Thorssoli's Ironman MkIII Build - Finished Suit Pics Page 26!!

[thorssoli]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Nuff said! Have you tried using elastics for the opening on the abs?

Not yet. So far it just wedges into place and stays put once the pelvis armor goes on. The chest makes it even more secure.

Those molds in the background kinda freak me out Thor...

They're for a different project. I'm sure they'll make more sense soon if you happen to be a subscriber to my blog.

I took it fairly easy yesterday. Mostly I ended up concentrating on helmets:


Sooner or later I'll get one right:

 

[thorssoli]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Lots of neat stuff done today, but I'm too tired to write a coherent post. Here's something to hold you over until I get rested and smart again:


That's my paper mockup of the helmet hinge arrangement. Good stuff.

 

[Mattdavid]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

As always your work is simply amazing, I can't wait to see it finished.

 

[Lew Majestic 28]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Dude you should post a pic of you suited up in everything ! helmet and the full works ! Cant wait to see the end result !

 

[thorssoli]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Dude you should post a pic of you suited up in everything ! helmet and the full works ! Cant wait to see the end result !

There will be no shortage of photos when it's all done. Trust me.

Yesterday I managed to make a bit of progress on several parts of this build. The most interesting one (for me) was my paper mockup of the planned linkage to open and close the face:


Here's the animated gif version again:

Since I had a couple of reject castings on the shelf, I went ahead and prepped them for paint so I could do a quick color test:




In all of my research for the MkIII suit, I've come up with two different options for the paint. One is Nissan Merlot Red (color code AX5) and the other is either "Roma Red" or "Red Mica" which my paint supplier tells me are both the same thing. Apparently the name of the color changes depending on which model of car you put it on.

Here I am shooting the Roma Red with my little touchup gun:


And here I am spraying the Merlot Red:


This morning I'll be masking off the red parts and shooting the gold parts. Then they'll get a clearcoat before I start picking out the details and doing some weathering. That said, I'm not sure I'm really liking the colors all that much. The Merlot Red strikes me as way too dark and the Roma Red seems a bit gaudy for some reason.

Here's the Roma Red:


Here's the Merlot Red without a flash:


Here it is with a flash:


Looking at them side-by-side, I'm inclined to think that both colors may have been used at different points in the film depending on the lighting that was being used. Either that or the lighting was exceedingly bright all of the time. Still, I can't make up my mind. Here's a shot of both with a flash:


Once I've sprayed the gold and the clearcoat, I'll get some pics of them in sunlight. The Merlot Red has quite a lot of metallic to it, so the lighting affects it dramatically.

 

[ROBOSTEVE 0671]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

For me the Merlot red is the closest, I do think the fact you've got a yellow lighting going on there makes a difference too, maybe take some shots outside and see what you get. or in the shadows outside, I still think the Merlot red will be close to what you want.

 

[Megatron]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

mix them hehe..

good use of a shop vac..paint stand with wheels 8)

 

[thorssoli]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

After looking through a handful of behind-the-scenes references, I've just realized that this costume has basically been finished for months now:


All I need is a donut to sit in:


But seriously...

I made a bit more progress on the bicep mold yesterday:


I also went ahead and sprayed the gold on my two test helmets:


Here they are outside on an overcast day before I'd sprayed the clearcoat:




And back inside sitting on the bench:


Here's the Roma Red with a clearcoat and a camera flash:


And the Merlot Red with a clear coat and a camera flash:


I realize the Merlot Red is supposed to be the color that was used on screen, but it still feels wrong to me. It's like the debate over the color of Vader's eye lenses. The costume used on-screen may have had some sort of brown/bronze/red/amber lenses, but if you make them anything but black they look wrong in real life. Merlot Red came out fine on screen with careful studio lighting and captured by whatever kind of camera was being used, but I think I need a lighter color for walking around in person. In most lighting, the Merlot Red is an almost black version of plurple. I welcome your thoughts/critiques.

Oddly, out of the three helmets I've painted, I like the Rustoleum Colonial Red one the best:


Today I plan to start molding my boot wedges and prototyping the new uppers. If I really get motivated, I may even have a helmet motorized too.

 

[ROBOSTEVE 0671]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I guess it's all about what you consider a real Iron Man red colour is, I think that Merlot red is perhaps a bit deep, but it's nice to get a deep red when you're in the shadows but also have a red that works well in stronger lights that doesn't get too bright. This red here I've used is a Nissan colour. I'll find out for you exactly what shade it is as it's that long since I chose it



and here again



But yet in another low light shot again inside it comes out like this

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

That is a great color choice!

 

[Bigturc]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

That Merlot and Nissan color - I think it's AX5 iirc - is looking completely accurate to me .. under all lighting condition. That's where I'm going with my parts .. but again, it's all in the eye of the beholder .. what you really like is what you should go with .. may it look too orange to some or too purple to others!

Shaun, I like that Merlot one, personally, I think that's the best looking one of your three!

 

[omarbou1]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

i agree that the merlot red is a bit dark but the other two are way too bright ..!
makes it look like plastic
anyways great progress !

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I think the Merlot looks the best of the color options in your tests, but I like the Nissan red even better!

 

[Mockle]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I think the Merlot looks the best of the color options in your tests, but I like the Nissan red even better!

Nissan paint AX5 MERLOT

 

[Lunaman]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Nissan paint AX5 MERLOT

Hahahaha, OH! Well there you go. :lol


I mean, I'm not the only one who remembers the red on the Mk III being way darker than the subsequent suits, right? I think the merlot looks near perfect. But as Bigturc said, it's your project and the only thing that matters is whether the final color suits your own preference in-person. Perhaps Shawn could make a custom mix in-between some of the options?

 

[vargatom]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

Red is notoriously hard to light in CGI, especially if it is a reflective metallic surface in outdoor lighting conditions. It'll have a lot of blueish color spill from the reflection of the sky, and even if the VFX crew gets it right there'll certainly be nighttime shots where the daytime parameters will just look wrong. Both the Weta and the ILM guys have complained about it when I attended some talks on the various Marvel movies.

My suggestion is to ignore pictures and chose what you like the most in person. Although I have to admit that the Nissan color looks best in pictures

And then again, anything in primary colors is very hard to light in CGI, just ask anyone who worked on Avatar (blue skin) or John Carter / Hulk (green skin).
Maybe you should have gone with War Machine?

 

[Kevin Gossett]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

It's the age old question prop replicators face... Do you you go with what is technically screen accurate or what equates to accurate on screen? Do you use the paint you know was used on the production hero suit or do you use a different paint that looks closer to what the eye sees on screen? I personally like the darker AX5 myself, and have used it on my personal build as well as another commission. Steve's color above though is a very happy medium!

 

[thorssoli]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I realize that the Mk3 was much darker than the rest, but I still think I'm going to have to go with a somewhat lighter red. Steve, I really like the color you've got there and if you can share more information about it, I'd appreciate it.

Regarding my color tests, here's a shot of the back of two helmets in direct sunlight after the clearcoat had set up:

Merlot Red on the left, Roma Red on the right. I'm thinking they'd have looked better with a satin clearcoat on the red parts as well.

Here's the three helmets I've painted in a row:

The one on the right is Rustoleum Colonial Red.

I'm thinking I'll start over on the color selection process.

In other news, I've decided that I'm better off making my neck pieces out of the same slipcast latex I'm using for the knees and elbows. Unfortunately, I can't reliably expect latex to cure in a silicone mold. On the plus side, this gives me an opportunity to fix some of the flaws that I've found with the neck that I'd already put together.

The first thing I needed to do though was get a casting that I could easily change and then pull a stone mold from. I started by melting down six 2-pound blocks of Chavant NSP oil-based clay:


As I was melting the clay, I'd occasionally pour a bit into the neck mold and slosh it around to coat the rubber:


After several coats to build thickness, I let the remaining clay pool in the back of the neck. I needed it thick here because I was going to be shaving off a lot of material in that area:


Rather than pouring a 40-pound block of clay, I decided to fill the remaining portion of the mold with expanding foam:


When the foam had cured, I sawed the bottom off so it would sit flat:


Then I peeled off the silicone jacket:


There were a few minor surface flaws:


But I now have a pretty decent place to start from while I'm sculpting some minor changes and fixing a few surface defects:


Stay tuned...

 

[Mockle]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I agree with a lighter color, its a great color I posted one I like its Siena red from BMW..if you need the paint code... I can post here if you like..

 

[ROBOSTEVE 0671]

Re: Just What This Forum Needs: Another Ironman Build

I realize that the Mk3 was much darker than the rest, but I still think I'm going to have to go with a somewhat lighter red. Steve, I really like the color you've got there and if you can share more information about it, I'd appreciate it.

I kept the receipt for the paint and it's got the codes so I'll share it here, Mark (Fingaz) here on the RPF who's painted it for me tells me it's actually a Motorbike colour and I was wrong saying it was Nissan, for reason I thought it was but I was off with my memory, I'll get the codes when I'm home and I'll post them up.