YMIR/Heavy Mech- Mass Effect

[shotgunslayer10]

I've had some interest in creating a costume for a YMIR Mech from Mass Effect. It's kinda gonna be a long and busy project, so I'm opting to start it now, and maybe finish it by next summer? Not exactly sure, but I'll see how it goes. I wanted to do something unique, and not many people have done Mass Effect cosplays, and I might be the first to do a YMIR mech. Some inspiration and reference:

Anyhow, I'm probably gonna just free build with cardstock/cardboard or try and find Pepakura models for it, but there probably aren't any out there. After fiber glassing it, I'll paint it over and install lighting and etc. I'll probably use other people's mech and armor cosplays for references on the process of it. Also, these beasts (I'm assuming) are probably 7-8 feet tall, which will prove a worthy obstacle (since I'm like 5'4")... I will probably engineer stilts into it and arm extensions for a larger scale mech.
I'd be glad to receive any sort of feedback. Thanks!

 

[Ikras]

That looks like a pretty cool concept. In terms of the scale of it, it might be worthwhile looking at space marine builds. Most of them make use of stilts and there would be useful details there I'd have thought.

Just due to the scale, you may wish to consider foam? I think that most space marines (my stock example) go with foam as otherwise it would turn out too heavy, I think that comes from the bondo so if you don't plan to use any you might be ok. I've only ever worked with foam so I can't comment further on that.

Might be worth taking a look at MWiggs Terran Marine build as there's a lot of detail about large scale build process. It's done with foam but there may be things you can find inspiration from.

Hope that's of some use to you.

 

[shotgunslayer10]

Thanks. I couldn't find a lot of reference for the mech, and honestly I couldn't even find the height or ANYTHING about these mechs. I'm probably going to have to use stilts and arm extensions, but I'm not very sure about what types of foam I could use, or what sealant I should use? I haven't really costume made before, and I need some good materials that other people have reviewed that are well. For example what types of foam I should use, and possibly I'll use some other posts for references on scale and stuff. One of the main struggles is that there is little to no information on YMIR mechs out there. Even the wiki page is not very detailed, and I'll have to use the photos for the maximum reference. I've also considered freebuilding with pepakura styled cardstock? I don't really know, and I'll need some suggestions. Thanks!

 

[trackboy186]

I don't have a lot to offer in terms of build advice, though Ikras gave wonderful advice in checking out Space Marine armor builds. I love Mass Effect, so I am excited to see where this goes!

While you may not have the ability to use all of the information here, this is a great thread for inspiration and general knowledge that might be useful: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=122015

 

[shotgunslayer10]

Thanks. I don't exactly know what I need for the project, though I will get EVA foam and LED lights strips. Anyone else can suggest (or just tell me) what I need, please do. I'm not precisely educated in the form of armor making and stuff. Thanks!

THINGS I NEED:


Red Light Strip AMAZON: (x1)
http://www.amazon.com/16-4ft-Flexible-Lights-Lumens-Non-waterproof/dp/B00HSF66KS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446577226&sr=8-1&keywords=light+strip+red



Eva Foam: (x1-3)
http://www.amazon.com/ProSource-Puzzle-Exercise-Quality-Interlocking/dp/B00B4IHXRU/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[Ikras]

In terms of the basics of working with foam then JFCustom has a really good thread on here which covers a lot of really good points. Has helped me a lot both when starting off and also later on. There are a range of other people with good videos on youtube like evil ted and Cullen cosplay and I feel like punished props has some foam ones as well (it's a while since I've got round to watching videos but those ones seem like the right names). If you had a look through those then that should give you a good grounding in the basics of what to expect to make use of.

Other things you'll want I imagine would be a heat gun, hot glue gun/contact cement (or both), sharp craft knife, cutting mat, a good steel ruler/straight edge. Just looking at the scale of what you plan I think you may be underestimating on foam but you could always start with a certain level of mats and then get more if needed.

Freehanding the parts is most likely your best bet and I'd suggest trying to make your own templates to get a feel for things and avoid wasting too much foam in trial and error. Even paper mockups can be pretty useful I've found and they can give you an idea of how you plan for parts to fit together. Try and sketch out the parts individually and how you think you would connect them. The drawings don't need to be pretty but it can help you work through the shapes in your mind and get a more concrete idea of how it will work.

Again, just some passing thoughts based on your questions and I hope they help.

 

[shotgunslayer10]

Thanks Ikras. I'm first gonna get a few mats and see how far it gets me, and then later I'll decide if I need more or anything. I'll hopefully make my own templates and then test em out with paper. Heat gun is a necessity, and same with everything else you posted. Thanks!
Does anyone have any suggestions for fibreglassing? I don't know anything about that process... Thanks!

 

[Ikras]

Sounds like a good idea.

I've picked up bits and pieces about fibreglassing while reading through things. General process is using cardstock pep base, hardening with resin and fibreglass then adding bondo or equivalent for detail. The bondo may add too much weight to it though if you are looking at using it for large sections. I'm not sure how well some
Not sure if that's what you're looking for but if not feel free to throw out some further questions and I can give them a try or someone with experience on these things can hopefully chip in.

 

[shotgunslayer10]

Okay- so I've bought some EVA Foam (right now 16 ft squared), a good craft knife, a cutting board, and I'm gonna start building soon. I plan to freehand from the feet, then build up.
However, I've run into a problem already. Does anyone know how I can measure to see how long certain pieces are? If I want the whole thing to stand approximately 8 feet tall, is there any way I can see how long certain arm portions are, or how long the feet are? I don't really want to just estimate, though if I were to just estimate I would guess that the stilts would be about 2 feet tall, and then I'll be able to see out of the actual circle shaped head area. Anyone know any websites or stuff where I can measure the lengths or something like that? Thanks.
Another problem- if you closely examine the shape of the base of the leg in this photo, it's a little crooked and I'm not sure how I could make the stilts perfectly supportive of my weight. I could possibly make it happen, since I'm not that heavy, but I'm not sure what material to make it out of. Like Sylgian's 40K Space Marine build http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=179602, I could do it out of PVC, but I don't have a 3D printer and so I couldn't do base pieces like Sylgian's. I'll think about this more though.

 

[Ikras]

Sounds good.
In terms of working out the height, or at least to get a rough idea, I've been playing with photo manipulation stuff (I just use gimp myself). Take some photos of yourself in a pose that matches the pose of the model then scale to how you want to fit inside it. I'm not sure how you want to do the shoulders so that's something to think about but you should be able to get something of an idea of the sizing based off your own height. Hope that makes sense and is of help.

My first thought with the stilts would be just to have them go straight down and maybe as a result bulk out the shin area of it a bit. Might be easiest/safest solution than trying to produce some kind of angle in them? Never played with stilts personally so I can't offer any advice on actual structure. I have seen people just buy actual stilts I think. I'm sure I've seen some good detail of building up height in gundam tutorials but I don't know if they would add enough for you.

Hope that helps.

 

[shotgunslayer10]

UPDATE (11/09/2015):

I got my materials and started making templates on Saturday. I wasn't sure how much EVA foam to get so I just got a little.

I started measuring the dimensions of the mech by using a simple ruler and a 1:10.66667 proportion scale (as seen here).

Later, I drew and cut out all the templates (for the front of the foot).

Then, I cut out the certain templates the right amount of times and hot glued 'em all together:

My room is a mess... and these things are more massive than I expected. They're pretty huge.
So I traced the templates onto the smooth side of the foam with sharpie and cut them out with a simple utility knife. It was a little difficult because I couldn't really manage to cut straight up and down, but oh well. It worked out relatively nicely. I plan on working on the heel portions of the boot tonight.
Also- I came up with some ideas for PVC stilts- They're similar to Sylgian's Space Marine stilts, but adjusted to fit this certain boots. I'll go and buy stuff at Home Depot as soon as possible. I used up like half of the foam I bought for the first purchase, so I'll go and buy some more foam later.
I found it a little bit difficult to form the foam? My foam's thickness is about 10mm because I couldn't find anyone who sold like 6mm or smaller... Oh well. I used a heat gun a bit to solidify it for now.
I *hope* to get this done by comic con Denver in like July or something. Maybe.

 

[Ikras]

Looking good. To help with the cuts you can use something like a steel rule when it's a straight cut. Helps guide the blade and can give you a better reference of if you are close to perpendicular to the surface of the foam.
Looking forward to seeing how the stilts turn out.
The heat gun should allow you to put curves in the foam, for 10 mm it will take a while for the foam to soften but you just need to keep at it and be careful not to heat one area for too long. Keep it moving over the surface and try and heat it up evenly.

Hope the heels turned out well.