In compliance with the upcoming holidays we decided to contribute to the obligatory dose of Christmas ornamentation in the shape of the well-known coniferous tree. A tabletop freestanding tree with LED strings and a flashing star on top seemed like an easy enough thing to do. We also wanted to add a tech twist to […]
Iron Man & Solarbotics at Comic Exp...
Solar botics
June 30, 2016
We often work with people with very interesting projects. This time, it's an impressive Iron Man MkIII costume build, by Phillip Vatour of Calgary.
Phillip had come into our offices one day and said: "You might be interested in seeing what I've been building with the stuff I buy here...". He pulled out his phone and handed over his photo gallery. Flip..."Nice Iron Man gauntlet" ....flip..."Nice Arc reactor" ...flip... "HOLY CRAP - that's a video of a functional visor-flipping helmet!"
We were so impressed by his build, we invited Phillip and his family to the 2016 Calgary Comic Expo as a keynote display at the Solarbotics booth. He'd spend several hours each day, suiting up and posing for photos, while explaining his build. He's one of a handful of builders in the world with such a fully-featured Iron Man costume, so we were very happy to work with him at the show. We were very happy to arrange a photo-op with Stan Lee (creator of the "Iron Man" character), as this was to be Mr. Lee's last Comic Expo appearance. Mr. Lee was apparently quite impressed by the quality of the suit, as were his staff attending the photo op.
What's particularly notable about Phillip's efforts is that he doesn't rent out his time or make paid appearances. He volunteers for the Make-a-Wish foundation and the Calgary Children's Hospital, making appearances as Iron Man for the kids. We were happy to help out by promoting a donation bucket to help Phillip pay for ongoing costume upgrades and maintenance (apparently Iron Man costume molds aren't cheap!).
Phillip designed the costume to have quite an array of features, which are fairly independent of each other. A tech-costume of this complexity can often have some failures, so this design allows the majority of the suit to stay functional if a single element is damaged. Of course, this means there's a multitude of batteries to maintain, and Phillip has a full check-list to cover during suit-up and servicing.
We produced an informational flyer we gave out at the show, available here as a pdf (Ironman Phillip Vautour information sheet).
MORE POSTS
Odds and ends
Greetings, ye fine fellow travelers of yon internet. This week you'll find that we have three new and completely unrelated items to show off: 17010 3-AA Battery Holder - This three-cell holder has 9V-style snap connectors, and can create 4.5V with Alkaline batteries. 17390 Tact Switch - A push-button style switch that's compact, inexpensive and […]
ScoutWalker III - limited stock!
We've managed to dig up enough parts to get six ScoutWalker III's together in time for Christmas. We'll have them ready by the end of the week for shipping, so if you don't mind waiting for your order to go until then, feel free to pre-order now!
Project Monday: All-Seeing Eye
This week's project is coming to you fresh from Alex, an engineer in our R&D department, with some help from Yana, our graphic designer. They've developed an enclosure based on the SAFE that accommodates sensor mounts on each side in addition to an Arduino-style board within. And after putting on some short range and long […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.