The Pauldrons

Based on photographs, the shoulder armor appeared to be functional multi-part pauldrons. (Months later, I learned they were molded from a flexible rubber-like material.). The Nakia costume also had a variant shoulder piece, so I’d have to create two designs. I started by tracing patterns in Illustrator over references images, which were then printed and applied to sintra. The sintra was then cut, heat formed, and glued using superglue. I made a quick mockup for a try-on using some scrap material I had at the shop (old retail signs printed on sintra), before ordering slightly heavier material for the actual construction. Once I had my sizing adjusted for the thicker material, I also ran a few paint tests.

Note: It was also around this point that time really began slipping away, so photos of ‘in progress’ items became a secondary concern. Sorry, folks!

The Nakia shell-like shoulder piece required curvatures that would be more difficult to achieve in sintra, so I chose to use craft foam. I heat-shaped each piece and added detail by scoring with an Xacto and applying heat to seal the foam and open the scored areas. Individual pieces were  glued together to create the final full piece. Since it was well below 30 outside, I chose to use Creature Cast to seal as I could use it inside without having to worry about fumes or the temperature.

Getting a bright metallic finish, without pricey chroming, can be a bit daunting. Since we were on both a short timetable and limited budget, I tested several paint options before settling on Spaz Stix Mirror Chrome and Candy Gold. Originally formulated for model finishing, the aerosol cans are smaller and more expensive than typical rattle-can paints, but well worth the investment. Although obviously not the same as chroming, the results from the two-step Mirror Chrome were particularly impressive on both the sintra and foam items coated in the Creature Cast. The gold variety was fairly bright, but not really what I had hoped for. I’ve since done a fair amount of reading on mixing or topcoating the chrome/silver, which may garner a better result on future projects.

The Belt Buckle

Walter was working on the leather harnesses and tabards, but we agreed I’d assist with the extensive beadwork. We discussed how to fasten the belt element, which I crafted with EVA foam. I traced photos in Illustrator to create printable patterns which were transferred to the foam. I used 6mm EVA for the base and 3mm craft foam for the panther detail. After coating everything with Creature Cast, I painted the base using the same chrome Spaz Stix I used on the pauldrons with a top coat of gold leaf Rub and Buff for the panther emblem.