Female Street Judge Build WIP

Thank you for that shoulder build thread, it is awesome and I had not seen it!

rolandblais said:

I was just at WalMart and Target during my lunch hour and had 0 luck finding a jacket or pants

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The jacket I got last weekend at Wal-Mart, the brand is George (which is exclusive to Wal-Mart I think), price was $27.76 + sales tax. I found it in the womens section in the outerwear for fall/winter that they had just started putting out the week before, so selection wasn't picked over at all when I found it. They had sizes S 4/6 up to P22. I believe there were also cream, burgundy and blue or green jackets of the same style and they were all on the same rack if that helps in spotting them any. I could not find the jacket on the website. Being in NV, they might put outwear out later at Wal-Mart?

The pants from Target, I got the brand wrong in first post, the brand is Mossimo (which I think is Target exclusive) and they were $24.99 + sales tax. They were all hanging on a rack in the womens, but more on the side with the younger juniors clothing, and there were blazers with faux leather too hanging on the same rack if that helps any. There were 3 or 4 styles of the pants, two were suitable for Street Judge gear (the ones I didn't get had all stretchy fake leather on the front and weren't as flattering on me personally). So you might find those even if you don't find mine.

Ah ha!

Here they are on the website:
Mossimo® Women's Faux Leather Ankle Pant -Black : Target

And here is the other pair I said would work too:
Mossimo® Women's Coated Ankle Pant - Black : Target

Also, this Target faux leather jacket looked good, but was too tight in the shoulders for me, but it might work great on your wife (it even had perforated faux leather on the shoulders and middle arms!):
Xhilaration® Junior's Perforated Faux Leathe... : Target

Tvayumat said:

All the buckles used are 1" fixed (non adjustable) and 2" fixed or unfixed Cobra buckles from AustriAlpin.

They are one of the more expensive elements of the costume if you buy the real thing.

AustriAlpin ? The world?s highest quality safety hardware for military, SAR, fall-stop, para-sport, and mountaineering

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Thanks you! I guess I just had not searched for different kinds of Cobra buckles enough and I had no idea AustriAplin was the maker. I think I might get two of the one inch ones if I find a good place to order from, for the chest pieces, the rest aren't as highly visible. They are pricey.

Great, thanks!

Ok, so I started with an upper body motocross armor suit:



Tonight I used a seam ripper and removed the shoulder portions:



Since the gear was used for riding motocross bikes through trails in the woods, it's already got some awesome dirt and wear on it!

You can see that the strap tag/loop things are on the outside vs. on the underside like in the movie, BUT they are already on there so nicely, I am debating using them as-is instead of removing and attaching a different method underneath. I will probably not make the final call until I have more of the vest parts done and am ready to assemble.


Here is a poor attempt at me showing you guys a demo of them:



I am hoping to start on the shoulder eagle and shell looking thing on the other shoulder this weekend, as well as the mesh/foam panels for the vest. Still have to find black mesh, can't find any local. About ready to try to find a black mesh laundry bag, XXL Men's gym shorts, etc. and re-purpose...

Anyone know of screen accurate buckles that are currently IN production or produced so that they ship when you order? Max Replica's look awesome but he's currently on production hiatus on them.

For your shoulder eagle, you can use the file below and create your own using foam or other material... I got this from Mexicutioner46 on his thread http://www.therpf.com/f71/judge-dredd-2012-shoulder-armor-161868/

You can print this and have cut out to form your shoulder eagle :

HeyLetsRock said:

Anyone know of screen accurate buckles that are currently IN production or produced so that they ship when you order? Max Replica's look awesome but he's currently on production hiatus on them.

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From the FB DC page:
Set of gen 1 replica cobra buckles for sale. Two 1" and four 2", enough for one Judge's vest.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3449142762738&set=gm.531848696883377&type=1&theater


Working metal replicas of Cobra buckles, dead ringers for the real thing.

$50 takes em including shipping inside the US.

striker01 said:

For your shoulder eagle, you can use the file below and create your own using foam or other material... I got this from Mexicutioner46 on his thread http://www.therpf.com/f71/judge-dredd-2012-shoulder-armor-161868/

You can print this and have cut out to form your shoulder eagle :

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Thanks! I plan on redrawing that in Illustrator to better fit the shape and so I can scale it to my pads, should work great.

rolandblais said:

From the FB DC page:
Set of gen 1 replica cobra buckles for sale. Two 1" and four 2", enough for one Judge's vest.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3449142762738&set=gm.531848696883377&type=1&theater


Working metal replicas of Cobra buckles, dead ringers for the real thing.

$50 takes em including shipping inside the US.

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Oops, I forgot to say belt buckle in that question! I think I might try for two working cobras for the Halloween ready version of this, and get more later. Those do look good though.

I thought I would try a video update. I show the chest armor of the moto suit in this, but I am not going to use it, just wanted to show it. Wasn't sure if that was clear in the video. Also might not use the back piece and will replace neoprene and velcro straps with webbing with a buckle in it if I do.

Let me know if you like the video update or prefer good ol' text and pictures. I've recorded another on the boots but am waiting to upload.

Also, I'm from the south, so cut me some slack. LOL This is about 4 minutes, will make other shorter.

Cool update! I'm on the fence about buying one of those armor vests... we'll see what happens.

Oh, I had no idea how not fun foam was going to be for me! Granted it was in the wee hours of the morning and I was getting tired an cranky, but it's not near as easy as it looks in other peoples threads.

I took a couple of drawings and templates I found, and didn't find either to be all that screen accurate, but, my stuff isn't screen accurate base shaped anyway, so I outlined one in Adobe Illustrator scaled it to fit my lower pad (figured I'd start here). Then I ended up printing out about 3 at different sizes before I was happy-ish with how it stuck up over the top on the eagle head.

Also, I used a new X-acto blade, and I was like wow, this is easy to cut, but before I was halfway done I swear it had dulled a lot. I used the X-Acto on the foam, on top of a cutting mat, but I just used scissors to cut out the paper template. I did the outline of the whole thing for this test vs. trying different pieces for layers yet just to get a feel for messing with this stuff. It's got a few cutting mess ups, anyway, I can't even make good looking stick people, so even drawing the lines on top after I was done was an effort. I ended up cutting my template out further so I could trace smaller parts on top. I did that first with a Sharpie pen they make for writing, one of the thin tipped ones. Here it is:



Then I was like, well how do I make the lines look etched in so that I don't have to cut a bunch of separate feathers and stuff...and then I was like oh, it's just foam and so I took my trusty PaperMate Profile clicky ballpoint pen and drew on top of the existing lines while pressing really hard (almost cut through it in one spot!) and I was left with this:



It made the lines recessed so it should look really good (for foam) when I paint and weather I am hoping. I tried to get a shot that showed the recesses, but with the night-time indoor lighting it wasn't happening. I am probably going to finish the lines, then do test painting and weathering on this piece. If I really like it, it will turn into the real piece instead of the test piece.

Well, I'm off to scavenge for some utility belt parts, but I'm kind of not looking forward to doing all the foam now on the shoulders, eblows, knees, boots, etc. :unsure

Exacto knives are great, but as you discovered, on certain materials they dull VERY quickly.

Always have extra blades on hand.

You can sharpen exacto knifes as well. Great way to save money.

That's still a great effort, and I'm sure it will look awesome when you're done.

I have to do some extra stuff for work this weekend, so I haven't had a chance to pick back up on the eagle yet, but I did get a few things while I was at Walmart today:



Kevin Smith's gym shorts - I can't find any black mesh local (just neons and tan) so I got this XXXL pair of Starter shorts for $8.88
Tresemme travel hair moose - going to spray it all out then use for body of gas grenade. $1.47
Ozark Trails pocket knife - going to paint the black green and dull blade. $1
18" heavy jacket zipper - they didn't have 16 inch, so I went with 18 inch, not really sure what I need yet for vest. $2.47
Bias tape plain pipping - might use this on elbows and knees, painted
Bias tape - black - for edge of vest
metal ruler, lost mine

Also went to Dollar Tree (everything there is $1)
play grenade, going to remove top with the firing pin and spoon part and stick on the travel moose bottle.
yellow sandwich box, for all Dredd related receipts for easy returns and grand totals

Oh, had to edit to add this, almost forgot:

I saw this stuff and thought it might be neat to coat the foam for the knee pads and elbow pads in after it is cut to shape, but before painting and gluing. Could maybe give it that more authentic look? Would this stuff eat away craft foam, not really wanting to spend $10 to find out.

Waiting for some files to sync and had a little time to work on eagle more.

Still needs a backer for behind the head (and maybe the whole thing) and I am going to make just a badge to stick on top of the badge I think and I might use this one, If I don't stack another badge I will have to do another as I had to alter the badge size free hand/free cut since the template one was too skinny so my line are a little messed up where it hits the feathers. Also want to very carefully alter the beak with a new blade (I have like 13 blades left, so we should be all good...)

Still planning to paint this tonight and see how it looks.

Decided to apply a coat of paint to the eagle before bed.

I had four different gold colors, here they are, I just did two quick thin coats to test as I was ready to get started.

From left to right they are FolkArt Metallic Acrylic Paint in Pure Gold, Inca Gold, Antique Gold and Royal Gold.



After looking at many movie stills, the eagle and shell look a darker almost bronze color, while the helmet badge, chest badge and belt buckle look more of a brass color. I decided to go with Antique Gold on the eagle test run. I think I will use Pure Gold on the badge and buckle.



This will take at least 3 coats, probably four. I'm doing really thin coats, doing the edges isn't the easiest. Need to tweak the beak a little if I use this one.

I've seen other people who had used foam for their costumes to coat it in a Elmer's glue mix or Plastidip prior to painting, that way it's a hard but flexible surface as opposed to a sponge surface that just absorbs paint and takes too long to dry.

You may want to get your discarded scrap pieces to experiment on to see what works.

Wow, I'm really impressed with your solution for a low budget gas grenade. It's just genius!

PumpMag said:

Wow, I'm really impressed with your solution for a low budget gas grenade. It's just genius!

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Thanks! I just ask myself, how can I do this in a way that will require no Bondo? and go from there. LOL (nothing against Bondo, but I am trying to get by without spending the money on it if I don't need it, and I don't have a good place outdoors to use it and sand AND wanting to spend the majority of my time on "the big stuff" vs. "the little things" up front) I can always upgrade later by making something more screen accurate or buying something.

EAGLE UPDATE:

I did coat 2 about an hour after coat 1, then went to bed, I just did coat 3 this morning and it dried about 10 minutes before the pic. This is going to take a 4th coat and maybe a 5th coat. As mentioned by PumpMag, this stuff does suck up the paint as it is porous and since the foam is red, I can see the fainted red porous dots that the paint can't get into. If I would have really been thinking I would have used black foam, and this would have worked in my favor since most of the weathering is black. However, I've been hoarding my black foam in case I do the chest and back armor without any painting. So I started with red on the test stuff. I am going to keep finishing this guy out though, you never know what will end up working out and plus, good practice run if I don't use it.

Coats 2 and 3:



VEST UPDATE:

The back: Going to drill out the metal rivets holding the current back armor on, see how that goes. May alter the shape of the back to more match movie, but it's pretty close.

See post with youtube vid to see rivets.

The front: Have mesh mens XXXL shorts to deconstruct and use for mesh, have the foam and bias tape for the edging, have zipper, have 1 inch webbing and have plastic buckles that I'm not in love with, but they look "different" and didn't cost $20 - $25 a pop. Getting my mom to help me do the pattern for the vest and form plan off attack so I can cut the foam and get started.

Here is the car headliner foam I am using (they got glitter all over it when cutting it) and the buckles for front as of now:



The neck: This is the part I am the most "how the heck am I gonna do/sew this" on. My mom has a sewing machine (which I can use decently) and she can hand sew (I can't) and she will help me, but I still have to figure out how to do it. I have the perforated faux leather and I did read how to make the ribbing by folding and sewing. Hoping the machine can handle the material, getting some heavy duty needles. TIPS/LINKS/ANYTHING on doing/sewing this PLEASE and THANK YOU!

Here is the car headliner perforated vinyl (note, it's not actually got holes in it, so it's faux perforated):



The shoulders: Need to be foamed in the appropriate places, doing eagle testing now. Need to do "luggage tag" style attachment on arm since current one is going wrong direction. Probably leaving the strap attachments on outside for now on front and back of shoulders.

Current shoulders:



Back armor: Plan is to do this out of foam. Thinking I will do the 4 panels vs. the 3. Thinking that probably depends on your size vs. if you are male or female. I have a good 5 inches on the actress that played Anderson.

Chest armor: Female style. Plan is to do this out of foam. Need to find true size of movie badge so I know what size to make hole and so a badge will fit if I get a cast one. Plan now is to make a foam real size badge.

Still needed: 2 inch webbing and buckles for sides, probably some more 1 inch webbing and slider/adjusters, regular pleather to sew for belt loops.

Doing the vest next, but still have loads to do on elbow/knees, boots, gloves & gauntlets, and utility items for belt, foam buckle, foam badge, and Nerfgiver. I plan to order cast helmet to finish, waiting on response.

Let me know if I forgot anything on the vest or if you have any suggestions/tips/etc. THANKS! Cheerleading also encouraged! LOL

The last of the judge related things for today:

EAGLE UPDATE:

Coat 4 on test eagle:


Testing out how it looks on arm (will need backer, and I will probably do some layering on the next one):

This is only held by tape, glued version will mold to shape of pad better.

GAS GRENADE UPDATE:

Took the grenade apart (7 screws), took out small bit of electrical that made it "tick", cut top part off with X-Acto, put top part back together for this pic. Will take apart again for paint. Also, emptied all the moose out of the can, need to mod the top, then paint, then put two parts together.



Note: Remember how I said the belt came with a free keychain? The ring on the firing pin is the ring from the keychain.

My spare/craft room has reached critical mass and really needs to be cleaned before I start on the sewing. Probably going to spend the next evening or two cleaning and organizing instead of working on the costume so I can get more stuff done and faster. Also going to organize my judge related receipts if anyone is interested on a current build cost.

HeyLetsRock said:

Also going to organize my judge related receipts if anyone is interested on a current build cost.

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Oh no! Never look at how much you spend on this stuff!