B4Dw0Lf Build

[B4DW0LF]

Hey guys and girls, firstly I wanna say this forum is fantastic.  I spend hours just reading through different peoples posts and searching for different ideas and such.  Its a great resource for any one from beginner to expert....  

With that said I have some questions,

Firstly, I have a mask (unpainted) Ive never airbrushed before but wanted to give it a shot.  Now Ive become very much a fan of the albino (orange and white) Predator but I wanted to make sure there wasnt some special rule about it had to be this or that.  As Im a larger person (around the middle section) Im looking to build my predator with a lot of armour to bulk it up and to hide much of what would be me.  Looking at the figures of the Albino Predator I see he's more P1 or P2 in style but obviously with me wanting to go heavy armour thats more AVP... now theres no special rules or anything is there that says 1, I shouldnt do the Albino Predator or 2, that by doing the albino theres not going to be any issues with me making it AVP esk....

I know these may sound like silly questions, but I have been in groups before where theres very strict rules about what you can and cant mix and how some things must be screen accurate blah blah blah...

With that out of the way, Im hoping to spend this weekend attempting to put together some armour and maybe even start painting my predator.   I was hoping to have it completed by September which means I have a lot of work a head of me... fortunately I have started collecting parts...

Thanks again for all the advice and suggestions on the forum and I look forward to sharing my progress with everyone

Paul

 

[scanff]

Hi Paul,

Firstly good luck and try to enjoy the process. There will be times you want to say F it and give up, just take a break from it


Airbrushing seems scarey but it's actually really easy. I'd never used an airbrush before and was amazed how easy it was . I personally like to prime the latex before painting using white spray primer that you'd find at the hardware store. Here's a picture of my WIP very first airbrush attempt on a ruffkins toys P1 mask.

There are no rules to making a costume, you can build it however you like. The more creative the better. Check out the Important Costume & Prop Links as the information is very, very helpful it will save you time and headache.

Again good luck!!!

 

[Justin sic]

Mask looks awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing more of the build!

 

[Justin sic]

I think most ppls suits here are custom.

 

[B4DW0LF]

Hi Paul,

Firstly good luck and try to enjoy the process.  There will be times you want to say F it and give up, just take a break from it


Airbrushing seems scarey but it's actually really easy.  I'd never used an airbrush before and was amazed how easy it was . I personally like to prime the latex before painting using white spray primer that you'd find at the hardware store. Here's a picture of my WIP very first airbrush attempt on a ruffkins toys P1 mask.

Wait, so you just used a normal white primer from say Home depot?  I was always concerned that by using an aerosol spray it might eat at the latex.  But if you've not had a problem then I might just grab me a primer from the store this afternoon.  Was it a special type of Primer?

A friend of mine uses a mix of Naptha, Rubber Cement and a colour pigment for his masks.  so I bought that little cocktail last night, this is very much a learning thing for me.  Im basically relying on the advice of others for this entire build. 

Its funny you mention the F it and give up thing, that happened to me last week.  I was building the chest piece and for what ever reason it started off to small, i made it bigger then I couldnt get the look I wanted so I started again.... its not to bad right now, still not sure I like it though. 

 

[scanff]

I just used rustoleum primer.  It says on the can it's for plastic.

@ Justin_sic, Thanks I'll have to start a build thread when I take some more pictures.

 

[wonko]

The rubber cement/naptha/pigment method is probably the most durable way to go, but keep in mind that you are spraying a mixture that is extremely toxic and hazardous.  Be sure and use a respirator, and spray it in a well ventilated room.  I've never heard of anyone having success with off the shelf spray paint when it comes to durability and longevity.  It may work, but will almost certainly start cracking over time due to the fact that that type of paint was not meant to be bent or flexed.  I've also heard that there are chemicals in the spray paint that slowly break down latex so stay away from that for sure.  There's allot of great paint threads here on the lair that will help you tremendously and probably answer any questions you have.  Good luck with your build, and keep us up to date on your progress.

Brian

 

[scanff]

The rubber cement/naptha/pigment method is probably the most durable way to go, but keep in mind that you are spraying a mixture that is extremely toxic and hazardous.  Be sure and use a respirator, and spray it in a well ventilated room.  I've never heard of anyone having success with off the shelf spray paint when it comes to durability and longevity.  It may work, but will almost certainly start cracking over time due to the fact that that type of paint was not meant to be bent or flexed.  I've also heard that there are chemicals in the spray paint that slowly break down latex so stay away from that for sure.  There's allot of great paint threads here on the lair that will help you tremendously and probably answer any questions you have.  Good luck with your build, and keep us up to date on your progress.

Brian

I've not seen any cracking of the latex yet.  S**T I hope I did not destroy the mask Well lesson learnt I'd primed it before I found this great site.  Thanks for the info.

 

[wonko]

After posting my reply last night I did a little more research on What problems off the shelf spray paint might cause latex.  Seems it's the solvents that are used to keep the paint in it's liquid state that tend to slowly deteriorate the latex.  As far as the latex cracking, I doubt you'll see that.  What you might see is the paint start to crack and peel.  I am no expert, but have had my share of success and failure along the way and these are just my experiences and info I found both here and on the web.

Brian

 

[B4DW0LF]

Thank you all for the advice. Wonko, I had assumed that the aerosol cans of paint would have damaged the mask, Im glad I didnt go about priming it.

I did however make a little progress on the armour last night and made my shoulder pads, using templates found on here Im rather pleased with how they are starting to look.

 

[scanff]

Looking good!


Hi Brian,

Thanks for sharing what you found.  My mask has been primed and painted for about a month I've not yet seen any paint cracking.  I'm hoping it will be ok.  I'll let you all know what happens.

 

[scanff]

Hey guys so I'll be trying the rubber cement/naptha/pigment method on the rest of my suit.  I picked up a can of naptha and a  few jars of rubber cement what do you recommed as pigment?  Are there any threads on mixing ratios and prefered brands to use?

 

[Predatoj]

After posting my reply last night I did a little more research on What problems off the shelf spray paint might cause latex.  Seems it's the solvents that are used to keep the paint in it's liquid state that tend to slowly deteriorate the latex.  As far as the latex cracking, I doubt you'll see that.  What you might see is the paint start to crack and peel.  I am no expert, but have had my share of success and failure along the way and these are just my experiences and info I found both here and on the web.

Brian

Many aerosol Primers use Acetone to thin the paint pigment. That will absolutley be detrimental to latex! I know that because I used to work at an aerosol factory. As for painting most people here go the none toxic route of water-based inks and pros aide as primer. I would only work with Naptha if you had a large garage. Not something I would do in the house personally.

 

[wonko]

You can use artist oil paints to tint the cement/naptha.  I know that's what the guys here use.  You won't need to prime anything, as it will bond to the latex and to itself.  I tried this method out on a small piece of latex and was amazed at how well it works.  It is far superior to the prosaide/ink method.  You'll never have to worry about chipping or peeling, that's for sure!  Like I posted before, make sure you have a full respirator and not just a dust mask, and that you are in a well ventilated area.  Good luck!

Brian

 

[scanff]

Thanks for the tips. 

I just read that mixing 35/15/50 (rubber cement, pigment, naptha) is common.  I'll be in the garage and have a full respirator, tho I probaby need new filters for it.

Brian, you mentioned not having to prime anything but I can still airbrush over it, right?  Or is the oil paint, cement and naptha my paint mix I'm putting in the airbrush? 

 

[wonko]

You'll spray your mix through the AB.  The reason this method works better than the prosaide method is due to the bond you get to the latex.  The naptha will evaporate (it's only used to thin the cement so you can spray it), leaving nothing but a layer of tinted rubber cement.  if you want to try a little experiment, try brushing a little straight cement on the inside of the latex mask.  You'll see that it's almost impossible to remove, and remains very flexible.  The ink method (which I used several times) works well, but it's based on the prosaide being the primer layer which gives the inks something to stick to.  Without the prosaide the ink won't stick to the latex well at all.  With rubber cement, it sticks directly to the latex extremely well so there's no need to worry about an 'intermediate' layer.

Brian

 

[Predatoj]

The method wonko is describing is the 'professional' way. It's the method Steve Wang uses (a world class sculptor and painter). You don't need to prime the latex because unlike water-based ink method, Rubber cement has a proper mechanical bond. Just beware Naptha is petroleum and highly dangerous and is banned in many places. This is very much the industrial method of doing it rather than the hobby method.

 

[B4DW0LF]

well... heres a little update, 

Firstly a HUGE thanks for Vinman and his Templates.  These are by far the easiest to use that Ive found anywhere.  Yes I had to scale much of it up a little (110%-120%) as Im not small but it seems to be working out for me this way.

With a combination of 3mm to 6mm Foam sheets Im starting to get some headway with this project.

So heres my current collection of parts:

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[scanff]

well... heres a little update, 

Firstly a HUGE thanks for Vinman and his Templates.  These are by far the easiest to use that Ive found anywhere.  Yes I had to scale much of it up a little (110%-120%) as Im not small but it seems to be working out for me this way.

With a combination of 3mm to 6mm Foam sheets Im starting to get some headway with this project.

So heres my current collection of parts:

Nice job!

 

[B4DW0LF]

So last night I assembled the chest armour. I gave it a coat of plasti-dip and planned to give it another coat this morning, however I decided to try out the new Rustoline version thinking or hoping it would essentially be the same thing.

It wasnt. yes it did give a coat of rubber but what it did to the coats underneath was unexpected.

the effect was actually pretty cool, and might add to the overall finish once I give it the coat of hammered brown.

for now heres where I'm at for now