Artimis' 300 Leonidas Foam build -- Halloween 2015 Costume Contest Entry

Artimis

Active Member
I've always been a big fan of the movie 300 and thought it would be fun to do a Spartan-style family Halloween this year. With only two weeks to complete the build (not just my costume but my wife and daugther's as well), it was very tiring but worth the effort! Getting the stomach flu in the middle of the build process didn't help either :(

Completed costume

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Full armor set
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All pieces were made out of 7mm EVA foam (Best Step 4ft x 8ft Diamond Plate Mat). The helmet was sealed with liquid electrical tape and the other armor pieces with Plasti-dip. I attempted to give everything a pitted/worn textured look using texture drywall spray and then another layer of Plasti-dip (and LET for the helmet) in order to prevent cracking. Everything was then sprayed with Rustoleum metallic gold paint.

Helmet
I used @JFcustom's foam unfold for the helmet and scaled it down to size 42 (which was still a little big). In order to make the plume, I cut out a piece of 5mm EVA foam (Hobby Lobby Silly winks brand) using the outside curve at the top of the helmet to define the inside curve of the plume piece and free-handing the rest. I then skinned it with faux fur that I found at Joanne fabric and hot-glued the sucker right on top of the helmet.
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Shield
I used @Sisqo's unfold for the shield. A few pieces were omitted and slightly modified to make it more foam friendly and I scaled the diameter up to 600mm. I used a foam hand grip I found in my garage for the back handle and had to build a foam lattice between the domed part and the flat backpiece to give the shield some extra stability. Didn't want it caving in or denting at the slightest touch (unfortunately did not get any pics of it before attaching the pieces together).
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Greaves and Shin Guards
I used the templates over at http://stormthecastle.com in order to make these pieces. I made some changes to accommodate my needs and for foam use instead of paper machete. For the lacing, I poked holes through the armor with a bamboo skewer and then put a ring of hot glue around the holes (both on the outside of the armor and inside) to serve as grommets/add reinforcement. I then used some twine left over from last year's Thanksgiving (meant to bind turkey legs together when cooking).

One thing I regret is only making one greave. I only made one because a) it was a speed build and time was of the essence b) I was concerned the thickness of the foam would cause interference with the shield attachment c) I figured that I would have the shield attached the whole time anyway so no one would even see it.
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Spardo/Loincloth
I may be an athlete who has let my physique go a little with age, and while walking around half-naked in costume is one thing, I'm not ballsy enough to run around in a full spardo/speedo. Besides, I'm a boxer guy who hasn't worn briefs since I was in 4th grade. With that said, I decided to do my own interpretation of the traditional spardo. For material, I found a sheet of faux brown leather at Hobby Lobby. I decided to take a pair of boxer shorts and skin them with the faux-leather. After that, I cut out leather strips to dangle down (which I know is more of a Roman look) and finally created a belt to hide the top elastic of the boxer shorts.
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Cape/Brooch Clip
I made the brooch clip freehand using 7mm and 2mm foam and images found on Google. The cape was just a yard or two of red polyester from Joanne fabric which I pinned using this image I found on Google.
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Spear
The tip was made using the template at http://www.stormthecastle.com/ and 3mm EVA foam (Hobby Lobby Silly Winks brand). It was sealed with Plasti-dip, painted with Rustoleum gold metallic paint, and hot glued to the shaft. The shaft was made out of PVC pipe from Home Depot and spray painted brown with Krylon paint. I cut strips of faux-leather from the sheet I bought to make the spardo/loincloth and wrapped the handle for the grip and a little near the tip.
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Accessories/Props (i.e. my family)
I made a Queen Gorgo dress for my wife using the "Farewell" scene as reference. I had never attempted to make a dress before and I can't sew so it was a fun little project. The dress was simply made from 2 yards of white polyester and a few strips of faux-brown leather that I cut from the large sheet I bought. I simply hotglued the fabric to the leather strips after figuring out how to wrap the single piece around like a dress and used a few safety pins to bunch up areas of the dress. The belts and arm band fastened with some velcro.

I attempted to make a Spartan/Warrior princess costume for my 16-month old daughter but for some reason, most of the accessories freaked her out and she wouldn't let me put them on. Using strips of the faux-leather, I made a slip-on cover for her sandals (which are normally pink) so they would fit the theme. I barely was able to get those on her. She wouldn't let me go near her with the leather belt, wrist cuffs, or headband that I made.......oh well.
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Here is a pic of the completed costume for my daughter had she worn it:
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Costume Contest Proof:
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Credits
@JFcustom for the helmet unfold
@Sisqo for the shield unfold
http://www.stormthecastle.com/ for the greave, shin guards, and spear templates
therpf.com for the library of knowledge, talent, members, and support.
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Nice work Artimis...im glad i could help with my files!
Not perfect but i wanted to believe i maked better than other files...no offence to other modelers.

P.S. I sayed my files because im Sisqo and Mircioni at the same time :)
 
Great job on the costume, everything looks great. I'm looking to do something similar. Can you point me towards the files for the helmet and the shield? I'm new to the forums and I'm having trouble finding this stuff.
 
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