Eomer from LOTR build - WIP

[Grey Pilgrim]

--- EDIT 8-22-2014 ---
Since last year I've been wanting to complete this armor with a few of the pieces I didn't get to finish for DragonCon 2013. Build write-up coming soon, but for now here's the completed helmet!



---EDIT--
See "finished" pic, page 3.
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This is the earliest I've started working on one of my costumes for Dragon*Con, and I have a feeling I'm going to need all the time I can get. I'm building Eomer from The Two Towers from scratch, starting with the "harness", or torso armor.
I'm using craft foam which I ironed, then painted with acrylic paint, and finished with an acrylic satin varnish. This is adhered to aluminum flashing from the hardware store.
There seems to be a lot of great reference material available, especially from Jedi elf queen and alley cat scratch, but I'm having trouble figuring out what his tunic (?) looks like. If anyone has good reference or pattern suggestions for that part I'd be grateful. Otherwise I'll probably end up basing it on what we see Theoden wearing in his gearing-up scene.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.
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[bleahhh]

looking good~
Always loved the Wild-ish Rohirrim~
would like to see the end product.

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Today's progress - paint on lower torso, more straps, added weathering to the swirl cut-outs. Next step: drawing templates for the back.

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[SampleName]

Cool! I love seeing LOTR builds.

 

[azheat]

Pretty cool, looking forward to seeing the finished project!

 

[Jathoris]

Ooh very nice! I love the rich color you've managed to achieve with the craft foam. Well done with the paint. Can't wait to see your progress.

 

[sq10e]

I remember this suit as one of those in the trilogy that was among the most striking and stood out. Me like

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

It's certainly been a while - I almost forgot I had a thread for this. Less than a month until Dragon Con now, so finally making some progress. Hoping to have the full "armor" set complete by this weekend so I can move on to soft parts. The helmet has been put on hold.

 

[andveryginger]

This looks really awesome! Hope I get a chance to see it in person at the con! =)

 

[tauriice]

Amazing how you got that foam to look so much like leather, great technique. Hope to see the whole costume soon, really nice work so far.

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

I spent a lot of time towards a dead end today, but I think I figured out how to solve it. The pauldron pattern I found online wasn't looking right to me, so I drafted my own through trial and error. My plan was to cut 2 pieces of aluminum and bond them together to form the curved shape, but either my experience, tools, materials, or all three worked against me, and the seam just looks too sloppy. My new plan is to construct the shape with foam, and then skin it with aluminum.

 

[CelticRuins]

This is gorgeous! Can't wait to see it complete!

 

[Freya Willia]

Really nice technique you have here. It looks pretty durable.

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Yes! It's pretty solid, but I'm most nervous about it getting poked and denting the flimsy aluminum. I've dropped some in-progress stuff and it's survived, so regular bumping should be fine, and all the straps are held with real rivets, so those should hold up as well.
Last night I finished the main structure of the pauldrons, and they look better than I had any right to expect. I wanted to get the "leather" decorations on them last night as well, but I literally fell asleep at the workbench. I KNOW people in this forum can relate to that.

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Double post

 

[Freya Willia]

Wow! Those did come out well!

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Only had a couple minutes to work tonight, but was able to get the details onto one of the pauldrons.

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Pauldrons nearly complete. Still need to add trim and then weather the shield things. Lobster tail arm guards should be done by tomorrow.

 

[drknotter]

This is beautiful! Can't wait to see it put together!

 

[Grey Pilgrim]

Thanks, me neither!
Got trim onto both pauldrons, and all six upper-arm plates completed. One set is completely assembled. Could have had both done, but it was too late to be hammering rivets in the garage. Cannot wait to actually be able to wear these.