Trigrave88
New Member
The attention to detai is absolutly astonishing. you are bringing to life one of my all time favorite manga/anime.
Vash the Stampede
- Thread starter MrGreene
- Start date
FerrusMesmer
New Member
This is a really cool build, keep it up.
MrGreene
Well-Known Member
Another quick update, finished the gloves.
The rings were cut from a solid piece of ~2mm wall-thickness brass tubing. Interestingly enough, cutting by hand with a hacksaw was WAY cleaner and easier than with a dremel tool and cutoff bits. A quick trip to the bench grinder, and voila! Two rings from one slice:
Cut in half and repeat four more times, and after cleaning up with a LOT of hand-filing and 2000-grit sanding pad, they were shinier than the stock tubing.
So shiny that I have the inexplicable urge to bite them.
Tiny holes drilled for attaching to the gloves, and voila! The blingin'est fingers you ever did see.
I've got less than three weeks left until my deadline, so I'll be completing all the rest of the undersuit this week. Then next week, the coat.
The rings were cut from a solid piece of ~2mm wall-thickness brass tubing. Interestingly enough, cutting by hand with a hacksaw was WAY cleaner and easier than with a dremel tool and cutoff bits. A quick trip to the bench grinder, and voila! Two rings from one slice:
Cut in half and repeat four more times, and after cleaning up with a LOT of hand-filing and 2000-grit sanding pad, they were shinier than the stock tubing.
So shiny that I have the inexplicable urge to bite them.
Tiny holes drilled for attaching to the gloves, and voila! The blingin'est fingers you ever did see.
I've got less than three weeks left until my deadline, so I'll be completing all the rest of the undersuit this week. Then next week, the coat.
MrGreene
Well-Known Member
Remember those kneepads?
I trimmed them up and made a pattern for the funky 3-layer design
Here's the flexiest part:
Basically the only way to attach the plates to the leather is to sew them together, so I killed three drill bits making some needle-sized holes, then sewed everything by hand over the course of two days.
The upper and lower leg parts are sewn on using the same method, and then the two thick leather arches were riveted through both layers.
The tension created by the leg actually holds them in position, and they flex with the knee, exactly as shown in the concept art!
Overall, they fit and look great. They'll darken further with more oil, and shape-wise, they're perfect.
I trimmed them up and made a pattern for the funky 3-layer design
Here's the flexiest part:
Basically the only way to attach the plates to the leather is to sew them together, so I killed three drill bits making some needle-sized holes, then sewed everything by hand over the course of two days.
The upper and lower leg parts are sewn on using the same method, and then the two thick leather arches were riveted through both layers.
The tension created by the leg actually holds them in position, and they flex with the knee, exactly as shown in the concept art!
Overall, they fit and look great. They'll darken further with more oil, and shape-wise, they're perfect.
sketchman1981
Active Member
Wow. I had considered doing a Vash years ago for an anime con my wife kept wanting to attend. though don't think I'd ever be able to get that much detail out of it. I never considered making my own boots for it, lol
purplybunny
Active Member
I have to admit that the words "Pure Awesome Sauce" might not be enough for this build. Amazing, beautiful, stunning etc, etc. Love it and the shineys....oooh the shineys and all that freaking leather! Seriously if i was near you wearing that, I wouldn't stop smelling you! Love the smell of leather.
joshvanrad
Master Member
BOOTS?!
Boots!!!!
Boots!!!!
arctrooper
New Member
I am trying so hard to come up with an adequate compliment.
Dude.
Dude.
DarthMalachi666
New Member
This.... This is one of my favorite anime's. I used to watch it at 1 a.m. on adult swim with my dad. Your build is just too amazing. I've always wanted to do a Vash costume! I'll pay you millions of double dollars for this!!! Beyond amazing work!!!!
As you wish
As you wish
MrGreene
Well-Known Member
After spending a good three months on all the parts 90% of people won't see, I've finally gotten to the really noticeable part: the signature red duster.
Fun fact: I got the red cotton duckcloth I'm using at an insane discount (like 90% off) thanks to a super-cute fabric store girl.
That's right, the lady-wooing powers of this coat are so potent that they helped it to create itself. Commence the swooning!
After a day or so of patterning and several hours of fighting with my sewing machine to adjust it to sew this thick cloth, it's about 1/3 done:
The shoulder piece - being one solid part with no seams - proved to be the most difficult part to pattern, but I've just about got it down, and I should have juuust enough material to finish everything. The, er.. sleeve-and-a-half.. will be done last, since the arms both attach to the shoulder piece at the tip of the shoulder pads, and that ends up being a really wonky shape that needs to be freehanded to work correctly.
The buttons (just sort of hanging there now) will be attached to eight snaps on one side of the front button piece, because everyone wants a coat that can be removed stripper-style, right?
12 days left. Tally ho!
Fun fact: I got the red cotton duckcloth I'm using at an insane discount (like 90% off) thanks to a super-cute fabric store girl.
That's right, the lady-wooing powers of this coat are so potent that they helped it to create itself. Commence the swooning!
After a day or so of patterning and several hours of fighting with my sewing machine to adjust it to sew this thick cloth, it's about 1/3 done:
The shoulder piece - being one solid part with no seams - proved to be the most difficult part to pattern, but I've just about got it down, and I should have juuust enough material to finish everything. The, er.. sleeve-and-a-half.. will be done last, since the arms both attach to the shoulder piece at the tip of the shoulder pads, and that ends up being a really wonky shape that needs to be freehanded to work correctly.
The buttons (just sort of hanging there now) will be attached to eight snaps on one side of the front button piece, because everyone wants a coat that can be removed stripper-style, right?
12 days left. Tally ho!
Alpha Proto
Sr Member
When the coat is done are you going to age it a bit? Vash spends a lot of time in the deserts of Planet Gunsmoke. Not to mention all the near death experiences he escapes by the skin of his teeth.
You could get some sand paper and scuff up the hemmed area a bit.
Add a dark wash of paint around , and under the buttons to simulate dirt that has settled over time.
Also will you put bullet holes in the tale of the coat like the Mc Farland figure ? That gives the costume a history. It tells a story to the viewers of your costume without words.
You could get some sand paper and scuff up the hemmed area a bit.
Add a dark wash of paint around , and under the buttons to simulate dirt that has settled over time.
Also will you put bullet holes in the tale of the coat like the Mc Farland figure ? That gives the costume a history. It tells a story to the viewers of your costume without words.
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SoldieringIron
New Member
Not just the McFarland, the manga shows an enormous amount of bullet-holes, although the duster is also much thicker looking in the manga in my opinion (like possibly made entirely of leather) and holds its shape despite the holes. Yasuhiro Nightow's artwork is astounding from front to back.
MrGreene
Well-Known Member
I'm definitely doing a fair bit of weathering. In the manga, Vash changes out coats multiple times, so there are a lot of different versions, including a couple that are definitely leather.
In the anime, which is what I'm basing this on, the coat stays the same and has a Ship of Theseus thing going on, with parts being replaced as they get shot up or worn out.
With this in mind, I'm not going to have it completely shredded up (I might seriously cry if I had to do that). Instead I'm doing a moderate amount of wear, and of course a handful of bullet/shrapnel holes, and maybe some singeing in order to give it the look that clothes tend to get when they've been worn down in the desert and repaired over and over again for 100 years. Basically all the bits that last, like the shoulders, buttons, and collar, will be extra old and worn out, maybe patched here and there, while the bulk of the damaged sections will be newer looking. Either way, the weathering will be a long-term process.
Aside from roughing it up, the duster is 90% done right now. I'll post pics in the morning when I have a non-potato camera.
In the anime, which is what I'm basing this on, the coat stays the same and has a Ship of Theseus thing going on, with parts being replaced as they get shot up or worn out.
With this in mind, I'm not going to have it completely shredded up (I might seriously cry if I had to do that). Instead I'm doing a moderate amount of wear, and of course a handful of bullet/shrapnel holes, and maybe some singeing in order to give it the look that clothes tend to get when they've been worn down in the desert and repaired over and over again for 100 years. Basically all the bits that last, like the shoulders, buttons, and collar, will be extra old and worn out, maybe patched here and there, while the bulk of the damaged sections will be newer looking. Either way, the weathering will be a long-term process.
Aside from roughing it up, the duster is 90% done right now. I'll post pics in the morning when I have a non-potato camera.
Wow, you've reached a whole new level of detail obsessiveness that I've only seen on this site before.
slowclap.gif
Seriously, congratulations on what's shaping to be the absolute gold standard of how this character is brought to life. Also, the writeup is fantastic! really enjoying reading this. Subbed!
I made a Vash coat once, for my gf. It's lower than a pre-school macaroni painting, compared to this.
slowclap.gif
Seriously, congratulations on what's shaping to be the absolute gold standard of how this character is brought to life. Also, the writeup is fantastic! really enjoying reading this. Subbed!
I made a Vash coat once, for my gf. It's lower than a pre-school macaroni painting, compared to this.
MrGreene
Well-Known Member
Ok, aside from weathering, the duster is finished:
It looks so shiny and new! Dare I say.. too shiny and new?
Over the next few days I'm going to subject it to the vigors of several wash/dry cycles, buckets of sand/dirt/gravel, and several days of direct sunlight. I also plan on looking very strange by rubbing up against lots of concrete walls.
(I've left the small buttons off the epaulets and wrist to give them some individual weathering attention before they go on)
In the meantime, I'm finishing up the chaps and a couple of details on the undersuit. I've got five days left until the con debut.
It looks so shiny and new! Dare I say.. too shiny and new?
Over the next few days I'm going to subject it to the vigors of several wash/dry cycles, buckets of sand/dirt/gravel, and several days of direct sunlight. I also plan on looking very strange by rubbing up against lots of concrete walls.
(I've left the small buttons off the epaulets and wrist to give them some individual weathering attention before they go on)
In the meantime, I'm finishing up the chaps and a couple of details on the undersuit. I've got five days left until the con debut.
joshvanrad
Master Member
The duster looks good, dude! Now weather the hell out of that thing!!!! lol
TrentR
Member
Which convention?
I've been loving this build so much and I'm very excited to see you finish it.
Sent from my Nexus 4
belligerent
New Member
I'm going to guess MTAC, based on location and timeframe. Looking awesome so far. Good luck finishing!!
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