UDON Taskmaster WIP: Helmet base (June 17, 2011)

[Theist17]

I've always had wearing a costume at a con on my bucket list, and I've loved UDON's Taskmaster since I saw him fight Deadpool in some comic (the specific issue of which I can't remember)

So, why not combine two loves?

Here are some links to reference photos for the costume, for those not familiar with it:

Reference 1

Reference 2

Here's a quick run-down of what I've got so far:

- Left arm bracers are ready to be painted and sewn to fabric as soon as the gaps are filled in the curvature.

- Shin guards are ready to be glued up and painted.

- Wooden katana is under construction (~40% finished)

- Mask is under construction (~50% finished, see post #12)

- Sketching out energy projector and right arm bracer


I'd like y'all's input on this project, since it's my first foray into costuming. For instance, does anyone have any ideas on how to build the energy projector on his right wrist? The bracer design seems straightforward enough, but the dome is throwing me for a loop.

I really hope I can finish this before DragonCon, but we'll see how that goes, I guess.

By the way, I'm trying to build as much of this as I can out of EVA foam. The mask is going to be either fired plasticine or fiberglassed. It all depends on final cost.

 

[Wicked]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP

For the bracer there's two ways you can go using the same basic piece. Find a dome magnifier (I'm sure there's tons on Ebay super cheap). They come in all sorts of circumferences so I'm sure you can find one that will fit. Depending on whether or not you want it lit you can either sand the bottom to frost it and mount an LED under it, or mount something of the color you're looking for underneath. Personally I'd go for the lit method since the magnification properties would probably make it look ridiculously cool. If you decide to sand the bottom and it's a glass magnifier I'd say it'd be best to wear a mask so you're not inhaling glass.

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP

Cool, thanks for the tip.

I'll have some pictures up soon, I promise! I'm tweaking the knee pads for thickness, and I had to rework the shins once I realized how comically thick they were, but I'll let the pictures show you all that once I find my camera.

 

[Madcap]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP

One of my favorite character redesigns and my favorite version of the Taskmaster; looking forward to seeing what you do with it! :thumbsup

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP

One of my favorite character redesigns and my favorite version of the Taskmaster; looking forward to seeing what you do with it! :thumbsup

Yikes. It's comments like this that make me nervous. Haha, I've never built a costume before. I just don't want to totally ruin my first build and be the guy with the crappy costume at DC (not to mention the hit my pride would take here.)

When I say I'm a newbie, I mean it. Seriously, my tools at present are a carpet knife, meat shears, and sewing scissors. I'm decent with a needle and thread, but foam is a totally alien material for me.


And now, proof of my mediocrity! Before you ask, I realize that some of the pads on the shins are sized differently. Cutting replacements now.

What you see in this picture is the work I've gotten done so far. Nothing's glued up or anything like that yet. Beveled edges are all over this costume, and I'm having trouble cutting them cleanly.

- Both shins, complete with pads
- Both knees, which may be thickened up with an additional layer of the blue
- Left arm bracer roughs, which may be replaced later with multiple layers of the yoga mat
- Shoulder pads
- Hand pad roughs, possibly replaced later with the yoga foam

The coveralls and guns are coming in the next two weeks, and I have some brown boots I'm going to try my hand at dyeing black.

I'll be plasti-dipping the outsole of the boots and painting that white before affixing a white pad to the tongue.

The holsters are going to have to be hand-made. I can't find a vertical dual-pistol rig anywhere for a reasonable price. I'm in college, and everything I've used so far but the base garment and weapons has been found materials.

Thanks for checking this out, guys! Hope I can help keep the standards up around here.

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

So, not much of an update, but I found something called Rubberized Undercoat that Dupli-Color makes. It's an aerosol, and I'm gonna try it out on some scrap pieces tonight and see what it does to foam. Maybe I can use it as an alternative to Plasti-Dip.

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

Update on the Rubberized Undercoat:

About a third as convenient as Plasti-Dip at a third of the cost. Takes for freaking ever to dry, and offers very (very) little rigidity.

As an update to the actual armor pieces, I realized that the left arm bracers were in reverse order. The thick one had been at my wrist instead of my forearm. So, I had to totally re-do those.

Oh well. At least I got the holster blanks done. Planning on firming them up with card stock and building the harness soon.

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

One holster bucket's at 85%, I'd say. Cut, glued, and covered inside and out with card stock. It was about five bucks for the card from WalMart. Look for Georgia Pacific if you need it. 110lb stock, 150 sheets of 8x11.5" per package.

After deciding how to mount these wretched things, I'm planning to take a white vinyl tape and cover the corners of the bucket and spray it all flat white.

In other news, the shins, knees pads, and shoulder pieces have been glued up. All I'm waiting for on these is plasti-dip and the base garment.

EDIT: I just realized that Tasky's holster buckets are so much simpler than this. For instance, there's not a stupid bevel on the front! I'll be removing that offending blemish soon.

 

[Madcap]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP

Yikes. It's comments like this that make me nervous. Haha, I've never built a costume before. I just don't want to totally ruin my first build and be the guy with the crappy costume at DC (not to mention the hit my pride would take here.)

Hah, no worries. Don't think I've ever run across someone doing this version of TM at D*Con, though there are plenty of Deadpools every year.

Didn't mean to put any pressure on you; just meant I'm glad to see someone building this costume. Looking good so far!

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

Thanks for the encouragement. This has been tons of fun so far (He said, not knowing what lay before him)

I have to say, the hardest part of this is definitely the cash I'm putting out. For a sporadically-paid guitar teacher and college student, there are tons of money being sunk into this project. I just about choked when I pressed the pay button on the coveralls and airsoft guns. I've found out from folks on the forum that the clay I was planning on making just isn't worth the trouble, so I'm saving up for some kind of water clay or polymer clay for the mask.

Speaking of the mask, I talked to my sculptor buddy today. He's ready to do a lifecast and sculpt the thing as soon as I get him some clay. The only hitch is that he's not sure what I could use for this to be durable and wallet-friendly.

Any favorite clays for stuff like this out there? I've heard Sculpey's praises sung before for making lock pick handles (I'm also a part-time locksmith), but I'd like to have more of an informed opinion for mask sculpting.

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

Spraying up the shins to even out the texture. Should've just dropped a few bucks on smooth EVA from the craft store.

Oh well, though. Working with what I've got, I can get a smooth top pretty easily. I decided to use the rubberized spray to coat the shin pads instead of painting them with the plasti-dip. That would have taken forever to get done.

I've decided to do a post-battle Taskmaster. Roughing up the left shin, thigh, and bracers is the basic plan. The way I'm doing this for the shin is by spraying an extra-thick coat on the piece and smearing and stippling with my fingers to create a marred look. It'll come out nicely in the paint, once that's applied.

Picture!

 

[Theist17]

Re: UDON Taskmaster WIP: No, seriously, guys! I have pictures!

Modified an Army of Two pep file I found somewhere on the net. No clue who the author is, but if the author's on this forum, let me know and I'll give you all the credit you want. The mask only went just past my hairline, so I extended it with whatever kind of tape that is. I believe it's used for drywall work.

Pictures!

Front view

Side view

Clay will be applied, and the appropriate areas will be bulked up and sculpted.

 

[Wicked]

Check out this new General Grievous mask. Saw this today at Wal-mart and immediately thought of this build.

 

[BumblebeeRecycd]

TaskMaster !!! Love this costume, good luck on making him I would consider a Translucent Green shield( energy sheild ), not hard to make. I loved his solo comic, and thought this costume was way better than the first one. Hope to seer you at Dragon Con