Justhidges
New Member
Chapter 1.1: From the Ground Up
Legs and Boots
Hello there!
Prologue
New member, first time posting a thread, so I'm kinda experimenting with this. We'll see how it goes. Here's the idea: slowly but surely make the Halo 3 version of the Mk VI mjolnir out of SKS props HD EVA foam while I still have some kind of disposable income and record the entire process. I'll title each section here along with a chapter number (like above). As for how I'll record information, I'll update here "live," and once I finish out a chapter, I'll edit the video I've filmed and put together a video for every piece of the armor, going step by step so that anyone could follow along.
Shoutouts:
Just want to give some people a little citation. These people were the most helpful, and made me think I could do this as my first EVA foam project from start to finish. (If needed, I can edit this section to include links, or remove it entirely if it is not in accordance with one of the community guidelines, please let me know and I'll fix it.)
N8TEBB: a fellow 405th member. He has an amazing build thread and video on this particular build. That video was my main inspiration for this project and he has been a huge help so far.
Kamui Cosplay: her videos on cosplay tips and tricks are legitimately amazing, they helped me understand how foam and foam crafting works.
Punished Props: good tips for different methods of doing things like gluing and painting.
Kinpatsu Cosplay: I haven't watched a lot of her videos, but her tutorial on cosplay boot covers really helped with this part of the build.
The Idea
It all started with me finding canvas shoes at the thrift store that somehow fit my feet. Since this is something of a rare find, I will potentially be using them for normal everyday wear and more costumes down the road. So I decided to try the plastic wrap and duct tape pattern method to make removable boot covers. I only had enough materials at the moment to make the patterns for my left leg (which I will be mirroring to make a right leg at the same time).
The Process
Step 1. Put on the shoe. If the shoe is not included under the pattern, the cover will not fit over it.
Step 2. Start wrapping your leg in plastic wrap. I went up to below my knee for this particular piece. Make sure all of your leg is covered.
Step 3. Do it again, but with duct tape. Again, make sure everything gets covered. Do not stretch the duct tape when applying it, simply stick it on the plastic wrap.
Step 4. Draw on the seams with a sharpie or other black marker, and add registration keys on all of the seams, even on the soles. I did one seam down the middle back, one down the middle front, and one around the sole. I figure I can use the rear seam as a zipper to get in and out of these boot covers easily.
Step 5. If you got yourself in there, you can get yourself out (I promise). Cut out along the seams with a scissors. Be very careful while doing this. I did this on bare skin, and I was fine. Also be careful around your shoes (and in my case, my socks). You don't want these to get cut as well. Eventually, you should end up with something like this:
An inner, outer, and sole pattern. Label them accordingly. These are going to be messy, and that's okay, because:
Step 5: Transfer these messy duct tape patterns and the registration keys to paper, cleaning up the messy cuts and making the patterns usable. Afterwards, you should have something that looks like this:
Three clean patterns!
What I learned:
I hope to have this after every section of this build. Showing what I learned, my thoughts on if I did it again, tips, etc.
Don't forget a sharpie when you start this. I did, and got all the way to step 3 before I realized it. Thankfully nothing was ruined, but it was a hassle having to hobble back over to my desk.
Add registration keys to the paper patterns. I think the videos I watched did this, but I completely forgot to, which I'm realizing now may be a bit of a problem (without registration keys, your pieces will be next to impossible to line up while sewing). I will add them before making the fabric patterns.
Cheap out where you can cheap out. This is a generic brand of plastic wrap and two rolls of dollar store duct tape. I'm not using these to hold together anything important, I just need the suggestion of a shape, so I didn't need name brand or anything higher quality.
In general, Buy more than you think you'll need. This tip came in handy with the duct tape (I bought two rolls instead of one) and it will come in handy next time when we start sewing.
Conclusion:
Gosh I hope this goes well and turns out okay. I haven't gotten fabric or anything yet, but that will all be in the next section. Does anyone have any specific fabric recommendations? I know I need something stretchy and that's about it.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me, although I'm not sure how much help I'll be, since I'm just starting out with all of this and kinda learning as I go.
Legs and Boots
Hello there!
Prologue
New member, first time posting a thread, so I'm kinda experimenting with this. We'll see how it goes. Here's the idea: slowly but surely make the Halo 3 version of the Mk VI mjolnir out of SKS props HD EVA foam while I still have some kind of disposable income and record the entire process. I'll title each section here along with a chapter number (like above). As for how I'll record information, I'll update here "live," and once I finish out a chapter, I'll edit the video I've filmed and put together a video for every piece of the armor, going step by step so that anyone could follow along.
Shoutouts:
Just want to give some people a little citation. These people were the most helpful, and made me think I could do this as my first EVA foam project from start to finish. (If needed, I can edit this section to include links, or remove it entirely if it is not in accordance with one of the community guidelines, please let me know and I'll fix it.)
N8TEBB: a fellow 405th member. He has an amazing build thread and video on this particular build. That video was my main inspiration for this project and he has been a huge help so far.
Kamui Cosplay: her videos on cosplay tips and tricks are legitimately amazing, they helped me understand how foam and foam crafting works.
Punished Props: good tips for different methods of doing things like gluing and painting.
Kinpatsu Cosplay: I haven't watched a lot of her videos, but her tutorial on cosplay boot covers really helped with this part of the build.
The Idea
It all started with me finding canvas shoes at the thrift store that somehow fit my feet. Since this is something of a rare find, I will potentially be using them for normal everyday wear and more costumes down the road. So I decided to try the plastic wrap and duct tape pattern method to make removable boot covers. I only had enough materials at the moment to make the patterns for my left leg (which I will be mirroring to make a right leg at the same time).
The Process
Step 1. Put on the shoe. If the shoe is not included under the pattern, the cover will not fit over it.
Step 2. Start wrapping your leg in plastic wrap. I went up to below my knee for this particular piece. Make sure all of your leg is covered.
Step 3. Do it again, but with duct tape. Again, make sure everything gets covered. Do not stretch the duct tape when applying it, simply stick it on the plastic wrap.
Step 4. Draw on the seams with a sharpie or other black marker, and add registration keys on all of the seams, even on the soles. I did one seam down the middle back, one down the middle front, and one around the sole. I figure I can use the rear seam as a zipper to get in and out of these boot covers easily.
Step 5. If you got yourself in there, you can get yourself out (I promise). Cut out along the seams with a scissors. Be very careful while doing this. I did this on bare skin, and I was fine. Also be careful around your shoes (and in my case, my socks). You don't want these to get cut as well. Eventually, you should end up with something like this:
An inner, outer, and sole pattern. Label them accordingly. These are going to be messy, and that's okay, because:
Step 5: Transfer these messy duct tape patterns and the registration keys to paper, cleaning up the messy cuts and making the patterns usable. Afterwards, you should have something that looks like this:
Three clean patterns!
What I learned:
I hope to have this after every section of this build. Showing what I learned, my thoughts on if I did it again, tips, etc.
Don't forget a sharpie when you start this. I did, and got all the way to step 3 before I realized it. Thankfully nothing was ruined, but it was a hassle having to hobble back over to my desk.
Add registration keys to the paper patterns. I think the videos I watched did this, but I completely forgot to, which I'm realizing now may be a bit of a problem (without registration keys, your pieces will be next to impossible to line up while sewing). I will add them before making the fabric patterns.
Cheap out where you can cheap out. This is a generic brand of plastic wrap and two rolls of dollar store duct tape. I'm not using these to hold together anything important, I just need the suggestion of a shape, so I didn't need name brand or anything higher quality.
In general, Buy more than you think you'll need. This tip came in handy with the duct tape (I bought two rolls instead of one) and it will come in handy next time when we start sewing.
Conclusion:
Gosh I hope this goes well and turns out okay. I haven't gotten fabric or anything yet, but that will all be in the next section. Does anyone have any specific fabric recommendations? I know I need something stretchy and that's about it.
If you have any questions, feel free to message me, although I'm not sure how much help I'll be, since I'm just starting out with all of this and kinda learning as I go.
