Body armour help

[Samhain]

Hey guys. I'm currently in the process of making a piece of body armour, (don't ask, friends birthday...) I've got the basic thing made, just a load of cardboard and tape. It looks... like a girdle. I need help with details to make it a bit more realistic looking.
Here's what I have so far.
the front
http://www.sinisterspace.com/gallery/I/2005/01/01/20928.jpg
the back:
http://www.sinisterspace.com/gallery/I/2005/01/01/20929.jpg
The blue ribbon is tied at the back to pull it in tighter and hold it more in place. I am thinking of spray painting it black with some quite cool Plasti-Kote I have but I want it to be more detailed and less... crappy!
I know this isn't exactly halloween but this is the best place I know for any kind of costume help. Thanks people!!

[playfx]

You could stipple some latex over it and paint over that, it would give you a nice texture look.

[Lilly]

is this supposed to be like a flack jacket/
or like armour they wore in old days?

[Ghastly Joker]

If he shot for the old days look, he shot a little too far off to the right. I'd say to scrap that heap and create something new. Take 2 large pieces of cardboard and put them into front and back of a sewn up blue/black vest (if you can sew) and put foam from a bed inside and sew it back up. Then you'll be all cushy like.

Question: If I keep coming up with some interesting ideas, how is it I can't figure out how to make my own?

[Samhain]

I like the latex idea!
My target is a sort of vaguely futuristic chest plate. No blinking lights and dials and all that crud, just something that looks cool.
MY friend is having a manga theme for his birthday and I'm making my costume from scratch. I'll do a sketch and shove it up on here to give you some idea of the look I want to achieve

[Fright Zone]

Here's a link to a nice Uruk-Hai carboard costume (http://www.hectorturner.com/uruk-hai/index.html) with some construction details made by Hector Turner.

[Samhain]

Thanks FZ, kinda cool
I'll get some sketches up when I get home (at work at the moment =[...) to give you all a better idea of the look I'm after.

[Fright Zone]

Even though yours is going to look futuristic I liked his idea of using the artboard is what I should have said. It would hold paint better without altering the shape. I'd be afraid your corrugated cardboard wouldn't hold paint too well. I'd think it would soak it up and start to lose it's shape.

There's always the Aliens Colonial Marine (http://www.friendly-skies.co.uk/Armour.html) or Starship Troopers (http://www.ironhands.com/sstgang.jpg) look.

[Samhain]

Yeah I've thought about that FZ, card does not take paint well. I was also thinking about coating it in plastic. Individually, the pieces that make it are quite small. I was thinking about wrapping them in bits of matt black garbage bag and hitting them with the hair dryer to get it to shrink a bit. I'll keep experimenting for a bit. This doesn't need to be done till the start of october anyway

[Ghastly Joker]

Futuristic armor eh? I think that you should use foam core instead. It's less cheap in appearance. www.indymogul.com look to the Samurai Armor piece. Very informative.

[Undeadvoodoomonkey]

Someone posted this on another forum and it might help.

http://entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/helmsdeep.html

[MacabreManor]

I would suggest going to a thrift store and buying an actual 70's style down vest and using it on top of your cardboard armature. Then fill it in with some nice clips and nylon belt stuff from wal-mart. I bet that would get you closer to what you were trying to do.

[Samhain]

Hey guys, sorry it's taken so long to get these on here, the other half took forever to scan them for me, a-hole...
These pics are just a rough sketch of what I'm after. I've made more progress on the armour and it looks a hell of a lot better than it did. I'll take some pics after I do a bit more work on it
Here's the sketch:
http://www.sinisterspace.com/gallery/I/2005/01/01/21283.jpg
Thanks for all your help and the links so far guys!

[Death Wraith]

Man this is a lot like what I'm looking to do for my big costume this year. I'm wanting to do a version of Darkness from the movie Legend but in a green version to match a large demon mask I got on sale after Halloween last year. I'm just looking to mold a muscle chest.

I've never worked with anything besides mache and have been researching. Found stuff called Wonderflex which sounds like a thin plastic that becomes pliable when heated. This is the stuff that the cosplay people make their armor and weapons out of. Sounds like it's easy to work with and under $20 for a sheet that woud cover your chest.

Also this Sculpt or Coat material used by Krough sounds promising. Sounds like you could create a form and brush this stuff on then remove it when it dries to make body armor. Around $25 for a quart and good for all kinds of cool effects and prop work.

[playfx]

I found this site that may help you out on your project
http://amethyst-angel.com/armormaking.html