CHAPPiE Replica Costume

Loving the look for the eyes you are going with. You might be able to pick up an LED lighting kit for cheap on Amazon. I paid $16 USD for mine. I still don't have my prop sent yet, but the seller swears they will have it out this next week (they've had problems with their 3D printers). The company is based out if China...and if you think Chinese technical support is helpful or useful, you've got another thing coming. Still waiting on that. In the meantime, I am collecting merchandise from another IP I enjoy.

I have a few LED panels from an Arduino Uno practice kit :) but since I need to be able to see around them I ended up just mounting singular LEDs in square foam blocks that I drilled holes into. I need to see if I can actually figure out the Arduino so I can get my ears to move... I want them to move up and down about every minute or so, but I don't know if thats even possible. I picked up 2 servos for really cheap on BangGood (over a month ago, the shipping is slow) so I will have to do some practice once they arrive. (Anyone with Arduino skills on here?)
Damn, shame about the issues with the 3D printer. I hope they get it to you soon I'm actually really excited to watch you put it together! :D Please post progress!

Also, opened the link you sent with the CHAPPiE cosplay — $2,071 CAN + 13% HST?! Gees, I should sell more of my work—most of my props collect dust on my shelves!
Seriously, that costume is almost as much as my rent for several months.
 
I have a few LED panels from an Arduino Uno practice kit :) but since I need to be able to see around them I ended up just mounting singular LEDs in square foam blocks that I drilled holes into. I need to see if I can actually figure out the Arduino so I can get my ears to move... I want them to move up and down about every minute or so, but I don't know if thats even possible. I picked up 2 servos for really cheap on BangGood (over a month ago, the shipping is slow) so I will have to do some practice once they arrive. (Anyone with Arduino skills on here?)
Damn, shame about the issues with the 3D printer. I hope they get it to you soon I'm actually really excited to watch you put it together! :D Please post progress!

Also, opened the link you sent with the CHAPPiE cosplay — $2,071 CAN + 13% HST?! Gees, I should sell more of my work—most of my props collect dust on my shelves!
Seriously, that costume is almost as much as my rent for several months.

Yeah! I wanted to show you what your work could potentially net you in terms of value. And you do amazing work. I really like chappie because he reminds me of the BRD-01 Spectre combat droids from Titanfall (http://titanfall.wikia.com/wiki/BRD-01_Spectre). My CAR SMG is confirmed to be in shipping... I should get it tomorrow sometime if USPS is to be trusted.

I'm by NO means an Arduino expect, but this is what I could dig up for you.

https://playground.arduino.cc/uploads/Main/arduino_notebook_v1-1.pdf
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage
http://forefront.io/a/beginners-guide-to-arduino/

It's a start at least! Between all those links, I hope you find something useful. The only knowledge I have about Arduino comes from the brief videos that PunishedProp's Bill Duran posts on Youtube.
 
Have you been to Toy Traders in Langley, BC?

Blomkamp gave the owner one of the screen used Chappie's.

zAn3Cf.jpg
 
very impressive so far! do you think you'll have any issues seeing around the LEDs? i had problems with the LEDs in my Star-Lord helmet, the light blasting back in my eyes for the most part completely blinded me... :lol
 
Yeah! I wanted to show you what your work could potentially net you in terms of value. And you do amazing work. I really like chappie because he reminds me of the BRD-01 Spectre combat droids from Titanfall (http://titanfall.wikia.com/wiki/BRD-01_Spectre). My CAR SMG is confirmed to be in shipping... I should get it tomorrow sometime if USPS is to be trusted.

I'm by NO means an Arduino expect, but this is what I could dig up for you.

https://playground.arduino.cc/uploads/Main/arduino_notebook_v1-1.pdf
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage
https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage
http://forefront.io/a/beginners-guide-to-arduino/

It's a start at least! Between all those links, I hope you find something useful. The only knowledge I have about Arduino comes from the brief videos that PunishedProp's Bill Duran posts on Youtube.

I appreciate that you think my work is worth something :) I have never sold a single thing in my life... I've only ever really sold my graphic arts services for logos and business cards! But I think I prefer the hands on craftsmanship more than working on a computer any day. I only make my props with foam, so I don't know if anyone would be willing to pay for that... maybe if I ever worked up the funds to try resin casting.

You're right! The BRD-01 does look similar to CHAPPiE but I have never heard of Titanfall! USPS isn't too bad of a mailing service :) you should be fine.

These are super helpful thank you! I am cannot wait to get my servos to try them out! If I struggle, Im sure I can poke around for some help :)

- - - Updated - - -

Have you been to Toy Traders in Langley, BC?

Blomkamp gave the owner one of the screen used Chappie's.

https://imageshack.com/a/img923/8351/zAn3Cf.jpg

I have never been to BC, but now I know to visit Toy Traders if I ever do! That's an actual prop from Blomkamps film? Urgh, I would love to see it.
Blomkamp was down here in Ottawa lately working on a film... I can't wait to check see it when it comes out! I adore his films. :love
 
Your foam work is way better than what I could ever do. lol... I hate foam, the closest I get to that is the upgrade I just completed for my Jack Cooper gloves... I'll post pictures soon. It's not much, but looks much more screen accurate. And I'm sure you could make money off your stuff it even looks half as good as the Chappie costume you have going! Also... I hate USPS. My package was delayed. The sorting office near me is garbage, they have a 50% success rate of getting things to you on time. It's rather annoying.
 
very impressive so far! do you think you'll have any issues seeing around the LEDs? i had problems with the LEDs in my Star-Lord helmet, the light blasting back in my eyes for the most part completely blinded me... :lol

I'm so happy you like it! :$ I dont think I'll have too many issues seeing, only if it's dark! I will have a handler with me just incase.

I usually put black foam and acrylic paint on the back of my LED's to reduce any bounce back into my eyes. On my DeadSpace helmet, I built tinfoil backed foam visors along the lights to help reflect the light back out the front of my helmet instead of into my eyes. I could see through only a tiny slit in the helmet, but it worked reasonably well until I was in a dark room — then I couldn't even see my hands in front of me! EVERYTHING WAS GREEN. :facepalm
20170513_093501_HDR (1).jpg
 
Your foam work is way better than what I could ever do. lol... I hate foam, the closest I get to that is the upgrade I just completed for my Jack Cooper gloves... I'll post pictures soon. It's not much, but looks much more screen accurate. And I'm sure you could make money off your stuff it even looks half as good as the Chappie costume you have going! Also... I hate USPS. My package was delayed. The sorting office near me is garbage, they have a 50% success rate of getting things to you on time. It's rather annoying.

I really really appreciate you saying that. This is my second time ever building something with EVA foam so I often feel quite discouraged. It looks like it all comes together so smoothly... but of course you don't see the anger and frustration when it doesn't work the way I planned. Maybe one day I'll consider selling something... for now I'll just keep it a personal love :)

Really? USPS is pretty good here. If its DHL then forget about it, your package is lost lol. Shipping here often takes a long time anyway, so I suppose I'm used to it. I had a camera strap shipped to me once and it showed up 3 months past the delivery date... by then I had bought a new one, shipped it to Florida, went to Florida for xmas, picked it up there, had an entire holiday and flew back! It's crazy how lost mail can get sometimes!
 
Hello everyone! I'm here with yet another update! I know it has been a while.

Seeing as I am waiting for some pieces to come in the mail, I decided to take a break from the head and move to the arms. I had a lot of trouble trying to get the forearms to look and fit quite the way I had wanted... I really wanted to keep the materials thin but without compromising the strength and integrity of it. I ended up doubling up 2 layers of 3mm EVA foam with contact cement, one layer had the logo carved out of it before I stuck the pieces together. I placed a popsicle stick inside to reduce any flexing around the logo since the foam was thinner in this area... It seemed to help!

After fitting the pieces together, I drew on the details and carved them in with a knife and multiple dremel heads. The cuts were then opened up with a heat gun. I then cut the top portion of the forearm out of thicker eva floor mats and dremelled out a gradual slope on one side of the strip. This strip was then contact cemented to the thinner foam and everything was heat formed to shape.

After heat forming I added contact cement to the edges where the forearm would close and connected them, I left the very base of the wrist unglued and attached an elastic on the inside to allow for a little stretch when I slide it over my hand. The handles and loop holes were first cut out of plastic (I use house siding sample swatches from Home Depot for small plastic pieces, they're free!) and then sandwiched in foam to add thickness. The plastic helps keep the foam stiff on areas where accents are likely to get bumped and bent.

Forearm (reference first):
Screen Shot 2018-02-08 at 2.46.35 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-02-08 at 2.49.50 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-02-08 at 2.49.55 PM.png
IMG_20180206_212934.jpgIMG_20180206_212950.jpg

Video Progress:
 
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Most excellent update! Love the details you've put on that forearm:cool The letters are very sharp! Keep up the great work:)
 
Forearms are always hard to make. I despise making anything related to that. Hahaha. Sometimes moving on to something else on the costume is a good way to fix it later. It gives you time to think of a solution. My gun finally made it here today! I've been working on it all day. I promise I'll get to pictures after. I am showing my steps...
 
Most excellent update! Love the details you've put on that forearm:cool The letters are very sharp! Keep up the great work:)

Thanks so much! Thankfully that is the LAST piece with the lettering carved into it... it takes so long to do and it's so tedious. :wacko
 
Forearms are always hard to make. I despise making anything related to that. Hahaha. Sometimes moving on to something else on the costume is a good way to fix it later. It gives you time to think of a solution. My gun finally made it here today! I've been working on it all day. I promise I'll get to pictures after. I am showing my steps...
I completely agree... I struggled so much, there was a lot of swearing, a lot of beer, and a lot of anger. My biggest frustration was just that I couldnt get the foam to curl small enough to go over my arm! I have a store mannequin (like the ones you'd see in a clothing store) and my arms are slightly smaller than hers! So I couldn't even use her arms for shaping like I had planned! UURGH :angry

I just hope it looks good once I get a layer on paint on it.... thankfully I managed to pick up some plastidip for SUPER cheap on eBay (they're about $24/can here in stores so I hate buying the stuff, BUT I got 6 cans for $6.50 each!) so I'm hoping it will help reenforce the forearms a bit and smooth out some of my mistakes.
Anyone who needs plastidip in Canada: https://www.ebay.ca/usr/ottawa-tsx?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I'm looking forward to moving to the next piece thats for sure! They're more blocky and less round, so they wont need to be as fitted. I'm taking a small break right now due to some personal life stresses, but I hope to be back to work by Sunday!

I am so glad you got your gun! I am really excited to see what you do with it. ALWAYS DO A BEFORE AND AFTER! :D
 
I can hardly contain myself, but before and after pictures are up of the gun! :D Also... is plastidip and things of that nature difficult to acquire in Canada...?
 
I hear you, forearms can be frustrating at times (as you said, beer could soften the edge:D...I'll go for Belgian beer anytime)...eager to see your next update.
And yes, mcoractual; Plasti-Dip wasn't on any stores in Canada for a while. They introduced another brand and it does the job. Don't forget, we're paying a lot more for a can than for the same one in the U.S.:angry
 
I can hardly contain myself, but before and after pictures are up of the gun! :D Also... is plastidip and things of that nature difficult to acquire in Canada...?
To start off, the gun looks AMAZING. Great job on the paint, it looks so good!
And yes, a lot of things can be hard to find or just more expensive than in the US. Plastidip can be found at places like Home Depot and Canadian Tire, but they'll set you back $24 a can after tax (our HST is 13% here in Ontario). I managed to find eva floor mats at Walmart, but only about 1 pack per store for $14 +hst... and a small roll of eva 3mm at Michaels for $12 +hst. I'm sure other items can be found depending on where you live. For example, Toronto probably has better craft stores than here in Ottawa because it's got a larger population and more creative community — seeing as Ottawa is a Government city.

Most items have to be ordered online from Amazon (with month long waiting periods for shipping)... or dug around for at shops or online from eBay or Kijiji. I dont know if anyone else on here from Ottawa is having better luck... but I know I struggle for sure.
 
I hear you, forearms can be frustrating at times (as you said, beer could soften the edge:D...I'll go for Belgian beer anytime)...eager to see your next update.
And yes, mcoractual; Plasti-Dip wasn't on any stores in Canada for a while. They introduced another brand and it does the job. Don't forget, we're paying a lot more for a can than for the same one in the U.S.:angry

I had a little more work to get done on the forearms this weekend, but thats about all I have to show. I was away for most of Saturday, my laptop died on Sunday and my Internet also kicked the can (0.2mbs speed) and my Bell tech failed to show up so I spent hours on the phone arguing back and fourth with Bell and Teksavvy... and had a chaotic week before that so I have very little to show right now!

What I did manage to get done is these extra joints on the forearms which will eventually connect to the elbows. They look kind of silly with weird spacing between them, but I promise it's supposed to look like that! I didn't do them exactly the same simply because I still needed to maintain my mobility, no ones really going to eye up the joins because they're black, and omg it was hard to make so many details out of such small amounts of thin foam!... but I think after a paint job it will be close enough that no one will pick on it.

Forearm joints: (references first)
Screen Shot 2018-02-12 at 10.02.50 AM.pngScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 10.03.14 AM.pngScreen Shot 2018-02-12 at 10.03.25 AM.png
IMG_20180211_215933.jpgIMG_20180211_215919.jpg
 
New update.
I just received some new materials from the wonderfully talented TJack (instagram: @TJackfx).
He saw my project on here and mailed me a new material for my CHAPPiE head that looks much more accurate than the screen mesh I had been using previously. He uses this material for his Spiderman eyes on his costume, it's hard plastic, super lightweight and really easy to see through!

I really want to thank TJack for his generosity and for being a part of this build. It means the world to me. :love
IMG_20180212_104724.jpgIMG_20180212_104435.jpg
 
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