I am making an Iron Man suit

Creative Content Artwork
#1

Title says it all really.

The process is basically the whole pepakura deal people have done to Bionicle masks and such. I'm using a set of patterns found online, because I felt like for this project I wanted to actually get some experience with handling polyester resin and fiberglass, not just sit at the computer doing 3D modelling forever.

Anyway, some pictures of the progress I've made so far:

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The original helmet. Unfortunately, the quality of the paper combined with my lack of experience caused major deformations.
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The chest plate, which is currently the most finished part of this whole thing, currently curing (and losing the polyester smell) outside:

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The step after this will be applying a gelcoat for a smoother finish on the outside

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Meanwhile, the back plate, which took a ridiculously long time to make

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This is also currently curing outside, but I haven't applied fiberglass to the whole thing yet, as I want it to be able to support its own weight so it doesn't collapse like the helmet did.

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These are all stomach plates, and were really quick to assemble

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The slow curing time of this part, which is intended to go around the stomach, made me reconsider my resin formula. Slow curing times are no longer a problem.

30 Likes
Is anyone going as a bionicle character for Halloween?
#2

Awesome! Can't wait to see it when its done! smiley

2 Likes
#3

This should be cool.

1 Like
#4

Wow, too cool!

#5

Wow! That helmet is epic. Really stands out from the rest to me.

2 Likes
#6

Too bad that it collapsed under its own weight then.

I'm making a new one with the stiffer paper when I'm done with the rest of the suit.

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#7

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Finished the second stomach ring. As you can see it looks like the first one.

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#8

Holy crap.

Maphrox, you never cease to amaze me.

4 Likes
#9

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Progress update: I decided to skip ahead to the gelcoat stage for the chest plate, just to gain experience with using the stuff. This is the result, ready for sanding down to a smooth finish. As you can see on the upper left, however, the Loctite brand gelcoat tube I bought for 20 dollars wasn't even enough to cover the whole thing.

Yeah.

I need a better source of gelcoat, so I'll be checking the boat supply store I get resin from. Bulk purchases are probably better.

7 Likes
#10

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Update: Fourth stomach ring thing completed. I can now go on to making parts that aren't indistinguishable when pictured apart, such as the biceps.

EDIT:
Here's something more interesting, the first part of the bicep. Tiny paper circles.

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#11

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One bicep down, one to go. This was a really quick build, it was great.

10 Likes
#12

I can't wait to see this when it's done.

4 Likes
#13

This is freaking amazing.

#14

My friend actually tried making an Iron Man costume out of plastic and metal. Presumably this is going to go much smoother than that. stuck_out_tongue

1 Like
#15

This is amazing.

#16

Bit of an update, progress is slow at the moment because living in Norway in the winter is not a good set of conditions to work outside in. However, I've finished the pepakura model for the forearm, which is good.

7 Likes
#17

Just make sure you leave room to breath stuck_out_tongue

#18

Not likely to be a problem, I have a physique that lets me fit in the suit even if I put on a lot of weight, and the helmet is pretty much guaranteed to have holes I can breathe through.

#19

Here have a pretentious reference showing off the third iteration of the helmet

17 Likes
#20

Oh man.
You look like an older version of me without glasses...

4 Likes