California Halo Costuming Group

[Trooper0621]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the interest. Sorry for letting everything kind of pile up. I just got back from a weekend at Ithica's. Let me get some of the backlogged messages dealt with and I'll get a proper update here.



Edit: Update in the first post. Important notes for those too lazy to scroll back up...



Go ahead and edit that little Company A logo into your forum sigs if you use it. If you need help setting it up/integrating it into your signature, please let me know.



Welcome to SpArtan-27, MrOrea123, EvilDorito, Clockwork_Creep, and our first permanant Norcal-er, ACDCrockr209.



Currently it looks like everyone is going the pep route. One thing to add here, once we reach a certain point, would be a list of any molds people make so that coordination can be made for parts. Of course, that's when people get into mold making. =) I do hope we get there someday though, since it's an amazing way to be able to share your creations with other people.



MrOreo123 has set up a 405th Map so everyone can quickly reference where people live. If you can, please put in your city/zip code info! Not your full address though. No matter how many times you send it to me, I told you, I'm not mailing you a cookie. Stop asking.



MrOreo's 405th Map



Edit:



I'm reposting this from Kensai (it was in another thread discussing sub-divisons) since I think it sums up good current goals for us:

there are plenty of things to do to improve the overall quality of the site and get this train moving forward.



1. Make quality armor, props, and help around the community both local and online. (Quality props attract the eyes of Bungie, Halo celebrities, and new members and work towards more fully suited members)

2. Consult with the 405th Source about donating time to do professional video tutorials, create artwork, write articles, and help maintain a professional, friendly and positive face for the 405th (VERY IMPORTANT! Provides reputation, new members, attracts important eyes like Bungie and Halo celebrities which is important if we want their approval to be an official group)

3. Attend conventions, public events and charities promoting the 405th name (Provides us with good reputation and more members)



So while it may not feel like it, each day is a step forward. There are things you can do to help make it go a little faster though

So what does that mean for you guys?



1. Work on your props. It's slow, tough, and expensive. It's easy to get discouraged. But keep at it! With a little dedication, you can put something simple together. Then build on from there. Share anything new you make or work on.

2. I think this is just as important. I feel that while the tutorials at the 405th are wonderful and extremely helpful, some of them have fallen out of date and can be touched up, even if it's just updated links or consolidating frequently asked questions so they're answered on the front page. One prime example is the fiberglassing tutorial, which while helpful, requires a lot of sifting for a completely new member. I will try and work on this myself, but right now, like most of us my priority is on finishing my costume, so I have experience to share. Even articles would be great. Do you have experience with your school paper? Looking at the video link to Dave/Ithica's Hayabusa suit, I think it would be great if there were an interview to find o-you know what, I think I'll shoot UNSC_Leatherneck a PM. =)

3. The more costumes and additional we made from steps 1 & 2, the more we'll have to show off at conventions and events.



So, to answer Pony's question on what we should be doing now, there's a basic guideline for things to work on. =)

[bigolaf]

A completed ODST, along with weapon props is only a short week away for me, so i'll be posting up photos, and chalking up a number for

our Company, and (hopefully) that will encourage others to complete theirs.



PLUS, i'll be helping clockwork creep (Adam) and SkipperDan (Danny) work on their armors, which should be done in three weeks and about a month, respectively.

There is one other person we will be adding to the ranks soon enough, but i have no idea when that's gonna happen.

Get-together wise, i think something to shoot for would be something around Halloween (which, for other costumers i knew, was the goal for their completed costumes).

I don't know, i'm just throwing it out there.



ODST Road Trip is looking good, deadline-wise, and i'll be starting work on the HEV Interior after our second completed costume. Actors are in no short supply,

and i can guarantee that shooting will begin with on location stuff (29 Palms, Orange County, and if need be, Vegas). YAY! If you'd like to know what kind of

comedy we normally do, check out our youtube in my sig. PLEASE NOTE: some of our video files on youtube were corrupted whenever they did their last update on youtube.

Which means, the video is fine, but the audio is all glitchy. I contacted youtubes maintainance staff, and apparently they had recopied the videos, and used the

copies with a new codec that leaves older videos with certain codecs (along with some webcam videos) glitchy, and unable to repair. the ORIGINAL video files are somewhere

on their servers, but they are not going to be fixing the problem anytime soon. garbage.

But, you can still get an idea on some of our videos that are still functioning.



Can't wait for more news, Dan. you are awesome incarnate.



oh, and i forgot to create a norcal logo with the company C words. i'll get on that, so we won't be excluding our current, and hopefully future, norcal costumers.

[sirfroget]

i wish i was near one but im pretty sure there isn't o well

[ACDCrockr209]

and our first permanant Norcal-er, ACDCrockr209.

What does it mean by permanent Norcal-er??

Currently it looks like everyone is going the pep route. One thing to add here, once we reach a certain point, would be a list of any molds people make so that coordination can be made for parts. Of course, that's when people get into mold making. =) I do hope we get there someday though, since it's an amazing way to be able to share your creations with other people.

I'm working on getting some ODST gaunlets done so they can get molded, but the problem is I can't afford and can't mold to save my own dear life! when I do get themn finnsihed though, i'll probably send a PM to Mr. Ithica to see if he can mold them for me(not for free though).



Can't wait for all of us to get our suits done, so get to work, j/k we know we're all lazy!



-Pony

[Trooper0621]

What does it mean by permanent Norcal-er??

I'm from Norcal, but I need to move down to SD for a while to go to school, so I'll be going back and forth between the bay area and socal for a while.



There's two other people that are up in northern cali, but they don't seem to be active, so you're the first person that actually lives up here and is active. =)



If you think you got a good set of gauntlets, you can try talking to another SHIP member, Newspartancreator. He'll often make molds and in return he gets to cast himself a few pieces, which is more than fair. He asked me about my shoulder pieces, but I want to touch them up a little bit and strengthen them up to be a little bit more mold friendly first, then I'll probably get in touch with him.



Looking forward to your completed costumes RJ. I'm still curious as to what the ONI SectionIII armor is. Is that what DARE wears? I can't recall any other ONI people. Oh yeah, and your videos are awesome. Watche Holy Order of Casino trains and was cvonfused what was going on but it was cool. Watching the 1-19-09 Action Trailer now. Hah, definitely looking forward to ODST road trip.



For my own suits, this week I need to finish up Mickey's backpack and most of DARE's gear by friday hopefully.



And on another side note, check out the newest issue of the XBox mag. Some nice ODST imagery in there.

[bigolaf]

[quote name='Trooper0621' date='24 August 2009 - 02:49 PM' timestamp='1251150568' post='325000']

Looking forward to your completed costumes RJ. I'm still curious as to what the ONI SectionIII armor is. Is that what DARE wears? I can't recall any other ONI people. Oh yeah, and your videos are awesome. Watche Holy Order of Casino trains and was cvonfused what was going on but it was cool. Watching the 1-19-09 Action Trailer now. Hah, definitely looking forward to ODST road trip.



[/quote]



Well, in a way DARE inspired the idea. She's apparently section II, and has different insertion armor but with the same basic functions as an ODST's suit.

Section III armor is going to be sensor ablative armor, with an ODST-like undersuit, but with the mobility and look of marine armor. however, it is full of sensor

dampening equipment, multi-spectrum imaging, and other integrated components. think "odst suit has had one too many, and has a one-night stand with a suit of marine armor".



Oh, and don't worry, Holy Order of Casino Trains was supposed to be confusing (the title says it all). If anything was actually being accomplished in that video,

it was our testing of one shot scenes, or scenes that continue from one perspective and don't cut.

it took six takes to get it right, but we wanted it to appear real, however absurd the situation. long playing

shots are what we want to use in ODST. Breaking character is something we've worked very hard at dispelling.

[Trooper0621]

Ah, neat. A new concept armor. That'll be very interesting to see. =)



I'll be trying to put up a small "405th table" at tomorrow's ODST stop in Union Landing and at the one in Antioch as well hopefuly. If you know anyone in the area that's interested in seeing some props in various stages of creation, have them drop on by. There'll be a variety of pieces I've picked up on display, including pieces from SHIP members (Ithica, Newspartancreator, and LeeKeegan), some rough casts of Adam's marine equipment, Saavy's new helmet, some pepped pieces, and so on.

[ACDCrockr209]

If you think you got a good set of gauntlets, you can try talking to another SHIP member, Newspartancreator. He'll often make molds and in return he gets to cast himself a few pieces, which is more than fair.

That is fair!! i'm going to have to finnish them ASAP so I can get me a pair too!!



-Pony

[Trooper0621]

The ODST tour was a blast.



For those of you with completed costumes, the folks running the tour were very nice and seemed happy to have someone in a suit to help with a little free promotion. Gamestop also seems interested in any sort of free promotion setup for the release date.







Anyways, I have a more detailed report on my day at the end of this thread:



http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20339



Now time to recover, repair, and prepare for tomorrow!

[mroreo123]

Very cool! How was the game? Was there a long wait to play?