Hello, The RPF!
I've been working on my first full costume lately - specifically since I heard ComicCon was coming to my hometown of Copenhagen, yay! Actually we have no idea what to expect from the event here - it could be a tiny niche one-time event for kids, or it could be the signal for all the local nerds to start coming out of the woodwork.
Either way I wanted to do something for the occasion. After a bit of thought, including considerations of budget restraints, I came up with this idea: "Bucky Under Cover (but not specifically the costume from 'Civil War')". Basically it's Bucky at some point between the end of "Winter Soldier" and the beginning of CW, scrounging by under the radar and writing his memories down as they trickle in. In fact, the "word of god" info that the backpack from CW contains his diaries were part of what made the decision.
But nothing screen-accurate.
This meant building just the forearm and hand of his metal limb, as well as getting some duds together. I'm going to do the tellin' about the arm build now, and hopefully I'll return with pictures of the whole thing after it premieres at CCCPH.
OK, let's go:
I started by making a papier-mache shell by wrapping my left forearm in a thin layer of packing foam, and then covering it in layers of veneering paper tape I had lying around because I used to be a cabinetmaker:
apologies, my front-facing mobile cam is busted and the selfie one is terrible
This was actually meant as a test but it turned out to be the (literal) core of the project. I cleaned up the edges and started trying to figure out how to put it back on, as well as make it look like a Bucky arm. I decided to cover it in an outer skin made of cardboard stock covered in aluminium insulation tape and put a sort-of latch mechanism inside.
This is how I made the skin:
I made a form-fitting grid with cardboard strips & super glue, then cut it into what I considered a fitting pattern for the skin. I looked at a lot of pictures of Bucky's arm but I didn't try to replicate any - rather, I tried to catch the spirit. In pics like the below from CW the arm looks a bit edgy and jagged and that's what I went for.
OK, let's look at the hand/glove part a bit - I started by covering a cheap work glove in alu tape. Looked a lot like I was doing something unseemly to a severed Simpson's hand. The color wasn't on purpose, it was just the cheapest, best-fitting glove I could find:
I knew the alu tape would wrinkle so I made cardboard skin parts for the fingers as well. On all the pieces made of card stock I colored the edges black - tried with silver but black added a bit of hardness and depth which I thought was cool.
The latch mechanism I made by shaping some 2-millimeter fence wire into a couple of "bracelets" for below the elbow and above the wrist. I simply stitched them into the papier-mache shell using a needle and "bear" thread. I then covered the skin stock in alu tape and put some tape on the edges of the shell, as well as where I knew the skin would have gaps.
I also made an insert to cover the gap and the latches when the arm's on, and put a glove with the fingers cut off over the fully metalized (except the palm) glove - and here's the whole thing, ready to put on:
As far as the clothes are concerned I'm going for a straight-up "hobo" look; the idea is that whatever Bucky's wearing at this point is crappier than what we see him in by CW. I'll get into that more once I have pictures of the entire ensemble.
Thanks for reading!
(also, moderators, I'm sorry - I haven't tagged this because there doesn't seem to be any "Civil War" tag available)
I've been working on my first full costume lately - specifically since I heard ComicCon was coming to my hometown of Copenhagen, yay! Actually we have no idea what to expect from the event here - it could be a tiny niche one-time event for kids, or it could be the signal for all the local nerds to start coming out of the woodwork.
Either way I wanted to do something for the occasion. After a bit of thought, including considerations of budget restraints, I came up with this idea: "Bucky Under Cover (but not specifically the costume from 'Civil War')". Basically it's Bucky at some point between the end of "Winter Soldier" and the beginning of CW, scrounging by under the radar and writing his memories down as they trickle in. In fact, the "word of god" info that the backpack from CW contains his diaries were part of what made the decision.
But nothing screen-accurate.
This meant building just the forearm and hand of his metal limb, as well as getting some duds together. I'm going to do the tellin' about the arm build now, and hopefully I'll return with pictures of the whole thing after it premieres at CCCPH.
OK, let's go:
I started by making a papier-mache shell by wrapping my left forearm in a thin layer of packing foam, and then covering it in layers of veneering paper tape I had lying around because I used to be a cabinetmaker:
apologies, my front-facing mobile cam is busted and the selfie one is terrible
This was actually meant as a test but it turned out to be the (literal) core of the project. I cleaned up the edges and started trying to figure out how to put it back on, as well as make it look like a Bucky arm. I decided to cover it in an outer skin made of cardboard stock covered in aluminium insulation tape and put a sort-of latch mechanism inside.
This is how I made the skin:
I made a form-fitting grid with cardboard strips & super glue, then cut it into what I considered a fitting pattern for the skin. I looked at a lot of pictures of Bucky's arm but I didn't try to replicate any - rather, I tried to catch the spirit. In pics like the below from CW the arm looks a bit edgy and jagged and that's what I went for.
OK, let's look at the hand/glove part a bit - I started by covering a cheap work glove in alu tape. Looked a lot like I was doing something unseemly to a severed Simpson's hand. The color wasn't on purpose, it was just the cheapest, best-fitting glove I could find:
I knew the alu tape would wrinkle so I made cardboard skin parts for the fingers as well. On all the pieces made of card stock I colored the edges black - tried with silver but black added a bit of hardness and depth which I thought was cool.
The latch mechanism I made by shaping some 2-millimeter fence wire into a couple of "bracelets" for below the elbow and above the wrist. I simply stitched them into the papier-mache shell using a needle and "bear" thread. I then covered the skin stock in alu tape and put some tape on the edges of the shell, as well as where I knew the skin would have gaps.
I also made an insert to cover the gap and the latches when the arm's on, and put a glove with the fingers cut off over the fully metalized (except the palm) glove - and here's the whole thing, ready to put on:
As far as the clothes are concerned I'm going for a straight-up "hobo" look; the idea is that whatever Bucky's wearing at this point is crappier than what we see him in by CW. I'll get into that more once I have pictures of the entire ensemble.
Thanks for reading!
(also, moderators, I'm sorry - I haven't tagged this because there doesn't seem to be any "Civil War" tag available)
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