Hi Everyone,
Long time lurker and would like to share some of my recent work as well as try to contribute back by posting a quick tutorial and answering any questions.
Last year, I started a foam Mark VI suit which, unfortunately, was not finished in time for Halloween 2013. While scraping together a last minute Tony Stark costume as a substitute, I came up with an easy technique to overlay aluminum onto foam and decided to start prototyping a more complete build. This year, rather than making a full suit using this technique, I decided to focus just on making a fully functional arm.
Here is a video and some pics of the final result:
Finished Product
Easy display stand using a paper towel holder
Some specs on the arm:
- The forearm and glove are two completely independent systems that can be coupled together as one
- Both are controlled by separate Arduino nano boards
- The forearm uses 2 servos to open/close the missile pod and a 3rd servo to extend/retract the missile/laser
- The electronics for the forearm are housed in a separate module that I have on a strap attached to my shoulder -- there just wasn't enough room for everything in the forearm.
- Activation of the missile pod is done via a small pushbutton switch on my thumb
- The glove uses a magnetic reed switch on the wrist to activate the repulsor
- The majority of the electronics for the glove are housed under the hand plate.
- The handplate magnetically attaches to the top of the hand which turns on the glove on contact.
Specs on the Arc Reactor:
- Self-contained and runs on 3 AAA batteries
- Magnetic mount system
- Adjustable brightness control
- All external components mechanically attached (I had too many issues with adhesives in the past) -- This model was originally intended to take a beating but I'll post more on that separately later ;-).
Credits:
@Honus - Thank you for posting all your automation work. It was incredibly inspirational and helpful (e.g. extend/retract missile, etc).
@STEALTH - The Hero tutorials and Mark 6 files you originally posted got me started with Pep work
@JFcustom - Your foam building tips and tricks have helped me tremendously
@darkside501st -- Thank you for the Mark VII Pep files for this project
@undertaker -- Your motorized faceplate videos gave me the knowledge needed behind some of the mechanics (e.g. using two servos to open/close the hatch).
@7sinzz and @xl97 -- your posts in the motorized faceplate thread helped a lot with some of the circuit design and code that went into this.
-- Foam/Aluminum Hybrid Tutorial ---
This technique is a simple way to give an authentic metal look to your foam work. It eliminates the need to go through the tedious sealing process before painting (minus the edges) if you choose to paint (personally, I think the Mark 2 look of the raw metal looks great). Any wear and tear on your paint will reveal metal underneath instead of cracked paint lines in the foam.
Materials needed:
Typical foam pep materials -- pep software, foam, exacto knife, cardstock, etc.
Aluminum duct flashing -- any sheet metal will work but I specifically chose this stuff at Home depot because it was cheap, easily accessible, and thin enough to cut with scissors (about as thick as an aluminum can).
Hot Glue -- Important: Not all hot glue can be used!!!! I learned the tough way. Glue sticks that are cloudy do not bond well to metal! Use glue sticks that are crystal clear or your metal overlay will peel off.
Step 1: Cut templates, trace onto foam, and cut out your foam parts like you normally would.
Step 2: Coat the Top of your foam piece with a generous layer of hot glue
Step 3: Press down onto the aluminum sheet firmly and quickly -- the metal dissipates the heat quickly so it will dry very fast!
Step 4: Repeat with all your parts
Step 5: Cut out your pieces essentially using the foam as the template/guide -- I use scissors since the metal is thin enough
Step 6: All your foam pieces will now have a nice overlay/veneer and can be assembled like any other pep piece
Finished Piece:
Long time lurker and would like to share some of my recent work as well as try to contribute back by posting a quick tutorial and answering any questions.
Last year, I started a foam Mark VI suit which, unfortunately, was not finished in time for Halloween 2013. While scraping together a last minute Tony Stark costume as a substitute, I came up with an easy technique to overlay aluminum onto foam and decided to start prototyping a more complete build. This year, rather than making a full suit using this technique, I decided to focus just on making a fully functional arm.
Here is a video and some pics of the final result:
Finished Product
Easy display stand using a paper towel holder
Some specs on the arm:
- The forearm and glove are two completely independent systems that can be coupled together as one
- Both are controlled by separate Arduino nano boards
- The forearm uses 2 servos to open/close the missile pod and a 3rd servo to extend/retract the missile/laser
- The electronics for the forearm are housed in a separate module that I have on a strap attached to my shoulder -- there just wasn't enough room for everything in the forearm.
- Activation of the missile pod is done via a small pushbutton switch on my thumb
- The glove uses a magnetic reed switch on the wrist to activate the repulsor
- The majority of the electronics for the glove are housed under the hand plate.
- The handplate magnetically attaches to the top of the hand which turns on the glove on contact.
Specs on the Arc Reactor:
- Self-contained and runs on 3 AAA batteries
- Magnetic mount system
- Adjustable brightness control
- All external components mechanically attached (I had too many issues with adhesives in the past) -- This model was originally intended to take a beating but I'll post more on that separately later ;-).
Credits:
@Honus - Thank you for posting all your automation work. It was incredibly inspirational and helpful (e.g. extend/retract missile, etc).
@STEALTH - The Hero tutorials and Mark 6 files you originally posted got me started with Pep work
@JFcustom - Your foam building tips and tricks have helped me tremendously
@darkside501st -- Thank you for the Mark VII Pep files for this project
@undertaker -- Your motorized faceplate videos gave me the knowledge needed behind some of the mechanics (e.g. using two servos to open/close the hatch).
@7sinzz and @xl97 -- your posts in the motorized faceplate thread helped a lot with some of the circuit design and code that went into this.
-- Foam/Aluminum Hybrid Tutorial ---
This technique is a simple way to give an authentic metal look to your foam work. It eliminates the need to go through the tedious sealing process before painting (minus the edges) if you choose to paint (personally, I think the Mark 2 look of the raw metal looks great). Any wear and tear on your paint will reveal metal underneath instead of cracked paint lines in the foam.
Materials needed:
Typical foam pep materials -- pep software, foam, exacto knife, cardstock, etc.
Aluminum duct flashing -- any sheet metal will work but I specifically chose this stuff at Home depot because it was cheap, easily accessible, and thin enough to cut with scissors (about as thick as an aluminum can).
Hot Glue -- Important: Not all hot glue can be used!!!! I learned the tough way. Glue sticks that are cloudy do not bond well to metal! Use glue sticks that are crystal clear or your metal overlay will peel off.
Step 1: Cut templates, trace onto foam, and cut out your foam parts like you normally would.
Step 2: Coat the Top of your foam piece with a generous layer of hot glue
Step 3: Press down onto the aluminum sheet firmly and quickly -- the metal dissipates the heat quickly so it will dry very fast!
Step 4: Repeat with all your parts
Step 5: Cut out your pieces essentially using the foam as the template/guide -- I use scissors since the metal is thin enough
Step 6: All your foam pieces will now have a nice overlay/veneer and can be assembled like any other pep piece
Finished Piece:
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