Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy - Complete

[trackboy186]

So I have been amazed with some of the amazing work that people are capable of on the RPF, so I decided I'd hope in with both feet and see what I could manage to create. I decided I'd start with EVA foam after seeing all of the fun armor and Iron Man builds that utilized the material. The subject for my build was none other than Mass Effect 2's N7 Armor. I did get a bit of a head start before I started the thread, but I'll finish it with more help than I started with, right? So let's build this!

I went to the store and picked up some foam interlocking mats.


Then I used the files from http://www.therpf.com/f24/mass-effe...r-updates-186674/?highlight=mass+effect+files

Which gave me a template.


Where I learned the importance of using my references and thinking through my patterns! Because I cut my pieces like this:

and didn't think about how they would align or attach. Hint: They didn't. Rough edges and poor planning mean we go back to step one.

This time I actually managed to get something nicer from this. Don't mind the rough sanding spots. I wanted to try out some other techniques,


Then I started working on the back pieces. Starting with the neck.


More in the next post!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So after I did the neck piece, I moved onto the back pieces. Which included the awkward shape of the shield generator. Which looks.... rough. I did say I was learning right?


After this part, I moved back to the front and did a bit of detailing and drawing. I scored the foam and will be using a soldering iron to engrave the details into the foam.


Which, of course, pushed me to get the spine finished and attached to the back. Which ended my night with the following pieces.


The next night I began working on connecting the two sides. I also built the codpiece and weapon slots, then detailed them. I know this isn't normally how it's connected, but I plan to have it work as slide-on armor, since I will be dressing as a team of one.


Next was to work on the shoulders and biceps and get them attached to the torso.


Decided to experiment a bit and use magnets to attach the shoulder pieces. This is the first of a three point connection.


Then I rushed a bit and the poor quality of the cut and glue job showed in the shoulder pieces.

So that will require some clean up.

And on to another post!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So I decided that I needed some motivation, so I threw it all on. I checked the fit of some of the straps, adjusted them, and then had my wife snap a shot of it all, front and back.

My EL Wire is on order, but I must wait in the mean time.

Then I took an hour and made a pile of rainbow colored foam!


My pile of rainbows eventually coalesced into something functional (ie, the right bicep and forearm bracer). I also added my gloves for the costume.


Then on to the detailing and bicep cuff (in addition to finishing the left side as well)!


Which brings us to the present, which is the upper body being 95% complete being assembled! More awkward posing!


Any criticisms and/or thoughts are always welcome.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

That looks really good so far! You look like a first shot action figure (test shot using any color plastic the factory has ready).

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Thanks! I thought the same. I figured it was all getting painted anyway, so I'd use what was available. Definitely fun for the kids!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Sorry for the lack of updates to the thread. A busy week of work, plus the holiday, means that I didn't have much time to spend working on my project. Back to making time for it!

 

[arctrooper]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

I love how colorful the wip is. A little rainbow shepard. :lol

Great work! Can't wait to see more!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Thank you! All of those colors have made this build a lot of fun, that's for sure.

I've made some more progress on this, but I've been sidetracked with a looming Batman Day Celebration in a few weeks. So I'll have to grab some pictures later to show off the bit of work I've done on this.

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So, as promised: An update!

I started working on the legs. The contours and shapes are a bit strange, but I had to scale up the "butt plates" and then make the rest of the pieces fit around the larger butt. :facepalm After figuring out how to make all of that work, I started working on actually putting the pieces together. After most of the thigh parts were done, I started doing a bit of detailing with foamies. I still need to finish the lower half, as well as the upper details and hip pods.


After this part, my total progress to date ended up looking like this:


Now back to my other project. :wacko

 

[Damnstraight79]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Loving this build! Thank you for providing so many pics - makes me feel like I could start my own build.

What do you plan on using to seal the foam for underneath the paint?

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

I'm glad you like it! I hoped that the pictures would work as both motivation and a pseudo-tutorial, so I'm glad that they are doing their intended job! I absolutely say to go for it. It only gets easier as I work with it, so give it a shot. The nice thing about foam is that it's a cheap building material, so feel free to experiment and learn what it can do for you!

I'll be sealing this with a few coats of PVA (Elmer's Glue-All), and then I will cover that with a few coats of Plasti-Dip.

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So I decided I'd cheat a bit and I used a portion of the N7 armor to work with my Batman Day project. So that allowed me to finish up the shin/boots! I was too focused on building them, so I forgot to get some work in progress photos. However, the end result ended up looking like this:


This, of course, had to run into the issue of being slightly larger than my calf. So instead of making another piece that may mess up the proportions, I decided to just make it a bit more snug with an insert. So I took the nice edge pieces that come with the foam mats:


Then I measured my calf. I then formed a ring out of the correct length.


Which allowed me to glue the insert into the thigh:


I did this for both shins, which left me with:


I also got to work on the shoe portion of the boots. I made them separate so that I had more flexibility at the ankle and so that I could use some shoes that I had sitting around. I took the old shoe:


Got the foam together for covering it:


Then I attached them to the shoe.


After sealing them, I then added a matte black paint. (The other costume was a Bat character, so I didn't want to be all shiny!) Which gave me this for a leg (Sorry for the poor quality.):


Now to finish the rest of the thigh armor, detailing, sealing, and painting! Almost there. In the home stretch now!

Thanks for checking it out!

 

[arctrooper]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So... undersuit. What are your plans for that?

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

I decided I'd go cheap on the undersuit. I'll get a plain black morphsuit or zentai and modify it. I like the textured pattern that some people are using, so I'll probably add that to the exposed portions of the undersuit. I have fabric paint and I am looking at templates for the size and shape of the texture, so I should be able to do that part easily enough.

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Back with more progress! I got a bit sidelined with a birthday and the start of my staycation to-do list, but I have managed to get some more work done.

I started by using craft foam to add more details to the thighs.


After that, I laid out the current progress as such:



Then the task of getting stuff painted before it got too humid or started to rain. Did a few coats of plasti dip, then laid on some matte black paint:


The current process has me saying goodbye to "Rainbow Shepard" and getting use to this:


More updates later!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Back in action with more updates. I took some vacation time and am getting back into working mode, so progress was temporarily halted. However, I'm ready to keep working on this and see where it ends.

I started by working on getting the torso covered with a few thin coats of Plasti Dip. Then I started laying down more of the matte black paint.


Of course, after starting it this way, I realized how long I was waiting for it to dry so that I could do the other side. Which was met with the "Duh!" moment of hanging it from the tree I was painting under. That way you get to paint both sides in thin coats. Lesson learned.

Since the next few days had some crappy weather, I figured I'd work on masking off the portions that will be getting the white paint for the N7 stripe. That way, as soon as I had a nice day, I could get out and hit them with some white spray paint.


After I got home from work, I hit it all with the white paint. After three coats of the white spray paint and during my waiting, I ended up with this:


Which gave me this:

There was some bleeding on the shoulder, but as it was fairly minor, I'll touch it up later.

Then, since I could not find a red spray paint that I was really fond of, I decided to use acrylics to create that iconic red N7 stripe. So I mixed some Crimson and Maroon acrylic paints 1:1 to get an almost Brick Red color, and then hand painted the red stripe. Which gave me this:


After 2 more coats, and plenty of drying time, I decided to use a technique that I saw another person use for their Mass Effect 3 N7 Armor. Instead of creating the recessed details, they used thin strips of the craft foam on top. As I liked that look better, I used metallic black puff paint to do the same. I love the way it reacts to light, so I went with it for all of the smaller details on the forearms.


Thanks for checking this out. Thoughts are always welcome!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

So I'm back with more pictures to dump in here!

After a brief moment at looking at the current progress, I decided that a partial suit up was in order. I then loved the look so much I had to get an action figure pose.


Of course, this made me decide to finish up the final portion of the N7 Stripe by getting to the inner pauldron. This is after 2 coats of white spray paint and 3 coats of the acrylic red.

Touch up was needed, but solid forward movement nonetheless!

Then I attacked the gloves and added some metallic silver paint to the armored parts.


Then I had to christen the armor by giving it the N7 seal.


In a lull between parts, I decided to try my hand at prop building. So I'm making a foam M-77 Paladin. It isn't amazing by any stretch, but as long as I'm learning how to work with foam, I figured why not. The current state of things is this:


And that is where things are currently!

 

[trackboy186]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

With most of the progress being painting, I don't have much in the way of working photos, but I do have some shots of the current state of things.

I started off by getting the thigh portions of the armor sealed and then sprayed with the matte black paint.


Then I finished the work on the prop. I sealed the gun with a few coats of PVA, then a couple coats of Plasti Dip. Then I finished it with acrylics. I used a gloss clear coat to protect the paint job.


Then I tested the fit of the armor in order to test movement and where I might need to further reinforce parts, which gave me an opportunity to rope the wife into taking a few shots for me!


Now to finish the touch ups and final parts of strapping. Then onto the undersuit.

 

[Grimwood]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Excellent work! It's really coming together nicely!

 

[made007]

Re: Another Mass Effect N7 Build - Pic Heavy

Wow this is amazing, cant wait to see the end rssult, its looking awesome