So, it has been a bit with the posting. I really need to get better at that. Anyway, I have the main parts of the boots done! This is kind of a big deal for me because the boots were a total pain in the ass. I dunno why I had such a problem with these. It seemed every time I did some patterns, when I put them to foam, they didn't work. I built things up again and again only to have to start from the bottom after just a few pieces. It finally got to the point that I did rough patterns and mostly improvised around that for one foot and then mirroring that on the other. But, at least it is done.

As always, I have been terrible at in progress shots, so I can only really describe what I did and post the pictures of the final bits, sans detailing and paint. More info and pictures below.



As I said above . . . working on these things was a real bitch.  I wanted these to help accentuate the feminine version of the Wilhelm gender swap.  To this end I used heels.  I initially started with a boot that had a decent sized chunky heel.  After playing with these for a bit, I decided that the calf was too loose to really work with the shin calf elements of the boots.  In the end, I went with some mary jane chunky heeled pumps that I have and love . . . a noble sacrifice to complete a  cosplay, I feel.  Though I may need to buy another pair . . . sigh.

Once I resigned myself to using a pair of heels I love, I began work.  I decided that if I was going to make the sacrifice, I should make it so I can use these boots for other projects.  To this end, I covered all but the bottom in worbla that can be used as a base for future builds.  I don't know how well this will work, but I've read about other people doing it, so it is worth a try.  This part went swimmingly, so I though that the rest of the project would be just a bit harder.  I was wrong.




I knew I needed to build it up.  I want some chunky at the front and emphasize the lady in the back with the heel and slim and shrink the shin and calf portions up.  So, starting with the chunky bits and building upward seemed like a good idea.

The toe of the foot was pretty simple.  I wanted the foot portion to start relatively thin to make the rest of it easier to deal with.  So, I just left the first couple inches of the foot with the base cover leading up the the top of the foot.  This is where I started running into problems.    I began thinking I could do one piece secured with twine or even built directly onto the base.  After fiddling with some paper to pattern and a foam tester, I found this wouldn't work well.  At least not with my inexperience in mind.  So, I decided to split it into two pieces, one slightly overlapping the other.  This would allow some lateral flex when I walk  as well as possibly adding some additional lines that might look a bit more interesting.  The downside of this was how to secure both of them.  Again, with my lack of experience, I didn't really find a way to do that with twine and I didn't trust velcro alone.  I decided I would use clips on the base of the shoe and disguise them as little grippy bits that stick out from the shoe . . . I knew I would need to do these anyway, so it worked out.  I wanted this to be a bit thicker than the upcoming pieces to add a reasonable amount of bulk to build off of.  This ended up being a mistake, but more on that later. Because of wanting some chunk, I started with 5mm foam and put a layer of worbla on top of it, leaving the inside foam and soft against my foot.  After this, I just heated it up and formed it how I liked.  I then used 2mm foam sandwiched in worbla for the overlapping piece.

At this point, I decided to build up the heel and sides of the boot using 2mm foam and worbla.  This would add some bulk onto the base of the boots and increase the height of the back/top of the heel.  I wanted this to extend below the plates on top of the foot, but that didn't work out and the ends of this piece stopped just before them.  I secured this with velcro on each side because I knew it wouldn't bend overly much.  I decided this will be alright as it should be covered by the circle detail piece that is on the sides of the boot.

I added a further plate on top of the overlapping piece of the top of the foot with 2mm foam sandwiched in worbla.  The pattern I made for this proved to be too tight at the ankle once I worbla'd it and shaped it.  So, I modified it to be more generous on the sides and added some foam sticking out of the top and covering some of the inside to soften things up around the ankle.

Feeling comfortable with how things stand, I added the last main piece of the foot portion of the boots, the circle/pivot/decoration thingy on the sides of the boot.  I knew I wanted these to be large enough to cover some of the seams while still being reasonably within the proportions of the in-game boot.  For this, I found a bowl in my cabinet that had a bottom with about the circumference I needed along with the inward curve I needed.  Even better, the rim on the bottom worked perfect for a little bit of detail.  I decided to just use heat a circle of worbla up and form it over the bowl, then added another circle of worbla on top of the first so I would have something reasonably sturdy but not bulky.  This turned out great.  I molded some small spheres out of heated worbla scraps, placed them on the inside of the circles, and used them to attach the circles to the side of the top overlapping piece where it would hide the seams of the plates.

That leaves me with where it is now.  I still need to do some detailing such as building up the edges a bit and some minor wear/battle damage before I sand and paint.  I wish I had used 2mm foam instead of the 5mm for the initial plates.  It seems a little TOO bulky on the top . . . but I'm not going to go back again.  I plan to add the shin plates unattached to the actual boot.  This will grant me more movement and I think it will be cleaner.  I MAY add a back piece to the main boot to fill up the back a bit.  I will have to do some thinking about that.  I may or may not add some calf pieces.  That kind of depends on how the shin plates go.  The items I will be using to attach and keep the shin plates where they need to be have arrived today.  So we'll see how that goes.  :)

So, there it is, another post . . . way too long.  About another piece of my terribly done boots.  But, I'm proud they are done anyway.  Kind of like a kid that draws an unrecognizable scribble that is supposed to be a unicorn . . . but they are so proud of that rancid pile of shit you just have to put it on the fridge.  I'm that kid right now.