The young South African who built a functional Iron Man suit – MyBroadband

A young man from Queensburgh near Durban has designed and built a functional, life-size suit inspired by the Marvel superhero Iron Man.

Keanu Rust matriculated in 2020 and has held various jobs since graduating high school. With each paycheck, the 22-year-old sets some money aside to pay for the materials he needs.

Rust said it took him two years to build his first prototype in his spare time, and he estimated that it had cost him R30,000 to R40,000.

He said he is looking for sponsors or investors to help with funding for the final prototype.

Asked what he does for income, Rust said he currently works as a personal trainer at a gym.

One of his first jobs out of school was at an engineering company, where he learned to work with metals and build parts for machines.

However, Rust is not studying engineering at university. When asked about his further education, he became reserved. Rust said the expense and other life circumstances prevented him from studying further.

However, lack of formal training did not hold him back from giving life to his dream of building an Iron Man suit.

Marvel purists might say the suit looks more like the War Machine armour — and they would be technically correct. Either way, Rust’s armour is an amazing feat.

When asked about the materials he used, Rust said the first prototype is constructed from a combination of aluminium and carbon fibre.

In addition to the armour, he also custom-made the weapons currently mounted to the suit.

These include a replica gatling gun mounted to its back and guns mounted to the arms.

Both weapons are designed to only shoot blanks.

They fire 9mm rounds, but the barrel openings are only about 3mm in diameter, making it impossible for a live bullet to be fired without breaking the guns.

MyBroadband spoke to a firearms licensing expert who explained that technically one needs a licence to manufacture prototype weapons in South Africa like Rust has done.

However, the laws are not strictly enforced when it comes to blank guns and attempting to apply for such a permit as a hobbyist would likely just get you blank stares.

“The weapons were constructed out of a combination of steel and aluminium components,” Rust said.

“They took me around a month and a half to design and construct.”

Asked how he triggers the guns, Rust explained that there is a small handle mounted on the armour’s wrists with buttons that activate the triggers to fire the guns independently.

“This prototype can only hold six rounds in each arm, but the goal in the future is to fire twelve rounds before reload,” said Rust.

“The shoulder weapon can fire ten rounds before reloading.”

Rust also highlighted that the suit has holders for spare magazines in the thighs — almost like Robocop —  and a small rocket launcher mounted in the shoulder.

A motorised panel slides out of the way to reveal the launcher before firing.

Regarding visibility inside the helmet, Rust said there is a fine steel mesh mounted on the face plate.

This allows for great visibility while hiding his eyes from the outside view.

Asked how heavy the suit is, Rust said it’s acceptable for a prototype.

“It’s not too bad. As this is the first time attempting this, there are some restrictions that will be remedied in the final version, which will allow the operator to move around for long periods of time.”