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Lina Inverse from Slayers: Next
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t make my armor out of the same materials. They are heavy to the point where they hurt to wear for long. Still, here is my process for making them:
The basic shape is made out of several layers of wonderflex. They were heated and shaped with a blow dryer. The trim all around the shoulder armor is made of milliput, which is a two part putty that can be shaped and sanded when dried. It dries really hard, and is resistant to cracking, unlike bondo. It only comes in small amounts though, so it was a costly material to use, hence I do not recommend it to people who need to cover a large area. It works great for small details.
The surface texture of the wonderflex (a sort of mesh texture) was gessoed and sanded to smooth it out.
The gems I cast myself, and they weigh 4oz each. Lots of trial and error getting the color the shade I wanted it. This was my first time casting anything, so it was a great learning experience.
The paint is acrylic. I have since worked with oil based paint, and I know now that acrylic is so much less stress.
The majority of this armor was made last minute, and I do mean LAST MINUTE. I was packing the car to leave for the convention before I figured out a way to attach the armor to me. I feel lucky it all worked.
The sword is made of bass wood and wood putty.
The end result weighs a ton, but is tough…and I needed that since I often forgot I had to walk through most doors sideways (^__~)b
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