Commander Shepard Steel Reinforced Uniform - Mass Effect 3

Intro: Commander Shepard Steel Reinforced Uniform - Mass Effect 3

Hi All,

This is my second year making an "epic" Halloween costume. I started work on September 21st 2012 and finished on October 30th. 

I based my costume on a uniform from popular video game Mass Effect. It specifically reflects Commander Shepard's non-combat uniform used by default in the opening mission of Mass Effect 3.

That said, I had a few design goals this year which predominantly focused on functionality and robustness. This lead me to select steel reinforced heavy denim, for the armour, finished with a leather-like laminate fabric. 

The uniform is 7 pieces: Boots, Pants, Under-shirt, Dress Shirt, Lower-Body Armour, Upper-Body Armour, and Belt.
Out of all this, only the Boots are store bought along with under-shirt (a t-shirt) which I altered to make the Turtle-neck. 

For my tutorial, Step 1 contains a step-by-step tutorial on how to create a fabric-sheet metal armour construction. This was my secrete ingredient for this project. If you continue to steps 2 - 8, I give a quick overview for each piece of my uniform.

I hope you can find this information useful in your future construction endeavours!

Best Regards

-Vik

STEP 1:

STEP 2: Boots

Boots
Material: All Man-Made Materials
Colour: Black
Special Features: Store-bought
Steel Plating: NA
Skills Req: internet shopping

STEP 3: Under Shirt

Under Shirt
Material: cotton t-shirt + nit cotton turtle-neck
Colour: black
Special Features: t-shirt was bought and altered to remove stock neck finishing. Turtle-neck is a three layers construction with an elastic running through. Two buttons that attach to the Dress Shirt collar to keep it standing and rigid.
Steel Plating: NA
Skills Req: sewing

STEP 4: Dress Pants

Dress Pants
Material: light denim + cotton bias
Colour: Blueish
Special Features: Waist elastic. Zipper. Foot loops.
Steel Plating: NA
Skills Req: sewing

STEP 5: Dress Shirt

Dress Shirt
Material: light denim + cotton bias + interfacing (5%)
Colour: Blueish
Special Features: Button straps on sleeves to hold when rolled up. Plastic reinforced collar for rigidity. 
Steel Plating: NA
Skills Req: sewing

STEP 6: Lower-Body Armour

Lower-Body Armour
Material: Heavy denim + Leather-Laminate + Steel
Colour: blueish and black
Special Features: 4 extruding pockets. Steel plates under lower pockets.
Steel Plating: 20%
Skills Req: sewing, sheet metal work

STEP 7: Upper-Body Armour

Upper-Body Armour
Material: Heavy denim + Leather-Laminate + Steel
Colour: blueish and black and yellow emblem
Special Features: 100% steel plated. 2nd layer of steel plates over chest.heart area (see tutorial in "Step 1 - Slide 19"). Armour divided into thirds to allow bending. 
Steel Plating: 100% + 15% over chest.
Skills Req: sewing, sheet metal work

STEP 8: Belt

Belt
Material: Heavy denim + Leather-Laminate + Steel
Colour: blueish and black
Special Features: Steel plates supporting central clips
Steel Plating: 20%
Skills Req: sewing, sheet metal work

Comments

[Kenton_Driggs]

Can you use aluminum sheeting instead of steel? Do you have an estimate on what you spent on materials for the hand made parts?

[Cmdr. Vik]

Wow! Looks great! I'm shocked at how similar the fabric is and everything. I'm kind of jealous of your gun haha... That's the one thing I didn't get to :P

[Cmdr. Vik]

Aluminium should work just fine. My supplier worked with steel, so I had a bit of a discount. Cost wise, it's a bit hard for me to estimate as I had to buy a lot of the tooling to be able to even attempt making this... sewing machine cost me a leg for example. But I'd estimate around $500 for fabrics, hardware, and the steel.

[KristopherM2]

Most important question: How much would it cost for you to make one for me?? ??

[Garrus]

Best Shepard suit I've seen but what do I know I spend most of my time doing calibrations.

[Cmdr. Vik]

lol. Thanks!

[ayliepx]

Dude, awesome suit!
Do you plan on writing a complete tutorial in the future?

[Cmdr. Vik]

Maybe. The problem is that I didn't take pictures throughout the project. It would be a written walk-through with some of my poor sketches for visual support :P

[The Rambler]

Woah, this is super cool. I can't believe I missed seeing this in the contest.

Have you found those boots to be a worthwhile purchase? I'm looking for boots that I can modify and it's always hard buying things like that off the internet.

[Cmdr. Vik]

Hey, thanks.

I think the boots are great value for the price. I got them at "medievalcollectibles.com". Though I made sure to contact them first about the diameter of the calf and the exact foot size. The only other thing was that the default sole is a bit rigid, but I'm sure it can be switch out with something more comfortable.

[Tomdf]

Great costume and documentation. Thumbs up!

[nhormell]

dude this is amazing you should take it to comicon

[Cmdr. Vik]

Thanks! Comicons are the plan! I just need to wait patiently for the next one in my area..

[the_real_mccoy_]

Great work! 4 koala thumbs up!

[MonkiMan]

Just amazing! I am incredibly jealous!

[jessyratfink]

Fantastic work. :D

[Miss_Kira]

Awesome!