N7 Mass Effect Armor Build (Male and Female Variant)

Okay, while Cap and Black Widow are baking in the background, we decided to go full force with some N7 armor since JENNIFER HALE is going to be at MegaCon in Orlando.

I'll be taking note of things everyone should avoid, and things I found very helpful along the way.

Day 1: first dummy complete (using this method)
Day 2: second dummy complete and patterns for male chest piece drawn up and cut.
Day 3: I'm wanting to pull my hair out. Making more patterns, drawing said patterns, and otherwise waiting for my dremmel to charge again.

(notes: Having a cordless dremel sounds awesome until it dies. I'm opting for less maneuverability and more working time so that I can get it done more quickly.)

I'm making my own patterns, but have the .psd pattern files as a secondary reference.

Materials:

EVA foam
Hot Knife and replacement blades
Buckles and webbing
Heat gun
Hot glue gun (already owned)
Craft foam (Foamies - already had)

Resources:
Cosplay | Pinterest


Still trying to determine how to do the female bust on the EVA. Seen the two bowl method where you press the hot foam onto two round objects then press acrylic just under the bust to get a sharp crease . . . but I don't have those materials available to me. Any suggestions?

Day 5 progress:



Getting closer every day! Everything is just held together with anything I could find - rubber band, straps, etc. so that I could get a feel for the proportions. So far, for my first build, I am quite happy with the start. There is a long way to go. Yesterday I picked up more tools to make things smoother. Still without a corded dremel, however, and finding that I am stalled a bit by that. But whenever it has to charge (it takes THREE hours. THREE!) I use the time to do other things: pattern drawing, scoring, cutting, etc. I'm not sure that it would make the project any faster to change, and I'm thinking the forced change of pace is good for me.

Moved on to the back piece. Had some trouble with that box thing on the back....ugh! But it turned out well in the end. Have to reposition the bottom section as I did it crooked after coating my thumb in hot glue the temperature of the seventh circle of hell.