Raging Raven

[Gaku X]

This is the project that got 405th referred to me.(Because people on cosplay.com suck and huge armor things get no love but every minor,simplistic issue is answered by at least 30 people in the first minute)After no luck on cos.com,and terror over the amount of money required for my original thought that molded plastic was my only option for a good looking set of armor-a wonderful person in the Metal Gear thread suggested asking around here.

Where should I even start on her?At first,I looked and thought it was a few arm and leg pieces and a helmet-then on closer inspection of a huge picture saw it's actually a full suit.

Between the odd shapes/design and the need for some form of stilt I'm lost on this.



All I have worked out is that I may try to raise money for a pair of Air Trekker jumping stilts,I'm doing pepakura for this(lord knows how I'll print this crap),and I'll most likely use fabric of some sort paint or some such for the wings so I can fold them up to move around without being a hazard.



Any help/advice would be so,so very appreciated and I will bake cookies for everyone who is helpful.



Thanks!

G_X

 

[stagefivedrift]

Because people on cosplay.com suck

That is very rude. Be polite.



Anyway, that would be a impressive set of armor. What or where is it from? If you need some help unfolding parts, let me know.

 

[rundown]

wow sorry to say this. but if you wanto accomplish that costume it'll be hard and you'll need alot of money. Also the armor he wears looks to organic to be made :S

 

[ImaGonnaGetYou]

wow sorry to say this. but if you wanto accomplish that costume it'll be hard and you'll need alot of money. Also the armor he wears looks to organic to be made :S

Not to mention the unspeakable weight of the thing.

 

[the stig]

You can't be serious.

 

[Haloplayer]

There is Nooooooooooooo way your going to make the wings UNLESS you just make the suit. After making the suit you can find a person good at 3d modeling and animating and you could make a little short. If I were you I would stick with props on a smaller scale

 

[Burk]

Yes, please no bashing of any kind. Even if it might be true.



As for the armor. I say go for it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy the first time. You might need to change the wings up some do to balancing on the stilts, but I you have a good chance at some good armor that is way over the top. There are a lot of good people here that can with ideas, unfolding, scaling, & etc....



But first go to the noob section & start reading the threads there. It will help get you pointed in the right direction. There are also how to videos to look at. Not trying to put you off, it is just that they will help you see what you are getting into & how to ask any questions you might have on where to start.



Good luck, hope to see this armor added with your name on it.

 

[Deathcoreknight]

wow....

 

[Farquaad]

Why do I have this mental image of you showing up at a con in this like The Monarch from 'The Venture Brothers' in his Death's Head Panoply outfit. You'd be wheeled out on a dolly all immobile and stuff. I say go for it!

 

[Gaku X]

Cos.com comment:Not honest bashing,just a childish sort of 'omg you guys suuuuck'.I'm not really saying everyone there sucks.I am sorry,I didn't intend to hurt feelings.



And yes,I'm well aware of the cost involved-part of why the pepakura option is a wonderful thing to have found.The cost of resin and bondo will likely be the biggest things though-I have tons of glue and paint and all already.

I worked out the wing situation(somewhat)already.I thought perhaps fabric on a light frame that can be folded to minimize being a hall hazard.

Planning to attach the arm,torso,and upper thigh pieces to a bodysuit of the most breathable fabric I can find.The wing mount will likely be derived from a wing-making tutorial I found a while back.

The legs got easier once i stared at them for a while-because the upper and lower pieces seem to sit on inside the other,which will simplify the task of moving and all.



Also,as for balance-it will depend if I CAN afford a pair of the bouncing stilts(apparently quite easy to walk in) or if I have to build a fursuit-style set of digitgrade leg appliances(found a few nice ideas on those after a friend talked about a Pan costume).



Juice-It's a member of the Beauty and The Beast Corps from Metal Gear Solid 4.I originally wanted to do Screaming Mantis,but decided to be nuts.And thanks very much for the offer of help.



Burk-I've been looking through,just thought a more specific set of questions in one spot would 1.Stop me cluttering other threads and 2.Work out the exact issues.

My main problem is trying to scale and create a pattern for it when it's so different from pretty much everything that's been done.

 

[Flyerfye]

Holy crap. I mean, HOLY CRAP. Everything looks doable (including the legs, I've seen people in some HEAVY costumes walk around in those "fursuit" stilts all day). As for the wings... if you can figure out some way to make them fold up and still look good when they're extended, I'd LOVE to see it.



Also, don't underestimate your costs. The amount of ink, paper, resin, bondo, paint, whatever fabric you're planning to use, can add up a LOT faster than you'll expect. If you can pull this off, though, it'll be AMAZING. Looks like it will probably require custom 3d models and unfolds for quite a few of the pieces, but if you can get that, some of the parts look like they might be able to be scratch built. I'd say make a list of every part of the armor you need to make, and just go down the list and figure out how to make each one. Start at the feet, work your way up. (Or at the head, your choice.) If you need models of custom parts for pep, there are a lot of great modelers and unfolders around here.



Good luck. Pull this off and you will be legendary.

 

[SpartanSRS]

You could use chicken wire and light materiels like foam and cardboard for the wings.. Other than that it would be too heavy for you to carry.



The design is pretty simple, the other problem is walking through a con in that suit.. XD But anyways carve a basic shape in a foam base then create folds where the wings will bend. Then use cardboard, plastic, or other protective materiels on the outside for protection of the basic structure.



Oh and for the legs you could use the structure of those cool pogo legs in those energy efficient commercials that have been going on for awhile! Mold the basic shape from it and wear it proudly when you enter the area!

 

[Loves hina]

id s your best bet for the wings would be to use foam with some wire support. Possibly making them in foam sections and attaching them with glue and the wire peirced through it, that way they would be moveable and durable.

[attachment=12093:raging-raven red line.jpg]

On the stilts, id suggest adding something like what i outlined in black to give you some balance, otherwise this would never work. And from what i can tell, the leg is placed similar to the werewolf or arbiter stilts you see in those costumes, where the leg is like what i did in red. and this would be one hell of a costume if you can pull it off.

 

[Raine342]

To try and get an organic look to the armor, take some bubble wrap and heat it up with a hair-dryer. You can then mold it into whatever shape you want. Make sure to do this in a well-ventilated area, and wear gloves. If you pull this off, I will give you my soul, and my shoes.

 

[Gaku X]

I'm thinking of being a COMPLETE nutjob and just patterning the thing myself-no program,just measuring and slicing up cardstock.I'm thinking with all the roundness of pieces,I thought possibly wetting/pasting/maybe glassing the stock after bending it to shape would hold that shape so I could then do all the regular reinforcing.

Or would paper just keep unfolding and drive me nuts?



I've also come to the realization that even with the fabulous,and hyper cheap digitgrade leg stilts I just found a full book on how to make,I won't be able to get the height Raven actually has.As it is,I'll have to make the end of the leg wider to mask the 'foot' piece that's needed for balance-and the taller you maker the stilt the bigger that foot has to be.It'd just end up looking weird...and I'd probably fall over.

So I'll get 3-4 inches of height,maybe more if I can manage balance with a huge chunk of wood sticking out the bottom of the leg.



YuutaKenshi-I'm working with the red line placement there.How I build the legs will likely end up with me shortening the lower leg to about where it goes into that weird pointe-shoe looking bit at the very end.I'll try to retain the look,but make it doable.

Also,the support seems a good idea,but it would sap any ability to walk in a semi-normal fahsion.I'd have balance,but movement would be mostly sort of shuffling.Looking at the videos of people who have the digitgrade legs,even under the armor it would be very easy to move somewhat normally.



Wing advice is good...Foam could work,perhaps do the wire frame and foam then cover it to get the right look.

Figure out some sort of pulley bit and we're good-ish.



Raine342-Bubble wrap?As a base?Or simply melt it and form it and use THAT as the armor?Or would I still put fibreglass and resin and all onto it?