N7 Logo!

We added the N7 logo on the chest plate! We created a depression in the chest plate for the N7 pieces to set. They are made out of mirror plated stainless steel. It took several attempts and a couple broken bandsaw blades.

N7 Chest Plate: Part 3

After MANY attempts we settled on paint for the piece. It is a custom blend of 2 automotive paints: "Xotic" Platinum Pearl and Black Pearl. This mix is sprayed on over black paint.

The boobs each got a 4 piece aluminum treatment. The in-game model shows these parts as having a single reveal line across the...you know...middle...ish... area. AHEM. Well surfacing these round bits with only 2 pieces of aluminum wasnt feasible because aluminum only likes to bend on 1 axis at a time (If we owned a french wheel we could have tried to dish the material). Consequently I split the pieces into 4. A little artistic license. The N7 logo is coming soon as a birthday gift to Electric.

At this point we had used a black metallic paint that I HATED. Electric was satisfied but I thought it looked like fleckstone. It took me a lot of tests and trials to find something I was satisfied with.

You can see a little packing tape on those forearm pieces. That is protect from scratching.

-All the metal in these photos will get tinted a darker color later on.

N7 Space boobs: Part 2

Zoot may have to explain the number process thing, but it involved epoxy

Zoot update: Yes It involved epoxy...lol. Well the basic idea was to cover the fencing chest protector with thin craft foam to create the various panels and reveals. Then we thought we could just paint the foam. Well I wasnt satisfied with how that foam took paint so I tried surfacing it with a huge number of glues etc. It was a disaster. I should have just manned up from the start and glassed it with epoxy. That is what I did eventually. A lot of sanding and paint attempts later and it finally got there. 

More "Red Sand" bondo to make it perfectly smooth

Painted and sanded multiple times trying to work out the lumps

Very rough at this point. The N7 depression is a void in a sheet of acetate applied over top of the CP

Perfectly smooth at this point. (Zoot may disagree) We began to try out some paints, gorgeous huh!

Reinforced the back to correct and hold the shape

I should have reinforced it from the start. I kept working on in a flexible state and everything kept cracking. Lesson learned.-Zoot

N7 Chest Plate: Part 1

The chest plate, or "Space boobs" as they are sometimes referred, were extremely difficult. It started as a plastic fencing chest protector and we then added thin black foam over the entire piece. It was not wide enough so we added chipboard to create the correct shape. Brackets were also added at the top so we could create the little neck guard in the front (we called it the sneeze guard). 5 minute Epoxy was used to smooth it out and fill in the low spots, it was then sanded smooth. Ridges along the bottom were cut in and we applied the first base layer of paint.
- Electric


I kind of goofed with this piece and learned a lot of lessons. I kept trying to do things with quick fixes or simple methods instead of biting the bullet and doing it all the way. Consequently the space boobs went thru dozens of attempts at surfacing and painting. It was kind of a nightmare. In the end I decided to just sand the living B out of it and epoxy coat it.
Materials in the space boobs:
Plastic chest protector, acetate sheet, steel brackets, aluminum sheet, chipboard, duct tape, "funky foam", EVA foam, wood worker's glue, Gel medium base, 5 minute liquid epoxy, PC plumbers epoxy putty, Bondo spotting putty, Zap agap cyanoacrylate glue (super glue),a bout 8 different colors of regular spray paints (Molotow, Mtn 91) and 4 kinds of automotive paint. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah... Duct tape!!!
-Zoot

Filled in the low spots with 5 min Epoxy then sanded it flat.

First coat of paint, just a baselayer

Added in the ridge lines at the bottom