HeyLetsRock
Active Member
NOTE: As of 11/11/13 this build is inactive and will likely be shelved until June/July 2014 when I will possibly pick back up on it for Halloween 2014. The most likely scenario is that I will never complete the build, but will finish the helmet out and sit it, my badge, buckle and mine on a shelf in my office. I would say the build was in the $800+ range when I stopped. It was just getting too expensive and I lost interest in the project. I am currently the in the process of sorting about about $200 in unused returns to various chain stores. Thanks to everyone that was supportive and who was interested in this build. It was fun for a while, but I just lost interest in the end result of having the costume and it was getting more expensive than fun. 
Hi guys,
This is my first costume build ever. I am going for a somewhat budget friendly build (I'm probably at $350 - $375 USD right now much of which is not going to be pictured yet as it is customization supplies, if I can keep it in the $500 - $600 range it would be great) wanted to post a completely pre-modified pic of my "base" gear to the uniform to get opinions on everything before really starting on the customization. You know, while every thing still has tags on it and I can return it. LOL If you guys have suggestions on something that would work better that is simple to purchase let me know and if you have suggestions or tips for the things I have planned for these items please share! Thanks!
My workroom isn't cleaned out enough for me to set up the tripod and DSLR camera on timer, so I apologize for my phone blocking part of the jacket. Sheesh, I just noticed I hung my mirror with the warped part on top across my forehead. I'm not putting all that on on again, but I promise I'm not from Remulak. :lol
Here we go:
1. Jacket - I got this faux leather jacket at Wal-Mart this week, brand is George, it doesn't have any perforated faux leather, but it has the look of the female jacket (the tab collar WITHOUT the tab and button like Dredd's). I am 5'9" and it actually fits GREAT in the shoulders, and the sleeves are plenty long. This is amazing for clothing from Wal-Mart as most of their things are too short for me and small in the shoulders. Of all things, it's a little tight in the forearms, which is really odd, never had that happen, I have pretty puny forearms. LOL If you have a solution for that that does not involve seam destruction to sew, let me know.
I was also thinking of cutting out holes under the arms and replacing with mesh so I don't melt in this thing, but again, not really wanting to deconstruct much since it's faux leather and lined. I don't want to mess it up getting it back together.
2. Elbow pads and knee pads - I got these at a thrift store plus a skateboard style helmet (more on the skateboard helmet later). They are World Industries brand, and I have already seam ripped the branding from them. I am decently pleased with the elbow pads and will do some kind of foam on top of them for the movie look and paint them.
I did find some faux perforated leather (it was actually by the car headliner material at Hancock Fabric) to maybe make those "flaps" that you see on the built in looking pads on the jacket and pants in the movie.
I feel the knee pads are a little big, but since I'm tall I plan on doing the male/Dredd style pad to them vs. the Anderson look with the 3 larger sections. They still look a bit tall/big though, I would like more space between the pad and boot, but I have to save $ in some places. What do you guys think?
3. Belt - Nothing fancy here, just a black leather Wrangler brand belt from Wal-Mart. It is the kind that has the snap so you can remove the buckle and replace with another. (It also came with a free keychain. Wooooooo! haha) I got one size larger than I absolutely needed as I knew I would be adding a lot of holsters to it and didn't want to run out of room.
4. Pants - I found these at Target in the womens (juniors sepcifically) section, Mossimo is the brand.They are mostly stretchy fabric like exercise/yoga pants are made out of and then the front is a very thin stretchy faux leather. The leather kind of tapers as it goes down the leg, they are pretty neat to find ready made. If they had the faux leather on the back as well they would be really great. I'm not really wanting to modify these as they are stretchy material and I don't think they would go back together too well after I took them apart to add more faux leather (and I can't find any that is stretchy). I think I will sacrifice authenticity for comfort and ease on the pants.
5. Boots - Ok, these are a little over-the-top compared to the movie boot, but come on, you just feel like 30% more awesome when you put on a pair of motocross boots! These are Mens O'Neal Element motocross boots (if any ladies out there wear a US size 9.5 or 10, these are mens US size 8 and fit pretty well). I found them on Craigslist and just got them today, they are like new, worn twice, good find I think. I believe they are taller and have more buckles than the movie boot, but have a very similar vibe. They do have a waterproof gusset at the top instead of being flat, which isn't ideal, but it's not too bad.
The suede leather calf protector will have to be painted black. They say O'Neal at least 3 times on each boot in a rubbery non-detachable material, so I will have to find a solution for covering those. Instead of making an armor piece separate that is raised then attaching to cover the front of the boot, I was thinking about painting the silver armor piece directly on the plastic front panel of the boot (and the front part of the buckles that cover that piece so it blends). I think it would allow me to take them on and off much more easily and could look pretty similar to the movie version.
Ok, so what do you guys think of this for a base? I've already learned a ton from this forum, there is some amazing talent on this board - I would greatly
Hi guys,
This is my first costume build ever. I am going for a somewhat budget friendly build (I'm probably at $350 - $375 USD right now much of which is not going to be pictured yet as it is customization supplies, if I can keep it in the $500 - $600 range it would be great) wanted to post a completely pre-modified pic of my "base" gear to the uniform to get opinions on everything before really starting on the customization. You know, while every thing still has tags on it and I can return it. LOL If you guys have suggestions on something that would work better that is simple to purchase let me know and if you have suggestions or tips for the things I have planned for these items please share! Thanks!
My workroom isn't cleaned out enough for me to set up the tripod and DSLR camera on timer, so I apologize for my phone blocking part of the jacket. Sheesh, I just noticed I hung my mirror with the warped part on top across my forehead. I'm not putting all that on on again, but I promise I'm not from Remulak. :lol
Here we go:
1. Jacket - I got this faux leather jacket at Wal-Mart this week, brand is George, it doesn't have any perforated faux leather, but it has the look of the female jacket (the tab collar WITHOUT the tab and button like Dredd's). I am 5'9" and it actually fits GREAT in the shoulders, and the sleeves are plenty long. This is amazing for clothing from Wal-Mart as most of their things are too short for me and small in the shoulders. Of all things, it's a little tight in the forearms, which is really odd, never had that happen, I have pretty puny forearms. LOL If you have a solution for that that does not involve seam destruction to sew, let me know.
I was also thinking of cutting out holes under the arms and replacing with mesh so I don't melt in this thing, but again, not really wanting to deconstruct much since it's faux leather and lined. I don't want to mess it up getting it back together.
2. Elbow pads and knee pads - I got these at a thrift store plus a skateboard style helmet (more on the skateboard helmet later). They are World Industries brand, and I have already seam ripped the branding from them. I am decently pleased with the elbow pads and will do some kind of foam on top of them for the movie look and paint them.
I did find some faux perforated leather (it was actually by the car headliner material at Hancock Fabric) to maybe make those "flaps" that you see on the built in looking pads on the jacket and pants in the movie.
I feel the knee pads are a little big, but since I'm tall I plan on doing the male/Dredd style pad to them vs. the Anderson look with the 3 larger sections. They still look a bit tall/big though, I would like more space between the pad and boot, but I have to save $ in some places. What do you guys think?
3. Belt - Nothing fancy here, just a black leather Wrangler brand belt from Wal-Mart. It is the kind that has the snap so you can remove the buckle and replace with another. (It also came with a free keychain. Wooooooo! haha) I got one size larger than I absolutely needed as I knew I would be adding a lot of holsters to it and didn't want to run out of room.
4. Pants - I found these at Target in the womens (juniors sepcifically) section, Mossimo is the brand.They are mostly stretchy fabric like exercise/yoga pants are made out of and then the front is a very thin stretchy faux leather. The leather kind of tapers as it goes down the leg, they are pretty neat to find ready made. If they had the faux leather on the back as well they would be really great. I'm not really wanting to modify these as they are stretchy material and I don't think they would go back together too well after I took them apart to add more faux leather (and I can't find any that is stretchy). I think I will sacrifice authenticity for comfort and ease on the pants.
5. Boots - Ok, these are a little over-the-top compared to the movie boot, but come on, you just feel like 30% more awesome when you put on a pair of motocross boots! These are Mens O'Neal Element motocross boots (if any ladies out there wear a US size 9.5 or 10, these are mens US size 8 and fit pretty well). I found them on Craigslist and just got them today, they are like new, worn twice, good find I think. I believe they are taller and have more buckles than the movie boot, but have a very similar vibe. They do have a waterproof gusset at the top instead of being flat, which isn't ideal, but it's not too bad.
The suede leather calf protector will have to be painted black. They say O'Neal at least 3 times on each boot in a rubbery non-detachable material, so I will have to find a solution for covering those. Instead of making an armor piece separate that is raised then attaching to cover the front of the boot, I was thinking about painting the silver armor piece directly on the plastic front panel of the boot (and the front part of the buckles that cover that piece so it blends). I think it would allow me to take them on and off much more easily and could look pretty similar to the movie version.
Ok, so what do you guys think of this for a base? I've already learned a ton from this forum, there is some amazing talent on this board - I would greatly
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