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[imm0rtal reaper]

Hey guys,

I've had a thread up in planning for a while, but as my kit is well out of the planning stage, I thought it best to get a thread started here to put all my proper updates.

My armour is made from an old wheelie bin that I took to with a jigsaw. The plastic is thick and touch, which has made it a little difficult to shape, but helps give the look of solid armour.

I'm currently ploughing away almost every day so updates *should* come thick and fast.

Here are a few shots of my planned colour scheme:





I'm going to keep this progress list updated as I go:

Helmet - Visor cut, vents cut, sanded. TO DO: Paint
Armour Plates - Cut, sanded and shaped (minus back plate). TO DO: Verify shaping, paint.
Gauntlets - Base bought. TO DO: Cut, shape, add greeblies, paint.
Vest - Bought. TO DO: Receive, weather and attach plates
Boots - TO DO: Buy, add armour
Gloves - Bought. TO DO: Weather
Flightsuit - Bought and turned up. TO DO: Possibly tailor (waiting on vest and finished plates)
Cape - NOT STARTED
Girth Belt - NOT STARTED
Weapon - E-11 Blaste. TO DO- Fill screw holes, sand, paint, weather.


Here's a couple of shots of today's progress






I spent most of today sanding the helmet and plates, and then got a coat of primer down on the plates and re-sanded them. I need to round off the edges on a couple of the plates and make sure that they're all formed properly, and then they'll be ready for paint. The helmet is ready for primer now.

So yeah, comments, ideas, criticism, suggestions are all welcome!
                                     

[stinkylinkz]

Girth Belt - NOT STARTED

There is a clothes line tutorial for the girth belt around here that is really good in my opinion. I bet it would do wonders for you! I like the colors so far. Ready to see some updates as it comes closer to completion.

[imm0rtal reaper]

Girth Belt - NOT STARTED

There is a clothes line tutorial for the girth belt around here that is really good in my opinion. I bet it would do wonders for you! I like the colors so far. Ready to see some updates as it comes closer to completion.

My current plan (though it is open to change, as all plans are) is to use some of the spare duck loth canvas I have from a failed vest attempt for both the girth and the cape, providing there's enough material. I'm thinking of doing both the belt and cape in a grey, but haven't decided yet.

[stinkylinkz]

My current plan (though it is open to change, as all plans are) is to use some of the spare duck loth canvas I have from a failed vest attempt for both the girth and the cape, providing there's enough material. I'm thinking of doing both the belt and cape in a grey, but haven't decided yet.

A good plan. I'm not sure if the canvas will have much 'stretch' to it though. I'd suggest some sort of Velcro attachment so that you have some give when wearing it. Still a great idea though.

[Niabi]

Looks like a good start vod what do the plates look like taped to you ?

[imm0rtal reaper]

Looks like a good start vod what do the plates look like taped to you ?

Here are the pictures from my old thread:



Couldn't get them to sit with the tape, so a little photoshop:



The plates have been formed more since then.

[imm0rtal reaper]

Right, update time!

I finished sanding and rounding the edges of my plates today, so they are ready for painting.

I also worked on my RF. I've opted to use magnets to attach it.

I started by drilling a hole in the stalk and installing a magnet:



Then I drilled into the helmet and popped a magnet in:



I'll be using magnets to attach the earcap also. I started by drilling guide holes in the ear:



Then I used a sanding bit to bore into the helmet (not going all the way through, so the magnet could sit in easier)



I made sure the holes were deep enough so when the earpiece is on, it won't sit away from the ear.

I'll grab some pictures of it all together tomorrow once all the glue has dried.

[imm0rtal reaper]

Time for another update!

Today has been very productive; I got my plates primed:



And then basecoated:



I just managed to finished before the rains began, which was lucky. I'm going to wait until later this evening and start working on the toothpaste masking for weathering. I'll get some pictures when the process begins.

I've also dug out my duck cloth canvas to turn it into a girth and cape. I'm waiting on my vest to arrive so I know how wide the belt needs to be before I do any more with it though.

I'm hoping to have painting of 80% of the plates finished by tomorrow/monday. The rest of this coming week will be spent turning a pair of toilet brush holders into serviceable gauntlets. Gauntlet Version 1.0 won't have any tech, but some extra plates attached to make them look interesting. I will also buy what's left to pick up this week (including dye, boots and other misc bits). Wales Comicon is on in Wrexham in 22 days. I'm not going to "rush" to get the kit done by then, but I am going to work against that deadline.

[imm0rtal reaper]

updates *should* come thick and fast.

I wasn't lying

I've started the layered weathering test on one of the knees. I masked sections using toothpaste and then painted around them using a green. I will then mask over parts of that green before spraying the plate red.








EDIT:


Finished the first test piece. There's a few different weathering methods here. Including:

Toothpaste masking
Sanding with various grits
Sponging silver
Blackwash



I'm going to break my feelings down in to likes and dislikes:


LIKES:

- The vibrancy of the red. I'm really pleased with this shade of red.
- The effect of the sanding and sponging.
- The effect of the the toothpaste masking
- The line highlighting around the masked areas.

DISLIKES:

- The amount of toothpaste masking. It's WAY too much for a piece this size.
- The line highlighting of the red. It's a touch too bright. I think if I mix some red into the orange it should be fine.
- Where I'd brushed silver inside the masked area. It's made it streaky. I should have just left it.


Overall, I'm really pleased. I think the combination of masking, sanding and sponging makes a surface that is otherwise very bland, interesting to look at. I know that I've gone overboard on the masked areas, and will dial that back significantly on the rest if the armour, with only a few areas on each plate.

Here's a really quick and rough photoshop with less masked areas:



I think we can all agree that it looks much better.

I'd still love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on the weathering though. Every comment helps!

[Ronin Tavic]

i dont think it a matter of too much damage, its just too uniform. all the blotches look about the same size and style. good weathering is very rarely uniform. even claw scratch marks aren't the same length and size always, do to the angle of the scratch and the recipient.. I think adding more lines and smaller blotches would help significantly.

like my greave here: knees got scratches from kneeling or getting knocked down, couple of blaster ricochets, and the edges worn from "years of wear and tear." the concept art is crazy awesome though.. lets see if we cant get your kit looking even better.. 

[Niabi]

its looking a bit splotchy  the photoshop dose look better

Ronin gives some great advise

[imm0rtal reaper]

Thanks Ronin, that was really helpful!

I've started masking off the second knee and already I'm thinking it looks worlds better!



A much more subdued effect.

What do you guys think?

[Ronin Tavic]

that looks more natural. much better than the first.... but its too clean!!! more dirt more scratches more.... srry got carried away.. You might have noticed i like to weather stuff... carry on 

[imm0rtal reaper]

that looks more natural. much better than the first.... but its too clean!!! more dirt more scratches more.... srry got carried away.. You might have noticed i like to weather stuff... carry on 

Don't worry, once the red is applied, I'll be hitting it with different sandpapers, files, sponging and black-washing.

[imm0rtal reaper]

Second stage weathering is done on my other knee test:





Next will be some sponging of silver on the edges followed by a blackwash.

What do you think?