Fortnite Halloween Costumes

Battlehawk & Drift Fortnite Halloween Costumes

Fortnite is the most popular game in the world right now, a battle royale free to play game across every game system. My son decided we should have matching Fortnite costumes.

I started with a basic plan, screen-shotting images from the game of both characters. Originally I planned to make each costume, two different pick axes, and a tactical shotgun. I left the shotgun for last as a few places I would go would not want me to bring it. I ended up not making it for Halloween, but I do want to go back and make it as it just looks cool. Final tally, I made Battlehawk, Drift, the default pick ax, and the crow bar pick ax. The materials used are primarily EVA foam.

Battlehawk Purchase List:

• Fox Vietnam Black Jungle Boot
• TACVASEN Tactical Cargo Ripstop Combat Uniform Camo Pants
• Accmor Tactical Fingerless/Half Finger Military Combat Gloves
• Rothco Quick Release Black Pistol Belt
• EVA foam floor mats
• Foam craft sheets
• Contact cement, 1 pint
• 1" PVC pipe & 1/2" PVC pipe
• Nylon webbing strapping
• Tri-glide buckle
• Pop rivets 
• Velcro
• Spray glue
• Plasti-dip, black
• Spray paint - brown, red, gray, white, tan, black
• Silver acrylic paint
• Black water color paint

Total: $170, I only spent $77. I already had a leather belt, foam, contact cement, strapping, tri-glide, rivets, pipe, and most of the paint.

Tools List:

• Pencil/pen
• Scrap paper
• Hobby knife and blades
• Cutting mat
• Painters tape
• Band saw
• Heat gun
• Wood burning tool
• Sewing Machine

Introduction
I start nearly all of my projects in Sketchup. This lets me figure it out before I start cutting. The body armor for Battlehawk was a little tricky as it's sized to the user. I did a quick sketch just to isolate the different elements, then referred to pictures for sizing/placement. There is just no way for me to create a direct blueprint. For the tactical shotgun, I can create a direct blueprint. I scaled in game images and sketched a blueprint from that, but unfortunately I didn't have time to build the tac.

I always try to maximize quality and cost. Foam is cheap and easy to work with. There were two strapping and clip details I left off the body armor as I just didn't want to buy more nylon strapping. While I spent more than I would like on pants/gloves/boots, I will be able to use those items on other costumes.

Battlehawk
I use contact cement to glue foam. It's a better bond than hot glue, doesn't burn me, and hot glue doesn't make joints as tight.
After gluing, I use a heat gun to shape pieces and to seal the foam. After that, plasti-dip provides a flexible surface for paint.

Shin & Knee Guards

I started with the shin and knee guards. I cut a paper template. For the angle, I did a shallow angled cut on the back side. A few angles were too wide, so I used the triangles I had cut out to fill the gap. A few test cuts wouldn't have been bad. A wood burning tool created the air holes in the knee guard, and I cut foam trim for the perimeter.

Body Armor
I started sketching the body armor on paper to get a feel for sizing. I also cut a head hole in paper, to make sure it would fit on my head. After trying it on a few times and adjusted the cut/fit, I cut it out of foam, then heat gunned it to shape, curing it around my ribs.

I ended up pie cutting the arm openings to reduce the opening gap. I cut a small acute triangle out of the opening, then glued it back together. The body armor bottom should be just above the belt.
With contact cement, I let it tack for ten minutes, but you won't get a second chance if you mess up. If I'm concerned about placement/getting it right, I glue pieces immediately without waiting. I'll tape them in place if need to hold them.
Keep heating and shaping the foam throughout the build. I did this more than a few times as the foam wanted to lose its shape.

The body armor is pulled over the head, with velcro attaching the sides.

Cut List:
(2) chest plates
(4) ab plates with trim
(2) back plates
(1) back plate
(1) u-shaped back plate
(1) rear harness with trim
(1) trim above rear harness
(2) rib plates
(2) craft foam arm opening trim
(2) over the should straps
(2) rib straps
(4) craft foam strap trim at the rear harness
(2) nylon straps over the shoulder with quick release (I omitted these as I ran out of strapping)

I cut paper templates for everything and placed it on the body armor base, adjust cut/fit until I got it right. There are a few detail lines around the neck. Scribe a shallow cut with the hobby knife, and use the heat gun to open up the cut. This way the detail is really clean.
 The armor plates are more foam with craft foam trim on the front ab plates. The bullet pock marks on the front chest plate were done by hand with a wood burning tool. Go slowly.

The rear harness is foam with craft foam trim. I used a wire nut in a drill for the holes, it's the only thin that was the right size and had a good edge on it. I glued the harness on upside down, d'oh! Most people won't notice, but with contact cement you don't get a second chance.I had to recut some pieces to interconnect, and cut a few small pieces of foam as filler.

For the straps, I cut the floor mat long ways. I sandwiched it between two pieces of wood and sent it through the band saw. This method also gave it a bit of texture.

Once everything was in placed, I used a heat gun to seal all surfaces. You will see the foam take on a sheen. Then I painted it with Plasti-dip. This is why you should test paint first. The paint seemed to have a lot of moisture in it. Water was running off the piece after I finished painted. I blotted it down after, and painted with a new can. Then I painted the base tan, masking the pieces that are to remain black.

For attachment, velcro on the rib plates and straps secure it. I was not getting good adhesion. The velcro wasn't sticking to the foam. I used 3M 77 spray glue for a better stick. Using paper to mask the rest of the body armor. I later had to use contact cement.

Nylon strapping  runs across each rib plate. Two pieces of nylon are folded over and sewn with an added X stitching. Pop rivets finish it off. I used 3M 77 to attach it.

Weathering highlights dark colors or shadows lighter colors. It makes the body armor look worn and used rather than just a toy. There are many options for weathering. I used water color as it's easy to clean up with just water, but acrylic works too. I dabbed black into all crevices, then wiped it back off with a wet rag. With a bit of paint and a small amount of water, each panel gets a dirty look. A wet rag over edges and raised portions gives it a worn look. You can also clean up if you got things too dirty looking.

I used silver acrylic dry brushing on the bullet pock marks on the front and the harness on the back. You want just a very little amount of paint. I used a glove finger to apply it to the edges and ridges of the harness. Less is more. For the knee pads, I crumpled paper and drug it across the surface while the paint was still wet.

Default Pick Ax
The pick ax is a 1" PVC pipe wrapped in EVA foam. I tried to give it a slight oval shape, then used a dremel to give it a rougher texture. The head of the ax is foam as well. The top of the ax widens right at the head, I glued another piece of foam to the top, then used a dremel to blend it in to the handle.

After plasti-dip and a base gray, I sprayed just the ends of the ax white. Then I went back with white water color to highlight edges and blend in the white to base gray spray paint.

Drift
I bought a Drift mask, black shirt, black pants, a pink sleeveless hooded sweatshirt, and pink cloth. I sewed pink stripes down each arm and a pink highlight on the cargo pockets of the pants.
I glued craft foam over old shoes, with a front and back half. I created a paper template first for sizing. The tongue is another piece of foam, with pink and gold highlight like the referenced shoes. The shoes are one of the favorite things I built for these costumes.

For the mask, I added a double-A battery pack and wired up (2) red LEDs at each eye. I used a leather punch to make a hole just big enough for the LED. I attached the wires/LEDs with hot glue and then taped the wires inside the mask. I didn't realize the mask was latex. I assumed it was ridig plastic. It's also adult sized, so I taped a plain rigid kid's mask inside for a better fit. I then glued a strap from the top center of the mask down to the single band in the back.

Crowbar
The crowbar is done much like the pick ax. I used a 1/2" PVC pipe and wrapped it in foam. The head and end are four layers of EVA glued together. I carved them with a band saw and then a dremel. To match the curve I used a contour gauge to make sure I was keeping a consistent shape.
I didn't have a single piece of PVC long enough, so I cut a section of PVC, cut a slit out of it and squeezed it into the end of PVC to act as a dowel.

To make the handle wrap, I took black craft foam and used a leather punch. The pattern is a single hole centered, then two holes offset, repeating. I attached it with contact cement.

Procedural Improvements
I dropped the ball on weathering. I like to spray a base silver over plasti-dip then add mustard and salt and spray the main color on top. Then I remove the salt which leaves a stippled pattern, and mustard which can be any shape. I dry brushed on top of the main color, and it came out really well. Dry brush works best on sharp edges.

I omitted a few parts of the Battlehawk costume. I didn't want a leg pouch and didn't want to worry with the display on the arm. I wish I hadn't glued the rear harness on upside down.
I wanted to make a tactical shotgun, and I still want to. Hopefully soon.