Hello, another new person

By Belakor. 17/04/10, 11:34 am

Not a particularly interesting topic title I'm afraid.

Anyway, hello! I'm Aaron from up here in Auckland, I'm currently freelancing as a prop and costume builder (mostly digital stuff in Solidworks) while I wait for actual work. I should probably say up front that I'm not at all familiar with a lot of the anime/manga side of things, other than what I pick up when looking for reference material for different builds, though I'm picking up things here and there Smile

Been doing the Armageddon thing for a few years now, originally with the 501st (Star Wars) in my old Stormtrooper suit and more recently in my Mark VI SPARTAN armor from Halo 3… I was the black Spartan in Wellington ('08)
Hello, another new person 3108968603_48255375bc_m

Hello, another new person 3108968603_48255375bc_m

and the red one in Auckland (also '08)
Hello, another new person 3096743844_baaba58df8_m

I think I had the red one in Welly for '09 but I can't remember.

I have been meaning to enter something in one of the cosplay contests but never really had anything I thought was worthy and have been too busy (read: lazy Razz

) to finish anything else off, though after talking to Neimhaille as this last WellyGeddon was closing and after seeing some of the entries this year I figure it's about time I do something Smile

After all I've got a basically finished (pretty massive) hammer to go with a set of 40K Terminator armor sitting here gathering dust… along with at least four other hard armor costumes in various states of completion…

I think that's probably enough rambling from me, hopefully I'll be able to give something back while I'm here.
I've also got more photos of what I've done/am doing up on Flickr if anyone is interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/belakor/

By Mischa. 17/04/10, 11:43 am

Your work is AMAZING! I will gush at length later. Also nom nom nom 40k

By sakurajubei. 17/04/10, 12:55 pm

welcome! you look awesome in those pics ^^

**Guest** Guest

Welcome to the club ! [: and those cosplays are amazing cheers

**Guest** Guest

Welcome to CNZ Smile

Awesome Cosplaying

By **jpwise**. 17/04/10, 01:56 pm

Welcome. :)

By Lumissne. 17/04/10, 02:19 pm

Welcome new person! Enjoy your stay Very Happy

(Not that we're ever going to let you leave... >.>)

Awesome cosplays!

By daydreamer. 17/04/10, 02:24 pm

Welcome ^^
Amazing cosplays Very Happy

By Mandie_Chan. 17/04/10, 02:25 pm

Welcome to CNZ!

By Highlander. 17/04/10, 02:30 pm

Welcome

By CamusCanDo. 17/04/10, 02:38 pm

From one newbie to another, welcome!

I had a quick look through your flickr, amazing stuff man.

**Guest** Guest

Welcome To CNZ you look pretty awesome Hello, another new person Icon_biggrin

By Icarus. 17/04/10, 04:34 pm

Ooo! You were one of the spartans?! Maan that cosplay was AWESOME!

Welcome buddy~!

By Zephyr. 17/04/10, 04:39 pm

You sir are awesome oh and Welcome ^_^.

By m4hiain. 17/04/10, 04:55 pm

Man those look awesome dude. Welcome.

By riiche-. 18/04/10, 10:24 am

Wow. That is amazing. Welcome Very Happy

By Belakor. 18/04/10, 11:00 am

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone Very Happy

I won't quote everyone because I'd just end up with a wall of text but thanks for all the replies :)

Mischa wrote:: Your work is AMAZING! I will gush at length later. Also nom nom nom 40k

Thanks Mischa, I'm actually glad I found you on here because I had to say I thought your Commissar was awesome! I didn't get a real good look, other than the double take I did as I was wondering around and thought "wait, 40K? Sweet" Very Happy

. The axe really stood out, since I only recently finished modeling one of them to build to go with my hammer and Crozius, but the whole costume looked pretty sweet!

Lumissne wrote:: … (Not that we're ever going to let you leave... >.>)…

I thought there was something in the fine print that I missed… Razz

Threw this together in about 10 mins earlier today, the Kingdom Key (I think ) from KH2. It's just the Solidworks model right now and a rough technical drawing of it but I might try to make an actual prop out of it sometime. I want to build Yoko's sniper rifle pretty soon though

Spoiler:

I'm poking around in the prop section right now, trying to get an idea for some props that I can model up and maybe get some standard parts together (like PVC pipe sizes and such) so people can build stuff easier :)

By collarander. 18/04/10, 01:56 pm

Welcome to CNZ~! Your costumes are amazing!

By Mischa. 19/04/10, 02:45 am

Belakor wrote:

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone Very Happy

I won't quote everyone because I'd just end up with a wall of text but thanks for all the replies :)

Mischa wrote:: Your work is AMAZING! I will gush at length later. Also nom nom nom 40k

Thanks Mischa, I'm actually glad I found you on here because I had to say I thought your Commissar was awesome! I didn't get a real good look, other than the double take I did as I was wondering around and thought "wait, 40K? Sweet" Very Happy

. The axe really stood out, since I only recently finished modeling one of them to build to go with my hammer and Crozius, but the whole costume looked pretty sweet!

I'm really flattered you think it looked decent! : here's another shot of it I was insecure about my prop making skills, 40k cosplays tend to have a very high standard! It's all cardboard, pollyfilla and foam. I'm currenting psyching up to do a sororita Hello, another new person Icon_pale

The hammer you've got looks freakin' sick - it looks so heavy and grunty and the painting is perfect.
I'm sure the finished costume will be jaw dropping!

Do you post on Obscurus Crusade?

By Keysha-chan. 19/04/10, 04:28 am

Welcome! Your work is amazing! <3

By neimhaille. 19/04/10, 04:31 am

Mischa, you won for a reason ;)

Hey and welcome Aaron :) Lots of people here who I think would absolutely love to pick your brain about solid costumes and props ;) So it's great to see you post :)

By Belakor. 19/04/10, 05:47 am

collarander wrote:: Welcome to CNZ~! Your costumes are amazing!

Keysha-chan wrote:: Welcome! Your work is amazing! <3

Thanks collarander, Keysha-chan and everyone else for the comments on the costumes so far Smile

It's good to hear, especially since that was my first real costume and my first armor project. I've still got a way to go before I'm anywhere near as good as most of you on here with working with fabrics and such, I've got the equipment but never the time or patients...

The black Recon helmet in the first pic was the first time I had used fiberglass, which explains why the thing is so heavy Razz

One of these days I'll finish the suit and get some decent photos but it may be a while… the helmet alone has taken two years to get to the point where I'm happy with it

Mischa wrote:: I'm really flattered you think it looked decent! : here's another shot of it I was insecure about my prop making skills, 40k cosplays tend to have a very high standard! It's all cardboard, pollyfilla and foam. I'm currenting psyching up to do a sororita

The hammer you've got looks freakin' sick - it looks so heavy and grunty and the painting is perfect.
I'm sure the finished costume will be jaw dropping!

Do you post on Obscurus Crusade?

I think you've got a real good grasp on the prop making side of things and like they say you can only get better with practice. The skeletal hand on the axe is a cool touch too, which I hadn't noticed until just now (thanks for that link btw). Did you make the insignia on the hat yourself?

Ooo a Sororita? Sweet, I'll have to keep an eye out for that one Smile

Also, give me a shout if there's anything I can help with on that, like 3D models or technical drawings for props or weapons or anything. Got a lot of time on my hands right now.
I've got this bolter to start parting out for drawings pretty soon, just need to finish up Yoko's sniper rifle first
Hello, another new person 4265908817_566ac7ab9c_m

Hello, another new person 4265908817_566ac7ab9c_m

and I think I've got some grenade models too somewhere…

Thanks for the compliments on the hammer Smile

I'm pretty happy it turned out as well as it has and was hoping the paint would make it look like it was an actual heavy, metal hammer (it's about 3.5kg as it and just under a meter long I think)
I was hoping to bring it to Wellygeddon but it's a little difficult to get on a plane Neutral

and chances are I'll be living and working in Welly by the time the next Geddon rolls around so it'll be the same problem Laughing

I will have to make an effort if the Terminator is done by then.

I'm working on the hammer right now as it happens, finally found a missing piece so I'm trying to match the paint and weathering. Then I've just got to get some leather for the grip, Spotlight never seems to have any…
After that I can finally focus on building the armor

Actually I hadn't even heard of that place until just now but I see a few names I know from other forums, good to see there is somewhere for it though.

neimhaille wrote:: Mischa, you won for a reason ;)

Hey and welcome Aaron :) Lots of people here who I think would absolutely love to pick your brain about solid costumes and props ;) So it's great to see you post :)

Thanks Michaela Smile

Oh yeah, that's one of the reasons I thought I should join! If there is anything I can help others with, be it info on 3D work, fiberglass, sculpting, etc. I'd be happy to help, just drop me a message or post or something along those lines Smile

... that post ended up longer than I had planned...

By Highlander. 19/04/10, 10:58 am

[quote="Belakor]I'm working on the hammer right now as it happens, finally found a missing piece so I'm trying to match the paint and weathering. Then I've just got to get some leather for the grip, Spotlight never seems to have any…
[/quote]

Lapcop.co.nz

They are the leather supplier in NZ. But they don't seem to know neally as much as they should, and I am going to follow others lead and import leather. But depending on what you want they may have it in stock. However beware that leather suppliers supply hides, at +/-$20/square foot. So it is easily $200/hide. They sometimes have end of lines/offcuts in store too. So email then to check availability.

However I have a little leather, and Hands or Global Fabrics in ChCh sometimes have offcuts. So PM me if you want.

By Aikome. 19/04/10, 12:05 pm

Welcome~ amazing.
You look like you'd be a source of Cosplay help, seeing those pictures !

By Anaria Zar-Rel. 19/04/10, 12:46 pm

Welcome to CNZ Belakor! :) Glad to see you here, your work is impressive :)

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