Ironheart MK1 from Black Panther 2 - Finished Suit Pics Added

[indiefilmgeek]

My 12yr old has pulled me back into a Marvel cosplay build. This time it's all about Iron Heart showing up in Black Panther 2. When I started the build there were VERY few images/art of this character from the upcoming live-action movie/series. I've captured as many reference images/videos as we had during the build below.

Here is a look at the finished suit!

It looks like the character, Riri Williams, starts off with test sections of the suit she builds at MIT (shown in the Black Panther 2 character art). This is the version I'm building for my 12yr old.

New Hi-res versions:

Close-ups of details:

Close-up of the headphones and 'camera' attachment on her goggles (black seal may be RED in the movie).

Close-up showing her bare arm above the forearm armor.

Close-up of the Arc Reactor - which is off-center (to the left - over her heart)

Target Ad references:

In this teaser ad (a guess a longer one is coming out on 10/14), we can see Riri working on her MK1 suit at a workbench. Looks like one of her thruster packs is on the table.

Then we get a short clip of the suit at the waist level. Things of note: The red bands on the chrome bars is clearly red electrical tape. That bar has a (not very secure) clip attachment. lol The 'data cord' coming off the Arc Reactor is GOLD (not yellow), and but the yellow (insulated) pipe heading from the Arc Reactor to the cannon looks to be yellow-ish or cream-color. She's also sporting goggles that look like Falcon's vs the bigger goggles in the character art.

Also, the lower of the frames looks to show off her left arm armor.

And, finally, She walks away from some drawings and we see one of her thrusters again on the workbench.

Full Target Ad:

Full ad had some GREAT images of the suit!

Full suit from the front.

Cannon shots:

Foot armor?

Another chest close-up.

New trailers the last week of OCT showed more of her full suit.

This is a shot that includes a good look at her shoulder thrusters, 5-point belt, and arm cannon.

Good look at the Arc Reactor, and cannon.

And this shows much smaller leg thrusters and possible toe-caps on her feet?


ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:

Set Photos of Riri:
MIT Tee - Not Identified
Necklace - looks Rose Gold, not sure what the charm is
Backpack - Not Identified
Shoes - looks like Yeezy Boost 700 'Wave Runner'

Promotional Photos of Riri:

TOY REFERENCES

FUNKO POP:

I'll be looking for as much reference material as possible (especially that arm that's extended toward the 'camera'). If you find anything, please feel free to share it here.

 

[Sporkey]

I've read that the armor in the leaked photos from the Ironheart show looks so different because it's actually

Spoiler

a repurposed/possibly stolen Iron Patriot armor

(Spoiler tag, just in case)

 

[indiefilmgeek]

I've added the Toy Reference Pics to the first post so they're all in one place.

 

[indiefilmgeek]

Also... my 12yr old has officially picked the MKI as her cosplay (or Halloween costume). So, I'm going to start diving into that build - starting with buying the goggles. I've found a pair from Amazon, and while they aren't an exact match to either the artwork drawing or the Funko, I think they'll work.

 

[indiefilmgeek]

I started to fabricate parts of the belt, by 3D modeling the 5-point buckle/harness. I've got some old red tie-down straps, I'll use for the harness, but the buckle seemed easier to model than fabricate. Below is the model, that I then printed.

I did some sanding and filling. Then I primed it before hitting it with some gloss black, and then chrome (specifically for the buckle clips).

I then masked those clips and hit the main body of the buckle with a dark flat grey... next up will be ot paint the release button blue.

I also scratch-built the rest of the belt from EVA foam I had on-hand.

Once I had heat-sealed the foam, hit it with plasti-dip, and some metallic paint, it now looks like this:

*****

I also started playing with how to do the exposed mechanical sections of her leg armor/suit. Some 1/2" foam insulation and some Dollar Store decrative tubing, doesn't look half bad once painted and distressed a bit. I will definitely want the paint color to be different for the cabling and the framework, but I think this method of fabrication and these materials will work for a very affordable solution.

 

[bigwavedave]

Impressive work!
The D32 Expo is this week... perhaps we'll get some more info/details!? My daughter is pretty excited about Iron Heart, so I could see this being something she wants to pursue.

 

[indiefilmgeek]

I waited all week to see if anything Ironheart-related came out of D23... but no luck.

In the meantime, I've gotten a bit more done (although it feels like I'm moving VERY slow thru this process)...

I attached the harness straps to the buckles.

And then I started on the thigh sections... I began by making a then 'backing' for the thigh piece out of 1/8" EVA.

I then built up the foam framing, and internal wiring/components on top of that thin EVA foam. I've left all the panels that will be covered with 'armor plates' empty... no need to do all that fill work if it's going to be covered up.

The 'wiring' is mostly dollar store cords and some very light-weight tubing I had on hand.

Here is look at what that might look like once we cover the outer side with the armor plates.

And, here, is a look at this section with the belt...

I also did a quick tip video about how to join that VERY lightweight foam tubing so it looks more like metal framing and less like insulation foam glued together.

 

[bigwavedave]

I waited all week to see if anything Ironheart-related came out of D23... but no luck.

In the meantime, I've gotten a bit more done (although it feels like I'm moving VERY slow thru this process)...

Yeah, I was there and didn't see any costume related stuff for Ironheart. I was able to get some close-up pics of the Ant-man and Wasp costumes (for my own projects), and there were some other costumes as well. You seem to be well on your way to an awesome costume!

 

[indiefilmgeek]

Yeah, I was there and didn't see any costume related stuff for Ironheart. I was able to get some close-up pics of the Ant-man and Wasp costumes (for my own projects), and there were some other costumes as well. You seem to be well on your way to an awesome costume!

I heard they played a video for attendees that included a clip of 'Riri Williams flying'... but since it was exclusively for D23 audiences, they haven't released it yet.

 

[bigwavedave]

I heard they played a video for attendees that included a clip of 'Riri Williams flying'... but since it was exclusively for D23 audiences, they haven't released it yet.

Yeah, they did show a ton of clips, but were VERY strict about not having cameras out during those moments. If you did find anyone who took a video anyway, I wouldn't expect it to be very good quality... at least for the purposes here. They have released a bunch of the trailers and teasers since the event, so hopefully they'll give us this one soon too!

 

[indiefilmgeek]

Worked up the hip connection point and lower leg armor...

Here the final pieces of the upper and lower leg armor before sealing & painting...

For reference, I use the following method for EVA foam builds:

SEALING - Heat gun to close the cell (when possible)
PRIMING - Plasti-Dip (min 2 coats) + Adhesive Promoter
PAINTING - Base coats of main color followed by blackwash for distressed pieces

Here are the leg units in my 'painting tree'... since I don't have a painting space in my workshop.

Then (after another coat of plasti-dip and Adhesive Promoter) I hit them with a metal base color.

I then mask out and paint any other solid base colors...

From here I'll texturize and give it a 'lived-in' look with a black-wash. I use fabric paint thinned with water (if necessary). I'll point pics of these once I'm finished with that process.



I also worked up the MK1 ankle pieces.

Sealed and Painted... But not yet attached to the shoe.

 

[indiefilmgeek]

finished up the leg armor...

And the shoes (including making the new white shoes a bit broken in).

I've started on the chest armor. First off is the roll-cage - which is made of PVC (which I heat-bent) and some plastic tubing for the 'handles'

For best chrome results, hit your item with gloss black first....

 

[indiefilmgeek]

Footage of the Arc Reactor rough first test:

 

[Cbstudios]

This is looking spectacular so far!

 

[laellee]

That arc animation is INGENIOUS. How does that work?

 

[indiefilmgeek]

That arc animation is INGENIOUS. How does that work?

I'll shoot a video of the set up, but it's very simple... 7" tablet running a continually loop of an animation video I built in After Effects.

 

[indiefilmgeek]

More progress...

Using the new Target Ad footage, I matched up the safety bar latch.

Here is a pic (pre-painted chest piece) of my kiddo in the top of the suit.

I then did some sealing, priming, and painting of the chest armor.

I've also worked on the Ironheart arm cannon...

I got this painted as well...

And I've also worked up the joystick arm...

More building coming up this weekend!

 

[laellee]

I'll shoot a video of the set up, but it's very simple... 7" tablet running a continually loop of an animation video I built in After Effects.

Kind of hat I thought, I put together a tablet on the front + camera on the back chest rig for a halloween costume a few years ago, a VERY good gimmick to simulate a large hole in your chest

This is all coming together so well, excited for more updates!

 

[JamesM242]

Fantastic work!

 

[indiefilmgeek]

More Progress...

Finished up the Left Arm control system.

Also created the heads-up camera rig for the goggles...

And then we got to suit up (sans Thrusters still):

Comparison side-by-side: