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

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Another way to get the "grained" look would be to use a leather and vinyl repair kit.
Fabric,Vinyl and Fiberglass Repair : Permatex® Vinyl & Leather Repair Kit

You coat the surface with the repair stuff and the color coat that you want, then take the heat tool and texture pattern, press it into the repair stuff, and VOILA! Instant colored texture.

I might look into this if stamping into paint doesn't work. The compound seemed a little difficult to spread around in the videos I watched, but burnishing the texture into a partially dry/cured substance would be a very good technique to try even if I don't use the vinyl compound.

Total noob suggestion, but you could try using tolex, the stuff they use to cover guitar amps and stuff. Has kind of the same pattern, though the scales look a bit bigger.
http://www.lojeck.com/brian/gdecjrimages/tolex-damage.jpg

If it were my own build I'd probably look into things like that (build it with the intent of wrapping parts up), but the artist clearly took a lot of patience with the detail of this rifle, so I'm going to keep it as close to the original surface as possible. Good suggestion though. I bet other people making weapons from Mass Effect could try that.

 

[darkside501st]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Personally, I really liked the texture you had on the grip and the rest of the rifle is looking pretty awesome too. I don't chime in much but I have really enjoyed reading and keeping up with your progress.

You have an awesome build going on here.

 

[Shendorion]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

I'm guessing that if tolex is too thick, stingray skin is out of the question. That was the second thing that sprung to mind when I saw the texture (after tiny beads of thermoplastic melted together to form a flat surface).

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Personally, I really liked the texture you had on the grip and the rest of the rifle is looking pretty awesome too.

Thank you! I still have a spot for the old texture in my heart, but I think this one is going to win. It has a nice subtle effect up close and from a distance.

I'm guessing that if tolex is too thick, stingray skin is out of the question. That was the second thing that sprung to mind when I saw the texture (after tiny beads of thermoplastic melted together to form a flat surface).

I think stingray looks so awesome and I always wish I had an excuse to use it for a costume. VERY nice leather work by the way! And also more interesting ideas, I'm glad they're getting stored here on my thread for future reference.

Basically what I've done now is make a stamp from my dashboard - the silicone putty I used was surprisingly good at capturing the detail, even though it felt like a greasy purple gum wad.

Then on my rifle I tested stamping it into partially dry enamel paint, and thought it just looked kinda spongey, even though the pattern came out decent. It didn't have the right depth. Additionally, this looks BAD with any kind of gloss.

So my final tactic was to pour some epoxy on it and peel it off, to make some kind of thin resiny membrane that can be pressed into all of the contours.






Technically you could also just wipe resin directly on the rifle and leave the stamp on top of it until it cures, but this way I know the texture isn't being distorted by the weight/pressure of the stamp. Epoxy doesn't always like to stick to the smooth-on urethane in my experience, so I'll be testing this little scrap on another cast off to see if it will actually work, and if it doesn't, use some other type of bonding substance between them that sticks to both.

 

[metal wood]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

that looks perfect, nice job:thumbsup

 

[drknotter]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Man, that looks awesome! How are you going to blend the individual patches together though?

 

[HadhafangV2]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

This looks awesome

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Man, that looks awesome! How are you going to blend the individual patches together though?

I made a bigger stamp today. Didn't want to clean up a lot of gunk on my car if for some reason the dashboard had sulfur/rubber compound that didn't work with silicone putty.



I'll make a 2-d pattern of all the facets of the grip piece, and cut them out from epoxy that has been poured on this stamp. Before the epoxy cures completely, it is very flexible (those pics above were all from the same scrap, pressed into different areas).

The stamp had some air bubbles on the surface but the fates were kind and they did not appear on the other side, except for one place.

Also my other experiment finally dried. I mixed gel medium with black primer, let it air dry on the silicone, and then carefully peeled it off. It is tissue-thin, definitely comparable to the epoxy in texture reproduction, but the downside is the amount of time it took to dry and that this would probably need a protective clearcoat.



The epoxy is on the left, and the gel medium is on the right.

 

[Mandah]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

This is really awesome! I'm in awe with the level of detail you are putting into this outfit.

 

[Fly4v]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Really like what you are doing. This may help. A little heat may be needed to have this fit the compound curve of the thumb hole but it is black and textured.

Tough Stuff Products 000047 - Tough Stuff Vinyl Fender Top Protector Pair for 87-06 Jeep® Wrangler YJ, TJ & Unlimited - Quadratec

I used leftovers of this to make grips on a PS3 Shoot.

 

[CobraCommander]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

Looks amazing ! Just wanted to say thank you . I played the first game back on 07 and just got the trilogy . I am now starting my own shep costume ! I want to add the omni tool made from polycarbonate that lights up .

 

[Cadeus]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

If dash-board vinyl is the texture you like, why didn't you just go to an automotive interiors store and buy it out-right? It looks great, and I love your work... Just curious.

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep n7 Armor: SYNTHESIS (ME3)

If dash-board vinyl is the texture you like, why didn't you just go to an automotive interiors store and buy it out-right? It looks great, and I love your work... Just curious.

They have walk-in stores of just auto interior stuff? Like fabric and vinyl by the yard? That's sounds great, though I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that around here... but also, see 2 and 3 below.

Really like what you are doing. This may help. A little heat may be needed to have this fit the compound curve of the thumb hole but it is black and textured.

Tough Stuff Products 000047 - Tough Stuff Vinyl Fender Top Protector Pair for 87-06 Jeep® Wrangler YJ, TJ & Unlimited - Quadratec

I used leftovers of this to make grips on a PS3 Shoot.

That does look very cool.

These are all really good ideas!! But just so we're clear on why I'm peeling resin off of a mold and going through all this trouble , here's my reasoning:

1.) It is a N7 Valkyrie replica by Volpin Props (I have been meaning to change this on my thread title page, but I also take for granted that most people aware of Mass Effect props know what his Valkyrie looks like). I'm not interested in changing it sculpturally because I want the original artist's design. I will be putting in holes for LEDs and assembly, but that's it. Vinyl fabric and auto-interior fabric is usually thick - it would cover detail wherever I put it (like the screws, some of the linear carving, etc).

2.) This might require my Canon instead of iphone shots, but the texture on my dashboard is not like anything I've seen before. It's more like very tiny lizard scales than faux-leather, which is what most auto interior stuff is made to resemble.

3.) My car is pretty new. Whatever material they used isn't likely to be sold, for cheap, and it is also rigid - some kind of plastic.

4.) In my experience, heat-forming vinyl is something I want to avoid for the rest of this project (until I do the helmet). Mostly because of air bubbles. See this.

So in essence, I'm limiting myself in terms of how thick a covering I have on the surface. When I look at the rifle I mostly want to see my friend's hard work, combined with my paint and texturing details. Does that make sense? It's hard to describe where I feel I would be crossing the line on what I could take credit for. The surface treatment and electronics will be my work - that's all.

 

[Fly4v]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

This is .3mm thick and self-adhesive.
For the 'heat forming' was thinking about putting a golf ball on the vinyl and using a blow dryer to get it soft and conform to the concave of the thumb hole.
That may require making two strips separate of the exterior surface.

The screws could be exposed by cutting the vinyl with a hobby knife.

Then again what you have done thus far is really amazing.

 

[Cadeus]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

It sounds to me like you have thought it thrue well. And you know what you want to do. And your dash-board DOES have a cool texture! I have a build thread of my own and it is difficult to stay the coarse with so many ideas thrown at me... Your modifications are awesome, and you are awesome. Keep up the great work. We are all here for you!

 

[vargatom]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

Your dedication to this build continues to amaze me... We've never payed this much attention to the grip of the rifles or any other part of the armor or equipment, and yet we're doing this for a living So keep going!

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

Your dedication to this build continues to amaze me... We've never payed this much attention to the grip of the rifles or any other part of the armor or equipment, and yet we're doing this for a living So keep going!

The bar is pretty high on this rifle kit. It feels very convincing to hold (as much as solid plastic can), so I want the paint work to be just as realistic.

I have a build thread of my own and it is difficult to stay the coarse with so many ideas thrown at me...

Dude, I know. Or when I have multiple costumes going at once and I get ideas for the other ones based on my feedback for this one.

The screws could be exposed by cutting the vinyl with a hobby knife.

Then again what you have done thus far is really amazing.

I do like the way that stuff looks, it's pretty similar to what I had going with the modeling paste only more uniform - it looks rugged but cleaner, maybe. Weirdly enough I kind of want to make my own gun from the game now that I see how much fun painting this replica is.

But somewhere in the future I have to make that omniblade, too.

 

[FoxhoundTCF]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

Looks great.

 

[Freya Willia]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

This is kind of an asspain.



But once I trim up the edges, it looks pretty good. We'll see how the rest goes.

 

[Cadeus]

Re: FemShep N7 Armor and Valkyrie Rifle (Mass Effect 3)

It's looking GREAT! You are making a kick-butt replica even better.