3D Modeling & Design

Moira’s body armor is a large set of individual pieces, many of which are contoured closely to the shape of the body. Specifically, these pieces are:

• Shoulder spaulders (one large upper piece and a smaller lower inverted-teardrop shape)

• Hip plates

• Chest plate

• Front abdominal plate

• Abdominal corset armor wrap (EVA foam construction)

• Large tassets (two sides and one back)

• Shoes, comprised of a toe plate, arch plate, and heel around an inner wrapping

• Brooch

Using Autodesk Fusion 360, the original game model was imported as a sketching base and the bodies were constructed mostly in the sculpt workspace. The model was then split into several different components and tweaked to serve several purposes:

• Simpler finishing and painting (minimizing the need to mask)

• Considerations for rigging and connectivity

• Re-proportioning and reshaping certain pieces to scale to my body’s dimensions (notably the chest and abdominal plates)

• Provide space for electronics

• Separating the parts that would be resin cast (diffusion filters mainly)

Mannequins

Two mannequin forms were essential to creating the body armor - a digital 3D scanned form and a lifecasted form. The 3D modeling mannequin was scanned using an Xbox Kinect and imported into Fusion 360 as a mesh to model around (see the Biotic Reactor section for more details). This was used to model and size the hard-surface 3D printed pieces.

A physical mannequin was needed for shaping the corset armor. The corset armor was flexible and soft to compress against my torso and allow for the complex movements of the midsection. EVA foam was the material of choice to contour tightly to the complex curvature of the torso and flare out in a bell shape at the bottom. I first created a lifecast of my torso with a handler in plaster gauze, using this tutorial from Punished Props to create the initial mold. I took it one step further than the tutorial and created an exact 1 : 1 casting by taking the product of that tutorial and then laying gauze on the inside. Removing the insides of the two halves and sealing the seams created an exact replica of my torso.

Physical Construction and Fixture/Rigging Installation

The corset armor forms the basis for the majority of the body pieces and was constructed EVA foam for comfort and flexibility. Duct tape was applied to the lifecast mannequin in the abdominal region to capture the contour of my body. The armor shape was drawn over the duct tape, piecing out any cosmetic fixtures (the serratus anterior shapes, namely). The duct tape was then removed and the curves were strategically cut to flatten out the curves. This pattern was then transferred to EVA foam and the structure was reassembled in a combination of 4 mm and 6 mm EVA foam using Barge rubber cement. Additional protrusions at the hip and back were added to support the tassets and allowed them to flare outward. Neodymium magnets of varying size were installed into the EVA to match magnet placement on the armor pieces. For the tassets, the magnets were embedded inside keyed slots so that most of the weight was supported by the bulk material rather than the magnets. Parachute buckles were installed across the front to ensure a tight fit.

The understructure of the shoe was constructed similarly, first using a duct tape wrapping around my foot and cutting the appropriate shapes and transferring to EVA foam. These wrapped around the bottom of repurposed shoes with velcro and elastic straps, holding them in place.

All other components were 3D printed in PLA plastic. Velcro was glued onto the shoulders and chest plate to match the velcro sewn into the undersuit. Velcro was also glued to the shoe plates. Magnets were installed on the hip pieces, tassets, brooch, and abdominal plate.

Resin Casting

All of the purple bodies in the model transmit and diffuse light evenly. These consist of the glowing rings as well as some other odd glowing parts.

After 3D printing and fully finishing the surface to a 400 grit smoothness, they were molded with silicone rubber (Smooth-On Mold Start 20T). They were then resin cast under pressure with Smooth-On Smooth-Cast 325 with a very small amount of So-Strong white. The opaque white allows the piece to uniformly diffuse LED backlighting, and the pressure cast ensures the casting is bubble-free.

Finishing

All 3D printed parts were finished using this method:

• 220 grit light pre-sanding/scuffing

• XTC-3D double layer

  • First layer ultra-thin

  • When tacky-cure, apply another thin glossy layer

• 400 grit full surface sanding

For the EVA foam, seams were filled with foam clay, then the surface was heat-sealed. The surface was then primed with four coats of plastidip.

Painting

The black gloss surfaces were all airbrushed using this process:

• 3 coats Vallejo Gloss Black primer (74.660) with Airbrush Flow Improver (71.562)

• 2 coats Vallejo Model Air NATO Black (71.251)

  • If there is a red accent on the black, let the black dry overnight then:

  • Mask the accent shape

  • 2 coats Vallejo Model Air White (71.001)

  • 2 coats Vallejo Model Air Rot Red RLM23 (71.003)

• Allow the acrylics to fully dry (at least 24 h)

• 3 coats Rustoleum Gloss Clear

The breastplate followed the same as above, except with Anthracite Grey (71.052) instead of NATO Black. The depth of the holes were enhanced with NATO Black on the inside. The surface was then masked off except for small parts of the edges and around the circles. These were lightly sprayed with Metal Color Aluminium (77.701) to look like exposed metal.

The abdominal plate followed the same as the breastplate except with Vallejo Matte Varnish (62.062) instead of the Rustoleum gloss clear.

The tassets (non-carbon fiber parts) were sprayed with a base of gloss black primer (74.660), then sprayed with a gradient of Anthracite Grey (71.052), USAF Medium Gray (71.275), and USAAF Light Gray (71.296), with the lightest tones at the top of the curvature and the darker tones at the edges. The edge trim was pure Anthracite Grey with a gloss clear coat. The red panels are a base of White (71.001) with Rot Red RLM23 (71.003) on top. NATO Black (71.251) is added to the corners to create a gradient in the red, and is also added to the deeper features (circle holes in the lower center, and the notches at the very top) to enhance the depth. Lastly, Metal Color Aluminium (77.701) is brushed at a few of the high edges to look like exposed metal.

The top section of the back tasset is a gloss black primer (74.660) followed by a layer of Metal Color Duraluminium (77.702), and the highlighted with Metal Color Aluminium (77.701) at the top of the curvature.

The carbon fiber sections of the side tassets have a unique finish - they are not painted, but wrapped in carbon fiber vinyl adhesive.

The corset armor is painted with a gradient of Dark Brown RLM61 (71.042) and Sand Yellow (71.028), with the deep creased of the serratus anterior shapes lined with NATO Black (71.251).