First Build - Captain America POW rescue and props WIP

Hi all,

I started putting together my Cap outfit (inspired by more than a few examples here) and I thought that I would share my progress. This is my first real post on the forum as well as being my first build so if I should post awry let me know and I’ll fix it.

Clothing wise, this is what I’ve got so far:

M43 Para Trousers
US WWII Jump Boots
M1936 Suspenders
M1923 Garand Cartridge Belt
M1912 Mounted Pistol Holster
M1938 Leggings

I’ve also found a 40s style leather motorcycle jacket that, while not perfect, is very close in style to the one that Cap wears in the scene in question. It’s not in the Logan’s Closet league by a large margin but it is close and when I’m done with it it’ll be closer still.

My plan is to make the USO outfit in its entirety and wear it under the rest of the costume.

The joy of props and the real work in progress follows in the next posts.

Okay part the second and the fun stuff to boot...

I thought I would start the post with something that I've actually finished and am very proud of. I found sswift's Bucky Rescue thread and was inspired by his Cosmic Cube. The joy is always in the details for me and the thought of actually having a cube to carry around was too much to resist.

Like sswift I started with a clear acrylic baseball cube



I then painted it with "Glass Frosting" paint both inside and out to get the semi-translucent look of the cube in the movie



here's the completed body




I then experimented with different LED lights before settling on four submersible, self-contained blue LEDs that I found at a local Michaels. The clear domes of the lights were also frosted to give a more diffused light.





Once the lights were in place I stuffed the cube with wadded up wax paper to further diffuse the light and BOOM instant cosmic cube!

Here’s the cube in normal light





…and here’s the glory shot. I swear to you all on my very life that there is zero Photoshop here. Somehow the light produced some distortion (it’s very bright) with my camera and the end result is what looks to me like an actual KIRBY KRACKEL!







How sweet is that?

Next up, the helmet

Very nice job on the cube, lighting effect is great. Looking forward to more!

Part the third…


This one is pretty basic.



I started with a standard US M1 surplus helmet, set aside the liner and painted the helmet white. A few coats and some drying time later I masked out the A with painters tape.






I followed this is a few coats of Krylon Oxford Blue, carefully removed the tape and laid on a few coats of matte clear coat. Once that dried I buffed the whole thing with a scotch bright pad to remove the shine





I still need to build the paratrooper straps and leather chin cup for the liner but the pot itself is good to go.


Next up; the shield

G17RDY said:

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Very nice job on the cube, lighting effect is great. Looking forward to more!

Thanks! I'm really happy with how it came out and I've about dislocated my shoulder patting myself on the back. *chuckle*

Part the fourth…


Originally I picked up a cheap sheet metal shield on eBay. This turned out to be not the best of ideas. At heart I’m always happier if I build something myself and I really should have listened to my wife when she pointed that out. When the shield arrived it wasn’t horrible but it was flimsy and I really wasn’t thrilled with the paint job so it was thrown in the storage room until I find another use for it.


The new shield is shaped plywood and while it’s been a good deal more work it’s also a lot more satisfying to me so I’m counting it as a win.
Unfortunately the actual initial work on the shield wasn’t documented as it was done long ago for a different hobby but if anyone is interested I can write up building a shield press in a different thread. It’s actually pretty simple and might be of use.


This shield was originally a triangular kite but a few passes on the band saw gave it the proper shape.



Here it is with the first coats of white





Stripes measured and taped off





Banner red applied





Stars, mounting hardware and more still to come

Cube and helmet both look awesome!

Ah, suspense. Cant wait to see the jacket.

Amazing work on the cube.

Has anyone said, minus the glasses you look like Tom Selleck

Very nice job so far, man. I saw a guy with this particular outfit at Ohayocon back in January, and it was pretty damn good. My girlfriend took what she calls a photograph of the guy, but it's pretty blurry and poorly lit, so I'm not sure. I could post it here to give you an idea of what some random guy put together. So far I'd say yours is looking better.

Thanks for the kind words all. As my wife would say; your appreciation is greatly appreciated.

I'm about to step into the shop and see about finishing the shield. Hopefully I'll have more updates to post later on today.

Also on the docket is beginning work on the jacket. Woof, this one is going to be a loooooong task. Should be worth it though.

Fly4v said:

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Ah, suspense. Cant wait to see the jacket.

Amazing work on the cube.

Has anyone said, minus the glasses you look like Tom Selleck

*chuckle* Well we are the same height and I do have an 1874 Sharps rifle hanging above my mantle if it helps at all.

Part the fourth continued…

I finished the paint job on the shield today. I had to change directions once or twice but I think the end result works well.

First I printed up stars based on the image supplied by sswift in his excellent thread. I placed overlapping strips of painter’s tape onto a wax paper sheet, traced the stars and cut them from the sheet.





The shield was measured, the star placement calculated then (after peeling off the wax paper backing) the stars were put on the shield.





The shield was then painted with “True Blue”.





When the paint dried and tape stars were removed I was less than thrilled with the color itself and the look of the stars. The paint had bled slightly under the thinnest points and the look just wasn’t crisp or clean.

I repainted the blue section, stars and all, with royal blue which looked far closer to the proper color and then set to figuring out what to do about the stars.

What I settled on was this; I printed a modified version of the image that I used initially but this time I did so on a large blank label rather than on regular paper. I then cut out the stars, peeled off the backing and placed them in their proper spots.

Four coats of matte clear coat, three coats of lacquer and some judicious buffing later we now have the clear crisp lines and smooth uniform texture that I was shooting for.





I’ll finish up the mounting hardware and straps later this week.

Next up; the jacket

Part the fifth

One of the most recognizable parts of Cap’s look when he goes on his first real mission is the leather motor cycle jacket that he throws on over his USO uniform. According to the costume designer the whole scene was full of symbolism with Cap covering the uniform as to hide his true colors and the ripped jacket on his successful return allowing his true self to show through. It was a great scene (probably my favorite in the film) and it worked really, really well. If you’ve seen the movie you know what I’m talking about.

There is exactly one place that I know of where you can buy a jacket patterned after the one in the movie (Logan’s Closet) and while the work is outstanding and the jacket gorgeous it’s also just a tad on the expensive side. No complaints here, you’re paying for quality and that’s worth the money but it’s just not in my budget for this build. So I went looking for a viable alternative.

What I found was this





It’s a pretty nasty looking piece of work and I don’t think I’ve seen that color anywhere in nature but the lines are very close and it was under a hundred so I figured that I could get it where it needed to be.

The first thing I did was to remove the tassels from the zippers and scrub the whole thing with rubbing alcohol. Then I attacked it with a scotch bright pad like it owed me money.





A few hours and some sore hands later I began the process of dying the jacket with Fiebing's medium brown leather dye.

A few more hours and some vigorous post dye weathering (more rubbing alcohol and the ever useful scotch bright pad) brought us to this





There are a few obvious differences, mainly the epaulets, brass on the collar and the belt in front rather than the rear but nothing that I can’t work with.

I thought about removing the epaulets but that would leave the snaps on the shoulders and I think that would actually look worse.

The belt actually doesn’t bother me at all. As it is, it can be wrapped around and buckled in the back if need be and will be covered by the garand cartridge belt regardless.

It'll spend some quality time in the drier getting more abuse and character but for the most part I think we're good to go.

wow . .. . look cool ....good job....i like your paint up .. .can't wait to see you suit up ..

What you did with that jacket is amazing. Nicely done!

Fantastic work on that jacket!!! It looks great!!

Looking forward to seeing more of your project..

That is looking good, I look forward to seeing it all come together.

I just had this jacket delivered today, figured that was going to show up.
It is rather heavy and well made. Surprising for how cheep it is but it would protect a rider.
The lining need to be removable.
I have seen this color in nature and wish I had not. The color was going south bound with the source heading north.
Thanks for Iding the dye used, will borrow that.

Here is a spoiler, for those going to my build since my posting is not up to date yet, but here is the jacket cut-up. More work to come.

Fly4v said:

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I just had this jacket delivered today, figured that was going to show up.
It is rather heavy and well made. Surprising for how cheep it is but it would protect a rider.
The lining need to be removable.
I have seen this color in nature and wish I had not. The color was going south bound with the source heading north.
Thanks for Iding the dye used, will borrow that.

Here is a spoiler, for those going to my build since my posting is not up to date yet, but here is the jacket cut-up. More work to come.

I have to say that I'm seriously liking the lack of brass on your cut up version. I was very hesitant to do the surgery myself by seeing what you've done I may reconsider.

With the belt removed do you plan to tailor yours so that it's snug at the waist? I know that there was no liner in the movie but as it is mine fits like a second skin at the moment and I worry that removing the liner might cause it to bag up.

Fiebing's is always my go to when it comes to dying leather, I'm glad that it'll help you as well.

I was really surprised by the weight of the leather jacket and had to change my plan but wasn't planning to tailor the jacket's waist.
I first thought about opening the shoulder and waist seams to remove the epaulettes the belt. I doubt a home sewing machine could handle the heavy leather and didn't what to do it by hand. So I just cut them off.
I will use the end of the belt for the tie on the collar and will use the epaulettes for the wrist straps. Don't know if I will just tack the epaulettes or gather the leather to simulate the bunch under a tightened strap. I don't plan to put the D rings on or the waist adjustment straps on the back.
The little flap pocket on the front will be turned down and sewn shut. I doubt if I will make a patch pocket for the right side.
Thankfully, each of the snap rivets retained the little piece of leather. After dying the jacket I hope to rubber cement each one in the holes on the lapels.
Its not going to be movie accurate but it should pass the 10 foot rule.
The amount of damage on the jacket will depend on the dye job. If I can do as well as your I will keep the jacket clean and remake a liner.
Also, the snap on the little flap was the first removed since I could easily hide any mistakes. Used a leatherman but any needle nose pliers should work to bend the interior lip of the snaps. Once all sides are rolled up the snap will easily apart.

Fly4v said:

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I was really surprised by the weight of the leather jacket and had to change my plan but wasn't planning to tailor the jacket's waist.
I first thought about opening the shoulder and waist seams to remove the epaulettes the belt. I doubt a home sewing machine could handle the heavy leather and didn't what to do it by hand. So I just cut them off.
I will use the end of the belt for the tie on the collar and will use the epaulettes for the wrist straps. Don't know if I will just tack the epaulettes or gather the leather to simulate the bunch under a tightened strap. I don't plan to put the D rings on or the waist adjustment straps on the back.
The little flap pocket on the front will be turned down and sewn shut. I doubt if I will make a patch pocket for the right side.
Thankfully, each of the snap rivets retained the little piece of leather. After dying the jacket I hope to rubber cement each one in the holes on the lapels.
Its not going to be movie accurate but it should pass the 10 foot rule.
The amount of damage on the jacket will depend on the dye job. If I can do as well as your I will keep the jacket clean and remake a liner.
Also, the snap on the little flap was the first removed since I could easily hide any mistakes. Used a leatherman but any needle nose pliers should work to bend the interior lip of the snaps. Once all sides are rolled up the snap will easily apart.

Brilliant man, seriously brilliant.

The site I ordered my jacket from has them on sale this week and I'm seriously considering buying another and following your example. I figure that way if I have an "oh crap" moment I'll have a backup ready to roll and if it works half as well as I think it will I'll be pointing people in your direction.

Have to say your equally brilliant. You had the same idea or ideas. Let's hope that I can pull this off. As you can see from my build... took the long way around to get to this point.

But, Definitely, give it a try. Two jackets one clean, the other battle damaged if there is an mishap removing the snaps.
Or two jackets should give an exact match for making the right front flap pocket and ever more bits to make one jacket even better. Just wanted you to see what I was up to if it helped. Even if it did ruin the suspense of the developing story in the other build.


I just ordered new thread and the dye. Should have it on Thursday.
Not going to do any sewing until then. The heavy thread I currently have is Nylon and I don't think the dye will take so I ordered some cotton thread. One of the two will have to work even if I have to recolor it with a marker.

Here is where I ordered my jacket from:
::Himalaya Leather:: Leather Jackets, Leather Pants, Leather Vest, Motorbike Gloves, Saddle Bags, Tool Bags, Cordura Garments, Cordura Jackets for Man, Ladies, Kids & Bikers.* USA

As people can see, the jacket should have been tan not but it was going to be cut up and re-dyed.

Dye showed up but not the thread.
Is one 4 oz bottle enough for a jacket?

Fly4v said:

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Dye showed up but not the thread.
Is one 4 oz bottle enough for a jacket?

Hey, I'm back. Sorry about the delay, when the weekdays roll around I'm generally trapped at the office and when I'm not there I'm letting my kids beat me senseless. A task that they are eminently suited for by the way. *chuckle*

Sorry to hear about the thread man, there are few things more frustrating than having most of what you need for a task but still missing something important. With me the temptation is always there to press forward anyway and it rarely works out when I give in.

At the moment I'm waiting on the second jacket that we talked about (something that I'm really looking forward too) and a second steel saucer sled. My clever plan on the round shield front is actually what brought me to the RPF originally. I was looking for ideas and found Valor's budget thread. I was pretty much hooked from there.

My current plan is to make a laminate from two sleds so that I can carve the grooves for the circles in the top one without weakening the shield. Granted the round shield is relegated to the "things to work on while other things are drying or otherwise paused" pile but we shall see how it goes.

One 4 oz bottle will be stretching it really thin depending on the size of the jacket. Mine is an XXL and to get proper coverage I used about a bottle and a quarter. If yours is a medium or smaller I think a single bottle would do it but anything larger is going to wind up taking more.

If it is larger I would advise waiting (as frustrating as that can be) until you have the second bottle before starting on the body and sleeves of the jacket itself. Fiebing's is great dye but it soaks in fast and you can wind up with streaks if one sections dries before you have a chance to overlap and blend with the section next to it.

Oh and I'll say this about taking the long way around to where you are: "A straight and featureless road never possessed beauty, nor presented a worthwhile challenge". Or, in other words, if we wanted to do this the easy way we'd just have bought a costume. Our way is a lot more fun. *chuckle*

With a double laminate for the rings are you also going for the recessed star?

Already sacrificed the second saucer for the inside edge ring and strap holders.
Nothing much is going to happen with the shield thanks to the high humidity and thunder storms. So glad I don't need the round shield or I'd be climbing the walls because of delay.

Glad, I asked about the dye. Thanks.
The jacket is an XL. Second bottle should be here Tuesday. The thread not until Friday the 22nd.???? Really pushing it for getting this done by the 4th.

I know what you mean about doing things right. The temptation is here. I have a hand sewing kit with a brown that would be nigh-perfect... except I doubt it is strong enough to hold leather and it can't be used in a sewing machine.

There has been a change in execution for the choker. I think the belt end is too wide so first will try those little tabs that held the belt. TheMan has been very helpful on my build and ever included photos for his jacket.