Time to show off some chest armor.
Chest Armor
I printed out the chest armor in many pieces then used superglue and left-over wooden dowels from self-assembly furniture. Orca slicer has the ability to add peg and/or holes where you cut 3d model, so I just made sure those matched in diameter. The
Titlewave models come with spots for magnets, so I added some of those. Sadly, the chest clamshell pops open rather easily. I've had to tap the pieces together while I work to keep them from falling and breaking... again. Either my magnets aren't strong enough or there just isn't enough slots for them. If you get these files, I'd suggest drilling out a few more magnet spots. My solution will be using Velcro on the under suit/Chest Gasket to help stabilize everything.
(missing a picture of the lower half.)
Chest Gasket
This part was an interesting adventure. Since this leaves a huge cavity on me, decided to make the whole chest have a foam gasket besides just the shoulders. To do this I needed a template. Titlewave provides a Pepakura file, but I couldn't be bothered to print it out, so I made one by hand. I really should just buy a normal paper printer.
I started by taping paper inside the chest and out the arm hole, cutting darts wherever I needed to match the geometry. Once that was done, I started sketching out and cutting away excess paper. I only did this for half of the chest since I am going to mirror the pattern. Registration marks marked out the center line.
Once I cut out the template, I made rough guess where I was going to need to separate it so that the pattern would lay flat. First cuts were made in 5mm EVA foam, then contact glued together. I tried pre-beveling edges where I knew two planes would meet, but I think I over did it on the first time. This left harsh edges I'll need to shave down later.
I repeated all the previous steps of templating but this time with the new gasket piece because I wanted to increase the thickness of the foam. I really should have just invested in 10mm foam. I used tape this time since I was working with a smooth surface. So, with painter's tape on the inside, I did some marking, some cutting, and boom I had a second pattern. I should have double layered the tape, because it kept separating and I'd have to guess how it all went back together. I glued the shells together along the edges, then double that foam creation to make a whole chest gasket. It was a very tedious process, but luckily crafting experience of previous failures helped guide me and it was at the end of the day a totally do-able project.
It was a very tedious process, but luckily crafting experience of previous failures helped guide me and it was at the end of the day a totally do-able project. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the result.
Pop That Collar
Oh, we aren't done. Next up was the collar and some detail work. The curve of the inside neck whole was just giving me a headache. I resorted to just hacking and gluing foam together until I got close. However, I wasn't happy with the geometry, so I called in my secret weapon. My incredible spouse. It took her 3 seconds (not hyperbole) for her to look at a picture of Spartan Carter then at my armor and point out the issue. I needed to treat the armor collar as a cylinder for a neck and head, not an extension of the armor's geometry. That fixed I made patterns for both 5mm and 3mm foam. Again, I should have just bought 10mm.
For that collar bone detail I cut out the shapes then glued them back in halfway down. This created a recess. I did some additional trimming here and there. Some EVA foam clay has been added to smooth out transitions. Boom, collar done.
I need to break out the rotary tool and clean up the edges. Do some more glueing. Foam clay needs some sanding. I added some foam spacers to lift the whole chest up a touch (something I might reverse). I need to add additional spacers and foam cushion to get the chest to sit right. Of course I need to do the shoulder gasket next. After which I can wrap this sucker in faux leathers.
This portion of the build was difficult but also really encouraging as I saw my skills come together. Not by luck, but by intention. That's a great feeling.
That said. I almost scrapped everything shortly after I finished this piece. And it was while taking this picture that night I almost quit the entire project.
But I'll leave it on that cliff hanger for now.