War Machine Pep and Foam for 10 yr old son.

ZacharyHurst

Active Member
Hello fellow builders! It is a lot of fun to be able to say that now. O.K. About 3 weeks ago started my first pep helm for an IM mk4. My son Alfred asks me to repurpose my helm into a WM suit for him. His logic was he is smaller so I can make it faster and I can learn from my mistakes on his build and do even better on my Iron Man. I saw his 10 yr old wisdom and began his build. I amd 3 1/2 weeks into this and here is my first attempt ever at playing in you world.
 
I started with paper, moved on to eva, gluecoated with wellbond, and painted with adhesion promoter, hammered metallic and used silver Rub n Buff for the weathering.
 
I am still tweaking it out with filler panels on the joints and flat bungee straps like tendons for connections, and I still get to make the sidearms and the mini gun or as Al calls it, his very own "Old Painless"!
 
One of the things that you don't pick up on here on these threads is the fact that there is a whole other suit to build inside of the suit you just busted your a** making! I am still working on connecters and padding for comfort, Then cutting out that same padding just so he can breath! This has been an education, with mult trips per day to depot, Harber Freight, Wal-Mart, and ace, Not to mention auto zone and west marine. when I was building houses, all the guys at depot were a big help, not so much when doing this kind of building! For the first two weeks they would just stare at me blankly and shrug but as pics of the suit began to take shape they became far more helpful. Thank you to everyone here for posting your pics and for all the free training!
 
Here is my thread.. you may find it useful.

http://www.therpf.com/f24/war-machine-foam-build-122426/

Where are you getting the flat bungee cords? I have been using 1.5 inch elastic with snap buckles for a lot of my joints.

You are right though.. the undersuit is hard too! I thought I was on the downhill slope when I got my final piece put together but that I had to pad, attach, and make it fit right.

For the paint, I am all about the plasti dip spray. It acts like a primer and paint in one. When I get the whole thing together, I will probably try out the rub and buff weathering. That looks good on your suit.
 
FANTASTIC!!! I know you mentioned that you were working on the suit for your son, but I had NO idea what a STUNNING job you were doing! Congrats - this is the best child-sized War Machine I've ever seen! :):thumbsup
 
Allright here are some update pics of the sidearms (ForeArm guns) These were a blast to make and they are a good adddiotion to the suit. as you can see from one of these pics my son is beginning to feel the power of the suit.
 
Whew! This "Finishing Phase" is kicking my tail. Yesterday I couldn't get started til 1:30 pm and worked until 9:30 but I now have a very funcional pair of booster boots for his suit! I took an old pair of his sneaks and used 30 hot glue sticks. I am going to double sole the boots with 2 sheets of foam mat and I picked up a roll of that elusive treadmill matting. I'm using that for durability on the bottom of the sole.
 
Does anyone out there have a better way to glue besides the low temp craft hot glue gun? I am not kidding, I have lost sensation in my two trigger fingers. It makes it really difficult to play guitar, bass, or type.......or tie shoes........or work the T.V. remote in the dark........really it messes up alot of normal life. I need something easier. does Hi-temp glue melt through the foam? I'd like to use one of those...
 
Now I get to post some delays! I finished the booster boots and I used caulk to level out the layers of foam on the sides of the soles and the stuff will not dry! its been 3 days and I cant topcoat the shoes until the caulking firms up. #2 on the mini-gun, I ran out of funds for the project for this week so I cut down some steel pipe for the five barrels of the gun and it weighs about 8 lbs now. Not good for mounting on the suit. waiting for pay day to replace with pvc pipes! Good news is that I did get all of the connector discs and base mount for the gun precut and symetrical. I would love some advice on mini-gun mounting PLEASE. If I can solve these last 2 issues then the suit will be complete and we can head out to some industrial parks and get a proper photo shoot of this bad boy in action.
 
Does anyone out there have a better way to glue besides the low temp craft hot glue gun? I am not kidding, I have lost sensation in my two trigger fingers. It makes it really difficult to play guitar, bass, or type.......or tie shoes........or work the T.V. remote in the dark........really it messes up alot of normal life. I need something easier. does Hi-temp glue melt through the foam? I'd like to use one of those...


You can try super glue gel.

*counts small blisters on fingers*
 
Hey Zachery, I use Barge cement, it's a contact adhesive you brush on both sides of the foam pieces and then stick together. It has a toxic Oder, so use it outdoors, but it should save your fingers. I agree with everyone else, I wish I had a father like you growing up. It's one of the reasons I do things like what you're doing for your son. I made a Big O robot costume for my stepson a few years back and he won a Halloween contest because of it. It's so great to see the happiness in there faces isn't it? PM me if you need more info on gluing, I swear by this stuff.
 
Thank you Indie, Wonder, and celtic! I really am enjoying My son's anticipation of his own WM suit. I did this because when I was his age all i wanted was the Adam West Blue/grey Batsuit from the old series! It was in reruns everyday after school. My grandmother had been a pro seamstress all her life and told me that seh would make me that suit so perfectly that I would look like I stepped out of the t.v. I waited three years for that frikkin suit and never got it. I grew oput of ther adam west phase in '89'. one guess why! anyways, I have 3 girls older than Al and he is my last and only son. He has alot of issues socially and his I.Q. is not helping him at school, Adults are the only ones who understand most of the things he says. Kids can be mean if your really, really smart. He is, and I feel pretty bad for him, I grew up the same way but without the tics and off-putting mannerisms. His classmates this year are already wanting to see him at the halloween party at his school this year so I am hoping that a real movie looking suit will blow away all there $14.99 onesies costumes from walmart and give him a boost in respect from some of the kids. Irony, I had to make all the weapons on the suit dettachable cause the school will not allow toy guns of any kind!
 
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