Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin gear build

[DarkTime]

Update 5/22/2014: Posted high quality pic of me wearing it in its most recent version.
Update 5/23/2014: Posted more legible measurements in the parts kit pic.

So I noticed there isn't much AoT stuff here on therpf, and I need some motivation to keep myself working on this so I'm going to log my build here. Also, this is my first post.
A little disclaimer though: I'm still very new to prop making, and this is only the second prop set I've worked on. The very first one I made was actually the manga version of the gear. This will be the anime version build. I feel the need to say this since this forum is teeming with pros, and I'm only here to fill a gap. Also, to give back/for anyone who might learn/reference from it. I actually extensively googled this website to learn 90% of what I know, the rest from a bunch of other forums like 405th, mandalorian mercs, etc. So I'm super thankful for this site and its community for having so many resources and helpful members to give me a good jump start in prop making.

Update 5/22/2014: This is how awesome you should look when you're done with it!


With that said, here comes the log/build. I started around October and work on and off on it. I tend to make lots of progress right before conventions though :lol. Definitely can do it faster.

Checking the size. Proportions are a pain when making AoT stuffs because even the source material is inconsistent. I made my first set of gear with limited references (currently aired episodes back in April and coinciding manga chapters) as to avoid spoilers when searching for images online. As a result, it ended up looking a bit too tall.
Dimensions (I'm 5'6" for reference):
Box measurements (cardboard only, no sintra shell yet):
33.25" length
4.25" width
6.75" height
Gas tank measurements (poster tube only, no T valve yet):
2.8" diameter
31" length


First time ever working with sintra.


Leaving the top to be removable so I can mess with internals along the way, and seal it up for good when I'm sure I'm done with it.


I was gonna use a similar way to put the gas tanks on from my previous gear i.e. slipping them through foam loops.
But then I figured the paint/finish would look different through the brackets, so I decided to can the idea and re-did the top. It looked fine in my previous one since it was all foam, but sintra/foam would look too noticeable I thought.




Side view. I suppose if you want to do this "band" style that I see some people do, there it is. I don't think it's accurate so I decided to can it, but it's durable, works, and easy.


Did a pizza-cut style hole. It was too long, and can be seen through the sides of the brackets, so I shortened it. Still visible, but not noticeable.



Test fitting. Slips on and off like the source (as far as I've seen).


Brackets. All my sintra is 1/8" so I had to double up a lot. Next time I'd get some 1/4" also so I don't have to double up and get so many seam lines.



Cutting the bracket sides. I used the bottom of a small tylenol pill container to use as a radius.


Using the rotary tool to cut it out.


Finished bracket.


Painted the pieces and positioning them on/not glued yet.
Paint process is primer, 1-2 coats paint, 2-3 coats clear. I'm on a budget so yeah.
I change up primers since I'm always trying to try new ones. For this I used Krylon grey primer and Rustoleum 2x grey primer.
The silver is Duplicolor Starlight Silver Metallic (Honda).
The sandy metal is Duplicolor Drift Sand Metallic (GM).
I really like these auto paints since it gives it a nice, believable metallic sheen on sintra/pvc. I didn't want it looking flat painted.



Decided to use water bottles instead of poster tubes for the gas tank.
3 Smart Water bottles (regular kind, not fat or sport nozzle kind) cut to ~31" total when glued together.
Cut off the threaded top with a PVC pipe cutter, replaced with a threaded PVC cap hot glued from the inside so it's "standard" with other threaded PVC stuff.


I kind of do a time skip here since I was in a hurry for a con.
After finalizing the first box, I duplicated all the sintra pieces and basically have a parts kit.
Dimensions are written on them for reference for myself or anyone curious.

Update 5/23/2014: Posted more legible measurements in the parts kit pic.







Painting second box pieces. Complete first box on top.


Finishing up innards so I can close them up. The piece of foam in the back is the blade stop so I don't sheath a detachable blade too far in.


Close up of the front. The spring is a porch spring from Home Depot and comes in a 2-pack iirc. The Lowes ones were too too big or thin or expensive. The discreet piece of foam on top of the fake blades is hot glued on all the blades and into the side walls to keep the fake blades from wobbling around.


Didn't want just pitch black behind the spring window, so I rub and buffed a piece of foam board with dents to make it look like a spare blade and glued it behind the spring. The dents were made with the big ruler you see there.


Put behind the spring window.


Extra credit: Altoids tin in the back with a bunch of hanging washers and nuts. Results in the same sound heard in the anime when walking with it. Discovered it when I was carrying an Altoids tin in the same pocket as my car keys.


I couldn't use the mini brackets since I heat formed them too tight to the poster tube, while the water bottles were a millimeter or two wider. The fake blades on the right got nudged in the pic, but they're lined up otherwise.
The gas tank and PVC threaded tee were painted with Rustoleum 2x Aluminum, with 2-3 clear coats of Rustoleum 2x gloss clear.
The outer-facing threads don't have caps on them at the moment since I thread on wired ones that connect to the shooters when I put on the complete gear.


Boxes done.


Test wear. Everything else is still manga version.



Have been working on the anime version of the rear core, will post that next. Hoping to finish that by this week for a con. Then finally, the hip shooters and the sword handles.

 

[Grave Hawk]

Wow. Dude I would say you are pretty skilled at props. My friend recently turned me on to Attack on Titan and your thread is what came up when I searched. Major props to you bro. Thank you for filling the gap. As soon as I saw their gear in the show I knew I wanted to build it. You have given me a great spring board.

 

[The Schlitzie]

Those turned out amazing! I can't believe I missed this thread initially. The Altoids trick and the visible internals are really cool!

I got hooked on the anime and recently finished watching through all the episodes and then had to read up to the current chapter that's out of the manga.

I found a nice version of the 3D maneuvering gear & blades that was 3d printed and I have Annie's Ring. It's nice to see more AOT props popping up.

 

[electraflier]

You sooo made my day! this is awesome! :ninja We are huge Shingeki fans in our house!! Me, my wife and my daughter. My daughter does a mean Robin to my Dark Knight, but the only thing and I mean the only thing she wants to cosplay is a Survey Corps character.. Thank you for posting.:angel We have been scouring the web for source data and after being on the RPF for years, youd think Id come here first!!

I have some questions, where on earth did you get the jacket and hooded cape/ emblems?

Did you follow the strapping diagram, or go for an easier system, and lastly did you do the sword hilt throttle grip?
This is much appreciated!!
Michael

 

[electraflier]

I had to share my photo of my air tanks with you and again express my thanks! (for the tanks LOL) :facepalm
This is assembled using the Smart water bottles as you suggested. But man are they soft and crushy. So I went one step further and hardened each layer on the inside with Rhondo. Ive used it to great success on my War Machine build and it worked awesome here. I kept the lids on each layer. so bottom bottle got coated, then I glued bottle two to the tube. hardened it with rhondo then did the same for the third bottle. It did make them heavier, but they are strong as heck! Dropped one because these bottles have very rounded bottoms :sick(not a very Smart design) they fall over easily even with water in them.... :devil it literally bounced on the concrete with no damage!:lol
So this is with one coat of primer!


Oh by the way. This was very quickly done because of your instruction!

Thank you~! You rock!cheers:cheers:cheers:cheers
M

 

[DarkTime]

You sooo made my day! this is awesome! :ninja We are huge Shingeki fans in our house!! Me, my wife and my daughter. My daughter does a mean Robin to my Dark Knight, but the only thing and I mean the only thing she wants to cosplay is a Survey Corps character.. Thank you for posting.:angel We have been scouring the web for source data and after being on the RPF for years, youd think Id come here first!!

I have some questions, where on earth did you get the jacket and hooded cape/ emblems?

Did you follow the strapping diagram, or go for an easier system, and lastly did you do the sword hilt throttle grip?
This is much appreciated!!
Michael

Thanks. It honestly feels good to know I contributed back to this awesome forum. I don't know where I'd be without it.

As for the jacket and cape, I haven't gotten into sewing yet, so those were premade and off eBay. 95% of cosplayers I've seen/met get their's from ebay, and they're not bad. I've bought three kinds; they all have different patterns and little details so I'll try to go over them briefly. I'll call them by their ebay seller name (due to the nature of mass produced chinese ebay cosplay items and stock photos, it's best to buy from the same guys I did since you might get something different than I pictured).

redstar_cosplay - $25~
Pros:
-Color accurate
-Functional front pocket buttons
-Decorative shoulder button
-Pattern is accurate
Cons:
-Only torso is lined, not sleeves
-Shoulder button non-functional/static
-"Umbrellas" out when viewed from the side. Maybe I'm just fat, I don't know, lol.
-Last but not least: iron-on adhesive on the patches it came with were weak and came off in the wash and pretty much folded and stuck on itself and ruined. Luckily I have my own set of custom made patches that I use velcro with, military style, from my first time cosplaying. So I just sewed some velcro on it to use those patches. This is weird because the cape I have is also made by them but the patch on that has held on fine through multiple washes. Maybe I have a lemon, or their quality has stepped down. If anyone gets it, fabritac that down or sew it.


Custom patch/velcro (stock patches will be shown later):


wangli3692012 - $28~
Pros:
-Patches are actually decent and sharply detailed compared to other premade stuff, though with some minor flaws only noticeable close-up.
-Functional pockets and pocket button.
-Functional shoulder button.
-Pattern is accurate and doesn't umbrella.
-Fully lined torso and sleeves.
Cons:
-Color is orange-y. Very close to episode 1 color since the last scenes of that episode were during sunset, which made the uniforms (Hanne's) look orange. But it's not what you'd imagine it to be in real life, especially being military attire.
-Back patch is printed on but that's expected.
-Lower right lone blue feather touches the white feather to its 10 o'clock; bit annoying to me since I've vectored the emblems myself for other stuff, one of them being the custom patches.


redstar_cosplay iron-on patch on the left, wangli3692012 sewed on patch on the right. Looks sharper and nicer, but up close you can see the black thread going through most of the individual feathers contiguously.


fumei2011 - $35
Pros:
-Has the best pattern, hands down. Does not umbrella. Looks prim and proper when you put it on, ready to go to the military ball.
-Has shoulder padding; very nice touch.
-Accurate color.
-Fully lined torso and sleeves.
Cons:
-Non-functioning front-pocket button.
-Non-functioning shoulder button; static.
-*All* patches are printed then iron-on adhesive'd. Peeled a bit in the wash, but fabritac fixed that.
-Not an expert on fabric, but I think it's all synthetic, so it has a bit of a nylon shine, and it can get hot in it. It's lightweight as a result though.
This was my favorite and is going to be my staple. Sure, it's not embroidered, but it's the Military Police and my crew stands out (among all the Survey Corps) when we do it, lol.



I use the redstar_cosplay with my custom patches whenever I want to go Survey Corps. The orange-y one I've retired as back up or for anyone who wants to borrow it when I'm at cons.
And yeah, as said, the cape is a redstar_cosplay one. Has a functioning push button to put it on, but not a traditional slip-hole button you'd find on a shirt.

Hope that helps. Of course, if anyone in your group knows how to tailor, making your own is probably the best. At the moment, I'm more interested in prop making, but I'll eventually get to sewing.

As for the straps, I made the legs portion with craft foam polished with shoe shine and varnish, as shown in this youtube vid:
How to make Craft Foam look like Leather - YouTube
I then lined it with nylon strapping from the back for durability, and hot glued everything together. It's been durable, but might need some quick varnish touch ups after a few con days, and occasionally gluing stuff back. The strap diagram is, as we all know, confusing, and I had to make it on the cheap and quick since I was in a hurry for a con and it was my first on everything--gear, harness, clothes, etc.--back in July.
Only decent pics I can find. It's very passable as leather.



As for the torso portion, I just used a real Occidental Leather work suspender, since at the time I was thinking of hooking gear straight up to it and I'd need it the suspender portion to be durable/functional.

As for the sword handles, I've made a "liberal" manga version (since the manga version looks pretty barebones already) with working detachable blades. I used mainly PVC piping and a bike handle, and foam core board for the blade since it's light and could be made in mass quantities fast and cheap (we're a group of three; 12 blades per set of manga gear each person == 36 blades...).
Don't have any decent pics at the moment but will do when I post updates later on the finished rear core unit (which people loved at a recent con).
I'll be remaking the sword handles in better and more accurate detail and in anime version for my next con by April. The blade will either be semi-detachable (bolt on; non-working bike handle) or permanent since I'll be using heavier stuff this time around (MDF/sintra/etc.).

I had to share my photo of my air tanks with you and again express my thanks! (for the tanks LOL) :facepalm
This is assembled using the Smart water bottles as you suggested. But man are they soft and crushy. So I went one step further and hardened each layer on the inside with Rhondo. Ive used it to great success on my War Machine build and it worked awesome here. I kept the lids on each layer. so bottom bottle got coated, then I glued bottle two to the tube. hardened it with rhondo then did the same for the third bottle. It did make them heavier, but they are strong as heck! Dropped one because these bottles have very rounded bottoms :sick(not a very Smart design) they fall over easily even with water in them.... :devil it literally bounced on the concrete with no damage!:lol
So this is with one coat of primer!

[url]http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx324/electraflier/C31C8D33-D4A0-48C4-AED9-0A861400DE3F_zpsviogenp9.jpg[/URL]
Oh by the way. This was very quickly done because of your instruction!

Thank you~! You rock!cheers:cheers:cheers:cheers
M

Rondo, nice idea. My friend was thinking of using cardboard postal tubes lining the interior, but rondo would also work. Haven't used resin/fiberglass much (only experimented with it and failed horribly), so it doesn't come to mind first yet. And yeah, I actually had one gas tank suffer quite a bit of damage that I ended up having to remake one.
I had no interior reinforcement on mine since I'm always the first/prototyper and I'm either low on time (from procrastinating a week before a con, lol) or don't think of new stuff by the time I'm done with it. So I'll pass on that info to my friends who'll later on make their own second set of anime version gear. Because of this, they always end up with the "upgrades," and have better sets overall, lol.
One thing I forgot to mention was I took the caps off because I once tried shoe goo to attach the bottles together and since it was airtight, the shoe goo would never dry, lol.
Also, I forgot to mention I used wood putty on the bottom of the bottles and sanded it down flat, so it looked flat like a real gas tank and didn't have the traditional water bottle bottom dip. Though since it's a lot of putty, I had to wait a day for it to dry before I can sand it down. There should be better ways to hide the fact that they're water bottles from the bottom, but that was my way.

Anyway, I'm still resting up from a recent con, and taking a break from working on it for awhile, but will document how I made the rear core unit soon. I guess here's a quick progress pic from awhile ago. As you can see, I like functionality/motorized gimmicks, lol.


Once again, hope this helps.

 

[electraflier]

Just posting a progress update!


Cut out all the side brackets and now cleaning them up... Hope to finish them tomorrow so I can start on the swords!! My daughter and her friends loved her surprise!!!

 

[electraflier]

Ok, blasting through this despite the sickness and cold, rainy nasty weather lol!:wacko

Here is a progress report.:thumbsup







Still tons to do. All the silver around the mech gear on the sides need finishing. The sword blanks in the box need finishing and the sword handles/ controllers and full blades... then the propulsion unit!!


Here is the start on the controller handles....

 

[electraflier]

Ok, blasting through this despite the sickness and cold, rainy nasty weather lol!:wacko

Here is a progress report.:thumbsup







Still tons to do. All the silver around the mech gear on the sides need finishing, plus the extra tank holders. The sword blanks in the box need finishing and the sword handles/ controllers and full blades... then the propulsion unit!!


Here is the start on the controller handles....



Using sintra in layers, hoping to successfully make the blades removable..

 

[scoodidabop]

YES! Nice work! Just watched season one of AoT with the wife and we're hooked. I gotta show her your build, she'll freak!

 

[DarkTime]

WOW, awesome progress electraflier!
Let us know how that rear u-bolt hooking point works/balancing. I was thinking of doing that but decided to stay safe and redid what I knew worked with my first version. I'll pass that onto my friends when they remake their own anime versions.

As for me, I won't have any exponential progress made anytime soon, probably not until a con in April nears, lol.

 

[obiwanamati]

Everyone's gear looks amazing! I've been planning to do this costume for a while now. Guess I better do more research soon! The biggest hold ups for me so far have been figuring out how to do the 3D gear (great explanations here! Will probably use this as a tutorial) and whether to buy or sew my own jacket. Leaning more towards sewing my own though since I know how to sew decently.

 

[CoffinKnail]

Great Job, everything looks spot on! The whole thing looks really awesome!

 

[autobotamy]

I've got all my base pieces cut for the 3Dmg, but my friend told me that Sintra + cold weather = bad times. Does anyone know anything about this? Should I wait until it warms up to get it shipped to me? I don't know if we're going to have another -50C cold snap up here again.

 

[Knight Falcon]

Awesome work DarkTime! I've been planning on making facial prosthetics for (cont.)

***SPOILER ALERT if anyone hasn't watched much!!***

(cont.)
for Eren Jaegar's titan form, so i figured I could get my girlfriend to cosplay as Mikasa. Of course, I still need to finish my thousand other projects, but this is slowly becoming more of a priority.


Awesome job again!

 

[electraflier]

There are a couple of problems with sintra or pvc sheets. This material has NO, read that zero shape memory. I have the opposite problem of cold weather here in Flo-rida lol...That means if you leave it in your car on a hot day as a sheet and it sags and bends, it will stay in that shape and NEVER, EVER be flat again. So if you needed it for flat parts you are out of luck as a bent sheet could ruin the use you need it for.. It can bent into some great shapes with gentle use of a heat gun and it stays! However if you bend it hard while it is cool it will snap right in half. I imagine the problem of brittleness is much worse when cold. I would be led to believe under freezing /sub freezing temps it would possibly shatter like glass if say it was built into a complex heavy shape, then dropped hard. So don't leave your 3DMG sword box out in 20 below then drop it from the roof onto concrete lol.

I've got all my base pieces cut for the 3Dmg, but my friend told me that Sintra + cold weather = bad times. Does anyone know anything about this? Should I wait until it warms up to get it shipped to me? I don't know if we're going to have another -50C cold snap up here again.

 

[DarkTime]

Rear Core Unit

Okay, so here are the updated, corrected patterns for the rear core unit.
Printing this as "Actual Size" or similar should print it to the right dimensions listed (**make sure you confirm your print with the given measurements if you're gonna use these; computers can print stuff differently**).
I used plain paper to trace from, since I didn't have card stock at the time. I'd imagine it'd be much easier with card stock.








Just print this multiple times and cut the separate layers out, i.e. one print for the entire inner circle, another print for the entire out circle with window cutout, etc.

First off, let me just say that I like modularity/compatibility, so while it can look like a mess, to me, it's a functional mess.
Later on you will see/notice you can actually "field strip" this down to basic parts by hand/without tools.
Why? I just think it's cool. Of course, you can feel free to glue everything down permanently to make everything more secure and cleaner looking. I'm just here to share my ideas.

Anyways, so after you cut those pieces out with the material of your choice (I used MDF; pretty heavy though, but cheap; you should probably use something light, I only used MDF so I could try it for the first time), you should basically have a parts kit again like the boxes (still haven't drilled the holes for the arms and arm base, but this is basically it).


Primed/sealed the pieces with Rustoleum Filler Primer (needed to seal porous sides of MDF; otherwise the MDF will just suck the paint through). Then painted with Rustoleum 2x Aluminum. There are better choices out there, but this is what I wanted to try at the time, and it was quick. I'm no pro to painting/weathering yet.
Also in the top right, you see the 1/2" PVC pipe. It's about 8 1/4" in length (you will want that extra length for later parts/electronics).


Further progress.
The cylinder part is made of styrene (from the neon green board there) from Walmart. It is 1" wide. Cut a long enough strip to loop around, but *be mindful* of giving space for the 8 bolts to go through, as well as enough breathing space so that the PC fans move freely. It's painted with Rustoleum Antique Brass Metallic.
When you cut apart your 140mm PC fan, save the wiring if you want to power it, and run it through the PVC pipe, as seen in the pic. The fan was painted with Valspar Copper Metallic.
The following are going to be rush pics; I tried to make it to a con that was nearing, but I didn't make it. So when I came back, I tore it down and re-did it and added the bolts and other detail.


Where the styrene joins. Make sure it's on a side that's not visible. Or if you have a better way of hiding it, go for it.



The arms attach to the main platform via L brackets bent 45 degrees. Try to be as tight-fit as possible to prevent wobble, or use more L brackets.


The cylinder part of the main platform is made with EVA foam looped around. Mod podged with 5 coats, primed, then painted Rustoleum 2x Aluminum. The joining side is, once again, facing towards the back of the wearer so it's not visible. It's hot glued onto the platform.


The PC fans are just hot glued as center as possible, with the wire running through the hole and into the pipe.
This way you can wiggle and remove the fan if needed, in case to center it, change it out, etc.
In case you didn't notice, the fans are different on each side because I couldn't find a pair of any 2 same ones that day, and I didn't have time to order one online.


So I came back from the con, and tore it apart to add stuff I didn't have time to (and also take better pics).
Here you can better see the styrene cylinder. The middle is drilled for the PVC pipe to go in just enough to be flush with the surface. The bolts are Everbilt 1/4" - 20 - 2" that come in 3 packs.


Assembled. It's modular, and you can field strip it by hand if needed. I come from a guns background so it's a little quirk I naturally wanted.


Another view.


Inner side. Wire will go through PVC pipe. PVC pipe goes in hole.


Like so. I used GOOP/Shoe Goo to glue stuff together since hot glue can easily be snap-peeled off MDF and PVC. Takes 24 hours for a full cure though, and I did a little extra credit thing on the side whenever I waited for those (will post later).


You want that extra piping exposed at the base so you can attach a cap later and secure it to the arm.


Kind of hard to see, but there is a hole in the PVC pipe, as well as the threaded cap that goes over it; that's where the PC fan wiring goes out from and into the center compartment, where the battery, wiring, and switch will all be.



Putting the wiring together for testing.
Also, how it attaches to you is via those two unbent L brackets, some nylon strapping, a MDF board, and a tool belt. More on that later.


Center compartment made. The 8 bottom bolts are just for looks, the top two attach the compartment to the main platform.
The center compartment is made with sintra with a cardboard inner wall.


You can see the PC wire coming out of the aforementioned pipe hole and cap hole.


Center compartment primed, sanded smooth.


Then painted.


Then mounted back on.
Kind of hard to see, but as for the electronics, it's basically a 9.6v airsoft battery connected to some Tamiya connectors.
Then the other end of the Tamiya is just bare wiring, with both ground/power soldered onto a rocker switch. The other rocker switch terminals are connected to the power/ground of the breadboard, and the fan's power and grounds are connected to the breadboard using breadboard jumper wires into the PC fan connector holes.
Of course, you don't have to use an airsoft battery with Tamiya connectors; I doubt most people have those laying around like I did.
You can just concoct a battery pack from RadioShack and wire up the circuit the same way. Just put your batteries in a series such that your total voltage is at least the minimum running voltage for the fans, individually (the fans operating voltages were 5v and 7v; the 9.6v could crank both). Your batter life may not be as excessively long though.



Fan running.
Since it's a 2400mAh battery running mere PC fans (with operating voltages of at least 7v; make sure the battery you get is at least at the fan's operating voltage), it can run for about 8 hours straight. So I pretty much left it on all day at the con. The faces people made when they realized it was running, as well as them putting their hands in front of it to confirm that air was being blown, were priceless.


Cram everything into the compartment, leaving the switch and battery connector terminal exposed (so you can charge it). I used a piece of EVA foam that I painted silver and put velcro on as a makeshift lid. It's not pretty, but it's pretty much not visible anyway, unless someone is doing an extreme-angle upskirt shot on you or something.



And this is how you put it on a belt.
I used a 2" leather tool belt, as gear you'll put on it will be HEAVY, especially this huge concoction of MDF (unless you use something lighter, which I think you should).


Punched holes in nylon strapping for bolts.


Everything bolted down. Belt can slip in and out. Note, the heavy weight of this part makes it lean downward alot, and that bottom piece of MDF will stab your back.


But a piece of EVA foam hot glued onto the nylon straps as a brace will fix that. You practically can't tell it's there anymore (except the weight pulling down the belt).


And here it is, put on. Excuse me for not wearing the rest of the uniform. Excuse my friend also, lol. And sorry for the blur, this was a shot set on a timer.
I added some originality with the braided hoses. They're 20" long iirc, and they thread onto the bottom PVC arm's threaded caps, and coil around. Though they actually did serve to stabilize the entire unit a bit. Both ends of the braided hose must be the same, so you can thread them on the PVC cap, and into the side hip shooters.
As you can also see, it's a bit wide, so make sure to adjust from the pattern to suit your needs/intents.


Better view of how the braided hoses are setup.
One end connects to the threaded PVC cap. Then it coils around the arm, and into the side shooter box (my side shooters are still from my first set, so they're pretty beat up; you can see the green EVA foam). It connects to the shooter box via 1/2" metal threaded nipple.


Sadly, I do not have any pics of me wearing the entire rest of the gear with uniform. I tried hunting pics people took of me at a con I wore it at, but I couldn't find any.

So anyway, in summary, you can completely "field strip" this without any hand tools, if you needed to (perhaps for transportation). The bottom PVC caps you can wiggle off by hand, which would allow you to remove both arms. The outer exposed nuts and subsequent windowed lid can be taken off by hand if you ever needed to access the fan and change it out (will have to hot glue it back on though). The wiring can be accessed from the compartment, and removed through the PVC pipe should you need to take out the fan. And with the airsoft battery connector at the top of the compartment wiring, you can easily plug it into a wall charger (funny sight).
The PVC cap however, since it's not threaded on, can wiggle free if you do a lot of wild movement, such as jogging or, in my case... twerking (it was for a joke video for one of the con photographers, spare me). If I had to do it again, I'd use a threaded one somehow, so it's 100% secure and 100% removable by hand. If you don't use something threaded, you can always put a dab of some light duty glue or adhesive of some sort instead.

Hope this gives someone ideas.

 

[DarkTime]

So as said, I'm a gun guy, so I thought, why not build a rifle prop since I cosplay as the Military Police now and then as lite cosplay when I want to be able to move around through various panels and dealer halls?
I did this while waiting for GOOP/Shoe Goo to dry.
Note, the rifle I make here looks like a bolt-action; in the anime, they use flintlocks. But I wasn't about to make an intricate flintlock mechanism prop, and not like most people could tell anyway, lol.

I used a Mosin Nagant M91/30 rifle as my base, since it's monstrously long for a service rifle used in the last century. I removed the receiver (the legal firearm itself) as well as the bolt for obvious reasons.
The magazine was removed also because flintlocks don't have those, and it looks modern.
Essentially, all you'll have left is the stock and cleaning rod.
Then I got a 36.5" length of 1/2" PVC for the barrel, and drilled a hole in the side to fit a 1/2" Shark branded PVC pipe (which happens to be smaller) for the handle. 3" long handle, including the part that goes inside the bigger pipe.


Then I painted the pipes with Duplicolor Chrome, and put a brass cap on the Shark pipe end (the Shark-branded pipe and brass cap should be in the same area at your Home Depot). Placed it all on top, secured it with some foil tape (should use a zip tie or stronger tape as the base, foil tape rips easily), and that was it.
I didn't bother making a trigger in order to make peacebonding at cons less of a hassle (less I have to prove that it isn't a functioning rifle).
Beside the real thing.

 

[DarkTime]

I've got all my base pieces cut for the 3Dmg, but my friend told me that Sintra + cold weather = bad times. Does anyone know anything about this? Should I wait until it warms up to get it shipped to me? I don't know if we're going to have another -50C cold snap up here again.

There are a couple of problems with sintra or pvc sheets. This material has NO, read that zero shape memory. I have the opposite problem of cold weather here in Flo-rida lol...That means if you leave it in your car on a hot day as a sheet and it sags and bends, it will stay in that shape and NEVER, EVER be flat again. So if you needed it for flat parts you are out of luck as a bent sheet could ruin the use you need it for.. It can bent into some great shapes with gentle use of a heat gun and it stays! However if you bend it hard while it is cool it will snap right in half. I imagine the problem of brittleness is much worse when cold. I would be led to believe under freezing /sub freezing temps it would possibly shatter like glass if say it was built into a complex heavy shape, then dropped hard. So don't leave your 3DMG sword box out in 20 below then drop it from the roof onto concrete lol.

Yeah, it'll give way in high heat, but here in SoCal, it's been fine. It's not a rigid type of plastic, it's fairly bendable in long lengths. But of course, any more than a 45 degree bend without heat will snap it. Coldness might make it super rigid and brittle and snap like ice, but that's just my guess. This is why I have the insides lined with cardboard as reinforcement.
I chose sintra mainly because of how paint would look on it. I can't get that level of sheen with foam, so I needed something hard and plastic this time around, but also not too heavy and expensive.

 

[Weapioneer]

So as said, I'm a gun guy, so I thought, why not build a rifle prop since I cosplay as the Military Police now and then as lite cosplay when I want to be able to move around through various panels and dealer halls?
I did this while waiting for GOOP/Shoe Goo to dry.
Note, the rifle I make here looks like a bolt-action; in the anime, they use flintlocks. But I wasn't about to make an intricate flintlock mechanism prop, and not like most people could tell anyway, lol.

I used a Mosin Nagant M91/30 rifle as my base, since it's monstrously long for a service rifle used in the last century. I removed the receiver (the legal firearm itself) as well as the bolt for obvious reasons.
The magazine was removed also because flintlocks don't have those, and it looks modern.
Essentially, all you'll have left is the stock and cleaning rod.
Then I got a 36.5" length of 1/2" PVC for the barrel, and drilled a hole in the side to fit a 1/2" Shark branded PVC pipe (which happens to be smaller) for the handle. 3" long handle, including the part that goes inside the bigger pipe.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Saki_AFA/IMG_2840.jpg

Then I painted the pipes with Duplicolor Chrome, and put a brass cap on the Shark pipe end (the Shark-branded pipe and brass cap should be in the same area at your Home Depot). Placed it all on top, secured it with some foil tape (should use a zip tie or stronger tape as the base, foil tape rips easily), and that was it.
I didn't bother making a trigger in order to make peacebonding at cons less of a hassle (less I have to prove that it isn't a functioning rifle).
Beside the real thing.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Saki_AFA/IMG_2846.jpg

Nice, the replica looks pretty damn good. Which character from the MP are you planning to cosplay as?