Shift Into Turbo! A Power Ranger/Carranger Log (Red Racer)

[3DVagabond]

Alright, it's update time! After 18 days of creation, troubleshooting, measuring and searching for the right info to create the pattern pieces, I've finally found a method to create 5 pieces to create the base of the suit!

This image shows the front part of the suit.

This piece creates the back part.

This pattern block will be used to create the back part of the "pants"

And this last part creates the front part of the pants.

I forgot to take a shot of the sleeve block, but I'll post the images again at a later post with my web camera. But this part was some what of a challenge. I had to study how the suit was made and create 5 separate parts. When it's cut out and sewn together, it will look like one whole suit.

Now, I will have to make adjustments to some of the pieces because certain body parts are bigger than the others like the arms and the legs. Because of this, I will have to increase the width of the pattern slightly by at least a 1/2 inch. But I will say that its's all coming together. I'm actually surprised I was able to make one this fast.

As of right now, I'm planning on which part I need to work on first. I could continue finish the sewing and get that knocked out in 2 days worth of time once the other patterns are made. Mean while, I also need to consider investing in better paint for that reflective shine look I've been searching for in the past year. I was convinced to get a paint booth when it's time to paint. I do have one in mind. Also, I've thought about investing in automotive paint as well. But to find a paint similar to Sunrise Red will be difficult. I'll have to find a method to pull that off. I will also need to invest in a spraygun that allows me to get that reflective look, but that's going to take some preparations. I'm also going to perform injection molding, but in its basic form based on a video I saw on Youtube. I'll post the link after sunrise to get a good idea on how it's done.

Well, that's all for now. Time to get my 40 winks. Until the next post, I'll see you around.

 

[3DVagabond]

As promised, here's the video I had in mind to create an "injection mold".

In practical use, I will be using a similar method in to creating this helmet. I will need some wooden dowels to pull this off when making the double matrix silicone mold. That will help me create the air vents when using the Smoothcast 305. But I will have to find a way to stabilize the item when the time comes to pour the plastic into the mold. The painting process is pretty straight forward, but I will have to invest in a paint booth, but not in the size used in the video. The electronics, as far as the lighting and the cooling fan, will also be taken into consideration to create the appropriate spots for installation. That means that I will have to edit the 3d model slightly to incorporate tabs for the fan so it can be held in place.

More updates later on if possible.

 

[3DVagabond]

Well, it's been 3 weeks since my last post and it's time for another update. As scheduled, I'm going to proceed with creating a double silicone mold and a lot of interesting things has happened since then. For starters, I obtained more tools to help me smooth out the surface on certain parts of the 3d prints.

The Black and Decker Orbit sander will help me smooth out this back piece that I'm going to start today. I was able to get this for 40 bucks, at the time of this message, at Lowe's I will try it out with at least 80 grit sandpaper dry and see how it works before I wet sand it to a higher grit. After that I will use some automotive body filler smooth it out and sand it down as well before the next leap into the higher grits but that will be based on judgement. Next once every thing is smoothed out, I will place it on a bed of clay and start the process of using this product.

This product will go over both the front and the back of the helmet pieces after it's printed. Now here's where things become complicated at this step. For it to be completely cure, it will take about 6 hours. But I can still get down at least 4 layers before I leave it alone undisturbed. The downside to this is that I will have to print the front part of the helmet and try to get that set up in 2 and a half weeks and repeat the process for the silicone jacket. I tried to print it first this week, but the roll I was using became jammed. I could not save the first attempt, but I will print it again between now and Sunday.

The Epoximite 101 system from Smooth Cast will create the rigid fiberglass shell for both the back and front parts of the back helmet. Once both sides are encased, I will start the process with this product, Smooth Cast 305.

This will create the actual copy of the main helmet parts through the use of the injection method inspired by the video of the last posting.
Once combined, all I have to do is to pour it in, let it set and that's it. No need to rotate the liquid around. If all goes in according to plan, I can keep making copies until the silicone mold is damaged beyond repair. Then it's off to the painting stage and I have a plan setup to make that happen as well.

Time to get to work, I have 12.5 hours left to finish. Wish me luck, fellas! Until next time, see you around.

 

[Sean Anwalt]

Luck is the last doing wish of those who want to believe that winning can happen by accident.

Give it your best shot man, you got this!

 

[3DVagabond]

It's been... 5 months, and 11 days since my last post and... Well, ever since that day, the world itself has grinded to slow halt. Every thing...had to be shut down because of this one small little microbe with the designated name Covid-19 or as it called to the public, the Coronavirus. Because of the pandemic, supplies have been hard to come by locally, so I had to resort to buying somethings online. But it's not all doom and gloom. Over the past couple of months, I have taken up and learned a bit more about this project I'm currently working on. As usual, I've constantly tried to find ways to improve and approach each part of the project at so many angles through investigation and mental simulations in order to achive the best possible result.

So first, let's take it back all the way back three days before that last post on March 11, 2020. After studying as much as I could from Youtube videos of people who traveled to Japan just to visit the Toei Studios Amusement Park, I received a response from a person who actually created the outfits of for the Super Sentai/ Power Rangers shows. Here's how the conversation went.

Me:

I came across your website in a effort to study how the costumes were madeduring the Super Sentai series that is still on going in Japan.
I figured that I should at least try to contact the group responsible and hope that someone can take time out to answer a few questions.
If anyone is willing to answer, you have my gratitude.

My first question is regarding to the helmets. I saw in certain shows like Dairanger and
Zyuranger that there were holes created in the visor.
Is that put in place to allow the suit actors to breathe while performing the action scenes and are they created before or after installation?

My next sets of questions is dealing with the suits from Gekisou Sentai Carranger.
Is it true that, just like all the other suits made from the 1980 on forward that they are made out of spandex or Lycra material? Was there any type of leather involved in making it look a racing suit? Finally, the black lines around the suit. Was that also made out of spandex or Lycra as well?

I'm currently sending this message from the United States of America and there is a 13 hour
time zone difference from the time I'm sending this message. You won't read this message
until after sunrise at your local time. I won't read your message until night arrives on the east coast, but if you can divulge any answers to my questions, again, your gratitude is appreciated.

Thanks and have a nice day from a fan of your continuous team effort towards the series!

And the response?

I am Masaru Maezawa, a director at Rainbow-zoukeikikaku.

Thank you for your interest in our work.

Sorry, we cannot answer any questions about manufactuaring method, due
to right issues.

And the right holder claims that the heroes' equipments are made by
mysterious SENTAI organizer, like Batman's equipments are created by
Bruce Wayne.

Looking back now, it's a polite way of saying, "I wish I could tell you, but I don't want to lose our partnership with the company. So I ain't saying s*@%!" I would not blame them if they are under a very binding contract. So I chalked it up of having an industry secret and moved on from this point.

The next thing I want to tell to the reader is that despite my success on the suit last year, I have come across a revelation that really shocked me.
Remember the image of the suit that I posed in last year? Yeah, it turns out that although it was a 4 way fabric, it was not spandex that was used to create the suit. In fact, it was another four way material called neoprene! What is neoprene? It's a synthetic rubber that is used for clothing, but also used to make wetsuits. But here's the trade off for this material. It's a good insulation material for cold autumn nights, but if you wear it in the spring and summer months, you will break into a sweat in seconds! With this new revelation, I ordered some 4 way spandex online from Amazon months later and I obtained some 4 way pleather fabric from YaYa Han at a nearby Joann's store. I still have my patterns printed out, but I'm going to create a prototype suit using some more neoprene (Yes, I went back to buy the same material in hopes to get some actual spandex locally) in order to make the suit correctly before I mess with the spandex. If all goes well, I might be on to something great.

That's enough for now. I'll post again this Friday about how I'm going to approach the helmet situation again. Until next time, see you around.

 

[3DVagabond]

That's enough for now. I'll post again this Friday about how I'm going to approach the helmet situation again. Until next time, see you around.

That was 26 days ago and things happened between that time period. But first, a benchmark. Back in February, I posted some pattern peices that I made from Blender and translated on Inkscape. Fast forward 7 months later, I finally was able to create the protosuit and tried it on for the first time.

Mind the mess. It's been difficult this year. So a couple of things about this suit. I have to make a correction about the material again. SO as it turns out, it's not actually made out of neoprine. This material used in this suit is made of scuba, a blend of spandex and polyester. It's thicker than usual spandex, but thinner than actual neoprine. Second, my stichwork needs to be refined more based on the pictures here.

Now, I didn't actually go in with a plan of attack when making this suit. Should have gathered more info on how to stitch the parts together. The good news is that I was able to give myself a 1 inch seam allowance for each part of the costume. That way if there's any triming needed to the suit, I can do it in incriments to get the best fit. Once I make the changes on the protosuit, I can start on the actual suit with the right material this time around. I was finally able to pick up some at the fabric store today. Funny story about my trip there. Last week, as I was getting the parts together, I had enough peices to make the front parts of the bottom, but didn't have enough to make the back part!

Any whoooooooooooooooooo... I'm going to work on a test 3d print I had lying around in order to perform the "Chrome" test. I've been putting it off for some time now and tomorrow, I can get some results in. That's all for now and I'll see you all on the next update!

 

[3DVagabond]

Update time! So I wasn't able to get to the chrome test this week, but something was annoying me as I went through the bottom portion of the protosuit. I discovered 3 problems with the suit. Let's go with the main problem first.

The first thing I came across was the area in the crotch. For some reason, it was a bit too high. So I decided to trim off the bottom part of the legs in order to lower it. However, that in turn, made it worse. I was pondering where I went wrong to remedy the problem and it turns out it was the design of the pattern I made. When I made the pattern, I mistakenly created the pattern with a wide leg area. The legs should beas close to the skin as possible. I have to go back and shrink the pattern down, but I'm going to trim the legs first.


Back to the main problem at hand, I decided to lay out the patten and compare to the bottoms I made to a regular pair of pants.

Sorry for the blur. I only had 3 seconds and I can't get hold of a program with a longer timer or extend the timer with the program that came with the camera. Anyway, the bottom part is shorter than the pants. But here's where things get interesting.

The hip line shown on the pattern is 9 inches from the navel. The pair of paints on the hip line is 5 and a half inches lower than than. So unless you are built like a Barbie Ken doll down there, this is what I need to do to fix it from the next photo shown.

About the same amount on the pattern in inches. So I have to do 3 things between now and the end next week.

1. Fix this pattern to lower the crotch.
2. Buy more material for the protosuit before finishing it off with the zipper.
3. ... I can't believe I'm posting this message out, but I will dive in to, for the first time, into electroplating chrome as part of the chrome look test.
I posted that it would be too expensive to perform before, but I will sacrifice my funds so you many not have too. Anyway, that's all for now. I'll talk to you all on the next update.

 

[3DVagabond]

So this past Thursday marked the 2nd anniversery of me being in the thread and the site as a whole...

WHERE DID THE TIME GOOO?!

I am proud to report that the proto suit is finished. I was finally albe to narrow down the measurements that can fit the body with out making look so baggy.

Now, with the protosuit done...ish. I still need to sew the upper and bottom parts together and learn how to install the zipper. THEN it will be done as the last step. As a precaution, I will still have to wear a compression shirt and maybe invest in a dance belt. As far as the chrome process, I will be providing a image on the chrome paint and the plated Copy Chrome from Caswell more likely on Monday as a practice run. If all goes well, I can start the process of making the entire thing from top to bottom. Will I be able to make it before Halloween? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[3DVagabond]

Update Time! The protosuit is finally put together, but there are some improvements to be
made on the side before I go to the main event. I need to make some adjustments on the
legs and the sleeve so they won't be too long again. Also I need to adjust the patterns I've
created in order to align properly when I make the acutal suit. With two and a half weeks left
before the holiday, I need to work fast and focus on the task at hand.

At the time of me posting this update, I will have started the process of electroplating the copy chrome solution from Caswell. I'll post some pictures along the way, but I need to at least get the copper conductuive paint on the surface by tonight. I will also try and get the ball rolling on the molding process, but I may not be able to paint it by next week. By then, the costume will be sewn up...hopefully.

 

[TurboCharizard]

With two and a half weeks left before the holiday, I need to work fast and focus on the task at hand.

You've got this dude. Just keep with your usual care and everything will turn out great.

 

[3DVagabond]

So it's Halloween Night and some of you are probably out at a small party or out trick/trunk or treating with your kids. I hope that all of you are having a good time...because I actually won't be tonight.

Sadly, tonight will be considered 1 win and 2 losses as for my record of making a costume on my own. You are probably wondering what happened for things to go off track.

Was it burnout? No.

Was it stress? Noooooooooo.

This week happened to be another example of fate throwing a stick into the spokes of progression. So two happned this week. The first wasn't really a delay of sorts because of the nature of the situaion. My ailing grandmother had an issue in another state when my mother, who was helping to take care of her at the time, had to go into the hospital due to an infection. She's doing well, but at the cost of my sleep pattern being shifted and altered to where I was sleeping in late into the night and getting up later on which cuts the amount of time I had.

Nothing that I can reset my time for and again, she's doing fine. But the second and main reason why I couldn't finish the deadline at the appropiate time is a repeat of what happened in 2018, BUT EVEN WORSE!

This ticked me off so much, I felt like that I should just call it for tonight and work on it tomorrow. The main reason why I can't make it to this deadline is because of these three words:

Tropical...Depression....Mudda...FU-KING... ZETA! So those were 5 words! Sue Me!

This one occurance in nature came through the state, like it always do, and took out power for large swaths of the city! I was acutally out of power for 27 hours straight because of downed power lines. As of 9:00 PM, I am just 49 minutes over of having power for 24 hours. I could not sew anything. To make matters worse, there were still some adjustments that need to be made before I sewn it up.
I had to go back to make said adjustments to the suit. By a technicality, con season, for me, is basicly done and over with for the year.

I had everything planned out today and it all went up in smoke. So I'm going to take my frustrations out on a video game with what ever amount of hours left tonight and called it a day. But what about the future?

At this point and time, I will have to shift the time line to sometime next week. The suit will more likely be done tomorrrow or on Monday. The helmet process could be done by Thursday or Friday depending on the weather.

But this will eat away at me for the next month and I just hope I have better luck this time around.

Anyway, Sorry for the disapointing update. I know that some were expecting for some resuts this time around, but that's how the cookie crumbles.

Have a good night and I will post again sometime next week.

 

[TurboCharizard]

Welcome to 2020 where time is just a suggestion and I'm currently celebrating the 33rd of Halloween.

When the costume is done I'm sure it'll be great and you'll be proud of the build.

 

[3DVagabond]

Welcome to 2020 where time is just a suggestion and I'm currently celebrating the 33rd of Halloween.

When the costume is done I'm sure it'll be great and you'll be proud of the build.

That has got to be the funniest thing I heard on this thread!

 

[TurboCharizard]

That has got to be the funniest thing I heard on this thread!

Dude, we've had some zingers back and forth and that's why I keep coming back to this thread. You got this.

 

[3DVagabond]

Alright. Update time. A few things has transpired in an ongoing effort into making this suit and here's the most recent update of it.

True progress was made, but there are a couple of flaws with the suit I need to fix. Now the bottom parts of the pants are fine. But the source of the problem resides in the top part of the suit.

As you can see the top part of the suit is some what baggy and it's affecting the back and the front of the suit. Especially in the mid section.

So how I did I come across this problem in the begining? It wasn't until I started to put the suit together is when I came across the issue.

Eariler in the month, I took the measurement of the pant bottoms and actualy shaved off 2 inches of the sides. I was still able to get a conforming fit, but I forgot to shave the same amount along the top. That gave the apperance of the fabric fold along the top part of the suit.

So I will have to seperate it again, take off the bias tape that travels along the suit, and trim it before I put it back again. But I'm almost there into finishing the suit as a whole. However, I came across another problem when making the suit.

Bias tape was used in order to create the black lines that goes around the suit. It's normally used to finish off the edges of fabric and used for piping, but it comes with one major flaw. Once cut, after being handled for a while, it actually starts to fray on the edges you cut from. It doesn't provide a consistant clean look like this image below.

This image is from "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" and as you can see the black lines look clean as it goes around the body. There's only one option left to get the lines and I will have to buy enough elastic to go around the suit. I've also realized that I made the chest peice a bit too big.

I still have enough black vinyl leather to make it again, but over all, there will be some reductions to make it closer to screen accurate. Anyway, at the current rate I'm going, I could make another update by Saturday and I'll see some improvements by then.

That's all for now. See next time.

 

[3DVagabond]

Happy holidays to all and I think that I should try to provide and update to the suit. First things first. Let's talk about the painting situation. The weather down here in Georgia is going to get colder and I have no idea how long it's going to be before it creates a more suitable condition for me to paint. Sure, in the winter the humidity is low at certain points, but getting a warm day to paint is difficult. At least for spray painting from rattle cans. However, I could try to perform the copy chrome process indoors. I'll try to perform the test next month, however as far as actual painting the helmet, that's going to take a back seat for now.

As far as the suit is concerned, it will continue as scheduled. I bought the elastic needed to replace the bias tape around the suit. But there are a couple of things that I noticed with the top part of the suit. My measurements around the collar has some how determined how the elements of the suit is made. If the collar is wide like the image with Bulk and Skull, then the rest of the suit will be wide. Since I was going back and forth between the Japanese footage and the US footage, it created some sort of conflict on the design itself. For the time being, I won't make any drastic changes like remaking the top part of the suit again unless it is recommended.

Other than that, the plan is simple. Trim off enough inches on the side of the top part of the suit and sew it up again. That way, the only thing I can focus on is working on the helmet again. This time around, I will make some molds for the 3d printed parts for paint next year. If every thing goes according to plan, I should have everything completed by late February. There's another prop I need to make to make the suit complete. I actually have been working on this prop for months and I need to finish it.

There are a couple of things I will like to show, but during the time I am making this, it's almost time for me to clock in for work. I will post my findings later in tonight between 6 PM and 7 PM EST.

Until next time, see you around.

 

[3DVagabond]

Update time! I am now at the home stretch in finishing this suit and there are a few stitching issues with it that I need to finish.

There are a few places I need to tuck in, but mostly in the mid section where the 2 parts connect. I tried to connect them with a 1 and a half inch seam allowance, but it still gives this baggy feeling. So I will have to take it a part and stich it to a 2 and a quarter inch seam allowance and I can inspect the other parts of the suit for any last minute changes. Once the suit is complete, I will work on the balaclava or the underhood and make adjustments to that part. Hopefully by the end of the month, the fabric portion of the suit is done. I will have to work on the two props for the next convention. The sidearm, the Auto Blaster, is already under development and should be ready to print by the end of January. I will have to remake the Fender Sword again because I have a feeling that the guard of it is a bit on the small side. More updates on those peices on the next posting but for now, that's the end of the most recent report.

Until next time, see you around!

 

[TurboCharizard]

Well done sir! It looks expertly made at this point and I'm sure anything else that you add will only perfect this replica.

 

[3DVagabond]

Well done sir! It looks expertly made at this point and I'm sure anything else that you add will only perfect this replica.

Yeah, but I think I can do better. Looking back at the pictures, there are some things that I need to improve. For example, when I first made the pattern peices, I made the too baggy and little by little, I had to tuck them in. However, in that process, I somehow threw myself off on the measurements. The back side, while it doesn't actually look as such, was actually cut off center. Which had me to correct it on the right side. That's going to be annoying me for a while. That's one alteration I won't be able to take back.

In a future update to the patterns, I will have to take stock into the alterations I made, but it's about as accurate to the stunt show suit in Japan over 20 years ago.

If I knew what the material was for the pin striping that goes around the suit, it would be show accurate.

The thin black material is what eludes me...

I'll go ahead and finish the suit and end this part of the book.

 

[3DVagabond]

Alright, It's update time! 4 months and 18 days of work I put into this suit and with so many lessons to be learned in making it, I can almost offically close that chapter in the book. Check it out!

So, there are a few changes I would like to adjust, but it's not bad for my first try on replicating the actual suit. As I stated on the last post, it was going for the stunt suit version from the stunt show, but it reflects off the Turbo movie version where it didn't have the patches. I can opt to have them created and stiched on by someone else. I will have to make some more changes to the belt, but other than that, I would rank the suit as an A minus. Now about the situation with the props. The sword itself is almost done. I need to create the foam blade for it. However as far as the side arm, I've already started on making the 3d Model for it, but I wanted to pop open like the show.

More research will have to be done, but for now, that's the current status of the costume. Until next time, see you around.