Build your own Ironman suit 2008

Please read little squares for more info.
I will have this project completed by October 26 2008.

I am going to assume that if you are considering this project that you have consulted the following book:

The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook
by Thurston James.

If you haven't at least looked @ this book -
DO NOT ATTMPT THIS PROJECT
You will make expensive mistakes & frustrate yourself.

If you have questions regarding the steps or ideas used to produce this project :
Feel free to ask - I only ask that you post them as comments because i may not reply to e-mails & I will most certainly post answers.

Step 1 Initial cast from mold...

This is the original casting that was removed from my alginate mold.
I am assuming that you have an item or have created an item to copy.

As you can see - the detail is present but there will be alot of aesthetic work to be done.
Bondo is a touchy material & there will always be some cover up to do.
I use bondo because it sets up fast & is easy to work with - sands easy & accepts paint well.
It is also relatively lightweight

BONDO IS EXTREMELY MESSY & THE DUST CAN KILL - WORK WITH SMARTS & PROTECT YOURSELF.

Comments

[maketherealsuit]

yea, I saw this movie on the big screen, and after while just yesterday, I thought to myself and asked my friends do you think it is posable to make the real suit? but all they said was "it isn't posable with our knowlege" & all i said i think it is it just takes more time, work, patience, and testing. I started a design and the paint, i'm only 16 but after i finish high school i will start college after school, then get a job get the cash i need, the main problems I am haveing trouble with, is the power source, the flight stabilizer, the hover system, and flight thrusters, the navigation system and more but that is all i will name for now. please comment if you wish.

[Jalland]

I'm 15 and though it was an awesome idea to make the suit aswell. I've found a way to lift my weight and 30kg extra, for the suit weapons etc. I to am looking for a pulsar system, but it is only under testing in america. it isn't a hover system either as this would create to much heat under the suit( may burn the ground). the main problem i am having is the flight. comment if you can solve my problems.
thanks

J-dog

[ironorr84]

Do this, and then plug in your lazorz , pulse beams, LEDs and thrusters into the other outlets.

Problemz?

[aRejectedKitten]

if scientists can't build it personally i dnt think you can unless of course you are only building a prop....

[superknexbuilder]

I figurd the stabalizers & thrusters cud be air, suckd in constantly, so no stor up, the lasers r just high wattage, lik, mager wattage, power not so easy, but im lookin tat up now, so, ill keep u postid ;) im 12, & i don't no if that wud work or not, if it wud, y am i the only 1 to figure it out?

[longdog12]

I've got the thruster, stabilizer, and basic power source dwn for my suit. It would be cool to see how others turn out, but for now I'll keep going on mine.

[WARMACHINE]

WHAT OTHER THINGS U HAD TROUBLE WITH BEACUSE I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

[tinker234]

where ccna i get mark 1 armor for pepurka

[Qtrowl]

The eyes are to big

[CrimsonStone]

And for those that are already building it think. Use Titanium for all or most of the inside frame but the outside metal was an alloy. An alloy is when you take two metals and combine them. Using a "Gold-Titanium Alloy" like what Tony uses in the movie was a very good point for several reasons. For one Gold unlike normal matter or metal does not expand when heated or contract when cold, but will how ever melt under EXTREME and I mean EXTREME temperatures. He combines Gold with Titanium to produce a sturdy alloy that can keep all of the suit intact and protect him from fire arms. The "Gold-Titanium Alloy" used in our space satellites does not freeze in space like normal metal which is why he used to so he could fly to high altitudes without the suit freezing up. Also the hand and foot repulsors are produced from plasma. I am not entirely sure on what materials to use to produce plasma but because the real arc reactor is made from radioactive materials I figure that some how you could reroute partial power from the reactor before the radioactive materials are converted into electricity to power the suit. Also you might want to take radiation poison or sickness into consideration. Remember this. In order from short wave to long wave and not bad to worse: Alpha-Blocked by paper and outer layer of skin/ Beta-Blocked by Plastic/ Bremsstrahlung-Blocked by Plexiglas/ Gamma and X-Ray-Blocked by Lead/) Now all of these can be blocked by lead so that is just something to consider if you don't want to use so many materials to block radiation but remember the result is cancer for all of them or worse so CAUTION! Thanks for reading.

[ghostrider2]

the radiation poisoning was why he created the new arc reactor in iron man 2.

[ironman builder]

im making a ironman suit well actully a war machine suit do you know where i can get some missles

[CrimsonStone]

Missiles may be a little harder than anyone may think to get. Consider this, most of the weapons will be off limits to civilians. So you either have to custom make your weapons or some other option. The other 4 friends of mine and I are going to open a weapons manufacturing industry to create a new wave of weapons that will change the history of war. For example: A Missile that has a built in computer granting access to only those who have authorization. Security system will include, Eye or Retinal Scanner, Hand Print Id, and specific codes, maybe even some voice activation as well, and all of this will be one big security system to make sure that the weapons do not fall into the wrong hands. I am thinking of a bomb that we currently use in war and modifying it so that when all or to many attempts at the security goes wrong the missile will have a default and will have all these different things happen within it that will make it non-fissionable or not able to blow up or be used for nuclear purposes. So just think about it. My Email is below this comment on another comment lol. or here -> [e-mail] Thanks for reading.

[mva13]

hey. i love ironman and i want make a costume buth its not going so good.
i need a mold ore something

mark.

[GMer56]

Mask seems a little wide... great job though!

[explosivemaker]

will be interested to see when this it is done.....

[blackpualani]

You & me both brother

[lil wayne]

ok man me and you are brothers and i am going to make the suit do you want one

[khelms]

are you going to build the rest or just the face?

[bame]

would there need to be a frame of some sort also the weight would not be so bad if aluminum were used i already started on a titanium model for serious protection i am often in a war zone or dangerous situation with my line of work and i would love to see an actual bullet proof face shield (with some vision) for some friends of mine

[shandromand]

I've got to say, there are certain physical limitations with this idea. For one thing, this sort of protection simply won't hold up against anything except (maybe) small-arms fire, and even then at long range. The problem you face (no pun intended) is that most anything you use to protect your head in general isn't going to do anything but translate the force straight through. That's half the cause of injury from GSWs in the first place. Most bullets travel at about 1500 fps, so stopping bullets suddenly - well, that inertia has to go somewhere. Wearing a vest is one thing - it protects prom piercing (sometimes) and spreads some of the impact force out around the ribcage, but not all of it. That's where the bruising comes from. To do that for the head/face would be nearly impossible, due to the simple fact that there isn't a complex network of bones like the ribcage to spread the force around. It might not make a big mess piercing-wise, but it would still feel like getting hit in the head with a hammer. Now it might be possible to reinforce a faceplate with an underlying mask comprised of d30, but you'd still have to deal with whiplash and head trauma. That said, it might not do much for bullets, but I imagine it would go a long way towards preventing damage from the flying debris of IED's, but again not one that would go off right in front of (or beside) you. I would also like to point out that titanium is capable of withstanding great tensile strain, but is awful for high-speed impact. It tends to shatter unless its a certain thickness, 5 inches I believe. Yet another thing to point out would be vision field - You wouldn't have much at all. Transparent aluminum might work, but again we're talking about force having to go somewhere, and your eyes still wouldn't be very well protected.

[planeglory]

try sheet aluminam

[Maverick27]

Kool i was thinking that someone will eventually make one, I've made designs for a suit of my own I'm focusing more on what its made out of eg metal and what is part of it like coilgun and other gadgets What is yours gonna eventually have in it.

[blackpualani]

I thought about metal but the cost & weight could be highly prohibitive. Bondo is very hard & not so heavy. As for gadgets - the only plan right now is the lighting & under the chest panel.

[bame]

"metal but the cost & weight could be highly prohibitive." -again aluminum i see as the solution but then maybe i am misunderstanding what your trying to do with this i would build each piece individually and then attach to a joint like out of a knee restriction near the ear that way th face plate could coil up.

[mspark400]

great idea I am also in the planning stage for my own version

also i saw the movie at an advance screening in New York city today, oh yeah, its Wednesday and it doesn't come out until Friday! Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
good luck on your project!!

[blackpualani]

I saw the movie - Whoo Hoo

[blackpualani]

Cool beans man.... I tried planing - but then I gave up & just started with the hardest part. Good luck to ya

[Niche]

I got a kick out of this thought some one else might. I want one but man that is expensive. Enjoy.

http://www.sideshowtoy.com/?page_id=4489&sku=2957&source=usatoday

[blackpualani]

Great - thanks ... now i am trying to figure out how to get one.

[Adinsxx]

Where can you find bondo?

[blackpualani]

Bondo can be found @ any Ace hardware of auto parts store. Be sure you use it in a well ventilated space & keep this stuff off your hands.

[drummonkey92]

great start mate :) look forward to this being finished!! personaly i think the mark 2 looks better, but would be much harder to do and more expensive and heavy if metal was used.

[blackpualani]

Yeah - I think i am gonna start again...Not sure yet but this will make a great light or something....

[Keith-Kid]

good idea, but bad idea to publish it so early...Darn, if this turns out well, it will beat my project....

[blackpualani]

I can understand your opinion on this - but , I feel that this project will take some considerable time to complete & therefore I have published on a step by step basis. I do not feel that any project is better than any other project. Your project will be great in whatever form it takes. I will just be different not better.

[Keith-Kid]

What I mean is, if you publish it right away, people may copy this idea and make another one. I think this will make an amazing costume once its finished! And I would hate to see someone else stealing this idea.