Ironman Costume for 5yr old - LINKS on PAGE 1 - tips & important bits
- Thread starter indiefilmgeek
- Start date
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Thanks, again, for all the info and encouragement!
The last couple of days have been incredibly busy at work. Thor opens this weekend and part of my day-job involves programming all those wonderful movie trailers you see before the feature presentation begins. Needless to say, the start of the summer blockbuster season is always the most demanding time of year for those of us in exhibition.
And speaking of the start of summer movies... please, please, please go see THOR (in IMAX 3D if possible) this weekend! ...and buy some popcorn!
/shameless plug for my industry
So, despite being busy at work I still managed to get a bit of work done on Mikey's costume. I have sanded and applied more glazing putty on the cod piece. It looks almost the same, so no pictures necessary. I'm hoping it's smooth enough tonight (when I sand it down again) to apply a couple coats of filler primer - fingers crossed.
The other piece I'm working on is Mikey's collar (or neck seal). I pepped one full neck piece this week, but it was too small to fit. So, I pepped a quick size-test version once I bumped up the scale and that one fit ok.
The plan is to print out another set of pep pages at the best scale I've found. And then use those pieces as templates as I modify and construct this piece out of 3mm foam sheets. Jordan pointed me toward picking up a blade that will cut exactly 45 degree angles, and now I've got that blade, the sheets and a workable scale.
The only thing to do now is start cutting and gluing.
Here is a picture of both the complete (and quick scale test) peps of the neck/collar piece, as well as the 45 degree cutting blade and one of the 9" x 12" sheets of 3mm foam rubber I'll be using.
Thanks, again, for all the info and encouragement!
The last couple of days have been incredibly busy at work. Thor opens this weekend and part of my day-job involves programming all those wonderful movie trailers you see before the feature presentation begins. Needless to say, the start of the summer blockbuster season is always the most demanding time of year for those of us in exhibition.
And speaking of the start of summer movies... please, please, please go see THOR (in IMAX 3D if possible) this weekend! ...and buy some popcorn!
/shameless plug for my industry
So, despite being busy at work I still managed to get a bit of work done on Mikey's costume. I have sanded and applied more glazing putty on the cod piece. It looks almost the same, so no pictures necessary. I'm hoping it's smooth enough tonight (when I sand it down again) to apply a couple coats of filler primer - fingers crossed.
The other piece I'm working on is Mikey's collar (or neck seal). I pepped one full neck piece this week, but it was too small to fit. So, I pepped a quick size-test version once I bumped up the scale and that one fit ok.
The plan is to print out another set of pep pages at the best scale I've found. And then use those pieces as templates as I modify and construct this piece out of 3mm foam sheets. Jordan pointed me toward picking up a blade that will cut exactly 45 degree angles, and now I've got that blade, the sheets and a workable scale.
The only thing to do now is start cutting and gluing.
Here is a picture of both the complete (and quick scale test) peps of the neck/collar piece, as well as the 45 degree cutting blade and one of the 9" x 12" sheets of 3mm foam rubber I'll be using.
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
John, If you need any help with making the pep files foam friendly. Let me know and I could always take a pep piece jigger it for foam and send the new unfold back to you with some instructions.
Also why did you get the 3mm as opposed to the 4mm?
John, If you need any help with making the pep files foam friendly. Let me know and I could always take a pep piece jigger it for foam and send the new unfold back to you with some instructions.
Also why did you get the 3mm as opposed to the 4mm?
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Thanks for the offer to assist! I might take you up on the arms and legs - if I decide to go with foam for those!
For the neck piece, I think it's going to be pretty easy for me to modify the standard pep pieces. The way the neck unit has one layer of armor and then a small ledge and then another armor layer, seems ready made for foam construction. The small ledges are almost perfectly the thickness of the foam, so I'll make sure to cut the top edge of each pep armor layer piece flat across the top (no tabs) and then leave 1/4"-1/2" of extra material along the bottom edge. That way, each layer ends at the right height and then the next armor layer is attached with the 1/4"-1/2" overlap area - making it the correct height and creating that narrow step look with the exposed foam edge.
I figure cutting out the small box shapes at the back of the neck won't be too hard with an good exacto knife. So that just leaves some common sense decisions when creating the flanged collar pieces. Seems like this piece might be the easiest one I could have picked to start my experiment with foam! ...GREAT! I've totally jinxed myself! :confused
On the 3mm vs 4mm....
I might eventually go with 4mm thickness if I go on to use this build method for the arms and legs, but for the neck piece I have three reasons for using the 3mm material...
Thanks for the offer to assist! I might take you up on the arms and legs - if I decide to go with foam for those!
For the neck piece, I think it's going to be pretty easy for me to modify the standard pep pieces. The way the neck unit has one layer of armor and then a small ledge and then another armor layer, seems ready made for foam construction. The small ledges are almost perfectly the thickness of the foam, so I'll make sure to cut the top edge of each pep armor layer piece flat across the top (no tabs) and then leave 1/4"-1/2" of extra material along the bottom edge. That way, each layer ends at the right height and then the next armor layer is attached with the 1/4"-1/2" overlap area - making it the correct height and creating that narrow step look with the exposed foam edge.
I figure cutting out the small box shapes at the back of the neck won't be too hard with an good exacto knife. So that just leaves some common sense decisions when creating the flanged collar pieces. Seems like this piece might be the easiest one I could have picked to start my experiment with foam! ...GREAT! I've totally jinxed myself! :confused
On the 3mm vs 4mm....
I might eventually go with 4mm thickness if I go on to use this build method for the arms and legs, but for the neck piece I have three reasons for using the 3mm material...
- Extra flexibility. For Mikey, I'm very concerned about how his Sensory Integration Disorder might trip issues with restrictive pieces. For tight-fitting pieces on sensitive body parts (like the neck), I want to keep the materials as flexible and soft as possible so he doesn't freak out. I figured 3mm would be just a bit more flexible than 4mm.
- Scale. 3mm LOOKS as thick on smaller (tighter geometry) pieces as 4mm material on full-size pieces.
- Lastly, easy availability. 3mm foam is available at my local hobby store. So, if I'm comfortable working in this material, I'd have a ready supply (nearby) to use rather than ordering online and waiting for shipping.
Manix
New Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Great work so far! I love how you're re-purposing different electronic bits to make up the electronics for the costume. The magnet idea for the helmet was also amazing. It gave me an idea for making secure yet easily detachable connections for my own suit, when I get there. :thumbsup Keep it up and I'll be watching the progress of this build.
Great work so far! I love how you're re-purposing different electronic bits to make up the electronics for the costume. The magnet idea for the helmet was also amazing. It gave me an idea for making secure yet easily detachable connections for my own suit, when I get there. :thumbsup Keep it up and I'll be watching the progress of this build.
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Foam Construction Update!!!
I began (nervously at first) my first foam construction last night, and although I don't have much to show for it (visually), I learned a LOT!
I started out with a fresh set of scaled pep print-outs that I am using as templates to cut out the foam. For the neck at Mikey scale I got all the pieces to fit easily on two pages. I reviewed the card-stock pep construction I built earlier this week and worked out how best to foam-ify the pieces. This was mostly a mental exercise, but it helped to get my head thinking in 3D foam terms rather than virtually 2D paper terms. :confused
With a plan in place, I started to slowly and carefully cut pieces and glue them together with my trusty mini-hot-glue-gun.
Here is what I learned during the evening... After spending a lot of time meticulously cutting the foam pieces with metal rulers and special knives that assist with 45-90 degree angles, I ended up moving to just cutting the pieces out with a good pair of scissors.
...I know, I know, you're thinking that a pair of scissors isn't going to provide you with a nice flat edge (as it should 'pinch' the foam as it cuts and give you a nasty odd-angled edge)... not the case. I got very crisp edges with scissors (and it's MUCH faster than exacto knife work). As a disclaimer, I am using the much less popular 3mm foam for the neck piece. I'd imagine that even 4mm thickness foam might respond differently than the thinner stuff I'm cutting with scissors.
I also found it easy to shave a bit of an angle on edge pieces I wanted to attach at an angle - again with scissors. Cutting the sharp edge off the back side of a connecting piece gave me the ability to hot-glue that piece at several different angles with ease.
At the end of the evening my method for construction was this...
Here are a couple pictures of the work I did last night... not very impressive so far, but after the steep learning curve last night, this should be QUICK to finish up!
I'm very much open to any suggestions, hints and/or tips related to working with this material. Please post a reply here or message with any tricks you've learned! I'm always up for an easier way to construct these pieces!
Foam Construction Update!!!
I began (nervously at first) my first foam construction last night, and although I don't have much to show for it (visually), I learned a LOT!
I started out with a fresh set of scaled pep print-outs that I am using as templates to cut out the foam. For the neck at Mikey scale I got all the pieces to fit easily on two pages. I reviewed the card-stock pep construction I built earlier this week and worked out how best to foam-ify the pieces. This was mostly a mental exercise, but it helped to get my head thinking in 3D foam terms rather than virtually 2D paper terms. :confused
With a plan in place, I started to slowly and carefully cut pieces and glue them together with my trusty mini-hot-glue-gun.
Here is what I learned during the evening... After spending a lot of time meticulously cutting the foam pieces with metal rulers and special knives that assist with 45-90 degree angles, I ended up moving to just cutting the pieces out with a good pair of scissors.
...I know, I know, you're thinking that a pair of scissors isn't going to provide you with a nice flat edge (as it should 'pinch' the foam as it cuts and give you a nasty odd-angled edge)... not the case. I got very crisp edges with scissors (and it's MUCH faster than exacto knife work). As a disclaimer, I am using the much less popular 3mm foam for the neck piece. I'd imagine that even 4mm thickness foam might respond differently than the thinner stuff I'm cutting with scissors.
I also found it easy to shave a bit of an angle on edge pieces I wanted to attach at an angle - again with scissors. Cutting the sharp edge off the back side of a connecting piece gave me the ability to hot-glue that piece at several different angles with ease.
At the end of the evening my method for construction was this...
- Cut out the paper pep piece (modified for foam if necessary)
- Lay the pep template on the foam and trace it with a ball point pen
- Use scissors to cut out the piece in foam (checking it against the paper piece for accuracy)
- Cut this piece into multiple pieces (again if necessary for sharper angles than simple bending would produce)
- Slice the sharp back edge off any pieces I wanted to attach at an angle
- Hot glue the piece to the construction along it's edge
- Re-enforce the edge glue with a thicker layer of hot-glue on the inside of the construction.
Here are a couple pictures of the work I did last night... not very impressive so far, but after the steep learning curve last night, this should be QUICK to finish up!
I'm very much open to any suggestions, hints and/or tips related to working with this material. Please post a reply here or message with any tricks you've learned! I'm always up for an easier way to construct these pieces!
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
My only suggestion. Make sure you always cut your angled cuts from the sheet of foam. Don't cut the edge at a 90 and then try and cut it at a 45 it'll be much harder that way. I cut out the pep, tape onto foam so it doesn't move. Trace.. then make all the 45 cuts I need at either an inner or outer 45 depending on the piece.. then I go and hit all the other lines with a regular exacto knife. You'll have the cleanest edges that way.
Looks great BTW
My only suggestion. Make sure you always cut your angled cuts from the sheet of foam. Don't cut the edge at a 90 and then try and cut it at a 45 it'll be much harder that way. I cut out the pep, tape onto foam so it doesn't move. Trace.. then make all the 45 cuts I need at either an inner or outer 45 depending on the piece.. then I go and hit all the other lines with a regular exacto knife. You'll have the cleanest edges that way.
Looks great BTW
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Jordan, I had read on one of the foam threads (yours I think), that you use dry wall filler to smooth the seams on the outside of the completed foam piece. Is that what you use? Unlike the arms or legs, I want to keep this neck piece very flexible... Does using dry wall filler or a thin wood putty or glazing putty or something like that add too much rigidity to the overall piece? Would keeping this material isolated to the seams/edges (not spread out over the full piece) help keep the overall piece more flexible?
If you have a picture of what your pieces look like after you've applied this smoothing to the foam seams, it would be AWESOME to see! You have some GREAT looking pieces and a WIP piece pic would help me understand how much and in what way you handle this part of the process.
Thanks, again, for all your help and info! :thumbsup
Jordan, I had read on one of the foam threads (yours I think), that you use dry wall filler to smooth the seams on the outside of the completed foam piece. Is that what you use? Unlike the arms or legs, I want to keep this neck piece very flexible... Does using dry wall filler or a thin wood putty or glazing putty or something like that add too much rigidity to the overall piece? Would keeping this material isolated to the seams/edges (not spread out over the full piece) help keep the overall piece more flexible?
If you have a picture of what your pieces look like after you've applied this smoothing to the foam seams, it would be AWESOME to see! You have some GREAT looking pieces and a WIP piece pic would help me understand how much and in what way you handle this part of the process.
Thanks, again, for all your help and info! :thumbsup
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Hey,
No sorry that wasn't me. I haven't used anything to smooth the seams. I have just been being very careful with lining up the edges... and then I have been taking the hot glue guns tip to smooth any glue that ran up and over... then a wet finger to smooth and cool. I plan on applying a couple layers of plasti dip to each piece... then a plastic primer... then paint.. perhaps two coats of that as well.
Hey,
No sorry that wasn't me. I haven't used anything to smooth the seams. I have just been being very careful with lining up the edges... and then I have been taking the hot glue guns tip to smooth any glue that ran up and over... then a wet finger to smooth and cool. I plan on applying a couple layers of plasti dip to each piece... then a plastic primer... then paint.. perhaps two coats of that as well.
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
I've hunted around and the only place I see the dry wall putty mentioned is cardboard or resin/bondo builds.... I must have my threads mixed up. :confused
I'd be ok using Plasti Dip to clean up the faint seam lines, but I wonder if some basic latex fabric paint, silicone or other flexible material might also work. For that matter, I'd be ok using some smoothed hot glue to cover those tiny seam lines before spray painting the piece.
As for painting the piece...
I'm currently planning on using a Vinyl/Fabric spray paint (designed for car seats - if you can believe it). I've tested this on foam and other highly flexible material options. So, my plan is to take my touched-up foam-built piece, and spray it with that Vinyl/Fabric paint (which is very close to the color of the auto paint I'm using on the harden pieces). The I'll hit this piece with a very light coat of the Dark Cherry Metallic auto paint. Even though it's enamel, I think it will be ok if I can keep the coat VERY thin -- just to add the metallic look to the Vinyl paint. Then I'll hit the piece with a final semi-gloss clear coat (again Vinyl/Fabric paint they make for car seats). That should trap that light layer of auto paint in between two flexible latex layers and still provide just a little of that metallic-look the hardened armor pieces have.
This is all theory right now... but that's my plan.
I've hunted around and the only place I see the dry wall putty mentioned is cardboard or resin/bondo builds.... I must have my threads mixed up. :confused
I'd be ok using Plasti Dip to clean up the faint seam lines, but I wonder if some basic latex fabric paint, silicone or other flexible material might also work. For that matter, I'd be ok using some smoothed hot glue to cover those tiny seam lines before spray painting the piece.
As for painting the piece...
I'm currently planning on using a Vinyl/Fabric spray paint (designed for car seats - if you can believe it). I've tested this on foam and other highly flexible material options. So, my plan is to take my touched-up foam-built piece, and spray it with that Vinyl/Fabric paint (which is very close to the color of the auto paint I'm using on the harden pieces). The I'll hit this piece with a very light coat of the Dark Cherry Metallic auto paint. Even though it's enamel, I think it will be ok if I can keep the coat VERY thin -- just to add the metallic look to the Vinyl paint. Then I'll hit the piece with a final semi-gloss clear coat (again Vinyl/Fabric paint they make for car seats). That should trap that light layer of auto paint in between two flexible latex layers and still provide just a little of that metallic-look the hardened armor pieces have.
This is all theory right now... but that's my plan.
indiefilmgeek
Sr Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
Lots of work today on Mikey's Ironman costume!
First off - I finished the neck seal - 3mm foam & hot glue build
And here is the opening (to allow Mikey to put it on) is along the side of the piece. I've hidden as much as I could along the side detailing. I built an overlapping flap (temp hash marks show the overlap), that will be fitted with velcro so Mikey can get in and out of it easily.
After finishing up the build we did test fittings and then the piece went out to be painted.
The first three coats of paint was Plasti Dip (red). This was very easy to apply and (although it looks dimpled here) when it dries, it looks very smooth and even - although it's entirely the wrong shade of red!
After that dried, we did a final test fitting. It might look like Mikey is uncomfortable in this picture, but I had him wear it for a while and he promised me it felt great.
Then, I painted it with two coats of the vinyl/fabric paint (designed for spray painting car seats - if you can believe it). This paint is the closest I've found to the Dark Cherry Metallic color I'm using for the hardened pieces.
Here is a side-by-side color comparison between the foam rubber collar piece and the back of the helmet which is a hardened bondo/fiberglass piece.
I hand-painted some weathering (what you'd call 'black wash' if you weren't using fabric paint). And then I stuck it quickly under the helmet just so you can see it in rough position.
And, lastly, I also finished up my last two layers of spot bondo and glazing putty on the Cod Piece and hit that with three layers of a filler primer. It's not as smooth as I'd like it, but it will certainly do. Tomorrow I plan to finish this piece off with a few coats of Dark Cherry Metallic auto paint.
What a weekend - Neck Seal AND the Cod piece BOTH done! hurrah!
Lots of work today on Mikey's Ironman costume!
First off - I finished the neck seal - 3mm foam & hot glue build
And here is the opening (to allow Mikey to put it on) is along the side of the piece. I've hidden as much as I could along the side detailing. I built an overlapping flap (temp hash marks show the overlap), that will be fitted with velcro so Mikey can get in and out of it easily.
After finishing up the build we did test fittings and then the piece went out to be painted.
The first three coats of paint was Plasti Dip (red). This was very easy to apply and (although it looks dimpled here) when it dries, it looks very smooth and even - although it's entirely the wrong shade of red!
After that dried, we did a final test fitting. It might look like Mikey is uncomfortable in this picture, but I had him wear it for a while and he promised me it felt great.
Then, I painted it with two coats of the vinyl/fabric paint (designed for spray painting car seats - if you can believe it). This paint is the closest I've found to the Dark Cherry Metallic color I'm using for the hardened pieces.
Here is a side-by-side color comparison between the foam rubber collar piece and the back of the helmet which is a hardened bondo/fiberglass piece.
I hand-painted some weathering (what you'd call 'black wash' if you weren't using fabric paint). And then I stuck it quickly under the helmet just so you can see it in rough position.
And, lastly, I also finished up my last two layers of spot bondo and glazing putty on the Cod Piece and hit that with three layers of a filler primer. It's not as smooth as I'd like it, but it will certainly do. Tomorrow I plan to finish this piece off with a few coats of Dark Cherry Metallic auto paint.
What a weekend - Neck Seal AND the Cod piece BOTH done! hurrah!
Blackdynamo2
Well-Known Member
Re: Build Progress: Halloween Ironman Costume for my 5yr old
I second that! You are really working your tail off for Mikey. That's so cool. Im my 4 year old's Hero, he thinks i'm Iron Man. So thats cool you'd do that for your son Your a Great Dad! Keep Building!...:thumbsup
cavedwellar
Sr Member
Re: Build Progress: Halloween Ironman Costume for my 5yr old
Doing this project at all is fantastic, doing this project for your kid...AWESOME!
Doing this project at all is fantastic, doing this project for your kid...AWESOME!
CyberPaddy66
Well-Known Member
Re: Halloween Iron Man Costume for my 5yr old
AMAZING WORK!!! you've done brilliantly on that piece and I love the way you joined it at the side
And here is the opening (to allow Mikey to put it on) is along the side of the piece. I've hidden as much as I could along the side detailing. I built an overlapping flap (temp hash marks show the overlap), that will be fitted with velcro so Mikey can get in and out of it easily.
It might look like Mikey is uncomfortable in this picture, but I had him wear it for a while and he promised me it felt great.
AMAZING WORK!!! you've done brilliantly on that piece and I love the way you joined it at the side
elvenisman2
Member
Re: Build Progress: Halloween Ironman Costume for my 5yr old
Amazing job ! I'm working on making a Mark 6 and I'm finished with most parts except its out of carboard, what did you use too faberglass the paper? and how much is it?
Amazing job ! I'm working on making a Mark 6 and I'm finished with most parts except its out of carboard, what did you use too faberglass the paper? and how much is it?
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