ODST - rain delay

I got outside yesterday and did some more work on the armor. The bondo I had must have been pretty old as it wasn't runny. With the resin added I was able to get it to pour but it was still very thick. I was able to pour it into the chest piece and spread it around most of the back.
I was also able to put a layer of resin aound most of the inside of the helmet except for the top. The weather was cool but with no wind so I left the outside to cure.
I did some work in the basement and when I came up to bring them inside it was raining. I brought the pieces in to dry off and finish curing.

The chestpiece seems to be fine but the a bunch of the seams on the helmet have given way overnight. The resin in the top also seems to still be tacky. I'm hoping it will dry enough to reglue.

ODST - breaking eggs

I was able to finish pepping the top chest armor last week and was able to put a coat of resin on it on the weekend. I was also able to start putting some resin on the inside of the helmet. However, since I did this on Sunday and it was super windy I had to bring in the chest piece and let it cure inside. I was able to leave the helmet to cure outside with some rocks inside it to hold it down. I checked back on it often and it was fine but when I went out to bring it in it had blown off of the table and had cracked the top slightly.

I was able to repair it but I am not sure how much more resin work I can do before the weather breaks. I am hoping to be able to rondo it (a mixture of bondo and fiberglass resin) next week. I am not sure how much more of it I can finish before Halloween, but it is a solid start to the costume.

I also started in on Gee’s sock monkey costume. We cut the bottoms off the legs of the sweats and used the material for ears and the tail. We sewed the tail and ears to the hoodie.

helmet fibreglass coat worked!

The outside coat of fiberglass seems to have worked fine. It partially soaked into the paper and dried a pale blue color. I finished off fibreglassing the bottom half of the helmet outside yesterday and brought it in from the coolness to cure. I wedged a few skewers inside to help round out the bottom part and make it easier to put on.

I still have to put a layer of resin on the inside and lay in some fiberglass matt. That should make for a light, solid layer. I will have to try and mold a visor – either from a soda bottle plastic or even a face shield.

I have also printed out the chest armor to pep. If I can get both pieces and the shoulders done by the weekend I can harden those and then attach them to the straps. I’ll also have to see if I can pep a weapon for him.

Solid helmet or a sticky mess?

I finished pepping the helmet on Saturday. Today we picked up some vinyl gloves, brushes, and plastic cups and I started fibreglassing the top of helmet. The resin I had was a bit old and it was a bit chilly today so I had a few concerns about it not curing.
I has been a few hours and it seems to have mostly dried but it is a bit tacky still. I brought it inside to see if it will cure overnight. I can then harden the rest and lay in some fibreglass mat inside.

It's promising. If this works as it should, then this opens up many options of what else can be done.

Costume status pre-Thanksgiving

Shan’s friend has dyed her hair red and decided to be Jean Grey this year instead of Alice from Resident Evil. This means that the leatherwork for her shotgun holster is off my table for this Halloween.

I do also have to do some work on Gee’s sock monkey and see if I can tape out a pattern for the Human Spider sweatshirt this weekend. Also I have to see about sewing on the red stripes on the sweatpants while we’re watching shows.

Out of the 20 pages that the ODST helmet prints out on, I have put together 12 of them. I have another 3 already cut out and ready to assemble. I should be able to finish assembling the helmet tonight. This will allow me to start with the fibreglassing this weekend.

Otherwise, I can start ‘pepping’ the chest and shoulder armor, as well as working on a foam weapon for him. If all above goes well, and the Thanksgiving meals don’t take too much out of us, I can see about foam legs. Depending on how much gets done this weekend, next weekend is the final crunch time for creation and painting. Then I can assemble belts and straps during the next week. Whatever doesn’t get done by the 22nd can be finished up the following week when I am off.

pre-Halloween costume baseline

On Saturday we popped in to Value Village and got some grey sweats and a grey hooded sweatshirt for Gee’s sock-monkey outfit. Shan also picked up some felt for the details.

I cleaned the desk a bit and tried on the pieces of the Human Spider costume. The sweats will be a bit snug but should be passable – I can sew the red piping on the sides if I have time. The sweatshirt is fine – it just needs the pattern. We were also in Walmart and we picked up some black fabric paint that will work. The balaclava fits fine and while I don’t have the right gloves, the ones I do have should work fine – I will try to shrink them a bit though.

I got off to a good start on the pepakura helmet for D3’s ODST. Even though I am using a highly detailed pattern, I am hoping that the extra time spent in making it will save time in detailing it after hardening. With only a few hours into it, I am quite impressed with the look. It should prove workable.

HALO ODST

I’ve already been peeking around the 405th site and two options have come forward - pepakura and foam matts. Pepakura is a papercraft program that takes 3D files and unfolds them to be made from paper. Then you can use fiberglass resin to harden the paper. You can also use the Pepakura patterns to make the armor from foam matts by cutting the matts and using hot glue to stick them together. You can also carve details in the foam with a dremel or even exactos.

Both methods have merits. I’ll probably end up doing a mix of both styles. I’m leaning towards making the helmet and main chest armor with pep and fiberglass and the legs and arms with foam. I’ve got experience with making buckles from the Hit-Girl costume, foam work from the foamie Stormtroopers, and working with fiberglass from the Tusken Raider ‘teeth’.

Depending on how much trouble it is, I can then make HALO Spartan armor for us or even Star Wars Clone Commandos