The Aliens Legacy :: View topic - Taking another crack at metal armor

Thanks guys!

Dropshipbob wrote:

Bigbisont, I forget if you mentioned it before, do you have any prior experience with metal forming?

Not in the 'hit it with a hammer' sense. I work in welding supply sales, so I am pretty aware of what can be accomplished in metal, but I have never been much for actually working with it. The first few times working with metal was just in making steel stocks and barrel vents for pulse projects (simple hack, drill, and sometimes weld jobs). The first time I ever picked up the hammer and put it to aluminum was 4 years ago when I build that first set of metal armor. Prep there was a ton of youtube combined with 'guess and test'! Since then, I messed around a little bit outside the aliens universe and built my little brother a Doctor Doom mask that I was pretty pleased with.

That is pretty much it. Mostly these videos are just showing what I learned from my armor set 4 years ago.

And on that note, the next 3 videos are up. These I tried to keep to around 20 mins (figured out the 'fast forward' option in the video editor!)

Video # 4 - The ab and crotch plates (uploaded yesterday)
https://youtu.be/ROjstcAPX_k

Video # 5 - The shoulder bells
https://youtu.be/A4DKGQUlB_o

Video # 6 - The tail plate and Helmet Lobster plates
https://youtu.be/4d7NWX4vQ4w

Author:	bigbisont [ Tue Feb 04, 2020 5:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
I first tried my hand at metal armor a little over 4 years ago. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15636&hilit=METAL+ARMOR I was really happy with it, but when I decided to dive into a Terry English set, I sold a great many things to fund it, including that metal armor. After an event involving some nachos and my Terry English set last con-season ...I started feeling a bit gun shy with it. I couldn't help but feeling like I was risking ruining a piece of art by traveling with it and wearing it. I decided I needed a 'beater' set that I wouldn't be mad if it gets banged up, paint scratched off or my son accidentally catapults a full BBQ nachos into it! For this new set, I plan to do things a little different than the last set. I plan to incorporate new techniques that I have seen and I also plan to video as much of it as I can. (unfortunately no videos here for this first post though!) The first thing I will be doing very differently is hammering out more of my own 'dishing'. I will still use vintage aluminum sleds like last time (already dished and not really more expensive than similarly sized new aluminum of the same gauge), but I want to have more control over the level of 'dishing'. I also do plan to work with some regular 'sheet' that I will need to anneal, form and dish on the greaves. So I need a 'stake' with round forming top. Unfortunately, proper forming stakes are like $200!!!! So like usual I am cheating. Aluminum is soft enough that I think the stake can be hollow, not solid. I found some 5-1/2" "weld-on steel pipe caps". I also had some leftover 2" square tube already. A quick and dirty hammering and welding job left me with this thing! Attachment: 20200203_143453.jpg [ 214.46 KiB \| Viewed 8246 times ] I haven't torture tested it yet, but initial results are very positive! I can work with this. Attachment: 20200203_194633.jpg [ 285.2 KiB \| Viewed 8246 times ] These sheets for the greaves are the ones I plan to anneal and shape. They are actually really thick and has a coating of some type, so this will be interesting. Attachment: 20200120_132900_HDR.jpg [ 180.29 KiB \| Viewed 8246 times ] For most of the other parts I am going with what I know and using the sleds. I had to get 4 total sleds to get enough aluminum. I will not be using any steel in this version, so no modifying existing steel armor this time. Attachment: 20200119_160709.jpg [ 272.98 KiB \| Viewed 8246 times ] Attachment: 20200121_114000.jpg [ 193.8 KiB \| Viewed 8246 times ] I am not too worried about the 'ugly' dented aluminum because the 1.5lb rubber mallet and the anvil/forming stake will clean up basically all of it.

Author:	bigbisont [ Tue Feb 04, 2020 5:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor- Tips and videos pla
I used an angle grinder to hack out the rough shapes, then tin-snips to better refine the shapes. Now I have these pretty much ready to roll. Attachment: 20200203_200119_HDR.jpg [ 262.12 KiB \| Viewed 8245 times ] From here on out, I will try to provide video links to the shaping process.

Author:	stimpy [ Tue Feb 04, 2020 7:20 pm ]
Post subject:
Looking good so far. Im very interested in the forming videos to see how its done!

Author:	bigbisont [ Thu Feb 06, 2020 3:59 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Got a "lot" done today! I actually haven't gotten very far at all in creation of the armor itself, but I did get some videos made! They are very amateur with essentially no editing (I drop stuff, my mind goes blank, I lean on verbal crutches far too much) but I think they turned out OK considering they are all really just one 'take'. I hope someone finds them useful and I do plan to keep going. Part 1- Basic Tools and prep https://youtu.be/7x3ibhn32CQ Part 2 - The "confidence builder" shapes (easy ones!) starting with the center shoulder tab. https://youtu.be/KJt0bNypj9k Part 3 - The "Ear flap" with hinge. This one is a bit long. Like I said, it wasn't edited and I did make 2 of the lower ear defender cover parts (2 diff ways). Every hammer strike is there so it ended up like 42 mins.... I'll work on that if I can and try to shorten them up in the future. https://youtu.be/erPGzle3GAc

Author:	seven [ Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:46 am ]
Post subject:
So awesome, you made that lower hinge really fast. Cant wait to make one based on that video.

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Author:	martinr1000 [ Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:49 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
loved the ab armour video. The ridges looked great. look forward to seeing more.

Author:	Dropshipbob [ Fri Feb 07, 2020 4:16 pm ]
Post subject:
Bigbisont, I forget if you mentioned it before, do you have any prior experience with metal forming?

Author:	bigbisont [ Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re:
Thanks guys! Dropshipbob wrote: Bigbisont, I forget if you mentioned it before, do you have any prior experience with metal forming? Not in the 'hit it with a hammer' sense. I work in welding supply sales, so I am pretty aware of what can be accomplished in metal, but I have never been much for actually working with it. The first few times working with metal was just in making steel stocks and barrel vents for pulse projects (simple hack, drill, and sometimes weld jobs). The first time I ever picked up the hammer and put it to aluminum was 4 years ago when I build that first set of metal armor. Prep there was a ton of youtube combined with 'guess and test'! Since then, I messed around a little bit outside the aliens universe and built my little brother a Doctor Doom mask that I was pretty pleased with. That is pretty much it. Mostly these videos are just showing what I learned from my armor set 4 years ago. And on that note, the next 3 videos are up. These I tried to keep to around 20 mins (figured out the 'fast forward' option in the video editor!) Video # 4 - The ab and crotch plates (uploaded yesterday) https://youtu.be/ROjstcAPX_k Video # 5 - The shoulder bells https://youtu.be/A4DKGQUlB_o Video # 6 - The tail plate and Helmet Lobster plates https://youtu.be/4d7NWX4vQ4w

Author:	martinr1000 [ Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Re:
bigbisont wrote: Thanks guys! Dropshipbob wrote: Bigbisont, I forget if you mentioned it before, do you have any prior experience with metal forming? Not in the 'hit it with a hammer' sense. I work in welding supply sales, so I am pretty aware of what can be accomplished in metal, but I have never been much for actually working with it. The first few times working with metal was just in making steel stocks and barrel vents for pulse projects (simple hack, drill, and sometimes weld jobs). The first time I ever picked up the hammer and put it to aluminum was 4 years ago when I build that first set of metal armor. Prep there was a ton of youtube combined with 'guess and test'! Since then, I messed around a little bit outside the aliens universe and built my little brother a Doctor Doom mask that I was pretty pleased with. That is pretty much it. Mostly these videos are just showing what I learned from my armor set 4 years ago. And on that note, the next 3 videos are up. These I tried to keep to around 20 mins (figured out the 'fast forward' option in the video editor!) Video # 4 - The ab and crotch plates (uploaded yesterday) https://youtu.be/ROjstcAPX_k Video # 5 - The shoulder bells https://youtu.be/A4DKGQUlB_o Video # 6 - The tail plate and Helmet Lobster plates https://youtu.be/4d7NWX4vQ4w Loving seeing your work. It's easy these days to let a 3d printer take the strain and craft like this isn't as common. It inspires me to think about buying more tools any pictures of the mask?

Author:	bigbisont [ Sat Feb 08, 2020 1:27 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Re:
martinr1000 wrote: Loving seeing your work. It's easy these days to let a 3d printer take the strain and craft like this isn't as common. It inspires me to think about buying more tools any pictures of the mask? Well thank you. I feel like there is almost something therapeutic about building stuff by hand and seeing it take shape. I have fun doing it most of the time. As for the mask, I only have this one (bit of a rush job there at the end so I didn't document the build at all. I regret that part). The dome I did NOT build. I bought a basic viking helmet and simplified it even further. The face plate connects to the top dome with magnets to make it easy to get in and out of. (it isn't fully attached there, which is why it looks crooked down the middle) Attachment: image0000001.jpg [ 621.8 KiB \| Viewed 8138 times ]

Author:	martinr1000 [ Sat Feb 08, 2020 2:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
yeah that's awesome. nice work

Author:	schotti [ Sun Feb 09, 2020 6:48 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Great work mate really

Author:	bigbisont [ Fri Feb 14, 2020 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
"Video #7 - The Back Plate" is now up. https://youtu.be/aVMpmqgJvEg This one is a bit long at 42 mins (even with a fair amount of the hammering done at 4x speed). This was a tough piece, but I think it turned out pretty solid. It shows how to go from a mangled sled to a pretty decent back plate. Attachment: back plate before and after.jpg [ 120.23 KiB \| Viewed 8021 times ]

Author:	seven [ Sun Feb 16, 2020 12:56 am ]
Post subject:
This is saving me so much trial and error. The thing about metal work that I struggle with is picking the order in which I make bends and cuts. It's like it needs to be a very specific order of operations, being able to look at shapes and know which parts to hit first, is a skill that I havnt noticed up until now. It's not like playing with clay, its like you kink something and now its a three hour job getting it back. Your youtube channel is awesome!

Author:	bigbisont [ Fri Mar 13, 2020 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:
Sweet man. Very crisp.

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Author:	88reaper88 [ Sun Feb 16, 2020 1:13 pm ]
Post subject:
Kicking ass again mate!! Following this with great interest

Author:	bigbisont [ Tue Feb 18, 2020 2:11 am ]
Post subject:
Thanks again everyone. Video #8 - 'Shoulder Pauldrons' is up! https://youtu.be/nS3eYUV_Rxo I am hopeful tomorrow I can get enough work done on the breastplate to make that video #9.

Author:	retrogarde [ Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:23 pm ]
Post subject:
This is so great!

Author:	bigbisont [ Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:21 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Videos 9 and 10 are up. Video 9 - The Breastplate https://youtu.be/cBGNcFtQyY0 Video 10 - Recessed details & shapes https://youtu.be/41n4CkA7Oao This is where we are so far. Attachment: 20200221_201326.jpg [ 681 KiB \| Viewed 7804 times ]

Author:	577_ops [ Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:00 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Great work!

Author:	schotti [ Sat Feb 22, 2020 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Yes in deed amazing work there mate.

Author:	bigbisont [ Mon Mar 02, 2020 12:56 am ]
Post subject:
Just "annealed" the powder coated aluminum sheet that I am using for the greaves (shin-guards). Holy cow metal is crazy! Hoping to get the video edited and up tomorrow. You know...check "BigbisonT Props" on youtube. Subscribe if you are feeling frisky...

Author:	bigbisont [ Sun Mar 08, 2020 6:46 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
Video #11 is up. This is the helmet parts vid. I am still editing the greaves and annealing. In my opinion this the 'bump plate' is the hardest piece and I tackle it in this one. https://youtu.be/wKjUfXS-KBA

Author:	bigbisont [ Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:13 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Taking another crack at metal armor - Videos are UP!
12 and 13 are up. We are nearing the end and all 'new construction' is DONE! (thank goodness). Attachment: Video 12 cover.jpg [ 276.41 KiB \| Viewed 7003 times ] Video 12 - Greaves (knee pads/shin guards/calves). This is the longest yet, topping a full hour, but there is fire in the middle! We anneal some sheet metal in 2 diff ways. (FYI, Terry English said that making a good calf portion is the hardest shape. I can't argue with him.) https://youtu.be/GHa0-7-WIMc Video 13 - Required 'extras'. Some you build. Some you buy. Some you can get creative with, but this is the stuff you should have ready prior to strapping and painting. All are needed to finish off the build. https://youtu.be/_9NJzMEhgVY The way I figure it, there will only be 3 more videos in this particular series. We will have strapping, painting, and then a final video of 'optional' extras/accessories to really put the finishing touches on.