The 12 steps pictorial on building a Cylon suit.
The 12 steps over a period of 12 months (1 year) will guide
you on how to build your own Cylon suit. I'll explain step by step
via instructions and photos how to trim the armor. Brand name
items off the shelf were used in the original suit, and I will list the sources of these items at a later date.
Each month a new step will be introduced.
The first 5 - 7 (months) steps will be focused on the trim,
and the building of the armor. The latter steps will focus on the
extra items, like battery belt, boots, gloves, under suit,
electronic eye, and the skirt. I'll start out slow at first
to give beginners time to get up to speed, and also this will give those who want a suit time to purchase one. Please do not hesitate to ask questions along the way. I'd rather go too slow than too fast.
This pictorial will stay posted, but closed to further questions
once the suit is finished.
First you will need the Cylon armor.
Once in a while you can find
a kit here and there on eBay, or you can contact Jim over at
WeGottaFindEarth (
starbuck@gate.net). He has a full Cylon suit
you can buy. Jim also supplied the suit I am using for this build.
A fiberglass suit is also available, but I have tried to contact the seller 3 times and have not yet received a reply. So I won't recommend that source as a place to purchase a Cylon suit.
While this is a simple project for some builders, for others
(most of you following this tutorial) this is very much needed
information. This also gives some insight for others who didn't
have all the answers they needed in order to accurately finish their suit.
January's first step is the cutting, trimming, and sanding of the
battery belt boxes. The Cylon actors wore a battery belt to
supply power to the eye scanner. This unique looking belt
was the perfect touch to the Cylon suit. The belt was made by a Hollywood based camera man battery company long gone in the history books The G & M Power battery belt can be found on eBay once in a while. This is one of the more difficult 1:1 screen accurate items to find, so I started with this first to give some of yo a chance to find that belt over the course of this tutor.
Later, I'll also supply as supplementals, a few alternatives for the belt.
The G & M Power battery belt has 7 battery compartments, thus the
7 battery belt box covers.
The control compartment is not covered.
Review the 7 battery box covers. Note, not every original box is cut
the same, but I prefer the slight curved look in the middle box
high lighted in red. There is no right or wrong, since there are 3
different cuts. Using a black marker
(
I have a Super Sharpie, or
Marks-a-lot or just about anything else works just as good),
outline the basic pattern of the box with the marker. Do this 7 times
for all 7 boxes.
The next step is to score the marked area with a box cutter, or
some type of cutting blade. Be careful not to cut yourself.
You won't
need a lot of pressure, since this is a scoring only. Once you have
scored the marked areas you can take a pair of pliers, or a crescent
wrench or what ever works to break away the unneeded area. If you
accidentally cut off a section that was needed, save it. It can be repaired later.
Now I scored the areas marked in red. Then using the pliers I bent
back the opposite corners.
A single clean break section was removed.
Detailing out the area can be done with sand paper, a roto tool
or also a file can be used if more sanding is needed. If you are going
to chrome this be sure you don't leave any scratches of any type. You should try
to have the surface as smooth as possible. Using a fine grit piece of sand paper
for all finish work is best.
Watch each month as I post new steps on building your Cylon armor.
Thanks and good luck.
Also check out YouTube for a short video on these steps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB3YSHgO6b8
