SAM'S PROFILE

Hey guys, I've been wanting to build my arms up a little then actually tone them as my arms are not exactly something I'm proud of. Does anyone know some good exercises I could do at home to get some decent results?

Obviously I don't expect anything that will work instantly and I appreciate that I'd need to keep at any exercise with a regular schedule for a good few months before I noticed any changes.

So, two days ago my XBox showed the dreaded red rings of death, but after turning it off for twenty minutes, it worked fine for five minutes, then the textures on all the 3D models started to glitch out - to the point where all games are unplayable.

I called Microsoft support but they said that unless the three red rings came back, permanently, they'd charge me £70 to repair it - but if the red rings come back on a permanent basis, they'll fix it for free. Fuckers.

Anyway, short version of the story, I'm trying to force red ring my 360. It's under a towel and turned on, blew a hairdryer in there for a good ten minutes or so to really heat the fucker up and it's still surviving! Gonna leave it overnight and see what happens.

Anyone got any other tips? And please don't say "put it in a microwave" like some douche on my MSN list XD

Just trying to improve my 3D over summer break.
Click the image for full view version

Many fans have debated for many years as to which chronological order the Legend of Zelda games should be placed in, with all of them agreeing that Ocarina of Time came first and that there are two seperate timelines for the future where Adult Link defeated Ganon, got sent back in time, and thus, was not around to stop Ganon when he broke free, causing the gods to flood Hyrule, thus Wind Waker. The other timeline being where Young Link warns Zelda of Ganondorf's plan and he's sealed away until Twighlight Princess.

Whilst watching a video on YouTube recently of one fan's theory, a particular line from the opening of Wind Waker stood out to me.

"This is but one of the legends of which people speak."

This says to me that each Legend of Zelda game may in fact just be the same story with the same characters. Over time, when people told their children and grandchildren the legend, certain details may have changed slightly, and eventually drastically. I think each game is a different retelling of the same legend, with no true, definitive recollection of what actually happened.

Think about it, how many different variations of the Hercules legend float around in our world? Maybe it's just like that, or maybe I'm avoiding a very taxing task for Zelda fans ^^

I'm currently in the process of making a set of MkVI Spartan armour from the Halo universe for the October Expo. In this thread I will be posting progress pictures, as well as talking about the methods I'm using so that those who wish to make their own armour, can do so.

Before we start, I should mention that making this armour will take a lot of time, patience, and money to make. If you're not going to see things through, then don't make a start on it.

If you are under 16 please seek a parent or guardian's permission and assistance before attempting to make this armour.
I am not responsible for the safety of anyone who tries to make this armour. I'm also not responsible if your other half/ parents/ whoever you live with get annoyed with you for taking over an area of the house as a workshop. You will need a large, ventilated area to do this in. If you are under 18, you may be unable to purchase some of the materials required to make this armour.

OK, now that all that's out the way, let's get started! I'm using the methods propsed by a site called 405th, which specialises in the creation of Halo armour, and has been proven numerous times to have good results. I'm making the helmet at the moment so this post will center around that.

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu205/Afr0Blu3/PepakuraMkVI.png

First, we load a 3D model of the helmet (the ones I use are by RoboGenesis) into a program called Pepakura. I won't provide links to the files here, you will have to Google it. Pepakura turns 3D models into origami styled pieces that print onto card, cut out, and glue together to form the base of your armour. We will be strengthening and reinforcing this base later. You will want to scale the model so that it fits the size of your head (real world dimensions of the model are displayed on screen within Pepakura). For assistance with Pepakura please reference the program's help files.

I would recommend printing out only the visor for now, as it's a good way to see if the helmet is likely to fit your head, and will save you time and resources. Once you're satisfied with the size of the visor, print the rest out.

This is how things looked before I started.

http://www.sjwebster.com/images/HPIM0458.JPG

You'll need:
- Scalpel. For cutting the card with, don't use scissors as they aren't accurate enough.
- Metal ruler. This is for your safety and will aid your accuracy. Personally, I don't use one as I'm an artist and work better and faster free-hand. If this costs me a finger it'll be my own fault.
- Cutting mat. So you don't ruin a perfectly good table/ worktop.
- Blue and red pens. For marking and scoring folds. These are invaluable.
- Normal ruler. For marking folds with.
- Glue gun. Set to it's lowest setting, for gluing the pieces together (obviously). Do not use any glue that may dissolve later! We will be fiberglassing this and if the resin melts your glue the whole thing will fall apart.
- Laptop. You'll want to work to music, trust me, it helps! You can also display the model on it so you always know which piece you're working on and check that everything looks as it should do.

Start by cutting the pieces on each piece of card. As you cut them out, mark all the mountain folds (folds away from you) in blue and all the valley folds (folds toward you) in red. This has two advantages. First of all, it is far easier to see the folds and whether they're a mountain or valley fold. Second of all, it scores the fold, making it easier to fold them. Some of the smaller folds may require that you press lightly on the fold line with your scalpel to score it but be careful not to cut through the card, particularly on the visor.

http://www.sjwebster.com/images/HPIM0459.JPG

I've found it's best to do all folding as you cut the individual pieces as you'll know exactly how much you've done and won't forget to fold any pieces.

The next stage is gluing the pieces together. Set your glue gun to it's lowest setting and wait for it to warm up. All the tabs and edges on the cards are numbered. Each tab glues to the edge sharing the same number has it. For example, tab 509 should be glued to edge 509. The best way to glue this together is to focus on small pieces and sections to create larger, seperated sections, then glue those large sections together. Things can get extremely fiddly otherwise.

http://www.sjwebster.com/images/HPIM0460.JPG

Below is a crotch piece I made earlier but I will need to make another as it's a little too small for me. Oh, and the visor and bulb card sections will be removed later, but for now, we need them to support the structure and aid us with fiberglassing.

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu205/Afr0Blu3/HPIM0374.jpg

I'll be posting all my progress pictures here, and I'll be talking about how to do the next stage, fiberglassing, when I approach it myself.