Good morning/evening/night all, based on location. I tried searching, but after about 2 hours of sorting through, I'm still rather on the fence. Here's my issue, and subsequent question.
Last year, I went with a UD Replicas Dark Knight with my Halloween costume, loved it, big hit. So naturally I needed something different for this year, and decided upon an Iron Man suit. I'm partial to the newer ones (they have the sleeker look to me, but I am open to suggestions, based on the rest of my thinking). Now, thanks to the wonderful state of NY taking an extra 5 months to send my refund back, now I'm in a bind. I had originally planned on commissioning an IM Nation suit, as everything I've seen shows them to be top notch. But with the popularity of his products lately, the lead time is about 20 weeks, a little late for the holiday. So that said, I’m in the boat of trying to figure out an alternative, which is where I need advice. I see options as follows:
I have an initial budget of $1000 USD, which was to be used as the initial down payment, and a total budget of.. we’ll say $2500 by October – so $1000 now, and then $1500 more saved by then, which would’ve been to pay the balance.
I can try to commission another work. I would need to find someone that a) has good quality, b) would work a similar pay plan with a deposit/balance arrangement, and c) can deliver in advance of Halloween.
I can try to build one out of foam myself. I’ve never worked with it, other than to glue a few pieces together, and spray some plasti on to make “at a glance-passable” pouches for a belt that never got used. I have no idea the finishing process, nor an idea of how long it would take. I do work, but I can make anywhere from 3-5 hours available almost every night, and can be free weekends if I need to. It LOOKS like it’s basically print patterns, transfer, cut, glue. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I know nothing about attaching them to anything to wear, and again, the painting end makes me nervous, since I never have. Not that I wouldn’t be willing to try, but I just don’t want to waste too much time and money if it’s something I just plain suck at.
I can buy a 3D printer and try that route. I’d been looking at them a while anyway, but have zero experience or knowledge with printing. I have no idea how much filament it would take, even a guess, or how much that material would cost. And I would still have to finish it off. My thinking is that for the money the printer would cost, that would give me far more foam to work with and experiment on.
My gut says try to do the foam myself, as it should, in theory, be cheaper overall, and providing I could put the appropriate time and research, then.. maybe? I am open to any and all suggestions, and tips, tricks, pointing to guides and anything (preferably with updated pictures, thanks Photobucket..), possible obstacles, and so on.
Last year, I went with a UD Replicas Dark Knight with my Halloween costume, loved it, big hit. So naturally I needed something different for this year, and decided upon an Iron Man suit. I'm partial to the newer ones (they have the sleeker look to me, but I am open to suggestions, based on the rest of my thinking). Now, thanks to the wonderful state of NY taking an extra 5 months to send my refund back, now I'm in a bind. I had originally planned on commissioning an IM Nation suit, as everything I've seen shows them to be top notch. But with the popularity of his products lately, the lead time is about 20 weeks, a little late for the holiday. So that said, I’m in the boat of trying to figure out an alternative, which is where I need advice. I see options as follows:
I have an initial budget of $1000 USD, which was to be used as the initial down payment, and a total budget of.. we’ll say $2500 by October – so $1000 now, and then $1500 more saved by then, which would’ve been to pay the balance.
I can try to commission another work. I would need to find someone that a) has good quality, b) would work a similar pay plan with a deposit/balance arrangement, and c) can deliver in advance of Halloween.
I can try to build one out of foam myself. I’ve never worked with it, other than to glue a few pieces together, and spray some plasti on to make “at a glance-passable” pouches for a belt that never got used. I have no idea the finishing process, nor an idea of how long it would take. I do work, but I can make anywhere from 3-5 hours available almost every night, and can be free weekends if I need to. It LOOKS like it’s basically print patterns, transfer, cut, glue. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I know nothing about attaching them to anything to wear, and again, the painting end makes me nervous, since I never have. Not that I wouldn’t be willing to try, but I just don’t want to waste too much time and money if it’s something I just plain suck at.
I can buy a 3D printer and try that route. I’d been looking at them a while anyway, but have zero experience or knowledge with printing. I have no idea how much filament it would take, even a guess, or how much that material would cost. And I would still have to finish it off. My thinking is that for the money the printer would cost, that would give me far more foam to work with and experiment on.
My gut says try to do the foam myself, as it should, in theory, be cheaper overall, and providing I could put the appropriate time and research, then.. maybe? I am open to any and all suggestions, and tips, tricks, pointing to guides and anything (preferably with updated pictures, thanks Photobucket..), possible obstacles, and so on.
