Tips from Newbie to Newbies (on foam build - for now)

[IMIM2]

@strayrooster: thank you, should you have questions, just ask okay?
@mark0017: good to know there are somebody that still appreciate this :lol

I am planning to upgrade my suit little by little, while doing some side projects here and there. So many things, so little time.
Apologize for not adding tips for a while, but I'm not running out of them!
I saw a lot of new tips on the other threads too!

 

[Helagak]

IMIM2, you need to get your butt to work on the mark 8!! =P

 

[IMIM2]

Tip #22: Foam or Paper?

Some member were asking about whether to choose paper or foam for custom/prop build. Here are some of my thoughts:

Paper
PRO:
-cheaper
-easier to cut
-give a sharp edges and more exact dimension

CON:
-time consuming
-a lot of detailed cut
-more parts
-to make a dent or build thickness requires more effort
-without resin or fiberglass, it is just not strong enough.

Foam
PRO:
-less parts
-it can be bend, more organic shape
-sturdier
-it can be finished with or without fiberglass/resin
-faster build

CON:
-some find angle cut is troublesome
-less detail

Sure there are more pros and cons, and the above statement still can be debatable. And cons can be converted to pros with experience/knowledge/creativity (and so on), and it also can go all the way around.

To help you determine, perhaps you should look at:
-budget
-skill level/experience
-tools available
-patience level
-available time vs deadline
-availability of the supply
-creativity level
-expectation vs reality check
-source of information/help/assistance
-others

Choose, but choose wisely - Indy's father

 

[Helagak]

If you have:
Short deadline
Smaller budget
Less pacience
Go foam

If those items aren't issues, and you want super high detail and are willing to put in A TON more effort and time, go pep.

 

[IMIM2]

Tip #23: Which part to start?

General rule is to start with something simple. Any failure will be a setback and bad for the spirit. So when start with something simple, chances of screw up and start again would be minimum.

A file should be considered simple if:
1. Have less parts
2. Less mountains and valleys
3. For foam: less angle cut or bending
4. contains more big, flat planes
5. Less small parts

Since Iron Man suit is the most popular, I tried to identify the parts based on difficulty (not in particular order). But remember this is very subjective:
1. Helmet Medium/Hard
2. Neck Easy
3. Brace Easy
4. Chest Medium/Hard
5. Back Medium/Hard
6. Shoulder Easy
7. Bicep Medium
8. Forearm Medium
9. Handplate Easy
10. Palm+fingers Hard
11. Abs Easy
12. Cod Medium
13. Thigh Hard
14. Shin Hard
15. Boot Medium

So start with the easy ones, work towards the hard ones.

 

[docholiday78]

nice arc reactor upgrade:thumbsup

 

[Dagibbon]

Just starting my Mark 4 build, and gona use your difficulty guide as a reference for what to tackle early on. Great tips mate, keep em coming.

Still watching you and Helagak's mark 8 build too! Awesome.

 

[Helagak]

Nice difficulty rating. Although I hated the shoulders, most people tend to classify them as easy. I'd lean more towards easy/medium or even straight medium. I thought the back was rather easy but time consuming.
Keep up the good tips!
Daggoban; thanks! It's coming together!

 

[peruski]

Tip #23: Which part to start?

General rule is to start with something simple. Any failure will be a setback and bad for the spirit. So when start with something simple, chances of screw up and start again would be minimum.

A file should be considered simple if:
1. Have less parts
2. Less mountains and valleys
3. For foam: less angle cut or bending
4. contains more big, flat planes
5. Less small parts

Since Iron Man suit is the most popular, I tried to identify the parts based on difficulty (not in particular order). But remember this is very subjective:
1. Helmet Medium/Hard
2. Neck Easy
3. Brace Easy
4. Chest Medium/Hard
5. Back Medium/Hard
6. Shoulder Easy
7. Bicep Medium
8. Forearm Medium
9. Handplate Easy
10. Palm+fingers Hard
11. Abs Easy
12. Cod Medium
13. Thigh Hard
14. Shin Hard
15. Boot Medium

So start with the easy ones, work towards the hard ones.

From one Newbie to another, thanks for starting this thread! You have a lot of good suggestions. I've never built anything before, in fact I had never heard of any of this until June of this year.

I just wish I had seen this list earlier. I started with the Chest, and then had to take two passes at the Back. I think the Back was definitely more difficult. I am doing the brace and shoulders next. Hopefully I can pick up a little speed, I am getting nervous about trying to finish for Haloween. Saving the Helmet for last, since it is a key piece and I would like to get a little more experience under my belt.

Thanks again!:thumbsup

 

[Helagak]

Woof!! You better have alot of spare time and drive in the next month!! I started my build in late June and am still not quite done! I've seen suits built in 5 days tho! (jfcustoms is a beast!) so it's deffinetly possible!!
Good luck man! Now stop posting and start building!! :lol

 

[vmota1988]

any tips on hinges on face plate? i'm stuck on it i don't know with on is better side hinge or 2 servos in the middle plz help =D

 

[IMIM2]

Apologize for abandoning this for awhile.
Doc, dagibbon, peruski: Thank you for your kind words, and glad that my sharing is helpful.

I don't do electronic hinges, but I did middle hinges for these reasons:

1. Middle hinges (or two servos setup) is easier cause it has one point to adjust. Imagine that you need to adjust left and right vs only one in the middle. Plus synchronization can be difficult (maybe?)
2. Side hinges requires more parts, therefore more things that could go wrong.
3. Side hinges is more movie accurate.
4. Attaching middle hinges at more flat and wide area = easier

If you looking into manual setup, see my previous post.

 

[Helagak]

ok, here we go. first you need a pic of your helmet with the facemask in the up and down position and mash them up like i have done.
next draw where the connecting bolts will be on the face mask. (mak it the same place on both positions of the mask up and down)
now draw a straigt line from the bolts down position to its up position for both bolts.
draw a perpendicular line from the center of each of these lines towards the center of the helmet. these new lines represent all the places that a hinge could be placed to have it swing to both positions.
now i drew a circle going thru the up and down bolt positions and adjusting the size to get a path i liked. this circle represents the path that the face plate bolt will take getting from the up to down position.
the center point of the circle will be somewhere on the perpendicular line you drew. that is where you place your hinge.

now you can draw your connecting pieces. just be mindful that on the top one, it has to be a bit of an "L" shape because the face plate sits on top of the helmet.
like this:

and there you have it. your brand new hinges!!

 

[vmota1988]

thanks guys when I have more time I will try to do this side hinges

 

[IMIM2]

From the mind of engineer! Nicely illustrated. I banged my head for not even think about put stop points and connecting it via a circle.

Couple of weeks ago, I saw a toy like in the picture and thinking about making hinges from it. But I decided to stick with middle hinges, because I know I will get all "screwed" up.
:lol I need more convincing. To me, side hinges has bigger fail potential. You know my failure rate on my build :cry (no intention to discourage side hinges lover)

Please post you WIP on this, vmota1988. It'll help a lot of people by doing so.

 

[IMIM2]

Tips #24: Mark it right

Just found out that I misplaced my shoulder bell. How embarrassing! :facepalm

Please mark your parts L (left) and R (right) so it is dummy-proof.
You might need a helper to suit up, so your partner might not know which part goes where (unless it is JARVIS).

Even you think you know all the parts, there might be distractions when suiting up :love.
So don't take any chances, it only took a permanent marker (use silver marker if you use black foam) to mark the inner side of the parts.

 

[Freaklord]

Helagak, that was an awesome set of diagrams. Thanks, I can look at this stuff with new eyes now.

 

[TryChick]

Lots of good tips! Thanks for starting this thread IMIM2. Just finished my helmet in fiberglass/resin but still need to put in lights and motorize face plate...then will get back to the foam body parts which were put aside to work the helmet.

 

[kyxz2]

Awesome tutorials IMIM2, I'm always reading this even if I've read it before.

By the way, can you help me with the PWMF sticker, I'm about to do the eyes now, I know I'm going to have a hard time finding a bridal's veil (Xrobot's technique) so I opted with yours. Anyway, my question, what does PWMF stand for? When I google it, all I see is Playing with My Food. And can you actually see through that sticker, like a one way mirror or the "black colored" parts are holes on the sticker?

Thanks man!


Edit:
Hey, by the way, is this similar to a perforated sticker? You know, the one they stick on to rear windows of cars? Thanks again!

 

[kyxz2]

Okay, great, I think I found the answer to my question, yes, another name for the PWMF sticker is a perforated sticker, or perforated vinyl/acetate. I searched 3M's product information and found it. And there is a local reseller 5 minutes away from here! It's a holiday in the Philippines, so I still have to wait til Monday!