Bazza's Iron-Man suit build

[Barry]

Welded in a housing with hook tabs for elastic bands to secure the reactor. Easy removal to replace lighting should the need arise.



Nice balance.



Yea boii.



Balancing act.

[Barry]

I've been pretty busy but got a little bit done today.

Just started installing the electronics in the helmet. As you can see it has no problems competing with daylight.

[Airconvent]

Looking good, Barry. Maybe you will be in time to stand outside the theatres when Age of Ultron starts!

[Barry]

Looking good, Barry. Maybe you will be in time to stand outside the theatres when Age of Ultron starts!

Not likely. Still months to a year away.

Trying to find a way to join the shoulder bell so it's not a rigid join and came up with this. Using fencing u-nails welded to the inside to make hooks, then elastic straps that will pull the armour up snug, but still allow me to lift my arm and pivot it forward and back at the shoulder.



Modifying elastic straps into short lengths to correctly position the shoulder bell and still allow all degrees of motion.



Shoulder bell now attached.

[Barry]

Sorry about the blurry phone pics. I got the shoulder bells and arms attached today. Now everything is on, I have to get dressed in the whole suit, go for a bit of a walk around and get an assistant to mark all the spots where I get pinches, rubs and restricted movement. Then I can trim it up.

[Airconvent]

Nice, mate! Dont think it will take 1 more year. Its 85% completed! :p

[Barry]

Nice, mate! Dont think it will take 1 more year. Its 85% completed! :p

We will see. I have twins due in August. That will slow things down....

Finally they meet. Brought it all home today because I have a few days at home and can get an assistant to fit it all up on me for the first time.

[Grievous]

I only wish to have a workshop like yours!

[Barry]

Thanks so much to Shane and Zoe for your assistance tonight in fitting the Iron Man suit and going for a little walk in it for the very first time complete!

Together we identified plenty of points in the suit that need modification to make movement smooth and to tie it all in together. My spring-suit underneath will be modified into an under-suit with layered foam armour to fill in the gaps. The steel neck has to be cut down a whole inch and replaced with hybrid material (foam) to allow me to turn my head. The legs need to be pulled up higher to correct location and improve knee movement.

I have to accept that there will be a fair bit of range-of-motion simply not possible, but just getting in it and moving around has made it really come alive for me!

It is way more comfortable than you would think. I was very relaxed in the suit and it is not heavy at all. I could literally spend hours in it.

Lots to go yet but tonight's full fit was a big part of making it all work!

I have a video shortly, but just waiting to see if I can rotate the stupid player footage.

[Airconvent]

Nice try-out Barry! But it looks like you may need some sort of cooling system inside the suit to avoid overheating!