Rediculous Underarmor

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tsau mia

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So, there used to be a thread on rediculous underarmor, or something like that, but it seems to have dissapeared. So I'll start a new one. For all you people who are using old black clothes and thinking that's okay for you, this topic is only for the hardcore, who want everything to be absolutely perfect. That includes the underarmor, both cool and functional.
So anyways, here's my design for my underarmor. White parts are made of leather, black parts are made of some sort of super stretchy material, what I havent decided yet. Sorry about all the random thoughts on the page, that's what happens when I sketch.
The strapping to hold the armor to the suit will be made of the stuff that keeps your bicycle helmet on, the parachute clips. One end will be attatched to the armor, the other end will run under the leather underarmor, to keep it hidden. Wires for bits of armor will run through the suit too, keeping them hidden, and probably run to a battery pack in the back of either the helmet or chest piece.
Anyone else have any ideas?
 
So far it does look like a great sketch.

There have been previous threads about this topic, but I don't know how they turned out, or if anyone made them. I know I'd be interested in a 100% accurate suit if I had all of the materials, but I don't know a store where you can get large quantities of leather like that.

Instead of leather, you could try a light rubber material. That would work. For the black, you would probably need spandex, because that is near the joints, needs to be tight, and has to be able to withstand stretch, friction, and a lot of stress when arms and legs are moving.

I'd love to see how it turns out! Keep up the good work!
 
Wow. Nice plans. I'd like to see this done.
I would also try and mount extra fans in high-heat places (head, arm pits)
 
I put some reference pics in the gallery for this purpose. I'm working on making some better ones and getting every possible detail I can.
 
Very interesting so far. You might be interested in an underarmour thread in Creation Discussion (one forum level up) that's gone a few pages on.
 
SH_Jack said:
Very interesting so far. You might be interested in an underarmour thread in Creation Discussion (one forum level up) that's gone a few pages on.

That was the thread she was talking about, but she couldn't find.
 
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for some reason, i thought that was the Timeshift dude o_O

maybe its the torso area :p

nice concept!

that would be alot of leather.

i recommend that weird leathery cloth they sell at walmart. it looks like leather, feels like leather. and its cheap!

:D
 
Rocknrollcows said:
that would be alot of leather.

i recommend that weird leathery cloth they sell at walmart. it looks like leather, feels like leather. and its cheap!

Vinyl or Faux Leather.

Yeah, that's what I intend to use as well.
 
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Well, I found the best source for leather is ebay. I bought a jacket that just might cover the entire upper torso, and it only cost me $3. Shipping was another $9, but that's still pretty cheap, considering even normal fabric or foax leather is pretty expensive. All I did was rip out the lining and all the seams. Now I need to find some sort of padding like furniture padding to put inside of it to give it a dimensional feel. Maybe craft foam from Micheals will do the trick.
 
tsau-mia said:
Well, I found the best source for leather is ebay. I bought a jacket that just might cover the entire upper torso, and it only cost me $3. Shipping was another $9, but that's still pretty cheap, considering even normal fabric or foax leather is pretty expensive. All I did was rip out the lining and all the seams. Now I need to find some sort of padding like furniture padding to put inside of it to give it a dimensional feel. Maybe craft foam from Micheals will do the trick.

Well that's better than what I've found. I found this within an afternoon, Vinyl Fabric , and for the amount they give you it's a pretty good deal. Also, good if you plan on using it for other projects like me.
 
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tsau-mia said:
Well, I found the best source for leather is ebay. I bought a jacket that just might cover the entire upper torso, and it only cost me $3. Shipping was another $9, but that's still pretty cheap, considering even normal fabric or foax leather is pretty expensive. All I did was rip out the lining and all the seams. Now I need to find some sort of padding like furniture padding to put inside of it to give it a dimensional feel. Maybe craft foam from Micheals will do the trick.


i suggest maybe heat forming those "foamies" sheets.

make them into a shape and spray expanding foam onto the back side.
that will make them rigid but still pretty "squishy"
the expanding foam will also be able to be trimmed off.

that is how they make some types of muscle suits.
 
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interesting idea with the expanding foam. I'll have to check that out.

I've figured out how to make a mannequin of yourself so as to make a perfectly fitting suit without having to take measurements out or in all the time.
Step one: coat yourself (or have a friend do it) in toilet paper or non-sticky gauze, or just a really old shirt.
Step two: coat yourself (or have a friend do it) in many layers of duct tape, enough to make it thick and sturdy
Step three: cut off
Step four: reassemble with duct tape and close cuts

Then you can make sure that everything is sized and fits properly according to your body type.
 
23Magnum said:
Well that's better than what I've found. I found this within an afternoon, Vinyl Fabric , and for the amount they give you it's a pretty good deal. Also, good if you plan on using it for other projects like me.

That's not bad for a set of vinyl. I'm looking into it.
 
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If I was in the mode to build a suit of underarmor, I think I would go with a breathable layer against the skin (I found a great $1/yd deal at W mart for some black cotton jersey material) On top of that I would put a strech mesh fabric -- something to give it that "intermeshed layers of matte-black metal" look I quoted from the first Halo book in my post on the other "PERFECT undersuit" thread. You want to use stretch fabrics to give that form fitting look. Some of the big "veins" running up and down the suit could be created with upholstery piping technique with either the stretch mesh fabric or other black fabric to give it a more multi-textural look. The smaller lines can be created using stitching lines. There are certain types of gathered stitches that will stretch with the fabric. You just have to be careful about stitching lines into stretch fabrics b/c that limits the stretch. Also keep in mind how it will stretch with movement of the body. Lines may not stay straight after movement kinda like the seams on a pair of stockings ...mmmmm seamed stockings [lustful pause].

I think craft foam has unrealized potential. It can be vacformed, plain ol' heat formed, press lines into it with the edge of a hot iron and it can be sewn. Interesting details could be created using sheets of craft foam.

If you are on a budget, puffy fabric paint may add some interesting depth to a plain fabric suit. Just read the label to see which fabrics it adheres to best.

IMHO stay away from the shiny or sheen fabrics like spandex/lycra, this is not something you want on a battle suit...ohhh I just got a Robin Williams "Good Morning Vietnam" flashback - his gay army fashion consultant radio personality saying 'camoflage is out this season b/c when you go into the jungle you want to clash'...LOL :lol:

Look forward to seeing what you guys come up with.

-dwoo
 
I think it's cool to make a hardcore undersuit, but won't you die of heat in Pleather and leather? I roast in my armored leather Motorcycle Gear even on 30 degree days, that crap gets heavy too. Just my experience with leather that has padding and is tight fitting. I still think it's a neat idea :D
 
Skullcandy Girl said:
I think it's cool to make a hardcore undersuit, but won't you die of heat in Pleather and leather? I roast in my armored leather Motorcycle Gear even on 30 degree days, that crap gets heavy too. Just my experience with leather that has padding and is tight fitting. I still think it's a neat idea :D

I don't know about Mia, but I plan on sewing the vinyl/pleather patterns I make to a layer of Under Armor-esce type of base. That way it fits like a glove, but also should help with the sweeting and heat build up. I was also think of running some sort of cooling system between the two layers. I got the gears rolling in my head, but I'm still trying to figure out how to make it all work before I start.

-Magnum
 
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Cloth parts under the actual hard armored parts, anything leather or vinyl where armor doesn't cover. Thats how I stayed cool when I costumed as Vader. Well not really "cool," but I didn't get dehydrated that badly. Under large armored parts like the chest and back, and thighs, mesh fabric panels work wonders. ;)
 
Well, in my illustration, there are the parts that are white(leather) and the parts that are black (material). I'm thinking of using some sort of thin material, like the one used in short flowy skirts (I have some of that material lying around). I'll add a tiny bit of padding in between, maybe felt or something, but with that material, there will be quite a bit of air flow around the armpits, Thighs and back. It might work. After it's finished, if it's still too hot, well, I'll think of something.
 
Very nice ideas. here is what I have to contribute.

The leather or pleather stuff gets very hot. I made a wraith Costume for a Stargate convention and the jacket was entirely made from pleather. It was like wearing an oven. I only wore the thing for 30 minutes for the costume contest and happily tore it off once that was done. I don't mind suffering some if My costume looks good so with that experience in mind and reading this thread here is some ideas I have come up with.


Basically using a simple base as the main undersuit.. this could be anything from a black work out shirt to any of the posted ideas out there. But with one thing in mind, something that can be machine washed. Instead of sewing the panels of pleather directly to it to create the effect your looking for, how about sewing Velcro to it, Velcro to the panel pieces. This way they could be removable so you can wash your undersuit. Most pleather type products cant be washed in a machine. So if you could remove them, wash the undersuit normally, would be a big advantage.

23 Magnum I have an idea for a cooling set up but its still in my head stage at this point. (I posted this in another thread, just hope you can use the info) Basically the Idea came to me from an old friend who was a tanker in the service. I was a ground pounder and once we got together for drinks and to swap stories. Well he was in the Middle east and started to tell me how they had this cooling vest they use to wear. Basically it was a vest with tubing running all through it that they would hook up when they were inside the tank. Cold water pumped through the vest, cooling you significantly.

Like many things this tidbit of info just laid around in my head until I came here and started to think about making a suit of Armor. I was out shopping and in the camping section I found what I think is the perfect thing to modify to make a homemade cooling vest. it is a battery operated portable water pump used to make a portable shower. The only thing I am having a hard time puzzling out is where to put the reservoir of Ice water and how long the effect would last. In other words if its worth the trouble of making this.

Hope my Ramblings are useful and spark some new ideas, hope I didn't bore you all. TGIF everyone :) Hey tsau-mia Great Sketch up.
 
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