Show me your Iron man gloves.

sandbagger

Master Member
I've has several attempts at the gauntlets for my steel Iron Man MK IV. Paper pep/fibreglass, foam of all thicknesses, cast aluminium, steel, plasti-dipped foam, (disaster). Not trying to be too much of a perfectionist, but these things SUCK BALLS!

I'd like to see your solutions folks, all the little ideas together on one thread, that might help me and others down the track to solve the most difficult part of the suit.

Photos would be great, links, tutorials, whatever. Let's see what you've got.

SB.

Here's my last two in cast aluminium, then steel. Both are not working as well as I'd hoped. The problem is that while they might look good, I can't perform simple tasks with them, like picking things up, making a full fist etc. Joining the fingers so they still move is also a challenge.

Hkft1Ef.jpg


c0G1bdg.jpg



Hyuo5ec.jpg


b4g7tLz.jpg


IzYEU2S.jpg
 
2015-02-14%2013.36.21_zps3yefbm9q.jpg

This is how I will be doing mine with some tweeks SB.
Iron man check the scene where his hand close's. The palm is NOT one piece...GM
 
http://i1272.photobucket.com/albums...s/2015-02/2015-02-14 13.36.21_zps3yefbm9q.jpg
This is how I will be doing mine with some tweeks SB.
Iron man check the scene where his hand close's. The palm is NOT one piece...GM


that all looks pretty and yes, I've studied the clip many times. I would love to see how you go about it. Also handy would be a materials list and where you source it as well as approximate cost.

like my gloves, many have the look but non seem to have the range of motion that allows you to usefully perform even the simplest tasks.
 
We got a 3D print thread somewhere on here and the results have looked great. No complaints on the range of motion with them. Granted you would need 3D printing capabilities.

If you wanted to still make sure it stayed with the metal theme, There are fillaments that consist of metallic composite. You could get pieces 3D printed and then cast those pieces and maybe your results would be better coming from a tried and true form factor.

Hope that works out, regardless.
 
The problem comes when you have lots of people with fanciful ideas of how something could work, versus the harsh reality of wrapping a flexible organic appendage in a rigid external shell. Without EXTREMELY complex engineering or soft hybrid materials where needed, one simply loses all but basic range of motion.

Big problem number one comes from the hand plates front and back. If you enclose from the wrist all the way to the webs of the fingers and thumb, there is a straight fold 3/4 of the way up on the inside of your palm that is now blocked. Similarly, when you bend your fingers and hand, the knuckles automatically raise. A rigid back-shell also stops this, restricting a full bend.

Have a look at my hand study video below.

Big problem number two is the fingers. How to fully enclose the fingers, hide the gaps underneath and join them to the rest of the glove so they don't fall off.

Big problem number three is getting them on and off. All well and good to make an entire one-piece or even three-piece glove, but how do you get it on and off without first running your hand under a truck to crush it to mush so you can squirt your hand into a form-fitting rigid exoskeleton. You can see my attempts above are OK, but there are still these problems.

Do I just live with it, or has someone got an answer? People have been wearing metal gauntlets for centuries, but most of them were plates riveted over the top of a leather glove, leaving the palm just leather.

An Iron Man glove is radically different in that the metal is fully enclosing.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I understand fully with what you want to do. I have been racking my head over making an armor focusing on a full range of motion. Once my furnace is built I will get started. Once I figure it out you'll be the secondo to know...GM
 
on the palmar side of the hand you need very thin rings holding the individual finger pieces in place...doesn't look as cool. A side view of finger pieces that offered good range of motion would be triangular, with the palmar angle of the triangles all meeting at the center of the axis the fingers fold around. Also, finger joints open when you make a fist, that gap requires some kind of elastic material to stretch when bending fingers and relax when straightening.
The movie design looks cool, and *looks* like it could perform a hand's range of motion, but cannot in real world.

Your work is inspiring SB
 
The fingers are doable, but that palm screws everything up. Even if you seperated it into individual panels and attached to a flexible underglove, I still don't think you'd get the range of motion you want, as the hand replulsors take up too much space.

There would be some hope if a practical prop existed, but from dvd extras etc, RDJ seemed to switch to a CGI suit quite early on, and the stunt suits were very flexible.

We're trying to created suits that have only existed digitally, so some compromises have to be made. You've already had to drill a hole in your faceplate just so you can see where you're going. The hands present the same problem. You can either have screen accurate, or you can have more than 10% range of motion. You'd have to break physics (or your hand) to do both.

I do feel your pain. I'm hoping to just have to remove my helmet and gloves for a pee break (am planning on a magnetic cod plate), but there's a good chance that plan will go out the window once I know what range of motion my arms will have. I might just have to do what I did in the TDK suit, and not pee for 8 hours...........

I hope you don't take this as all negative. If anyone can figure this out with card templates, it's you. The materials you have developed expertise in ove the course of your build give you far more options that we mere mortals. Maybe you will figure out something with sliding panels held together with magnets...........
 
Big problem number one comes from the hand plates front and back. If you enclose from the wrist all the way to the webs of the fingers and thumb, there is a straight fold 3/4 of the way up on the inside of your palm that is now blocked. Similarly, when you bend your fingers and hand, the knuckles automatically raise. A rigid back-shell also stops this, restricting a full bend.
sandbagger, perhaps you can get the said 3/4 straight fold of the palm to bend a little by cutting off some areas of the hand. I marked them red on the photos below.

Untitled.pngUntitled1.png

(this is darkside501st's mod of Zabana's hand file btw)

After cutting those areas off, you can connect them again with red cloth material to fill in the gaps which you will see if you're not bending your fingers. It would break the look a little but I'd be willing to trade looks for functionality any time.

I've seen someone else do it, too. You may want to check his thread out.

So far with the hands, I find that the slightest improvement in mobility goes a long way :lol
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The gloves in the movies were either CGI (for the Mk 5 suit up), or cast in flexible materials (rubber or foam). They may have made some rigid "hero" gloves, but they wouldn't have been used for any scenes where he grabs something.

Here's some pictures of the flexible gloves:
Screen Shot 2015-01-27 at 7.13.40 PM.pngScreen Shot 2015-01-27 at 7.13.49 PM.pngScreen Shot 2015-01-27 at 7.13.59 PM.png

Hero gloves (I think...)
IronMan_1.jpg

When I get around to it, mine will be 3D printed. It won't give a great range of motion, but I'm going for accuracy.
 
Hey, SB. I know I'm not the only one thinking your last post was kinda harsh. Sorry I didn't initially understand the point you were trying to make and my suggestion wasn't helpful. I can see you're frustrated with this.

I don't plan on posting anymore in your thread, but in the hope that someone has a solution for you and hasn't chimed in yet, just think about your wording a little more. Someone else may end up having a useful suggestion and not share it because of what comes across as a bit of an attitude.
 
Hey, SB. I know I'm not the only one thinking your last post was kinda harsh. Sorry I didn't initially understand the point you were trying to make and my suggestion wasn't helpful. I can see you're frustrated with this.

I don't plan on posting anymore in your thread, but in the hope that someone has a solution for you and hasn't chimed in yet, just think about your wording a little more. Someone else may end up having a useful suggestion and not share it because of what comes across as a bit of an attitude.

My apologies if I came across that way Colin. I have looked over my last post and I personally can't see what was harsh. Perhaps it was the fact that my post directly below yours wasn't a direct answer to your post, rather a cut and copied post from another forum where I have asked the same question in a duplicate thread.

Other than that, I am often short, sweet and to the point, but I also like to explain fully and make details perfectly clear. Sometimes that is not conversational. I meant no offence to anyone at all.

Not really frustrated, just looking for any and all options to solve challenges.

Thank you for your 3D suggestions mate, but as you can see, I have to make do with the resources around me. Unfortunately I have no access to a 3D printer.

Have a great day.

SB
 
Hey guys, thanks for all your suggestions above. Everything comes in handy... (see what I did there? :p )

This is how we solve things, working together, sharing techniques and ideas. Bless ya's!

I did try the broken joint in the hand plates with my steel version. While it does give some range of movement back, it's still not enough for me.

I'm trying foam again, but this time slowing down a bit. I'm wrapping it in metallic stretch fabric with contact adhesive.

I'll post up in my build thread later. Perhaps my mods will help everyone too.

SB
 
I did pep, but use magnets between top hand and bottom. When i flex too much the magnets break and give me movement, and then click back together when i flatten out. WP_20150811_23_47_02_Pro.jpgWP_20150811_23_48_04_Pro.jpgWP_20150811_23_48_21_Pro.jpg

I say that, but trying to grab stuff. haha. not easy.
 
https://youtu.be/FpxPAnHNhKY
This is my first video post, hope it works.
Drawing on the hand shows detailed movement and gives an idea of how the parts of the glove would or should move.
I believe that if the's separate parts are held by way of a spring mech then it shall SPRING back into place. Hopefully this is helpful SB...
Please forgive the staining on my hand as I am an eletroplater, and the stainingredients is sulphuric acid lol...GM
 
Last edited:
Hey everyone, just saw this thread.
I'm currently figuring out how to make a 3d printed exo-skeleton sort of thing that doesn't compromise any movement and the hands are one of the trickiest parts. One of my ideas was just separating the knuckles from the rest of the hand and putting some resistant elastics, hinges or something on both sides to allow closing your fist. The same idea goes for the thumb. Of course this is only in theory, didn't actually try it yet unfortunately.
Hope it helps in any way.
 
I have a working theory that needs to be made into a working model. Very excited for this. Hey SB what is the outer diameter of your repulsor? In decimal inches if you can...GM
 
Hey guys, thanks for all your suggestions above. Everything comes in handy... (see what I did there? :p )

This is how we solve things, working together, sharing techniques and ideas. Bless ya's!

I did try the broken joint in the hand plates with my steel version. While it does give some range of movement back, it's still not enough for me.

I'm trying foam again, but this time slowing down a bit. I'm wrapping it in metallic stretch fabric with contact adhesive.

I'll post up in my build thread later. Perhaps my mods will help everyone too.

SB

SB, I know I've mentioned it before but rather than trying to wrap it in metallic stretch fabric with contact adhesive, try using thin aluminum (see link in my sig for technique). It won't be as flexible but will go better with the look for the rest of your suit.
 
This thread is more than 7 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top