I made Big Daddy for the Metrocon 2010 Anime Convention here in Tampa Florida. I used items I had around the garage as much as I could. My local Home Depot was fantastic in having any of the odd but necessary items needed for the Completion of Big Daddy. After seeing Volpin Props Big Daddy, I caught the Bio-Shock bug and had to make one of my own. I learned quite a few new techniques pursuing the Holy Grail of Big Daddy.

Step 1: Your Supplies

The supplies used are:3 Gallons of Fiberglass Resin and liquid hardener
2 packs of fiberglass cloth
25 cans of Spray expandable foam
1 - 3/4 in. 4 ft. x 10 ft. board R5.0 R-Matte Plus 3Insulation
Packing tape
carboard
stretch fabric of some type. (I used olf jersey sheets)
5 - Armacell 1 In. x 6 Ft. TubolitÂ® Self-Seal Foam Pipe Insulation
3 - Armacell 1 In. T Foam Pipe Insulation connectors
acetone - for cleaning the fiberglass resin off brushes
6 CANS - Krylon Fusion for Plastic® Hammered Finish Copper Hammered PAINT
2 quarts - Rust-Oleum® Hammered Metal Finish Copper
1 quart - Rust-Oleum® Hammered Metal Finish Silver
1 pint - black acrylic paint1 pint - red paint
1 pk - Shepherd (20 Pk.) 3/4 In. Heavy-duty Self-Adhesive Felt Pads Round - Beige
1 - 32" beach ball

Tools:old electric kitchen knife
old serated steak knifepaint brushes
dremel - cutting attatchment,sanding cone, sander
drill with 2" Bi-Metal Hole Saws
foam block sander

Optional item:I have a PVC frame stand that made that I use for projects that I need off the floor.

Step 2: Create Your Internal Skeleton

   I started by cutting the R-Matte (RM) board into 3 - 3 ft sections. I then took and cut it into the rough cut=away shape. Also from the remaining R-matte board make a shoulder portion, a 3Ft circle for the front access port of the dome and then 2- 10" circles for the arms.
  After I had the rough shape I cut 5"in wide pieces of cardboard to tape in-between the RM board.
   As I placed the cardboard I tried to form the end shape of the body. your best bet is to cut you form down to a more permanent size at this point, so that there is only about a 2 -3" depth at the most from the cardboard to the top edge so that you don't go through as much expandable foam as I did.
   leave about a 2ft x 3ft opening on the bottom for access. You will need this for entering the Cosplay and it leaves and opening so the you can set it up on a stand and work easier.
    After this item is taped securely and is sturdy enough. cut out the inside so that you can insert a stand or support . I used the electric knife to cut out the inside. . Cut out just enough for your stand to fit in. if you try to hollow it out it will be unstable and collapse in on itself, this would also make it impossible to work with as it will move too much when cutting and shaping.
   Also make the arm area with the 5" cardboard pieces to make about a 10" circle that will be the arm hole. Then fill the hole so to stabilizes it from collapsing

Step 3: Fill in the Internal Skeleton

As you start to fill in the form with foam you can spray it with water and it will cure faster.

Continue adding foam and letting it cure. this may take several days as you will need to foam 95% of the Sculpture. After the foam is cured and dried we are ready for shaping the body.

Step 4: Start Shaping the Body

Now that the foam is dry and solid you can begin to shape it. I used the electric knife to do the shaping . This was you can shave off areas as you go without making drastic cuts that may damage your design. continue shaping until the silhouette is smooth and the right shape.

After this was completed (and the foam given more drying time so it would retain its shape) the entire form was covered in stretch fabric I use an old jersey sheet for that . This smoothed out a lot of the lumpiness of the foam

Step 5: Applying the Fiberglass Resin

I cut the stretch fabric up to cover the body. I stapled the fabric to the skeleton. and cut off any excess. Once the body was covered I started the fiberglass process. I had four plastic containers for paint that have measurements on the side so that the mixing was precise. By using the 4 separate containers I could use one while the other hardened and the residue could easily be removed and popped out. I also have a container with acetone to clean the brushes in-between applications as resin hardens quickly and will easily ruin the brush

I mixed up the fiberglass resin and the hardener in batches of 4 ounces of resin with 60 drops of liquid hardener. This way the resin did not harden too quickly or stay wet for too long. Do not use the pour on method as it will drip too much and as you try to fix it the resin with start to harden and the brush marks will start to get bumpy. continue adding more batches of the fiber glass resin until the body is covered. You will repeat this process several times until you feel that the shell is strong enough to not crack under use.

Step 6: Creating the Diving Bell Dome

To make the Dome for the front of the diving bell I used a Beach ball. Once the ball is inflated place in the open end of a bucket so that it will not roll or turn on you when applying the fiberglass resin. First start by putting a thin layer of the resin with hardener on the top of the ball , and cover at least half of the ball. After the quick application of the resin apply the fiberglass cloth. Smooth the cloth down and then start layering applications of the fiberglass resin. Repeat the resin applications until strong enough to not bend once the ball is deflated.

After the ball is deflated and the shell is hard enough to not bend or crack. now is the time to fit your dome to the body. To do this I wrapped around the opening of the diving bell with aluminum foil. I made sure that I had at least a 5' protected area of foil around the outside of the opening. I then placed the body on its back and put the dome in place. I then fiber glassed the dome and extending the fiberglass to create a lip for the grip on to. this is where the second package of the fiberglass cloth comes into play. Cut strips of the cloth about 4" to 5" wide with a length you are comfortable working with. Add the strips of cloth and fiberglass to the bottom edge of the dome to extend to the lip created to give it more stability. Repeat several more layers of resin . But creating the protected layer of foil now that the new resin is hard and sturdy pull off of the body and file down the edges so they the are smooth. I applied velcro on the inner lip of the dome and the outter edge of the diving bell opening. This will hold the dome securely and also provide easy access to the person inside for any adjustment that may be needed.

After everything is dried paint everything with the hammered copper paint.
After the copper paint is dry. Used the black to age the metal paint by painting in spots and rubbing off with a towel. Then Splatter red to make it look bloody.

Once I had the dome complete I traced on the eyes. I used 8 Eveready 6-Volt Floating Hand Lanterns. I just used the plastic lens and black screw on top. (I was on a very tight time schedule) . I then used the 2' bi-metal hole saw. to cut out the holes. I then used the dremel sanding band to finish the holes so that the flashlight tops will fit in from the inside without cracking the fiberglass. Do not make holes to big or the black rims will fall out. you want them to fit snugly.

Step 7: Adding Chest Shield

Take about a 2ft x 2ft piece of scrap matte board to create the chest plate, then glue another piece just a bit smaller to the center so that you can create a faux convex shape. I attached mine directly to the dome. I cut it into a shield shape and form fitted it to the convex curve of the dome. I then sloped the edges of the shield by shaving the sides down to give it the convex illusion.

I then used a 4" wide strip of the fiberglass cloth to connect the plate to the dome and then coat with the resin until secure. You can use extra cloth or extra stretch fabric to give more strength to the shield.

Step 8: Creating the Cage

To Create the Cage I used the 1 1/2" Bi-metal hole saw to make a hole on the top of the body, and also a hole in the center of the chest plate in line with the hole on the top. The easiest way to do this was to take on foam pipe and put one end in the top and take the other end and insert it into the chest plate hole. Adjust this to create the arc of the cage.

I used two 4" drain covers to attach the side pipes to the body. I traced the covers and cut them out of the body. Then I took my 1 1/2" bi-metal saw and drilled 3 holes in each cover to slide the pipes into.

I used 6 T- shaped self sealing connectors that I purchased at Home Depot. I cut the side of the connector that was not split so that it was an open T and you could see down the center pipe. The I took two of the open T's and used the sealing of opposite sides to make a foam cross ( + shape). I then put these along the center pipe. I did not measure the side pipes as I connected them, what I did was put a pipe in and make the arc to the center pipe and cut . The picture shows my first attempt where I cut each section. I used the instructions above on my completed project. I used packing tape to secure the pipes to the connectors.

The ends of the pipe and the drain covers are not permanently attached to the body. As there was no way to get him through a door with fully assembled. the cage and dome are created to disassemble for this reason.

After everything is dried paint everything with the hammered copper paint. I used the Krylon Hammered Copper paint to paint the cage and the drain attachments.

After the copper paint is dry. Used the black to age the metal paint by painting in spots and rubbing off with a towel. Then Splatter red to make it look bloody.

I later used the rest of the foam pipe to edge the arm holes and the bottom of the body to give it a clean finished look.

Step 9: Making the Platform Shoes.

To make the platform shoes I had some left over sheets of 3" thick polystyrene foam. I made a template of the shape of the sole of a shoe that would match the approx size ratio of the body. I then glued 2 sheets together to make " platforms. I used an old pair of shoes to form the rest of the boot around .

I used newspaper to form the sides of the boots and the toe. I then folded several sheets in half and taped them around the back of the shoe to the sides. To make sure that I did not make it uneven I found the center back of the foam platform and made a mark and then used the center fold of the newspaper to line it up. To form the toe I made paper balls and taped on top of the shoe to create the rounded toe. I then folded several sheets in half and taped that over the toe of the boot. I then put several 4" slits up the open edge of the paper. tape the center piece down and then round the toe with the paper slits by overlapping areas as you tape them down.

I them fiber glassed them several times to give strength to the sides. after the resin is hardened sand down any rough edged and paint. I put the shoes on and stuffed left over foam into the toe box to secure the inner shoe. I also cust strips of the leftoover expandable foam and packed in the sides and back of each shoe. them I tape that all in securely.

After everything is dried paint everything with the hammered copper paint.
After the copper paint is dry. Used the black to age the metal paint by painting in spots and rubbing off with a towel. Then Splatter red to make it look bloody.

Step 10: Making the Drill and the False Hand

To make the drill I used a Sakrete 12" Cement tube cut to about 12" high. I then used left over matte board and place 8 pieces in a pie chart pattern. I Shoved a Dowel rod down the center to give it stability and a handle, then I shaped the point of the drill from that. I then wrapped it in newspaper and taped it down. Then take a long piece of yarn or string and spiral it down the length of the drill. Mark the spiral. I used pieces of tape to make the spiral. I taped the blades several times and then painted with Silver hammered paint. after tit was dry add splashes of red to make it look bloody.

I used velcro to attach to the Drill to the sleeve.
used left over polystyrene foam to make a large foam hand. I painted it black and put velcro on it to attach it to the other sleeve.
I

Step 11: The Pant and Sleeves and the Finished Big Daddy

I used an army green fabric to make the pants and sleeves. I sewed two identical tubes to make the arms and attached velcro to the outside edge of the top and the inner edge bottom of each sleeve and then attached the other side of the velcro to the inner part of the arm hole, and the outer edge of the drill and foam hand .

To sew the pants I made the legs I sewed two tubes as large as I could and then sewed a wide strip in between them to make a makeshift overall pant that has tie straps to hold them up.

I added velcro to the bottom outer edge of the pants to attach the pants to the shoes so that it kept a uniform look.

Here is a 99% finished Big Daddy. I still needed to touch up the cage to cover the tape, but that was completed .
The Finished Product weights about 20 Lbs.

after everything is hardened I cut out as much foam and board as I could to make it as light as possible. Mine actually has a little foam in the arm are and on the top so that the stand will not break through.

I worked on this at least 16 hours a day for 3 weeks. I put in over 300 hours of work into it.