How To Make A Halo Master Chief Costume

Halo Costume Details

We continue on to Part 2 of How To Make A Halo Master Chief Costume. If you look at the inspiration picture of Master Chief, you will see the thigh pads are relatively simple in design. Aidan needed to be here for this step. He stood as I wrapped a large sheet of paper around his thigh and drew where the thigh pad should be. Then, I cut out that pattern and placed it back on his leg and we decided where it needed to be adjusted. Using a marker, I make those adjustments and cut off any excess. The pattern is transferred onto the gray mat twice, one for each leg. The detail is added with a ballpoint pen. The detail would ultimately be intensified with the heat knife. If I had more time, I would like to add some more detail with raised areas like those on the breastplate.

DIY Master Chief Costume — Master Chief Thigh Guards

The thigh guards were cut from the mat. The heat gun was used again, like before, and the guards were shaped to fit around the thigh nicely. Velcro will be applied to these after they have been painted.

How To Make A Halo Master Chief Costume — Master Chief Thigh Guards and Wrist Gauntlet

If you use tracing paper, trace two, the pencil tends to tear it. It is no big deal, but a little annoying. I still end up with a sharp design. Use the little ruler to make straight lines. In retrospect, I wish I had rounded out the back edge more.

The Forearm Gauntlets

The pattern for this was easily created by measuring the length needed, cutting a large sheet of paper that length, wrapping it around Aidan’s forearm, and marking it with a felt marker. The paper was folded in half so each side was identical. Then, using that as the base shape, a little bit of a point was created in the middle-front side. (You can draw the detail on one side, hold the paper up to a window, and trace to the other side.) You can see in the picture, a curved line was drawn on the upper end of the pattern and another shape in the middle just above the point.

In my rush to complete this project or mindless stupor at the moment, I started cutting out the detail on the forearm piece. Three-quarters of the way through, I realized it. The top side was still attached.

Brainstorming, I came up with the idea of leaving that side attached and cutting the other three sides on both of the forearm pieces. What you do to one, you have to match the other. I knew that the cut foam piece would pull away from the surrounding area, leaving a larger opening. It is even more apparent in the picture above. So, matching the two made it look intentional. (Only you know my secret.)

The Master Chief Shoulder Pads

The template for this is Template by EVAkura

(this template may be shared, but please give credit) and the detailed instructions can be found here ►405th.com. The template is sized for an adult. After printing it, I placed the paper on Aidan’s shoulder and marked what size would look more proportionate for him. You can do a lot of figuring and size that down to create a size-appropriate template for yourself. Yes, but I used a quicker solution by using PicMonkey, a photo editing tool. Let me try to explain my madness… First, download the template by EVAkura to your computer. Print it out and measure how big you want it to fit your child or whomever. I used the letters at the top and knew I wanted it to reach the right side of the ‘W’. Then, go to PicMonkey.com. Click on “Edit” or “Edit a Photo”. Select the EVAkura template file from your computer. The red arrow on the picture is the length I wanted the template to be. Now, click on Overlays on the left side of the screen. Then click on My Computer when it drops down. Now, select the same template file.

Part 2 of How To Make A Halo Master Chief Costume on MyHumbleHomeandGarden.com

The second template will come up on top of the first template as an overlay. Using your cursor, pull the right corner down at an angle until the end of the shoulder pad template is at the point you marked earlier. Now, it should be the right size. You can print it at this point, or…

you can block out the print around it by adding another overlay over top of it. Just click on Overlays. Choose the Geometric rectangle and then change the color to white by clicking on the eyedropper and copying the white background. Repeat the process to add another overlay horizontally across the top. Then, save the file to your computer and print the template on card stock. Now, transfer to the EVA foam.

I use tracing paper to transfer the design. My ‘old school‘ graphic art school training shows up again.

If you use tracing paper, trace two, the pencil tends to tear it. It was no big deal, but a little annoying, I still ended up with a sharp design. I did use the little ruler on the straight lines. A much easier option is to print the pattern on card stock, cut the pattern, trace around it, cut and remove the inner pieces a piece at a time, and trace around those. (Much easier!)

Cut out the shoulder pad with scissors and, or, the X-Acto knife. Trace the lines with a ballpoint pen. Press firmly with the pen. Faint lines may disappear when using the heat gun and manipulating the foam to shape it.

Shape The Shoulder Pads With Heat

Use the heat gun and your hands to pull and stretch the foam to shape it. Do this before cutting out the inner pieces! Great instructions for this can be found here ►405th.com.

Cut The Decorative Shapes The next step was to cut out the pieces. You need a very sharp blade to do this or you will have a lot of tattering. It’s not necessary to change blades constantly. You can sharpen the blade with a knife sharpener and sharpen it frequently. The shapes need to be cut carefully with the X-Acto knife. If it becomes difficult, sharpen the blade. Caution – you have to hold the piece in your hand as you cut it. Be careful where your fingers are with respect to the knife blade!

Glue The Pieces In Place

Then, glue the pieces back into the openings. The two rectangular pieces are recessed slightly and the rest of the pieces are raised slightly. (Check out this post for detailed instructions ►405th.com.) You want to apply the glue to the openings, not the pieces. I used the Loctite Go2Glue for this. As you slip the piece down into the opening the glue will be pushed down not upward on the outside of the finished piece.

After gluing these pieces on for awhile, I came up with a technique.  I applied the Go2Glue along most of the edges, leaving a spot on the corners or ends to dab just a little bit of "Super Glue".  Then, when the piece was placed where it needed to be, the "Super Glue" would hold it in place until the Go2Glue dried.

In the 405th post, the long rectangular detail was removed, but this piece being downsized, I felt would be too risky with the pieces being too thin. The outer edge detail was left off for this smaller version. Before painting, the detail was burned with the heat knife instead of cutting and recessing.