Captain America (Here we go again!) - Age of Ultron WIP (Pic Heavy)

[SMP Designs]

Update time! The mock up is done and ready to head out to the client. Here's the rundown so far:

The next step was to finish the undershirt and torso mock ups. In order to maximize range of motion and wearability, the undershirt is made almost entirely out of jumbo spandex. Only the areas over the shoulders (that show beyond the torso shoulder) are cordura.

For the torso mock up, it wasn't necessary to cut out and sew together all the little pieces to just test the fit of the overall pattern. Therefore, I just made this piece using the lining patterns and drew on the detail lines so that they could be seen in the fitting for placement and proportion.Here's the lower torso with the stripes laid out.

In order to get an accurate test fit, however, it was necessary to cut the torso into major components and insert the areas that need to stretch. So, the torso consisted of 6 main parts: the 2 back pieces, the front, the lower torso (stripes) and the 2 side stretch panels.

The undershirt was then attached, a simple zipper added to the back and the collar attached. The completed mock up ready to go to the client for the test fitting:

Next up, the post fitting news and the pants get mapped out.

 

[SMP Designs]

Hi everyone -

Short update today, just wanted to share the news from the fitting. Overall, it went quite well. There are a few minor adjustments that need to be made - length needs to be added to the bottom to allow for the torso to rise up when he raises his arms and not pull away from the pants and the width of the shoulder on the undershirt needs to be shortened just a little bit to bring the shoulder bell up higher.

Here are some pictures:

The only other alteration needed is to the sleeves. They need to be shortened to the correct length and the stretch area on the front of the elbow is a bit too wide. I'll trim that piece down a bit to remove the excess fabric. That will tighten and smooth the elbow and solve the bunching issue.

With the mock up all set, I can begin cutting the actual piece and the pants are still to come. More to come soon...

 

[bondoking]

Nothing short of amazing

 

[bondoking]

Any updates.

 

[SMP Designs]

Any updates.

I'll be back on this project this weekend. Updates coming soon!

 

[SMP Designs]

Hi all!

There's been good progress on the project but it's kind of a short update. I was working fast, so I didn't get a whole lot of pics of the process of these pieces.

Due to a delivery issue (an entire fabric order for 3 projects - including this one - disappeared and I had to reorder) I didn't get to start where I wanted on the actual build. But, no matter, the show must go on!

So, I began with the under shirt. This piece is mostly stretch and contains the shoulder details, will hold the sleeves and is Cordura in the back. Ultimately, the torso will float on top of this piece in order to allow for added range of motion.

The sleeves still need some slight pattern adjustment (and the red for the sleeves and torso is the fabric that's now coming this week), so I moved on to the upper torso. The upper torso (cehst and back) consists, in my version, of 24 cut pieces. The shell was cut and assembled first.

Once that was complete, the padding needed to be assembled. There is a light padding for this entire upper torso area that's made from fabric-backed foam. This padding will provide support to the garment, allowing it to hold its shape, and also provide support for the metal star and padding for the harness. The padding was constructed separately and then basted into the shell.

Here's the padded upper torso on top of the under shirt as both pieces are now.

Note the beginnings of a 'keyhole' in the back. The upper torso will overlap and fasten under the harness and the lower part of the torso will close most likely with a separating invisible zipper. The solid back of the under shirt will show between these two sections of the torso - as in this reference picture.

In this image, the back of the upper body is closure-free except for the overlap on the upper back under the harness. In order to maintain this effect, but still make the costume manageable for someone who (probably) doesn't have a fleet of dressers and handlers, my plan is to use the method outlined above.

In the next update, I'll be tackling sleeves, the lower torso and the so-far-elusive pants.

Cheers!

 

[bondoking]

Great update!

 

[Adam6072]

I was courious what colors of cordura are you using? Navy? Royal? Wine? Red? And how are you doing the white, is it 1000d? I haven't found white in the 500d.
Also fabulous work! I am always on the edge of my seat to view your updates.

 

[SMP Designs]

I was courious what colors of cordura are you using? Navy? Royal? Wine? Red? And how are you doing the white, is it 1000d? I haven't found white in the 500d.
Also fabulous work! I am always on the edge of my seat to view your updates.

The blue is navy 500d from Rockywoods. I also have 1000d for the white and red but am considering a couple of other fabric options. I have a white with a small hex pattern on it that I'm considering and some ponte de roma in both red and white that are also options. The reds in both cases need color correction to match the rest of the suit. I'll be deciding all of that this week and getting started on the sleeves and mid-section early next. I'll post more on those once I get through that process.

Thanks!

 

[kuvonn]

Hey! There's a new TV spot out, and in it we've got a glimpse of magnetic gauntlets for Cap to hold the shield with. Thought you might wanna see!



I'm guessing that for a costume, enough neodymium magnets might be strong enough to hold up a 9lb aluminum shield. You should give it a shot! Happy building!

 

[dog of ulthar]

DUDE, watching this take shape is magical. I really appreciate your dedication to methodical progress pics.

 

[SMP Designs]

Hey! There's a new TV spot out, and in it we've got a glimpse of magnetic gauntlets for Cap to hold the shield with. Thought you might wanna see!

View attachment 453289

I'm guessing that for a costume, enough neodymium magnets might be strong enough to hold up a 9lb aluminum shield. You should give it a shot! Happy building!

Thanks man! Someone else mentioned this to me yesterday and I hadn't had a chance to find the reference, thanks for the post.

DUDE, watching this take shape is magical. I really appreciate your dedication to methodical progress pics.

Thanks! There will be more soon...

 

[GRINCH]

How "breathable" is the material you are using SMP?

 

[SMP Designs]

How "breathable" is the material you are using SMP?

Not terribly, unfortunately.

The cordura is not overly breathable and with some sections backed with foam, it's pretty hot. However, the undershirt is made of jumbo spandex which, while not light per se, it is somewhat breathable. I do try to strategically cut in the more breathable fabrics and use cotton to line pieces when possible to help with keeping it cool (ish).

 

[pwhitrow]

hoping to dive in and do my first home made cos as Cap Winter Soldier version, so getting some good ideas from this thread... thanks bud.

 

[SMP Designs]

Short update, but there's movement on the project...

Progress was slowed a little due to a fabric upset. On top of an order for several projects that disappeared and had to be replaced, I've also chosen to change up the fabrics for the lower torso. Instead of using Cordura for the red and white sections, I'm now using a ponte de roma. I went this route for two reasons:

1. Cordura is almost impossible to color correct and finding an exact match to the other red would take wading through a thousand swatches. No time luxury for that.
2. Using the ponte will allow both added flexibility (keeping in mind that there are small foam sections sewn into the torso) and breathability.

So, I got the ponte (as well as the other fabrics) in and began the tedious tedious tedious task of matching it. First, let me just say that red, in general the color red, is problematic. I think there's just something inherent in the cosmic structure of the color red that makes it difficult. I'm going at the dye process for the fabric very conservatively - doing the piece in a not-too-concentrated bath with black dye and then washing and drying it to see how close it is. Then, repeat until it's right. The point here is, I can always make it darker - but if I get it too dark, there's no way to make it lighter and I'd have to start over.

Here's where I am so far. The far left is the red that's on the chest and shoulders, the middle is the ponte at this point and the far right is the ponte as it came off the bolt.

It's just a whisper away from being there. One more quick knock down and it'll be right. Then I can begin constructing the final sleeves, torso and pants.

I'm also working on a set of accessories for this costume, so I'm going to combine that into this thread. Since my molding and casting skills are not up to standard yet, I'm supporting my community and sourcing many of the components for the costume.

The star is from Cosplaysky and is a very nice piece. I use this one for all of my Cap projects. The other pieces pictured here are from The Bronze Armory. Allan is great over there and they get their product out very quickly and it's very well done.

The only thing that might need to happen is a little repaint on the Bronze Armory pieces. They have a more aged, distressed finish and the star is very clean and bright.

I also need to give a shout out to cdkealey for posting an awesome breakout and templates for AoU gauntlets. I'll definitely be using some of this insight in these pieces for my own project.

More to come once the red fabric is finalized and construction commences on the rest of the suit. Cheers!

 

[SMP Designs]

hoping to dive in and do my first home made cos as Cap Winter Soldier version, so getting some good ideas from this thread... thanks bud.

Thanks! Glad to hear it's helpful. If you start a build thread of your own, post a link here so we can follow it. Cheers!

 

[SMP Designs]

Update time! It doesn't look like too much, but this is probably the most time-consuming part of this project. Sorry, I didn't get more pictures of the process, but I was kind of in a zone and just trying to crank through it.

With the red fabric finally the color I wanted it to be, it was time to start cutting and assembling the lower part of the 'vest'. The stripes are both made with ponte de roma and the blue is matching Cordura. I then cut all of the small 'padding' pieces from 2mm craft foam. These were tacked in place with Super 77, the lining laid across the back of the piece and a zipper foot used to stitch around the edges of each piece.

With the stripes complete, the next thing to finish was the chest lining. The lining is cut from Cordura everywhere except the front, which is a navy blue cotton. The lining had to be made in two separate pieces so that the armholes could be stitched first and the lining turned to the inside.

With the lining turned inside and the top stitching complete, the center front seam could be stitched closed. Then, the loose areas of the lining are basted down to hold them in place while the rest of the pieces are added. At this point, the stretch side insert is added to the chest, then the striped piece and, lastly, the lower center back piece.

In the second picture, you can see the open 'keyhole' in the back. I covered this briefly earlier on, but the way this will work is, the upper part will overlap and close with industrial velcro and the lower part will have a separating invisible zipper.

Next up - the collar goes on, the sleeves begin construction and then on to the pants. Stay tuned...

 

[bondoking]

great update!

 

[Chris Fields]

looking good!