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.ironman

We produced an informational flyer we gave out at the show, available here as a pdf (Ironman Phillip Vautour information sheet).

 

ironmanIMG_1436

 

MORE POSTS

February 13, 2009
More sweet, sweet PICAXE goodness

It appears February 14th is almost upon us, and it's an event that holds emotional significance to the very fibre of our souls. So to celebrate GPS Day (or Oregon Day or Death of the First Cloned Mammal Day or First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire Day or Department of Commerce Day) we decided […]

February 6, 2007
GM Motors used in humanoid arm

Here's a link to a neat project featuring our GM gear motors in several spots in a humanoid arm mechanism. Very cool! Read More...

February 3, 2006
Tilden Interviewed about new 'bots

We know we don't have anything directly related to RoboSapiens (other than gear motors), but as we're tight with Mr. Tilden, and he's the father of BEAM technology, it's always worthwhile to report useful bits about him. There's presently an interview with him at you-review.com - take a boo! (Then come back and do more […]

November 7, 2006
Christmas Bundles!

My marketing team has been throwing (ouch!) erasers at me (ouch!)until I get this put online: Not sure if you should build or read this winter season? Combine the two! Get the "Junkbots" book and a HexPummer, Pendulum, or SolarSpeeder kit at a combined price that saves you money! (See below in "Featured Items")

1 44 45 46 47 48 253
Solarbotics Ltd Logo
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.