Mark VI Pepakura Iron Man Build

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Wasn't happy with my foam fingers...made my fingers look like sausages, so I decided to pep Zabana's files and try the glove as well. Whew! Those are some seriously hard peps, but great files Zabana! Thanks.

Fingers are done. Had to redo the index fingers twice and a thumb. They were the ones I did first and hadn't quite figured out how to put those little underlapped parts on and they didn't go together well. Not surprisingly, the last pieces done look much better than the first ones... These pics show the first ones I did (with resin on them and darker) and then how I set them up to cure after resining all the others. The new ones have now been resined inside and out. Not sure if I will bondo or just put a couple more coats of resin and sand and detail. The first ones I did, I hung the fingers from the top while I had extra resin in the skinny bottom parts, and will flip them and try to get extra resin on the inside top as well to make them stronger. Bondo seems like it would be really tough with these teeny pieces. I'm pretty sure I've seen some builds where folks don't bondo the fingers...

Started the palm last night and began at the center like Bigturc recommended, but the edges of the center circular piece didn't quite meet, so I reprinted, and cut so I couldn't see any more ink on the circle. I also made sure I scored the fold lines to the inside of the line instead of on the line. That made all the difference. Hopefully this will help keep everything aligned. Will post pics when the palm is done.

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Hmm. Palm too big? This is scaled at .9
I think I'll proceed with the back and knuckles and see how it all looks together, then decide if I need to make it smaller...

 

[sq10e]

Re: Iron Man Build

Since I'm getting close to completion on building the foam pieces of the costume, I went ahead and tried some of the methods I've seen for sealing the foam. I tried wood glue, Tacky Glue, and Crafter's Pick Ultimate glue since I happened to have all 3 at the house already. I diluted 1:1 with water and brushed on 3 coats of diluted glue. After they all dried, I bent the pieces to see how they would look after being abused when worn. The wood glue cracked and flaked off, the tacky glue stayed on but creased really badly, and the Crafter's Pick flexed and looked great after bending the foam back and forth. Plasti Dip was next. I picked up a can of brush on and a can of spray and did 3 coats of spray on a piece I built wrong and could still see all the little holes, so I got a bit heavy handed with the 4th coat. It doesn't look too smooth. Not sure if more light coats would have avoided this issue or not. But I was getting impatient because it didn't seem like I was seeing any changes to the texture after putting on 3 coats. And, I didn't like the way the brushed on plasti dip went on on my failed thigh piece. I had brush streaks and bristles on the foam. I sprayed the one I felt held up the best (Crafter's Pick) with two coats of Duplicolor adhesive promoter, then sprayed the piece with silver Duplicolor. Here are some pictures of my efforts... The picture of the Crafter's Pick coated foam looks weird because I didn't paint it on thin enough and there was a "puddle" of sorts that left a funny shape when it dried. I guess I just need to not brush on too much at a time...

I am using latex base house paint on my build, my test piece that I sealed and primed with the latex paint seems really good, the paint flexes with the foam pretty well.

 

[Dagibbon]

Re: Iron Man Build

This is a great build trychick. Finished half of my suit and am about to try the paint-on plastidip soon. Seen others who had the same brushmark problem. Apparently you can thin it down, which stops the brush marks?

Those hands look tricky, but can't argue with the results. Well done

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Yeah...@ .9 this baby is too big for my small hands. Will scale it down to .82.

Oh well. I resined it anyway to see how those thin pieces between the fingers held up to the soaking. I''ll fiberglass and cut it apart for practice for the real ones I guess:rolleyes

The 3 pieces came out pretty well I thought, though some of the teeny end pieces seemed to be left hanging, and it was a real devil to get put together to resin...edges had to be wrestled into place so they would match up with corresponding edges on the other pieces.

 

[Bigturc]

Re: Iron Man Build

Yes, definitely too big! Still keep some space in there for a gauntlet if you plan on wearing one! :thumsup

 

[Syrus54]

Re: Iron Man Build

I've got a hand file I've released.. you can try IT, if Zabanas is too complicated.

Just send me a link to the pics so I can see it :thumbsup

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

I am using latex base house paint on my build, my test piece that I sealed and primed with the latex paint seems really good, the paint flexes with the foam pretty well.

Hm. No problem finding the colors you want? I'm wondering if I'd be able to find a metallic gold and silver in a latex.

 

[sq10e]

Re: Iron Man Build

Hm. No problem finding the colors you want? I'm wondering if I'd be able to find a metallic gold and silver in a latex.

Well, I am using left-over extra paint from my in-laws (is free) to seal and prime my costume, not actually color it. I was gonna do spray paint over the latex house paint to get the colors I want for my build.

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

No posts for a few days as I was busy building shelves on which our kids can display their ginormous Lego collection--mostly Harry Potter, LOTR, and Power Miners. Got 3 coats of Modge Podge brushed on all my foam pieces in the last couple of days--2 diluted 50/50 coats and one full strength. Maybe should have done a diluted, but thicker third coat instead of full strength... One more coat to go.

The fingers and gloves I pepped have been fiberglassed. THAT was a chore! The fiberglass cloth stuck where it wasn't supposed to, moved around, and pulled away from the sides and edges... I worked the fiberglass a bit differently when I glassed my daughter's glove the next day (only have one pepped as of now). I glassed the finger holes and let it cure, then the top and let it cure, then the palm, etc. Mixing up only a little bit of resin and glassing a bit at a time made it MUCH easier, especially since I trimmed the excess away from the last go before I put more in. Finger pieces worked better also after I resined the inside and let it mostly cure so it was still a bit tacky. Then I put the fiberglass cloth in with my bare fingers and pressed the cloth agains the resin. I maybe should have not waited for it to cure quite so much, because I had to cut out and redo some of the fiberglass since it pulled away, leaving gaps.

Now the gloves and fingers are all trimmed out, and I've also filed away the fibers from the openings of the gloves and coated the openings with more resin. Pretty smooth.

Then I wracked my brain for what to string my fishing line through to articulate the gloves. I saw folks on the RPF using all sorts of stuff, but I wanted cheap and easy. I happened to be standing in line with a basket of red and gold paint (imagine that) at Auto Zone and saw a can of WD-40 with the little red straw--hmmm. When I got home I examined the straw from the can I already had and tested some fishing line in it. BINGO! The straws are plastic so they'll be easy to cut and they have a small diameter with a fairly thick wall so it shouldn't tear under stress. Figured I'd probably need a straw per finger so I went out and bought 10 cans of WD-40 (NO I didn't really--what would I do with all that WD-40?!) So I googled WD-40 straws and found you can actually get the little buggers on line in packages of 50 for $4.96 and free shipping. They came today. I'll test them on both foam fingers and my glassed ones after the glassed ones are ready. Last two pictures show the straws with fishing line strung through it.

 

[Override]

Re: Iron Man Build

very nice job on the hands, those are one of the harder things to get right

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Thanks on the hands. I've put them on hold for a while so I can finish the foam suit in time for the IM3 release.

I'm pretty much done except for adding some velcro to the gloves and attaching the legs to the cod. Not sure if I'll have time to get the repulsors in the palms in time, so I may go without. Also have to get the hip pods and hand covers attached. Ordered a metallic red zenti suit but I don't think it will get here in time for the movie release. Oh well.

Had issues with the paint cracking :eek after heat sealing it twice and doing several layers of modge podge, liquid electrical tape and adhesion promoter like docholiday78 did. Not sure what I did wrong and don't think it can be fixed. Frustrated me so much after all that work, I printed, pepped and glassed a new cod piece, back, chest, one arm and started on one leg. Shouldn't have cracking with these...sigh.

Plus, be warned, when you seal with anything black, your paint will end up being darker. I used the same paint on my foam pieces as I did on my helmet, and the rest of the suit came out dark, dark, dark. More a burgundy. The metallic paint also looked dull instead of shiny and metallic. Not sure if I applied in conditions that were too cold or humid, but I'd spray it on and would have blotchy spots that were dull...I must have had to put on 7-8 coats to get it the correct color. And the paint was cracking after only 2 coats, so it isn't the fact that I put on so many coats that made it crack...it was already cracking.

 

[Justover6]

Re: Iron Man Build

Your suit came out amazing. I'm sorry to hear about the cracked paint. Your post reminded me that I have to add velcro and attach my legs to the cod. I feel for you! I personally like black clothing underneath the armor for some reason.

 

[PurdueMadLou]

Re: Iron Man Build

Holy crap Laura - that looks fantastic!!! So let me get this straight, you pepped, resined, bondo'ed a new cod, back, chest, and an arm?? I still haven't finished my helmet (lol), but I have started a new neck seal (glassing now) for a stand. I really hate all that cutting and scoring - need to invest in a Silhouette. Cheers.

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Holy crap Laura - that looks fantastic!!! So let me get this straight, you pepped, resined, bondo'ed a new cod, back, chest, and an arm?? I still haven't finished my helmet (lol), but I have started a new neck seal (glassing now) for a stand. I really hate all that cutting and scoring - need to invest in a Silhouette. Cheers.

Thanks Dries! Yep. (edit--OOPS...not bondoed... just pepped, resin and glass...):facepalm...And, I got my repulsors installed in the gloves. I cut these mini LED flashlights ($3 for a pair at Harbor Freight) an inch from the lens, making sure not to cut through the PCB and the LEDs soldered to it. Removed the battery spring and soldered the cables to the back of board. Then I took 4 water bottle caps I'd been saving for this and hot glued them to the top and bottom. Top one diffuses the light, bottom one protects the board the LEDs are soldered to. Then cut holes in my gloves and hot glued the light assembly inside. Hot glued the cord to the palm and up along the side of the glove so it would come out at the top. Then I and ran it into the forearm piece where I had my 9 volt connector velcroed onto the top (so it can be pulled out and battery swapped). And voila! Right now all I do is plug then in to turn on and unplug to turn off. When I get my pepped gloves done, maybe I'll attempt to use some more in depth electronics features. Still...I'm doing stuff I never thought I'd do before I started on my Ironman Journey.

Oh, and I decided I need to build a smaller helmet. It is so large I had to put in a bunch of foam to keep it from being a bobble head IM helmet. I'm thinking 83% on the Sharkmark file (which is the file I used previously)--and I'm not pepping those darned eyes! I measured the inside with the foam in and think I have it sized right. May not be able to get the servos inside though so I may have to rethink how to get it to open and closed...I guess my daughter with her great big teenaged noggin gets the old bucket, though she wants to be War Machine, so it will need a new paint job...but not yet I think.

Still need work on my computer skills though. So, I'm going back to college part time for my BS in CS I start May 7th, so my build will undoubtedly slow down then, oh, and my airplane build too. Hubby wanted to tackle an RV-10 four seater experimental prop job...so I'll have to make room in the garage for all the airplane parts.:wacko

 

[Armatus Cosplay]

Re: Iron Man Build

Wait, you got a whole chest piece, cod, and a leg cut out an assembled all in one day?

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

Wait, you got a whole chest piece, cod, and a leg cut out an assembled all in one day?

No. I'm not that fast...Been working on them since around the 15th. Pretty much all I've done during the day while the kids are in school and after they go to bed...

Oh and they aren't bondoed yet. Just glassed!

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build



Got a thigh and shin pepped and resined. Got my gloves bonded, separated and ready to put back together with magnets. The gloves aren't perfect. The circular part was a bear to try to get into, even with Mr. Popsicle!... Working on a shoulder bell. Trying to get one of everything pepped before I start doing more glassing so I can see how the thigh/shin fit together, for example.

 

[TryChick]

Re: Iron Man Build

I started pepping my right thigh after scoring all the folds and cutting all 12 pages out and realized I was doing another left thigh. For some reason the unfolded pages and the 3d image are opposites... One is a left and one a right! Not sure how the heck that could happen but now I know why I had to mirror image the PDO while building the first one. Both 3d & 2d should have flipped but didn't!? So, I had to mirror image the file because the parts I printed were backwards from the 3d image and I was having a hard time figuring out where the pieces went. That now explains why, when I THOUGHT I was doing a right shin and thigh, I ended up w a left thigh and right shin... Anyone else have this happen?!

 

[memebr]

Re: Iron Man Build

Amazing job ^^

if that do not bothers you, can you please take some more detailed pics of you hinge system?
its by far the most effective I've seen around here!!

And if you allow me, can i copy your hinge system to put on my helmet? I have a topic here somewhere with my own build.