Destiny Hunter Mask and Armor Cosplay Build - SKS Props

Hey everyone SKS Props back again with another complete Halloween costume build!! My big project for this year was to recreate a Hunter from Bungie's hit game Destiny.

A hunter is a stealthy sniper class that uses agility instead of brute force. There are lots of different helmets and armor that he or she can acquire throughout the game I am just picking a single style at this time. By having this base I will be able to recreate multiple versions without altering it to much.

Before we begin let me say some of the products that are used in prop building can be bad for you :( So be safe!!! Always wear eye protection, wear gloves, and use a respirator when needed.

Lets get started!!!!

As with all of my prop builds reference material is key. When you start to think about making a prop from a video game, movie, etc. Always try and find as many reference images as you can. These are screen shots of my Hunter's helmets. But I also scoured the internet and purchased a couple of books including The Art of Destiny.

Materials:

Head Form from CFX

Monster Clay http://amzn.to/2mIaecs

Smooth-On Rebound 25 http://amzn.to/2nEtSFA

Smooth-Cast 65D http://amzn.to/2mI4Wh4

Plasti Paste http://amzn.to/2nsfoIi

EVA foam 1/2" and 1/4" http://amzn.to/2nmYrgI

Craft foam 1mm-3mm http://amzn.to/2n9zIfe

Barge http://amzn.to/2nn2ycQ

Loctite Super Glue http://amzn.to/2n8RkqI

Styrene Rods and Sheets http://amzn.to/2o1zpXR http://amzn.to/2o1zpXR

Rattle can Primmer and Colors http://amzn.to/2ns6tH8 http://amzn.to/2ns6tH8

Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics http://amzn.to/2o9dNFA

Green LEDs and Coin Ballery holder - 2032 battery http://amzn.to/2o9jZ0D

Plasti Dip Rattle Can http://amzn.to/2o9iK1h

Upholstery fabric http://amzn.to/2n8DlRS

Painters Tape http://amzn.to/2o9iwaF

Once I decided that I was going to use the Rustburner helmet as a base. I felt that because the Hunter wears a hood all of the time that I would just make it a mask instead of a full helmet. This will cut down on time, cost, and most importantly heat when wearing it.

The "vents" on the sides of his face were a little to perfect to sculpt out of the clay. So I made one out of eva and craft foam then molded and resin cast it so they would be symmetrical. The bulk of the mask is blocked out using Monster Clay and the resin cast vents are added to the sculpt. Once I felt that the sculpt was close enough I made a one time use junk mold so that I could get a resin copy to refine and detail. For the junk mold I used Smooth-On Rebound 25 for the mold and Plasti Past for the mother mold. The mask itself is slush cast using Smooth-Cast 65D.

So with my resin copy I can now start to refine and add all of the details. The copy is primed with Rustoleum Rust Red and sanded multiple times to start to define the shapes. After the sanding is done sheet and rod styrene is used to start making the details around the goggles and the side straps. The styrene is templated from craft foam so that I know it will fit before I cut it out. Styrene can be manipulated by using a heat gun and formed into place.

Additional details are added to the Destiny hunter straps using thinner gauge styrene and glued into place. The top crown was made by first cutting and heat forming styrene into the desired shape. This form was then glued to the top of the mask and filled with bondo. By using the styrene as a wall it made sure that the bondo was at the desired thickness. The bondo was then sanded and filled with putty to get a smooth surface. The details were cut out of the bondo using a dremel. The chin piece and half circles are cut out of a thicker gauge styrene and shaped using a sanding drum on my dremel. The hood in the picture is not the final version I occasionally pick up random curtains from my job that are discontinued. I just felt that it needed something to show more of his in game look.

AARRRRRGGGGHHH!!!!! The feeling I get when I think I am close to making the final mold for a piece and I find some new reference images that change my design. I had to go in and cut out the respirators on the sides because I found out they round back more and there is a detail clasp on the end piece. So I broke out the dremel, styrene, and bondo and rebuilt the backside of the mask. Now that it is complete I will say that I do like the overall look better

My Destiny Hunter mask is now primed, filled, and ready for molding. Just like the junk mold I use Smooth-On's Rebound 25 and cast it out of Smooth-Cast 65D. You will see on the finished cast that I have added an additional scope on the left side of the faceplate. Once I had the final version I knew that I had to add the scope just so visibility would be better for convention use. I made this scope out of PVC pipe an a bottle top.

So with the final cast complete I prime it with Krylon Brick Red and paint it using Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics. Using Mars black I wash the entire surface then dry brushing I highlight the high points with Cadmium Red. The metal parts are a mix of Iridescent Rich and Bright Silver. To give this a worn / weathered look I use a sanding sponge and take the paint off in some places back to the actual resin.

One of the main reasons I started off with the Rustburner mask was so that I could use it to make the base for the exotic helmet The Mask of the 3rd Man. I made a cast of the Rustburner and cut out everything above the bridge of the nose. Monster Clay was used again to fill the eye cavity and sculpt the organic portion of the 3rd Man mask. I cut out styrene pieces and added them to the bridge of the nose. I used a heat gun to smooth and bubble the sculpt to give the flesh more of a gnarled organic look.

Just like the previous mask I made a mold using Rebound 25 and cast the final version using Smooth-Cast 65D.

Painting the 3rd man. I primed the mask with Rustoleum Dark Brown Camo and sprayed the vents with Rustoleum Golden Yellow. The mask was then color washed and lined with Liquitex Mars black. Raw Sienna and Iridescent Rich Bronze are dry brushed over the organic upper section and spots of the the lower vents. Iridescent Rich and bright silver are added to the mouth.

Once the paint was complete I glue black scrim over the eye holes so that the wearer can see out but people can't see in. I added 3 front facing green LEDs to the mask for the eyes. These are attached to a coin battery holder that uses a 2032 batter. A coin battery holder doesn't take up much room on the interior and it lasts quite a while. The LEDs are positioned above the line of sight so the wearer can see out right underneath them.

So, I decided to use EVA foam for all of the armor pieces. #1 to keep the weight down #2 so the cost would be minimal #3 it's very easy to manipulate

I start off by making a template for the chest armor out of Bristol Board. The Bristol Board template is then transferred to the EVA foam and glued together using Barge cement. (wear a respirator) The armor can easily slip over the mannequin since I can remove his arms but to fit me I split the armor down the middle and add a buckle clasp and Velcro. This seam will be covered with a top panel. All of the lines in the chest armor are made using a heat tool with a chisel tip. (wear a respirator)

I scratch built the Destiny chest armor buckles. The buckles are built out of various thicknesses of styrene and wooden dowels. The originals were then molded and cast in Smooth-On Smooth Cast 300.

Originally I had wanted to build the Alpha Lupi chest armor. But because of time constraints and the fact that you can't wear two exotics at once I decided to make the concept art chest piece. This piece was cut out of 1/4" EVA foam and detailed using 2mm and 3mm craft foam.

Steps for the creation of the Hunter belt. 1) cut a strip of 1/4 inch foam aprox 4 3/4" high . I skinned the top and bottom of that with 2mm craft foam 2) I cut 1/4 ' strips of 4mm craft foam and glued them down in two lines to give the belt the raised look. Then covered that with 2mm blue craft foam. All of it was glued down with Barge. 3) Again using 2mm craft foam I made the belt strips and glued them in place with Barge. 4) I constructed the belt buckle by cutting up some of the buckles I have made for the upper section of the armor. I cut out the belt loops and poked them all the way through the foam belt to give it a functional look.

Since an exotic helmet does not change it color regardless of the shader you apply in the game. I have decided to use the Fallen Crown shader as a reference for the color of this set.

Once the armor is constructed I add "battle damage" with my Dremel and a sanding barrel. I hit the foam with a heat gun to close the pores and seal the foam with rattle can Plasti Dip. I love getting uniform color on the surface it makes all of the details really pop!

As with my other armor builds I start by basing the foam with rattle can spray paints and then go back and hand paint the details. Like the masks I use Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics. A black wash is applied then Cadmium Yellow is dry brushed over the surface to highlight the chest piece. Layers of washes and dry brushing create the weather been around the galaxy look.

Shot of me test fitting the armor and belt before I moved onto the cloak.

Ask me to make a helmet or armor no prob...ask me to sew something and I will put it off until the last possible moment. I learned how to build this cloak from a You Tube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tUxlXkCUro

The Destiny Hunter cloak is done!!! Here is how I made the designs. I used painters tape to mask off the areas I wanted to remain grey. I then sprayed the fabric very lightly over numerous passes with camo brown and primer black rattle cans. Once the paint dried I pulled off the tape to reveal the design. Then I took the cloak to my belt sander and used wire brushes to weather the bottom. After that was complete I mopped the floor of my shop and my outside patio with it to give it a dirty/ grunge look (no I'm not joking)

All in all though it came out pretty good if I do say so myself. I had to add lots of details and weathering to it. Because it can't look like he just bought it from the Tower.

It's one thing to make a cool cosplay. It's another to wear your cool cosplay and have fans totally geek out!! Here are some pics of me wearing my Destiny Hunter costume at conventions around the US and Canada.

Awesome glamour shots of my props and armor taken by myself and friends. (Props I borrowed for photo shoots - Auto rifle made by WM Armory, knife made my Henchmen Props) This is really where all of your hard work goes into a portfolio piece. Fantastic pictures will showcase your costume in a controlled setting more than a standard con pic will. Despite the backgrounds on the first two images there is no Photoshop trickery. The LEDs do glow like that when centered on the camera. Plus that is why I like using Heavy Body acrylics it makes the colors really pop!!

I actually got to visit Bungie and show some of the developers my costume when I was in Seattle. And this armor set as well as several of my masks were featured in Bungie's Destiny Year One video at 18:32, 18:55, 19:04, and 19:28

I am also showing here my newest Hunter mask the Celestial Nighthawk (I will put out a future build thread just on this mask)

Thanks for looking and feel free to follow more of my prop builds on my Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/StevenKSmithProps

and my prop shop can be found here
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SKSProps

Twitter and Instagram - @SKSProps