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By way of update, I am now 501st approved. That hat is a pain in the rear end! But now I have to make a second one because.... 
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Feb 28, 2018 12:50
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Congrats on the approval! Lookin' good.
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Feb 28, 2018 14:19
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I'm looking for help or suggestions for making an eye patch. I'm not planning on making it myself and if someone here would make it for me that would be great. Even more ideal is if you live near Chicago and we could meet up to size it. The patch I'm looking to get made looks like the one from Metal Gear Solid 5  The problem I've been finding is figuring out the straps. I had one made where the patch itself looks like that but because it doesn't have a sewn on strap the style in that picture isn't feasible. It also doesn't fit great since it was either made by an old Polish or old Guatemalan guy that barely spoke English and refused to do any measurements themselves. I'm also using a cheap elastic strap from JoAnn Fabrics that's started to stretch out. Its been a shitshow basically but for my first try it isn't bad. I'm basically looking for an eye patch in that style that won't stretch out. It would also need to stay in position when I'm at the gym or doing some other physical activity. I could probably also use some help sizing it since I was also figuring that out on the fly. Some pictures of the patch I have and how it fits:   
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Mar 1, 2018 05:53
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Check out Hoku Props. He's a prop maker who lost an eye in a job related accident. Wears an eyepatch occasionally on his Twitch stream. He's done custom prosthesis work as well. He may have some leads or ideas.
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Mar 1, 2018 06:23
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I'd like some advice. I've been working on a prop commission - a red mage sword from Final Fantasy XIV. The client wanted the thing done via 3D printing for a variety of reasons that I won't go into at length here, but discussed a bit on my dumb idiot baby blog. We modeled the thing, printed it up, and assembled it.      It looks great, everything fits together nicely, and it ended up being nice and light by virtue of being able to dial the infill settings back in nonessential areas. The core of the prop has a trio of carbon fiber rods running through it to help support and align everything. I was going to use metal rods (maybe threaded?) but the client wanted the thing to be able to go through a metal detector without problems and wasn't happy about the weight it would add. The carbon fiber rods seemed like a good compromise. We fit everything together with the strongest stuff we could - the carbon fiber rods were coated in JB-Weld throughout the core of the printed parts, and the seams and joining faces between parts were attached with Weld-On 3 as a solvent cement to chemically melt everything together. We also coated the entire exterior of the thing in a layer of XTC-3D epoxy to reinforce and smooth everything out. It is assembled robustly enough that I probably couldn't pull the sword sections apart with my full strength if I tried, though it'd probably still shatter if you whacked it against something hard enough. Here's the problem: The blade is still four feet long, and had to be printed in six sections to fit on my machine. Even with all the reinforcing work we did, there is still an unavoidable bit of 'flex' along the length of the blade, especially when you hold it out in the red mage 'pose' from the game:   The two sections of the blade closest to the handle have ended up developing hairline fractures horizontally across the blade as a result of this flexing.   It’s such a minor thing, but it has driven me a bit nuts. I’ve tried automotive epoxies, fillers, all sorts of things to fill the cracks in, but those treat the symptom – the crack – and not the cause. I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, I might be able to do about this. I've been leaning towards the idea of trying to fiberglass the blade edges along their entire length. I don’t think the fiberglass will stop the incredibly minor flex of the blade, but my thought is that it would end up bridging any points of possible separation such that the hairline cracks will never get an opportunity to develop. Is this a viable fix? Is there a smarter option that I'm not thinking of here? I've considered trying to put threaded screws into the blade sections at an angle to maybe hold them more rigidly and prevent the movement, but I don't like the idea of having to patch whatever holes that leaves me and I'm not sure it would even solve it.
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Mar 5, 2018 22:23
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The answer you probably don’t want to hear is “print the blade again, with higher heat to increase bonding between layers and also use more perimeter shells”, and the answer your client doesn’t want to hear is “cast it in a flexible epoxy, that’ll be a couple hundred bucks extra lol”. I don’t know anyone who’s had good luck with long, thin 3D-printed objects. My plan for my next sword is going to be to build the blade by hand and just print the cross-guard. You’re right to think that adding screws won’t help. If your infill percentage is low for weight purposes, and if you printed the blade sections vertically, there’s not going to be anything in there for the screws to bite into. I’m pretty sure it is, but is it too late to disassemble the thing and put thicker, more rigid rods down the center? You’re not going to stop the blade from fracturing like that if it can bend.
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Mar 6, 2018 03:33
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My gut instinct would be that a bit of fiberglass to reinforce the lines between the printed parts could help--not necessarily because it'll be strong enough to stop the whole sword from flexing, but perhaps the fiberglass itself would have enough give to allow it to flex without cracking? I'm certainly no expert though.
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Mar 6, 2018 03:41
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Oh, important question: is it cracking at the seam, next to the seam, or somewhere else?
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Mar 6, 2018 03:44
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blastron posted:The answer you probably don’t want to hear is “print the blade again, with higher heat to increase bonding between layers and also use more perimeter shells”, and the answer your client doesn’t want to hear is “cast it in a flexible epoxy, that’ll be a couple hundred bucks extra lol”. I don’t know anyone who’s had good luck with long, thin 3D-printed objects. My plan for my next sword is going to be to build the blade by hand and just print the cross-guard. The heat and shells don't seem to be the issue. I did it in PLA at 210 and 6 outer walls, which is plenty. It isn't delaminating layers; it is cracking right where the seams are, along the interface between where separate printed parts are joined together. I'd have loved to mold and cast this in something better but as you said, client ain't paying for it.
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Mar 6, 2018 06:47
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fiberglass would allow a flex (though not much) along the length, provided you printed along a core. Shouldn't be a problem, because you printed with a carbon fiber core rod or two. fiberglass is a flexible and ultimately strong enough material for the length you're working with. anything beyond say 5' will be a problem, only due to the materials used. the main beauty of fiberglass is it allows a side-to-side flex that other materials dont, and should help reduce the cracking due to flex. you may end up with cracks along the length anyway, but nobody would notice, except you and whoever holds the sword.
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Mar 6, 2018 07:01
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Sage Grimm posted:Yes, it's possible; I did a similar thing when making a shirt from scratch and attaching the sleeves to the body. So long as you can slip the foot of the sewing machine into the cuff you should be to do so. Yeah I managed to do a successful test on the cuff on the side I'm planning to take off anyway for reasons which will become clear. Now I just need to have the courage to cut apart the 'good' side and risk mangling it.
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Mar 6, 2018 11:08
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Harvey Baldman posted:The heat and shells don't seem to be the issue. I did it in PLA at 210 and 6 outer walls, which is plenty. It isn't delaminating layers; it is cracking right where the seams are, along the interface between where separate printed parts are joined together. I'd have loved to mold and cast this in something better but as you said, client ain't paying for it. If it’s cracking at the interface then it’s probably because the thick rigid cross-sections where the parts were joined together aren’t flexing in the same way that the rest of the hollow sword is. At this point, I’d go with Lord Frisk’s suggestion and wrap the blade in fiberglass to give the exterior some ability to handle being flexed. This might not stand up if there’s going to be a lot of torque applied to the blade, but it’ll help with the side-to-side flexing from waving it around. Hmm, now that I’m thinking about this, I might try printing a sword with zero infill and no full plates on the top/bottom layer so that there’s no internal structural difference to cause this kind of problem...
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Mar 7, 2018 18:40
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I just saw a Tweet go by that said Singer had a representative at the ECCC cosplay section. Smart cookies.
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Mar 8, 2018 01:28
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They actually sponsored the whole "cosplay central" - they had sponsored panels, some machines on display, the whole bit. It was great, to be honest.
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Mar 8, 2018 02:55
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Hey, total amateur here looking for help and advice in getting into cosplay. I guess I should give some introductory information for context: I've always like cosplay, but as a 6'1 250lbs chunky white guy, most characters are kind of... not anything like me physically. Either too thin and I'd look like a fatass knockoff, or BIG characters are TOO big, and I look weirdly tiny. That combined with some social anxiety that makes me want to do a costume that basically covers my entire body and is fairly "shape" agnostic. I also like going to Ren Faires as well as Nerd Cons, so a costume that can do double duty for both would be aces for me. With that in mind, I started looking for a character that: A. I like and have affection for B. Is in face/form concealing outfit, and C. Is not so hyper complicated that I could never do it in a million years. With that all in mind, I pretty quickly settled on a character: Solaire of Astora from Dark Souls. Nerdy, from quite possibly my favorite game series ever, yet not ridiculous looking enough that I'd be out of place among a bunch of Ren Faire nerds with history boners. Looking around for inspiration, I found out that he has a REALLY highly detailed statuette made of him, and pulling pictures of that gives me basically a 360 high-def model to base my costume off of!     The images I'd use as a model. I then looked at other Solaire cosplay I could find to get some inspiration, and noticed a lot of them have.. issues. A lot of people go with generic "Crusader" helmets, while Solaire's is a very distinctive design. The tabard is often way too thin and poorly weathered, the "fur" on his shoulders flappy torn up green dishrags, and nobody I've seen even vaguely bothers with the mail. So, that's my project idea, which as a total newbie is obviously over ambitious and a terrible decision, but I honestly don't know what else I'd like to do so screw it! Now, for the parts my ideas are as follows: Tabard: Big and iconic, but pretty easy! I just need to find a large piece of solid white cloth with a decent weight to it. A nice sheet I'd figure should work. Cutting that to shape shouldn't be too hard. The sun design I'd sew on (Maybe fabric paint for the face? Or should I go with stitching for permanency?) but the weathering is a bit intimidating. Is there a good way to make fabrick look torn and worn without being too obviously fakey, or actually making the fabric start to fall apart? Fur Mantle: There are no shortage of ugly fake green fur womens shirts on amazon for like 20 bucks that I can easily order and chop up to make the mantle. If I can find something in a thrift store, great! Otherwise I'd go with that, which should work fine. Solid Armor: The bits on the arms and feet I'd figure I'd do using EVA foam, as that's the standard and should be fairly easy to cut and shape, as they're just solid pieces. Then paint and faux weather to look like beat up metal. Boots: His boots are weird and not really sure if they're meant to be metal? But you barely see them and I'd just go with a pair of knee-high brown leather boots. It'd look fine and be a lot easier to do. Helmet: Key part, but should be doable in EVA foam, yes? It's basically just a tube, with most of the details being doable as smaller pieces just clued on top of the base "tube" shape. The collar would support it on my body so it's not resting on top of my head, and shouldn't wobble about when I move. Maybe cut some discreet holes in the top/back for ventilation so it's not suffocating?  Shield: He has a big shield with the same design as his tabard on it. There's about 10 billion shield guides on the internet, so that shouldn't be an issue, and it's a simple round shape with painted front and metal rim, nothing overly elaborate. The biggest obstacles right now are: The Belts (Not sure how to make them besides just buying real leather belts/straps?), the sword (Totally unfamiliar with it, any help would be appreciated) and the biggest thing: The mail. Looking at other cosplay, so many people end up looking like they're wearing a grey sweatsuit under the rest, which just looks really bad. Or they go with a weird mesh or shiny glitter fabric type stuff, which still looks off. :\ I'd like to find some way to make something that's properly mail like without having to custom order a mail suit for hundreds of dollars. So... that's what I got. I'm sure it's too much word-vomit but hey.
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Mar 18, 2018 17:45
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Wapole Languray posted:
I think that the texture/weave of fabric is something that a lot of cosplayers overlook--especially in cases like this, when the source material is realistic/non-modern/dirty/gritty. You can see in the figure that the tabard is meant to have a heavy texture, but even if it wasn't like that in the original, I would be inclined to go with a heavily textured fabric just because it would better evoke the idea of a medieval outfit. It also wouldn't be pure white, since that's not something that they could easily do in olden times. To that end, I would recommend looking for a rough/slubby cotton/linen/flax/hemp fabric, "natural" off-white color (i.e., undyed, and unbleached or minimally bleached). It'll give more visual interest to the cloth part of the costume, and as an added bonus, it'll do a much better job of shredding and fraying in a natural-looking way when you're trying to weather that bottom edge. Something like this: 
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Mar 18, 2018 19:01
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That looks like a solid choice for a first project to me, it's a pretty simple and iconic outfit but there are plenty of little details to go crazy with if you choose. Okay, so, tabard: if you check my post history in this thread you can see an example of a shirt I made out of white canvas and some watered down paint for weathering. It was weighty enough to hold its shape and easy to decorate with embroidery thread on the seams, and the dirt looked realistic but never faded in the wash. Maybe give something like that a try? I don't think I'd use a sheet unless I absolutely couldn't find anything else. Mantle: It might be worth investing in some decent quality faux fur for this, you'll probably only need a yard at most, but the majority of green fur on the market seems to skew towards lime rather than forest green. I did find this in Moss which might be an option, there's also a kelly green out there that could possibly work. Ordering samples is always a good idea! If you do happen to find some shirt or rug that's a better color match, go for it- you can't really dye fake fur and painting it is a total pain, so take the closest match that you can get. Armor- EVA foam should be fine for this! You can put scratches and dents in it with a knife or woodburning tool, I think. Boots- I'm assuming they're supposed to be leather because the back legs of the model seem to be covered in the same material as the tunic under his tabard, so if you find some vinyl or microsuede type fabric for that, you could make a pair of knee high boot covers to match. There are boot cover tutorials out there... but you're right, you're not going to be seeing much of those in any case, you can probably get away with whatever underneath the mail and call it a day. Helmet- should be pretty straightforward to do in EVA foam, yes! One thing you might try is to replace part of the front with some kind of mesh (like screen door mesh or plastic cross-stitch canvas) painted to match the surface, rather than a solid piece of foam, to give you plenty of ventilation. Wearing any kind of costume head or mask is hot and claustrophobic so you want to get as much airflow as you possibly can! Shield- if you do want to include this, make sure you've got a way to strap it on your back or otherwise get it out of your hands because you won't want to carry it all day long. Belts- medieval belts are somewhat different from modern belts, but you could probably get away with some thrift store belts and EVA foam detailing for the metal bits. Sword- there are so many different ways you could approach a sword build, the simplest would probably be to find a generic toy sword and use some EVA foam or something like Apoxie Sculpt to put details on the hilt. On the other end of the scale you could go completely nuts and pull a McKilligan. Mail- you probably don't want to wear real chainmail, it's expensive as poo poo. I've seen a lot of loosely knitted grey sweaters that look pretty similar to mail at a distance- the only problem would be covering the entire body that way. But I'd maybe look around the local thrift store and get a sweater or two to experiment with, to start.
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Mar 18, 2018 19:14
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Patattack posted:I think that the texture/weave of fabric is something that a lot of cosplayers overlook--especially in cases like this, when the source material is realistic/non-modern/dirty/gritty. You can see in the figure that the tabard is meant to have a heavy texture, but even if it wasn't like that in the original, I would be inclined to go with a heavily textured fabric just because it would better evoke the idea of a medieval outfit. It also wouldn't be pure white, since that's not something that they could easily do in olden times. That's a good idea. I'll try and find something that has been bleached though, white but not pure white. (it's part of his image. Essentially a stereotypical "Paladin" type that has been sort of beat to poo poo.) I'm using that figure as a model because Solaire is from a game from 2011 and so looks like hot dogshit:  Squarely Circle posted:That looks like a solid choice for a first project to me, it's a pretty simple and iconic outfit but there are plenty of little details to go crazy with if you choose. Thanks for all the suggestions! Yes, I was thinking of making a shoulder strap thing for the shield so I can sling it over my back most of the time. For the helmet: While in game he has none, realistically such a helmet SHOULD have breaths in it. So yes, I should be able to cut some breaths into the front part of foam to allow airflow.  Something like this What's a good way to poke round holes into EVA foam of a not-too-big size? The belts on Solaire actually are modern buckle and hole affairs instead of looping ring belts, so that should actually be helpful. Try and find some plain brown belts in a thriftstore would work fine I think. IT's supposed to be one huge belt double-wrapped around him but I don't think two belts or just making it one is gonna hurt the design too much. The mail... One thing I was thinking was trying to make it out of plastic, like PVC? and then painting it to match. The sad fact is knitted mail always looks bad (sorry it does) but if I don't want to make something out of actual steel, then yeah it looks like plastic might work. That's gonna be the hardest part though of course. For the sword I should be able to get a training or LARP sword like this:  30 bucks from Dads With Swords site Cold Steel Paint it (Polypropylene is hard to paint but apparently can be done) and glue on EVA foam to customize the hilt and add details. This is also con-safe as it's plastic instead of metal or wood, and so shouldn't be an issue. For a sheath I think just making an EVA foam thing and weathering it to look like leather is the best route. Is this all sounding sensible? I know it'll be a bit costly, but I'm thinking of this being a multi-purpose thing I can use 1-2 times a year, instead of a one-off costume.
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Mar 18, 2018 20:26
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Wapole Languray posted:What's a good way to poke round holes into EVA foam of a not-too-big size? Get a brass tube in the appropriate diameter, then file one end and use it as a punch. Evil Ted shows this technique here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt4pgxe1gzg&t=354s
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Mar 18, 2018 22:51
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Just watched these videos of Adam Savage and the gy from punished props making Nazgul gauntlets with $35* of materials and tools. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F48rk7h-GDo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ7nE5cKeN0 I really love watching Adam Savage's good-natured enthusiastic nerdery. *Those were their estimates.
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Mar 19, 2018 05:24
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Wapole Languray posted:So... that's what I got. I'm sure it's too much word-vomit but hey. If you want to fake chainmail, you don't really want to just try spraying a sweater, because most sweaters aren't knitted appropriately anyway. What you would probably want to do is get some thick grey wool and some large needles and knit a simple stitch that looks like the rings, then give it a very light drybrushing with a metallic paint when it's done. That would be closer to a proper look. One other option you have is to actually make some chainmail. It's expensive, but this mostly reflects the fact it is very labor-intensive, so if you are willing and able to do the work you can make do with surprisingly little in materials. As you are making it for a costume, you could also use aluminium wire instead of steel, which is considerably lighter and cheaper. You can also use a bigger weave than you would use for 'real' armor. The downside is that this would mean hours spent wrapping and cutting and weaving rings. You could do this with PVC piping, cutting it into tiny rings, but then you'll have to spend a bunch of time cutting the rings anyway. I don't know if you have cut pvc before but you produce a bunch of dust and every cut has little fuzzy bits left on it you'd have to clean up, and it honestly sounds worse to me than just making aluminium rings. I am not sure how it comes out on cost. Your real problem though is going to be that the character looks to be wearing not just a chain shirt but a complete outfit. Knitted material would make that much more comfortable, but if you are making it yourself you could probably do basically chainmail chaps and integrate them with your greaves/boots so you don't have to worry about the more uncomfortable/frustrating areas.
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Mar 19, 2018 14:57
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Looking for some material suggestions. I'm looking to flair up a pair of yellow motorcycle gloves I have and make them Infinity Gauntlet styled. I need them to still be functional so something fairly low profile would be good, but all the replica stones I can find are pretty big. I'm also thinking embroidered patches might be better but no idea where to look for those. Any suggestions on where to start here?
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Mar 20, 2018 17:32
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For the stones, find the right sized clear cabochons that would fit your gloves and some nail polish that's close enough to the desired color. Michael's would be a good stop to check for size, but buying them online will be much cheaper. If you need help matching colors, come join us in the nail thread 
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Mar 20, 2018 19:00
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Hmm ok, so go clear and then use nail polish to colour match, not a bad plan. My partner's a make up artist and has more polish than I do shirts so we're probably good on colours haha
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Mar 20, 2018 20:20
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I might also suggest hitting up the rhinestones/jewelery department of Michaels/Hobby Lobby or looking at the Buttons department at Jo-ann. I just bought a whole bucket of rhinestones from HL, and they had a whole rainbow assortment in various sizes. I think the largest ones would probably be just about right. Found these with a quick search, but they had more variety in store https://www.hobbylobby.com/Beads-Jewelry/Mixed-Media-Jewelry/Rhinestones/Fiesta-Flat-Acrylic-Stone-Mix/p/80812603 I think the Nail polish will probably work well too.
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Mar 21, 2018 16:36
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What do you guys recommend for attaching them? It'll be on a leather glove and I intend to actually use them for biking, so they're going to get pretty windblown and I'm thinking hot glue won't cut it. Just something like gorilla glue or is there a better alternative?
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Mar 21, 2018 17:20
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Retro Futurist posted:What do you guys recommend for attaching them? It'll be on a leather glove and I intend to actually use them for biking, so they're going to get pretty windblown and I'm thinking hot glue won't cut it. https://www.thistothat.com says barge.
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Mar 21, 2018 17:31
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My friend was making a replica glove years ago, and ended up looking for cabochons online. He used plastic, but they had some cool german glass ones he found. Point is, search for cabs or cabochons and you'll have some luck. If you get the plastic ones or even the glass ones, I'd imagine just roughing up the leather beneath where the gem would go, and then using something like 2 ton 2 part epoxy would work pretty great.
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Mar 21, 2018 17:48
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Hey posting again, about my first cosplay but switching it up a bit? Basically I'm going to try my hand at making mail, but realized Solaire's full mail union suit is a BIT AMBITIOUS. So, instead I'm going with something that's also ambitious, but in a different way.  Yes, Oscar of Astora! Or the Elite Knight Armor, which the character wears. Whatever. So, some points in favor! This is a way more realistic suit of armor, which since I also want it for pseudo-reenactment purposes is a plus! It also has less mail: A skirt around the legs, and some on the arms and neck, which is a lot easier to do than a full suit of the stuff. Also the costume has actual, y'know, bags on it. So that's nice for actually being able to carry stuff. (Somewhere to put my wallet/phone/etc) Now, what it has MORE of is fiddly details: Fluting, lots of fancy embroidery, etc. But! This isn't too bad. See, it's pretty reasonable to build the basic suit without the fancy details and then later add them on as I want. So I can have a basic costume for working, then over time improve to get the details all in. If that makes sense? The only thing that might be iffy is making the belts. If anybody has any suggestions for making leather stuff like that?
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Apr 6, 2018 02:19
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Someone with no cosplay experience looking for some advice/suggestions, but first, backstory. I've been interested in the hobby for some time, but all my hobby time has basically been stolen over the past 4 years by an intense warhammer 40k fandom. Recently I attended the largest 40K convention in the world at Schaumburg Illinois, know as Adepticon. A particular event this convention is known for is the Team Tournament. In this event participants are encouraged to create a team theme. My particular army and obsession since I started playing has been a faction known as the Ultramarines, a roman-themed force that really loves blue and gold. Me and my team managed to cobble together some Togas for this event, and tried to play into the Roman theme of the whole ordeal by offering our opponents wine and such. Long story short I had a fantastic time, and we were even selected by Games Workshop to play on their twitch stream, presumably due to our devotion to their flagship army. In fact I had such a great time that I plan on running the same theme a year from now, and have been frantically trying to figure out how to dramatically up the presentation for next year. Better costumes, display, modeling, etc, I want to hit it all. With that in mind improving our costumes would be a big first step. I plan on starting with some sowing classes sometime in the near future, but currently I feel really out of my depth in tackling this particular aspect. I'm curious if any of you have experience with Roman outfits and could give me some advice or ideas on how to really impress the judges come next year.   As of current this is a theme I'd like to build on year by year, and I figured it presented an excellent opportunity to expand my hobby skills into the cosplay area, while still working within my larger goal of Warhammer 40k hobby progress.
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Apr 6, 2018 19:37
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Uroboros posted:Someone with no cosplay experience looking for some advice/suggestions, but first, backstory. Your roman togas look pretty decent so far. My suggestions would be to build 40k props or armor. Better belts, shoulder pads, etc. Maybe even some of the weapons and accessories? I haven't built a mini in a while, but as I recall they came with tons of little extras on the sprues. Everything from techmarine scanners to grenades to melee weapons. Pick a few and make 'em!
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Apr 7, 2018 14:37
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Okay started working on my Oscar suit, and started by trying to make mail to see if I can. On the upside it's not too difficult and the smaller amount of mail in the costume should be totally doable. The issue I'm hitting is material. The test material I bought was bright aluminum, because it was cheap and just to test making it. My issue with aluminum is it's too bright and shiny, and can't be weathered to look more battle scarred and used. But, I wonder if there is a decent alternative. The only other materiel that would properly work would be either steel or plastic. Stainless steel has the same issue as the aluminum, while mild/carbon steel can rust and realistically weather it's also heavy and rust is real damage to the metal that requires maintenance Now, Ringlord sells engineered plastic rings that look perfect: as they can be painted with the same stuff you use on eva foam and are very light. My concern with them is strength. Reading some reports, they have a tendency to snap when put under stress. My use would not be a full poo poo though, only sleeves, skirt, and a mantle. I think that would work though. Does anyone else have ehxperience making mail for constumes, particularly trying to make it look weathered or used?
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Apr 7, 2018 19:35
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Perhaps I'm missing something, but why can't the Aluminum be weathered? There is something called "aluminum black" that I found with a quick google, that gun enthusiast use to darken aluminum. Check out these quick results. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiTWVZrk8FQ Now, they sell it on Amazon, about $8 for a small bottle. Depending on how you want to have your aging go, what I would try is after the parts are assembled, maybe try spritzing this on from a spray bottle. I doubt it would be cost effective to buy a quantity large enough to submerge the whole piece in, but $8 is a small investment to test with. Might also give some ideas if you are going to use aluminum anywhere else.
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Apr 7, 2018 23:24
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Aluminum can be anodized to different colors; I have no idea how common this is in terms of finding wire or rings in different colors though. It should be a thing that you can find though. Rust isn't really a problem with mild steel as long as you keep your piece properly - make sure that you don't just toss it in a bag damp, just check it over and ensure it's dry when you store it, maybe wrap it in some oiled cloth. If you get some rust you can basically tumble it with some sand and it will clean up. I cleaned up a ton of old and badly stored pieces like this, and the rust has to be quite bad before you really compromise the mesh. However, steel rings are much heavier and if you make a substantial amount of your costume that way it's going to wear you out. I had a mail aventail and it was a real pain.
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Apr 8, 2018 03:23
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Well the issue with aluminum is it can be weathered... to look like aluminum. Not steel, or iron.  Something like that is what I'm going for. So. I think I'll buy a small thing of the engineered rings and test them for strength/paint and see. As the "plate" is going to be EVA painted rings would look more coherent in the design than metal ones.
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Apr 8, 2018 04:54
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Could you try weathering the aluminum and using different paints to give it the rusted effect? Remember, very few people are going to be looking at you with a microscope. It's totally acceptable to find a comfortable solution that may look imperfect to your eyes but more than adequate to a photographer's.
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Apr 8, 2018 05:06
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I'd have to figure out how to chemically strip, prime, and paint the aluminum while it's in mail form because otherwise I'm basically assembling a bizarre jigsaw puzzle. Paint won't stick to bare aluminum. You have to acid-etch it to make it roughly textured, then apply a primer, then paint it. Wapole Languray fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Apr 8, 2018 |
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Apr 8, 2018 05:13
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I just got my photos back from Katsucon and boy I'm going to shell out for pro photography on any of my big costumes from here on out. It's so great to have clear documentation of all that hard work!   Chez Photo/Riley was a total dream to work with, I don't ever know how to pose and she just bossed me around which was ideal. It probably didn't hurt she was a huge FFXII fan and was really hype about the costume! Oh! And I forgot to even post about it, but I won Best Novice in the Hall Costume Contest! That was really wild, I thought for sure a con with SO MANY great, intricate costumes I wouldn't stand a chance.
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Apr 9, 2018 14:25
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 You deserve those awards!
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Apr 9, 2018 15:45
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| # ? May 9, 2024 12:07 |
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Wapole Languray posted:Okay started working on my Oscar suit, and started by trying to make mail to see if I can. On the upside it's not too difficult and the smaller amount of mail in the costume should be totally doable. The issue I'm hitting is material. I've done a fair amount of butted mail with galvanized steel fence wire. It's time consuming, and I generally aged it by throwing it on and rolling around in the dirt a while. It is heavy as hell, though, so I wouldn't recommend it for all day costume wear. Ringlord''s plastics are likely a bether bet, maybe painted with hammer finish spray to simulate rust pitting.
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Apr 9, 2018 19:34
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