How To Make Halo Spartan Armor

In order to make a foam Master Chief or other Halo armor costume you will need to follow a few steps that you will repeat for each piece. For the armor .pdo files to use with Pepakura Designer you will need to hunt around in the wikia.com website. Here is a handy link to get you started Wikia Halo costuming Pepakura file index
Note: The Pepakura Viewer is a free download that will allow you to view, rescale and print your project. If you want to save your files or model nd unfold your own work you will need to buy the full designer version for about $40

Step 1) Scale to size. You will need to do a little math here, as the spartan armor is 7' tall! Calculate what % your height is and reduce the scale by that amount. You can reduce the scale right in the Pepakura Designer/Viewer and then print your shapes without the glue tabs. I would advise printing a couple parts with the tabs on and gluing them together (also known as "pepping") to check size and make sure they fit! Remember that the Spartans are "buff" so you may have to adjust the scale additionally according to your body frame.

Step 2) Make patterns. Stick the paper shapes together where you don't want a seam or you want the seam rounded. Stick your pattern to the smooth side of the foam. For limb pieces and other non-center pieces you only need to make one pattern, flip it over to make the opposite side, that was easy!

Want to skip the first 2 steps? Take the Mark VI Challenge Here

Step 3) Make the armor. Heatseal (see video below) and then cut out the foam using the metal edge with the knife or hot knife. You will need to cut angles on the backside of mountain shape edges in order to compensate for the thickness of the foam and to get the final desired shape. Reference pictures are very handy for this stage. Use the heat gun to shape rounded parts and with the hot glue gun stick the foam together like a puzzle. It is handy to have reference pictures of your final design for a guide and remember, too much glue is better than not enough. Cure for 24 hours.

Step 4) Add details. Sand and smooth your edges to achieve your desired look, using spot putty if need be and use a hot knife or wood burning kit to burn in details and then coat it with Plasti Dip. Cure again for 24 hours.

Step 5) Paint. Spray bomb it with primer and paint it to your desired color. Allow sufficient dry time between coats as noted on the brand directions. See our painting tips section below for our notes.

Step 6) Final touches. The last step is to stick your Velcro strips the the inside of the armor and to the outside of your under suit for the shoulders and thighs. Use padding for the forearms and shins, you may need to make a spacer to go between the shins and boots to keep them at the correct height. Lastly is the visor on the helm, it is fairly flexible and you can cut it with tin snips or a dremel to help it fit perfectly. Use copious amounts of glue to hold it securely. A fan for the helm is also advised, a computer cpu fan works well for this. Lights are often added to the helm, you can wire your own LED's with switch and battery pack or for the KISS method (Keep It Stupid Simple) install a nano-flashlight on each side. That was easy.

For this project we will be using foam floor mats that can be found in many stores as 2'x2' interlocking pieces and also online via Amazon. These floor mats are typically used for a home gym or kids playroom floor, are very durable, flexible and easy to work with. They range in thickness from 3/8" (10mm) to 5/8" (15mm) and I have been using the 10mm size, it is easiest to work with. How many you need depends on what you are making, for a complete set of Halo armor you will need 10-12 sheets. Craft foam is great for details and bass relief definition, 1/8" (3mm) works best. We will also need high temperature hot glue sticks, plasti dip paint, primer and spray paint for the finish. If you are making an authentic looking Master Chief costume you will need green paint, preferably Oregano satin color. We will also need a black cloth under-suit or ninja costume, including gloves and balaclava as well as some Velcro strips. One last thing is a visor and small fan for the helm. Again, if you are going for the authentic looking Master Chief costume you will need 2 visors, both tinted gold.

In addition to a printer, paper, tape and scissors to make your templates you will also need a hot glue gun, a utility knife or hot-knife, a metal ruler and a cutting mat. Good lighting and plenty of workspace is also advised. Felts are handy for marking the foam and highlighters work great to mark your patterns. A wood-cutting kit is handy for detailed and small pieces and a wood burning kit can be used to burn in details.

Painting is best done in a warm temperature with low humidity. Be sure to paint outside or wear a mask as the fumes can mess your brain up, give you a headache and/or the munchies.
For painting the assembled armor we used the following procedure:
-spray bomb 2 coats of plasti-dip allowing 1 hour dry time in between
-spray bomb 1 coat of primer after curing overnight, or at least 4 hours if you are impatient. If your final color is dark use black primer and if your final color is light use white primer. Use grey for neutral and mid colors.
-spray bomb 2 coats of Oregano Satin at least an hour after primer with an hour in between coats. Spray light coats or the paint can bond with itself and then become brittle, showing cracks. 3 or 4 light coats is a good alternative.
To make the armor look like metal we used this optional procedure. Allow 1/2 hour dry time between steps, in this order:
-blackwash deep definition lines and scoring
-hand paint flat black in definition areas (you can use your black primer for this too)
-dry brush hammered steel on all edges to give it that metalic look
-dry brush hammered black on all inset definition to give it that weathered look
-spray bomb a gloss coat to protect it and give it that shiney look to the metalic highlights

-My preferred method to cut out the patterns is to first score the outline with a hotknife 2 or 3 mm (1/8th of an inch) and then cut them out with a razor utility knife or large sharp scissors. For finish edges I prefer to cut completely through with the hot-knife.
-The foam can be detailed with a wood-burning iron for greater definition. Avoid the fumes (or you might end up like me)
-For rounded parts don't score your lines too sharp at first, you can always shape it more as you go or use a hairdryer or paintstripper to heat and shape the foam. Another method to heat the foam is to hold the piece over a hot stove element, wear gloves or oven mitts and be careful as the direct heat can easily burn or shrivel and warp the part.
-You can add foam to the inside to strengthen it at key points.
-You can add craft sticks to the back of the foam to keep it rigid in areas where there is stress but you don't want any flex.
-A wood carving kit has some useful blades, the guilotine type blades are great for small detailed cut outs.
-Sharp scissors work good for cutting angles on the foam edges.
-You can hide seams and other imperfections with flexible spot putty.
-A sanding block with 320 grit paper is good for smoothing exposed overlapping edges prior to gluing.
-After a part is assembled I like to add extra glue on the inside along the seams for added durability.

Q: How much will it cost me to make a full suit of foam Halo spartan armor?
A: You should budget around $300 total to make the Mark VI Master Chief as you see on this page. You can start your project on the cheap, a pack of foam mats and some hotglue are all that is needed.

Q: How long will it take me to make a full suit of foam Halo spartan armor?
A: Roughly 300 hours to make the Mark VI Master Chief as you see on this page.

Q: How durable is the armor? Will it break if I fall down?
A: The armor is very durable, once the hotglue has set it will not come apart, the foam itself would rip first. The plasti dip coating will not crack and is weatherproof. The only thing you need to avoid is standing close to a bonfire

Q: How much does a full suit weigh? Does it restrict movement?
A: Total weight is roughly 7 lbs. You can run, jump and high-five. It is hard to sprint at full speed. You can also sit, kneel, crouch and roll, however, this can cause the plasti-dip to crease and is not advised

Q: How do you, um, go to the bathroom?
A: There are rumors of a special thigh addon with hose & bag. You'll have to figure that one out yourself...

Foam crafting is a fun hobby, I made a Master Chief mini helm sized to fit a Chihuahua! This little guy was a good sport and the cat certainly thought twice before pouncing. I scaled the helm very small, printed the shapes and made patterns, then cut it out and glued it together, then plastidip and painted. You can find other origami books and use the patterns to make many different objects, such as cars or houses. I made some little fishies from the small triangle shapes that were left over. You can paint them and hang them from the ceiling with fishing line for that in-home aquarium look.
So Martha. So redneck
My wife and kid play a fun online game called Moshi Monsters so I decided to make an Oddie Moshling for the end of a pencil, view the procedure here: How to make Moshi Monsters and Moshlings