Mass Effect N7 Foam Armor Noob Question

[LCanetti]

Hey all! I'm new to... well, everything cosplay related, but I recently decided to try seeing if I could make some EVA foam N7 armor. I'm working off the templates I found here:

http://www.julianbeek.nl/blog/

They're incredibly well done and even have a chart to assist with sizing to boot, but I've been confused by the chestplate. In almost all the pics I've seen of N7 armor, the uppermost part of the chestplate (the part that has the neck guard) overlaps the second piece, the quasi-U shaped piece that goes just under the pectorals and above the ab guard. However, after cutting out the templates, the uppermost part of the chestplate seems to be too small to overlap the second piece, instead fitting flesh against it. Has anyone ever used these templates before for a costume? I'm sure I could just resize the upper piece to be wider so it overlaps and gives me a 3D layering effect, but I'm wondering if there's some trick I'm missing or if I'm not putting things together correctly.

Here's a pic of what I have so far to give all this a slightly better context:

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=288v8uc&s=5#.Umb4AhBc_O8

Thanks for the help, looking forwards to continuing this project!

 

[JayOneSeven]

I see your problem. Although I haven't tried making any N7 myself, I was slightly obsessed with it for a while. Probably a future project of mine.
Yes the top piece does seem a little small, but take into account the curve of the armor once it's heated and formed. That will allow it to somewhat overlap, but even with that it still seems... short? Might I suggest adding tabs onto the ends, rather than remaking the whole piece?
Like in this pic, the tabs on the ends could be added and passed off to make it look like it was meant to be there Just an idea to save some foam and time. If not I'd say just re-scale your template as you see fit.

 

[LCanetti]

Thanks for the reply! I'd thought at first that they'd overlap after I molded them, but when I try physically bending them they still don't line up. I'm going to be scrapping the top piece regardless since I messed up on the neck slit (figured I could use it as my practice dremel piece since I've never used one to cut lines before), but I may try what you suggested on the next one and add some additional tabs. Thanks again!

 

[JayOneSeven]

Thanks for the reply! I'd thought at first that they'd overlap after I molded them, but when I try physically bending them they still don't line up. I'm going to be scrapping the top piece regardless since I messed up on the neck slit (figured I could use it as my practice dremel piece since I've never used one to cut lines before), but I may try what you suggested on the next one and add some additional tabs. Thanks again!

No worries, good luck, I look forward to seeing the final result. The N7 is an awesome set!!