Big Muscly Character Base for Hulk/Thanos/The Thing

[superdaft1]

Lately i've been thinking that due to my lack of build updates i could post some of my planning for future builds
i've done a lot of planning for thanos so i figured i would start there
the main thing i'm worried about is how i'm going to achieve the armour
the first thing i did was research as many pictures of the hot toys figure as i could

Chest:
I opened up a picture of him from the front view in microsoft word
i then drew over the top of the armour pieces using the freeform shape tool
i then placed an image of the pepakura torso file to get a sense of the layout and scaling

i will eventually scale up each of the pieces and print them out to use as a template

Helmet:
as i was looking at the reference images when i noticed that thanos has two different helmets
Avengers:

Guardians of the galaxy:

Im going to be doing the version from guardians of the galaxy
due to the lack of a pepakura file i decided that i would modify magneto's helmet from days of future past
I figured that the two helmets share a similar shape and that it shouldn't be too hard to add the extra pieces
i drew a crude diagram in word showing the similarities and how i can achieve the right shape

I think that it will work for what i want to achieve
either i will go with this idea or try something else...
Mask:
The way i am going to try to make the mask is to sculpt it in clay then make a plaster cast
then i could either pour latex into the mold and make a flexible mask or i could just sand down the plaster and paint it up
i know that plaster isn't a permanent material but i don't really have any other ideas at the moment
i was thinking that instead of making a separate helmet i could just sculpt it on to the head
But i'd still really like to make the helmet out of foam
it would make a really good display piece in my opinion haha


This is all the research on thanos that i have done at the moment
i will definitely share all my templates and such one i get up to the stage of building this beast of a costume haha
My cold is starting to clear up so i should have some more progress up in the coming week
any questions or concerns i'd love to hear them
thanks guys

 

[superdaft1]

New reference pics!
Today and yesterday some new photos dropped for the new fantastic four movie
The stills included some very clear shots of the thing


So thats about it

Again sorry for no updates
ive been struggling to figure out how to progress with the suit
dont worry its still going to happen!
just not as quickly as i would have hoped
thanks again guys!

 

[superdaft1]

Build updates! (finally)
after weeks of trying to move forward with the hulk
I've decided that it would be best to move on for now and start working on thanos!
I will eventually finish the hulk, but for now i really want to give thanos a go
so with that in mind i started on the helmet which i figured would be the easiest to start with
i ended up using a magneto helmet file as a base (as mentioned a few posts ago) and used templates, made by me. to achieve the desired shape
i then used the same templates to add craft foam trim to the helmet
then i attached cardboard to temporarily hold the side flaps in place
once assembled i coated the helmet with three coats of pva glue and one coat of rustoleum peel coat (the closest i could find to plastidip)
then i sprayed it with purple spray paint, painted all the trim with acrylic gold paint and sprayed it with a clear coat to seal it all in and add shine
one minor fault is the flaps did not keep their shape one the cardboard was removed, so ill have to fix that soon

with the helmet done i decided i would move on with the most involved part, the head/mask
i took the measurements of my head and made a crude newspaper duplicate to sculpt around
once i had the basic shape i started to smooth it out and add the details such as the wrinkles under his eyes and the carvings on his chin
the head is still just clay for the moment as i haven't been able to fire it then cast it
I haven't been able to take any pictures, but i'll be sure to add them to this post in the next few weeks
while i've been waiting to resume work on the head i figured i would start on the main piece of the costume: the infinity gauntlet!
i began by taking my left hulk fist and wrapping it with cling wrap
then i covered the whole thing with paper masking tape and drew over all the curves with a sharpie
afterwards i cut out all the pieces, lay them flat on pieces of paper and traced around them
i then scanned them into the computer to use as foam templates later on
i did this so i could create a thin glove over the top of the fist for me to modify and decorate
this is so i can skin the hands, something i've been trying to work out for a while
i can use the same template for future costumes
these are the fists i used

and here are the templates if anyone would like to use them
if you do use them in your builds be sure to credit me

so yeah thats about all i have done on thanos for now
ill try to make some more progress on the gauntlet in the next few weeks
any comments or criticisms are welcome
thanks guys!

 

[Hazmat]

That Thanos helmet turned out great!

 

[superdaft1]

That Thanos helmet turned out great!

Wow thanks a lot man!
im glad you like it!
its not completely accurate but it does the job fine

 

[Grimwood]

Are you still hard at work on this?

 

[superdaft1]

Are you still hard at work on this?

Im trying as hard as i can at the moment
ive been trying to draw up an infinity gauntlet template at the moment to i can move on to making it out of foam
i also need to buy more thin craft foam haha
but dont worry im still working on it
i just havent been going as fast as i would like at the moment
if you need help with anything or have any questions just leave me a message

 

[Grimwood]

I never seem to have enough foam! Just started on my thing sculpt and can't imagine how much I'll need for that project...

Those templates you provided. Have you cut foam and put them together?

 

[superdaft1]

I never seem to have enough foam! Just started on my thing sculpt and can't imagine how much I'll need for that project...

Those templates you provided. Have you cut foam and put them together?

I haven't officially built it with foam yet
but I have built it out of paper and tape
i would recommend probably going a bit bigger with the scaling as the template might be a bit small
i will definitely try it out and see if it works with foam

 

[The Full Armor]

Wow! This is awesome!

 

[superdaft1]

Wow! This is awesome!

thank you!

 

[superdaft1]

The head is finished
hopefully I can cast this thing in the next few weeks

 

[superdaft1]

Just got back from the new fantastic 4 movie
I have officially decided that i will not make a thing costume due to the horrible movie
i'm still going ahead with thanos for now dont worry
im currently still working on the head/ mask so stay tuned for that
i also recommend only watching fantastic four if you are willing to be bored, let down and severely disappointed
If i ever make a thing costume it will be based off the comics or a future marvel studios movie with the reacquired rights
thanks guys

 

[superdaft1]

Hey guys I've got another update
its nothing too much but at least it's something
I took my bvs batman cowl and cut the ears and face off
this will provide a pretty good neck and head base
i tried to make a plaster mold of the thanos head but severely failed
I will try to clean that up in the next few days and try again
i also have to make another helmet that will fit nicely on the head
i also took a few pictures of my work in progress infinity gauntlet
I'm very happy to say that my templates work fine although it is a snug fit over the fist
i put some pictures of my groot head as well for fun
thats about it for now
ill post some feet updates in the next week or so as I'm currently shortening them and adding a back
if there are any questions ill be happy to answer them
thanks guys

 

[hun buns]

Nice! Did you use a template for the foam body or you did it free-hand?

 

[superdaft1]

Nice! Did you use a template for the foam body or you did it free-hand?

I used the classic iron man suit foam pepakura files scaled up by about 20%
there should be a link in the first post

 

[hun buns]

I used the classic iron man suit foam pepakura files scaled up by about 20%
there should be a link in the first post

Thanks for the reply. I just read the last page and missed your first post. Too bad I didn't see it earlier. I'm doing a Thanos costume too and already did some free hand patterns. But I might use the foam body for another big costume. Looking forward for more updates. Thanks! =)

 

[superdaft1]

Thanks for the reply. I just read the last page and missed your first post. Too bad I didn't see it earlier. I'm doing a Thanos costume too and already did some free hand patterns. But I might use the foam body for another big costume. Looking forward for more updates. Thanks! =)

No worries!
and good luck!

 

[superdaft1]

Update!
My thanos clay head is painted so once I get it back from school I can attempt to make another cast
The colours are off but hopefully the final mask will be a lot nicer shade of lavender
That's it for now
any questions or comments ill be happy to reply
thanks guys

 

[superdaft1]

wow i cant believe it has been eight months since my last update
now i know when i started this build i had definite plans to complete this build
the fact is at the moment i really dont have the time or the effort to do so
however i will still try to post stuff up here that may help those in need or even answer any questions
i do intend to finish this costume but i just really need the motivation to do it
so as mentioned countless times before, my method can be used for countless big muscly type characters
one of those being colossus from the x-men franchise and most notably the new deadpool movie
now i dont know if there is anyone out there attempting to cosplay as colossus but i have given it a go at making some templates
the templates i made are for colossus' head
i made these templates from a model i found on the internet that i unfolded
unfortunately my version of pepakura does not allow me to save my unfolded files so i had to screenshot them instead
so here they are:

these templates only cover one half and the top of the head so you'll probably have to flip them over for the other side
so yeah any questions i'll be happy to answer them
and please credit me if you are to use these templates
thanks guys!