Edit: It took a nights sleep but how about a hockey helmet with an oakley visor? .
The main issue will be that neck guard on the costume. It is higher in the back than the front, though the hockey design does seem to have the back part a little higher than other helmet models.
At 5'3, a lot of helmets would also make me look even shorter in photos, due to the bobble-head effect. I may just have to custom build it and forego the functionality.
I am a bit surprised to see a picture showing that much of your studio without your cat popping up somewhere.
I just had the shop vac running, so, she immediately lost interest in that part of the house.
The ab armor should be pretty much goof-proof by now. This strip was (not delicately) sewn and glued to the top, to keep those side scales from overlapping the rim of the chest armor.
This is one of the parts on my costume where I felt industrial velcro was simplest and adequate, while unlikely to cause issues.
I'm going to try the FB page thing. I anticipate that my new job will keep me extremely busy all year, but ESPECIALLY in the next 2 months. And being able to post random mini-progress as I go will hopefully help keep my hobby alive in the midst of chaos.
I will still post updates here, and stream photos to my flickr, but as you may have noticed it's taking me a while to update.
I *just* made this on Saturday, so nothing fascinating to check out yet, but here it is for future reference. I'm not really a FB spammer to begin with.
https://www.facebook.com/Freyawillia