Thanks for the kind words. Ideally, I'll have my girlfriend the Lady Shawnon wear this thing when it's done. She's good for this sort of thing:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7785/17525276721_1e44d5851b_c.jpg
Aaaand she's ready for something a bit sexier than the last outfit I made for her:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4273/34665000782_3fb595ea08_c.jpg
So yeah. She'll end up in this as well. But since she's not around all that often, I'll end up dressing up the occasional stand-in in this outfit as well.
In other news, today I opened up the chest mold:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4359/37298931015_6645ede50d_c.jpg
After wet-sanding, polishing, and coating it with mold release, I laid up the first copy of the chest plate. Once I gave it a quick trim with the shears, I test fit it to the duct tape copy of the girlfriend:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4353/37298930505_22c0b0af1e_c.jpg
Next I'll cut a bit more material away at the sides and shoulders, so it'll sit a bit lower and farther back. But for now, I'm pretty happy with how this piece turned out. Sadly, it doesn't fit me at all:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4401/36484286393_d82ebefae5_c.jpg
On a related note, I've also finished one of the Mjolnir kits:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4424/36484286333_0b8764cb4f_c.jpg
So now it's time to focus on the ankles, left arm bracer, and the belt.
On the subject of the belt, here's my first attempt at leather carving:
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4425/36884208270_32342d0989_c.jpg
I made a second attempt a few hours ago. I figure I need to do three learning pieces before I'm satisfied that I know the medium well enough to make the whole belt.
So that's coming right up.
Stay tuned.