PunisherNC
Sr Member
Rocking this, bud!!!
Captain America (Here we go again!) - Age of Ultron WIP (Pic Heavy)
- Thread starter SMP Designs
- Start date
polarbear51
New Member
Definitely the best, most professional-looking workup I've seen. Thanks for the awesomely detailed progress posts; I've never attempted anything like this but this thread is so full of great ideas it's hard not to get revved up to try. Waiting eagerly for more updates!
Thanks guys! I started casting the 'A's for the shoulders today and drafting the pants patterns. I'll be adding those as the next update - probably tomorrow.
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bondoking
Sr Member
Can't wait!
New update! The shoulder pieces and the pants...
In preparation for building the sleeves, the "A" insignia had to be created for the shoulders. I decided to cast these pieces in resin and paint them. The first thing I did was find a clean b/w PNG of the symbol.
Next I put it into Photoshop and created a printable graphic. I created it in three different size because, even though I measured out the size I wanted it to be, I wanted some variety to decide which one actually looked best once they were printed.
After selecting the size I wanted, I cut out and traced the entire shape onto 2mm craft foam. I then used Super 77 to tack the paper to another piece of 2mm foam and used and X-acto knife to cut out the design (the black areas). I then glued the design to the flat base to create the logo.
I cut out the entire piece and glued it back to the foam and cut a third level that will serve as the lip that will hold the piece into the shoulder. With the piece finished, I prepped what would serve as the bottom of the mold box and glued the piece down to it.
At this point, the foam piece was sealed with several coats of Modge Podge and the rest of the mold box was built around it. The entire inside of the box was sprayed with gloss paint and the rubber was poured. For this mold, I used Smooth On OOMOO.
Here's the cured mold after the box was taken apart.
For the resin casts, I used Amazing Casting Resin. This is a very easy to use and very fast curing resin and is also readily available at most craft stores and on Amazon. Also, the finished pieces are extremely lightweight compared to some other resins.
Here's one of the cast pieces right out of the mold.
Some sanding and masking of the lower lip (I don't want any paint or finishing on this part that will interfere with the piece adhering to the shoulder fabric) and it's time to paint! I primed the pieces with clear plastic primer and sprayed the red on with Duplicolor Toreador Red.
I then used Testors metallic silver enamel to paint the silver 'A' and circle.
They still need a clear coat on top to protect them from scratching and then the masking can come off so that they can be glued into the shoulder pieces.
While those were working, I also got the pants underway. I created a basic pants sloper in muslin and traced on the seam lines for all the details. The dotted lines show the placement of the detail padding on the sides of the legs.
The sloper was then cut apart and transferred to a paper pattern and the construction began.
The small detail pads were constructed by cutting the pads from 2mm craft foam and sandwiching it between the face piece and another piece of Cordura on the back and then stitching around with a zipper foot and trimming the backing fabric away. Here's one of the sides with all the pads, the metallic blue lightning-bolt-thing (that matches the blue on the sides of the chest star) and the red stripe sewn to the front.
Here are the pants so far basted together to see how they will eventually fit together with the top.
Still do do before the zipper goes in and the tow sides of the pants are attached permanently are: the small pads that go over the knee, the kneecaps and the backs of the shins.
Stay tuned!
In preparation for building the sleeves, the "A" insignia had to be created for the shoulders. I decided to cast these pieces in resin and paint them. The first thing I did was find a clean b/w PNG of the symbol.
Next I put it into Photoshop and created a printable graphic. I created it in three different size because, even though I measured out the size I wanted it to be, I wanted some variety to decide which one actually looked best once they were printed.
After selecting the size I wanted, I cut out and traced the entire shape onto 2mm craft foam. I then used Super 77 to tack the paper to another piece of 2mm foam and used and X-acto knife to cut out the design (the black areas). I then glued the design to the flat base to create the logo.
I cut out the entire piece and glued it back to the foam and cut a third level that will serve as the lip that will hold the piece into the shoulder. With the piece finished, I prepped what would serve as the bottom of the mold box and glued the piece down to it.
At this point, the foam piece was sealed with several coats of Modge Podge and the rest of the mold box was built around it. The entire inside of the box was sprayed with gloss paint and the rubber was poured. For this mold, I used Smooth On OOMOO.
Here's the cured mold after the box was taken apart.
For the resin casts, I used Amazing Casting Resin. This is a very easy to use and very fast curing resin and is also readily available at most craft stores and on Amazon. Also, the finished pieces are extremely lightweight compared to some other resins.
Here's one of the cast pieces right out of the mold.
Some sanding and masking of the lower lip (I don't want any paint or finishing on this part that will interfere with the piece adhering to the shoulder fabric) and it's time to paint! I primed the pieces with clear plastic primer and sprayed the red on with Duplicolor Toreador Red.
I then used Testors metallic silver enamel to paint the silver 'A' and circle.
They still need a clear coat on top to protect them from scratching and then the masking can come off so that they can be glued into the shoulder pieces.
While those were working, I also got the pants underway. I created a basic pants sloper in muslin and traced on the seam lines for all the details. The dotted lines show the placement of the detail padding on the sides of the legs.
The sloper was then cut apart and transferred to a paper pattern and the construction began.
The small detail pads were constructed by cutting the pads from 2mm craft foam and sandwiching it between the face piece and another piece of Cordura on the back and then stitching around with a zipper foot and trimming the backing fabric away. Here's one of the sides with all the pads, the metallic blue lightning-bolt-thing (that matches the blue on the sides of the chest star) and the red stripe sewn to the front.
Here are the pants so far basted together to see how they will eventually fit together with the top.
Still do do before the zipper goes in and the tow sides of the pants are attached permanently are: the small pads that go over the knee, the kneecaps and the backs of the shins.
Stay tuned!
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MEOWorksCreative
Active Member
Wow this is looking fantastic. I'm a huge fan of this new suit, can't wait to see more.
Thanks guys! I'm really happy with the results so far - more to come!
Looks Fantastic 
love your work on this.
Im subscribing to follow this one
love your work on this.Im subscribing to follow this one
Pants are done! Here are some pics of the last of the details. The side pockets close with magnetic snaps (like the ones used on pocketbooks) and have details using the red fabric and the metallic blue.
The 'knee caps' were cut using the inset pattern and the detail seam includes some shaping to give the section a little dimension rather than just being a flat piece sewn down to the front. It also is lined with the same headliner foam as the chest/back and shoulders to give it more body and definition.
With those details completed, the zipper was installed, the waistband added and the rest of the seams completed.
Next up: the sleeves - stay tuned!
The 'knee caps' were cut using the inset pattern and the detail seam includes some shaping to give the section a little dimension rather than just being a flat piece sewn down to the front. It also is lined with the same headliner foam as the chest/back and shoulders to give it more body and definition.
With those details completed, the zipper was installed, the waistband added and the rest of the seams completed.
Next up: the sleeves - stay tuned!
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OK, update time. reaching a milestone - the suit is nearly done!!!
With the pants finished, the last major components to tackle were the sleeves. Using the mock up and the paper patterns that came from them, the sleeves were created by assembling the major areas and then connecting them all together. I began with the shoulders.
The shoulders consist of the main shaped pieces with the metallic trim and the upper bicep pieces that form the underarm part of the sleeve cap. The blue 'v' shapes under the main bells were made of jumbo spandex and the upper side sections out of Cordura. The red bands were made of the same red ponte as the torso, but these pieces were fused to jumbo spandex using Super 77 to give them more body and weight to hold up to the rest of the very intricate sleeves.At this point, you might be wondering where the 'A' logos are. After working on the logos that were intended to be inset into the shoulders, I decided to go a different route. Even though the movie logos are inset into the fabric of the shoulder, I decided to apply them to the outside for two main reasons:
So, I recast the pieces and only poured enough resin to make the logo and not the outer layer. Then, once the resin was about 85% cured, I carefully pulled it from the mold and shaped it around the lower curve of a wine glass (yes, really) and let it finish curing.
Here are the two pieces after curing. They just need some sanding and paint and then they can be epoxied to the finished sleeves.
Back to the sleeves. The next pieces I assembled were the forearms. These pieces were backed with foam and had an inset of the metallic blue.The 'magnet' pieces were made by cutting a small piece of metallic grey vinyl, edging it with Cordura and stitching it onto the piece.
Once the main forearm pieces were finished, I added the strap and the jumbo spandex piece that fills in and connects all of the sleeve areas. The elbow 'pads' are simply a piece of Cordura backed with foam and some detail stitching added. The one in this pic was basted on as a test and the final pieces were revised slightly for the finished sleeves.
The bicep sections were then completed and attached to the forearms. Once the lower arms were together, the shoulders were added and the sleeves completed.
The sleeves were attached to the undershirt and all the finishing was done on that piece. Here's the costume as it is now. The zipper has been added to the lower back of the vest and the only things still to do to the suit are the collar, the closure at the top of the vest and the paint/attachment of the 'A' logos on the shoulders.
More to come - stay tuned!
With the pants finished, the last major components to tackle were the sleeves. Using the mock up and the paper patterns that came from them, the sleeves were created by assembling the major areas and then connecting them all together. I began with the shoulders.
The shoulders consist of the main shaped pieces with the metallic trim and the upper bicep pieces that form the underarm part of the sleeve cap. The blue 'v' shapes under the main bells were made of jumbo spandex and the upper side sections out of Cordura. The red bands were made of the same red ponte as the torso, but these pieces were fused to jumbo spandex using Super 77 to give them more body and weight to hold up to the rest of the very intricate sleeves.At this point, you might be wondering where the 'A' logos are. After working on the logos that were intended to be inset into the shoulders, I decided to go a different route. Even though the movie logos are inset into the fabric of the shoulder, I decided to apply them to the outside for two main reasons:
- Ease of construction - these sleeves go through a lot of abuse just getting put together and being able to apply the logos once they are complete makes getting the entire piece out in prime shape much more likely
- Longevity - the biggest reason for the change. Since this costume is not for me, I wanted to make sure that, if these pieces become damaged or come loose during wear, they can be relatively easily repaired or replaced. By having them on the outside of the shoulder, they are easy to reattach or simply replace if they are damaged. Were they inset into the fabric and under the padding, it would be next to impossible to reasonably repair or replace them and would almost certainly require deconstructing the sleeve.
So, I recast the pieces and only poured enough resin to make the logo and not the outer layer. Then, once the resin was about 85% cured, I carefully pulled it from the mold and shaped it around the lower curve of a wine glass (yes, really) and let it finish curing.
Here are the two pieces after curing. They just need some sanding and paint and then they can be epoxied to the finished sleeves.
Back to the sleeves. The next pieces I assembled were the forearms. These pieces were backed with foam and had an inset of the metallic blue.The 'magnet' pieces were made by cutting a small piece of metallic grey vinyl, edging it with Cordura and stitching it onto the piece.
Once the main forearm pieces were finished, I added the strap and the jumbo spandex piece that fills in and connects all of the sleeve areas. The elbow 'pads' are simply a piece of Cordura backed with foam and some detail stitching added. The one in this pic was basted on as a test and the final pieces were revised slightly for the finished sleeves.
The bicep sections were then completed and attached to the forearms. Once the lower arms were together, the shoulders were added and the sleeves completed.
The sleeves were attached to the undershirt and all the finishing was done on that piece. Here's the costume as it is now. The zipper has been added to the lower back of the vest and the only things still to do to the suit are the collar, the closure at the top of the vest and the paint/attachment of the 'A' logos on the shoulders.
More to come - stay tuned!
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IronManiac
Sr Member
Beautiful work and amazing attention to detail. It's awesome to see your process and watch these suits come to life!
What will you be doing for the helmet?
What will you be doing for the helmet?
Thanks!
I am actually not doing helmets or shields - most of the people I work with already have those coming from other fabricators, so I just do the suits and the accessories when needed. I am doing an accessory set (belt, harness, gauntlets and gaiters) for AoU, so I'll be posting those in here as well.
PunisherNC
Sr Member
Suit me up, coach! I'm ready lol
tylerswim23
Well-Known Member
You're incredible. I want that so bad lol
STLAssassin
Active Member
I have vastly inferior sewing skills but still seriously want to make this. LOL
mvanwalks421
Well-Known Member
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Update time!
The collar has been added, the star attached and all closures are complete on the top of the suit.
The new insigina were then painted. This time, I decided to paint the pieces silver and then use a metallic red for the hand painting. I then glued them to the shoulders with E6000.
I then moved on the the accessory set beginning with the gauntlets. I'm using a template from The Foam Cave. They create templates for building character accessories from EVA foam. The great thing is, these templates are very easy to adapt to other materials as well as being very detailed and easy to use. You can check out their thread about these here and pick up a copy of the template.
I adapted the pattern to use headliner, 2mm craft foam, Cordura and faux leather. I began by creating a base pattern and all the small pieces and building everything up on a headliner foam foundation.
The first parts to do were the red sections. I cut the craft foam 'pads' and Super77'd them down and then covered the whole area with red Cordura and stitched around the 'pads'.
Next came the 'pads' that surround the red and go under the brown faux leather. These areas were done in the same manner as the red.
Next, I created the parts that cover the tops of the hands. I cut the pieces from the faux leather and then used the same metallic vinyl as the forearms to create the 'magnets' on the hands.
With those added, The next steps were to add the craft foam pad behind the 'magnet' and then the headliner foam base under that. All of these layers are tacked together with Super77 to prevent them from shifting during stitching.
The edges were all turned under and finished and I used nickel snaps to close the pieces under the palms. Note that the upper edge of the hand piece needed to be extended so that it can be attached to the main piece (in the pattern, the two pieces are separate).
The main parts of the gauntlets were stitched closed in the back (they are large enough to fit over the hand without having to open and close), the top and bottom edges finished and the hand pieces sewn on. The last step was to attach the dots to the red section. These were cut from the same metallic vinyl and simply glued in place. The client has his own fingerless gloves that will fit under these, so all I needed to create was the gauntlet itself (and that's all that's pictured here).
Next up: the rest of the accessories - belt, harness and gaiters. Stay tuned!
- - - Updated - - -
Well, I can tell you that the best way to improve them is to get out there and start sewing projects. It's a totally practice-based skill.
The collar has been added, the star attached and all closures are complete on the top of the suit.
The new insigina were then painted. This time, I decided to paint the pieces silver and then use a metallic red for the hand painting. I then glued them to the shoulders with E6000.
I then moved on the the accessory set beginning with the gauntlets. I'm using a template from The Foam Cave. They create templates for building character accessories from EVA foam. The great thing is, these templates are very easy to adapt to other materials as well as being very detailed and easy to use. You can check out their thread about these here and pick up a copy of the template.
I adapted the pattern to use headliner, 2mm craft foam, Cordura and faux leather. I began by creating a base pattern and all the small pieces and building everything up on a headliner foam foundation.
The first parts to do were the red sections. I cut the craft foam 'pads' and Super77'd them down and then covered the whole area with red Cordura and stitched around the 'pads'.
Next came the 'pads' that surround the red and go under the brown faux leather. These areas were done in the same manner as the red.
Next, I created the parts that cover the tops of the hands. I cut the pieces from the faux leather and then used the same metallic vinyl as the forearms to create the 'magnets' on the hands.
With those added, The next steps were to add the craft foam pad behind the 'magnet' and then the headliner foam base under that. All of these layers are tacked together with Super77 to prevent them from shifting during stitching.
The edges were all turned under and finished and I used nickel snaps to close the pieces under the palms. Note that the upper edge of the hand piece needed to be extended so that it can be attached to the main piece (in the pattern, the two pieces are separate).
The main parts of the gauntlets were stitched closed in the back (they are large enough to fit over the hand without having to open and close), the top and bottom edges finished and the hand pieces sewn on. The last step was to attach the dots to the red section. These were cut from the same metallic vinyl and simply glued in place. The client has his own fingerless gloves that will fit under these, so all I needed to create was the gauntlet itself (and that's all that's pictured here).
Next up: the rest of the accessories - belt, harness and gaiters. Stay tuned!
- - - Updated - - -
Well, I can tell you that the best way to improve them is to get out there and start sewing projects. It's a totally practice-based skill.
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