To keep the next post from being long enough it takes up a whole page, I'll break up the post-holiday update. I didn't do anything major, just a little progress on lots of projects. Like finishing off the construction of the boots!
Boots
Last time on Cosplay Kai: Underworld Costume Tournament, our hero had just finished glueing cardboard to the bottom of his armor pieces. However, the strain of walking around was causing his unexpected strategy to bust apart. Will his last-minute gamble pay off, or will the Con Floor-San leave him a shambling mess of plastic and foam?
Before I tackled the bottom of the boots, I needed to finish off the cuffs and do some shoe surgery. To make my toes more comfortable, I cut off the front of the boot. Then to help my feet slide in and out of the sluggly designed shoe meant for a lady's foot smaller than mine, I cut a slit in some of the stretch webbing. I only did this on one for now to see if it really is helping all the much. I attached some 3mm EVA foam strips to the front and back of the boot to act as a better interface for the cuff.
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For the tongue of the cuff - not sure what to call it - I cut out two new clean pieces of 3mm EVA foam. I took my Black Optical Faux Leather and cut the same shape with seam allowance. Instead of sewing, I used contact cement to glue the fabric to the foam, then cut slits in the seam allowance all the way around so I could fold it around the curved edge. For kicks and an overall cleaner look, I cut one more shape for each tongue, this time a bit smaller, then glued it to the back of the foam to cover up the wrinkly edge.
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For the bulk of the cuff, I wrapped the tops and sides of newly cut out packaging foam in Four-way Stretch Black Leather. Again, I used contact cement versus the sewing machine for three reasons. 1) Sewing stretchy material is pain, 2) it's an even bigger pain when your machine doesn't work right, and 3) it was faster to just glue than deal with problems 1 & 2. I used more contact cement to attach the tongue to the cuff, then used hot glued to attach the piece to the EVA foam. The cuff will only be glued to the boot, not the armor. Hopefully this will allow for some mobility that won't cause rips or tears in the fabric.
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This is when the order of operations had to be not as slapshot as usual for me. To get these suckers painted, I still needed to sand the plastic, bondo, and cardboard, and then actually apply spray paint. With the boot installed that would be tough to work around. This is why I had to complete the inner boot completely first.
I added bondo glaze putty to the edge of the cardboard to help blind it in. Since the prints had some rough spots, I started sanding with 100 grit, then switched to 220. A good wash to remove dust followed by a priming with Rust-Oleum Flat White. Another round of putty applied, followed by 220 grit sandpaper. Since it was the Christmas Holiday and I didn't want to freeze, I did this part in the garage, thus coating my car in Red Death Dust. Always wear a respirator while sanding!!! Another wash and prime done, I started spraying on Rust-Oleum Gloss Grape. I've heard that keeping your spray paints in the same brand family, helps everything stay smooth and decrease chance of orange peeling. Did about 4 coats of color all around, then did 3 clear coats of Rust-Oleum Clear Matte. The matte varnish will help protect the paint - if you let it actually cure, foreshadowing - and make it easier for brushed acrylic paints to attach.
To finish things off, I put a huge globe of Gorilla Glue Contruction Adhesive in the heel and toe of the armor - which I also used to help strengthen the cardboard to plastic connection - then squeezed the inner boot through the ankle. Because this glue is more like silicone caulking, the long cure time let me adjust the placement of the parts. I also picked this adhesive, hoping it would squish around the tread of the inner boot - giving it a better grip - and also retain some flexibility. I put a weight on the boot to make sure nothing moved... but an hour later a ghost knocked it over. Luckily no damage done.
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Finally, I needed to add some tread. That painted cardboard was slippery. Also, I could add just a few more millimeters of height - every bit counts. I put down two layers of painter's tape, then using reference images here on the forum, I sketched out a template. Luckily the boots are congruent shapes. I transferred the cut-out tape template to a rubber desk mat I found at a thrift store. Rubber pieces cut, I used the construction adhesive again to attach them to the cardboard sole - other glues would have been brittle and these are going to take some punishment. To clean up the goop I used q-tips and hand sanitizer, because I didn't have an isopropyl alcohol on hand.
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And that is the base form of the boot done! Fireworks. Cheers. Rock Music.
Best part is, I can slip these suckers on an off while wearing my leg armor BY MYSELF! American Flag. Eagle. More Fireworks. (With a bit of straining and effort. And the rest of the armor wasn't even properly strapped and padded, yet. But hey, still doable.) Also, the toe and heel sections are separated so the bottom can flex. Nice for walking and posing.
Plenty of detail painting left to do, and I'm going to need to add weathering over some scraps my shins dug out of the paint job - I should have been more patient. But for now, I can set them aside. Pretty dang happy with myself, and definitely a confidence boost to keep going.
More posts from the Christmas Crafting Cornucopia and some Tales of the UNSC's Valkyries to come soon.
