FemShep N7 Armor, Valkyrie Rifle, + Omniblade (Mass Effect 3)

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

I was looking into that carbon fiber vinyl for my Blood Dragon helmet build, I was just worried about that much of a curve and how good it forms to it. I look forward to how well it works for you.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

I am seriously jealous of your neck collar, that looks amazing! great work all around though!

Edit: I realize you already have a good portion of the carbon fiber done but, have you looked at all into di-noc carbon fiber decals? Just a thought.
 
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Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

weaselhammer said:
I was looking into that carbon fiber vinyl for my Blood Dragon helmet build, I was just worried about that much of a curve and how good it forms to it. I look forward to how well it works for you.
Click to expand...



Here's a picture of my various attempts. When you apply heat, it is better able to take curves - but then it makes it much, much harder to get rid of air bubbles and wrinkles. So I try to only apply heat at the edges, and push outward with my thumb. I'll try to take a short video the next time I do it. I'm also battling with not distorting the pattern too much, because even if I got it smooth - if the squares are all warped, that looks awful...

The Admiral said:
I am seriously jealous of your neck collar, that looks amazing! great work all around though!

Edit: I realize you already have a good portion of the carbon fiber done but, have you looked at all into di-noc carbon fiber decals? Just a thought.
Click to expand...
This stuff?
Album vehicle « Gallery volvo-s60-r-keyfob « Gallery | Carbon Fiber Film

I wish the vinyl I'm using had that light reflecting finish. It's beautiful. But the strong diagonal in that pattern would be hard to apply to some areas of the costume, mainly the shoulder pieces. I was worried about a "candy cane" effect if you can picture what I mean.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the extreme gloss on the vinyl I chose either, but now that I see how good it looks when applied correctly, I'm okay with it. It might be a nice contrast for the metal parts of my suit.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Well, if its vinyl, and it comes in a roll, can it be vacu-formed over the costume piece? it would be necessary for a solid support underneath, but worth a try.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

clonesix said:
Well, if its vinyl, and it comes in a roll, can it be vacu-formed over the costume piece? it would be necessary for a solid support underneath, but worth a try.
Click to expand...

If cost weren't an issue, it's really tempting, but 1) the sticky bottom part also makes me think it probably isn't good for vac-forming, since it is not my personal machine, and 2) the pattern would be distorted. Even just tugging it lightly with my finger pulls the squares out of an even weave when heat is applied.

Worked on the belt this afternoon, needs some more trimming/sanding on the edges I think:



Carved into the chest piece with a hot tool, gave it a pass with 200 something grit sandpaper and a coat of primer.



It looks awesome with the neck guard, but I'm gonna finish assembling both before I take a picture of them together.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Di-noc is made for cars, all parts, including things like fenders and rear view mirrors, so its made to bend and conform to curves. All you need is a heat gun (i've heard a hair dryer will work) and stuff. It was just an idea, but so far looks like you are doing work with what you are using. Best of luck with those shoulders!
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Wow that carbon fiber looks really good! I've seen some before that looked really fake, with no depth. That type looks great.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

This is looking amazing! Love that carbon fiber film. Going to have to find a project to use that on.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Wow, Halloween turned up great costumes on this board. I've really enjoyed browsing them all.

Working on the neck guard and top half of the armor. Right now I have some styrene/foam prototypes for the back gear - they will probably get vac formed in thicker styrene.


The rejects are pictured here, because they are about to get butchered into the correct scale.

I built some quick shapes to make 3-D templates, and put them through the machine. SOMEHOW when I go from 2-D to 3-D, things end up way too big.

I am basing everything off the center "block" and how it lines up with the neck guard (same width as spine plates). Since my torso is short, the actual back-panel will have to be shorter than Shep's. But because of this, that center block looks wide and chunky now.

View attachment 124932



I love things from this angle so far, it looks a lot like hers.

View attachment 124933



Sadly, the vinyl on my neck guard isn't holding up very well. Thats probably because I've been flexing it so much while I try to wrangle things in place - I had an interior collar piece laser cut from acrylic that did not work out. If going back over it with a heat-gun doesn't fix it, I have no idea what I'm going to do. Stripping the old vinyl off and re-applying it with the spine-plates and rim firmly glued down would be a challenge.



I have to go back to the illustrator file and adjust the curves to something that will actually fit without 5000 clamps.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

I haven't been too happy with the increasingly sparse hours I have to work on Shepard. This costume is one of the only things that has kept me going this semester in a lot of ways.

Most people have played through the ME games already, but they were introduced to me at a pretty crucial point. A really good game can keep me inspired and creative when a lot of unpleasant business suddenly comes along. My Shepard is a "suck it up" kind of character, and I've been applying that to my challenges lately.

One thing: I ordered more vinyl, I've been getting it from Top Vinyl Films

You can see a difference between the first sample I got on the right, which went on the neck guard and chest plate, and the new sample on the left. I like the one I had first better, I'm not sure why they'd list the same product with a totally different print, but, the vinyl itself does have the same properties. And from far away it's not too bad, the eye blends it very much the same.

 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Oh that would drive me nuts. The one on the right creates the proper zig-zag pattern, and the left just looks like a cheap basket weave.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

This build is fantastic! I especially like how you approached the chest piece so that it's not too bulky. I look forward to seeing more and appreciate the quality you've put into each piece.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Love your build! And oh Lordy do I know what you mean! My armor is my island of sanity in the world!
Can't wait to see more!
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

electraflier said:
Love your build! And oh Lordy do I know what you mean! My armor is my island of sanity in the world!
Can't wait to see more!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much everyone. I really can't wait to suit up in this armor, too, and do crazy stuff - I've got some amazing photoshoot locations/ideas filed away, and talented photographers to make it happen. Also interested in teaming up with other Mass Effect costumers if I'm in the area.

A note on how I'm repairing the boot.



My first attempt will be a mixture of Liquitex modeling paste and gesso. For the record Liquitex does make a flexible modeling paste, and if this combo doesn't work I will probably go out and buy some. My guess is that there's just a higher ratio of polymer to plaster, though, which is essentially what I've made. Most of the fugly area was corrected with a bit of heat-forming, but the seam was puckered/wrinkled and still gross looking. The paste is applied in a very thin layer so I am hoping that even though this part of the boot is supposed to be flexible, it won't crack.
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Freya Willia said:
I haven't been too happy with the increasingly sparse hours
Click to expand...

Hang in there.
And, Just remember that airbrushing without a mask in a closed space doesn't make you happy just unhealthy with colorful boogers. :confused
 
Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Fly4v said:
Hang in there.
And, Just remember that airbrushing without a mask in a closed space doesn't make you happy just unhealthy with colorful boogers. :confused
Click to expand...

I don't have an airbrush yet, doc. :lol Want one though. There will be parts of this costume that will be a billion times easier to paint with one of those.

Worked a little bit today, and thought maybe it would be a good thing if I put all the parts I've done together to see what they look like as a unified whole.





View attachment 126186


My mannequin almost looks like Commander Shepard!! I LOVE getting to the point where something is recognizable!
 
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