Jimmy Da Moose
Active Member
I'm back with something exciting: Game-accurate ODST gloves!
So I haven't actually made a new suit in years. My ODST was my first and only, and I'm okay with that for now, but it always bothered me that I never made accurate gloves to match the rest of the suit.
It also makes me sad because I've only seen accurate gloves done one other time, by Sean, and that was years ago. So I wanna change that!
But no longer!
It started this summer, while interning at a prop shop in LA. I did these in my free time, and used their shop to work on them. And I'm glad I did, they wouldn't have turned out as awesome as they did without the advice of some real professionals.
The Build:
I started this by making a 3D pattern of my hand. I put on a latex glove and wrapped my hand in masking tape, then made reference marks as to where major designs should rest on my hand. After cutting it off, I took the reference pictures I’d gathered and began sketching designs onto the tape. When I settled on the pattern I liked, I traced it in sharpie.
I debated on attempting to build the design in layers of clay, but I settled on a more experimentally route: 3D printing. I had taken my printer to L.A., so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I scanned my patterns into my computer, then dropped them into AutoCAD. From there, I traced the patterns, cleaned them up, and extruded them. It was done in two models, the palm and backhand, because the model would have been just a little too wide for my printer. Starting with the left hand, the models were then printed out in PLA. Unfortunately, I can’t find any pictures of the printed piece, I guess I just forgot to get some.
I brought the two parts of the left glove into the shop to do some work on it and show the guys what I was doing in my free time. At the recommendation of one of the guys, Franco, I put the two pieces together how I wanted them, and poured a mold of it. The master was cast in smoothcast 320. His reasoning was that the printed plastic would be a pain to smooth (which it is), and urethane works easily.
From there, the whole glove was smoothed with bondo and spot putty, because the downside of 3D printing is that it leaves lines from the printing process. I spent a few days going between finishing sanding and filler primer.
The left mold is made from Mold Star 30, Smooth-on’s platinum cure silicone. It has to be platinum because the rubber is urethane, and wont cure properly with tin cure silicone. The right gloves mold is Mold Star 16. The reason between the two is that the shop let me use what they had, so at one point, Franco had mixed some extra for another project and gave the rest to me, the other was from some extra Mold Star another guy had bought.
The gloves themselves are made from BJB F-60, a super flexible urethane rubber. The rubber cures to a translucent yellow, but can was tinted grey.
After the glove was poured and tested, I liked the way it fit, so I when ahead and repeated the process for the second glove.
I didn’t get to sew the gloves to a base pair of fingerless gloves until I got back to Pittsburgh. I ordered some basic black fingerless gloves from Amazon, and then cut the fingers even shorter. I put the gloves on, and painted contact cement onto the backhand on each side, then carefully aligned it and attached it. Sadly, contact cement alone isn’t strong enough, so I had to spend a day sewing the edges of the rubber to the glove. After the front was on, the palm was attached with the same method.
When after it was all sewn in place, the glove was given a quick black wash, with a little bit of brown for dirt, to finish it off.
I am a little bummed that I'm missing some pictures, but its mostly what the printed piece looks like, and a bunch of Bondo work, so you guys aren't missing much.
The left glove is actually being sewn down as I type this, I just needed to give my fingers a break. I'm gonna get the other glove sewn on and dirtied up by tonight or tomorrow night, so I'll also toss up some pics of the finished pair. Maybe I'll even do it in full armor if I'm felling really spunky.
There you have it. Game-accurate ODST gloves!
Finally: If you want a pair, I will sell them on request, just PM me, however, I only sell the rubber piece, not the final gloves. You have to do the finished work yourself, which is really just sewing them down and doing a quick wash. The reason being is that these where made for my hands, so I have no way of making sure they’re properly fit for your hand, so just be aware if you’re thinking of asking.
I'm gonna put a thread up in the Marketplace too. It'll be up tonight. That will contain more picture of the rubber pieces, and more specifics on the sizes for around the hand. Unfortunately, these are a one size kind of deal, so if your hands are too big you may be out of luck.
Thanks for reading, feel free to ask if you have any questions!
So I haven't actually made a new suit in years. My ODST was my first and only, and I'm okay with that for now, but it always bothered me that I never made accurate gloves to match the rest of the suit.
It also makes me sad because I've only seen accurate gloves done one other time, by Sean, and that was years ago. So I wanna change that!
But no longer!
It started this summer, while interning at a prop shop in LA. I did these in my free time, and used their shop to work on them. And I'm glad I did, they wouldn't have turned out as awesome as they did without the advice of some real professionals.
The Build:
I started this by making a 3D pattern of my hand. I put on a latex glove and wrapped my hand in masking tape, then made reference marks as to where major designs should rest on my hand. After cutting it off, I took the reference pictures I’d gathered and began sketching designs onto the tape. When I settled on the pattern I liked, I traced it in sharpie.
I debated on attempting to build the design in layers of clay, but I settled on a more experimentally route: 3D printing. I had taken my printer to L.A., so I figured I’d give it a shot.
I scanned my patterns into my computer, then dropped them into AutoCAD. From there, I traced the patterns, cleaned them up, and extruded them. It was done in two models, the palm and backhand, because the model would have been just a little too wide for my printer. Starting with the left hand, the models were then printed out in PLA. Unfortunately, I can’t find any pictures of the printed piece, I guess I just forgot to get some.
I brought the two parts of the left glove into the shop to do some work on it and show the guys what I was doing in my free time. At the recommendation of one of the guys, Franco, I put the two pieces together how I wanted them, and poured a mold of it. The master was cast in smoothcast 320. His reasoning was that the printed plastic would be a pain to smooth (which it is), and urethane works easily.
From there, the whole glove was smoothed with bondo and spot putty, because the downside of 3D printing is that it leaves lines from the printing process. I spent a few days going between finishing sanding and filler primer.
The left mold is made from Mold Star 30, Smooth-on’s platinum cure silicone. It has to be platinum because the rubber is urethane, and wont cure properly with tin cure silicone. The right gloves mold is Mold Star 16. The reason between the two is that the shop let me use what they had, so at one point, Franco had mixed some extra for another project and gave the rest to me, the other was from some extra Mold Star another guy had bought.
The gloves themselves are made from BJB F-60, a super flexible urethane rubber. The rubber cures to a translucent yellow, but can was tinted grey.
After the glove was poured and tested, I liked the way it fit, so I when ahead and repeated the process for the second glove.
I didn’t get to sew the gloves to a base pair of fingerless gloves until I got back to Pittsburgh. I ordered some basic black fingerless gloves from Amazon, and then cut the fingers even shorter. I put the gloves on, and painted contact cement onto the backhand on each side, then carefully aligned it and attached it. Sadly, contact cement alone isn’t strong enough, so I had to spend a day sewing the edges of the rubber to the glove. After the front was on, the palm was attached with the same method.
When after it was all sewn in place, the glove was given a quick black wash, with a little bit of brown for dirt, to finish it off.
I am a little bummed that I'm missing some pictures, but its mostly what the printed piece looks like, and a bunch of Bondo work, so you guys aren't missing much.
The left glove is actually being sewn down as I type this, I just needed to give my fingers a break. I'm gonna get the other glove sewn on and dirtied up by tonight or tomorrow night, so I'll also toss up some pics of the finished pair. Maybe I'll even do it in full armor if I'm felling really spunky.
There you have it. Game-accurate ODST gloves!
Finally: If you want a pair, I will sell them on request, just PM me, however, I only sell the rubber piece, not the final gloves. You have to do the finished work yourself, which is really just sewing them down and doing a quick wash. The reason being is that these where made for my hands, so I have no way of making sure they’re properly fit for your hand, so just be aware if you’re thinking of asking.
I'm gonna put a thread up in the Marketplace too. It'll be up tonight. That will contain more picture of the rubber pieces, and more specifics on the sizes for around the hand. Unfortunately, these are a one size kind of deal, so if your hands are too big you may be out of luck.
Thanks for reading, feel free to ask if you have any questions!
