Rens
Active Member
My husband (rpf username: Crin) and I often play video games together (one will play, the other will "advise"). After watching him play through Fallout 3, I was so enthralled with it, I decided to have a playthrough of my own. Since he played through as a morally good character, I decided to play through as the most morally objectionable character possible. Needless to say, I blew up Megaton.
My favorite part of the game was Moira, hands-down. Her chipper attitude was unflappable, even after becoming a ghoul. I had to cosplay her!
I always wanted to do the ghoul version, but I didn't have the time (or the skills) to make it for DragonCon 2012, but I did pull together a non-ghoul version to go with my husband's NCR Ranger:
(photo by Tumblr User Esuerc)
This costume was made with a small navy blue coverall that I ordered from Grainger (Grainger Industrial Supply - MRO Supplies, MRO Equipment, Tools & Solutions). I then weathered the hell out of it by sanding it and all the wear spots. Since it needed to be very, very (post-apolcalyptic) dirty, I airbrushed dirt in all the wear spots and then painted my hands and wiped my hands on the jumpsuit wear I would wipe them if I were wiping off my hands as a mechanic. I used a freezer paper stencil to add the "RobCo" on the back.
My Wasteland Survival Guide is made from a still from the game, printed out and attached to a disposable moleskin sketchbook, which I then stained and painted to create wear.
For DragonCon 2013 I decided to push ahead and make a ghoul mask for Ghoul Moira.
Here's a couple of screenshots:
I decided to make it as a silicone, pullover style mask.
For the sculpt, I used Monster Clay on a CFX display head. CFX advises against using the display heads for sculpting, I can corroborate this. DO NOT use the display head for sculpting (you'll see why in the casting section).
Here's some sculpting progress photos:
here's the final sculpt turnaround:
On to casting! I cast it as a two part mold. I used Smooth-On's Shell Shock to get the detail layer and Plasti-Paste as the reinforcement layer
First, I built a retaining wall out of cheap watersoluable clay:
Shell-shock and plastipaste:
Repeat for backside:
Popping the sculpt out of the mold (also, why you don't use the display head):
Here's my casting pictures. I had a lot of trouble with casting. My vent holes didn't vent properly and I made the mask too thin in parts so the silicone didn't distribute correctly. Here's my first cast (using EcoFlex 00-30). My pour spout clogged before I filled the mold.
Second cast. I ran out of Ecoflex casting the first mask, so I tried using some DragonSkin 10 that I had on hand. I also vented the mold and poured it in sections:
The mold came out much better, BUT the dragonskin wasn't flexible enough to make a pullover mask. I had to cut it off of the core.
I was running out of money, so I decided to try one more core cast using some Ecoflex that I had rush shipped to me from Smooth-On. I ended up receiving 4 trial sizes because they could only ship me a case, so ended up having enough for two more casts.
I did a second core cast using the EcoFlex 00-30. Again I ran into pour troubles and it ripped pulling it from the mold (frustration levels were running high at this point). Here's a pic of that cast next to the DragonSkin cast (Dragonskin left, Ecoflex right):
It was about a week from DragonCon and I decided to do one last ditch effort and do a slush cast. I knew it wouldn't fit the best, but I had already invested a ton of money and time into this and I wanted something to bring to the convention:
And shockingly, it turned out halfway decent!!
(Continued in next post):
My favorite part of the game was Moira, hands-down. Her chipper attitude was unflappable, even after becoming a ghoul. I had to cosplay her!
I always wanted to do the ghoul version, but I didn't have the time (or the skills) to make it for DragonCon 2012, but I did pull together a non-ghoul version to go with my husband's NCR Ranger:
(photo by Tumblr User Esuerc)
This costume was made with a small navy blue coverall that I ordered from Grainger (Grainger Industrial Supply - MRO Supplies, MRO Equipment, Tools & Solutions). I then weathered the hell out of it by sanding it and all the wear spots. Since it needed to be very, very (post-apolcalyptic) dirty, I airbrushed dirt in all the wear spots and then painted my hands and wiped my hands on the jumpsuit wear I would wipe them if I were wiping off my hands as a mechanic. I used a freezer paper stencil to add the "RobCo" on the back.
My Wasteland Survival Guide is made from a still from the game, printed out and attached to a disposable moleskin sketchbook, which I then stained and painted to create wear.
For DragonCon 2013 I decided to push ahead and make a ghoul mask for Ghoul Moira.
Here's a couple of screenshots:
I decided to make it as a silicone, pullover style mask.
For the sculpt, I used Monster Clay on a CFX display head. CFX advises against using the display heads for sculpting, I can corroborate this. DO NOT use the display head for sculpting (you'll see why in the casting section).
Here's some sculpting progress photos:
here's the final sculpt turnaround:
On to casting! I cast it as a two part mold. I used Smooth-On's Shell Shock to get the detail layer and Plasti-Paste as the reinforcement layer
First, I built a retaining wall out of cheap watersoluable clay:
Shell-shock and plastipaste:
Repeat for backside:
Popping the sculpt out of the mold (also, why you don't use the display head):
Here's my casting pictures. I had a lot of trouble with casting. My vent holes didn't vent properly and I made the mask too thin in parts so the silicone didn't distribute correctly. Here's my first cast (using EcoFlex 00-30). My pour spout clogged before I filled the mold.
Second cast. I ran out of Ecoflex casting the first mask, so I tried using some DragonSkin 10 that I had on hand. I also vented the mold and poured it in sections:
The mold came out much better, BUT the dragonskin wasn't flexible enough to make a pullover mask. I had to cut it off of the core.
I was running out of money, so I decided to try one more core cast using some Ecoflex that I had rush shipped to me from Smooth-On. I ended up receiving 4 trial sizes because they could only ship me a case, so ended up having enough for two more casts.
I did a second core cast using the EcoFlex 00-30. Again I ran into pour troubles and it ripped pulling it from the mold (frustration levels were running high at this point). Here's a pic of that cast next to the DragonSkin cast (Dragonskin left, Ecoflex right):
It was about a week from DragonCon and I decided to do one last ditch effort and do a slush cast. I knew it wouldn't fit the best, but I had already invested a ton of money and time into this and I wanted something to bring to the convention:
And shockingly, it turned out halfway decent!!
(Continued in next post):