The planned RX-78-GP-01 Zephyranthes costume

[Zephyranthes]

so i have a problem....

Is it just me who gets annoyed at gundam cosplay for proportions?

I mean, i totally get that humans are not gundam shaped (i feel like Setsuna putting gundams before humans....)

But i have had a desire for a stupidly long time to build a gundam, and finally i have it prepared and planned to some small degree.


Let me know what you think!

Yes i am building stilts in the legs to make the legs the right length, and that is gonna be hard.... But fun!!



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[kialna]

You should check out clive lee's tutorial!

 

[Zephyranthes]

Ive seen clive lee's tutorial, and honestly? Its not what i'm after.
Like your nobell gundam for the record!


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[Cubone]

Clive has good suggestions about how to fit someone into a Gundam/mecha. You don't have to follow it but you could use it as a starting point to figure out your own build. And honestly there isn't that many ways to fit a person into a Gundam/mecha without it looking weird. So I am very curious to see what you are after. Good luck and any additional info you can give us can help us to give more feedback.

 

[kialna]

I used clive's tutorial as a reference, but of course I also went my own way. But it's not bad to look for good ways to do it. Not sure what you're after if it isn't that though.

 

[Zephyranthes]

Basically i'm supersizing the build; in the third photo you can see the design of the leg brace and stilt, and the feet of the person reach mid shin- rather than the top of the foot.
I'm going to try and rig some minor animatronics into the arm that are powered by nitinol, a smart alloy hat is used in robotics today for strong, but small movements. Seeing as its more ductile than electroactive polymer, it seems a good way to go, and i could rig it to an arduino so it had basic movements.
The arms are folded in front of the chest and rest there, with a set of buttons for the arms at the fingertips or on 3D printed joysticks.
The head will probably feature a goggles/camera setup similar to an iron man build circulating the marvel section right now that is hella inspiring.
That a lot of technical detail but that should tide you over a bit.... I'm planning for about 8 feet height.


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[Zephyranthes]

I used clive's tutorial as a reference, but of course I also went my own way. But it's not bad to look for good ways to do it. Not sure what you're after if it isn't that though.

In the end clive lees builds look ungainly and unstable, with the head turning out too large making their gundam style just fall down. I'd use ut but i'd just be annoyed with the result, no offence to clive, its still incredibly accurate modelling.... I am for the record using my perfect grade as a reference




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[kialna]

Have you seen his suits in motion? They are pretty stable. He also uses the more recent models which are very odd proportioned. I also don't think the heads are too big, but then again, gundam heads are crazy tiny compared to the rest of the body. I'm curious what you'll do. I'll be watching this thread.

 

[Zephyranthes]

For reference to the head, check the first image, it shows how i plan to arrange the head- and i mis-drew the '78-2s torso to be a tiny bit too small. I was using internet reference rather than my real grade model


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[Zephyranthes]

okay so i had a question.... should i build the armourin foam, or in another material? i don't wantit too heavy, but i also want it to have a self-finished texture :/
maybe i should sourcesome ABS!

discuss, i'm prettyu new to the whole concept of 'finishing' something XD

 

[Crooked]

Yeah, getting the proportions to look right has probably been the biggest challenge for me along with managing the weight of the pieces. I do feel like Clive did a good job of addressing that though. Judging by what I read, this sounds like a very ambitious project. I'll also be watching this thread
As for materials, I would only suggest EVA foam if you don't plan on having a gloss finish. I think it'd be very hard to achieve a smooth glossy finish on foam, especially since most of the surfaces will be flat as opposed to rounded. On the flipside, it's very easy to work with and it's light!

 

[Zephyranthes]

Crooked,
Thanks for keeping an eye, i'll try and deliver!

Also eva foam, gotcha- any particular kinds in that category you reccomend? Bear in mind i'm in the UK


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[iforelskelseyou]

awesome. another breakthrough in gundam costume.

 

[Ronan87]

In the end clive lees builds look ungainly and unstable, with the head turning out too large making their gundam style just fall down. I'd use ut but i'd just be annoyed with the result, no offence to clive, its still incredibly accurate modelling.... I am for the record using my perfect grade as a reference

??? You must have never seen his work then... Compare to most Gundam costumes, i find his to be not only accurate but actually cosplay-able.

 

[iforelskelseyou]

??? You must have never seen his work then... Compare to most Gundam costumes, i find his to be not only accurate but actually cosplay-able.

i agree. clive lee's guide Are not only applicable to gundam only as well for other mech. Awesome guide. both for build and mobility. thats makes his guide as ace of other freehand builders.
Let see the final product and compare it to clive lee.

 

[Zephyranthes]

Okay, lets put it this way
I love clive lee's costumes.....
But i'm thinking bigger, with more room for accuracy!
The legs (articularly the shins and feet) are particularly important. The legs of the zephyranthes are perfect to be scaled up because of small thighs - meaning that i can have it the natural length of my thigh when i scale up the whole thing to include a rigid steel frame and make it strong but well grounded on the waist and shoulders, with the majority of the rest of the suit remaining fairly lightweight. The main reason why i'm focusing on the legs as a 'task' is because human legs have equal length thighs to shin, if not a bit larger- the femur is the largest single bone in the body. As somebody who worked on prosthetics with his biology professors and physics professors, i also have ideas about arm movement being particularly cool by make muscle groups out of nitinol.
Yep, this gundam is gonna have guns. And guns as well, although i can't decide whether to go with the MG or the beam rifle. Or maybe even splice the GP-03 stamens bazooka on and scare the living s|*t out of other cosplayers.

As i say, i'm thinking BIG!!! And it's gonna be friggin awesome if i can pull it off.



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[WindPhoenix]

Are you gonna start building soon? Can't wait to see that awesome 8 feet-tall gundam that will scare the living sh:t out of other cosplayers. :thumbsup

 

[Zephyranthes]

To be honest, i'll start building after my AS exams are out of the way. But i could try and start making a few parts out of craft foam now, although thats probably restricted to the head, and i want to do that outta thicker foam


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[WindPhoenix]

It's fine to have great expectations, but if it's your first build, I think you should act a little less cocky in dissing others' work and talking big about what you haven't done yet. Let your actual work speak for itself when the time comes.

 

[Zephyranthes]

I'm not dissing other's work, i just get very finnicky about detail is all. As i said i love clive lee's work, it just doesn't quite fit what i want to do


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