How to make foam Halo armor

Have you ever wanted to own your very own Master Chief Halo Spartan armor, or any other armor for that matter? Well look no further as you can make it yourself! For this project we will use 10mm foam floor mats and 2mm crafting foam. You will need a hot glue gun to stick your shapes together.
If you need materials, tools, tutorial videos and more pictures be sure to visit www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-halo-armor

Other related Halo pages
Master Chiefs Xbox 360 armor (fiberglass method)
Mark VI Challenge (foam patterns)
How to make Halo weapons (patterns and instructions)
Master Chief Pictures (pictures of this and the fiberglass suit)

Step 1: Get your armor files

The first thing you will need are some .pdo files of the armor you wish to make for use with a program called Pepakura Designer that you can find as a free download online.
A good place to look for armor files is www.405th.com or wikia costuming (do a google search)
You will also need lots of reference pictures or a detailed model of what you are making, you can find those on the wikia site too, in case you don't own the game.

Comments

[DHeigh]

Could you give me more views (a 360 ) of your forearm and back please, Please?
It's hard to get good reference shots of those parts.

[masterian]

can you pls help me make all of the armor in black. pls help
i really want one, pls tell me how ,much at
[e-mail]

[DHeigh]

This is a DIY site you have to make your own effort.
Do like they suggest, go to:
www.405th.com or wikia costuming (do a google search)
and
www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-halo-armor
Follow their directions. Build 1 piece at a time. Mistakes will happen, so just learn from them. I had 4 false starts before my suit started to come out right. One problem I had was getting the pattern big enough, so double check the size when you print out your pepakura patterns.

[Master-Chief]

(removed by author or community request)

[masterian]

hey man, sorry i started makinf mine already

[futeng]

How much did this hole costume cost?

[Master-Chief]

Around $300 and that included a new gluegun and heatgun. If you shop around for materials you could spend less, maybe $200 or so.

[hrodriguez7]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT????????!!!!!!!!!!!!
I CANT PAY $300 BUCKS FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DHeigh]

Spread that over 2 yrs. Buy just enough faom for the next part of the suit you will make. $50 for startup stuff: hotglue gun, gluesticks, exacto knife, etc; then 1 set of foam, <$50, gets rightside upper and lower leg done. Then another $50 gets the left done, etc.

[hrodriguez7]

could you use cardboard?
I think its much cheaper since i can get it free at COSCO

[DHeigh]

Cardboard can work, BUT it takes a lot more work to make it look half-way good. Smooth curves with corrugate cardboard can be real hard, strengthening poster board is complicated.
I found fiberglass to be too much trouble. It frays and can leave spikes that need to be removed: sanding causes toxic resin dust and dangerous glass dust.
Use denim instead. It's strong enough and porus enough to work.

[albhednomad]

You can use any material. Most people I've seen that make halo armor use cardstock paper and harden it with fiberglass and resin. Use what you can get and what you have. Just dropping my $0.02

[rcfreak2]

how much did this cost? i have a tight budget and want to make this

[Plo Koon]

dude u got too much time on ur hands

[stratisfire]

how many foam pads would you think i would need if i just want to make the helmet and a gun? preferably the assault rifle.

[Master-Chief]

3 foam mats should do, here is a link to a the 12 pack on amazon that I would buy for a full suit:
CHARCOAL GRAY 48 SQFT / 4.46 m2 (12 tiles plus borders) We Sell Mats Anti-Fatigue Interlocking EVA Foam Exercise Gym Flooring EVA Mat
You might be able to find a 4 or 6 pack too.

[cdecker2]

What did you use to make the helmet but i love how the armor all fits together you did a really nice job.

[Master-Chief]

Everything is foam, including the helmet. Once the helmet was formed and I was happy with the shape I added lots of hotglue to the inside (about 1/4 inch thick coat) and it holds its shape well.

[CPM151]

hey do you think i could get you to build me a halo suit??

[imBobertRobert]

spartan with lightsabers?!?!?! now that is EPIC!!!

[the dashing hero]

yea, Jedi vs. spartan with lightsabers

in the end, master cheif wins! =P

[ilpug]

This is the cleanest foam Spartan I have ever seen. Hands down. Up until now I thought you had to use resin and Pepakura to make a great suit, but this proves me wrong.

Since I have been looking for a good method to make a suit, this might just be the one I am looking for!

[Master-Chief]

Thanks, this version is much lighter than the fiberglass version too and requires less strapping. Also be sure to check out www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-halo-armor if you need any materials or tools that you can't find locally.

[ilpug]

I probably have all the tools, and I can get the materials.

[warthog330]

Man i wish i had that much $ to get the stuff to make it. Becuase i am a realy big fan of Halo and that is cool. So till then keep it real Master Cheif.

P.S. Do you have a xbox live acount

[sabracken]

Just used your Master chief patterns scaled down 6 % and made the right thigh. So cool to make your own armor. Thanks for this and the squidoo lens.

[Master-Chief]

You are most welcome, crafting your own Halo armor is a fun hobby indeed. Here is a recent picture of this suit, we've dubbed it Spartan Intimidator 117 as it stands 6'8". Good luck on the rest of your suit.

[super dude]

awwwwseeeeeeemmm

[felixneko7]

can you fiberglass the foam if you want a "stiffer" armor? Or does that mess up the details the foam creates?

[Master-Chief]

I believe you can resin the foam, although I don't think it is needed. Once formed into the smaller armor parts the foam is fairly rigid and once coated in plastidip it becomes very durable. You can double the foam in many areas where you want less flex. Hope this helps

[felixneko7]

I guess stiffer wasn't a very good description of what I mean't, but thanks anyway.

[Master-Chief]

I would test the fiberglass resin on a scrap piece of foam first, both before and after plasti-dip. Are you thinking of using resin instead of plasti-dip? If so let me know how that works out.

[MrTinkerer]

What pep file did you use. Who was the modeller and unfolder? Looks great.

[Master-Chief]

I used files from wikia.costuming, low-def by Robogenesis. I added the high-def details based on in-game reference photos to try and get as accurate as possible.

[Tex353]

Work those armoured muscles! :)

[masterian]

pls help

[Macyoshary]

Wow! That looks really great!

[Master-Chief]

Thanks, it is almost finished, I have more pictures and tutorial videos here: www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-halo-armor