Make an Iron Man Full Metal Mark II Arm

Have you wanted to make something by yourself that you can show off to yours friends on Halloween? This instructable could be great for you! I will show you how you can make an Iron Man Mark II arm(s) (raw test flight arm or armoured version) out of sheet metal, basic hand tools and a drill. This is my first instructable and I hope you will all like it. Happy Halloween!

To make the arms you will need the following:
1.Metal snips/heavy duty shears
2.Hand Drill or work bench drill (I used a pillar drill)
3.Around 2-3 1m x 1m sheet metal - Aluminium or Stainless Steel would be the best
4.Vice
5.Around 50 nuts and bolts
6.Glue Gun
7.Assorted Wires -I got mine from an old computer power supply
8.Drill bits

These tools you don't have to have but they are useful:
1.Sand paper
2.Bench Grinder/Sander
3.Pliers
4.Small rivets
5.Craft Foam

note - Please excuse the poorly cut edges on some of the metal, I made this prior to putting it on instructables and at the time did not have any means of sanding them down. For the best results use them on a bench grinder or a sander.

The first thing you will want to do is cut out x2 10"x1" (the length of your lower arm, obviously it varys) You will also need to drill 6 holes into them as shown in the picture. Then cut out 4 5"x1" (a bit longer than the width of your arm) and 1 3.5"x1". Drill holes on the ends as shown in the picture to match the opposing hole on the long metal strips. It should look something like the 3rd picture.

Next for the forearm you will need to cut 2 6"x1" (again this varies depending on your size) as shown in the picture. Then you will need to cut 3 4"x1" and 1 4"x1" and drill holes as shown in the picture. Again assemble it and compare it with the picture. It does not have to be exact, just similar. When you have assembles it add 2 longer bolts to the end hole for both sides, and attach the end hole on the forearm and secure it with a nut. It should articulate with ease. If not, try adding another nut to them.

If you plan on making the arm with armour, you don't have to do this step. But if you want that nice, raw look (which personally I think looks more impressive than the armoured version) then follow this step. It's a good idea to start warming your glue gun at this stage. What you want to do next is get your old wires and find a cool look for them on your arm. You can braid them (if not pre braided) or just leave them how they are. You want not too many, but not too little I would say for the best results. As well as wires, you could make some various shapes with that mesh look, that would look good. You could even go as far as drilling lots of small holes into a piece of metal and attack it to your arm. Glue gun the wires together, or if you don't have a glue gun you might get away with taping them.

If you have enough resources, I would recommend making two of these arms. Just do another arm the same way you made the first one. For the armour, it was actually simple attaching it to the basic arm frame. All I did was cut a rectangle of metal (slightly longer than the width of your arm) and drill holes into them at the edges. It the should with a bit of luck slot in the the bolts from the main frame of the raw arm, as shown in the picture. Next if you want to make that compartment at the back of the arm (in iron man 1, it holds a micro missile launcher, you must make a small articulating frame as shown in the picture. Finally add the metal with bent sides and bolt it to the articulating frame. If you want to go a bit further, you could even make it look like a real missile launcher, haha :D

This step is pretty simple. Just do what you did with the previous step, by drilling holes into the sides and bolting them to the frame. It should look like something similar to the picture. Almost there!

You may want to glue some craft foam to the inside if the metal is hurting your skin or it doesn't fit you properly. I would recommend doing this, as it's better having that than irritated skin, and that's no fun for anyone! And as for the arc reactor you see in the pictures, that is a light up arc tshirt that I got of ebay.

This was my first instructable, and lots of hard work and planning went into making the arms and the instructable and it would mean a lot if I won the contest. If you have any comments, questions or feedback just leave them below and I will happily answer them :)

Have fun and Happy Halloween!