Warrior Hawkgirl - Articulating Wings + Armor

[springsteel]

Photo by Jonny Hackett of No. 9 Photography

When I built my warrior version of Wonder Woman, I was hoping to get more mileage out of the armor by designing it meet the needs of multiple costumes: both Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman; Worbla isn't cheap and I had a hard time justifying the cost on just one costume. However, I had such a fantastic time making it - and learned an immense amount from my mistakes - that I've decided to screw the cost and start a new build!

Thus, warrior Hawkgirl:



This is the design I'm going for, though I'll likely rework the bracers and leg armor. Materials for the armor will be the standard Worbla + craft foam, and I have some aluminum tent poles to use for the base of the wings. I'm planning to make the feathers out of fabric and glue, likely with a wire shaft. The wings are going to be a challenge!

For the corset, I have a wonderful piece of metallic, white silk that I just dyed with onion skins, and I love the result:



For the mace, I really wanted something lightning-like to reflect the magical properties of the Nth metal, so the idea was to cover an acrylic orb with Worbla, and light it from the inside to shine out through the cracks. However, plastic balls of any and all kinds ONLY come in 6" and 8" diameters. Only. And for whatever reason I just HAD to have a 7" orb, so that's a hamster ball with the air slits filled in with hot glue, and skewered with a rake handle. (What's extra nice about the hamster ball, is that the bottom screws off, making it quite handy for LED installation.)

Then, I covered the ball in bits of Worbla that I stretched and tore to give it a nice crackly edge. The spikes are just cones of craft foam covered in Worbla.



The helmet I'm having trouble with. I started out with this little paper mache number, but really wasn't satisfied with the shape, so instead of scrapping it and starting over, I got hasty and over-zealous and covered the whole thing in 10 bucks worth of Paperclay. Having now wasted $10 worth of Paperclay on a lousy shape, I decided cut it apart and cover it in Worbla. While it's an improvement, I'm still struggling with the front and mask portion.



So, that's where I stand at the moment.



I'm hoping to change gears and start working on the wing frame this week, but that may require a bit more R&D. Working with the wings will be a major challenge, as will LEDs in the mace, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Captain Rogers]

Loving this build already. I hardly ever see Hawkgirl cosplays on the forum, so I'm really excited to see this especially after the work you did on the Wonder Woman cosplay which was amazing by the way. Totally subscribing.

 

[springsteel]

Loving this build already. I hardly ever see Hawkgirl cosplays on the forum, so I'm really excited to see this especially after the work you did on the Wonder Woman cosplay which was amazing by the way. Totally subscribing.

Thank you! I'm really excited to be working on this, so I appreciate the enthusiasm.

 

[Iggy]

Good luck with this project. Still working on mine. It has been somewhat on hold for a while now. I used this tutorial for mine (LINK) and made my wing frame out of corrugated plastic board which keeps it light. I still haven't attached any feathers to my wing set yet.

 

[George]

I wish you the best of luck with your project curious to see its progress.

 

[springsteel]

Good luck with this project. Still working on mine. It has been somewhat on hold for a while now. I used this tutorial for mine (LINK) and made my wing frame out of corrugated plastic board which keeps it light. I still haven't attached any feathers to my wing set yet.

Thanks, Iggy! That tutorial actually one of the first ones I came upon! Definitely will be using it for the mechanics. I take it you're making some hawk wings as well?

I wish you the best of luck with your project curious to see its progress.

Thank you! I'm hoping to get much of the armor base out of the way this week so I can begin on the wings. Excited to see how those turn out.

 

[Iggy]

Thanks, Iggy! That tutorial actually one of the first ones I came upon! Definitely will be using it for the mechanics. I take it you're making some hawk wings as well?

Yes, I had started a thread but have been sidetracked to updating it. I have since painted the mace completely, base coated the helmet and armor, and sewn pants and a shirt together.
Link:
http://www.therpf.com/f77/custom-hawkgirl-219693/?highlight=hawkgirl

 

[George]

How does one coat the framework of the wings? With cloth,foam or something totally different?
And what does a basic framework look like? Is it the same for both self-supporting wings and wings that are being carried by arms?

 

[springsteel]

Yes, I had started a thread but have been sidetracked to updating it. I have since painted the mace completely, base coated the helmet and armor, and sewn pants and a shirt together.
Link:
http://www.therpf.com/f77/custom-hawkgirl-219693/?highlight=hawkgirl

I just came across your thread this weekend! You'll have to post your progress!

How does one coat the framework of the wings? With cloth,foam or something totally different?
And what does a basic framework look like? Is it the same for both self-supporting wings and wings that are being carried by arms?

So the basic frame will look like this:



I'm making it out of pvc pipe and aluminum tent poles - since I already had both - and the frames will attach to a backpack-like setup.

For the feathers, I'll be using fabric and adhesive to make a sandwich over a wire shaft, creating individual feathers that will layer and fan out. I made some this way for a Hunger Games costume last winter, using latex wall paint and a black bedsheet, and it worked out quite well. When I start actually building the wings, I will post a more detailed explaination with photos. Until then, a bit of progress:

 

[George]

Thank you so much for explaining! I'm slowly starting to understand it all.
This is the version I'm aiming for in due time:

View attachment 413900

This character has the wings attached to the arms,as opposed to self-supporting wings.Do I still need a wire shaft in this particular case?

 

[Agapeton]

This looks cool. I'm eager to see how you come up with the wings. Oh, there is a template of the hawk girl helmet in a thread Jr customs that might help you with the rest of the helmet.

 

[George]

I'm making it out of pvc pipe and aluminum tent poles

I was wondering what the breakingpoint is for fibreglass tentpoles? I do know that with pop-up tents they can bend in half a circle...but more than that?

 

[skittle76]

This costume is going to just awesome, but if you get those wings fold in and out...its just going to be sick. Can't wait to see the final outcome. George has a point on the aluminum poles, ones they start to bend just a little, they give and snap easily. Might want to consider solid aluminum rods instead of the hollow ones. They have them at home depot. Keep it up and Good luck.

 

[springsteel]

View attachment 413900

This character has the wings attached to the arms,as opposed to self-supporting wings.Do I still need a wire shaft in this particular case?

I actually did something similar to that!



And I used this girl's really great tutorial, which might be of use for you. As for the shafts, I think they give the feathers more structural integrity, provide a way to attach them to the main frame, and they do make the feathers look more realistic and detailed. Maybe not necessary, but definitely useful!

This looks cool. I'm eager to see how you come up with the wings. Oh, there is a template of the hawk girl helmet in a thread Jr customs that might help you with the rest of the helmet.

Of course! What a great idea! My helmet has a large, bulbous section right at the forehead that's giving me trouble, so that foam file would probably be a real help! Downloading now.

This costume is going to just awesome, but if you get those wings fold in and out...its just going to be sick. Can't wait to see the final outcome. George has a point on the aluminum poles, ones they start to bend just a little, they give and snap easily. Might want to consider solid aluminum rods instead of the hollow ones. They have them at home depot. Keep it up and Good luck.

Thanks! And these tent poles are surprisingly heavy duty. The only reason the one on the left in the photo is bent is because a tree fell on it (hence, why I fell okay cutting them up!). I've tried to bend its partner to match and have had zero luck. I don't think I'll be breaking those bastards any time soon

And thanks for the luck! Going to need it :S


Also, a little preview of the mace, against a lamp and over an iphone flashlight:

 

[Hazmat]

Awesome! You're Wonder Woman was great, I'm really excited to see how these wings turn out.

 

[Captain Rogers]

The mace looks amazing! Even better than I imagined. This build just keeps getting better.

 

[George]

@springsteel: thank you for sharing the picture with you holding the wings.How long did the total outfit take you to make it? It looks great.
Double thanks for sharing the wing tutorial!
I like how the orb lights up - nicely done,but I still wouldn't want to be hit by it :lol

@skittle76: I was actually asking the question separately from Springsteel's costume build.I saw one of those pop-up tents in a video and how they fold them.The poles seem bendy enough,but are bound the have a breakingpoint,so I was wondering at what angle they can be bend before they snap.For what I could see in the video,it looked like a quarter of a circle.I wanted to use them in a costume,bending them to make a U-turn,but that would probably not work...What alternatives are there?

 

[springsteel]

Awesome! You're Wonder Woman was great, I'm really excited to see how these wings turn out.

Thank you! I appreciate that!

The mace looks amazing! Even better than I imagined. This build just keeps getting better.

I'm really excited that it glowed that bright with the lights on. I think I might paint the inside with glue/cornstarch mix to diffuse the light a bit (I imagine that might work?). Had I been thinking, I would have buffed it up to reduce the surface shine. Too late now.

@springsteel: thank you for sharing the picture with you holding the wings.How long did the total outfit take you to make it? It looks great.
Double thanks for sharing the wing tutorial!

@skittle76: I was actually asking the question separately from Springsteel's costume build.I saw one of those pop-up tents in a video and how they fold them.The poles seem bendy enough,but are bound the have a breakingpoint,so I was wondering at what angle they can be bend before they snap.For what I could see in the video,it looked like a quarter of a circle.I wanted to use them in a costume,bending them to make a U-turn,but that would probably not work...What alternatives are there?

No problem! I think I started that costume in late January and finished by the beginning of April, but that was primarily a weekend project and my first full-out costume, so it could certainly be done faster.

As for bending tent poles, I couldn't tell you. One alternative might be a thin diameter of PVC pipe; I've used it before as boning for a hoop skirt and it would bend into a full circle, 4'+ and smaller in diameter. That might be a good, inexpensive solution for you.

 

[acesh007]

Amazing work on the costume so far. Can't wait to see the build process, especially after checking out your warrior WW.

 

[springsteel]

Thanks! It's coming along slowly, but surely. A little progress with the breastplate, part of the pauldron, and the bracer:



Also, I've been brainstorming on how to light up that mace. The easy route: throw a battery-operated set of LED string lights inside and call it good. But what I would *really, really* like to have is a pulse/glow/fade circuit so the light slowly fades in and out. Unfortunately, I also *really* don't want to program or code or work with an Arduino board or 555 timer (call me cheap/lazy/whatever), so anybody know of other options? From what I've seen on the RPF and the rest of the internet, ready-to-go fade light kits simply don't exist. My first thought was to rip the guts out of a couple of these toys and settle on the colors.

But then I found this Fading Eyes LED kit. Only two little LEDs, so not very bright... BUT, is it possible to snip off those LEDs and solder on a foot or so of LED light strip?

As always, thanks to everyone for the feedback!