The Aliens Legacy
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My homemade armour (Spat binocular conversion on page 4)
http://forum.alienslegacy.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11894		 Page 1 of 6
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:12 am ]
Post subject:  My homemade armour (Spat binocular conversion on page 4)
I finally got my armour to a place where I felt comfortable having some photos taken of it. The torso is entirely built from scrounged garbage can plastic. The ab-pad is obviously a piece of sports equipment, but for now at least I'm fine with it. I haven't made the plate for the ab-pad yet though:

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CMfullsm.jpg
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The BDUs are Polish, but with the pockets and collar made SA. The helmet cover is HORPAT, and I am relieved that the difference between them isn't glaring. Shin guards, helmet cam and mike, grenades and grenade webbing are from Spat, the PulseMeter is from Noble, and the name stencil is from Mike Rush.

Extra special thanks to Bigbisont for putting up a similar thread and giving me the confidence to see this through.
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:15 am ]
Post subject: 
A better shot of the armour. I see a number of things I want to improve. Damn.

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Author:  LoneScout [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:48 am ]
Post subject: 
Was this a first time attempt for you? I think it looks pretty cool, myself.
Author:  88reaper88 [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:22 am ]
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Top work there mate!

Impressive :)
Author:  Nobody [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 7:47 am ]
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I think that it looks really good.
Author:  CrashDown [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:54 am ]
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Looks damn shiny to me!
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 11:40 am ]
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Thanks guys! Indeed, this is my first try at this (except for when I was 12).
Author:  Mole [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:00 pm ]
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Looks good to me! Very impressive.
Author:  TECKNO VIKING [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:10 pm ]
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Outstanding Marine.

You have done a bang up job right there :D
Author:  Hyde [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:52 pm ]
Post subject: 
That looks awesome man
Author:  bigbisont [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My homemade armour
AH! you lapped me!!! That looks great man. Very cool.
Author:  MattRendar [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:47 pm ]
Post subject: 
Love the chess Knight very cool
Author:  retrogarde [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:24 pm ]
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Matt: the chess knight is a nod to the chess references in Aliens, and also to Dark Horse Comics as I was an avid reader of their early Aliens stories. I was collecting them in the pre-Alien3 days, back when Hicks and Newt were still alive and Space Jockeys were actually Alien looking 8)

I plan to write something beneath the knight in red, but I'm a little stuck. Part of me wants to do a "Homer's Heroes" style fictional unit mark, possibly using the name of one of Dark Horse's original creative crew (i.e. Richardson, Verheiden, Nelson, Beauvais, Stradley, Warner, Norwood, etc.) with either Knights or War Horses or something ("Verheiden's Irregulars"??). Otherwise I might just use the French or German versions of Dark Horse. "Cheval Noir" is pretty catchy afterall!
Author:  MattRendar [ Tue Sep 04, 2012 10:15 pm ]
Post subject: 
That was a great time in the comics. Its great that they released all the aliens omnibuses. Alien 3 really shot down all of those cool ideas. Great stuff. Love the pics
Author:  Hudson [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:35 am ]
Post subject: 
Homemade? *clap**clap* That looks outstanding, Marine! Excellent job!
Author:  Yellowjacket [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:39 am ]
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Awesome build, but I now have the Paladin theme song rolling through my head...

'Paladin, Paladin where do you rooooooooaaaam...?'
Author:  nocternus [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 2:48 am ]
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looks good to me keep up the good work
Author:  SgtEasterly [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:43 am ]
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I'm wondering how you made that out of garbage can plastic!
Author:  retrogarde [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 8:46 pm ]
Post subject: 
I can post some "making of" photos. I didn't document the steps anywhere nearly as nicely as Bigbisont is doing in his thread, but I have at least a few pictures that might be useful.
Author:  88reaper88 [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 8:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Please do!

How do you shape the plastic? Heat gun or something?
Author:  bigbisont [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My homemade armour
Yeah Id def love some pics as well. I tried a garbage can breastplate that didnt turn out nearly that well. Still wrestling with my fiber glass one, but curious to see other ways it could have been attacked.

(plus I plan on making my wife/son a set of armor, and hope to not need to fiberglass anything ever again!!! Always looking for alternatives...)
Author:  Russ Krook III [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:45 pm ]
Post subject: 
You are NOT ALLOWED in ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM...

To post something THAT COOL and not post in-progress pics of how it was made. :)

Get to it Marine!

Russ
Author:  retrogarde [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 8:59 pm ]
Post subject: 
SIR YES SIR!!

So let me first state that if Spat's armour is only 80% accurate (he wrote that somewhere) then mine is only 60%. It is missing some of the indentations and curves and currently only has two "steps" along the bottom of the front instead of three (I'm working on that though as it bugs me).

There was a lot of trial and error involved in making this, especially when it came to choosing the right kind of plastic.

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plasticbins.jpg
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In this picture we have some of the bins I used. The big one in the back is the actual body (you'll need two of these), the one on the left I used just for its top, and the one on the right was my first choice for the shoulder plates but this ended up being a bad one as the plastic was too brittle. I wish I had a size reference for the big bin, but if the little one on the right is 6 gallons then the big one must be 10-12 gallons.

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bells.jpg
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So the tops of the lefthand bins gave me my shoulder bells. In this picture you can see an uncut version on top and a partially cut version below. The inside of the plastic is nicely reinforced so there's no wobbling.

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bottomlayer.jpg
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Here we have a shot of the chest plate well underway, yet you can still see how this started out as a trash bin. The bottom of the bin is cut off completely and becomes the top of the armour. The bin is cut down the sides and the front is modified to be the first of the "steps". In the photo I've already added quick release clips and strapping on the sides and at the shoulders, with the lefthand shoulder being permanently attached. I made simple floater plates (or nuggets as some folks call them) out of spare rectangles of plastic.

The next step is to take another large bin and cut out a shape like this:

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pattern.jpg
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The tabs are vital as that is how you will rivet it together to create the three dimensional shape of the front of the breastplate. Making a sample out of cardboard is a really good idea as finding the exact angle to create the right look can be tricky. Too little and it isn't even noticable, too much and you have a duck bill.

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toplayer.jpg
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Notice that this top layer also adds one of the "steps" to the front. The final one will be a third small plate riveted to the bottom layer just for that purpose.

There will be a gap where the plastic of the top layer joins and is riveted. This should be filled in with the gapfiller or putty of your choice.
Author:  88reaper88 [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:05 pm ]
Post subject: 
I think you just saved me a fortune....
Author:  retrogarde [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 9:15 pm ]
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Attachment:
namestencil.jpg
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This photo shows the seams filled, the armour painted and dirtied (simple to do with artist's charcoal and a matte spray), and a bit of silver paint "weathering".
I ordered name stencils from Mike Rush and they arrived within a few days. So much easier than cutting them out with an Xacto blade.

Of course I was hurrying and didn't check that my stencil was straight, so the photo above shows my first attempt. Nice and crooked!

I repainted/dirtied/weathered the area and then made some tape guidlines while wearing the armour and my second attempt came out great.

On to the shoulders!

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glueshoulder.jpg
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I made them in two layers to simulate the stamped look of the original. These are made out of the other half of the second large bin (the first half having been used to make the top layer of the breastplate).

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rivetshoulder.jpg
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I then riveted the plates together as A) I didn't trust that my glue would hold, and B) I think rivets look cool.

Once all this was done I got some automotive edging and glued it around the entire edge of the shoulder armour. This gave it a much more finished look, and again simulated the stamped metal look of the original.

I then used webbing and rivets to attach the shoulder bells and tabs to the shoulder armour and the floater plates of the breastplate. Riveted elastic attaches the backs of the shoulder armour to the back plate. I'm using material from a yoga mat for padding under the shoulder armour.

I'll see what else I have for photos, or take a few more if need be.

I hope this helps! :delta:
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