Finished ODST Build! Does anyone even remember me?

[SGT Razor]

I've been a 405th member for about 12 years, but I've never had anything to show for it. Until now. For more than a decade, I've always wanted to be an ODST. My hangups were money, time, tools and patience. I fell out of the propmaking/cosplaying community in pursuit of other hobbies and interests. I went to college for a few years before dropping out and enlisting, I finished my term of service to focus on my civilian career development, I got married and bought a house with enough space to start building. I already had the helmet that I commissioned from Brian Johnson at Stony Props, so it was time to get to work.

The build took about three months, and if it looks rushed, that's because it is. I stayed up until 4 this morning doing as much as I could, got some sleep, and finally finished it just before heading to Comicon here in KC. Here are the photos from today's event:

A little test fit with everything said and done. I decided against bringing the Battle Rifle, since people might think it looks a little too real, and it was a bit of a hike from the parking garage to the convention center. Didn't want to freak anyone out. I also ditched the Ka-Bar and whipped up a quick foam handle to hold its place.

This was the only other Halo cosplayer I saw.

I also met the dudes from Super Trooper! They must not get many fans, because they were confused and reluctant when I asked to take a photo with them.

Robocop:

Orville Redenbacher and a Nazi robot:

Robocop's brother:

This was only my second cosplay event. I'd love to do more! Everyone was really nice and I got a lot of questions and compliments. I felt like a rockstar from all the people asking to take a photo with me! To me, that's a sure sign I did an alright job on my armor. I was actually surprised to find that people recognized my cosplay. I got a few "Hey, it's Master Chief" people, but most people called me ODST.

If you saw me today, tag me on Instagram! @sgt_razor

 

[xXDashIVXx]

Looks great, you did an amazing job!

Hahaha robocop!

 

[Harri51]

Great work man! Welcome to the Trooper family, we will over take the Spartans yet!

 

[Lt.Dan]

Very nicely done! You're definitely feet first into hell now!

 

[SGT Razor]

Thanks, everyone! I just wanted to take the time to go over some of my process and techniques since I never made a build thread. The legs and arms were done using Andrew DFT's tutorials since the pepakura files seemed a little too advanced for my skill level, and I was afraid of them looking way too sloppy since I was in a rush to get this done. Also, I built the shoulders in the pep foam files folder only to realize they weren't scaled properly. Yes, I built both of them before realizing my mistake. Then my dog chewed them up. Anyways, I know I'm not the first to build the DFT stuff, so I won't spend too much time on that since they look just like everyone else's.

Let's start with the shoulders. Gluing the armor onto the base was a breeze once I knew how to place it. I painted them white with 3-4 coats of acrylic paint, then dabbed it with watered down black and wiped it off while still wet to get that grimy, sooty weathered look. I also of course dry brushed all my pieces way more than I intended, but I'm pretty happy with the results (except for that corner on the right shoulder where you can clearly see a hard line between the silver and the white). I added some padding to the inside so it would do three things: fit my arms, push the shoulders out more, and create a platform on which to apply Velcro hooks. These attach to the loops on my combat shirt, which worked perfectly:



The torso was the most fun part to build. I bought some buckles from Shiroppi DIY, and added some of my own character to it like my last name, my KA-BAR (read overkill MRE opener), and a Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT). They're held in with some elastic loops that I hot glued around the shoulder straps. You can see that I made a makeshift knife hilt out of foam because I didn't want security to confiscate my real knife. I can barely squeeze my head through the hole to get this piece on, then it buckles on the sides. My wife says I look like a crowning baby when I put it on. The side plates velcro on to cover the buckles. As you can see in the photo, the adhesive stuck to the paint and came off. Pro tip: NEVER USE PLASTI-DIP AS PRIMER.



I wanted to have some functional pieces for storage since I wouldn't be able to easily access my pants pockets, so I modded my left thigh piece to accept a MOLLE pouch, and attached another MOLLE pouch to the butt plate. The thigh pouch ended up being my water bottle holster, and the butt pouch carried the side plate that fell off (see above).



Finally, the most overlooked pieces of the armor, the boot covers. I have seen so many ODST cosplays that completely forget about the boot covers, and it looks silly to have tiny little feet sticking out of those bulky shins. I'm really impressed with how well these held up! I thought for sure they would fall apart after walking around all day. Once again, they're just elastic straps looped around and hot glued to the EVA foam. I ran out of elastic after the first boot, so I had to improvise with some leftover nylon strapping. One strap goes behind the heel, the other goes under the sole of my combat boots.



Bonus tip! When working with EVA foam, you tend to get a few gaps and hard angles where there should be curves. In the same way you would use Bondo for fiberglass, I use DAP Alex Flex Flexible Spackling after heat treatment, but before sealing with Elmer's or like products.



Other products used (links):

Combat Shirt - Good quality, but you can probably find a cheaper one elsewhere. 8/10

Combat Pants - Good quality, but not for this price. Durable and lightweight. Took 3 weeks to ship from China. 6/10

Shin Pouch - I use this every day at work to store my work phone and my most used tools, so I don't have to lug around a bulky tool bag everywhere I go. I just wish it was made with a thicker material so my screwdriver doesn't poke through the bottom. Did a great job holding my phone, wallet, and keys during the convention. 8.5/10

Gloves - Did Oakley discontinue these? Not the most durable, but they're light, comfortable and breathable. Great for summer ops and range days. The carbon fiber knuckles can take a beating, but the palm is too thin for fast-roping or handling anything rough like C-wire or even moving logs. Mine have seen a lot of motorcycle and weapons use. 7-9/10 depending on your needs

Boots - Best combat boots on the market! These babies are so light, it's like wearing running shoes! Well worth the money, but there are cheaper varieties of this model. Mine have lasted through several 12-mile ruck marches, plenty of training missions, and many a motorcycle ride. I often wear these instead of my shoes for day-to-day activities. I'll never buy a different boot again! 10/10