I'm in love with the show. As a longtime BSG and Firefly fan, I'm seeing everything I love about those shows in The Expanse.
So I've started putting together a belter space suit. I'm planning on doing the Miller version, and might even make a pet nuke once I'm done. The first thing I got was a Guardian Fall Protection harness. These things are hard to find in the correct model. I managed to get a red strapped one with a buckled waist and legs for a reasonable price last year.
I painted the straps with Tulip fabric paint; apparently 'black' comes out more of a shimmery gunmetal colour, but it gave some good contrast against the rest of the black parts so I left it. I also replaced the buckles with quick release connectors. I sewed on some extra nylon straps to the chest straps and put on more quick release connectors for the incoming backpack. The gun is from Traywick Designs on Etsy. I messaged them last year before they were offering them, wondering if it was possible to get their Total Recall gun without the bottom attachment (so an unmodified Chiappa Rhino 50D). They were really helpful and even seemed keen to make more Expanse weapons.
As for the lights, I have absolutely no idea what his chest lights are. They look like the front fascia has been removed but that makes IDing them even more difficult. I may have to get them 3D printed and solder up a lighting option. For the shoulder lights, originally I was going to get two Princeton Tec Meridian strobe lights in black, but after seeing this photo, I realised he's actually wearing the neon yellow ones which have been painted black. It's also interesting to note the continuity error in their placement; outside Eros they're above the quick release buckle, inside Eros they're below. I'm opting for above, just because it makes more sense for them to be further away from the chest lights. Also, those pictures show to toggle switch has been removed from the Meridians, and is replaced with a wire/tube. I'm assuming the prop department wanted more options for lighting than just a white/red strobe, potentially they hooked them up in sync. As far as my costume goes, I'm not going to worry about that.
For making mine, I masking off the light and spraying it black. While it was still wet, I rubbed off the edges with kitchen roll to reveal the yellow underneath and smudged the paint dry. Then I took fine steel wool and buffed the paint to bring out more yellow. I prefer this to the black; it brings some colour to the outfit and looks a lot more industrial rather than tactical.
I've got the Ogio Mach5 backpack coming next. It was off Aliexpress, so I'm expecting a knockoff and I'm not sure if I'm going to get a Mach5 or a Mach3 due to dubious photos but for the price I'll be happy regardless. I've also ordered the Carhartt Impact gloves since I'm struggling to find any in the UK and I found a place that had one pair in stock.
The big question I have is how I'm going to do the jumpsuit. They were all made in-house by the costume department and there really isn't anything close aside from flight suits which aren't the right material. Since neoprene is just rubber sandwiched between fabric, I'm thinking about buying a regular flight/jumpsuit and gluing thin foam to the inside of the suit to give it thickness but I'm unsure how the fabric would drape after that.
So I've started putting together a belter space suit. I'm planning on doing the Miller version, and might even make a pet nuke once I'm done. The first thing I got was a Guardian Fall Protection harness. These things are hard to find in the correct model. I managed to get a red strapped one with a buckled waist and legs for a reasonable price last year.
I painted the straps with Tulip fabric paint; apparently 'black' comes out more of a shimmery gunmetal colour, but it gave some good contrast against the rest of the black parts so I left it. I also replaced the buckles with quick release connectors. I sewed on some extra nylon straps to the chest straps and put on more quick release connectors for the incoming backpack. The gun is from Traywick Designs on Etsy. I messaged them last year before they were offering them, wondering if it was possible to get their Total Recall gun without the bottom attachment (so an unmodified Chiappa Rhino 50D). They were really helpful and even seemed keen to make more Expanse weapons.
As for the lights, I have absolutely no idea what his chest lights are. They look like the front fascia has been removed but that makes IDing them even more difficult. I may have to get them 3D printed and solder up a lighting option. For the shoulder lights, originally I was going to get two Princeton Tec Meridian strobe lights in black, but after seeing this photo, I realised he's actually wearing the neon yellow ones which have been painted black. It's also interesting to note the continuity error in their placement; outside Eros they're above the quick release buckle, inside Eros they're below. I'm opting for above, just because it makes more sense for them to be further away from the chest lights. Also, those pictures show to toggle switch has been removed from the Meridians, and is replaced with a wire/tube. I'm assuming the prop department wanted more options for lighting than just a white/red strobe, potentially they hooked them up in sync. As far as my costume goes, I'm not going to worry about that.
For making mine, I masking off the light and spraying it black. While it was still wet, I rubbed off the edges with kitchen roll to reveal the yellow underneath and smudged the paint dry. Then I took fine steel wool and buffed the paint to bring out more yellow. I prefer this to the black; it brings some colour to the outfit and looks a lot more industrial rather than tactical.
I've got the Ogio Mach5 backpack coming next. It was off Aliexpress, so I'm expecting a knockoff and I'm not sure if I'm going to get a Mach5 or a Mach3 due to dubious photos but for the price I'll be happy regardless. I've also ordered the Carhartt Impact gloves since I'm struggling to find any in the UK and I found a place that had one pair in stock.
The big question I have is how I'm going to do the jumpsuit. They were all made in-house by the costume department and there really isn't anything close aside from flight suits which aren't the right material. Since neoprene is just rubber sandwiched between fabric, I'm thinking about buying a regular flight/jumpsuit and gluing thin foam to the inside of the suit to give it thickness but I'm unsure how the fabric would drape after that.
