I would say probably 90%+ of the sci-fi armour built for cosplay and the like is from video games, television or movies. My very first foray into this field is a wee bit different, however. Since I am semi-retired from my "day job", I have been working as a writer/developer for Dark Nova Games, a table-top RPG publisher that based their flagship game on a series of novels I am writing. So, since I know the setting inside and out, as it is my own little brain-baby, they task me for anything and everything lore-related... and, apparently, anything everyone else is too sane, smart, and/or high-ranking to get saddled with 
Among the latter is the development of wearable, field-rugged (i.e., you can roughhouse in it) suits of armour from the game. They specifically chose the Mk 42 Curaiss worn by operators from Spartan Group, the largest and most powerful mercenary corporation in the game, for what I can only disclose as "promotional purposes". So, I set about building the foam model that would be used to cast molds off of for mass-producing urethane/fiberglass final versions. I figured it would be a challenge, but doable.
Allow me to digress onto a tangent for a moment- if any of you ever get the bright idea of doing A N Y T H I N G involving ANY substance with even the slightest adhesive quality, including but not limited to scotch tape, packing tape, duct tape, hot glue guns, and chewing gum (don't ask), be aware that doing so in the same zip code, much less the same room, as a toddler, three cats, and a reachable box of sugar-saturated cookies... don't. I can only describe the end results as one step shy of the detonation of the Phlegraean Fields caldera 37,000 years ago that helped wipe out Homo Neanderthalis. It wasn't pretty, and the first attempt was scrapped.
So, here is the first hour of attempt number two, with more pics to come later this week after I score major points with the Wife Faction by giving her a day free of said Toddlergeddon and our three month old, tickets to the Avengers in 3D, and a spa excursion. As an aside, but related to the above paragraph, cats neither care for being shaved to remove molten glue from their fur, nor are they willing to be gentle in expressing that displeasure. Anyway, here's the pics-
Among the latter is the development of wearable, field-rugged (i.e., you can roughhouse in it) suits of armour from the game. They specifically chose the Mk 42 Curaiss worn by operators from Spartan Group, the largest and most powerful mercenary corporation in the game, for what I can only disclose as "promotional purposes". So, I set about building the foam model that would be used to cast molds off of for mass-producing urethane/fiberglass final versions. I figured it would be a challenge, but doable.
Allow me to digress onto a tangent for a moment- if any of you ever get the bright idea of doing A N Y T H I N G involving ANY substance with even the slightest adhesive quality, including but not limited to scotch tape, packing tape, duct tape, hot glue guns, and chewing gum (don't ask), be aware that doing so in the same zip code, much less the same room, as a toddler, three cats, and a reachable box of sugar-saturated cookies... don't. I can only describe the end results as one step shy of the detonation of the Phlegraean Fields caldera 37,000 years ago that helped wipe out Homo Neanderthalis. It wasn't pretty, and the first attempt was scrapped.
So, here is the first hour of attempt number two, with more pics to come later this week after I score major points with the Wife Faction by giving her a day free of said Toddlergeddon and our three month old, tickets to the Avengers in 3D, and a spa excursion. As an aside, but related to the above paragraph, cats neither care for being shaved to remove molten glue from their fur, nor are they willing to be gentle in expressing that displeasure. Anyway, here's the pics-
