This is the finished product of Poe Dameron's flight vest from Star Wars: Force Awakens. I patterned and sewed it from the ground up, using my duct tape mannequin as a form.  Most of the vest consists of three layers: the outside and inside fabric (which is a cotton-polyester blend), with a layer of batting sandwiched in between.  For the padded areas, I used 3mm white EVA foam, cut into strips and sewn under the first layer of fabric and over the layer of batting.  The collar has the same layers as the vest except it also has bits of batting to bulk it out.  The hip pouch was made out of canvas material.

The chest clasp was done out of styrene plastic and is attached by means of two adjustable parachute buckles. The symbol detail work was done by drawing the designs onto masking tape, cutting them out, then stenciling them onto the fabric with black acrylic paint.  The whole thing was weathered using various colors of Rit dye in a damp rag and rubbed into the vest.


This whole thing was my first commission for an all sewing project.  The patterns and templates were created by me from scratch to fit the client.  Everything I did was trial and error and I learned a lot from this project.  It's always fun to try new types of projects and I can't wait to see what else I can try with fabrics and sewing.  The vest was made to go along with the chest box you see pictured above for the same client.

Bioshock Infinite is my all time favorite game!  So when I got requested to do a bronze version of the Motorized Patriot, I was pretty excited!

1 & 2.  I started out by getting out my silicone mother mold.  For this particular mask I use fiber glass resin.  With the fiberglass resin and fiberglass cloth, you end up with a hard durable mask that won't ever break on you!  The baby powder is used to powder the cast after you demold it.

3. Once it has completely cured, I cut/cleaned the eyes, battle damage, and edges. I sprayed it with a grey primer to give it a base coat.  

4.  With my drill. I went in and individually drilled each hole though the resin for the wig to go through later.

5.  Now for the fun part!  If you've been following me for awhile, you know that Alclad is one of my favorite products!  I used the mirrored gold color in my airbrush to get a nice smooth finish.  This stuff makes your projects look like real metal!

6.  You know me, I can't leave anything pretty, so I went in with an acrylic blackish- brown wash and brushed it into the cracks to give it a much more grimy feel!

7 & 8.  To age it a bit more, I created a bluish-green paint because brass oxidizes to a bluish green patina as it ages. Then I added that to  different spots around the mouth and eyes to imitate where water/moisture would collect to create oxidation. Doesn't George look creepy?
 
9. 10. 11.   Onto the wig!  This wig was created out of clothesline rope.  It's wrapped around pipe insulation foam to give it the right shape and then hot glued on so it won't budge.  After the wig was complete, various browns, greys, and yellow dyes were sprayed and brushed into where it would naturally mold and rot to give it that nasty look to match the face.

There you have it!

1. Base coat applied.  The base boat was straight from a rattle can (pebble tan).  

2.  This is what one side looks like after it was brown-washed to give it that aged bone look.

3&4.  More brown-washes and highlights and lowlights with various acrylic browns to achieve the really aged bone look.

5.  Two strips of yellow LED flexible automotive lights were glued to the skull.

6.  I made several bundles of orange, yellow, and red tulle to create the faux flames.

7&8. This is what it looks like after the different bundles were glued to the top of the skull.  Notice the movable jaw!

I started by templating out the shapes of the skull. (NOT PICTURED) I took masking tape and covered half of a mannequin head, then I drew onto the tape where my skull will sit on the head and I cut that out with a razor blade, right on the mannequin head.  Once I had my overall shape, I marked where my jaw line and where the seams would be.  Then I cut on the lines I marked, with a razor blade and peeled them off of the mannequin head. Once each piece is off the mannequin head, stick it flat to the poster board, and KABOOM, you have your templates (pictured).  Once I had my templates I traced them onto the EVA foam, and cut the pieces out using my trusty band saw.  

To get the right form, I used a heat gun and shaped the foam to look just right.  I glued the individual pieces together with Barge, this stuff is a heavy duty contact cement that will keep the foam together.  The foam will rip before the bond breaks, if applied correctly. 

After that, you'll see that I added foam to build the bridge of the nose, then carved down using my Dremel.  I also carved in the teeth using my Dremel, using a sanding drum and various shaped grinding stones.  

The masking tape will be replaced with elastic, so the jaw will be able to move with the wearer.  

The shiny substance you see on the mask is Kwik Seal. This was used to seal the foam.  It was then coated with Plasti-Dip,

A base coat was applied with spray paint to start the painting stage.

It's finished!

Front: The Alclad and base coats were applied and everything was weathered with a dark grey/brown wash.  Then I stenciled on the Phoenix and applied clear caulking over the phoenix, to give it a raised texture. Then the rust was applied with various browns and oranges.  The bronze and brass parts were "oxidized" using a mix of light blue and green paint, dry-brushed on and around those pieces.

Back: The plugs were made from wooden dowels dipped in 65D resin and sanded with rough sandpaper to give them the brushed metal look.  Then the back was painted with the same dark grey/brown wash as the front.  Then various browns, reds, and tans were applied to give the wood grain depth.  The same rust and weathering techniques were used on the back of the shield.

For this shield I'm using many different painting techniques.  One of my favorite paint products is Alclad.  It gives the metal parts of the shield shine!  Below I explain each step and technique I've used so far.

1: Using regular old poster board, I drew out a template, using reference photos.  This is used to trace onto the foam.  It is a lot cheaper to go through poster board than EVA foam :)

2:  Do you like my foam dome rig?  For the front of the shield, the EVA foam is heated up and then shaped with the domer I made.  

3: The back side was traced and cut out using a band saw.

4:  This is the inside of the shield where the back handles will get hooked to.  The MDF will reinforce it.

5:  Whoops.  If at first you don't succeed, try a new method!  First I tried expanding foam to push the front of the shield out more.  It wasn't effective, so I used different pieces of foam I cut out instead.

6:  Starting to add the details of the shield with Foamies (less thick).  I just cut out the shape I need from the beginning template as I work on the details.

​7:  On the back, adding the details of the wood grain.  This is achieved with a dremel, using a grinding stone attachment.

8: Working on the details of the front of the shield.  I'm using a mixture of materials here.  A little styrene, a little MDF, and some more EVA foam.