My Rocketeer Build Thread, featuring the "Veepy" Rocketpack

[mirrorbright]

Hi everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. Ever since I started cosplaying, I knew I was going to make a Rocketeer costume. After meeting a new friend and his own Rocketeer build at DragonCon, I knew it was time to make by own. And I did, which was completed it in time for SDCC 2024, and also took it to DragonCon the same year.

This board has been very helpful in this build, and now I want help out others that are wanting to do the same thing. I thought it would be fun to make this as a retrospective, to consolidate and write down the resources that I used, as well as point to other's advice that helped me through to process.

So starting with the basics:
Rocketpack: The much beloved "Veepy" Jetpack model. Of course, you can search "Veepy" on this site to find the many other threads that have to do with the model. Tons of good advice to be found.
Helmet: Free model from Thingiverse.
Jacket: I liked this one from South Beach Leather. It fit very well for the sizing, and did not need any tailoring.
Pants: I made them from a simple mens pants pattern. I customized the pattern to add in the jodhpurs. I'm such a novice at sewing, no clue if I did it correctly.
Boots: Tried and true Aviator Boots from Magnoli Clothiers. This was a big splurge, but they are worth it. Comfortable, fully leather, including the soles
Harness: Instead of buying the one from South Beach, I decided to try my hand at leatherworking. So this was custom made from cow and goat hides.
Gloves: The black gloves are from Amazon, but I custom made the fingerless gloves from some scraps leftover from making the harness.

I will go into more details in additional posts in this thread. I'll also be happy to answer any questions on the build that I don't address in each post.

Here's the final product of a year's worth of work. After SDCC, we went to visit family in LA, and did something else I have always wanted to do: visit Griffith Observatory. And while there, why not book a photographer to take pictures of your costume? This was legit a dream come true.

 

[mirrorbright]

Rocketeer Helmet

The construction of the helmet was a straight-forward 3d print build.
Model from Thingiverse
Printed in ABS on a Creality CR10-S Pro V2.
I had to scale the helmet down just a little to avoid looking like a bobblehead. And I don't have a small head.
The main helmet was printed upright, and I used support blockers in Cura on the dome. Worked fine.
The fin was printed separately in two pieces, put together with superglue, and seams fixed and evened out with spot putty.
Entire helmet went through the sand/filler primer cycle a few times. Bigger lines hidden with more spot putty.
To glue in the fin, I first glued the fin to a strip of 2mm EVA foam, then hot glued the foam to the inside of the helmet. I didn't worry about a perfect fit because I was going to make the welding marks next.
To make the welding marks, I used epoxy putty, specifically Free Form Sculpt from Smooth-On. I rolled tiny little balls, the smushed them into place along the seam, overlapping just a little bit. I really like how it turned out.
I couldn't get it quite right on the smallest seam, so I just used a 3d-print pen. Didn't turn out as good, but still looks like a welding seam.

Painting actually took a few tries. I tried many different types of golds, brass, and bronzes, but could never get the color quite right. I finally got the combo I was looking for by using a bit of copper. The order:
Gloss black base
A few light coats of Alclad Copper
A few light coats of Alcald Polished Brass (Had to buy online from Canada)
After those coats, I alternated a little more copper and brass until I was most of the way there
Used a few different types of Rub n Buff on some highlights, specifically anqiue gold
Weathering was some black and brown wash, with more light browns for dirt and scrapes

The helmet model comes with vacuform bucks. Since I have a small vacuform machine and an excess of PETG, I went ahead and used the bucks to curve the PETG plastic. Died with iDye Poly Black. I did do something new here and affixed the lenses in with more epoxy putty. I liked that I didn't have to use glue, which has given me issues before with plastic visors. The putty was easier to work with, and when dried adheres very well. I used the kind of putty that specifically made for plastics, but don't know if that mattered.

For the straps I got some leather strapping and hammered some snaps in. Glued other snaps inside the helmet. Nothing fancy.

Glued some extra padding in the front of the helmet so my face wouldn't get smashed, and I was done.

 

[joberg]

Great costume overall...and posing on the grounds of the observatory is defo an A+

 

[MacGyverDad]

Nice build, working on one myself. Quick Question: How are the Jet Packs being attached to the leather harness? Hidden snaps or nut/bolt? Haven't seen this on other threads yet. TIA

 

[mirrorbright]

Nice build, working on one myself. Quick Question: How are the Jet Packs being attached to the leather harness? Hidden snaps or nut/bolt? Haven't seen this on other threads yet. TIA

This is something I had to ask around about as well. Towards the top of the pack, I ended up drilling two holes through the harness and into the Rocketpack, using a bolt and threading the nut from the inside. On the bottom I utilized the two of the holes that keep the boosters secure, and again drilled smaller holes, but secured it with a #4 screw instead. One could just use more nuts and bolts if you wanted to.

I'll update this comment and post pictures when I get a chance to take some of the setup.

Update with a picture that shows where I put bolts and screws in. Sandwhiched between layers of the harness I put a layer of aluminum. Some for stability, but also to have a guide to where to place the bolts and screws.

 

[BingoMaru]

This looks great! You did the character proud.

 

[mirrorbright]

Rocketpack - The main event.

The model is of course the "Veepy" Jetpack model. Large parts printed in ABS on my Creality CR10-S Pro V2. Details in resin on my Elegoo Mars 3.
Like the helmet each piece was sanded between layers of auto primer. Large lines filled in with spot putty.
At first I printed a few of the "functional" pieces in resin, but that was a mistake. Anything that threaded inserts or something similar needs to be FDM printed.
All parts painted with a base of gloss black, scratched with some fine steel wool, then light layers of SpazStix Ultimate Mirror Chrome until I like the finish. Scratching before the chrome helps with it looking like Aluminum.
I did not clear coat. I also didn't worry if the pack got dinged up. It helped with the weathering.
After assembly, I went in with some watered down black and brown paints to weather.
I was able to use most of the recommended hardware in the kit's Assembly Information. Biggest note would be the braided hose for the boosters, which I got here from McMaster.
Other good hardware sources in this RPF thread.
Tank tips painted with Tamiya TS-87.
All in all, the Assembly Manual was pretty helpful. Much superglue was used.
Bonus tip: Double check the orientation of the radiator before installing magnets. That's a one-way street.

I'll update this post with more info as I remember it or as I get questions.

 

[joberg]

Thanks for sharing your experience with the pack. Great info/tuto