Long Overdue Update

Okay, I know I haven't updated in awhile... Here, at least. I've been keeping a steady stream of photos going on my facebook album though....

Construction-wise:
-Torso: Done
-Mask: Done, except for the insignia. I went with a half-mask, since I was having overheating problems and breathing difficulties with the full mask. Thankfully, my features are long enough that I can make this work with paint and the half-mask.
-Forearms: Done
-Lower legs: 95% done, just need the tires
-Shoulder pads from hell: NEED TO BE BUILT

Decoration-wise:
0% completion. Going to finish construction on everything before I begin covering everything with the outer coverings.

Accessories-wise:
0%. I need to buy a toy revolver (orange tip, yo!) and I need to figure out what I'll be building the badge out of. I already know how I'm going to rig it so I can pull it out of the gap in the chest armor (fishing line), so it's just a matter of actually building it.

For Anime Central next year, I will be re-making the lightbars on the head and back so I can rig them to light up. I will also be adding cooling fans and figuring out how I'm going to rig a water system in as well, since I know I'll have difficulties with drinking from water fountains (the torso is one piece, so I won't be able to bend at the waist, or at the hips).

Shifting Gears....

So now all I have left is the lower torso, the rest of the upper torso, the helm, and the shoulderpads of doom.

More torso progress

The majority of the back lightbar construction is done.

Torso Progress!

I think I might be able to move on to the waist and lower torso, construction-wise, within the next week. :3

More Progress!

Total cost to date: $.75 since I used 2.5 sheets of posterboard....

Front and back....

I've started on the upper torso.... So far, I've got the front and back bases of it cut out, and will be starting on the 'detail' stuff shortly.

Just the bases right now....

Leg Progress, and a minor tragedy

So the right leg is mostly completed, construction wise. I just need to make the kneecap area, and that'll be it for the right leg.... I covered the cardboard in duct tape to make a better surface to work on when I get to covering the whole shebang....

And I managed to bust my scissors while cutting the bottom part of the left foot/leg....

Just goes to show you that it's better to use the right tools for the job... I'll be getting an X-acto knife or cheapie kitchen knife some time within the next day to day and a half.

Huh....

It just occurred to me that I haven't posted reference pics.... Most of these are ganked from friends on facebook, since I still haven't gotten the hang of the image capture feature of my video player....

This one kinda gives an idea of the back area....

Kinda creepy, but this gives me a better idea of the area around the neck, and a better idea of what I could do with the bottom of the feet....

Headshots! :D

Multiple angles ftw. I still have to guess on the shape of things, but I do get a better idea of how everything fits together with shots like this.

More Progress!

Now all I need to do is make the knees and the front half of each foot, and the lower legs will be done, construction-wise. :3

Finally! Progress

And to think, this is just one leg... I'll be disassembling what I've got done and tracing it for the other leg.

total cost is still $.60, because the cardboard for the legs was free.

No pics this time...

I started on making the lower legs, since I raided a friend's Facebook photo album that she dedicated entirely to pictures of Deckerd... (BTW, Andey, I'll prolly be getting most of my reference shots either from you or from screencaps I take on my own... 'cause otherwise, I'll be so lost... ._.;; ) and she had a picture of Deckerd from several angles... which helped me visualize pattern pieces. I will need velcro to keep the lower legs on, since I'm making the opening around my knees about as big around as where my knees bend... there will be much duct tape involved... I need to work on drafting out the knee area too.

I found that the appliance place in town gets shipments once a week or so, and if I go on Wednesdays after letting them know I need a box, they'll hang onto one for me, free of charge. :3

So far, total cost has been $0.60, because most of the materials are boxes that I had on hand anyways, and the poster-board was the only purchase so far... That'll prolly change once I get to the actual duct taping, and getting foam for the insides of the armor so it doesn't collapse on me... as well as the velcro, and the hat that I'll be building the head off of...

Everything I learn as I make this costume is going to be applied to my Transformers Animated Megatron costume as well.

Hrm...

I'm going to take a break on the head for now, since I don't have a hat to use as the base for it. I'll be starting on the legs later tonight or tomorrow afternoon.

More pics!

Okay, right side lightbar casing is finished, construction-wise. I need to get blue duct tape at some point... along with red, yellow, black, and white duct tape... I might even need to get paint.... Anyways, onto the pictures!

Top-down view.... the lightbar'll fill in what's empty space right now.

I derped when cutting out the side panel on one part, but since everything's going to be covered, it really doesn't matter.

Er... I really don't have anything to say about this one...

and finally, a general idea of where this part will go on the helm.

Edit:

Both casings are done! And now that I look at 'em, I kind of want to make the "lightbar" parts actually light up...

First picture....

Yes, this is really about as far as I've gotten... but it shows an important step. I made rough drafts of the pattern for the pieces I was going to cut out, in this case, the lightbar casings that go on either side of Deckerd's head. After a bit of finagling, I had a workable pattern that I cut from paper before attaching it to the posterboard. After that, I carefully cut out each piece, and labeled them with the part number, as well as the side they'd go on. This way, I won't lose track of which piece goes where. Once I have all the pieces cut out, I'll be doing a test fit to see whether I need to make any additional adjustments or not.

First Post.... Pictures later

This blog is to chronicle the making of my Deckerd costume.  Deckerd is one of the main characters in the anime "Brave Police J-Decker".


So far, my materials list is as follows:
-Poster board


Total cost so far:
-$1.50 for the posterboard, with five sheets in the package, so $.30 per sheet.... and I've used one sheet so far...