Youth Sized Max Payne Coat and Nathan Drake Holster

[RetroSpectrum86]

Hey everyone! This my first time doing a thread here on the RPF. I wanted to share the final product of my latest costume-making attempt. So every year, I help my little brother make his Halloween costume (in addition to making my own). Over the years of doing this (paired with countless hours of scrolling through RPF threads and watching YouTube videos), I've picked up some basic costume/prop making skills like sewing and working with EVA foam. As an amateur artist, many of these things come naturally to me but I know I still have A LOT more to learn. Anyways, this year my little bro decided he wanted to be Max Payne for Halloween (he has played through all 3 games and is a huge fan), particularly how he looked in the second game. Here's a list of what was needed.

What he already had:

• white dress shirt
• tie
• black dress shoes
• dark dray dress pants
• black dress belt
• Beretta-style airsoft gun

What he needed:

• black leather coat
• shoulder holster

My brother also expressed that next year he would like to be Nathan Drake from the Uncharted franchise (he REALLY likes to plan ahead). So, I went ahead and made him a Nathan Drake-style holster that he could use for his Max Payne costume as well. The costume is already finished but unfortunately I don't have many WIP photos. Here's the finished product. I'll explain along the way.

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

Here is a link to the video tutorial on simulating leather with EVA foam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IZSr2CZRp4

I omitted the step of reinforcing the foam with fabric for the sake of time/money. I really love how this method worked out and will definitely use it in the future for any leather costume pieces. Many thanks to Epitome Hawke on YouTube for making this project possible.

 

[Kitty Butler]

Glad to see someone trying a Max Payne costume. I love those games as well. I just recently re-played 1 and 2. I still need to get Part 3. Your photos aren't showing up though. I keep getting 'invalid link attachments' when I click on them.

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

Sorry bout that I will try to get the pics to show up. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

Since my crappy computer can't handle doing one long post, I'm gonna split up the process over a few posts with pics.

The first thing I started on was the coat. I took his measurements from his suit jacket and created some paper templates. I ordered some super cheap stretch pleather fabric from Etsy. I traced the templates, cut the pieces, and began sewing. I've had only some experience with sewing stretch fabrics from when I made my brother's Alex Ross Spider Man costume.

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

This was the end result. Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. For the details, I glued on some buttons (no button holes though), sewed a belt and some belt loops, and added some fake pockets. My only gripe about the whole thing was that the fabric was much thinner than I expected so the holster underneath kind of shows through.

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

Next on to the holster. I started by making some paper templates for the back piece, clip pouches, and the holster itself. I cut strips of the foam for the straps. I ran over all the foam pieces with an iron to seal the foam, while heat-shaping the foam at the same time.

 

[RetroSpectrum86]

This is the finished product. After sealing and shaping the foam, I carved the "NDI" on the back piece. Then I proceeded to making the foam simulate leather. To do this, I coated all the pieces with brown shoe polish. I went into the "NDI" logo with some black acrylic paint to make it more visible. Then I coated everything with matte Mod Podge to give it a nice finish. Something I noticed about the finished foam pieces is that when I bent it, it started to crinkle and gave a very realistic leather texture. So then bent the hell out of all the pieces. I went along the edges of the holster and pouches with a sewing machine to add stitching. The front straps are adjustable with buckles that I took off of some old belts. I fixed all the pieces together with brass brads in place of rivets. The pouches close with little pieces of velcro and have the heads of brass thumbtacks glued to look like snaps. I put in a loop on the holster for by brother's belt to run through to keep it upright when the gun is holstered. I will post a photo of my brother in full costume once Halloween rolls around. Feel free to give any feedback or criticism. I appreciate any tips that may help me in the future.