Mass Effect 2 Collector Armor

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CHEATER!

Looking great man, you know I follow all your flickr updates too, but its neat how you're cutting the helmet to sculpt over. Smart move.

Also, REALLY convincing me to get my own CNC here. Thats some droolworthy stuff.
 
Nahhhh Volpin, you don't need your own mill. You're always talking about how the shop is crowded and you don't have any space, etc etc. Just commission me to do your work. :lol
 
wow. I don't check the costuming section very often but I'm glad I did. You are doing some amazing work here!
 
about PVA Freeman Manufacturing is a place I get it from in Detroit, and I know they have other locations, but they might ship it (it's flammable so they might give you a hard time I actually had to sign a release to get it)

I've been hesitant to post a comment about your choice of final material, but I think Dragon Skin will end up incredibly heavy. I made a giant fish prop for a show out here, it was molded with a hollow core, so the silicone was about 1" to 1 1/2" thick and for a 2 1/2' fish it weighed about 20 lbs, I would guess the whole suit to end up weighing 100lbs. I would suggest something like the 5lb cold foam from smooth-on, but you really have to make this call. try a sample kit from them and see if it would work for the project.
Not to draw you away form D S, I love it for all kinds of projects, I just wanted to give you a heads up on weight with Dragon Skin
TL
 
Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how not to kill myself, what with it being heavy and about 10000 degrees in hotlanta, but I think the game plan might go something like - Skin the molds in a millimeter or three of dragonskin, then fill the voids with foam-it or the likes.

I'm still doing a couple test pulls with the one arm I do have, but nothing set in stone yet. Here's hoping...

So when are you going to finish that N7 helmet Tommy? It's looking awesome so far.

I didn't have much time this weekend for sculpting, but I did reprocess most of the clay that came from the left arm, shore up the shoulder and socket, and start in on some of the preliminary details of the back. Those plates that run down the spine should be a lot of fun. I think I'll tackle them this week.

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For the Dragon Skin to cold foam adhesion, I have seen people embed pulled apart cotton balls into the back side of the wet silicone (or latex) and that gives the cold foam something to grab on to, otherwise the silicone will just act like a mold and eventually slip off of the cold foam.

As for the helmet, It's been killing me lately, I might plastic off some of the basement and get back to sanding. so cold.
 
If you are looking at casting dragon skin and foam, check out somafoma from smooth on. It's a silicon foam vs a urethane foam like flexfoamit. The silicon foam will bond with the dragon skin without the need for a mechanical bond. Just a thought. And your sculpt is fantastic. I can hardly wait to see how this moves forward.
 
If you are looking at casting dragon skin and foam, check out somafoma from smooth on. It's a silicon foam vs a urethane foam like flexfoamit. The silicon foam will bond with the dragon skin without the need for a mechanical bond. Just a thought. And your sculpt is fantastic. I can hardly wait to see how this moves forward.

Have you tried the Soma Foma, I hated it, but that's my personal preference. You have to make sure to create back pressure while casting it or else the foam's bubble size is inconsistent, you get bigger bubbles near the surface and dense parts in the center. But if you get too much pressure it'll crack your mold. another one to try out first if you can.

Tommy
 
Buwahaha and you thought I abandoned this project.

So we're back! I got my new workshop set up and things are humming along. I've started to tackle the helmet this week, and I'm hoping to have it done by the end of next. 8 Weeks to Dcon has me scrambling to get things done.


My mannequin has lost his head! I decapitated him on the 4th. Hooray America.
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Day 1 of the helmet - I'm building this over an old helmet I sculpted a couple years back, so I know it fits perfectly. Looks like he's squinting.

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Day 2 - I've got most of the main elements laid out like I want em. I may end up removing the wrap around spines and adding them after casting to make things a little easier, but we'll see.

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I clap for you It's been a few months I see but you haven't stopped working and you are doing great. Keep up the good work!
 
Once again... Fantastic work ;), but ive got to ask... what process did you use to mold the right arm? is that a silicone covered with the fiberglass mat? It looked much thinner than im use to seeing, but i'm still really new at this stuff and trying to learn the best (and most cost effective) ways to do stuff ;). thanks - Andrew
 
Very impresive. Been hooked on the armor and weapons of Mass Effect ever since the game came out.

What we need now are some of the more talented in our ranks to offer some suits for sale for those of us artistically challenged.
 
Nay. Sadly the only thing the Collector is collecting these days is dust. My skillset just isn't quite up to the caliber of tackling a project like this just yet. I'd love to revisit this project someday, but for the time being, he has become a collector of storage space... le sigh.
 
You do have fantastic sculpting abilities. Just don't deside to tear it apart to save space as you'll kick yourself for a very long time after that ( I learned the hard way ). Don't give up on it, just take a break and good luck in the future.
 
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