...Because being able to turn your head is for the weak

Hey Everyone.

So I lied...kind of. I got a request to modify some existing "Pickle-Barrel" armor. We started talking Warhammer armor and I started to get excited...more than was gained from doing a tutorial on staining parchment, which will have to wait. No matter! This build will be a great foray for the beginner into working with EVA foam to create armor. Now while we're not creating the armor from scratch necessarily, the steps we'll be taking are consistent and useful for any armor/costume build you might want to do on your own.

So let's begin.

1. The Inspiration:

I've never really been into Warhammer as a hobby all that much, however what I lack in participation is made up for by my appreciation for its aesthetic. I love the gritty, dictatorial warscapes that they've created in a distopian future. And as such, all they're armor/gear is readily identifiable...and damn hard to recreate. I pulled a few pics from a basic search that I'm going to use as inspiration when going through this build:

The Witch Hunter Tyrus -

The Ignatus Power Armor - 

 The Tyrus armor has a great aesthetic, even if the reference pic is a little muddy. I'll be referencing the Ignatus pic for basic structure and for when I have to start making patterns.

2. The Patterns - Pauldrons

Thinking through the build, you want get a good mental picture of how the work flow will take place so as not to put any pieces on that are dependent upon getting other measures of other pieces, putting them on too early, etc... The shoulder pauldrons seemed like a safe bet and so I set out to making patterns for the top sections. As you can see I cut a groove out of the paper in order to compensate for the addition of the neck guard on top of the basic armor set. This was a little tricky and there was some trimming that had to be done. Remember to always underestimate when making room....that way you can trim off more later if need be.

From the main pattern I traced out the second pauldron and freehanded a cool shape based on the new measurement as you can see below:

Sizing of top, main pauldron (before shaping)

After approving the fit, I set out to carving and shaping. I beveled an edge using a soldering iron on low heat (remember to wear eye protection and masks! Fumes are bbbaaaaddddd) as well as added some indentations that I thought would be cool as battle marks. I cut out the new shape and glued them both to the base pauldrons of the armor.

Crappy pic of the pauldrons and the detail I drew and carved into the foam. The design was a reference from a Witchhunter armor set I saw online and liked. Used the soldering iron as well.

Stay tuned for the next episode when I attempt to the chest and collar sections! Yikes....