AAAAAAND DONE
I didn't keep a very good build log as I went this time as you might have guessed since my last pose in this thread was like many months ago. I did finish the costume though, and I am very happy with how it turned out. So from beginning to end, here are the pictures I've taken throughout the project;
I started with the right arm because I wanted to get the glove out of the way early since I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted to approach it. After that went relatively well I decided to move on to the other arms and the legs.
For the big round bits I decided to cut them out of dense styrofoam rather than EVA since it turned out to be a pretty annoying shape to get right. I used ventilation hoses for the joints just like in my Space Marine build.
Then I started to rough out the main torso shape
Making the hatch fit onto the torso turned out to be a bit of a challenge, so I ended up reinforcing the "lip" where the two parts meet with some plywood so make them both keep their shape better. I also added neodymium magnets all along the lip to keep the hatch shut and help with alignment. A plastic rod through the rear part of the hatch serves as the hinge that it pivots around when opened.
Once the torso had a shape that was more or less what I wanted, I started sanding down the seams and rounding the edges with my trusty mouse sander.
Then it was time for a test fit.
At this point I just gave the rest of the parts the same treatment with the sander before I dealt with the elephant in the room... How to actually SEE out of the costume.
I decided to go for a cheap pair of FPV goggles and a camera used for flying quadcopters from a first-person view. Normally these cameras use a transmitter and a receiver, but my father who is much more tech-savvy than me helped me splice the goggles and camera together directly. The whole setup is powered by a small lipo battery and will run for about 1,5 hours or so. I covered the goggles in foam so that I could mount them at a relatively comfortable angle.
After I made sure everything was working, I took out the electronics again and started filling the seams with latex caulk and went straight on to covering the whole thing with PVA glue (wood glue), followed by paint.
And after that, it was time to mount the goggles and the camera again
Once the whole thing was painted and I had made some straps for the arms and legs, it was time to suit up!
Everything seemed good, so I spent a whole day weathering the entire armor, and then it was convention time! I made it just in time for Närcon (Swedish cosplay convention) and decided to enter the intermediate cosplay competition. Here are some pictures from the con!
And here are some pictures taken after the convention at my dad's place!
And there you have it. There is my story! There's obviously a lot of holes in the narrative since I didn't spend a lot of time recording my progress this time, so feel free to let me know if I forgot to mention something or if you have any questions.
Oh, and I ended up winning the "best craftsmanship" category. Yaaay!