Frenzy, G1 style, Another minicon costume for my son. :)

[MegaGirl1]

Here I go again.

This costume was originally to be done so my son could be Screamers' minicon tape for BotCon, and he was originally going to do G1 Rumble too, but at the last minute he decided he wanted to be G1 frenzy instead. (It's matches his personality a little better if you ask me too, so it works, plus we already had the black underclothes for it.)

So, Frenzy it is.

To be done by date: May 2010 for AdventureCon 2010 part 1 in Pigeon Forge Tennessee, then used for BotCon 2010 in Orlando Florida as well.


I'm trying the fiberglassing method with this one I think. Not completely sure yet.
(If not, I'll do my plastic, foam and fabric method again since it did well with Starscream)

I've started with the chestplate already, and bought a few random pairs of safety glasses for the optics and to build a more suitable face off of this time, and bought a toy army helmet as the base for the helm. So far so good. Progress will be posted as I get pictures.

Wish me luck, cause here I go again!

[NatsumeRyu]

I look forward to it. X3 Not only is the costume so cute on your son as we all needlessly repeat, but I like seeing your technique as well, and can't to see your craftsmanship in person.

So, was it ribfir or fibrir again? Which color scheme is he?

[MegaGirl1]

Frenzy is Red, Rumble is Blue.

Well, originally, Rumble was the red one, in the comics, and they switched it somehow in the cartoons, so, yeah...we are going cartoon style red and black color schemed Frenzy. So the red and black it is, G1 Cartoon Style I guess I should say. And thanks for the compliment. Starscream was my first robo/armor style costume I have done, so I'm hoping this one will be much easier. He doesn't look too complicated for the most part. The hardest part is getting the kiddo to stand still long enough for measurements and part fitting!

We made some progress on the chest plate pattern today though. I'll get pics once I get it together on him.

[MegaGirl1]

We've come to the conclusion that we are using the plastic canvas, foam, felt, and most likely vinyl on this costume, and have started all over on the cutting and frame of it since deciding and discovering my idea of the plastic canvas, so progress photos soon!

[MegaGirl1]

TIME FOR SOME UPDATES!

We've gotten some done on the Frenzy suit, so it was time for an update since we now have some progress pictures to post.


We started at the bottom and worked up...literally!

Here's the hip plate/pelvis area. Matt is soooo tiny!


Since this will be a piece that sees the most movement, we used beadery wire and weaved it into the holes of the plastic canvas for some extra support and to ensure the seams (which are hotglued) won't pop while he is wearing it.

Then I built the shoulders....Matt is so little that a perfectly square piece like the shoulder on G1 Frenzy looks to be would look ridiculously oversized and way out of proportion and would probably fall off of my son, so we accommodated for that, making the shoulder pieces just a bit smaller so to fit him better.



(That's the skid plate sitting upside down next to the shoulder frame forms.)

Next we did the lower arms. Once again, his human frame is soooo little, we had to bulk up the costume piece a little to make it look right on him.

Here he is wearing the shoulder and lower arm.




Our next move, now that we had the other main dimensions for the upper body built and in place, was to the chestplate. The first one I built was from cardboard and WAY too BIG, and would fall off of him. Plus, the form and shape just didn't look right to us. So, we sat down, watched a few G1 episodes with Rumble, or with Rumble and Frenzy in it, and then sat down, and drew out the shape on paper, and then cut the plastic canvas. The second time around was the charm, and worked just right. It fits him well, with little wiggle room but isn't floppy or loose either.




Now we put them all together, and here's the results:

(A sleepy kiddo on a late night up with mom during spring break working on the costume! That's what the awful look is for...lol!)


(Front view)


(Side view)


(Another view of the top half.)


Now our next steps are to get the legs and feet frames done this weekend hopefully!

[NatsumeRyu]

It's so great that you can work on all the frame stuff first, to make sure everything fits together and functions well. I'm so ADD and movie -bots are so hard to plan moving parts for (the way I build em anyway) that I finish one area at a time instead of gettting all the frame/support bits in first. :/ Hopefully that saves time for you in the end. It looks like a good start, btw. Will he have any props in the end?

[MegaGirl1]

I'm working on a Ravage prop for him to use, and possibly a couple others...plus we already have our Soundwave tape deck prop too. And I'm making the guns that go on his back for him too (if I find a good base for them first).

I have to make the frame first or else we would wind up with the same problems we had with Starscream and having to rebuild finished parts. I don't have enough time this time around to make extras. But so far so good.

[Firebird67]

That's coming along nicely. The kiddo is cute, too.

[MegaGirl1]

Firebird:Little Starscream, unmasked! LOL! Thanks! He's my little cutie redhead. Normally he'd be bouncing around like crazy but that night he was tired and getting sleepy and a little grumpy with me because I kept having to put it on him, measure, pull it off him, change something, and start all over again, so he was a bit ill with me. I don't blame him! I was getting irritated at myself while working on my own shoulder pieces. So that's why the sour look in the pics and the messy hair...LOL!


We did get the feet frames finished up last night too. They were actually easy this go-around. That means the legs are next hopefully tonight and tomorrow. Then we will be able to start with the covering process. I'm so ready to get it done.

[Sedra]

It looks really nice so far! Great work

[MegaGirl1]

FEET!




Finished the frame work for the feet for Frenzy. Surprisingly they were very easy to put together. The hardest part was finding pictures for reference.


^shows how the feet fit over kiddo's shoes.






^corner support foam inside now.

[MegaGirl1]

LOWER LEGS:

These are actually part of the feet design. In the reference photos I have of Frenzy/Rumble, it shows the feet connected to the lower legs, so this is the design I come up with:




It fits so well...now my only problem is coming up with some sort of joint, that will act like an ankle would to let him walk easier. Any ideas anyone??? I need some help/reference on that one.

Here's what it looks like ON him so you can see where I need the help. I want to make it so the foot can move seperate from the lower leg, but still fit over it like I've got it so it's accurate when he's standing still, but gives him some freedom too for when he walks.

[I3ooI3oo]

Lookin good. Can't wait to see the rest of your progress.

[MegaGirl1]

Thanks. I won't be too active on them for the next couple days due to tomorrow being my birthday and I'm actually off work, so I'm going to take a break from everything (hopefully) and maybe when I do go back to the costumes, I'll have figured out the ankle/rotation problem.

[NatsumeRyu]

If you want walkability, I have a couple of suggestions....

Well, the simplest thing I can come with offhand is hinging the top of the foot, and leaving the rest of the foot free the swing forward and backward. That'll help a li'l bit with walking while still keeping the foot and leg together for pics. It doesn't allow for side-to-side movement though, obviously (but atm there apears to be no room for that anyway).

If you want more freedom and are willing to sacrifice some aesthetics, cut out of the leg around the foot's opening (like 1/4 of an inch or whatever works for his size). If you want to, you can use colored or black foam (or s/t else bendy/stretchy) lining / to fill the gaps when they are present. Depending on how he's wearing the upper leg/foot you might need to alter some other parts of the design. Is the leg to rest on the foot?

edit: Happy Birthday : o)

[MegaGirl1]

Yes, the leg is resting on the foot...

Let's see if these new pictures help show how I did it a little better....


The leg is a seperate piece from the foot, but rests on top of the foot part with a groove cut out of the leg that lines it up properly, so the foot piece just slides into the leg.





I also got the raised design on the legs done last night too, so here's the view of that new addition.

The pyramid type design thing is actually a seperate piece as well right now too, just until I get the pieces covered in their proper colors and finished, then it will be glued down permanently in place on the legs.



The whole lower leg structure:

[MegaGirl1]

Previous frame pieces on kiddo:




Matt decided since he was a tape, he wanted to have more tape-ish features, in other words, spinning playbacks.

So, we fished out some erector sets, some K'nex playsets and started toying with some ideas with a battery powered K'nex motor.



Here's some of what we have come up with....

We took the plain front and measured out where we wanted the design to go, and cut two holes and put a motor in one of them. Then I made a 'box' mount for the motor to sit in.




Then covered it in black foam to make it soft and to hide it from view:



(There is the motor in the corner of the pic)

Put the motor in place, and put the hole and support for the second 'pulley' on the other side.



The motor is a little heavy for the lightweight plastic canvas frame, so I put in support bars to help with the buckling problem and to keep it balanced a little.




This is with the pulleys in place:



The 'tape' is an elastic band. But I plan to get a rubber band or something that will be thicker and not snap.

Now here's the front that will cover all that with the drawn out design for the front.



That front will sit about an inch above the interior piece, and the tape player pieces will rest on top of it, so the only thing you'll see is the design, and the tape spinning on playback, not the pulley system below it.

I've not gotten the front in place yet. I have to finish the interior first. But now when finished, all we have to do to make him look like he's a tape in play or playback mode, is reach in, flick that motor switch and his tape will start running!

[NatsumeRyu]

Awesome. I think that was a great idea on your son's part - it'll really push the tapedeck feel. It's really neat to hear how you're making it. I never would've thought of K'nex or anything along those lines.

Have you come up with a solution for the feet yet? You may have/want to deviate from canon to get a good [working/looking] foot.

[MegaGirl1]

Well, I THINK..maybe...that we got it figured out as for movement. I'm going to put some flexible pieces inside that will move with him, but will still keep it in place for when he's standing still. The joint where the foot meets the leg is where the flex needs to happen, so working on that. I'm actually putting some pieces on him right now for reinforcing and stress testing and fit testing. Then it's off to the finishing and foaming!

[Firebird67]

What a nifty idea. Kiddo is brilliant.

[Laserbot]

this is tottaly awesome! love the pully system great idea! costumes that got that extera touch i realy admire!

[MegaGirl1]

Thanks!!! He's super excited now and keeping me busy working on it now. We are actually padding the frame pieces now and then he has to go to grandma's, but we should have more updates today! We got the thighs done, and the interlocking pieces work great...much better than we thought they would. And the helmet is under way as well too.

[MegaGirl1]

Here's a really dumb question.....

Does anyone know what Frenzy and Rumble's backs look like???

I just bought the guns I'm going to use as the blasters for Frenzy, when Matt and I suddenly realized...what does his back and guns look like?! I was like uhhhhh...

So anyone got a reference link?

[MegaGirl1]

Updates as promised!!

Got the thighs done!



Okay, here is all the pieces together of the body frame:





Everything is reinforced now, and the hip plates are foamed, and all the upholstery foam padding is in place and tested well with movement so far. (That's the white-ish stuff you see through the plastic. It won't be visible at all when I get done. I can see it on the hip plates but it'll be covered soon) No velcro is in place to hold anything in position and the only thing loose that tends to want to fall is the shoulders, which will be corrected once velcro goes in.

Cutting the patterns for the helm now! I'm cutting my time short tonight and heading to bed earlier (than 3 or 4 am like the past two nights) because I've got 4 work days ahead of me with long shifts, so progress will be slow for a few days.

[Firebird67]

Rumble's back-

Frenzy would look the same.