Group Project: Reach Army BDU (Bucket to Boots)

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PerniciousDuke

RCO & BCO
405th Regiment Officer
Member DIN
S128
All are welcome to join!

We'd like to invite you to build a Halo costume with us. We'll be live streaming a build from start to finish in order to gear up for Halo Outpost Discovery.
Since many people will be traveling for these events we're going to attempt a light armored cosplay in the form of the Halo Reach Army Battle Dress Uniform. Hats off to TurboCharizard for this fun idea.

The Army BDU does appear in Halo Reach in some forms. Thanks to some concept art and Halo's history of military background we can assume that there are as many variants of the Battle Dress Uniform as there are jobs in the Army. Below are just some examples of what you could build:


HR_UNSCLineup_Concept_1.jpg



Our first video will be pre recorded and will cover selecting your character, locating the armor files, sizing the armor files and setting a plan for the build. After that we'll go live with one episode per week as we build the costume from bucket to boots.


Details:

Tune to our Twitch Channel 405thHalo every Wednesday 6pm PST



If you miss one, catch up!
on our YouTube Channel


Keep an eye out for the discounted foam building
Outpost Bundle from Red Moon Cosplay Solutions Cosplay Costume Bundles





Group Project Participants:

Duke's Reach Army BDU - Military Counter Intelligence
TurboCharizard's Reach Army BDU - UO Sergeant

Once you start a build with us then make a thread
in the Costume forum Halo Costumes and Armor,
or the New Recruit forum New Recruits
comment below with your thread link so we can follow along.
(be sure to put your forum name in the title)




Episode Break Down

Ep 1 Character Design and Research
(companion post)
(Watch Video)
  • Reference Acquisition (Halopedia, Halo.Wikia, Game Footage, Google Image-Fu)
  • Pep/Foam File Acquisiton
  • Personalization (Props, Decals, Patches)
  • Sketch Character and Colour Selection
  • Armorsmith Quick Play
Ep 2- Foamsmithing Techniques (start chest)
Stream Week of May 5th
  • Floor mats and Craft foam
  • Knives and sharpeners
  • Glues and heat gun forming
  • Pattern, Cut, Assemble- Ab Plate
Ep 3 - Finish Chest/Torso Build
Stream Week of May 12th
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 4 Thighs/Knees
Stream Week of May 19th
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 5 Shoulder Variant
Stream Week of May 26th
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 5.5 Shoulder Variant
Stream Week of May 26th
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 6 Helmet
Stream Week of June 2nd
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 7 Shins
Stream Week of June 9th
  • Pattern Prep
  • Cut
  • Assemble
Ep 8 Sewing
Stream Week of June 16th
  • Duct Tape Pattern
  • Pattern Cleanup
  • Fabric Transfer
  • Sewing
Ep 9 Paint
Stream Week of June 23rd
  • Pre-primed
  • Airbrush Decals, Shadow and Highlights
  • Dark Wash
  • Drybrush Highlights
 
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Resources

References
Official Reference Images

Color Reference Images (in-game)




Building Materials (US)






Purchased Materials (US)
Undersuit-

Boots-

Gloves-

 
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Lore References

Post reserved for canonical references that can be included in character design.

UNSC Rank Structure
UNSC rank structure
The Halo: Reach Army Personnel and Halo: CE Marines appear to put their rank insignia on the central panel of their chest piece. For builds with lore tie-ins to specific battles, theaters or ships consider which branch of the UNSC Armed Forces your character belongs to.

Lore Friendly Engagements
Based on the operational theater different camouflages and armour permutations would appear. Using these battles and the information of the included units, patches and crests as well as colouration of the BDU can be determined.
UNSC Army
UNSC Marine Corps
 
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Looking forward to it all! As you know I'm building my Halo CE Marine cosplay, so what's here will definitely be useful. Shame that us Aussies probably won't get the Outpost Discovery.
I won't be able to go to one either, but I am still excited about making a light armored cosplay.
 
Episode One: Character Research
We've gone over in game shots and concept art and have come up with this list of approved armor variations for the Reach Army BDU.


Reference Table (can also be viewed in a collage using the PureRef program (zip file at end of post).
Head

helmet line.jpgHelmet Variations

hat1.pngSgt. Cap

hat3.pngJungle Hat

hat2.pngBandana

facemask.pngFacemask
Shoulders

No Shoulder.pngNo Shoulder

Shoulder Mount line.pngShoulder Mount

Gungir line.pngGungnir

Gungir Sniper Shoulder.pngGungnir Sniper

Gungir Variant line.pngGungnir Variant

UA Base Security Shoulder.pngUA Base Security


Knees



no knee.pngNo Knee

knee line.pngKnee Guards

Chest

chest line.pngchest/torso


Underarmor.pngunderarmor​
Thigh
no thigh line.pngNo Thigh

thigh line.pngUA/NxRA​
Shins
No Shin



shin line.pngMarine + Gungnir knee

Camos



dbQYdY.png
Accessories


Backpack line.pngBackpack

camp pack line.pngCamp pack

radio pack line.pngRadio pack

knife.pngKnife

operator attachment.pngOperator Optics

pouch line.pngPouches

Details that appear in game on armor:
UNSC textUNSC Crest (old style)Hex with Cross through3- V marks (possible designate sgt)
Double Red SlashesMedic LogoBlood Type StickerCaution Stripe on thigh
Red rip chord on chestGreen light on thighsGreen light on helmets



Armor File hyperlinks:

Reach Marine: Helmet/Shins
Reach Army BDU: Chest
Reach Gungnir: Shin top(knee), Shoulder
Reach UA: Thigh/Shoulder





Personal Check List



Things to Make:
Helmet: ___________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Chest/Ab:_________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Underarmor:_____________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Shoulder L: _______________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Shoulder R: _______________ Scale []w______ []h_____ []d ______

Thigh L: ___________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Thigh R: __________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Knee L: ___________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Knee R: ___________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Shin L: ____________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Shin R: ____________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

Knife/Sheath:______________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

_____________________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

_____________________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

_____________________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______

_____________________________ Scale []w______ []h______ []d ______







Things to Buy (or make)

BDU Jacket:________________________

BDU Pants:________________________

Hat:_______________________________

Boots:____________________________

Gloves:___________________________

Knees:____________________________

Pouches: _________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________

____________________________________
 

Attachments

  • HaloReachBDU(parts collage).zip
    16.3 MB · Views: 354
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Awesome!

I get it man. When you have a project, we all like to have alot of tabs open as references or stored information, BUT SEEING YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN HURTS MY EYES!
That's nothing. You should see when I'm modelling helmets or weapon props while having a bunch of music queued up. lo-fi hip hop radio - beats to study/relax to needs to be loaded up first in at least 6-8 tabs so that you can have a selection of smooth jazz to work to while bouncing between in game screen shots, Halopedia, the 405th forums, NATO CAD drawings, concept art and probably an email account.

I've started a practice suit so that I'm less likely to bork an angle on stream and the hype is real for this build already even after a few small pieces. I hope you guys are ready for Wednesday!
 
I can't offer any suggestions concerning tab management, but as far as referencing concept art have you heard of the PureRef program (LINK). It allows you to dump all saved images onto one canvas that's easy to navigate (pan, scroll, zoom). It's nice to be able to wheel around one window containing all images instead of switching between multiple windows or tabs each containing one image. The program is free so the bar to try it out is pretty low.
 
I can't offer any suggestions concerning tab management, but as far as referencing concept art have you heard of the PureRef program (LINK). It allows you to dump all saved images onto one canvas that's easy to navigate (pan, scroll, zoom). It's nice to be able to wheel around one window containing all images instead of switching between multiple windows or tabs each containing one image. The program is free so the bar to try it out is pretty low.
Do they have to be image format or can it accept CAD or PDF file types?
 
Thanks pipninja



EPISODE ONE video is up!
It's so awesome to see this all coming together! What a great reference for all of our builders out there. There's nothing like learning from those that have been there and done that! A big THANKS to all those adding their content and skills to this project.
 
A written beginner's guide to Armorsmith Designer to supplement the quick visual showcase within Episode 1: Character Design and Research has been added. Hopefully having a written reference to guide new builders step by step through the process will be more useful than me wiggling the mouse around on a screen capture.

 
I can't offer any suggestions concerning tab management, but as far as referencing concept art have you heard of the PureRef program (LINK). It allows you to dump all saved images onto one canvas that's easy to navigate (pan, scroll, zoom). It's nice to be able to wheel around one window containing all images instead of switching between multiple windows or tabs each containing one image. The program is free so the bar to try it out is pretty low.

Thanks Satchmo, that does seem like a pretty helpful program. I've added the photos to a collage. Zip file below.
 

Attachments

  • HaloReachBDU(parts collage).zip
    16.3 MB · Views: 269
Because the quest for knowledge never stops, I found out that the goofy variant of the helmet with the grill and visor that we couldn't place was actually the Military Police variant that I guess rarely gets used by players. I sure as heck don't remember seeing it around frequently :p

270284


Also, Halo Mythic is a tabletop RPG that just updated to it's Beta 3.0 version and the book has loads of goodies about UNSC, Covenant, Insurgent and Promethean troops with respect to the things they may carry and possible backstories. Also this game is cool as heck.

 
Since good reference images of what is under the torso armour are difficult to source the pattern making for the flak jacket used a few different tricks to create something that is reasonably accurate. My go to when it comes to references is to see if concept art with multiple views is available, which in this case it was, unfortunately the split view only shows the fully-armoured version leaving a bit of guess work still with where panel lines extend to.
1561474965433.png

Delving a little bit deeper I went to see what the game rips of the models had available. Luckily Halo: Reach has been heavily pillaged for it's game assets and we can fairly easily get a character model either as a model, texture map and rigging files or in some cases as something that's ready to throw into Garry's Mod. For the references I wanted having a full turn around wasn't extremely necessary, I just needed to see what was under the back and chest plates which is exactly what the texture map delivered (bottom right corner is the flak vest textures).
1561475102311.png1561475127055.png

With a texture in hand, it was time to match it up to my lumpy self. In game screen shots were used to help match up locations of seam lines to where they go on the vest in relation to armour components.
1561475273106.png1561475295114.png

CplYapFlip helped to tape me up to make a properly sized pattern and then we traced lines to figure out where details would go.
1561476188107.png1561476224235.png1561476257993.png

The jacket and pattern were taken off and then placed on the mannequin for final markup of panel lines and closure layout.
1561476367867.png1561476651948.png1561477050932.png1561477103787.png1561477266949.png

The basic plan here is to have the front panel velcro over the back and have a fake corset lacing on the under-arm vent to mimic the texture map. The lacing will be done with simple eyelets punched with a leather punch and hammered in allowing paracord lacing to be woven in creating a pattern with ~15mm spacing. The raised spinal padding will be achieved with pockets for foam inserts. Using snaps, the cod and shoulder pad mounting flaps[?] will be connected to the main vest.
 
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