Witch King of Angmar (WIP)

[RamonvanVeghel]

Hey all, in the meantime I have finished my second version of the sabatons.

I never posted these, but the V1 sabatons are actually the very first thing I created for this costume and are my very first foam creation ever!

However looking back at them, I am not satisfied with their shape at all, and the fact I used real rivets (which I have replaced with chicago screws now for other parts) causes the foam to compress way too much. I think subconciously realized this because I never actually finished them. I also got some different boots so I had to redo the sabatons anyway.

For the new ones I decided on a single ridge and adding a toe spike. I measured the circumference of top of the boot down to the sole and used that for the template sizing.

I think they turned out pretty well. Could've been a bit better, I was actually hoping they would cover sole a bit more, but atleast this way they won't easily touch the ground.

I notice that I can spend and endless time tweaking the shape, but never really being truly happy with it. Playing with the idea of remaking 2 of the parts for these ( part 2 and 3, counting from the toe piece ) again. But like I said, I could go on endlessly but never be 100% happy so maybe I should call it and continue with the rest of the build?



Oh, and for those wondering why I'm not painting any of the previous pieces yet aside from the helmet, I actually plan on plastidipping and painting every part at the same time. Seems more efficient that way to me!
Nearly there for the armor though, what remains to be made are the greaves and arm pieces (the elbow flare thing and vambrace)

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

Updated the second piece of the sabatons counting from the toe, it was too small and flows better with the other parts now imo.
Also did a short walk around test and noticed the toe spike was too low to the ground so I sanded that down a bit.



Next part: leg armor (greaves and cuisses if I'm correct?)

I measured the circumference of my leg and took about 70% of that to find my desired width, did that for calf & thigh and drew it out on paper. I had most trouble with the shin guard. I think it's a bit teller in references I've seen, but the top part of the shin guard is covered by those segmented plates anyway, so I made it a bit lower ( aboout 3/4 up my shin).



I think it turned out well and curious to see how it'll fit and if it will move well when all the parts are attached when I have made them out of eva foam. Definitely the most complicated part I have made so far!

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

Cut the patterns and a really quick test fit

 

[joberg]

^^
Really great workmanship Sir

 

[Gazcrowbar]

This all looks so good. I recently completed my own version but far more amateurish and with a lot of revisions. I have written it up here if interested: Becoming the Witch-king

I used the strong "industrial" velcro to hold the pauldrons to my shoulders so there was no straps visible and they held up really well.

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

This all looks so good. I recently completed my own version but far more amateurish and with a lot of revisions. I have written it up here if interested: Becoming the Witch-king

I used the strong "industrial" velcro to hold the pauldrons to my shoulders so there was no straps visible and they held up really well.

Thank you man! I definitely take my time with it though, the helmet took me ages to get right haha. I checked out your blog and the first 2 paragraphs could've been written by me. I also first watched the movie on VHS around that age and now, 20 years later, finally attempting to build a costume of one of the great villains of these movies!
How cool that you had a picture with Miranda Otto btw!

I did do alot of research before and during the build and I noticed a lot of similar looking witch king helmets. They're not all the same but I see a lot of Punished Props template helmets and ones that are 3D printed. They look great, don't get me wrong, but I feel like when I go that route it wouldn't be truly my own or unique. So I sculpted the helmet from reference pics, which was a nightmare to be honest.

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

Update on the greaves & cuisses:

Had some trouble with the sizing.. even though I measured, the entire template was too short so it didn't fit my leg fully. Either it was way too high up my shin, or it was too low on the upper leg when pulled down so the greave sat correctly just above the sabaton and shoe.
Some cursing later I realized I could maybe fix this without having to redo everything, by simply adding 2 more segmented parts, for thigh and shin.
So I added part 1,5 between parts 1 and 2 and part 12,5 between part 12 and 13 and it definitely helped lengthen it enough in my opinion.

I'm not 100% sure about how much a 'half' greave (front only) should wrap around ones leg, but I think it looks good enough right now so I won't have to redo it. Thankfully!

It looks a bit wide because I still need to heat form the curves a bit more to wrap around my leg.

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

I finished both greaves and redid the poleyns (the knee parts ) because I felt I could make them better.
They're 4 parts glued together with contact cement now, so it forms more of a half dome shape and is less flat than before.
I also glued eva foam strips which were left over from cutting from the back of the ridges, to the front of the ridges, for a more 3D look, same as I did for the pauldrons.
I still have to cover the strips with kwik e filler to smooth the ridges out and sand all the parts on a 45 degree angle, to make the foam look thinner. Also planning on doing the same texturing as for the helmet and pauldrons on these and all the rest of the parts where possible.

 

[RamonvanVeghel]

I have made leather straps and did some filling of the ridges with kwik e filler.
Waiting on an order for the other side because I ran out of leather.
Very happy with these results, it looks so much better fitted tightly against the leg, and it is quite comfortable to wear. It is also articulate enough that I can do a squat, albeit with some tightness from the straps around the knee area.
Hopefully that will be less of an issue when wearing long pants lol.