So I'm going to skip some steps in the posting process and jump to one of the "finished" shots and then catch you all up to where we're at now in the project and then post another glam shot. Good? Good.
I posted on Wednesday about laying down the primary colour coat and then these photos were taken Sunday morning. I had two days of work in there so you do the math on how many man hours got crammed into Thursday, Friday and Saturday to make this work. The last comment by
PerniciousDuke made me question the validity of the colour scheme that
Vanity produced which meant that I got to go back into Halo Reach and grab two controllers to see what was what. I could have done capture through my
Hauppage capture device but I was pressed for time and just wanted to quickly snap some easy to reference photos that I could check on my phone while working with masking or airbrushing. If anyone in future wants the exact placement of things in any of the XBox360 era of games I can capture video and do checks for you if you ask nicely.
Then there was a buttload of masking for the red which was
Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X Satin Apple Red applied in four coats for a solid colour.
Wait a day for the paint to cure and then more masking for airbrush details. I like to use
Vallejo Model Air and Vallejo Mecha Colour for it's consistency and ease of use. For this costume I used...
VMA 71.001 White - suit tertiary colour
VMA 71.041 Armour Brown - red lowlight
VMA 71.048 Engine Gray - black highlight
VMA 71.072 Gun Metal - metallic black highlight, darm metal
VMA 71.073 Black (Metallic) - metallic black
VMA 71.249 NATO Brown - brown highlight and muting
VMC 69.009 SZ Red - red higlight
For the most part it was mask off sections and spray full blast with the airbrush but for highlights and lowlights it's a bit more nuanced and slow going. Light bursts and quick tracing of lines. I'm probably the worst teacher out there for airbrushing since I'm self taught and for the most part just wing it. If I can give one piece of advice though is to start on your piece as little as possible and if impossible, start where the heaviest concentration of pigment will be. This will reduce the chance of any splutter or over spray and give you an overall cleaner look.
I'll probably be adding more hazard labels and water transfers later on but for now I went with the plainly visible details that are in game and made them as cheapo vinyl stencils. Just simple things like my DIN for the player emblem, vent markings, UNSC, my ID, my regiment emblem, helmet details and the UNSC aquila. More masking and airbrushing!
The thing about masking is it's astonishingly tedious. If it's tedious to you, it means you're doing it right.
-Adam Savage 2018
If anyone said I was a neat painter, they're a damn dirty liar.
Then to hand detailing before a clear coat of
Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X Satin Clear
Next was the visor and electronics install. The visor as originally planned was giving me greif, to the order of three failed attempts so as you can see I have a metallic yellow (my favourite colour) instead of the originally planned blue. This one is temporary until I find a better solution for the visor but I like the colour and it looks
BLAM. The electronics are all on a 5V circuit powered by a cheapo 4000mAh power bank with a stripped USB cable connected to a distribution board which sends power to three other small boards around the chest. There is spots open to add more connections later on for the arms, legs and helmet lighting later. I just didn't want to start wiring up the other body pieces without the final undersuit finished with proper cable runs and quick connects in place. Hooray for future expansion!
I'll be posting a circuit diagram later on, it's fairly basic and if you have the patience for soldering you can easily bang it out in an afternoon. Do you kids wanna go to space?
SPAAAAACE!
I'm a madlad apparently and I checked the clock on this build. Eight weeks from start date to first wear test. To hype myself up for it I went for a jog in my UNSC PT gear and then put it all on as one piece for the first time.
Damn does it feel good to be a Spartan! For a temporary undersuit I used some Walmart sale price womens leggings (
not the first time I've used womens clothing in a costume in recent memory) with nylon webbing sewn on and parachute clips to allow for adjustment. What I learned from this test
- I need to add another half inch rise to the inside of my boot to raise my ankle and reduce friction between the shin and the boot.
- Add a gasket for the boot from the shin to hide the sweet Adidas.
- Webbing on the pants for the thigh plates needs better support to stop pants from slipping, possibly a belt hidden by the Spartan Diaper.
- Tighter webbing or similar with an extra elastic webbing on the biceps to keep them in place.
- Have a handler for the helmet, raising arms above the shoulders to grab it isn't the easiest or reduce arm seal gasket size.
- Dancing is fun but the backpack kid is difficult with a refrigerator costume. Stick to jumbo shrimp or seagull dance moves.
Part of the reason for the rush at the end here was to wear the costume out to a local convention,
Van Isle Con, that I was invited to be a judge for at their cosplay contest. It was a one day deal and for some reason I wanted to wear Link in the morning and a Spartan in the afternoon. I just had to get out there and represent the 405th with a big armband.
From here I need to make a proper undersuit with rigging and cable runs to the other illuminated pieces, find a suitable pair of gloves to attach the hand plates to, attach the spine to the undersuit, a bunch of squats to improve my Spartan-booty, an M45, a Gravity Hammer and possibly a big ol'
Canadian Regiment themed banner CTF style.
"
Photo titled
"Test fit, OK" or
"Spartan thighs save lives" you decide!
I have plenty of work still to do but there's a bit less of a crunch on for now. Don't worry boys and girls, this thread will keep going strong. As always, any tips you have are much appreciated and remember, keep your stick on the ice.
. I always like honest critiques on my own work as well too. I mean your work and craftsmanship is awesome. Just a simple scaling hiccup hopefully you can save
