A Quiet Path

• Finalized painting of all armor and props
• Attempted bracers, but decided they would work better as cloth, rather than armor
• Shipped armor and weapons off for Otakon

All that’s left is clothing items, and I’ll carry those on the plane when I head out to the convention.  90% complete!

ETA: Armor and weapons have been shipped off for Otakon.  And wow, my apartment is so much cleaner now that those are out of here.

• Glued the armor straps together and painted the gold intersection tab for the back
• Cut out tabs for on the various straps on the chest/belt
• Attached scabbard to chest harness
• Attached thigh guards to belt
• Actually tried on the armor (complete) for the first time

No pictures for tonight, sorry.   I was in normal clothing when I put the armor on, and it wasn’t quite finished in any case.  I did discover that I can, with effort, draw the sword from the scabbard on my back.

• Wrapped sword hilts
• Painted sword blades

• Repainted sword blades – the acrylic isn’t as bright as the auto paint, but didn’t bubble up, so I’m happier with the result
• Finished detailing the extra props
• Made straps with buckles for attaching the scabbard to the chest harness straps
• Made the belt and chestplate – to – belt strap

Need to add the gold tabs to all those straps on the chestplate, but that’s for later.

• Painted details into props
• Added extra hooks to chestplate and belt buckle for belt and belt/chestplate connections
• Added gems to prop

Some progress photos behind cut, again, due to possible spoilers…

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• Put some layers of auto clear-coat on the armor for protection
• Sanded down the swords, removed edges and pointy tips so con security will hopefully let me pose with the sword out
• Finished stitching main harness
• Added eyelets for shoulder guard attachment

I’m not happy with the paint job on the blade – it was auto paint, and I think it was too humid over the weekend to dry properly.  I’ll likely sand that down and try again soon.

Still to do:

• Belt
• Connecting strap from chestplate to belt
• Gloves / bracers
• Make sure boots are in good shape
• Finalize paint details on swords and other props

• Finished the scabbard, now ready to paint
• Touched up trim paint on the armor
• Painted a few other props
• Pics hidden behind more tag – possible spoilers ahead

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• Started creating the scabbard, still need to coat it with craft foam
• Continued paint job on several parts

The scabbard is a multi-layer approach.  First, craft foam on the inside to protect the blade from scratches.  I bent plastic mesh around the edges of the blade and glued it to the foam.  For support, I then glued plastic sheets along the centerline of the blade.  In the final picture, I’m gluing high impact polystyrene sheets to the outside of everything.  Still to go, craft foam to smooth everything out, and a nice paint job.

No new pictures for tonight, but…

• Bought additional paint and other supplies
• Finished casting additional parts, started painting
• Continued painting armor

• Picked up fabric and pattern for the updated outfit
• Cast 2/3rds of the optional accessories
• First coat of paint on the armor

Tomorrow’s plans include – second coat of paint, additional casting and  sanding of optional props, reinforcement sewing for straps/harness for chest and shoulder armor.