Soft Parts Mission: Make as accurate a Suit as possible.

[tsau mia]

Current Status:

1. Design completed.
2. Duct tape dummy- in progress
buy...cut...make...stuff...paint
3. First Mock-up for shape
cut fabric... pin fabric... sew fabric...
4. Second mock-up for pattern+lines and experience
purchase fabric...cut fabric...pin fabric...sew fabric...
5. Final sewn product
purchase elastic, leather and spandex...cut...pin...sew...
6. Addition of straps and parts to hold armor tight
purchase...cut...attach...sew...
7. Addition of rubber pieces
design...make...attach...


Hey guys,




Just got done looking at about fifty different references of spartans from the bungie screenshot page, and finally came up with what I think could be an accurate undersuit. My regular computer is down right now, and all I've got is my iPad, so I can't do much at a time.

Let me know what you think or if anything doesn't look right. I used a little "creative licensing" in the areas that will be eventually covered by armor, including how to make the suit more breatheable. There will be about three different thicknesses of foam, leather, stretchy material, and rubber molds for some of the larger buckles and such. Fun! I'm sure it could also be widened for a male suit.

Back

Front

 

[Pat]

Looks good. Are you going to be sewing it yourself? It seems like it would be very detailed, and that you'll want to be awefully careful with what materials you use, the armor alone can get pretty hot I hear, let alone a leather undersuit Accuracy wise, this looks like it is exact.

 

[tsau mia]

I'll sew it myself. As long as I'm super-patient, I should be able to do it. The parts that are filled in with pencil are a more breathable material to help with overheating issues.

 

[CPO mendez]

Dude! give me a price! naow!!!

 

[S1l3nt V1p3r]

Looking good! If I could draw, I would draw schematics of an undersuit as well.

 

[Deputy Dog]

Just a thought, what if you mad this part in foam and the outer armor out of the norm. (fiberglass)

 

[tsau mia]

That's the plan

 

[SnakeFang]

I was planning on making this undersuit as well, but I should build my armor first. I will like to see how it comes out.

 

[Sky Dragon]

If you take your time on this and make sure everything looks right, this could be totally GODLY. I think the farthest I will get in my suit is some lowly under armor. Good luck!

 

[tsau mia]

Update: I'm planning on doing the under suit as a series of parts, depending how the construction goes. The large chest/back foam piece which looks as if it could be real armor will be constructed separately, and magnets will be used to hold it in place. All in all, it will pretty much work as a protective vest, along with the "hip pads".
I will construct the armor also, and then put the armor on, and fill with expanding foam before painting to create a perfect fit. This will work because I haven't really changed weight or height in eight years, so the suit should continue to fit for a very long time. The expanding foam will also help the suit to fit seamlessly with the underarmor, for a super cool, in-game type look.

 

[Deputy Dog]

tsau-mia, Have you given it a thought to use memory foam? It will maintane shape better than regular cotton but the only thing is I think it may hold in more body heat.

 

[Zat German]

tsau-mia, Have you given it a thought to use memory foam? It will maintane shape better than regular cotton but the only thing is I think it may hold in more body heat.

Memory foam also becomes more pliable with body heat which could be an issue, depending on how it is used.

 

[tsau mia]

It makes me sad watching this whole forum and how many replies everything gets. It moves soo slow! A few years ago, everyone was willing to get into the discussion. Come on guys! The under suit makes the suit awesome! Well, the armor itself is awesome, but the under suit makes it just over the top awesome...

So anyways, I may go with the memory foam idea. I think I can get some for free off of the internets.

 

[alix965]

It makes me sad watching this whole forum and how many replies everything gets. It moves soo slow! A few years ago, everyone was willing to get into the discussion. Come on guys! The under suit makes the suit awesome! Well, the armor itself is awesome, but the under suit makes it just over the top awesome...

So anyways, I may go with the memory foam idea. I think I can get some for free off of the internets.

Tsau-Mia, if I understand the comment properly, it sounds like you're becoming discouraged/disappointed by the lack of interest(?) to which I will say two things:
1)A millions people could read your thread and not post a comment, but you would still have a million people interested in your project.
2)An ambitious undersuit like this could be a heartbreaker. In terms of the intesity of labor and trial and error and cost, the only person you have to please is yourself.

The sketch looks pretty dead on. It's pretty 'busy' ,what goes on under A SPARTAN's armor. As far as technique check this out
Looks like the suit should be treated as a costume in and of itself.

Personally, I am VERY interested in seeing this thing done. A full scatchbuilt undersuit is a true rarity in our community. Like you said, the armor is the glorious movie star part of the costume. The undersuit is the director and cameraman part. But yeah, when you get this done, it's a safe bet you'll be holding on to those bragging rights for a long while.

 

[XEcUtiONeR]

I'm more of a lurker, but also incredibly interested in this also. I have been thinking extensively about how best to make an undersuit but have only got as far as to draw up a few basic sketches.
So I'll be following your process closely I'm a complete noob with everything regarding the crafting of costumes, so I may have a fair few questions haha
Anyway, great concepts so far. I can't wait to see them materialize!

- X.

 

[tsau mia]

Thanks guys! I was more making a comment on the whole under suit sector of the forum in general, but I'm glad I can count on you to be interested.

Ive never sewn anything before, so this is a rather extensive project. I'm doing a ton of research at the moment as to where the suit should be able to bend and stretch, as well as be more breathable or a different material without ruining the effect.

As for now, I also need to raise funds for it, so I will probably start sometime this month or next. I did however, manage to get some inexpensive scraps of leather on the Internet that are worn pretty thin, so they will be really flexible and easy to use!

 

[S1l3nt V1p3r]

Here is my plan for an undersuit. It's build loosely upon using a manequin of similar size to your own body to build the undersuit on. By using a wet suit to dress your manequin with, you have a pretty good base to glue foam and leather to the wet suit, and have it easily taken off the manequin for testing.

Problem: wet suits don't breathe, so try to find something simular that breathes, or replace parts of the wet suit with breathable material.

 

[Ravenwolf]

have you seen Dragonskin?
some things done with it
one downside though would be cost

 

[xBeaver Feaver]

Im very interested to see how this turns out. An accurate under suit can easily put any suit of armor over the top. I also have never sewn and am alittle aprehensive on the construction. When Im ready to move ahead with the creation of my under suit, I may look to see what can be done with different fabric glues and velcro. I can hardly thread a needle or tie a knot, let alone sew a complete under suit. Good luck, and please update with pics when you can.

 

[tsau mia]

Good news guys! I'm a member of my local free cycle, so I just picked up a couple of free pieces of mattress foam, which I can wash and cut down to size. I also picked up a much-loved leather jacket from the thrift store for $12. It was pretty well worn but most of the leather is still useable, so I cut that apart. Now I just have to pick up some duct tape and make a dummy of myself.