Red Manta Space Pirate Costume Build
- Thread starter Chrysoprasis
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- star wars
stevechewbacca
Well-Known Member
Chrysoprasis
New Member
Thank you so much for posting this!! So good to see that this character is getting some face time.
stevechewbacca
Well-Known Member
Just a little question : are you planning to make a run of the helmet ? 
Chrysoprasis
New Member
Just a little question : are you planning to make a run of the helmet ?
I guess it depends on how the first one goes that I make for myself. I have a lot going on right now so I think I will be lucky just to get the costume together for the premiere. We'll see though. I should be trying the first casting on the 30th of this month and I will have time that week to knock out a lot of the sewing and other things.
stevechewbacca
Well-Known Member
Thanks
Can't wait to see it complete ^^
Can't wait to see it complete ^^
Chrysoprasis
New Member
Hey guys. Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I think I have seriously misjudged how much I can get done with a newborn baby. So I am still working down to the wire to make the premiere and I will need to keep this post short and simple so I can use the time to work. I finally got to crack open the mold and it was a catastrophic failure. The first layer of plaster that I put down to capture the details was completely crumbly and turned to powder if you touched it and it also delaminated from the rest of the mold. It probably has something to do with how I ran out of plaster halfway through the back of half of the mold. The front turned out really well though. I cleaned it up and mixed up some latex based house paint with the liquid latex and started casting the front half.
Chrysoprasis
New Member
Once I had a couple of layers of latex I soaked some foam in latex and laid it in. You have to hit each side a little with the heat gun first so that it is tacky for it to stick. I made the back half of the mold as best as I could out of cardboard and hot glue and then I started making paper mache to give ti some structure. I made the back half of the mold as best as I could out of cardboard and hot glue and then I tried to blend it into the paper mache of the front to connect the two halves. The paper mache wasn't sticking to the foam so I had to remove it and let it dry. Then I used rubber cement to glue the foam and latex to the paper and cardboard. I started to cover the back cardboard half with foam and did a test fit.
Chrysoprasis
New Member
After that I started layering foam latex on the foam and trying to blend the back into the front. I spread some latex out on my coffee table glass and waited for it to dry and then peeled it off. I used baby powder to keep it from sticking to itself and then used latex to glue it onto the foam for a first layer. I just get a foam brush or chunk of couch foam and dab the latex on with that. The outside of the cast latex was really rough too so I went over everything with another coat to make sure that any pitting or texture that I didn't want got filled in. I trimmed up the neck opening and then used some of the red latex mixed with black acrylic paint to do some of the weathering effects. In the end it all has a very slimy organic alien skin kinda look. The proportions are a bit wider in the back than my original sculpt, but I guess I am ok with that considering how close it was to complete disaster. It fits really snug and I can still see out of it pretty well. I will be making a spandex undermask to hide my eyes and neck and hopefully I will still fit and be able to see with that on also. I finished the pants but I don't have any progress picks of that. They turned out pretty well. I will show them when the costume is finished. I am also working on the shirt. It would be pretty straight forward except for all the little feathery strips that I have to tack on.I am currently finishing up hemming the shirt and cutting the gauntlets and shinguards out of L2000 foam. Stay tuned for more updates soon. Can't wait for Thursday!!!
Chrysoprasis
New Member
I started making the gauntlets and shin guards. I cut them out of L200 foam and used my Dremel to round off the edges and carve out a rounded trim piece shape on the perimeter of the big pieces. I used my heat gun to melt the edges and seal the rough parts that the dremel left. it also kinda evens everything out and hardens it which was really good to smooth out the shapes and give it some structure around the edge. Then I heat formed all the pieces into a curved shape that would fit my body and then painted them. First a base coat of black to seal everything and then silver.
Chrysoprasis
New Member
Then I weathered them by coating them with a greenish brown that I wiped off with a rag to give it a dirty kinda antique look. I also wiped some darker brown and some red/brown into the cracks to give some variation to the color. I dry brushed some lighter color in a few places for the highlights and then started assembly. I had used my Dremel earlier to carve out some spots in the back of each piece for the straps to glue onto. That gave me a place where the hot glue had more texture to grab onto. I attached the pieces together with these clip straps and some scraps of canvass that I had laying around. It turned out really well because it was still flexible and yet it stayed strong through the whole night I wore it. The only part that had a little problem was one of the leg straps that started to peel off because it had a little bit of paint under it that made the surface more slick. They work really well with my heavy work boots and gloves that I am wearing under them and are pretty comfortable.
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Chrysoprasis
New Member
Here are some pics from the premiere on Thursday! Glad to see it all come together at last. They said no masks in the theater but let me carry it in no problem so I had to sneak a picture with it on in front of the big logo. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed the movie. It was a lot of fun to be there with other fans that had really good costumes. Someone even brought a remote controlled scale R2-D2 and was putting on a show out front of the theater. I was glad that there was about 4 scenes with my character in it. I got real excited for a second that he was about to have a much larger role in the movie, but things took a last minute turn that cut him out of the story (for now). I got a good look at the back of the helmet finally and it looks like the side fins continue around the backthe head to shield the neck. It makes like a half brim that angles down in the back kinda like an old school conquistador helmet. I looked for his name in the credits, but I didn't see anything that said Crimson Corsair or Captain Ithano. I also don't remember if Maz said his name in that one scene or not. Still somewhat of a mystery I guess. I was hoping for a solid confirmation in the movie. Anyway, the movie was amazing. Nothing like the prequels (which is great). I can't wait to go see it again next week. Thanks everyone for following my thread and let me know how you think it turned out or if you have any questions.
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Chrysoprasis
New Member
So for Christmas a friend gave me The Official Collector's Edition- Star Wars: The Force Awakens- The Ultimate Look Behind the Scenes book. It is totally awesome and shows a ton of making of shots as well as concept art and up close details of props and costumes. I was stunned to see that there is a two page spread on the Crimson Corsair. According to the blurb his full name is, "Captain Sidon Ithano, known in certain circles as the Crimson Corsair, Blood Buccaneer or Red Raider". it was really cool to see that they specifically spotlighted him and it makes me feel like maybe we haven't seen the last of him. There was also a little glimpse of his weapon which seems to be a type of rifle style blaster with a modified bone or wooden stock. Check out the photos and pick up the book if you want some great reference.
Sporkey
Sr Member
Like Cambian said, there's a really great picture and information on Captain Ithano in The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary, including a pretty good look at his rifle which is actually a reused Kanjiclub prop. Not to mention there are multiple toys and action figures on the market. Even if he doesn't show up in any more films, he will most likely show up in some NuEU media.
Tatooinetako
Member
How well did the latex mold hold up? I plan on doing it with silpak so I can make more helmets from the mold I'm building.
DlarianFerrel
Active Member
I think this will be a great costume. I don't understand their excessive use of pleats and seams in this movie though. Both Kylo and this guy, not to mention the pleats on Rey's wrap. Its a nightmare for those who don't sew regularly. Good luck!
Chrysoprasis
New Member
As far as durability the mask held up perfectly. It really helped that I backed it with thin couch foam soaked in latex and then glued that to the structure. As far as detail in the casting, it was so-so. I was an idiot and forgot to put in mold release before I poured in the latex and so it was difficult to get out of the mold. There was some tearing and stretching in most of the detail areas that I had to go over by hand and that led to it having much more texture that it should have. If I were to do it again I would probably make it out of a hard material that I can sand smooth like sintra or something. I think a more rigid hard and smooth surface would be more accurate now that I have seen more reference. I was under the assumption that it was a fleshy face, but the reference all states that it is a helmet. I have never used silpak so I don't know what that will be like.
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Chrysoprasis
New Member
Thanks for the info! I went and picked up a copy of the visual dictionary and there is some really good reference in it of him just like you said.
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