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Step 8The Comedian: Torso Armor
Material used:
-paper for template
-sleeveless shirt
-masking tape
-workshop floor mat
-tie straps
-hot glue
Directions:
1- Alot of brainstorming was done for this part. Everything was planned and drafted on paper before moving on. It was attempted to address any conceivable problem. It took a few attempts, even at the planning stage, to get things right and figure out how everything would come together.
2- A sleeveless shirt was worn and masking tape used to mark off how the abs sections would be seperated. The shape of the shirt was traced on paper and the different pieces that would be needed were measured and cut accordingly. A series of templates were created for the chest and upper back, the lower back, the sides, and three sections for the abs. These were actually all taped together and worn as if it was the real thing. Adjustments were done as needed.
3- When the paper template was done, it was taken apart again and the individual pieces were traced on the floor mat keeping in mind the direction of the grooves. It was taken into account where the sides of different parts would come together and some sides were traced larger than the template where needed.
4- The different pieces of the armor were attached together using tie straps (see pictures). Duct tape was applied over the extra bits to prevent unwanted poking when worn.
DAISNAID: Originally, the tie straps were only there to reinforce hot glue on the joints. The only part with only hot glue applied is the part covering the lower back. With all the moving around I did, by the end of the day the glue held nothing together. The lower back fell off at some point. If I were to redo this, I would have to think of a better way to secure that piece. Otherwise, everything worked fine.
5- To get the chest shape, I had originally cut out more pieces from the cat litter container used for the right shoulder pad, however the plastic proved to be too flimsy to serve its intended purpose. In the end, I just used tie straps to pinch the center of the chest to create "cleavage". Looks good in some pictures and not-so-good in others, so although it did the trick, there must be a better way.
-paper for template
-sleeveless shirt
-masking tape
-workshop floor mat
-tie straps
-hot glue
Directions:
1- Alot of brainstorming was done for this part. Everything was planned and drafted on paper before moving on. It was attempted to address any conceivable problem. It took a few attempts, even at the planning stage, to get things right and figure out how everything would come together.
2- A sleeveless shirt was worn and masking tape used to mark off how the abs sections would be seperated. The shape of the shirt was traced on paper and the different pieces that would be needed were measured and cut accordingly. A series of templates were created for the chest and upper back, the lower back, the sides, and three sections for the abs. These were actually all taped together and worn as if it was the real thing. Adjustments were done as needed.
3- When the paper template was done, it was taken apart again and the individual pieces were traced on the floor mat keeping in mind the direction of the grooves. It was taken into account where the sides of different parts would come together and some sides were traced larger than the template where needed.
4- The different pieces of the armor were attached together using tie straps (see pictures). Duct tape was applied over the extra bits to prevent unwanted poking when worn.
DAISNAID: Originally, the tie straps were only there to reinforce hot glue on the joints. The only part with only hot glue applied is the part covering the lower back. With all the moving around I did, by the end of the day the glue held nothing together. The lower back fell off at some point. If I were to redo this, I would have to think of a better way to secure that piece. Otherwise, everything worked fine.
5- To get the chest shape, I had originally cut out more pieces from the cat litter container used for the right shoulder pad, however the plastic proved to be too flimsy to serve its intended purpose. In the end, I just used tie straps to pinch the center of the chest to create "cleavage". Looks good in some pictures and not-so-good in others, so although it did the trick, there must be a better way.
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The one I used was 2'x6' and I still had more than a foot-and-a-half left. If you plan things out right and test it out and tweek it using a paper version (could use newspaper sheets to cut out the pattern if need be), there should be enough with the smaller mat.
It's also possible that this stuff is sold by the foot in some stores and that these are just pre-cut.