Oh, it's Fiercedeity2.
You won't find too much. Just me arguing with a bunch of the users over there.
That's actually what I was going for. I wanted to see the crap you were getting over at Coscom (cosplay.com).... That stinks. They (being, the
general populace over there consists of children. Or, people who are stuck in a childlike mentality.
In terms of the undersuit...
I do have to ask a couple of serious questions.
Things you should consider if you're making this yourself, and some evaluative notes to help us understand the experience level we're helping you come from:
How much experience do you have behind a sewing machine?
Do you have access to a sewing machine?
How much hands on experience have you had with costume making?
Is this your first endeavor?
If you're beginning from stratch. You're in the right place for help... there are plenty of wrong ways to start a project, and there's several right paths to choose from. Those, however... depend on how you want to plan and approach something like this.
Sewing costumes is a different beast in the realm of armor and prop making.
As a 3rd party observer, I'd encourage you to work with the more common materials and techniques used for costuming, before you attemt to go and make a full ballistic grade suit. (If that is, indeed, your ultimate goal)
For instance, I noticed under your list for what you DO want your HEV suit to look as good as:
I'm almost 100% sure (unless someone can point me wrong), that the costumer here probably used the Wal-Mart "camping foam" Technique for his armor:
This, is a very very cheap technique, however... executed with maticulous planning and perserverence, this nasty foam can produce *that* sweet armor.
Now, In terms of the undersuit:
There are many different ways that you could approach it. Some guys, with all the resources available to them, could simply sculpt it as a latex piece... pad it, and wala presto. Instant perfection.
I imagine others... like the suit above, would sew it together as pieces... would paint it to accentuate the look of a teired 'plating', and call it a day. You'll notice however, it's just a bodysuit with some color. It does not have the same three dimensional look as the game suit:
My thought is this: And If I can get my scanner working... I can draw it out:
Research and find a fabric that looks like the one that Gordon uses for his undersuit.
If I had to take a stab at the fabric's closest match, it would be the aero-mesh found in motorcycle jackets and other sporting wear. Also, most recently featured on Batmans' Suit from TDK:
It would take some digging... but I know that there have been some people who have been able to obtain this kind of fabric for their batman suits. It is rare and expensive but it looks the part to me.
ANOTHER OPTION:
Make your own fabric. Get a stretch latex, and some of the dupont mesh that is easier to find, and sew it in layers. It wouldn't be the same but it would create a similar look. It would not be kevlar... but it would be cheap and would breath very well. A MUST for costuming.
Ok, so you have the fabric down. What would you put it on? How would you make it?
My first thought would be...
Make a form fitting undersuit, or buy a cheapo Zentai suit from Ebay. Doesn't have to be anything nice... it's only a base:
then, get apholstery foam in the appropriate thickness to create the "segment" sections on gordons suit. You'd cut them out to the proper shapes, and then glue (or sew) them onto the undersuit.
Using a lycra bodysuit base, with a middle layer of carefully and accurately sculpted upholstery foam, followed by a sewn, or glued top layer of accurate, or accurate 'looking' fabric... would create the complex undersuit look that you're going for.
WITHOUT, sacrificing comfort, mobility, or casual durability. You could go from there as to wether you'd want to make a 'high durability' version out of the defensive materials.