HELLOOOOO Wasteland! It is I! Three.... uh, erm, I mean me...
Anyway I have a progress update. Here is the improved version of NCR Trooper Version I. As I mentioned previously I have begun work on NCR Trooper Version II, but didn't have the time to finish it before C2E2. Therefor I simply made some improvements to my first set of armor, and I am already immensely more satisfied with it.
Here is a picture of the first version for comparison...
I'll go over each difference.......
First off I redid the stitching that holds the belts, and buckles on. Before I used OD 3 thread that I use for all of my WWII GI uniforms, but It didn't look, oh I don't know, high enough quality I guess. So I un-stitched them all and used an old pair of brown laces to tie each belt and buckle on nice and tight. I like it much better. Reference to earlier photos of Version I and I'm sure you will agree.
Nest was the paint. I did some more dusting and stuff to make the armor pieces look more weathered. I also used a brush to liberally apply brown paint along all of the 'stitching' marks. After I wiped the excess and surface paint away, what remained in the little lines made them appear darker which I think really added to the realism. I did the same thing with all the cuts and scrapes. It improves the weathered look.
The next thing I did (actually I did this before the brown stitching and dusting) Was fix the insignia on the chest plate. From the start I was never satisfied with it. The font was wrong and the letters were all askew, the star was too small, and the bear blended in too much and you could barely see it in most light. I enlarged the star, and fixed the letters with a more accurate font, and didn't have them fade so much. Before the were almost totally faded away and you could barely see them after a while. I also darkened the bear, and also added the highlights in a lighter brown. First off it is more screen accurate, but it also makes the two headed bear stand out more. I am much more satisfied with it now. Hopefully more people will recognize my costume now. The insignia is what makes it in my opinion.
Next (I actually did this first before everything) I used a heat gun to shape the armor pieces better. The armor was always really square and flatish, so it didn't contour to my body well, and never fit right. I curved all the edges, and formed each piece to fit my body the best I could. I curved the shoulders more, and also flared them up near the top closer to the neck just like in the game.
I was worried about the laces coming undone, so after knotting them off the best I could I also glued them down on the inside of the armor to prevent them from coming undone or breaking. I did this with every belt, and buckle, and the whole thing is much sturdier than before.
Lastly I removed the Velcro straps on the side in favor of actual buckles like on the shoulders. This way, it increases quality, and realism, while also adding to the armors functionality. Now depending on the height or build of an individual the armor straps can be adjusted to fit a wider range of people.... within reason of course.
Overall I am much more satisfied with the improvements on this armor set. Not only does it look more weathered and realistic, but it is also immensely more screen accurate. I am beginning to see more and more NCR Trooper costumes out there, but most of them fall short when it comes to screen accuracy (not to toot my own horn of course because mine still needs a lot of work). The biggest issues that I see with this costume is the shape of the armor, and the colors of the whole costume. Most people go for a really light tan color for most of the costume, but if you look at the characters in the game their uniforms are much darker and much grimier. Sand stained, and dirtied from countless encounters with Legionaries. Even the uniform is a more brownish color. I will be working on these things with NCR Trooper Version II in the future.
That's all for this update folks. Stay tuned for more progress this next week and a half. Stay safe! And let me know what you think!