After lurking for well over a year, having built a few small time cardboard pieces, and idolizing the likes of Robo, XRobots, and all the other amazingly talented builders... I've decided to move on in and make something happen.
I am currently in the process of assembling (see what I did there?) all of the necessary pieces of the puzzle to build my own foam based Iron Man Armour. My goal is to use the Mark VI as a basis for what was always one of my favorite of Tony's suits in the comics- The Stealth series.
I will be utilizing the same Pepakura files that XRobots has with his build, along with his amazing plastic coating technique (I think I might have a bit of hero worship built up, ya think?). The lighting and paint is where I plan to take a bit of artistic license, however.
The entire suit is going to be done in an "Iron Man Red" metallic base coat. This will form the basis for what will basically be a multi-coat tinting project. Utilzing a "Tinted Clear" that most of the "rice burner" kids use to tint their tail lights, I will darken the Red until it is near black in any but bright, direct light. This will then be finished off with a Matte clear coat to give it that "Stealth" look. The exceptions to the tinted red scheme will be the Face Plate, which will receive a "brushed aluminum" style finish, as well as the biceps.
As for lighting and electronics, that's where things are going to get real fun. Sticking with the stealth theme, I will be utilizing duel color LEDs and color strips- Red for when in "stealth mode" and White when inactive- this will be controlled by a twist toggle that I plan to build into the right ear of the helmet that will be connected to the main body of the suit via molex connectors for power.
In the main body of the suit will be all red lighting- the flaps in the back will be set slightly open (with the possibility of if I get really ambitious, I might have them actuated to open and close at random) with shielded red LEDs. The Repulsors will have the duel stage (again, controlled from the ear toggle) LEDs but with a little suprise... I have disassembled a pair of old disposable cameras to harvest their flash mechanisms. These will be integrated into the build up of the Repulsor assembly and will be triggered either by a pressure switch in the top of the gauntlet or thumb- still working the logistics of that one. As this will be an "all day wear" suit, I am also working out a cooling system... most likely to be made up of 120mm PC case fans that could be well concealed in the back plate- anyone with ideas or suggestions, please- share!
The actual power source is going to be a trio of portable cell phone batteries- Energizer and several other companies make them. The three that I have picked are from Energizer and kind of work with my scheme. They will be added as "detail pieces" to the armour (still working out where) as they are already finished in a matte black, and I would like to be able to remove them on the fly to charge (Charge time is approx 45 minutes- with the whole planned electric draw of the system at a little over 350 mAh, the 3 1000mAh batteries should allow for a minimum of 6 hours of continuous use- the flash setup will use it's own contained AA battery sources, as will the arc reactor (which will be a wearable piece all on it's own). If a more affordable 15000mAh battery pack becomes available, this may change to be a completely self contained in the suit unit.
----------------------------
In other words, the planning is coming along nicely!
If anyone has any words of wisdom, advice, or general critiques on my plans, please- lemme know! I openly admit to being completely green when it comes to costume production- I have a background in automotives and electronics, so those parts will be a breeze... it's all of the attention to detail that this is going to require that is going to do me in... My goal overall is to have this suit 80% by Mid-October for wear to Halloween functions and a few of the local Cons....
Wish me luck!
I am currently in the process of assembling (see what I did there?) all of the necessary pieces of the puzzle to build my own foam based Iron Man Armour. My goal is to use the Mark VI as a basis for what was always one of my favorite of Tony's suits in the comics- The Stealth series.
I will be utilizing the same Pepakura files that XRobots has with his build, along with his amazing plastic coating technique (I think I might have a bit of hero worship built up, ya think?). The lighting and paint is where I plan to take a bit of artistic license, however.
The entire suit is going to be done in an "Iron Man Red" metallic base coat. This will form the basis for what will basically be a multi-coat tinting project. Utilzing a "Tinted Clear" that most of the "rice burner" kids use to tint their tail lights, I will darken the Red until it is near black in any but bright, direct light. This will then be finished off with a Matte clear coat to give it that "Stealth" look. The exceptions to the tinted red scheme will be the Face Plate, which will receive a "brushed aluminum" style finish, as well as the biceps.
As for lighting and electronics, that's where things are going to get real fun. Sticking with the stealth theme, I will be utilizing duel color LEDs and color strips- Red for when in "stealth mode" and White when inactive- this will be controlled by a twist toggle that I plan to build into the right ear of the helmet that will be connected to the main body of the suit via molex connectors for power.
In the main body of the suit will be all red lighting- the flaps in the back will be set slightly open (with the possibility of if I get really ambitious, I might have them actuated to open and close at random) with shielded red LEDs. The Repulsors will have the duel stage (again, controlled from the ear toggle) LEDs but with a little suprise... I have disassembled a pair of old disposable cameras to harvest their flash mechanisms. These will be integrated into the build up of the Repulsor assembly and will be triggered either by a pressure switch in the top of the gauntlet or thumb- still working the logistics of that one. As this will be an "all day wear" suit, I am also working out a cooling system... most likely to be made up of 120mm PC case fans that could be well concealed in the back plate- anyone with ideas or suggestions, please- share!
The actual power source is going to be a trio of portable cell phone batteries- Energizer and several other companies make them. The three that I have picked are from Energizer and kind of work with my scheme. They will be added as "detail pieces" to the armour (still working out where) as they are already finished in a matte black, and I would like to be able to remove them on the fly to charge (Charge time is approx 45 minutes- with the whole planned electric draw of the system at a little over 350 mAh, the 3 1000mAh batteries should allow for a minimum of 6 hours of continuous use- the flash setup will use it's own contained AA battery sources, as will the arc reactor (which will be a wearable piece all on it's own). If a more affordable 15000mAh battery pack becomes available, this may change to be a completely self contained in the suit unit.
----------------------------
In other words, the planning is coming along nicely!
If anyone has any words of wisdom, advice, or general critiques on my plans, please- lemme know! I openly admit to being completely green when it comes to costume production- I have a background in automotives and electronics, so those parts will be a breeze... it's all of the attention to detail that this is going to require that is going to do me in... My goal overall is to have this suit 80% by Mid-October for wear to Halloween functions and a few of the local Cons....
Wish me luck!
