I make costumes

I'm making a craft foam breastplate for a Dragoncon costume. Dragoncon is a giant science fiction (and comics, and gaming, and fantasy, and other general nerdery) convention held in Atlanta every Labor Day weekend, and my roommate and I are going with a bunch of friends. We're dressing up as Watchmen from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, and having a breastplate is step 1 of finishing the costume. Here's what I did.



First I pinned strips of foam to my dummy, getting the shape I wanted. I drew lines to use as a guide for when I hot-glued it together.



After gluing the main part, I added the collar and waistband, then the ties to hold it on.



I used dabs of hot glue for "rivets," primed it white, and painted the whole thing with several coats of metallic paint. I used gunmetal, copper and gold in successive coats, to build up the color I wanted. Then I did one last wash of watered-down gunmetal and wiped it off again, for a weathered effect.

...Now I just need to line it with fabric, and make the entire rest of the costume! Woo.