June Update–Delta, Eleanor, and Splicers Oh My!

 

This update is going to be a little random and heavy on the pictures, so sit back and enjoy.

 

Subject Delta

The helmet is now 99% complete.  I’ve been afraid of these last steps for a while now, but just had to bite the bullet and go for it.
The helmet has a back plate that the tanks are attached to. This plate is attached directly to the helmet, according to the action figure and other reference drawings.
             

For me, this meant that I would have to build a back plate that was light weight, but heavy duty enough to hold the tanks, but not so heavy that it kills me to wear it or will rip off the helmet frame.  I’ve been worried for a while.

I went with a 1/4 thick piece of MDF.  This was light enough, but not heavy enough to hold the tanks in place.  Plus, I want the tanks removable for transport, so access to a bolt point was now needed.  I took the tanks and did a test placement and marked the areas where they would bolt to the board.

From there, I glued some 3/4 inch thick blocks on the other side of the board.  This allowed be to drill into the MDF, and the heavier blocks and add a furniture assembly bolt (basically a threaded cylinder that I could bolt into).  After painting, it was time to attach the board to the helmet.  I would attach it directly to the PVC frame with 2 1/2 inch screws and pre-drilled holes, and pull all the wiring through the board as well.

It actually worked, and worked well.

The wiring is tied into two switches on the top.  One for the 6 volt lights and fans, and one for the 9 volt lights.  In hindsight, it would have been better to go 9 volt the whole way, but we’re too deep to pick at the details now.

There is also a pocket on the back of the board for the iPod that will provide my soundtrack.

The only problem that I have encountered from all this, is that now the whole helmet is incredibly back heavy, even without the tanks.  The stand I made for it cannot handle the bend that the weight puts on it, so I’ve had to tie the whole thing down to keep it stationary.

While I was doing all this, I kept thinking there was something about the helmet that was bothering me.  It was just too nice looking.  Too new and shiny.  At the beginning of Bioshock 2 Delta had been dead at the bottom of the ocean for at least 12 years or more, so the helmet needed some age.
Dry brushing some green and brown paints on and wiping them off lightly got me the look I wanted.

                           

It is very subtle, but there.

With all this done, I needed to look back at the tanks I was wearing.  2 of the 4 were done.

Remember these will be used to hold the batteries for the lights, fans, and drill and the speaker for the iPod.
The last two are the red and blue tanks in the middle.

These are the health and eve tanks.  They are clear but filled with colored liquids.  I went round and round on different things to use, but finally decided on corn syrup and food coloring.
                           

The tubes are completely custom made and sealed up with a lot of silicone.  The tubes are plugged and will be run into the back plate.

                            

So with all that, Delta is nearly complete, and I am very glad.  I’m really wanting this to just be done at this point.  Fortunately, I’ve had a few other projects going on to help distract me and keep me fresh.

 

Eleanor Lamb

Now Melinda’s costume of Eleanor is coming along too.  Progress has been made on the chest plate (the part the helmet would attach to) and the syringe has been completed.

Detail of the chest plate.

This little piece was nicknamed the lobster bib when Melinda commented that wearing it felt like a bib, so that is why there is a big lobster drawn on it.

I used a piece of poster board for the rough shape and then added bits of insulation foam to build up areas and lock in the shape.

 

                           

Then I layered pieces of the foam on for the neck opening and closed the opening with more poster board.

                          

The blue tape is there to hold things while the glue dries

The back was made with another piece of poster board and just fitting it in place and cutting to shape.  There will likely be some foam added to it just for enforcement.

It is now ready for paper mache and then resin.  This was far easier than I thought it was going to be.  A lot was learned for the Delta helmet.

The syringe still needed a couple of pieces added.  The odd little top bit and an arm cuff to actually hold it to Melinda’s arm.

The top bit was made last time, but needed mache and paint.  The arm cuff has been made and attached since.  The last bit is to add a couple of velcro straps to tighten it.

The arm piece was made by cutting the bottom off of a plastic cup and then slitting the cup and laying it flat.  This got the basic shape.  That was transferred to a piece of foam and formed by locking it into the shape with zip ties and mache.  It has been painted but not coated in resin.  It needed to maintain some flexibility and resin would not allow that without a big threat of cracking or just breaking.
There is still some touching up to do on the paint, but this is basically done.  The biggest fear is if there is a problem with the light.  I didn’t make the electronics very accessible for repair.  Version 2 will fix that.

 

Splicer Commission

I was actually lucky enough to also get a commission request for a prop build.  The individual is actually going to be at Dragon*Con, so I’ll get to see the props in action once I ‘m done.  First commission and I am very excited about this one.

The costume they are doing is of a splicer from the game.  Splicers were at one point just normal people in the city of Rapture, but through constant gene manipulation (splicing) they eventually went mad.  They use a variety of weapons from guns to clubs and various bladed weapons.  The prop I was asked to make are the hooks that are often used.  Basically they are giant meat hooks.

They need to be light and sturdy.  Insulation foam, here we come.

I lamenated two pieces of 1/2 inch thick foam together and sanded them into shape.  I’ve made them in two pieces.  The main hook and the handle. 

Test of how they will look when done.

To join the handle to the hook, I went through a few methods.  I was first going to just use a dowel rod and glue them together.  This had the problem of how do you transport them without breaking them.

Next I thought to use a screw through the handle

and a nut contained in the hook. This would allow it to break down flat for transport.

Problem here, the nut broke loose from the foam and was hard to line up with the screw coming from the handle.

Idea number three, instead of just a nut, a wing nut glued into the base of the hook.

 

This allowed the nut to be exposed and easier to line up, and the wings gave it a better surface area to prevent it from breaking loose like the regular nut.  Add in a ton of wood glue and a layer of resin and this will work.

All that is left now is resin and paint, and hope for a happy customer.

Eleanor’s Big Sister Syringe

 

I am still trying to figure out just how much of Eleanor Lamb’s Big Sister armor I can get done for Melinda.  The helmet has pretty much kicked my butt so far.  I’m not sure why. I may just have some sort of block with it.  I am still moving forward with some pieces and right now it is looking like Melinda will be the end game non-helmeted version of Eleanor.
This version may be out.

 

This version is in.

Even back before the helmet started kicking me around, I was working on the needle/syringe thing on her arm.

The back story of the prop is that the Little Sisters would use that to extract Adam from their victims.

The Big Sisters just take it up a notch or two or three.

Some of the early concept art, like the above, the Big Sisters have actually attached a bayonet to the end of the needle.  Fortunately that didn’t make the final cut.

Using the action figures as reference, back in February, I started on the build.

I used some 1/4” plywood, an old plastic shelf leg, and some dowel rods for the main body.

I sculpted the valve wheels from clay and would later paint them red.

Now, here is where I stopped for a few months.  I don’t know why, but I did.  Then within the last two weeks, I got moving again, really fast.  Unfortunately, when I do that, I forget to take build pictures.  Sorry.

I made the glowing collection bottle from a clear ketchup/mustard picnic bottle I got at the grocery store, painted the inside red, and wired up some LEDs into it.  A push button on the bottom serves as the on/off and the “nipple” portion of the collection bottle.

Some copper and grey paint, old copper tubing I had lying around and this is what I ended up with.

99% complete, but I am HAPPY!

I have to mache and paint the pink bit and clean up some glue and a little aging, but again, I AM HAPPY.

All lit up.

Like I said above, just a little clean up and some aging and it is good to go.  The vambrace that this attaches to and then to Melinda’s arm is under construction too.

It is times like this, when the prop is close enough to done, that I can step back and enjoy it.  I really am very happy with how this has turned out and I’m amped up again to move forward with more.  Maybe I’ll even tackle the helmet again.

May–Delta & Destro

 

May.  This was not a very productive month.  As far as getting Delta any closer to completion anyway.  For other projects, it was a very good month.  I began work on my version 2 of Destro’s mask, and upgraded my vacuum forming table…already.

For Delta, all that I got done was just cleaning up the wiring, lining the inside of the helmet with old Crown Royal bags, and getting the back pack started.  I have to say, that I think it actually looks pretty cool with all the bags in there.  It looks much better than just the raw foam that was visible.

This does serve four purposes.
1) It helps to seal down some of the Mache from pealing lose.
2) It covers the foam skeleton on the inside.
3) It allowed me to conceal and secure the wiring for the lights and fans.
4) It gets rid of a lot of Crown Royal bags.

I did route the wiring out the back and it will be concealed with the back pack.

The back pack is really just a board that the tanks will mount to, and the board will mount to the frame on the helmet.  I will likely permanently mount the board to the helmet, but the tanks will be removable for transport and storage.

I need to trim this a lot shorter too, but I like the layout.

Well, big daddy Delta is not going to be the only costume that goes to Atlanta…hopefully.  I am also working on an updated version of my Destro costume from last year.

While I absolutely love this costume, I did run short on time and had to leave a few things in a state of half baked.  Mainly the back of the mask being made from vinyl and kept closed with Velcro.  With everything I learned from it, I am well under way with a version 2.

Back in March, I decided to try my hand at making a vacuum forming table.  The basic idea is you take a positive mold or sculpt, heat a piece of plastic until it is just about to melt, put it over the mold, and use a vacuum to suck all the air out and form the plastic around the mold. 

The table itself was easy enough to build, except for marking and drill over 1500 1/4” holes.  I went with a side by side version instead of the top down version.  My idea was that heat rises, so a heat source under the plastic would work best.

I did line the heat side with WonderBoard, just forgot to get a picture.

I went with a toaster over as my heat source.  The one I picked up had two burners.

This lead to some heating issues.  Hot spots.  Uneven heating. Not enough heat.  All that lead to some rather interesting foil attempts at a solution.

I had to eventually break down and get a second toaster over.  I looked at other options, but this was the cheapest and all I could afford.  Maybe one day there will be a version 3 with a more professional heat source, or at least a bigger toaster oven.

I could have likely run all 4 elements off just one controller, but I thought why try to increase my risks for a fire more than I already am.

With that all done and working, I took my original mask and made a vacuum mold of it.  I want to use it as a base for a sculpt and since it is already the right size and a great starting point, why not.

Next, I filled the new plastic mold with a fun little compound Melinda and I came up with of newspapers and water run through the blender and then glue and flour added.  I baked this for quite a while under a heat lamp and outside before I felt brave enough to remove it.

                               

I didn’t get any pictures of the final product, but it is working out great as a base.  I did try to do just a quick vacuum pull of just it with a few changes made by adding clay, and well, anywhere air could pull through, it did and caused the plastic to form around it. I ended up with a lumpy mask.

I then just went and built up the rest of the features, evened out a few areas and gave the whole thing a coat with air dry clay to get a good solid working positive.

                      

I marked the eye areas with raised bits so I would know better where to cut for the eye holes later.

The pull from the clay piece turned out really well and I am on my way to a good Destro V2 mask.

This is only the front, but I will use it to build the back and will sculpt ear molds separately and put it all together.  My plan is to use rare earth magnets to hold the front and back together.  I guess that this will add the effect of also scrambling the CIA brainwave scanners as well.