Tarquinevi
New Member
Tl: Dr Introduction
Hey! I'd like to introduce myself as a new member (obviously) and tap into the community's vast wealth of knowledge
I have a few years engineering experience and I'm not new to the cosplay scene, last year I built a Dead Space Unitology suit in 2 weeks with an almost non-existent budget! The whole build was a mess of acrylic, mdf, craft foam, chicken wire and gaffer tape, before you ask; Yes, it was bulky, heavy, unreliable and a general pain!
This year, I'm working to a similar budget but longer timeframe and I hope to build my own take on the Dead Space 2 Advanced suit. I stumbled on this site looking for suitable reference images and I'm utterly in awe at the skill on show!
The Good Stuff
The whole build is going to be a custom-painted and mostly faithful build of the Dead Space 2 advanced suit. Certain details will be changed, certain sections will be missed out and the colour scheme will be very different.
Prospectively, I hope to use Styrene (.25mm gauge) for the most part. I have never worked with this material before and I know picking such a detailed piece for my first build is not the smartest option.
The undersuit will be either a black, full-body wetsuit (which is obviously a more 'realistic' choice, but can't be faesibly re-coloured or designed on) or suitably tight 'traditional' clothing (which won't look as nice, but can have the correct colours and patterns stenciled on).
One of the changes I'll be putting to the design is having the helmet's faceplate (think of the visor, chinguard and forehead as one piece) removable. This will be achieved either by locking screws (so the face flips up to the top of the head), on a rail (same concept, different method), or by opening outwards (which would mean an unsightly split down the centre, and more wiring for me).
The Questions
Given the build, is my choice of material a good one?
What is a good way to permanently bend styrene? (I was planning on using a heat gun, wooden guides and my hands)
The faceplate; Screw, Rail or Flip-out?
Which choice of undersuit do you think would look better? Or do you have an alternative?
Hey! I'd like to introduce myself as a new member (obviously) and tap into the community's vast wealth of knowledge
I have a few years engineering experience and I'm not new to the cosplay scene, last year I built a Dead Space Unitology suit in 2 weeks with an almost non-existent budget! The whole build was a mess of acrylic, mdf, craft foam, chicken wire and gaffer tape, before you ask; Yes, it was bulky, heavy, unreliable and a general pain!
This year, I'm working to a similar budget but longer timeframe and I hope to build my own take on the Dead Space 2 Advanced suit. I stumbled on this site looking for suitable reference images and I'm utterly in awe at the skill on show!
The Good Stuff
The whole build is going to be a custom-painted and mostly faithful build of the Dead Space 2 advanced suit. Certain details will be changed, certain sections will be missed out and the colour scheme will be very different.
Prospectively, I hope to use Styrene (.25mm gauge) for the most part. I have never worked with this material before and I know picking such a detailed piece for my first build is not the smartest option.
The undersuit will be either a black, full-body wetsuit (which is obviously a more 'realistic' choice, but can't be faesibly re-coloured or designed on) or suitably tight 'traditional' clothing (which won't look as nice, but can have the correct colours and patterns stenciled on).
One of the changes I'll be putting to the design is having the helmet's faceplate (think of the visor, chinguard and forehead as one piece) removable. This will be achieved either by locking screws (so the face flips up to the top of the head), on a rail (same concept, different method), or by opening outwards (which would mean an unsightly split down the centre, and more wiring for me).
The Questions
Given the build, is my choice of material a good one?
What is a good way to permanently bend styrene? (I was planning on using a heat gun, wooden guides and my hands)
The faceplate; Screw, Rail or Flip-out?
Which choice of undersuit do you think would look better? Or do you have an alternative?
