So, I’m trying to piece together the Ballistic Veil outfit (amongst others) for cosplay or rather because I simply want to^^ While the whole clothing and several straps and belts are easily found, I really have trouble with the black chest and spine guard harness.
Anyone knows how that chest piece / harness is called or where to look for something like that?
What I tried so far: chest rigs, military stuff like molle vests as well as ski- and motocross armors. I’m pretty much out of ideas where else to look. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Edit: Trying to recreate not only the looks, but I also want to keep the material as realistic as possible.
The chest harness looks like it would be easy to make with some craft foam, glue, and wide bag straps or elastic bands. Same for the arm guards and shoulders.
Thank you That would be somewhat my last resort - creating things from scratch. I am far from a professional or even skilled tailor/crafter with my two left hands xD I more or less just used the term cosplay because that’s something widely known.
I would highly recommend checking out some videos from Evil Ted Smith on YouTube. He has amazing tutorials for working with craft foam. It doesn’t have to be scary!
You’re pretty definitely not gonna be able to find any real-life armor that looks like it. I just asked my partner for tips on what to search for (as she’s the more military-savvy of us), and she ended up rambling about how chest armor should be a single piece, and not split in the middle. XD However, I did find something close-ish from her recommended search terms: https://www.gijoesmilitarysurplus.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1530_1649&products_id=15620
It’s not quite the same, but it does have multiple plates in the front, and is split in the middle with a zipper. There might be other sci-fi franchises with closer designs, but I’m not personally aware of any. If you really want it to be plastic rather than foam, and don’t have the setup to do it yourself, you can also try hitting up folks in the Star Wars 501st (who have really high kit standards) to see if you can commission them (or someone they know) for the chest piece.
The cheapest choice is like @FormlessBlackVoid said–check out tutorials, get some thick foam, and build the chest yourself. If you don’t want to freehand the shapes and have a printer, you can blow up screenshots and print out a few pages to trace from. This would take a lot of ink, though, so if you have a light hand and a sufficiently-sized monitor, you can try gently pencil tracing from zoomed-in shots on your computer. (Be very careful, if you press too hard you can damage your monitor. Thinner paper will make it easier to see the actual shapes you need to trace.)
Also, if you have/decide to add pouches and/or a pack to carry stuff in and plan to wear it to a convention or the like, I recommend bringing duct tape! (And munchies, and your preferred glue, and a first aid kit, and… :D) I took photos with a bunch of Junkrats last year while cosplaying a warboy from Fury Road, and one of them had a strap that came loose and was fraying. If you or anyone else you run into have a strap come loose, duct tape will let you keep it in place until you get a chance to fix it properly.
And hey, when you get it done, I’d love to see photos if you’re willing to share!
Yeeeeesss! I had the GI vest on my watchlist, thinking it looks more or less like what I’m after, but hey, never hurts to ask for advice from more folks. So happy to see that you spotted the same item! Seems I wasn’t that far off with my guess then.
I also have my eyes on this https://www.24mx.com/revit-tryonic-see-back-protector-black-blue-1 or https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/712YTjNLvZL.SY492.jpg for the back. They’re the closest I could find from the looks. Of course I will need to replace the straps, give them a trim to adjust the form and they’d need paintjob, but that’s something I can do. Just not very skilled to craft things from scratch. And, I gotta admit, as a Larper, I like to feel what I’m wearing. That’s why I prefer the hard plates (realism / protection aside^^). Foam, Pattex and duct tape are the bare minimals one needs at a c-o-n (can’t write it any other way? o_O) and I tend to carry more stuff with me than I personally need, just to help others out.
Will check out the Star Wars folks, too. Sounds interesting. Thanks a bunch for all the tips! <3 I will most likely upload photos, but I can’t guarantee when. Gotta save up a bit of money and… get myself in shape xD Nothing looks more ridiculous than stick like arms in armor.
Oh wow, those back plates are great! They’re pretty dang close…if it were feasible to cut the first one in half and attach it to a base (and/or attach some lining along the cut area, so the middle doesn’t look funky), you might even be able to fudge just buying two of those. The plates on the second one don’t seem to be wide enough to just split…but maybe if you had a good base, and could put three on each side (and maybe cut the last one) you could grab two of those, as well. I have no idea whether splitting them is feasible or not, though. XD
I GOT DISTRACTED AND FORGOT TO REPLY TO THE REST OF THE POST. XD
I don’t LARP, but I do kinda get what you mean. I haven’t yet made any armor, though I’d personally be leery of using foam. I know I’d end up wrinkling/warping it because I am not as mindful as I should be. XD Plastic/worbla is what I’d be more inclined toward using, if I were to make it myself. (Hi, why didn’t I recommend worbla earlier? Duh. Use that if you gotta go from scratch, or find something similar and smoother. Been a while since I’ve checked what’s available.) I’d be less likely to muck it up, and it’d just…feel better.
I also get what you mean with bringing extra stuff. I put a big back patch on my warboy vest that says “ORGANIC + MECHANIC MOBILE REPAIR” to try to communicate “hey I have food and tape and a sewing kit and water and stuff,” in an in-character way that doesn’t throw off the outfit. Plus I grabbed a small folding stool this last year, and fit that and all my other stuff in a big tool belt I got. Still had a few pouches free, so I’m sure I can find more to bring.
I’m not totally sure how much the 501st is prone to branching out. I just know they have really high standards as far as making armor goes, and have been doing it for ages so they’re likely to have good tips and tutorials. And hey, I won’t knock you for stick arms–I’ve got twig arms and cosplayed a warboy anyway.
Just a quick response before I head off (the next couple of days or weeks will get packed with work and work trips, so not sure when or if I can answer again x_x): If you are ever going to work with Worbla, please note that those pieces can be molded and formed by heating them. Direkt sun, leaving them in your car or tent when the temperatures rise will make them soft and formable again
I had the GI vest on my watchlist, thinking it looks more or less like what I’m after, but hey, never hurts to ask for advice from more folks. So happy to see that you spotted the same item! Seems I wasn’t that far off with my guess then.
