First EVA foam predator costume for my son 2017

[superchimp]

This was a great project. First time building a suit this completely. Used eva foam 10, 12, 6 and 4 mm

Everything is wired with lights on the helmet and gauntlet and there is an auto fire nerf gun n mounted on the shoulder with a firing trigger wired to the left gauntlet

Also used a lot of RPF and Predatorium reference. A big thanks to youtuber Evil Ted

Let me know if there are questions as i didnt take a lot of build pics

 

[vebo1]

Kudos

 

[Aurellius]

How did you make the suit.
I am looking at getting a morph suit and airbrush it but it.
But am extremely impressed with yours so curious what the suit was made from, how you attached muscle, and painting. Cheers in advance

 

[superchimp]

How did you make the suit.
I am looking at getting a morph suit and airbrush it but it.
But am extremely impressed with yours so curious what the suit was made from, how you attached muscle, and painting. Cheers in advance

Well if you are in for the long haul and want something really good and durable then there are a lot of great tutorials about various ways to making a long lasting muscle suit that can be reused on other projects and will stand up to wear and tear.

I did have a lot of time (running out) so sewing or doing more work wasnt an option. this sounds like a lot of steps but Im just being through and also noting any issues to watch out for so it doesnt mess up.
Also make sure you are wearing protective gloves and equipment as needed when working with chemicals.
Method

• foam Bed topper
  • https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/mainst...MIrr633eq21wIVT7jACh38MQ0QEAQYASABEgJ_WfD_BwE
• have a fitted lycra body suit (color of choice, I chose nude)
  • https://www.amazon.com/Ensnovo-Span...1510414712&sr=8-3&keywords=nude+lycra+unitard
    
  • https://www.amazon.com/COLOR-LIFE-U...=1510414778&sr=8-3&keywords=men+lycra+unitard
• Have a duct tape dummy/manequin. I cannot stress how useful this was. There are lots of videos on how to make one already. but it was essential for the whole costume making process. (IMPORTANT: before cutting the suit of the model make registration marks. just little ticks with a sharpy to know how the sides match back up after they are cut. Numbering a couple will also help mis-alignment.
• I had my son wear the suit inside out and drew the muscles on the suit in red sharpy marker. These are the red trace marks you see on the surface above.
• Then I put it on the duct tape dummy (also still inside out) as seen above.
• I then used a roll of butcher paper; from michaels arts and crafts. (I always use butcher paper to rough out templates). I put the paper over the lycra suit on the dummy and used straight pins to keep it in place ( you can probably understand how this would have been difficult while my son was wearing it....well for him not me). Then I re-traced each muscle pattern back onto the butcher paper and cut it out.
• Then cut out two square/rectangular pieces of the bed foam that will roughly be enough foam to cut out a given muscle. x2 you will need two pieces (also you will need to do this twice for each left and right sides.)
• Glue the two pieces of foam. put the glue on the pointy side baste it liberally as it will soak in a bit.
  • (if in the U.S.) -https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0032YYOFS/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_w
    
  • (if in Canada - Same stuff) -https://www.amazon.ca/LePage-Heavy-Contact-Cement-1504619/dp/B019GISUYY/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1510417163&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=lepage+cement+quart
• Once the squares are glued cut the muscle shape straight out of the glued foam piece
• I then shaped the outer or what would be the seen side of the muscle to round it out to my liking. I did this with scissors.
• When satisfied with the muscle shape I then basted the outer/seen edges; from the edge to about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in depending on the muscle size.
  • I think it is important to not do the whole muscle as if you do then it may prevent the suit or the muscle from flexing a bit and this will allow the shape of the muscle to push out through the material. If you glue the whole thing it may glue squashed; but this is my first time with this so...dunno.
• I then basted right onto the suit 1 1/2 to 2 inches inside the perimeter of the red traced muscle shapes
• Let the glue set for a bout 10-15 minutes depending on how thick the coat of cement was. thick go 15 but you only need a real thin coat on the suit.
  • VERY IMPORTANT:!! - While the suit is drying you need to pull it around every couple minutes just a bit to make sure it doesnt stick at all to the dummy underneath.
• HAVE YOUR STRAIGHT PINS READY - At the right time take a muscle and put it outside down. Press hard with a finger and push a straight pen into the very edge through the suit so the head squishes the foam down. do this all around the muscle shape; as many as needed.
• I let mine sit overnight like this.
• Taking off - Gently start at the top and dont pull the suit of but push your had underneath the suit on the inside to make sure it is loose from the dummy. Pulling off may lossen the muscle bond to the suit. push your hand underneath where the muscle is on the inside and gently walk the material down the arms and torso and then the legs.
  • Note: this really needs two people to do this. My wife is great!
• Then I flipped the suit rightside out. (carefully) then worked it back on the dummy for painting the outside.
• I hung the dummy from the garage ceiling as seen above for painting.

So I meant to airbrush this and I have a compressor and an airbrush but I just ran out of time so the paint job is actually paint cans and brush for the detail. I did use this guys post for a bit of reference though.
MacGuyver's Mr. Incredible Suit Huntorial *LOTS OF PICS!*

Couple things,
I only did the upper legs, bicep and tricep area for this costume as I had already tight fit the armor and plus the other areas arent shown . I guess I could have done the stomach or the paint job on the stomach better ...but I had a halloween deadline.

Also as you can see by the pics above the sharpy bled through to the outside. so there maybe a better alternative to marking the patterns on the inside of the suit.

Hope this helps and by all means let me know if you need any more info.

Happy making!

 

[Aurellius]

Dude I can’t thank you enough this is exactly what I needed and a brilliant guide. I can’t wait to get started now.

 

[BlackDog67]

Well done DAD!! this exactly what its all about. Family working together over a common interest and having a ball while doing it!! The suit looks sweet! and I am sure your son will never forget it. Great work!

 

[Shoguno]

Yes not bad for a begining ! I mean we all have to start somewhere ! Creativity is the best part .... after our first costume we take a moment and step away from our creation and then we can adjust things to make it better....