Painting! The truly fun part of foam work!
I tried a few techniques on the chest piece before I came out with a look that I liked. I tried dry-brushing first, so I could keep the black coming through, but it ended up just looking tatty. So I painted the whole lot gold (3 coats) and then went over the highlights with black instead and that worked much better. I’m still not entirely happy with the collar thickness, so that might end up being hacked off, re-made and stuck back on again.
The mask was super fiddly – I really wanted to get the lines in the right place and the right thickness, since it’s such a key part of the costume. I used the finest brush I had along with a pre-cut paper template and managed to produce this, which is pretty spot on! Both pieces were varnished with liquitex matte varnish, which is super flexible so it doesn’t crack after it dries. One tip with that though – if you apply the second coat before the first is completely dry, it doesn’t dry clear.
I’ve finally gotten the right amount of fabric for my trousers, so I’m working on those and the belt next. They’re HOPEFULLY going to be pretty straight forward, but it’s amazing how complicated I can make the simplest of things …