Mike's Cad Bane

[CadBane3]

Cad Bane
Episode II
The Journey to Infamous

20180310_124138 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Got a nice ring to it, eh? Well, as alluded to earlier, approval is great and all but the work continues to get this costume up to the Infamous standard. To do so, I need to rebuild my gaunts and make sure my jacket and duster are two separate parts. Going to work on those two pieces first and will start with the gaunts.

I also want to use my Chris Stevens Creations mask, and that will necessitate a rebuild of the hat (the head is larger). It also may need a little silver paint on the discs. I was originally thinking that it would also require a rebuild of my breather tank and the hoses, but having messed with it today, I am thinking that those parts may be fine. I still may rebuild them just so the tank is a slight bit larger and I'm thinking about using black surgical tubing to rebuild the hoses. We'll see what I come up with but here is a preview:

20180310_124034 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_124117 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Anybody that has a Chris Stevens mask, do you cut away the extra material around the shoulders or leave it? Unsure what I'm supposed to do so I'm leaving it for now.

Anyway, so I started messing with a complete gauntlet rebuild from scratch. I started with a few sheets of ABS plastic:

20180309_160307 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And then I started trying to do math using some reference material and blowing the sizes up so that they would possibly fit a real boy!

20180310_095338 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_095606 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Finally started using that 5th grade education!!!

Then, I drew out the rough shape of what I will want and cut the top piece.

20180310_101500 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And started hitting it with a heat gun to get the slope on the back side of it:

20180310_102943 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Here it is next to my current gauntlet:

20180310_102956 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

It's about an inch longer on the top deck and about an inch longer on the bottom, hose insertion deck. That gives it about 2 inches more of total length, which I am hopeful will put it more in proportion to the character. Remember, my current gauntlets are a bit stubby. I am hopeful that this additional length will make them look a little sleeker, but I am also hopeful that I will still be able to bend my elbows.

I then cut out the sides:

20180310_105921 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And taped it all together to see what I was dealing with:

20180310_111412 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Here's another pic next to the current one so you can see the extra length:

20180310_111600 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

It's still rather blocky though and I just don't think I could ever get the wrist area as narrow as the characters as these gauntlets don't appear to have any hinges (on the cartoon), so inserting your hand in the back is about the only way to get them on. I am hopeful that I can come up with something that will look good though.

Then, I went back to my tried and true method of cutting some 4 inch PVC pipe to create and interior support system. Hey, when they sell it by 10 foot increments, you're going to have some laying around!

20180310_115242 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_115256 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, that is where they stand at this point. I'm getting some additional ABS sheets so that I can cut out the other gauntlet using these parts as a template before I go further. My plan then is to epoxy it all together and then I was thinking about using the heat gun to round out the bottom parts of the gaunt and then I should have just a small, flat, section to add around where the dart will go. I'm hopeful that melting them into a rounder shape will make them look a bit better, but am realistic that I may never achieve the full look of the cartoon. It's a start though.

Then, I started building the boxes that will go on the top.

20180310_120727 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_121506 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_122705 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_122717 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I haven't epoxied anything yet as I'd like to get the other one built at the same time so that I can use all these parts as templates. I also bought 4 of these to see if I can use them on the buttons on the top:

LED by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

My concern is that they will end up being too tall, so I may need to get some smaller LED lights and square or rectangular acrylic pieces that I can use. Yeah, that's the ticket, maybe some small lights would be easier to mount in there. That's the goal anyway.

Well, that's all for today. Time to go Biker Scout a Bday party! Have a great sunny day out there peeps!

[nukem25rs]

for the ABS gluing together just use acetone and solvent weld it.. makes everything 1 piece then you can just bondo fill the inperfections.. you can even gusset a strip of ABS inside if you need to round the corners and it will still be solid plastic all the way around..

[CadBane3]

for the ABS gluing together just use acetone and solvent weld it.. makes everything 1 piece then you can just bondo fill the inperfections.. you can even gusset a strip of ABS inside if you need to round the corners and it will still be solid plastic all the way around..

Awesome! Thank you for the suggestion. I had no idea. Is that a product I can pick up or do I mix my own concoction?

[nukem25rs]

home depot paint isle.. just use it in a well ventilated area. you can brush it on with the cheap small acid brushes.. you just need to have the parts set against eachother and get tehe actone to flow into the gap. it actually melts the plastic seam together.. lots of good examples of how to do it on you tube.

[CadBane3]

home depot paint isle.. just use it in a well ventilated area. you can brush it on with the cheap small acid brushes.. you just need to have the parts set against eachother and get tehe actone to flow into the gap. it actually melts the plastic seam together.. lots of good examples of how to do it on you tube.

Cool! Thanks for the tip. Sounds much better than epoxy. Much appreciated!

[CadBane3]

Hello all! Me again. Got some partial updates that I want to drop before I get too far back and have to do a mega update with hundreds of pictures. Maybe I could take less pictures? Nah, that wouldn't be as fun... for me... not you...

Anyway, so I'm plugging away on the gauntlets as well as a replacement hat. To start, thank you so much to Mike K (nukem25rs) for his suggestion that I pick up acetone and solvent to work on the ABS. This stuff is magic... well, I'm sure it's science, but whatever. I found this can of stuff at Parkrose:

20180313_172915 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

With that, I was able to plastic weld all the boxes together. Hit them with some sandpaper to smooth them out and they are ready for the eventual mounting on my gauntlets:

20180313_174535 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

When I left off, I had one gauntlet cut to the rough shape I was going to use and I started to melt the ABS to make the curve that I need at the back. I got additional ABS and repeated:

20180314_160024 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I melted all the top corners together so that it would hold and then cut 4" pipe to fit and be the interior support:

20180315_104257 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And they ended up looking like this:

20180315_141518 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

All boxy and gross, but I wasn't quite done yet. I really like my heat gun, so I hit the bottom with it for enough time for the ABS to give up and melted it down.

20180315_144041 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180315_144058 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Now they are looking more like Cad's gauntlets. Quick test fit with the previous boxes I made:

20180315_144724 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

The bottom needs to have an area for the gauntlet dart, so I cut away some additional PVC:

20180315_152138 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And right now, they ended up like this:

20180315_152229 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I stopped for now because I first want to get the wrist cuff piece. I still need to find some plumbing parts to make that and then I need to attach some flat ABS to the bottom front as that spot is flat and where the gauntlet dart will run. The whole front, around the wrist cuff, will have a solid piece of ABS as a cover. Then, I am going to use some foam to build up the bottom back rounded area so that it matches the shape of Cad's gaunts and adds the trim details that are needed. That can be built up to house the gauntlet dart and the hose attachment pieces. All of which I still need to build. So, progress will slowly continue.

Then, I started working on the hat, so that I can use the Chris Stevens mask. My current hat is made out of foam board, and it's really rigid. I like it, but I don't love it. I started cutting out a new, larger hat so that I can hit my head on every door jam that I get near!

20180310_175254 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, I got it sized about right and cut out the middle:

20180310_181214 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I started to build the crown. This is where I ran out of enough large foam that I had to stop progress for now.

20180310_183507 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20180310_190454 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

But, like I said, I've been happy with my hat, but I don't really love it. If I'm working towards infamous, I want it to be the best ever. So, I wandered into Tandy Leather and asked about something that could be slightly rigid but also droop some, like Cad's hat does. It doesn't stay completely flat, it droops in the front and back, and I WANT THAT!

They sold me some veg-tan leather. This is supposed to be real flexible and then you submerge it in water and then place it on a form. Once dry, it will stiffen a bit and take on the form you use. Sounded like exactly what I am hoping for because using it just as is, doesn't work:

20180310_194440 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, I have this leather and I certainly don't want to use it without testing it first. That's a large piece and I'm worried that even with it tightening up and gaining some rigidity, it would still droop too much simply because of it's own weight and the size of the piece I am using. So, I decided to do some test pieces first:

20180310_201008 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Used chicken wire to create a form:

20180310_202005 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Got it wet and let it sit for the night:

20180310_202241 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Came back the next morning and I had this, a perfectly rigid, but still somewhat flexible, piece of leather:

20180311_082529 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, I got a bit goofy and decided to just build a mini hat:

20180311_162841 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Cat Bane is not amused by your antics!

20180311_165119 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, it seemed to do the trick, so I went full scale:

20180311_153337 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And was a bit disappointed....

20180312_090111 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

But, the hat will need the crown, so I taped a temporary in place to see if that helps it stay up better:

20180312_094834 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Seems to work a bit better and I like the shape much better than the completely flat board hat. So, I'm waiting for my additional foam to show up so that I can build the crown and glue it all together to see what it will look like. I've toyed with the idea of backing it with some thin wire and then maybe a bottom layer of foam to hide the wire so that it can be shaped better how I want it but I don't want to add too much weight. So, I think I'll get the foam, build what I have and see how it looks. I have enough extra leather to toy with other ideas so I can still try to come up with something.

Anyway, that's all for now folks. Have a great week!

[nukem25rs]

glad the solvent weld worked for you!!
those guantlets are looking nice and smooth!!!

 would the leather be able to take more water and dry ridged still? maybe the ridgitity would get better with more saturation to the core of the leather(just pulliong this from the air) may take a few days to dry but may help as well..

[CadBane3]

Not a bad idea. I think that hotter water may help too. To the bathtub!!

[Dax Corrin]

Looks awesome! Love the work on the new gauntlets.

[CadBane3]

Looks awesome! Love the work on the new gauntlets.

Thank you, Greg!

[CJ49er]

"Cat Bane" haha, too funny. But now your cat needs the rest of the costume

[CadBane3]

"Cat Bane" haha, too funny. But now your cat needs the rest of the costume

Mini pleather pants for the cat? On it!

[CadBane3]

Bit of progress this weekend. Kept plugging away on the gauntlets. First thing to do was add the flat piece to the bottom. This will be directly below my wrist and will be where the dart is housed.

20180316_151646 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I went and got the same cuff pieces that I used in my current gauntlets as I haven't found anything else that would work as perfectly.

20180317_133001 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

They'll look generally like this:

20180317_143942 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I had to cut the front cover pieces:

20180317_150447 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

They attach to cover the gaps in the front and then I'll need to sand everything smooth, but it's looking pretty good!

20180317_151550 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

While things were drying, I started figuring out a redo of the gauntlet darts. I have them on my current gaunts, but I don't want to tear them apart so that I can still troop while I'm doing all this work. I used the same aluminum rod that I had previously, but instead of the metal pieces, this time I went with plastic to reduce some weight. I also used a smaller dowel for the dart ends so that I didn't have to sand them quite so much. The end result is pretty similar to what I have on my current gauntlets.

20180317_142546 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Left them long so that I can cut them to fit later.

20180317_143228 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

The main part remaining on the gauntlets is the bottom of the forearm. This will include the area where the darts attach. I'm going to try to build that up with some ABS plastic and then cover it with craft foam as it's slightly curved and slightly raised. I'll be pouring over the reference material for the next few days to make sure I make them as accurately as possible on the first go.

Now, back to the hat! When I left off, I had a somewhat rigid, but mostly limp brim of the hat. I was hopeful that once attached to the crown, the problems would just kind of sort themselves out. So, I soldiered on.

Started with the first part of the crown:

20180316_171707 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then added the next layer, which is the "metal" looking piece. Yes, that is every magnet I own, even the broken ones!

20180316_174852 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, build the final "leather" strap:

20180317_124122 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Glue the whole thing to the brim:

20180317_130634 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Glue the top of the crown:

20180317_131110 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Now, I was left with this!

20180317_203729 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I was pretty excited as it was starting to look like it would work. So, I started on some paint and did the underside:

20180318_124613 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And then finished the top.

20180318_142959 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And I give you my new hat, the one that will fit my Chris Stevens Creations mask!!!

20180318_170815 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

May try to bend the brim a bit more in the future, but I'm pretty happy with it. Much more true to the character than the flat brim hat and I think it looks so awesome. I MADE THAT! LOL. Let me know what you think and if any of you have worked with leather, let me know if there is a way to get it bent a bit more and if there is anything I need to do from a protectant standpoint. Thanks all!

[daryldoak]

Great job, that hat looks awesome!

[Dax Corrin]

EPIC! We seeing Cad this weekend on the coast?