Colonial Marine Raider

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A build that has been 30 years in the making...

A costume that I had always wanted was a Colonial Marine. In January of this year, I finally acquired a kit from Chef.

Here are the armour parts laid out:

I wanted my armour to be different from the normal green. I settled on a grey and black based urban camo design, to go with my black multicam uniform.

The ab pad plates and kidney plate were the first to be done.

Next up was the back plate, complete with back brackets (note: I am not a fan of the shoulder lamp, so I have no plans on adding one).

I also altered the left bridge plate, so that I could detach the chest plate more easily. A male Fastex clip was installed underneath the plate, with the female being strapped onto the chest.

Next up were the pauldrons, shoulder bells and shoulder tabs.
Here is a shot of the complete left shoulder parts, minus graffiti (I forgot to get a pic of the right).

I had always wanted to honour my military background, so I decided to add a Red Diamond to the left shoulder tab (here in New Zealand, a Red Diamond is awarded to those who graduate from Combat (infantry) training. You are then allowed to wear the Diamond on your dress uniform).
My right shoulder tab I decided to do as a kind of nod to Quintaro on the old Aliens: Colonial Marine game. A Southern Cross, as on the New Zealand flag.

I then moved on to the chest.
I wanted to do my name in white, so that it would stand out.

 

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I couldn’t resist putting the chest and back plates on to see how it looked.

Next, after assembling both shoulders, I put them onto the main body as a mock up.
I absolutely love it.

I now have to redo a couple of rivets, as I cut the rear straps a little too short, and I also forgot to put multiple straps on certain rivets.

Stay tuned...

 

[joberg]

Good job painting that armor/costume...only critique: the red stars. They're not as crisp as your name. I'm sure your costume will benefit for re-doing them as sharp as possible

 

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Good job painting that armor/costume...only critique: the red stars. They're not as crisp as your name. I'm sure your costume will benefit for re-doing them as sharp as possible

I know, I know. But, I actually don't mind the roughness of them, and I don't think anyone will be looking THAT close to critique (I hope).
They were actually done as a quick paper cut out, and the red stars were freehanded in.
Maybe I'll repaint them one day, and get a proper stencil made. I dunno.

 

[George]

Happy for you to see your dream come true; especially after waiting and preparing for so long.
And thank you for your service.

 

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Done a bit of wear on the name and graffiti today...

 

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Happy for you to see your dream come true; especially after waiting and preparing for so long.
And thank you for your service.

My apologies dude, I didn’t see your post.
Yes, it really is a dream come true, the ultimate being to own a set of armour from Terry English himself.
I’m still a wee way away from the finish line yet, still have to weather the torso armour, build/ paint the greaves, and build/ paint the helmet.
I’m taking my time, mainly because I want to do it right, but also because I’m juggling my kids and life in general as well.

Stay tuned!!!!!

 

[George]

You'll be fine handling all of these categories.
And perhaps your kids will be future mini-Marines once they get a taste of your hobby
Quality father-child time crafting ?

 

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You'll be fine handling all of these categories.
And perhaps your kids will be future mini-Marines once they get a taste of your hobby
Quality father-child time crafting ?

Maybe, when they are older.
My 12 year old son shows a bit of interest, he’s keen on building something of his own. 14 year old, not really, same with my 7 year old (both boys).
The girls (3 and 2) are girls lol.

Time will tell.

 

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Hit some parts with a silver sharpie, to simulate wear. It’s possibly too much... I like it.

I’m not too sure on how to tackle the shoulders for wear.
Any points/ tips please?

 

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Still working on this. Had a bit of a break from this, plus the last school holidays have just finished (kids back to school = empty house).

Still ticking away, taking my time with it.
May I humbly present the right leg pieces (awaiting assembly and weathering):

And both knees:

Not really much to report at this stage, but at least it’s something...

 

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What I’ve been working on for the left greave. I have got the main design down, just need to make the lines thicker now.

The idea was that this grunt had a bit of downtime, so decided to scratch something into his armour.

(apologies for the cinematography)

 

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I ended up making the lines on the shin carving a little bit thicker, to make them stand out a bit more.

(another riveting video...)

Here’s the left leg parts as they currently stand (note: left calf plate is just recently finished, hence why it’s a lot newer looking):

A straight on shot of the greave plate - depending on how it looks after I put the stove polish on, I might go over the design in gold.

My Chicago screws also turned up, so I could put the torso armour on for the first time.

To be honest, I probably should have used Chicago screws on the whole thing, it certainly would have made things a lot easier to alter if anything happens in the future...
Maybe for my next set (I know, I haven’t even finished this set, and I’m already thinking about the next one. ).

Still moving forward!!!!!

 

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Decided to have a semi suit up with what I had done so far.
(I am aware that a Retro Lancer isn’t standard Marine issue, but it was the only weapon to hand, and both of my Pulse Rifles are in pieces...)

 

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Finally finished assembling the greaves. I tried them on for the first time with my black multicam pants.
(probably should have worn my boots too - next time)

What’s left? Painting ALL of the rivets, and silver sharpie weathering.

Thought I’d throw in a pic of all my armour, as it currently stands:

 

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Well, all of my Chef armour kit has now been assembled. I couldn’t resist doing a full suit up with my uniform, to see how it looked.

May I humbly present Staff Sergeant CJ Fanselow.

I still have a bit left to do on the armour, but for now it’s wearable.

I absolutely love it.

 

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A pic from a recent drop (03-04 Dec):