Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7 [COMPLETED PHOTOS}

[Gaz]

I was about to start to build some N7 armour following the successful build of a Mark 7 IM for myself and a female variant Mark 42 IM for my wife (see previous threads for details), when I felt really guilty for turning my back on old Iron Man. Especially as I was never particularly happy with the build quality of the foam helmets I made in each case.

I had an idea for a "mash up", did a bit of rummaging around and realised that there did not appear to be anything already attempted apart from a couple of random concept sketches via a google image search, so I figured I should be the one to give it a go... Mass Effect N7 edition Iron Man.

My design brief is as follows:
1. Use of the Mark 42 (my favourite style) armour as the basis for the build, with the unique colouring of N7 armour (yes, War Machine might be a more natural fit, but I don't think it suits the Mass Effect styling)
2. Incorporation of carbon fibre style panelling and other more lightweight ("futuristic") materials
3. Use of extensive lighting (EL strips and wires) throughout, in the style of Mass Effect
4. Fibreglass helmet, possibly hinged, possibly servos, definitely eye lights.
5. Modification of the actual armour into something more practical for "marine / infantry" use. This means no respulsor gauntlets, and instead normal tactical gloves. There will also be the removal of certain excessive armour plating, such as between the thighs and under the biceps to improve movement.
6. Plenty of appropriate "badges" from the Mass effect universe.
7. Construction of Mass Effect weaponry to carry (currently I'm thinking the M8 Avenger and/or M98 Black Widow)
8. Some sort of omni-tool style device on the left arm, as per Mass Effect.

The idea behind the design is that we are looking at some sort of armour that has been built for the Alliance / Spectre by Stark Industries in the not too distant future, but is not entirely an "Iron Man"

And the final point is that I am going to make TWO armours - 'Shepherd' and 'FemShep' - which will be slightly different variants of one another (the female tweaks will initially carry over from my Mark 42 build, with some extra flourishes).

I will begin posting WIP photos in the coming weeks. At this time, I literally only have two card helmets sat on my table, alongside a pile of EVA. My original deadline was mid February, but due to a busy social calendar, I'm relaxing and getting them ready for London Comic Con in May.

Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[Murdoch]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

As i am not at all familliar with fem shep N7 armor. the only comment i can give is that i look foward to see this...GM

 

[torx]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

this is fascinating. to even begin to wonder how this could turn out.

cant wait to see your concept sketches and where your frame of mind currently is.
i love the idea of an im/n7 armor with the omni tool

 

[Gaz]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Very early update. Here are my two helmets, yet to have resin or fibreglass applied.
**Quick question to anyone reading this actually - it's about 8 degrees celsius here right now, being winter and all. Is that too cold to stand outside and apply resin, or am I doomed to stink my kitchen out in the warm?**



Credit goes to Blackout for his version 1 Mark 42 helmet unfold. They took forever, but they have plenty of detail.

I'm also about halfway through construction of my M8 Avenger rifle. Due to my limited resources (working out of a kitchen and tiny utility room most of the time) I don't have the luxury of most materials and tools that I would like to use, so in this case I blew up a schematic of the M8 I found on a google image search to "life size" (31" according to the full scale Bioware replica) and printed it onto cardstock.



I used this to make a triple-layered strong cardboard 'core', which was slightly smaller than the template, and I've then covered this in multiple layers of 6mm and 3mm Plastazote, which I cut out after dismantling my card template into the various different components.
I'm currently experimenting with using Plasti-Dip to quickly coat it, instead of going through my usual method of about 12 coats of PVA. However, here in the UK a can cost me £15, and I'm doubting one can will do it.



This week I'll be starting work on the armour pieces. I'll try and upload some concept sketches if I get the chance.

 

[Gaz]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Finished the main body elements for both the male and female armours ("Shep" and "FemShep"). Followed the standard Mark 42 pep files for the male, and used my previous modified templates for the female build. Once I'd combined the chest, back, abs and cod (cod slightly modified to remove the crotch piece) I then borrowed some elements from the N7 armour and modified the back to include some of the spine details and add the high collar, which seems to be a signature of the Mass Effect armour styles.

I'm really happy with the result of the mash-up so far. The influence on the limb pieces will be less pronounced, but I'll be showing the differences as I go.
As for the colour scheme, I still haven't finalised it, and 't any sketches to show you yet, but I'll try and post something soon.
Finishing the M8 Avenger Rifle for the rest of the week, then moving onto the arms next week.
Stay tuned!

 

[rocbolt]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Cool concept, looks great so far!

 

[torx]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

foamwork looks precise and clean. loving it so far!

 

[sparton110]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

very cool idea. Looks great!

 

[Biskt]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Such a cool idea! Moar!!

 

[Gaz]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Had a great week dealing with some of the more annoying aspects of the project before I move on to more "basic" and enjoyable things. For example, I finally found a window in the useless British weather to get outside and finally finish fibreglassing the insides of the two helmets, so they can start making some serious progression pretty quickly.
Today I finished the "Renegade" shoes for the male suit and the "Paragon" high heeled boots for FemShep. The tops have been kept intentionally unfinished to allow easy access (my last female pair were prone to tearing around the top when built all the way up), and in both the male and female cases, the calf pieces completely cover up the gaps. The female boots took particularly long to build (six hours?) as I had to completely build them freehand vs relying on the pep files that I could use for the male shoes..

I'm also really happy with the final finish I managed to achieve on the M8 Avenger rile. I was a bit worried early on as I wasn't very confident that a build out of only cardboard and foam would look good (it was my first weapon prop build). And then I found that the coating from "only" one can of Plasti-Dip wasn't enough to make it completely smooth (and I wasn't about to pay out another £13 for another can, in case that wasn't enough either). In the end, my old friend Hammerite managed to seal it up after three good coats, and then dry brushing some black acrylic finally made it look like I hoped from the start.

As per my first post, my original intention was to build the M98 Black Widow sniper rifle as the second weapon (and as my wife so keenly spotted - whilst I didn't - both guns would then have clever little Marvel tie-in names. Alas, it was a coincidence!), but my wife finds the Avenger a little bit bulky, and I wouldn't like to have her struggle carrying it all day. As the Black Widow is about 50% bigger, at 50 inches long, it would be a bit silly to have us both lugging large rifles around. Plan B is to have "FemShep" carrying something the size of a pistol/SMG, and maybe even sort her out a holstering system. I was always fond of the M4 Shuriken, so I think I'll be building that (and possibly a Black Widow as a side project, just because I like the look of it...and the Marvel tie in )

Arms next!

 

[joshtried]

Re: Iron Man Mark N7

Dude, this is pretty awesome. And im glad your wife enjoys it as well..

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[Tiago]

Re: New Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Great idea... woman suit!!!

 

[Gaz]

Re: Iron Man Mark N7

Right, it's been a few weeks since I last posted, so I'm due an update.

In summary, at this stage I have built, sealed and primed core body pieces, shoulders, biceps, forearms, handplates and shoes for both the male and female variants. Right now, I've got about a week's worth of construction ahead of me just to finish the legs, and then we will be into painting, electronics and helmet finishing.

In response to those asking me for a design concept, the best I can do with my poor photoshop skills is to colour in a black and white drawing of the Mark 42 with the N7 colouring that I'm aiming for. This does not show the other modifications to the design that I am including, but you will just have to wait and see the finished product for that:

Here are a couple of progress photos showing the stages of different pieces. At this time, I have not mixed my grey paints, and this is obviously the missing colours on the suits at this stage - there will be two tones of grey used as well as the black base, as the design concept above hints at. As I intend to use car spraypaint to coat the helmets, I am waiting until I have picked a specific grey paint colour (very dark) and I'll then be mixing the same tone with my acrylics.
Likewise, I can't apply the carbon fibre panelling until I finish the paint job, and the same goes for the gloss coat. So, this is a very early state of play for the paintwork:

It's a similar story with the shoes, but it's nice to see them coming along.

I have decided, as I have been going along with this build, that I will be applying a weathering layer to the suits after getting them to the "factory fresh" stage. The stark contrast that stood out between the metallic silver details and the black base has convinced me that, if nothing else, this needs to be toned down with a wash and some wear at the very least.

The helmets are coming along nicely, but much like with the black spraypaint work, the abysmal British weather is slowing things down. My wife is in charge of helmets, and she has been doing an admirable job of bondo-ing and power sanding as and when she can. I think she is about 80% there with the surfacing work. On a positive note, we managed to cut the faceplates out, and after removing the lower rear panel from the helmets, I am relieved that they both fit us. I was dreading 12-14 more hours building another one or two!

And the final photo for today is the finished build of the M4 Shuriken SMG that FemShep will be carrying. I used the same 'quick and dirty' cardboard and foam building technique from the M8 to throw it together quite quickly, and I am quite pleased with the result I got from a few pieces of scrap material.

The M4 sits in a fixed holster on the hip pod of the female suit build, which you should be able to see on the photos further up. I am pondering a system to store the M8 Avenger on the back of the male suit, to save carrying it around all day, but I'm still scratching my head as to a decent and reliable method of doing this without affecting aesthetics.

Tonight, I've placed my rather expensive order for electroluminescent tape and wire to get things looking more exciting. The materials have also arrived for my modified omni-tool, so I should have that built in the the next few weeks too. I'll update once I have something interesting to show beyond just a slightly different paint job on a Mark 42 suit. Hopefully, you will start to see the mash-up coming into fruition!

 

[Gaz]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Weekly update. Finished the male core body piece this weekend. Just need to paint the shoulders and then everything from the waist up (bar the helmet) is ready to go.



I'm fairly happy with the result that the EL panelling is giving me this time around. On my previous IM builds, I used rather bulky LED lights in the chest, and its a nice change to have something so thin and light in its place. The light itself is obviously not as bright as LEDs, but it photographs well and just gives a more convincing glow more akin to the movie style.
The carbon fibre vinyl wrap has finished things off well (though some of the edging is not adhering too well, so some final touch ups with the trusty tube of super glue will be necessary before I'm happy to risk wearing it to a Con all day,



My wife's suit is also getting there. It just needs a little touch up around the paint (its VERY rough on these photos, I already know that - these were taken over a week ago before we sat down to do the first stage of touch ups), and then some of black vinyl on my suit (the chest and abs) will be in white carbon on hers, just to feminise it a bit more, and fit in with the customisable concept of the Mass Effect N7 armour in-game. Her rear EL strips will also be pink. That should all be sorted out in the next few days.

My wife is wearing the right arm in that shot above, along with the right shoulder (then unfinished and unhinged etc), which is obviously in the red and white colouring consistent with the N7 theme, though I made sure it kept the Iron Man panelling. The left arm is a bit more complicated, as it needed to include the OmniTool. It was my first time working with electronics as well as freehand plexiglass cutting and shaping, so I was a bit nervous, but I think it came out well.



I'm in the UK and I used an online company called EL Wirecraft. Really happy with the products. For both suits, with all the lights, wiring and power units, I was a bit anxious at paying out just over £170, but the quality has been top notch, and the seller threw in some extras, spares and a repair kit too, so I would highly recommend them. The actual lights I bought for the round piece are designed for a Tron cosplay, but I thought they would work well in this context. I must say I'm more than happy with it for my first attempt and limited tools.

Elsewhere, I made a start on the legs, but decided to stop that before I filled my kitchen with unfinished pieces. I constructed the base foam shin pieces but agreed with my wife that I should complete and store away everything from the waist up before starting anything new from the waist down.



My wife's helmets are doing well (no photos to hand sorry). This weekend she has just done the paint job on her helmet, and is about to get stuck into mine before I get them handed over for electronics and hinging.

All in all, with 40 days to go, I'm fairly pleased with progress, and I'm hopeful we should have a decent pair of matching outfits in London!

 

[Yrien]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

These look fantastic! Definitely subscribing to see how your progress goes.

As for the "mash-up" part, did you consider putting the Stark Industries logo on the armour anywhere, in addition to the N7 logo?

 

[Gaz]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Yep, we've already got some Stark Industries decals running down the right bicep, just not seen in any photos anywhere yet.

 

[Albuin]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Looks promissing

 

[Gaz]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Quick update, as I forgot to add these WIP photos a couple of weeks ago. Here is the completed female body (apart from weathering):



As I type this, I'm just putting the very last PVA layers onto the leg pieces (taken about 9 days as this Plastazote needs about 15-20 coats!), so I should now have them sprayed and built within the next week. All that we have left then is the helmets, and we are all set for London!

 

[Bandiet]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Wow! These are awesome... Great build, cant wait to see the final product!


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[MorbidCharlie]

Re: Marvel / Mass Effect Crossover Project: Iron Man Mark N7

Wow... that's a lot of PVA! Your coating does look extremely smooth. Just comparing notes, do you go straight to paint after coating and do you hand brush it on?