Duke's Skyrim Nightingale Armor

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Thanks guys. I'm definitely not pro. I just work hard one thing at a time. Then cool talented people offer to help like Turbo with the 3d prints and my mom with the sewing. I feel very fortunate to have the time and resources to spend creating this stuff with all you wonderful people!


I spy CQB
Hahaha, I figured you'd spot that. CQB is getting velcrod. I'm pretty sure they did not have vinyl letting in dragon ages.
 
Alright, I just finished attaching the quiver to the suit so I'll do a quick post during my lunch here then it's of to the races for the weekend!

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I started by converting the pep file to one single pieces, print it out, tape it together then transfer pattern to cardboard. (For those of you that don't know, the best place to get large cardboard panels for free is a store that only sell appliances like washers and refrigerators.)
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Using ducttape I just taped it as best I could. Then I cut out two layers of EVA foam to fill the inside. This way if someone sits on this it won't collapse as easy.
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Next I cut out a large rectangle of suede from the fabric store and using spray adhesive I wrapped it around the quiver. Easy.
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For the "metal clad" parts I just used 2mm craft foam. And attached using a combo of spray adhesive and hot glue.

For the writing I cut the same size strip as the base layer. The cut out the letters exactly as they appear. With the letters still where they started I applied super glue to only the letters. Laid that over the base strap and peeled back like laying vinyl.
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For the studs I used my surplus of decorative leather rivets. Also not shown in the picture at the top is I hand painted the edges and the letters a lighter silver to give it more depth.

Gets a little tricky to attach. First I had him hold it up where he'd like it and used the photo as reference.
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I wanted it be loosely secured at the bottom for ease of walking. I also wanted a strong secure at the top that was easily removable for when he wants to sit.

Bottom solution: epoxied ring to quiver. Attached chain hold down clamp to leather and used a caribiner to connect.
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Upper solution: bought T shaped drawer handle, cut handle shaped hole in quiver, drilled hole through the handle in order to slide a eyelet bolt through to act as a cotter pin.
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And there we have it.
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SI3RRA 117 Thanks. This leather is about 3-4 times thicker than what I remember mitts being. Mitts have a combo of thin leather and padding. I would estimate years of inconstant use for this this long to brake in. But it was shaped to his body. He finds it quite comfortable. The only thing he doesn't like right now is how hot his face gets from the mask.

Update:

Feeling rather frustrated at the moment. The orbital sander snagged the bow and broke it in two. Sean Anwalt the extra hardener did help cure the lower layer. I put in about 3x the normal amount.

So instead of calling it quits I thought I would revamp myself by showing you guys more of what I've been up to.

Gloves:
I bought knuckleless gloves online. Cut 15mm squares of leather out. Butchered my belt. Installed the studs to leather and epoxies the leather over the rubber finger vents.
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Chest:
I used Evakura's technique on 3d print finishing to clean up these accent pieces then painted with Black automotive Enamel. Epoxied them to leather that had snaps set in already.
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The part that holds the Crest also holds the weight of the cape so I had to make sure it was strong. First I sewed the straps in. These middle four are functional, keeping the center held to the sides.

If I were to then sew the cover on in between these straps then you would see the exposed thread. Instead I had to punch holes and stitch through a spacer. (I'm sure there's a technical name for that.) It can be pretty hard to line up three sets of holes like that.
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It's very strong now.

Arms:
This took a lot longer than expected.
The plan was to mummy wrap his arms from wrist to armpit. I bought Upholstery fabric because I liked the texture.

I knew if we just cut strips then there would be a high chance they'd fray and unravel. So I opted to make them twice as wide and fold the over. Essentially making a tube. Little did I know this is no easy task for a novice sew-er person. And we needed 50 feet!

First we cut at a diagonal. Apparently most cloth only has give in one direction like grain in wood. So cutting diagonally gives us the most versatility in our goal to wrap it around an arm and it will naturally want to curve up the arm.
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Then we used a Serger because we had one. Basically it's a single use sew machine that puts thread everywhere! And cuts the fabric as you go!
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The next part is a nightmare without this tool called a Fast Turner. To get the seam on the inside of the tube we have to turn the fabric. Using this metal tube and a wire with a hook on it the process takes about 20 seconds instead of 5 minutes doing it by hand.
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Then I had to roll the seam in my finger as I ironed the tube flat before we could sew the tubes together.
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We decided an angled seam between links would look better visually than a 90 degree one.
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Now we're left with these humps of a seem. To get the flattest look possible we snipped the center of them so each side could be ironed a different direction.
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Hand stitching using a curved needle we tacked the bands in a few places. We didnt want to fully sew in case the wrap was too tight or too loose for his arms.
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Helm:
This is one of the only pieces I free handed the template and also contains a lot of detail so I thought I would show the process.

Using screenshots from game and math to scale up I came up with this template:
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Sketched a design, transferred to leather, cut lines and hammered:
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Let dry two days on a WW2 helmet insert for the proper shape.
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I set snaps into folded canvas then hidden stitched that to three points on helm. Those keep the helm in place on the hood. But I still had the problem of the points getting bent out. So I took apart a bra to use the wire then epoxied it to the points. Now the wire fits through holes on the hood preventing the points from moving.
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Mask:

I don't have many pictures here, but I'll tell you what I did. Similar template process to tooled as the helm.
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But the shaping was a little trickier since the chin needed to be folded two ways. Long story short, I used the ball on the back of a dining chair that was the perfect curve and just kept pressing it along the chin line.

It worked, but the sides kept spreading out like wings so I cut a V shape on the underside of his chin. This worked and once dried I awled holes along the V and sewed it together.

I sent snaps in it and the ski mask and I put a grommet in so that he could hang the mask on his body when not being worn.


Cape:

There was no preparing me for how hard this was going to be. My mom and I worked together for 7 hours and made 3 1/2 capes.

We found a real wool poncho at goodwill for $4. I bought a table cloth as well for $2

First we cut the table cloth the same shape/size as the wool poncho so we know what we're working with. We brainstormed shapes and proportions for the hood and cape. I first decided to cut away the front of the cape. This way he didn't have to worry about the cape falling forward covering up the armor.
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Then we tried to determine the shape of the hood which was really hard. We made Ken doll sized mocks ups to see what they looked like once sewn.
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After many revisions we had something to work with.
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The result of that weekend was worth it.
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Ya that mask does look hot!! No ventilation holes and I’d assume that thick of leather does not breathe well. Is too late to punch some holes in the mask? Or would that take away some aesthetics of the mask? Sorry if feel like im picking your build apart. That’s not my intentions. This is amazing work in realm that I have absolutely not jurisdiction. Keep it up look forward to seeing the final suit up! One last question, will be painting his eyes black like the in game model? Or leaving them skin like some of the other examples?
 
Ya that mask does look hot!! No ventilation holes and I’d assume that thick of leather does not breathe well. Is too late to punch some holes in the mask? Or would that take away some aesthetics of the mask? Sorry if feel like im picking your build apart. That’s not my intentions. This is amazing work in realm that I have absolutely not jurisdiction. Keep it up look forward to seeing the final suit up! One last question, will be painting his eyes black like the in game model? Or leaving them skin like some of the other examples?

I appreciate the questions and feedback.

I don't think holes would do enough help the breathing compared to what they'd take away from the aesthetic. My first thought here was installing a thin fan between the leather and ski mask.

As for the eyes, my goal was to sew in nylon (like pantyhose) into the ski mask so you can't see his eyes. Then possibly putting dim lights in there as well to simulate the glare of the eyeballs.

Probably won't get that done for this show, but hopefully by next months show.
 
Put in 12 hours today. Mostly in fixing and finishing the bow. (But also fiberglass repairs on my Spartan)

As I mentioned, orbital sander snagged the middle section of the bow and ripped it in two. My half ass solution was: fill both sides with expanding foam and shove 1/2" dowel between the two.

It worked. It worked really well actually.
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Put about 8 oz of bondo on to help the shape. I sanded with 120g and 220 grit, but I didn't spot putty the dimples. I feel like it helps give the wood/metal look character.
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Hit it with Black Primer then my base coat of Dark Walnut.
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I'll hand paint the silver parts and blackwash.
 
Bows done!
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I know I'm so cruel. The night before the event and I'm not posting test fit photos.

We didnt do any. We're just going to show up and hope for the best. I did decide we'll record a suiting up video. I really want to show off the design. :)
 
Yep AMAZEBALLS!!! Dipping into to the mblackwell1002 dictionary for this one! Will you be doing anything to break the leather in a bit? It’s got a bit of that stiff new baseball glove look to it. And I’m sure once broken in, it’ll be much more comfortable to wear.
I’ve been gone too long...*depressed sigh*

This build is really coming together, duke! Looking great! I can see you’ve put a lot of hard work into this, and it’s coming out really well!
 
Thanks mblackwell1002 we'd love to see what you've been up to. Even if it's not halo! :p

Sean Anwalt it was just thin paracord I got at a craft store. Same as I used to lace up the back. $3 for 25 ft.


Update:

The first test fit went great! There's a couple little things we'd like to fix, but overall I'm very happy with how it turned ouy!


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