MK. 39 Starboost Foam Build, First Post!

Sithslayer78

New Member
Hey guys, I've been working on this suit for a while now and I figured that I should get around to adding it to the list here! I usually frequent the 405th parts of these forums, but after seeing the Mk. 39, I couldn't resist. First post is going to be a bit hectic since I'm putting about 2 months of work into one post, but here goes!

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First, I started with scaling. I had a few flights across the country so that gave me plenty of time to break out Maya and try and make sure not only that the parts were scaled to fit me, but each other as well. To do this, I just placed them in an animation scene and scaled them relative to a stock 3D model of a person that I scaled to be my height:
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Then, I got working to getting the templates unfolded and cut out. Pretty simple work, but tedious. Thankfully, I had access to a laser cutter to help with cutting out the templates:
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While I was at it, I also used the cutter to cut out parts that required the Hex patterning. This took a long time ans was generally boring. But the results speak for themselves:
As for the Arc Reactor, While I was able to find reference images outlining a general shape, it didn't seem very exciting so I just decided to abandon all that and make my own:
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Here a second one I made is sitting in my desktop:
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I also decided that I would be using Adafruit Neopixels to light the arc reactor, and eventually the hands:


From there, Pics get a bit scarce, but I'll upload what I have and try to get more done from there:
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I'll try and post more pictures when I get home, since there a lot more parts (not shown). From here, I'm going to need to (in no particular order):
  • Finish painting errythang
  • Build the Visor
  • add EL lighting and a cooling fan
  • Build the Neck Seal
  • Sew Gold Spanded into the gloves
  • Sew Gold Spandex elbow Joints
  • Wire the Torso lighting and controllers
  • Wire the hand lighting and controllers
  • Design pockets into the Cod to store things
  • Figure out where to stuff a camelbak
  • Rig the armor
  • Test and go be Iron man

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That is pretty incredible work! And the hexed pieces are flawless! I could hardly tell that this is a foam build. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, or you're planning on rigging the flaps on the back, but the booster pack on the back seems ideal for a camelback
 
Looking really good. That laser cutter looks amazingly useful. Something nice about watching it cut the templates.

When you were painting did you just rotate the parts on the pole you have in the picture or did you move the spray around them?

The arc reactor looks great as well. Nice to see a custom design and looks like it will fit well with the look of the suit.
 
Hey guys! It was driving me crazy not having a full complement of pictures, so here's pictures of everything I have currently done that's not masked beyond recognition. The only painting I have now before applying weathering and clear coat is are the gold accents, but I need to wait for my gold spandex to come in so I can color match the paint I will be using. Meanwhile, the parts will wait in the staging area:
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Torso and Helmet: (More on the helmet later)
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Shoulders & Close up of hex weathering:
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Arms:
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Hands/pile of fingers (I'm using foam because i want to be able to move the hands. Maybe ill print them with ninjaflex one day...:darnkids):
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Abs:
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Cod:
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Thighs:
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Shins:
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Shoe Covers:
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Various Laser cut parts/inserts (Laser cut reflector sections for the thruster lighting):
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Electronics pile:
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All together now!
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So, the helmet.
You may want to comment that the seam lines are very visible. You're right. I made the visor such that I could cut it out of 0.10" Polycarbonate and put it together like a pepakura file. Why? So I could see through it, and so I could preserve that "blank stare" that the Mk. 39 has. I decided that visibility and the overall look was worth having a few seam lines, and judjung from the view inside (see below) I don't regret it.
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Moving forward, I plan on layering yellow and orange vinyl headlight wrap on top of the helmet as it is to create a gold tint.
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I can only pray that I do not crush or destroy the visor in the process.


That is pretty incredible work! And the hexed pieces are flawless! I could hardly tell that this is a foam build. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, or you're planning on rigging the flaps on the back, but the booster pack on the back seems ideal for a camelback

Thanks! That was the idea at first, but its proving a challenge to mount and deform properly. hopefully I can make that work.

Looking really good. That laser cutter looks amazingly useful. Something nice about watching it cut the templates.

When you were painting did you just rotate the parts on the pole you have in the picture or did you move the spray around them?

The arc reactor looks great as well. Nice to see a custom design and looks like it will fit well with the look of the suit.

The laser cutter is probably the primary reason I even bothered to do this build. Without it, I'd be cooked. As for painting, Yeah, I use that pole and smaller ones and rotate parts around it. sometimes if im feeling ambitious I just rotate the pole.
 
Quick Update:
Finished Painting the Armor and started rigging!
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Also did some quick stenciling using the old vinyl cutter:
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Tried weathering the edges before it dried, looks ok, should look better after weathering.
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Updating the to do list for my own sanity: From here, I'm going to need to (in no particular order):

  • Weather Armor once its Sunny
  • Cover the Visor
  • Eye LED lighting and a fan
  • Build the Neck Seal
  • Sew Gold Spandex into the gloves & elbow Joints
  • Wire the Torso lighting and controllers & Fans
  • Wire the hand lighting and controllers
  • Mount Camelbak and Speakers
  • Rig the armor
  • Test
 
That's looking great. I've always had it in my head that once the armour is built then that's it nearly there. You never realise just how much still needs to be done till you hit that point though.

Hope that it all continues to go well.
 
Very nice built man! Nice to see people building the lovely Mk 39. Im also building my own Mk 39 Suit out of PVC and EVA foam. Your hexa pattern looks fantastic, If I had a laser cutter I would love to make one myself but cutting it out by hand is too much work in my oppinion! i hope my built will turn out aswell as yours!

Cheers man!
 
I haven’t updated this in a while, but between losing a computer, 5 cons, preparing for 2 more, and a semester of grad school, I’ve been pretty busy.


Regardless, I can happily say that I made the deadline for Otakon last year! Since Last update, I’ve been hard at work finishing up the costume. The biggest difficulty was in getting all of the electronics wired up properly and working how they should. I’ll keep things short and just go ahead and post what pictures I have left.
Sewing together the gloves and adding electronics:
I took apart the original riding gloves I had and used the fabric that came with it to make gold replacements:
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Finished Hands!
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After some weathering and mounting, I was finally able to do a test fit!
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Since all was good, here are some of the better pictures I’ve gotten between Otakon 2015 and Baltimore Comic Con!
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I even got to hang out with some awesome Agents of SHIELD!
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I also made a Mannequin to display it in my apartment!
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And here’s a demonstration of the color changing controls!

Still some problems remain. The shoulder hinges I 3D printed aren’t very strong, and the shoulder droops outward in bad winds (Like in the picture with Ed Olmos). Also, the battery for the helmet doesn’t nearly have the capacity to drive the Neopixels and fan in the helmet for much longer than an hour. More later when/if I fix these issues!

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