Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch -- FINISHED

[AsgardBarbie]

Ok, caveat is that this will be slow to update. I'm building it simultaneously with another project, and they're both doozies. And before I begin, I need to say a HUGE thank you to user Fly4v for answering all the questions Google Images failed me on.

This is the render I came up with:


I'm making it for my partner, so I happened to have a pattern block already made for him. From there, I got the pants pattern. (I'll tackle the shirt when I'm done with the pants.) After scrutinising seamlines, there are nearly 50 pieces.



This is the part where I SHOULD have stopped, had a vodka tonic, and called it a day. Instead, I soldiered on (ahaha, soldiered,) and after days of tracing and top stitching, found myself with a leg.



Upon realising my partner does indeed have TWO legs, I may have baked a few dozen cupcakes simply because it wasn't sewing. I've also got a bit of the busy work out of the way, figuring out the dye formula I'm going to use and working through the closure methods for the top. We ordered a shield (aluminium, I'll be painting it myself, so that'll be fun...) I also made pouches, because there will be a belt eventually.



Like I said, SUPER slow build, I'm aiming to have this finished by April 2015 -- but I can only handle so much topstitching in a day, y'all. Updates as I have them. =)

x, Barbie

 

[mvanwalks421]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

I haven't seen many people build their own pouches; can't wait to see the rest of the build.

 

[fun4spidey]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

Looks great

 

[AsgardBarbie]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

I got caught up in my competition piece, so this ended up getting bumped to the back of the line. No worries -- with three days to con, it's crunch time now. =)

I finally got the dye bath right. Since my material was blended, I used RIT's in Evening Blue and Jacquard's iDye Poly in turquoise. I don't have pics of the suit yet, but the shoulder piece is covered in the same fabric. The edging is Kona cotton in Lake overdyed in the RIT Evening blue, and the strapping is 1.5" seatbelt strap:


I sculpted the belt buckle from clay - not 100% happy with it, I thought I could get a cleaner result, I'll probably upgrade it to a 3D printed piece in the future, but it'll have to do for con. The back star buckle is the same, though I inlaid that with coat hanger. Finishing that tonight so pics soon.

The bottom hinge is Instamorph. Mould made from hot glue and cereal box cardboard, ha:


I've got to grommet the belt, finish fasteners on the suit, and attach the star -- but we're approaching a wearable product, yay! I'll definitely post con day pics.

 

[AsgardBarbie]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch



The final product! ... For now. =) The only thing that needed repairs all day was the shield -- JB Weld has failed me, womp womp. If by chance anyone sees this who has a better epoxy idea, please message me!

 

[Fly4v]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

Great looking suit!

What was the JB weld holding the handles or the star? For a good metal to metal bond the metal needs to be roughed up... or you can give 3M auto body tape a try.
Used it for the brackets on a steel shield.

 

[BananaBlitz]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

This is awesome! Well done on it, have any more progress pictures? What did you paint the shield with?

As far as attaching the star, I would use aluminum rivets of the right size. How thick is the shield?

 

[IronJoe]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

So impressive, well done!! I always like seeing something done from scratch!



Also thanks for posting the info about the dyes... I will be on the lookout for the Jacquard's stuff for my next build.

 

[AsgardBarbie]

Re: Captain America: The First Avenger -- from scratch

The star on the shield is great, since it doesn't have to carry weight. that's JB Weld-ed, and it's just fine. But yeahhhh -- the brackets. I've got a WIP pic somewhere, let me look...

View attachment DSC00291.JPG

The actual handles are attached to the 1.5 rings you see on the inside of the more complete bracket, but the curve of the shield acts as enough of a spring to make it crazy problematic. It's 1/8" spun aluminum, and I don't want to rivet because you'd see it from the outside. I definitely roughed it up before it was glued, but the problem with the pieces the closest to the center is that I couldn't find a clamp deep enough to catch them. So what I ended up doing was carving foam to sit the shield on and then weighting the brackets with two 20-lb dumbbells. I'll definitely look for the auto body tape -- this shield has been a headache from start to finish. (But it DID hold up long enough for Ms. Atwell to hold it for our picture!)

The Jacquard dyes are only gonna help you if your material is polyester/the like. I've got degrees in costuming and textile science, THAT part I know a tonne about. =) If it's cotton/viscose/bamboo/other organics, you'll just need the RIT.

I was so busy with my competition piece that I sort of neglected this build portfolio, but I know there are more WIP shots I need to pull off my camera. He wants to wear it again for the Ultron premiere (I've tried to get this man into costume for YEARS, and now I've finally succeeded, I think I've created a monster...) so I'll grab some detail pics then.

Again, a HUGE thanks to fly4av, who sent me the auction catalogue that gave me all the build info I was missing. I wasn't going to pattern this one out if I couldn't do it right, and it was totally worth the work.