GEN2 Scout/Palmer 2.0 build - EVA foam

[Reclaimara]

Doing those plates for the fingertips. Gotta admit they make me question my sanity a little. Especially when I think I'll have to do all those pieces I'm doing again for the second hand.
I like how they are coming together - they look nice and round on the fingers and are comfy but as you can see on the left - they consist of a lot of tiny pieces to make them.
At first I tried making it out of 5mm foam (on the left on the photo) but it turned out very bulky due to thickness of the foam and I'd have to shave of a lot of foam to make them look nice (and to make them comfortable). So I'm making those fingertips out of 2mm foam and works great - they'll look more sleek when I glue them to the glove from the sides.

My old pepakura fingertip for comparison - gotta admit those foam fingertips are much more comfortable to wear on the fingers and you still have some kind of feel through them while resin pepakura made your fingertips completely numb (due to hard resin over your finger) when you were touching or holding anything in the hand.

 

[Reclaimara]

So. I did that big plate but I'll have to redo it. I don't really like how it turned out (I forgot a detail that I tried to do after I finished it but I don't like how it looks like) so I'll be redoing it. No issue as now I know how to do these.
At least now I see how the whole glove will look like.

 

[Reclaimara]

Ok. Hand plate finished. Looks much better now than the first one I did. Both foam parts are same size, just on the photo the perspective makes the failed one look smaller. Also they both are little smaller than my old pepakura.
Whole right hand finished and just gotta do all parts for the left hand.
Tomorrow I'll also start plastidipping and spraypainting the parts I have finished cuz I want to see the progress I've done.

 

[Reclaimara]

Another small setback. Earlier I looked on the internet and according to some people Montana Gold supposedly doesn't crack easily on foam so after my first Palmer costume where I used those paints and loved the colors and texture I bought it again and planned to use it on this one again.
Luckily I didn't order few cans of each and also luckily I did a test piece.
Unfortunately Montana Gold still cracks so I don't recommend it if you care about cracks.
From what I tested - thin coat cracks immediately. This on the picture is 3 thicker layers of spray paint which makes it bit more durable but as you can see - it still cracks. It cracked under less pressure than on the photo - I just bent it more to show the cracks better.
So I suppose if you want to make a quite hard and sturdy prop/armor Montana Gold will work amazing but on foam that it's gonna be bit more flexible you'll have to expect some cracks.
No point in painting some harder armor pieces with Montana and other parts of armor with other paint as it'll be hard to match the exact colors.
I don't want to spend months foambuilding only then to have it all crack on me and ruin all my work.

I've ordered something else - Flexi Paint which according to many cosplayers and videos I've watched - is very flexible and doesn't crack.
It comes in just few basic colors but you can mix it and you can even thin it out and spray with an airbrush.
I have an airbrush so this is what I precisely plan to do with it although I'll test both options.
As a bonus Flexi Paint is non-toxic so I'll be able to paint it indoor with no problems (I don't have a workshop or dedicated workspace outdoor, basement, garage, etc.).
Maybe I should have gone with Flexi Paint from the beginning but I was hoping Montana would work and it'd spare me the work of mixing colors and airbrushing as can spray paint covers faster. But with having airbrush now I'm planning on doing better paintjob on the costume anyway than on first one few years ago.
I hope it'll arrive this week but in the meantime I'll finish plastidipping the pieces I have and do the foam parts for the left glove.

 

[Reclaimara]

Almost finished making all the armor parts for the second glove. Only 3 fingertips left and done. Gotta admit really happy how these came out.
In the meantime I've finished plastidipping all the parts I have so far - it's amazing how they change the appearance.

On some parts in few places I've dremeled out some tiny dents, they might not even be visible but just some small details that the armor isn't brand new.
I only need to get distilled water and then I'll do some paint tests and hopefully paint them. I'm planning to try the paint chipping method and how it'll look.

 

[Reclaimara]

Last fingertip left which I'll do tomorrow. Such tiny pieces yet so time consuming. Can see how many tiny pieces go into that one fingertip.

 

[S229]

What thickness of foam are you using? Just from looking at it, it looks thinner than 2mm which is the thinnest i've been able to find.

 

[Reclaimara]

What thickness of foam are you using? Just from looking at it, it looks thinner than 2mm which is the thinnest i've been able to find.

Combination of 5mm and 2mm foam. The fingertips are done with 2mm foam (at first I tried making them out of 5mm foam and it was a fail - foam is too thick for that). All other parts for the glove are either 5mm or combination of 5mm with a 2mm layer for details glued on top.

 

[Reclaimara]

Finished all parts for gloves, plastidipping all the foam pieces I have so far.
And now I've started to airbrush the gunmetal Flexi-Paint. Gotta admit I'm honestly shocked how it comes out. That paint in the bottle looks like generic gray color (can see on the pieces on the left that are still most wet) but when it dries suddenly magic happens and it really becomes metallic (top right piece is most dry). Call me bamboozled by this space magic.
Also this paint is so flexible! I didn't wear glove on the hand I was holding and after airbrushing when I was peeling it it felt like a thin layer of plastidip/latex. 10/10 from this very early experience.

 

[Reclaimara]

One does not simply do a test piece.
As a test I did one of the small ankle parts. Turned out nice and I really like the results so I'll be continuing with the same process.
This is pretty much what I plan to do for the paintjob on the whole costume. Just later on I'll do some washes to make it appear more dirty and dusty. And buff some parts where the metal is showing through but I like how dark this gunmetal is - darker than silver so white/light gray isn't blending together with it. There is quite much contrast that I wanted to have.
I really like how these are turning out but damn it's taking a long time - from up close you can physically feel and see the white paint being separate and having this chipped effect. Airbrushing is much slower than spray pain but I enjoy the process.

On the photo it might seem excessive but those are tiny pieces and from 1m it looks just like details.

 

[Reclaimara]

More progress on painting.
The big front piece on the left is just plastidipped, the smaller middle section piece is airbrushed with gunmetal flexi-paint. Almost same shade just it has that nice metallic gunmetal. And McFarlane Palmer for scale.
Slowly starting to coat all the pieces with gunmetal so far. I know I didn't have to start painting process now when I only have a tiny % of the armor done but to me it was test if I can make this whole armor out of EVA foam and be satisfied with it. And paintjob can cover up a lot of imperfections of the foam (seams, etc.) too. So now seeing how it's turning out I got a confidence boost because I'm happy with how these are turning out.
As I really enjoy the painting process I may as well do some more pieces but I'm slowly moving forward onto the building the shins soon too.

How those ankle pieces will look like on the shoe.
I won't make whole armor overly damaged. Some areas more and some other areas less. Depending on the use and where you could bump into and it would cause damage to it. I think the boots would take a lot of damage due to always being in more direct contact.

 

[Reclaimara]

More on painting. It's much more time consuming but I really like how all these are turning out.
Big improvement compared to the old gloves (only fingertips to finish for first glove). Really glad I decided to redo them.
When looking at these pieces in the mirror from approx. 1m away those are just nice details and aren't overpowering as too immense damage. Which is what I intended.

 

[Reclaimara]

I'm very glad I decided to do this paint test earlier. If I had finished building whole armor and then I had to paint the whole armor I fear it'd take forever that I'd be fighting the urge to rush it. And so at least I'll keep it more interesting by switching between building and base painting that it won't feel tedious.
I'm still in the process of painting. Started coating second glove armor parts with gunmetal and the big front/back boot parts. And then the masking and painting with light white... but at least all the tiniest pieces will be done. I didn't think those tiny glove pieces would take so much time.
I really enjoy the process of working with airbrush. Sure it's longer but I enjoy that kinda ritual of mixing the paint, thinning it out, airbrushing and then cleaning it afterwards.
As for Flexi Paint - my experience so far is that it's very flexible and sturdy. Similar to plasitidip actually. This would rather tear apart than crack (so this "paint chipping" is actually not that easy with it as this paint really doesn't want to actually chip like all those spray can paints do). After you thin it out with a distilled water (or thinner) it's great for airbrushing just keep it in mind that after it dries (and it dries very quickly) it becomes kinda like rubber so it likes to build up a clog in the nozzle so frequently gotta check to keep it clean.

Also I present you. My very professional drying station.

 

[Reclaimara]

No update but I wanted to talk about Flexi Paint I've been using and trying out.
I may do a separate thread or a paint tutorial with this specific paint perhaps in the future.
I've seen Flexi Paint sold worldwide and a lot of people mentioning using it but never really seen anyone going into much detail about it so I hope my thoughts and experience with it may help some people.

My thoughts so far after I've been using it so far.
Yes. It is amazing fully flexible paint that won't crack or chip off by itself at all unlike many can spray paints that start cracking under pressure when foam bends. Which is great cuz you won't have to worry about your costume being screwed up by cracking paint.
Paint itself isn't toxic at all so can use it indoor and really doesn't have any smell when working with it.
It comes semi thick/thin so for painting with a brush it's fine. Can thin it with distilled water for airbrushing and it works great.
It dries very fast. In texture and flexibility it is quite similar to plastidip.
After drying you can sand it down (best wetsanding) for smoother finish surface) if you'd want to.
Personally I tried adding some paint in some spots that I noticed needed filling and worked out great in hiding those imperfections.

Side note about doing this paint chipping effect I'm doing myself. For this effect mostly people use liquid latex but also tooth paste or mustard.
I can only recommend liquid latex as it dries and then it easily comes off fully after you've coated the piece with desired color.
With this paint being so durable and flexible you aren't just slightly rubbing the surface and seeing the paint chipping off like with most spray can paints. You have to manually pull the paint apart either with fingernails or what I'm doing myself - with tweezers. It's quite tedious process but because the paint is so flexible that it won't chip like normal paint.

One thing I highly recommend doing after finishing painting- seal the paint with Top Coat Sealer that Flexi Paint provides - either Matt or Gloss top coat sealer.
I noticed that without sealing if water comes in contact with the paintjob it reacts a little - it won't come off or anything. It just becomes matt and if you try to rub it it can slightly change the surface finish (visible especially on metallic paint) so I'd say sealing it with that Top Coat sealer is a must.
After you coat it with that Top Coat it seems to be fully water resistant - after I sealed the paintjob with that sealer and tested by making it wet and there were no effects or reaction. Amazing so I'd not only recommend it but I'd say you have to seal it.
Last but not least - I tried looking online but never seen anyone mention it. YES. You can airbrush the Top Coat sealer too. As there were no mentions about it I was afraid it may not be possible and I was already thinking how to thin it for airbrushing HOWEVER the Top Coat sealer is very nicely thin and you can pour it straight into the airbrush and coat it.
Just seal the paintjob not to regret it later that you skipped this part.

What I haven't tested myself - you can mix paint with pigments and from what I read these mix great too.

Overall I find this paint 10/10 for foam. It seems to be very durable and it should resist pieces rubbing against each other very well and overall usage and the paintjob won't chip at all.
I can 100% recommend this paint and I'm still amazed that this paint exists.

 

[PlanetAlexander]

I've been wanting to try Flexi Paint for a while but there's pretty much nowhere in Australia that stocks it.
How far do you find that one bottle (100mL I think) goes?

 

[Reclaimara]

I've been wanting to try Flexi Paint for a while but there's pretty much nowhere in Australia that stocks it.
How far do you find that one bottle (100mL I think) goes?

Oh damn I just looked up. Damn. It shouldn't be like that. There really is almost nothing in Australia
I found only 2 stores but with very limited offers - can only suggest to write them and ask if they'll be having more in stock soon?

So far I've used about 1cm on both bottles of white and gunmetal. I admit I've been very generous with the paint. They write 2 paintbrushed layers is enough but as I'm thinning it with airbrush I'm often doing 2-3 layers so far. Dunno if it's an overkill but especially on those pieces that may be often coming in contact and rubbing I rather use more paint cuz I'm trying to make it long-lasting hopefully without having to touch up after every convention or event. If one wasn't generous and more saving there would be more paint left). From what I seen - depending on how thick the layers you're doing - 2 seems to be enough if you wanna save up paint. Did quite lot of painting with it - may be small pieces and not huge ones but that's a lot of painting nonetheless. I find these tiny pieces more time-consuming than bigger ones.

 

[Ender Of Time]

Hello again. Long time no see.

Few years ago I've already done Palmer cosplay in hard resin and it's been a huge and unexpected journey.
It's very heartwarming to see my old thread with my build [here].
I didn't expect to even be able to finish the whole cosplay back when I was starting it. I never done it before and I'm always harsh on myself and have high expectations.
But I finished it and while it wasn't perfect, I had a lot of unforgettable and best moments while wearing it. Met amazing people - you all 405th fam and Halo cosplayers, fans and all.

View attachment 315339

Life happened and I was gone for some time and my cosplay was just forgotten in storage.
Some months ago I had to move and while I planned to take it with me, I decided to try it on... and it turned out it was too big for me and didn't fit me anymore.
It being hard resin meant it was impossible to modify it to fit me.
I was short on space already and it was very short notice as I was literally packing and moving out in few hours for a long journey in a car, I decided to dump it in a trash.
Might not been a wisest decision. I agree. It was very painful as I've spent years working on it.
There aren't many Halo fans in my country. And just a few who are into cosplay so the chance of finding someone who would fit the armor and want it were very slim and I didn't have the time...

View attachment 315340

I had to take at least a photo of it.
Now I regret I didn't keep the forearms at least...

--

I've been thinking about making a new Halo cosplay. I've been waiting for release of Halo Infinite to see how the armors will look like and honestly it left me a little bit disappointed and heartbroken to say the least. I tried to fall in love with it. But I realized I love Gen2 Scout too much and it feels like home.

So. I'm making a Palmer cosplay again. It'll be my version of it. A little bit modified to make it a little bit interesting rather than dull white/gray color palette it had in H4/5 and getting inspired from Infinite with armor attachments and some other details.
Call it however you want or just a new armor Palmer got after Halo 5 when they came back to UNSC Infinity as well.
I love Scout Gen2. I love Palmer's armor too. And Palmer as character in Halo universe. So I can't really do it any other way.

Just so you know - don't expect this being a fast build. Last cosplay took me 2 years of work and I was still in the middle of improving it. I don't expect this to be different. Especially that I don't have such big amounts of free time anymore either.
And I've already have gained some experience from the last build that I can use with this one.
I want this cosplay to be better than the last one in every way. So while last time I was often rushing to get it done before an event - I won't this time.
I will take my time to make it best as I can.

I'm not really building it yet either. As I said I'm taking all the time I need.
Doing mostly research and planning and buying stuff I need. But mostly brainstorming and planning.
I'll try to update the thread frequently with my ideas and plans on how I want to approach all parts during building process.

As it's gonna be a long thread I'm gonna save you the hassle and gonna try to make here index:

FOAM BUILDING
1. shoe parts [stars on page1]
2. gloves [start on page 3]

Looks amazing!

 

[Reclaimara]

Finally. Feck it's taking so long. But well base paintjob on the right boot is finished for now. Left one to do and back to foam building.
Personally I'm really happy with the result of how it looks like.
I don't plan the whole armor to look that beaten up but just thinking of where sections can be most exposed to sustaining damage. So more upper sections won't have to have so much damage I think.
It isn't pristine new and frankly quite beaten up but when thinking realistically the boots are always in contact with any kind of surface so they are most exposed to any kind of damage very easily.
And I think no armor would stay pristine new when in use by a heavy Spartan - no paint would sustain that kind of stress without any damage to. Just gonna say it - imagine the sad life of that person who is always painting the armor of the Spartans. It must be a sad when they just painted it and moments later they'd see their beautiful work destroyed.

Also this was just a very close up shot. When standing in front of the mirror it's less visible so from a distance I think it'll be ok?

Also I finished base paintjob on the left glove. Last time I didn't show the fingertips so here you go. Where most of the paint is chipped off is on the fingertips as it's the most part where it has contact with everything.

Can't wait for the day when I'll have everything built and base painted so I can go forward with next steps of painting.
Back to finishing left boot and really gotta go back to foam building as it's been almost 2 months since I've started working on this armor... oof. Feels like so little progress in that time which suddenly goes by so fast.
Will be happy to spend next evening or two masking the left boot front/back sections because after spending a weekend holding tweezers with peeling off that paint my fingertips are very sore.

 

[Reclaimara]

Finished base painting the remaining pieces so now both boots are finished. For now at least til I'll be ready for next stage of painting the darker gray.

I've decided I'll be doing the shins now. I had to rescale it few times but I think I got the scale right.
I'm not 100% sure but I hope they'll fit and I'll have enough room to move around without stressing the foam. I think it'll be fine tho and if not I'll figure something out. I rather have them little more looser than too tight - can always cover the space with padding (like in-game models) for aesthetics.
If you look closer the small bottom front/back shin pieces are cut and re-fitted because I have short hobbit legs (in such situation I wish I was tall). Changing the scale makes these look just tiny so I thought cutting them in 1-2 parts and just making them shorter looks much better.

 

[Reclaimara]

Bold of me to assume I was done with all the small parts of the armor. I forgot there is a lot more of them on many more body parts.
But good thing is I think I may be done with those tiny front/back pieces in 3 days perhaps as I'll have to add additional details to them. I actually planned to get them done this weekend but I barely had time. So gotta catch up.