Pint Sized Fett

New Member
Hey there!

I have never created a costume piece before and after seeing the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I knew I had to make my own costume!
I am a 5ft female and find it difficult to find processes that work for me, my arms are nowhere as beefy as the standard male winter soldier!

Using a simple but effective method, I created my own personal fitting arm, here is the tutorial :)

First, cover your forearm with bubble wrap and seal lightly with tape, this is used so that the mould is slightly bigger than your actual arm, meaning you can take it on and off easily when finished. Cover forearm with cling film over bubble wrap, so the tape doesn't stick to it. Using masking tape, cover the forearm with one layer of tape.
Cut off masking tape (save bubble wrap for top of the arm but is not necessary for the shape) stick back together with masking tape and stuff (newspaper, socks, tights etc.) to hold the shape.

Repeat process on top of arm and shoulder (apologise for lack of photo, for some reason won't upload!)

Using different images from online and a black permanent marker I drew the various separations of metal across the template, this gives me the basis of the shapes that will be made on the real arm and makes sure the template is the perfect shape to fit on the actual costume piece

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For the next step, repeat the previous process but instead, use tough gaffa tape not masking tape, this provides a tougher and stabler base to add the pattern.

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Cut off, reseal and stuff as before.

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Using the masking tape template, I cut out each section, smoothed it out and drew around it using a permanent marker onto 3mm foam. This can be picked up at any craft store and is extremely easy to use and very effective! Cut the section out from the foam and stick onto the arm.

I used a hot glue gun to stick each section onto the arm, because the glue would not stick to the gaffa tape I recoated the arm in masking tape, you may need to experiment with different glues on the gaffa tape but it seems the masking tape is better for attaching foam :)

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This process is lengthy but worth it, start with a key feature and work around it (helps cover if there are any little mistakes within the template!)

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Once this is completed on the forearm and top of the arm, using a simple craft PVA glue, cover the entirety of both pieces. Allow to dry and repeat three times, this will help solidify the foam and make a stable base.
I used a kitchen roll holder and toilet roll holder to hold them up so I could cover the whole piece seamlessly.

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When on, the arm will look like this:

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To ensure the lines are visible once painted, I cut into the dents using a scalpel.

Using a black spray paint, I sprayed all of the arm to cover the colour of the foam.

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After this has dried, spray paint all over again using a glossy silver spray paint, metallic effect is the best :)

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With a red acrylic paint, paint the star over the silver.

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To give a more realistic metal effect, use a black wash (black acrylic paint with lots of water) and brush it over the arm. Leave this for about 30 seconds and rub off. Repeat as many times necessary

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Make sure this is thoroughly dry before wearing :)

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And there you have it! A pint sized version of the Winter Soldier arm :)

I hope this is helpful to everyone and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

Thank you!
 
This looks amazing! I'm another female working on a Winter Soldier arm, and I'd cobbled together a process something like the one you ended up using. I have a question, though -- how do you keep the pieces on your arm? (Did you just make them large enough to slip on and off your arm, or did you cut them open to make them easier to put on and take off?)
 
This looks amazing! I'm another female working on a Winter Soldier arm, and I'd cobbled together a process something like the one you ended up using. I have a question, though -- how do you keep the pieces on your arm? (Did you just make them large enough to slip on and off your arm, or did you cut them open to make them easier to put on and take off?)

Thank you!
The top piece stays on mostly I think due to the shoulder piece, because it covers the whole shoulder it sits nicely and doesn't fall off, the forearm is tighter and I made a small 2 - 3cm slit underneath as I could initially get it on...then struggled getting it off!! Using the bubble wrap underneath the tape for the template and mould makes sure it fits you and only you, and the bit of wiggle room means you can get it on and of easily :)
Hope this helps and good luck! :)
 
Fantastic! How much can you articulate your shoulder with the arm on?

Thank you!
I can move my arm up to a 90 degree angle in front and behind when straight, the shoulder piece has enabled a lot of room for movement :) I can move my forearm easily too but is a little bit restrictive, this is easily corrected by cutting a larger half oval shape out from the bottom of the top of the arm by the inside of your elbow, I decided to not make this part too large as wanted a more seamless appearance but would advice making at least a small one or you won't be able to move at all! Will submit photos if you would like to see the movement available :)
 
Question: You mention foam a few times, did you use foam or are you talking about the outcome of the 3 layers of PVA glue?

The areas you see on the arm that are blue and white are all made out of foam, foam makes a great base and is easy to cut, mould and stick and gives a realistic 3D effect to projects such as this. The three layers of PVA help solidify the foam so the structure is sturdier and stop it from soaking up the paint and leaving a strange lumpy finish :)
Hope this helps!
 
Oh my God, you're awesome! This tutorial is simple but so helpful. <3
Just wanted you to know that I'm working on my own WS arm, and I used/still use your tutorial the whole time!
Amazing work! :)
 
Thank you so much for posting this tutorial! It has been super helpful. :) I had a question about the inside of the arm. Did you line the inside of the arm with anything when you were finished?
 
Hi!
First of all I want to thank you for posting this amazing tutorial! Just like you, I have absolutely no experience in making a costume, but because of this unhealthy obsession with the Winter Soldier, I knew I had to do this. I've seen a lot, like a LOT of Winter Soldier arm tutorials, but THIS is the easiest one with amazing results!

It took me a month and a half to finish my arm (with occasional existential crisis and procrastination in between) but I absolutely LOVE how it turned out~
I wore it three days ago for our TOYCON 2016 here in our country, and it was heartwarming when people came up to me and complimented my metal arm. So I want to extend their compliments to you as well, my dear, thank you so much! :love

PS. It's my first time to actually cosplay... so in time, I'll improve the arm (i got a few little scraped paints, but they were totally my fault) and costume :$

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Your arm looks great!! I do have a question: what did you do for your hands? I'm dressing up as Bucky in his civilian clothes (what he wore in the first half of Civil War) and he doesn't really wear gloves with that outfit (I mean, he does before the police come and ruin his plum party. But his gloves cover his hands so you can't see the metal and for my cosplay I would like people to see my robotic hand so they know I'm Bucky). What did you do for your hands and do I have to do anything different since I won't be wearing any gloves?
 
I used this tutorial as a guideline to make my arm, though I ended up making some changes to the process along the way. While I attempted to follow the masking tape step, I found it too fiddly to use, and difficult to stuff adequately-so it's possible I had the wrong product. Because the result isn't meant to be 100% movie-accurate and (since you're only building one arm) symmetry is irrelevant, I cut foam pieces out and stuck them on one after the other, with overlapping edges in many cases. This created a plated metal effect, which may have been aided by the fact that I was using 2mm foam instead of 3mm. I also used a heat gun to seal instead of plastidip, primed the surface with PVA glue (I'm not solid on whether this step was necessary but I didn't want to mess it up), then painted it over with black acrylic. Once that was dry, I painted the star with red acrylic (this took several coats) and drybrushed metallic silver acrylic on. I also painted the fabric joint at the elbow silver, though this was mainly to have it blend in more with the rest of the arm.



The most useful part of this tutorial for me was the suggestion to use bubble wrap and duct tape for a base, since it made the arm very sturdy and removing some of the bubble wrap after creating the form let me give my arm some 'breathing room' - initially, I put it on and was scared I wouldn't be able to take it off again!

This arm only took me a few days to make (working on it on and off, with time for paint drying), so I suspect that taking the 'quick and dirty' method of cutting the foam without a template is what did it. I also had the help of a friend when painting the arm, so we were able to each take one half of the arm and apply the silver paint.

If I was to do this differently, I would probably try to make the joint in such a way that it didn't puff out when I bent my arm. For my first time working with foam though I think as a whole it's pretty alright :)

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