Agent Washington — First Build !!

[antrodite]

Are you going to have a drink with a curly straw???

Good luck getting the build done! That's a tight timeline for sure. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Oh absolutely one hundred percent yes lol !! I’ll be having a picture of my cat tucked in my “back pocket” too hahaha
And thank you so much! I’ve built everything else in the last six weeks, so as long as painting goes okay, I think we got this !!

 

[antrodite]

Well that makes sense! I was going off of his full stripe helmet cause my helmet has the same pattern (albeit different colors lol)

No worries! Would’ve much rather you said something than didn’t, that’s for sure!

 

[EchoCosplay]

Oh absolutely one hundred percent yes lol !! I’ll be having a picture of my cat tucked in my “back pocket” too hahaha
And thank you so much! I’ve built everything else in the last six weeks, so as long as painting goes okay, I think we got this !!

I love that so much. Wash is one of my favourite RvB characters and I love that you're putting that amount of thought into the details.

 

[antrodite]

Holy smokes, the last piece has been built. WE DID IT PEOPLE!!!
Today I finished the torso which felt like a giant accomplishment and milestone. Very proud of myself for this one. That’s all I’ve got to say about that lol. It took hours, but I put in the overtime and got er done.
Tomorrow I’ll be painting my little tester foam piece I made, I’d rather screw up some scraps from the garbage that I glued together than the suit. I’ll also be doing details with 2mm foam and filling in the couple gaps in the torso with Kwik Seal. Glad I have four tubes of that lol.
Also, please enjoy the Cheech picture that will be in my “back pocket.” Washington hung pictures of his cats in his locker, so it’s only fair my cat comes along with us too!

 

[EchoCosplay]

Congrats! I'm excited to see it all painted. And the cat pic is adorable!

 

[BrokenHawk]

YOOOOOO THAT CHEST PIECE IS INSANE!!! Congrats on getting over that hurdle!

 

[antrodite]

YOOOOOO THAT CHEST PIECE IS INSANE!!! Congrats on getting over that hurdle!

THANK YOU FOR THE HYPE !!!!!

Today I added details, Kwik Sealed some gaps, glued the handplates to the gloves, fixed the helmet fitment, and did some painting on a couple test pieces!

 

[antrodite]

Rigging has begun !!!

I definitely underestimated how much time all the strapping and rigging would take, good grief. We’re figuring it out though! Yesterday was forearms with upholstery foam inside and the belt which has a parachute clip on an elastic band and velcro. Today I finished the thighs, shins, and the back of the boots. The front of the boot armor took so long and it still needed something a little more, so we’re just gonna… set that aside for now. I don’t have many braincells left.
Anyway! The right boot is just chilling on top of my boots, the left has an elastic band under the heel since the foam looked like it was flowing in the wind. The shins have upholstery foam in the back. The thighs have nylon that loops under my belt and velcros on to itself. Tomorrow will be torso and shoulder time, I’m waiting for extra assistance since I can’t reach my opposite shoulder with the torso on and neither can my cat.

Also! If anyone has any advice for spray painting in a cold garage, I’d love to hear it. I’ll be putting an electric heater in there, but not sure how much that will help when it’s 50° already. I did some test pieces, Plastidip went on amazing, but the paint itself was fish-eying or spotting in some areas. In all areas. We’ll figure it out... countdown to fanexpo, t-minus nine days !!!

 

[Parzival]

I had painted my ODST helm the night or two before Galaxycon last year in a cold spot. I had kept the helmet in the heated house with the can also near the vent with heat coming out. So essentially keep the helmet and can warm / above 50 degrees, moving to the spot to be painted, then give it a whirl. When drying I moved the helmet back in the house. That seemed to work out for me anyway. If there's specifics on the do's and dont's of that, then I'm unaware.

Crazy good progression pics though! Well done and have fun at Fan Expo!

 

[EchoCosplay]

Good luck! I hope your weather warms up enough for paint, but in the meantime maybe hand-painting to get it done in time and you can re-paint it later?

Also, tell your cat I love her even if she's not helping you with your rigging.

 

[VonSnake]

Back progress is being made!! I put in some overtime today to add both the top and bottom spine pieces to my done pile. I’ll be gluing all the parts together after I finish up the rest of the torso and that will be my last part of the suit to build!! Fanexpo Cleveland is April 12th… yes, sixteen days away. We’re cutting it close, but we got this fo sho. There is no Plan B, let that be my encouragement.

Welcome to the group. No matter how much we prepare to get our suits done early it never happens, con crunch is real lol. Keep pushing you'll get it done.

 

[antrodite]

I had painted my ODST helm the night or two before Galaxycon last year in a cold spot. I had kept the helmet in the heated house with the can also near the vent with heat coming out. So essentially keep the helmet and can warm / above 50 degrees, moving to the spot to be painted, then give it a whirl. When drying I moved the helmet back in the house. That seemed to work out for me anyway. If there's specifics on the do's and dont's of that, then I'm unaware.

Crazy good progression pics though! Well done and have fun at Fan Expo!

Thank you so much, I appreciate this big time!! I’ll definitely be doing that, keeping everything inside and warm save for the actual spray painting itself. I bet if it dries inside, it’ll make a bit of a difference!

 

[antrodite]

Good luck! I hope your weather warms up enough for paint, but in the meantime maybe hand-painting to get it done in time and you can re-paint it later?

Also, tell your cat I love her even if she's not helping you with your rigging.

I didn’t even think about hand-painting everything honestly. That will be the back-up plan for sure!
I will totally tell her and she will be honored, I’m sure. I need to accept that she has more of a supervisor role and just give up asking her for help lol

 

[antrodite]

Welcome to the group. No matter how much we prepare to get our suits done early it never happens, con crunch is real lol. Keep pushing you'll get it done.

I totally did this to myself and procrastinated way too much at the beginning lmao! I’m to blame!!
Thank you though, you’re right. We’ll get er done darn it !!! Where there’s a will, there’s a way and whatnot lol

 

[N8TEBB]

When I paint in the winter I will do it in the garage with the door closed and a heater on. You'll want a respirator for this as the fumes will be trapped in the garage. If you spray in any room in your house the fumes will travel through the vents, but the garage has an insulated door, so you should be alright. I try to get the heater pointed at the part I'm printing, which helps it dry faster. If it will needs lots of time to dry, I bring it inside. If you have a room with a vent that is the best place to keep it. I sometimes put things in the laundry room to dry, as there is a fan that can push the fumes outside. A bathroom will work as well.

 

[antrodite]

When I paint in the winter I will do it in the garage with the door closed and a heater on. You'll want a respirator for this as the fumes will be trapped in the garage. If you spray in any room in your house the fumes will travel through the vents, but the garage has an insulated door, so you should be alright. I try to get the heater pointed at the part I'm printing, which helps it dry faster. If it will needs lots of time to dry, I bring it inside. If you have a room with a vent that is the best place to keep it. I sometimes put things in the laundry room to dry, as there is a fan that can push the fumes outside. A bathroom will work as well.

Thank you for the helpful breakdown! I’ll do what you suggested with the heater pointing towards the pieces in the garage and if it’s not enough, then I’ll bring em in to dry!

 

[antrodite]

Holy smokes, it is so crazy seeing all of this together

Rigging is officially done! Everything fits amazing except the torso that I’m most definitely NOT rebuilding lol. It’s just so wide and my arms have very little mobility. I can put on and take off the helmet though, so we’re rolling with it. Tomorrow I’ll prep for paint so we can get going on that this weekend!! We’ll paint outside, hang dry in the garage with a heater, and cross our fingers.
Short King Agent Washington coming soon to a con near you !!

 

[Parzival]

Holy smokes, it is so crazy seeing all of this together

Rigging is officially done! Everything fits amazing except the torso that I’m most definitely NOT rebuilding lol. It’s just so wide and my arms have very little mobility. I can put on and take off the helmet though, so we’re rolling with it. Tomorrow I’ll prep for paint so we can get going on that this weekend!! We’ll paint outside, hang dry in the garage with a heater, and cross our fingers.
Short King Agent Washington coming soon to a con near you !!

That is looking awesome! Great progress!

Good luck with that torso, you'll find what works and what doesn't after a day at the con without a doubt. Excited to see the final result.

 

[antrodite]

Mini update time!

Progress has been a little slow going since the weather has been horrendous. If it’s not cold out, then it’s so windy the paint doesn’t make it to the armor lol (the thighs pictured immediately blew across the driveway, don’t know why we thought empty boxes was a good idea). Anyway! This is definitely a learning process hahaha. Shoutout to Padre for helping me paint and frying his braincells away with me (wear your respirators, folks).

Currently though; the belt, boots, torso, and gloves are done! Yay!! The yellow is done on the thighs and shins, both forearms need another couple coats. The yellow is going on horrendously, but I’m reminding myself that no one is looking that close. I went to masking tape off the yellow after they dried for quite a few hours, huge error on my part and had to redo that piece as it took the paint off with it. I guess we’ll try again tomorrow evening and cross our fingers. Con crunch is real, people!! Will I be driving to the con with parts drying in the bed of my truck? Possibly !!!

 

[EchoCosplay]

Yellow is the absolute worst for coverage. I don't know if a white underlayer would help or hurt (or if you even have time for it!) but it might be worth a test swatch?

Good luck! I hope you get it all done in time!