ANIMU GUN GIRL SHIELD THING (Homura shield) [PART 1]

Hello once again! I know, my posting is piss poor, but i'm working on it! Instead of shooting my wad early by releasing a bunch of updates as I write them, i'm gonna try saving them as drafts and releasing them daily
*Cricket chirp* 
BUT! (and this is a pretty big butt) I'm back with a brand spankin NEW project!
*Cricket chirp*
Awesome! This one is actually a comission of sorts. Well, a trade-off really. I made this for a fellow costuming friend in return for some more sewing-heavy pieces for ANOTHER upcoming project!
Anyway, in case you can't tell from the title, what I'll be making is indeed from an anime...

I know nothing about anime.

I had to look it up but it's... uh... Homura's shield from Puella Magi Madoka Magica...

wut

Anyway, onto the build! I started with a simple diagram and a couple reference pictures:

And, as it turned out, the above diagram was actually around 7 inches in diameter, which was apparently 1:1 scale! 
Now, my first thought was "No way gun girl is blocking anything with that!" But according to a trusted source (read: weeaboo friend), it's actually a time machine, teleportation device, and holds an entire arsenal of assault weapons...

WUT

Anyway, since the diagram was small enough to fit on printer paper, I printed it out and got started!
(Also, NEW PHONE UPGRADE!! So that means no more Parkinson's or potato quality, just 23 hot, juicy megapixels of face-melting cool!)

  

Too small, had to reprint:

 

 Better size!

So, with the size down, next came figuring out how to, well, build it. Since it's so small and high detail, I started off by splitting it into 5 layers:

Layer 1         Layer 2           Layer 3       Layer 4     Layer 5

And, as usual, the core material will be EVA foam. But for the high-detail parts (layer 2 and 5) I'm using craft foam, a lighter, thinner foam sheeting.

So, unsurprisingly, I started with layer 1:

Here's a good shot of the thickness of the EVA foam:

Boom, base done. Next up was Layer 5, then 4 (continuity isn't my strong suit...)

With the pieces cut out, next came the shaping:

after that came the more difficult part, cutting the lines (paper and curved surfaces don't mix very well!):

Layer 5: easy peasy!

Go Go Gadget Layer 4!

Oh snap son! Part 1 over and out! Stay tuned!


 














  

FIRST BUILD: Halo Reach Custom Multiplayer Spartan III [Part 6] FINALE!!

Alright. We're here. We made it. We're at the last part. Congratulations for making it this far! 

The final stage is painting. The scheme was black with red detail.

Let's-a GOOO!

So I knew that the paint would NOT take to the bare foam very well at all, so i tried out a little something called Flex Seal, which is basically aerosol rubber. It worked REALLY well as a sealant, and even added a little texture to it. I left parts like the area around the armpits and the inside of the thighs covered since the bare foam emulated the undersuit really well.

After the flex seal, primer, and black coat, the red detail came next:

Little bit of white detail:

With all the major painting done, I realized that the paint job looked too much like spraypaint. So i pulled a painting method out of my Warhammer painting skills from years ago. (yes, i'm a giant nerd. please don't give me a swirly)

This method was drybrushing, which is where you dip your brush in paint, wipe off ~80% of the paint, then brush all over the piece. It gives texture to the piece and, in this case interacted great with the texture provided by the flex seal. I did this for every piece and it turned out great. It gave everything more of an "armor" look and got rid of the flat colors.

I also did some cool bullet holes along the shoulder and chest:

Also, I added a little mud to the boots:

And finally a complete picture!

It's done. It's over. I got some pictures of me in the suit, but i'll have to dig them up.

Also, I wasn't able to make a helmet just because i knew i wouldn't be able to make one, let alone with EVA foam. I'll just add that to the LONG list of improvements for this suit. But, it's done! Next up is the project I'm currently working on! stay tuned!