

[Kaver84]

I've finally found some time to update my post. Took forever but i guess better late than never. My goal was to have my mark 42 finished for halloween and it just so happens that i got really busy with work during the time i thought i could focus on the suit. I had to cut a few corners to make it work but I did get it completed. I didnt have time to bondo and sand so I tried to cover it up with a battle damage paint job. Looks ok but i was hoping to put more time into it. Next year i guess!

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I'd like to add that all suits from here on out will be foam. The fiberglass was really uncomfortable to wear out and about. The joints pinched and mobility wasn't nearly as easy as with foam. A good paint job on a foam suit is really the way to go in my opinion if you want to actually wear it out. Fiberglass is great if you want a display in the basement!

 

[Kaver84]

Here are some pics of the suit. Not completely finished in these but i dont have any good ones of it finished on my computer. I should add that I did win a few contests again this year. That pays for the materials and then some!

 

[Kaver84]

This suit was my first cardboard build and I must say that i learned a lot from it. Here a a few of the items that I learned the hard way. First off when scaling the suit make sure you leave yourself some room in the joints for movement. I scaled my arms and legs to basically butt up together so the suit didn't have any gaps in it. This made moving difficult and pinched like crazy. Looked great standing still but wasn't fun to wear. Fiberglass the crap out of it. I put one layer of glass cloth on the inside and resined the outside, it was strong, but after being out one night it really showed some damage. A coat of bondo would have helped this but really the corrugation in the cardboard is where the issue was because you cant really get the resin in there. Sand the crap out of the inside to eliminate little sharp edges that cut like crazy. I sanded mine and thought it was good but it wasn't enough! Reinforce the joints with washers. I put washers on the joints while fiberglassing. Not only does it make it stronger, but it also makes the joint move smoother because of the flat surfaces that butt together. Lastly for the cod and abs it helps to make the pieces fit snugly and then cut them in half and join them back together with elastic. This makes them easier to get on and off, and allows you to make them fit properly (cause you can pull them over you butt but still make them fit your torso!). I also cut the ab sections apart and joined them with elastic so they allowed some movement, worked pretty well. Without that i couldn't even bend over to but the legs and boots on. Hope that helps! If you have any more questions, or need some more details on any of the suggestions please let me know.