[P Plates]

Really starting to take shape now and looking awesome. Will be great to see the kids' reactions when they first see you in it.

[Barry]

Really starting to take shape now and looking awesome. Will be great to see the kids' reactions when they first see you in it.

Yep can't wait!

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.

[Barry]

Yep! Can't wait mate!

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.

[Barry]

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.

[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.

[Barry]

A short video of walking in the full suit.

[seaslug]

Well done.. Iron man or Tin man.. works well!

[Barry]

Thanks Greg.

[Barry]

I've been so strapped for time lately. This non-daylight savings is pissing me off. Stuff-all done on the suit in a while.

Today I made a start (only had 20 minutes). Reinforced the knee pivots with some heavy pipe welded in, some M10 cuphead bolts and washers in between the layers to smooth out the pivot. They move silently now.

Hopefully tomorrow I can weld a couple of struts into each side of the boots, to push the leg up high and enable the weight of the leg to rest on the ground, rather than hang on the suit.

[Barry]

Leg on the right now supported on a steel strut either side of the boot and pivoting at the ankle. The weight of the entire leg now sits on the ground instead of hanging off the suits torso. The gap between the top of the leg and the cod-piece is now a lot smaller and realistic looking.



Won't be scratching up the hospital floors now! Glueing on rubber soles.

[Barry]

Both legs have now been elevated and supported on pairs of solid steel struts welded to the boots and pivoting at the ankle. You can see an aluminium flat disk on the right boot - this will be replaced later with a more attractive steel turned toe-pivot. The flight control flap at the back of the ankle has been hinges so now it swings up as the boot and leg moves. The knee pivots will eventually be welded closed with an attractive cap once I'm happy I don't need to take the legs apart again. Rubber soles have been glued onto the bottom of the boots to save flooring.



The rib features have now been filled in from behind with scratch-built steel caps. It looks untidy with the positioning spot welds from the front and the rest of the welding from behind, but this will all be cleaned up later.



The steel sheet is only .95mm thick, so to give the illusion that it is thick armoured plate I have welded in some 8mm edging all around. Welding from behind except in spots I couldn't get the welding gun into. Edges will be cleaned up last.



The lighting is great, but the eyes are too bright for indoors and night. They overpower the dark so much you can't see the face, so I'll be adding a resistor/dimmer so I can vary the brightness as needed.

[Barry]

G'day my loyal minions. Here's an update for you.

My wonderful wife helped me get the legs and boots on for a test walk in the modified joints.

Now the legs are supported on steel struts welded to the boots and pivoting at the ankles. The knees have been silenced with washers in between the joints and the flight control flaps at the ankle have been hinged. They will be spring-loaded at a later date. The boots now have rubber soles to protect the floor.

Here's video and some photos.

[Barry]

So, I've designed some little steel features to add to the suit to make it look more tech and set it apart from so many other suits that leave out detail and therefore look plain. I have a machinist doing it for me because it wouldn't be appropriate for me to use the lathe at work at the moment.

This guy is way better than me anyway.

I gave him simple drawings with a few guidelines only.

He's just dropped off all bar two pieces. (I have to get him some more steel). They look brilliant. Toe pivots, knee joints, elbows, shoulders front and back.

[millicat]

It's coming along nicely... just don't hit the walls when you've got the full suit on or your walls will need patching up.