Kirito’s GGO Armor from Sword Art Online
This build looked simple at first but it was harder than I had first thought. I had never made armor for someone who lived to far away to come test fit it. I was lucky to have a friend who was roughly the same size as the client.
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It all started with a sheet of 3mm black Sintra, if you have never heard of Sintra it’s a PVC thermal plastic that is great for making armor.
I used the measurements given by the client and a great reference image from the anime to create a template. I cut it into six pieces that would fit on letter sized paper that I could print. I added circles where the corners meet so I could line each sheet up perfectly with the others. The red line in the middle is where i will need to cut the armor and rejoin it at an angel, Sintra does not do compound curves so if i wanted one i would need to make them with cuts. The red circles at the top are holes that will need to be drilled out and the ones lower down are where the armor clasps will be located
Using a nice sharp pair of scissors i freed my template from the rest of the paper.
I transferred my design to the Sintra and cut out the rough shape, i transferred the markings for the holes above and where i need to cut and shape the Sintra.
I used a heat gun to heat mold the Sintra, I also cut the armor into two pieces and removed a little material so it made the bend more pronounced. I taped the armor back together so i could work on joining the two pieces back together by adding supports on the back.
I added Epoxy Putty to to where the two pieces meet, this stuff is strong and sands down really well. I drilled the holes at the top using a stepper big, it gives a better hole then if i used a saw or knife to make it. It’s hard to see in the photo but i also bowed out the armor near the top along the silver line.
After a lot of sanding i added a coat of filler primer, this will help fill any small gaps or nicks in the armor. I use two or three coats of this stuff so i can get a perfectly smooth surface for painting. You can start to see that nice line in the armor where i broke the pieces apart and rejoined them at an angle.
And here is the finished product as well as a really messy work bench, i also made the small piece of arm armor that is seen in the anime. The armor clasps are 3D printed and sanded then painted. The straps on the front are glued down and is adjustable in the back using Velcro.
And there you have it, Kirito’s GGO Armor from Sword Art Online. It was a fun build and i learned a lot from making it. The client loved it and the armor looked great with the rest of his cosplay.
If you have any questions about this build or anything else, please feel free to comment or go to the contact page and drop me a line.
Ben Crawford