Re: WIP Ironman Costume for 5yr old - Leg & Boot work
Sorry for the delay in getting some of this build progress updated... Crazy two weeks at work. :rolleyes
So, I've got three different projects I'm working on right now for Mikey's suit.
First, I've got his boot... Now, I'm working on the assumption that the sole of the boot HAS to be hardened (if it will support Mikey standing on it). But he will lose mobility and comfort if the whole boot (especially the ankle area) is rigid. My purposed solution to this problem is to separate the two areas and make one rigid and the other soft (sorta like a retail shoe).
I would like to harden and smooth with bondo the sole-section of the boot and then take a quick cast of it so I can make two resin/plastic copies which should be strong enough for Mikey to stand on. Within this design, I hope to keep some 'connection points' so I can easily attach the foam top section that will be the top part of the boot.
This might seem complicated (and it probably is), but it's easier to just SEE what I'm doing... so here's some pictures!
Here are the Boot parts. Top of the picture is the slip-on shoe that Mikey will have his foot in, the middle section is the part I'll make out of EVA foam and the lowest section is the part I would like to harden, smooth and then cast in resin.
Now, there are two issues with casing this piece... 1. I need to remove the toe piece that's hanging over the rest of the piece or I will NEVER get the mold out. 2. Since I don't want to waste resin (or make the darn thing too heavy) I need to open up that heel section and create a grid support structure that will not require a solid resin pour, but will still be strong enough to hold Mikey's weight.
So, after cutting off the toe over-hand, I opened up the heel and created a 3mm ledge with vertical support rim so I have an easy attachment point for the top foam section.
Remember to use a mask and gloves when playing with fiberglass resin, kids!
And after hitting the outside, I used a great tip from STEALTH's tutorials and used spray adhesive to glue in my fiber cloth before painting it with the resin!
Apply resin, dry, dremel off rough edges and pack the recessed areas with some modeling clay (which will help with the casting)...
Tonight I also applied the first layer of bondo to the sole... damn, it always makes it look like crap when you do that.
close-up of the heel...
So, we'll let that dry, sand a bunch tomorrow night and then see where we're at. I've already created the grid work for inside the heel, so once the outside is close enough to smooth (it IS the very bottom thing on the suit after all), then I'll put that into the heel and take it over to do the casting/pouring.
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Another thing I'm working on for the suit....
Well, I was going to use fabric paint on the under-armor, but I wanted something 'smoother' for larger areas (like the abs). So, I picked up some red satin material that matches the Dark Metallic Cherry red I've used on the suit. I cut a strip of it off and used some spray adhesive to glue it to an a beat-up old pair of cycling pants I had.
It worked great and the satin has a nice 'shine' to it that should make it look close to the auto paint sections of armor I've built. The one I thing I need to do now is find a spray adhesive that dries CLEAR and not white!
So, in between all the boot work I also measured and cut out pattern pieces of fabric that I will used to make the satin pieces for Mikey's abs.
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And, finally, I also have been slowly working on building both the Left and Right leg units out of foam.
I've started with the lower leg pieces and (since I only have this one paper pep reference piece, I'm doing these in very small sections at a time so I don't get lost.
Here's the lower leg section marked up before I cut it up for use as a foam template...
And here's the progress so far in re-constructing this in foam...
That's it folks... I'm heading to bed.
:thumbsup
