Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy) - Finished Costume Pics!

Phaleure

New Member
I've been working on this build on and off for a few months now. I got most of my inspiration for this costume by watching pep and foam ironman builds that I found here, so I thought I would post some of my build to give inspiration to anyone else out there who needs it.

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The down and dirty of it: Kerrigan is one of my all time favorite video game characters. Probably because Starcraft holds a special place in my heart for being one of my first favorite video games, but also because she is simply a bad ass. I loved Kerrigan's ghost armor from the opening cinematic from SCII and though there is no better way to profess my love than to cosplay her!

I'm no stranger to costume making, as I have been doing it for years, but I wanted to try something new this time and tackle EVA foam, since my builds in the past have been bulky, uncomfortable and expensive. My hope is that I can make this armor so that I can wear it for hours easily, pack it in a suitcase for conventions that require travel and not break the bank. Here is some of my progress so far:

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I patterned out the chest piece using a dress form covered in foil and masking tape. Once you draw on your guidelines, you can cut the pattern up and pretty much transfer it straight to foam. I also did this to my legs, and my wrists.

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This pic is after I cut out .5" thick EVA foam mats, I had a pack colored ones needing to be used up, but they were purchased from Home Depot. The cups were created by heating the foam in the oven and pressing it over an acrylic sphere while it cooled. The ribs and the edging on the gauntlet were made using backer tube, which is a open cell foam tube used to fill gaps prior to the caulking process, they are a lot like pool noodles.

Since the picture I have re-worked the gauntlet since I didn't like how it was turning out.

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The shoulder pads were patterned using card-stock and trial and error.

I made a video of me working on the shoulder pad, if you are interested.

As of now I have all of the armor put together. I have been having difficulties creating closures for attaching it to my body. My original idea was to use velcro, but I am finding that the velcro isn't holding the foam together tight enough and there are large gaps at the closures. It isn't aestetically pleasing to me, but I am not having much luck with alternative methods.

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Next steps for the armor are using a wood burner and dremel to add detail, silicone caulk to clean up seams and any mistakes made along the way, palsti-dip and paint. Then I get to get to the most exciting thing for me on this build:

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I've never really worked with EL tape so I am pretty excited to get this all together. My only concern is if it isn't dark out, or a picture is taken with flash, the lights all but disappear. I guess it's a small price to pay.

Hopefully I will have some more progress pics for later. Trying to have this done for Otakon this July, and if the whole packing it in a suitcase thing works out D*Con come September.
 
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Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

Subscribed. I love me some starcraft, and this is looking pretty badass.
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

Another weekend past and more progress to post:

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I installed vinyl tubing in my shoulder pads and leg armor to act as shields and diffusers for my EL Tape, and then did a mini test-run with lights to see the effect. I enjoy it! I used PET-G Plastic for the bracers, hip nodes and backpack since the vinyl tubing proved to be less flexible than I had hoped for those applications.

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I burned gouges into the EVA using a soldering iron, and then used foam backer rod to add raised details on various parts of my armor. Again this is a open-cell foam tube, much like a pool noodle that is used for filling gaps in wood structures and whatnot prior to caulking to save on caulk. As a result they come in various diameters and are very cheap. I also used these on the ribs of the breastplate and in other areas. They melt like chocolate on a hot day when heat is applied so no heat guns, and low-temp hot glue is recommended.

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I used acrylic silicone caulk to fill gaps in the armor where the foam didn't quite make a clean seam. I also used it to fill any bubbles that were in the foam piece, and to fill the seams between the backer rod and EVA foam to make it look like a continuous piece. You can see some screw heads that I had molded in silicone and the cast in hot glue for some added details.

Next stop plasti-dip and paint. Fun times!

I also picked up a nerf Long-strike on e-bay that I intend to alter to make her C-10. This ofcourse was after I purchased a long-shot and decided that the alteration effort needed to be aborted. (You can see that abomination at the bottom there) /shudder.

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Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

I have long wanted to see someone do that iteration of Kerrigan. Keep it up, I look forward to seeing it done!
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

More progress! I only have a week to go before my convention and I have tons and tons to do - luckily things are taking shape quite well.

I did a test fit on some of my pieces and had to make a few adjustments but I'm pretty happy with the overall look right now.
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Finished up the last bits of my armor - the hand pieces. These were made in foamies, I tried sintra because I would have preferred more durability on my hands but the sintra I bought was way too thick, and I have no time to order new, so foamies will do! I sealed them in plasti-dip.

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Did a base layer of paint on my armor, I just dry brushed on some acrylic paint. I'm going to hit this with some airbrush to lighten it up a touch, as soon as I get my fabric so I can match the armor and the suit. And then weather it with some browns and blacks.

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And finally my favorite part of my progress sofar - Kerrigan's mask. I had this lifecast done of my head just for this project (though I'm sure I will use it a lot more in the future). I sculpted the mask in Monster Clay - I will add the bits and bobs at the bottom into the eye sockets once I have this sucker smoothed out. Then I will mold it in silicone and cast it in resin.

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As this is my first time working with oil based clay if anyone has any pointers for smoothing that would be amazing, right now I am using a combo of heat gun + isopropyl myristate, it is working well but I can't quite achieve the silky smooth look of metal.

Thanks
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

Great work! I've been wanting to do this costume, but I lack the gender to pull it off.
If only there was a male version.......
Looking forward to the con pictures!
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

Another quick progress update - only 4 days until Otakon, so I don't have much time left to finish this build. Everything is looking good so far, but I still have some kinks to work out, and I still haven't started to construct my rifle. I MUST have the rifle - I can't be a proper ghost without a sniper =(

Here are a few progress pics:

Got a few sculpting tips over on the sculpting forum and used an upside down compressed air can to freeze the clay so I could smooth it to a more metallic finish. I added some small details into the eye sockets, and molded it with rebound 25.

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I slush cast a few sets of googles so I could pick my favorite. I had a lot of trouble picking up details in the eyes, and keeping my resin bubble free - but finally got a cast I liked.

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It fits my face great (it ought to being sculpted over my own lifecast) but I wasn't sure how shrinkage and warping would effect the cast. I also sculpted ear pucks so I will turn this into a proper head set later.

And finally, I got my suit all sewn together. I'm pretty happy with the result since I was really worried that the fabric colors wouldn't mesh, but it ended up working really well. Please excuse the unflattering pic - its hard to take nice pics when you are sleep deprived and working your tail off.

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I have all of my armor pieces painted up and ready for some weathering, and I will also be weathering the spandex suit, for some realism. Then I will probably spend a day fixing up the wiring for all of my EL tape.
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

great work, and some good tips about foam in there. cant wait to the finished product!
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy)

I was able to finish Kerrigan for Otakon this past weekend. While I wait for photos to come back I thought I would add a few last build pics.

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I wanted to have a battle damaged look to the suit so I went ahead and weathered the armor. After I used my airbrush to color match the armor to my spandex suit, I gave it a coat of burnt umber acrylic that I sponged on with a sea sponge. After it dried for a few minutes, I buffed the paint off with a damp cloth, making sure to leave paint in low parts, or parts that would see a lot of wear.

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Although the silhouette of the Nerf Longstrike isn't 100% accurate, I waited a bit too long before deciding to work on the gun so I ended up doing the best I could to get the right shape for Kerrigan's rifle. I used pvc piping, EVA foam, and Apoxie Sculpt to alter the shape of the gun and add a scope and barrel.

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After a coat of black paint I am not too dissapointed in the end result. I burned up my second dremel of the year on this gun, so at least I was happy with how it turned out.

Excited to share my finished costume with you all.
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy) - Progress Update!

Hey...hey...

You're in Baltimore. Will you be at Baltimore Comic Con? I am getting anxiety thinking about what I will do once I get there in my outfit :lol:confused

Looks good, can't wait to see the finished product.
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy) - Progress Update!

Crabra - I am in the Baltimore Area but I had never actually attended Baltimore Comic Con. Perhaps I will make my way over there this year. I have heard some good things!
 
Re: Kerrigan Ghost Armor SCII Build (Pic Heavy) - Progress Update!

I've finally done a proper photoshoot in this costume, so I thought I would post some of the finished product.

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Photography by AshBImages

And some night time shots, to show off my lighting work:

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Photography by Soulfire Photography
 
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