After putting this off till I finished my armor, I finally started (and finished) Jacen's armor. I had the idea to do it a few months ago, but just never had the time to start it. My problem was that I told Jacen I was going to make him some armor about two weeks ago. I therefore was asked everyday since "Daddy, have you finished my Commander Cody armor yet?" So....I was up till about 3:30am this morning (August 13th) finishing it. From start to finish it took about 8 hours.

I ran out of orange Foamies, so I still need to do the Shoulder Bells and hand armor. I'll pick up some more today. I also need to do the shoulder straps, but I wanted to wait for the chest/back glue to dry before I glued them on. I still need to find some gloves, so I'll hit some sports stores or second hand today.

What you need:
Reference photos
Hasbro Clone Helmet Voice Changer - $30
Black Turtleneck, Black Sweatpants (both should fit your child) - ??? (I got both of mine on clearance for about $5 each early this spring.)
White shoes - ??? (I got Jacen some white "Van's" slipon shoes at Wal-Mart yesterday for $3. I painted them white but forgot to take a picture. I'll add a photo tonight.)
10-12 sheets of Foamies (3mm Craft foam in 12x18 sheets) - white, grey and orange (for the Cody) - $1 a sheet
Copy/Printer Paper (to draw your patterns on before cutting the Foamie)
Fabric Glue - $5-6
Super Glue (CA) - $10-15 (get 3-4 bottles of this if they're small bottles)
A Pencil
Metal Ruler - ???
Fabric Ruler - ???
X-axto knife - $3-5
Scissors
Tape (painters or masking) - don't use anything to strong or it will stick to the Foamie and tear it when you pull the tape off.
Acrylic Paint - I have orange to match the Foamie color - $1 a bottle
Paint Brushes - $5
Clamps (a 16 clamp assortment at Wal-Mart is like $4.50)
Paint mixing sticks - free at Wal-mart, Home Depot, etc.

As you can see in the above photo, I taped off the areas where I was going to build out the armor (I had Jacen put the shirt and pants on before he went to bed). I then started to make the armor patterns. I laid the paper over the clothes and drew where I needed an armor piece. Once I was satisfied with the layout, I cut the pattern out, overlayed it on the Foamie and cut the piece out. I would then position the Foamie on the clothes, apply Fabric glue and attach it to the clothes. Anywhere the Foamie overlays another Foamie (as in the calves and thighs seen below), you then need to apply Superglue. Fabric glue will not hold two pieces of Foamie together. One other thing I learned. Periodically put your hand or arm inside the clothes. Sometimes the Fabric glue will seep through and you will need to separate the clothing to keep it from sticking together.

Back pants completed.

One item to note on all the front and back armor pieces. I made the patterns even with the cloth on the back armor pieces (see above) and overhang about 1/4" on each side of the cloth on the front pieces (see below). This is so the armor will overlap front to back and create a good solid bond when superglued together. I applied tape to keep the knees from slipping while they were drying.

Using reference photos, I masked off the "Cody" stripes and painted them with the orange acrylic paint. Use smooth, easy brush strokes so you don't leave any streaks.

Front pants completed.

I followed the same procedures on the back of the shirt.

I cut out the chest pieces, masked it all off after the glue had set and painted the orange Cody stripes.

After the glue had set, I began Supergluing the front and back halves together. This was at about 1-2am, so I forgot to take pictures (other than the one below). Basically, you must carefully bend the front and back pieces over each other. Do a test bend first and make sure you made your front overlaps long enough. The arms are the hardest to get right. I did this next step myself, but it would probably be easier with somebody helping you. Once you get the bend, apply a line of superglue on the back piece where the two pieces overlap. Hold it for a second so it can bond and then take two mixing sticks, put one inside the clothes and the other outside, both on the seam. Clamp the sticks and let dry. You must use the sticks or you will leave indentions in the Foamies. I learned this the hard way.

Here's the painted helmet. I just masked it off and painted it. No visor on this one. I just don't have the time to make one out of styrene.

Here's the finished armor.

And the look on Jacen's face before he sent to school this morning. I'm tired, but it was worth it.