Mass Effect Cerberus Trooper foam armor *WIP* Now with PAINT!

[Beer_Money_Props]

I'd like to take this opportunity to say that it is possible to export a file from Pepakura into a format that a laser cutter can read, and laser cutting EVA foam is glorious.

Sorry to hear about the bad things, and good luck with the new position!

Thanks again...I'm excited for the idea of new and exciting, but at the same time, I have a bad habit of getting a little hard on myself for not doing what I set out to do...Even if I have no control over what happens. I just want this done so I can start something new.

 

[msleeper]

Oh I totally understand. I had 100% of my female Ant-Man costume go horribly wrong, up to and including the dress ripping in half when I put it on the day before Dragon*Con. I'm trying to find time to start it up again in between other commitments, but it really bugs me that I've had to abandon it to the degree that I have.

 

[jdanger]

one word, SEXY! lookin good dude, i love it.

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Thanks jdanger!



Took what I had done out for a spin at Long Beach Comic and Horror Con last weekend. Got some exceptionally positive reviews from everyone I spoke with.

Now I'm more determined than ever to wrap this up....You know...as soon as I get 5 minutes to myself to do so... :facepalm:facepalm:facepalm

 

[DJK1221]

Really cool stuff! Looks awesome!

 

[Invalid Effort]

This is an awesome build, I have to ask how many foam sheets did it take you to make all this?

 

[Praxis]

Looks Great! It inspires me forward on my owe Cerberus Centurion. Thanks for sharing your progress.

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Thanks! Like I said in your thread, if you need advice or just some friendly encouragement feel free to PM me anytime.

And now for a smallish update.

I've decided to rebuild the helmet out of foam since paper pepping and finishing is almost impossible with my current work schedule...

Soooooo I reworked my original paper Pep files into foam and started a proof of concept tonight...

Here's a teaser.



There's a few things I need to change in the overall design (mostly to eliminate seams), but I'm pretty happy with it so far.

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

And this is what a little perseverance and reverse engineering will get ya...



Not too shabby for my first foam bucket!

I still need to burn in the final details/damage and go over the whole thing with my caulking trick, but after this weekend and I may just have the full suit built/sealed/primered and ready for final paint/weathering!

ZOMG!

 

[eidylon]

looks fantastic! how's the visibility of of this thing? final assembly is going to be awesome...

Sent mobile using Tapatalk.

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Visibility is so-so. I can see enough to walk around, but just barely. The upper corner of the "eye holes" line up with my eyes, but the angle they taper down to is well below my line of sight.

The plan is to possibly add some red LED's around the eyes and the jowl area like the original model...assuming I can keep it balanced with a battery pack installed. I may need to glue in an elastic strap for the back of my head to keep it from sliding forward.

First things first. Build the full suit, then play with the finer details.

Speaking of details...

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Got a little more done with the thighs.

Cleaned up all the edges, burned in some much needed detail with a hot knife, and got them both coated in Plasti-dip.



On to the boots next in between coats of PVA on the bucket.

 

[Freya Willia]

Nice work on the helmet!

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Nice work on the helmet!

Thanks Freya!

It was actually those hi-res photos in your thread that pushed me to get this back on track. Seriously, they came out amazing!

And besides...Can't have a Shepard with an Avenger that nice running around without someone to shoot it at.

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

Decent progress made this weekend.
The bucket is sealed in 3 coats of ModPodge and should be ready for a coat of primer tomorrow after work



I got the rest of the armor (except for the boots) primered and caulked and will be ready to throw final paint at everything this coming week. I decided to repaint the pauldrons since the yellow color made up for the Cerberus stripe hardened (mental note, don't trust cheap plastic airbrush jar gaskets to keep custom colors more than a few weeks...) and I doubt I'll be able to match it properly. I don't think the bracers will be an issue, since they are pretty heavily weathered and not right up against the upper armor where it'll be really obvious.



I also started working on the boots by building up a pair of tall rubber boots. There isn't enough detail in my original model to pep them from, so I'm scratch building straight from the artwork.
Guess and test and guess again.

 

[eidylon]

Decent progress made this weekend.
The bucket is sealed in 3 coats of ModPodge and should be ready for a coat of primer tomorrow after work

View attachment 278701

The fine lines around the nose piece and mouth area... those are burned in?

- - - Updated - - -

Visibility is so-so. I can see enough to walk around, but just barely. The upper corner of the "eye holes" line up with my eyes, but the angle they taper down to is well below my line of sight.

The plan is to possibly add some red LED's around the eyes and the jowl area like the original model...assuming I can keep it balanced with a battery pack installed. I may need to glue in an elastic strap for the back of my head to keep it from sliding forward.

First things first. Build the full suit, then play with the finer details.

Speaking of details...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/01/25/yseqa5et.jpg

Would you be able to install the batteries in either the ear or breather units? Don't know how much room you have in there. Would think in the ears would alleviate any balance issues, being pretty close to COG.

What are those rivet-looking things you used in the middle of the picture?

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

The fine lines around the nose piece and mouth area... those are burned in?

Yup.

I draw everything out first with a pen on my paper templates to get a rough idea of how it's going to look. Then I carefully slice the lines or circles (or whatever other shape you want) I drew on the template with my X-Acto, and transfer that template to the foam. You can see the lines and circles I drew in post #69. If you're working with something symmetrical like this helmet, you can flip the template over and use it on both sides to get it even. Then I go in and "trace" them using a fine pen-tip on my wood burning tool.

The screw holes and "rivets" are done the same way with different round tips and a layering effect. You can find all kinds of wood burning tips at a craft store. I got mine at a Hobby Lobby or Michaels. I can't remember which.

I really need to find a metal template tool for tracing out circles with the burning tool (I'm steady with my hands, but not that steady...) but these came out good enough for this suit. As I learned from building that Arm Cannon...Battle damage covers a lot of building sins. :ninja

 

[eidylon]

Yup. ... I really need to find a metal template tool for tracing out circles with the burning tool (I'm steady with my hands, but not that steady...) but these came out good enough for this suit. As I learned from building that Arm Cannon...Battle damage covers a lot of building sins. :ninja

I'd say those circles came out AMAZINGLY awesome if they're just burned in free-hand.
I was sure you used some of those little plastic rivet-looking things.

Looking awesome!!

And yes, Battle Damage is a saviour! LOL

 

[Beer_Money_Props]

I'd say those circles came out AMAZINGLY awesome if they're just burned in free-hand.
I was sure you used some of those little plastic rivet-looking things.

Looking awesome!!

And yes, Battle Damage is a saviour! LOL

I should clarify... It's the bigger circles and curves I have trouble with. The ones you see in that pic are all made with a combination of these

 

[eidylon]

I should clarify... It's the bigger circles and curves I have trouble with. The ones you see in that pic are all made with a combination of these
View attachment 278872

For tracing out the larger circles... what about removing the plastic from a flexible artists curve?
I believe the inside of those things are lead, so might require a little caution, but would be one idea.
We're already working with Bondo and melty-plastic fumes and all sorts of other fun stuff, right?