hey so im new this is my first post didnt figure i needed to post in the introduction thread so whatever.
i recently got inspired by looking at clive lees gundam/mecha cosplay tutorial and the fact that ive been half assing any and all cosplays ive done when i go to anime expo. so im gunning for something new and harder
problem being this is new and harder so ive been hitting bumps in the road. even while consulting clive lees tutorial im still rather confused. this is what ive got and if anyone could help or give any clarification thatd be wonderful.
im mostly worrying about the money, as im not really an independent member of society just yet so id like to know costs that i will detail below. again if anyone could help with those id be really grateful.
1. basic idea: i want to build a proportionate rgm-79 gm mecha cosplay from gundam 0079. simple enough, so how?
2. references is how. however i dont feel all that comfortable just using picture references. even pepakura im sort of iffy about since i cant get just the original gm pepakura files. so what then?
3. free hand based on a model. i have the hguc gm and ive been basing all my proportions and designs on it. i know its not fully accurate but id rather risk that than trying to figure out pepakura and reference photos i dont have comparisons for. from the model i have come to some mostly interesting conclusions.
4. since i do not have pepakura i started from scratch with the model. by measuring the model's individual parts and total height width and height ive come up with a conversion and a set of measurements to return if i ever get lost. standard size of the gm is ~13 cm. i am about 163 cm, approx. 5'4" in feet. given this i multiple the gms height and all the measurement i took by 13, as 13 cm*13=169. as clive lee said i wont get a 1:1 conversion but the extra 6 cm is not much a difference by using some stilt like items.
5. this is where things start getting tricky. from this i had to figure out how much surface area each piece gets in order to approximate how much cardboard ill need for the base. using the measurements i have, which are in cm, getting cardboard in inches is the next step since thats all the measurements i have here. after much math and number crunching, mostly by turning major and box-like structures of the gm into boxes for easier measuring, i have approximated i need
6000 sq in of cardboard
what a doozy. but somewhat manageable. i am not paying for this cardboard as i can get for free from places that dont need all the cardboard and such.
6. now given that i cant just make it out of cardboard i also need some sort of covering. almost everywhere i go craft foam is the go to armor and mecha cosplay building material. so i also need 6000 sq in of craft foam. this kinda sent me into a looking frenzy, looking for the most cost-effective craft foam. most craft foam prices ive seen in order to achieve this amount of craft foam cost from $20-80 and i was not looking for that. i finally found an option that hopefully gives all that i need and more, but is really cheap. at walmart theres this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/EVA-Foam-Sheet-Assortment-Pack-of-78/33455483. for about 12 bucks i can get about 8474 or 17082 sq in of craft foam. this is where my problem came in: while searching at walmart ive only been getting mixed messages about measurements of craft foam and the like. so im not sure if what im getting is what i paid for. if anyones had any experience with walmart could help me with that? im planning on calling them tomorrow or sending them an e-mail to confirm this sort of mystery. or if there's a better option for craft foam that i did not find please let me know.
7. now things get even moooooore complicated. i thought this would be a simple build, but that got thrown out the window pretty quickly lol.
now that i have the bases of the gm i need to color and texture it. ive read up on many methods and the two ive found to be in my grasp are
- sealing the foam with layers of glue or glue+water and then spray painting over it with whatever i choose, probably with a primer first
- spraying contact adhesive and then applying vinyl onto it, and possibly spray painting bits that need it
the reason im split is due to money vs aesthetic. while i wasnt too big on vinyl, cosplayers like goldy and other tutorials using vinyl have convinced me enough that vinyl is a pretty choice, seeing as it looks like it mimics steel mostly well. however it is very pricey, at least for me. the best offer ive found that can afford me 6000 sq in of vinyl is at craftvinyl.com. for 35 dollars i can get 7200 sq in of geyser blue vinyl, the majority of the color of the gm. thats already pretty pricey and i do not have all the other materials for building for prices just yet either.
8. what is the better option? actually i still even have more questions based on materials i still have yet to gather.
list of materials:
- hot glue for attaching pieces. how much would i need and cost?
- paint for aesthetics. given the choice between vinyl and seal the foam, i could have less spray cans needed or more, respectively. but which is more cost effective?
- blades. xacto knife and box cutter. relatively cheap. assuming i need to go through a lot however.
- glue for sealing. again, this and more paint to make up for the fact that vinyl comes in the right color and looks nice vs vinyl+spray adhesive and less paint because it looks better but may possibly be more expensive?
- spray adhesive for connecting vinyl. same question as above except one more question. what brand is best if i do choose the vinyl option?
- cable ties/fasteners/zip ties, L-brackets, velcro, and 2 key rings, all borrowed from clive lees tutorial.
9. last but not least is the visor, which ive kept separate since its a monster unrelated to craft foam. the visor ive found can be made up of either plexiglass and then tinted with car tint and then some sort of plastic, im thinking mylar but coloured blue-green, and then glued to the head based on this tutorial i found for visors: http://www.instructables.com/id/Power-Rangers-Helmet/. however theres this option from a tutorial that is more expensive but looks nicer, i hope: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/32913-Visor-tutorial
i feel like i made this more complicated than it needs to be but im something of a worrywart. and i haven't even started building the actual cosplay yet so at this point its all up in the air. i want to make a solid plan since i am investing a large sum of money into this project.
i project to spend $50-200, however i do not want to spend $200 really because that's art supplies and food money when i go back to college.
so m8s, what are your onions?
ps sorry for no pictures i might upload my sketches of the gm i used to measure what i have and what little progress i have. which is an unglued back piece of the cosplay and an unfinished helmet i think needs to be redone.
i recently got inspired by looking at clive lees gundam/mecha cosplay tutorial and the fact that ive been half assing any and all cosplays ive done when i go to anime expo. so im gunning for something new and harder
problem being this is new and harder so ive been hitting bumps in the road. even while consulting clive lees tutorial im still rather confused. this is what ive got and if anyone could help or give any clarification thatd be wonderful.
im mostly worrying about the money, as im not really an independent member of society just yet so id like to know costs that i will detail below. again if anyone could help with those id be really grateful.
1. basic idea: i want to build a proportionate rgm-79 gm mecha cosplay from gundam 0079. simple enough, so how?
2. references is how. however i dont feel all that comfortable just using picture references. even pepakura im sort of iffy about since i cant get just the original gm pepakura files. so what then?
3. free hand based on a model. i have the hguc gm and ive been basing all my proportions and designs on it. i know its not fully accurate but id rather risk that than trying to figure out pepakura and reference photos i dont have comparisons for. from the model i have come to some mostly interesting conclusions.
4. since i do not have pepakura i started from scratch with the model. by measuring the model's individual parts and total height width and height ive come up with a conversion and a set of measurements to return if i ever get lost. standard size of the gm is ~13 cm. i am about 163 cm, approx. 5'4" in feet. given this i multiple the gms height and all the measurement i took by 13, as 13 cm*13=169. as clive lee said i wont get a 1:1 conversion but the extra 6 cm is not much a difference by using some stilt like items.
5. this is where things start getting tricky. from this i had to figure out how much surface area each piece gets in order to approximate how much cardboard ill need for the base. using the measurements i have, which are in cm, getting cardboard in inches is the next step since thats all the measurements i have here. after much math and number crunching, mostly by turning major and box-like structures of the gm into boxes for easier measuring, i have approximated i need
6000 sq in of cardboard
what a doozy. but somewhat manageable. i am not paying for this cardboard as i can get for free from places that dont need all the cardboard and such.
6. now given that i cant just make it out of cardboard i also need some sort of covering. almost everywhere i go craft foam is the go to armor and mecha cosplay building material. so i also need 6000 sq in of craft foam. this kinda sent me into a looking frenzy, looking for the most cost-effective craft foam. most craft foam prices ive seen in order to achieve this amount of craft foam cost from $20-80 and i was not looking for that. i finally found an option that hopefully gives all that i need and more, but is really cheap. at walmart theres this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/EVA-Foam-Sheet-Assortment-Pack-of-78/33455483. for about 12 bucks i can get about 8474 or 17082 sq in of craft foam. this is where my problem came in: while searching at walmart ive only been getting mixed messages about measurements of craft foam and the like. so im not sure if what im getting is what i paid for. if anyones had any experience with walmart could help me with that? im planning on calling them tomorrow or sending them an e-mail to confirm this sort of mystery. or if there's a better option for craft foam that i did not find please let me know.
7. now things get even moooooore complicated. i thought this would be a simple build, but that got thrown out the window pretty quickly lol.
now that i have the bases of the gm i need to color and texture it. ive read up on many methods and the two ive found to be in my grasp are
- sealing the foam with layers of glue or glue+water and then spray painting over it with whatever i choose, probably with a primer first
- spraying contact adhesive and then applying vinyl onto it, and possibly spray painting bits that need it
the reason im split is due to money vs aesthetic. while i wasnt too big on vinyl, cosplayers like goldy and other tutorials using vinyl have convinced me enough that vinyl is a pretty choice, seeing as it looks like it mimics steel mostly well. however it is very pricey, at least for me. the best offer ive found that can afford me 6000 sq in of vinyl is at craftvinyl.com. for 35 dollars i can get 7200 sq in of geyser blue vinyl, the majority of the color of the gm. thats already pretty pricey and i do not have all the other materials for building for prices just yet either.
8. what is the better option? actually i still even have more questions based on materials i still have yet to gather.
list of materials:
- hot glue for attaching pieces. how much would i need and cost?
- paint for aesthetics. given the choice between vinyl and seal the foam, i could have less spray cans needed or more, respectively. but which is more cost effective?
- blades. xacto knife and box cutter. relatively cheap. assuming i need to go through a lot however.
- glue for sealing. again, this and more paint to make up for the fact that vinyl comes in the right color and looks nice vs vinyl+spray adhesive and less paint because it looks better but may possibly be more expensive?
- spray adhesive for connecting vinyl. same question as above except one more question. what brand is best if i do choose the vinyl option?
- cable ties/fasteners/zip ties, L-brackets, velcro, and 2 key rings, all borrowed from clive lees tutorial.
9. last but not least is the visor, which ive kept separate since its a monster unrelated to craft foam. the visor ive found can be made up of either plexiglass and then tinted with car tint and then some sort of plastic, im thinking mylar but coloured blue-green, and then glued to the head based on this tutorial i found for visors: http://www.instructables.com/id/Power-Rangers-Helmet/. however theres this option from a tutorial that is more expensive but looks nicer, i hope: http://www.405th.com/showthread.php/32913-Visor-tutorial
i feel like i made this more complicated than it needs to be but im something of a worrywart. and i haven't even started building the actual cosplay yet so at this point its all up in the air. i want to make a solid plan since i am investing a large sum of money into this project.
i project to spend $50-200, however i do not want to spend $200 really because that's art supplies and food money when i go back to college.
so m8s, what are your onions?
ps sorry for no pictures i might upload my sketches of the gm i used to measure what i have and what little progress i have. which is an unglued back piece of the cosplay and an unfinished helmet i think needs to be redone.
