C2E2 — Thor Armor Build Book

• All armor is custom patterned, and most is created using Worbla’s Black Art base (2mm craft foam “sandwich method”)
• Worbla armor pieces include: Gorget top, pauldron, rerebraces, bracers, greaves, tasset, and belt “hardware,” including Mjolnir belt “buckle” base
• These armor pieces are detailed with EVA foam, real leather, and Pearly Worbla
• Armor was primed with Bondo spot glazing putty, gesso, and filler primer, sanded smooth between each coat
• Knot work details were custom patterned, sized, and created using 2mm EVA foam, scored using a Cricut, glued to armor bases, and heated to “reveal” the cut pattern
• Cuirass is made entirely from EVA foam for weight and flexibility
• Cuirass uses 17 magnets, and acts as the base which other upper armor pieces are built upon and affixed to
  Affixed, layered EVA “flap” hides the zipper Cuirass closure at right (There is no visible, traditional cuirass closure on in-game armor)
• Gorget base is also made using EVA, held in place with four magnets

• Arrows are made with custom sculpted & resin cast arrow heads
• Arrow heads are affixed to paint washed wooden dowels, with cut and painted ends
• Fletching made with carved 4mm EVA foam

• 7650 Anodized “Gold” Aluminum jump rings, woven in European 6-in-1
• Affixed to handmade 5oz leather belt, hand stamped with Stanza 76 from the Hávamál, seen on the Title Screen of AC: Valhalla
• Belt is completely hidden when worn

• All “embroidery” done with a traditional sewing machine, Satin-Stitched
• Patterns were created by tracing in-game designs and knot work in Illustrator, transferred by hand onto the fabric
• Used over 2550 yards of gold thread on the cape, and over 750 yards of thread across both tabbards

• Using a bright teal linen base, several experiments were conducted to achieve the closest possible match to the in-game color
• Traditionally, this jacket likely would have been made of wool—I opted for semi-period accurate linen for comfort
• Ten yards of linen were dyed as a single piece to achieve consistent color
• All white linen was stained with tea ~10 mins

• Grappling hook is used in specific animated move sets, and is consistently on the player character regardless of armor (or lack of)
• Made using EVA foam and sculpted Paperlay for the handle, Worbla for the blade, and hand painted & distressed rope and linen.

• Armor “buttons” were originally made with EVA foam cut on Cricut, formed over a plastic dome, then molded & cast in resin
• These are used on the back of the cuirass, on both Rerebraces, and on the Tasset
• Belt hardware was handmade using Pearly Worbla (belt loops, belt “rivets”)
• Mjolnir motif belt buckle uses a Worbla base, with sculpted Mjolnir motif (Apoxie Sculpt)
• Belt “buckle” magnets onto the main belt to hide the buckle closure
• Pauldron “brooch” is made 100% of Worbla

• Helmet sculpted by hand in Monster Clay Medium, with worbla & round bead “rivets”
• Helmet sculpting took 41 hours
• Molded using Rebound 25, with 2-part PlastiPaste II shell, cast in SmoothCast 300
• Helmet “Wings” patterned in Illustrator, cut on Cricut, then heated, shaped, and layered by hand — These took 20 hours overall
• Base coated with matte black, then hand painted using artist acrylics

• Self engineered fully functional retractable blade, made completely from Worbla
• Uses inner Worbla mechanism and button affixed to small spring, as well as a rubber band and magnet to create the movement
• Uses decorative green agate stones for button and straps, as seen in all AC games
• Hidden magnet in left bracer helps hold it securely in place, even when unstrapped

Gloves & Shoes

• Created custom turn shoe “boot” pattern
• All pieces were cut, punched, and hand stitched using 3oz-8oz leather
• Custom buckles, straps, and loops made to match in-game art, and to affix greaves
• Magnets are utilized to help affix sections of the greaves in place more securely
• Leather glove pattern purchased from Etsy
• Made using real, exotic fashion leather (~1oz), dyed to match other leather pieces
• Glove sections all whip stitched by hand
• Bracers are permanently affixed to the gloves using leather straps and rivets

Tooling

• Quiver, pouch, armor straps, and belts are all hand cut, burnished, dyed, riveted
• Two separate waist belts:
  • 1: Uses traditional buckle, hidden by hand-sculpted Mjolnir “belt buckle,” affixed with magnets
  • 2: Consists of two belts stitched together with hidden closure beneath back pouch
    Together these make up the in-game “three wrapped” belt look
• Quiver, pouch, and “Finisher Axe” are all items always visible on Eivor in all armors
• Quiver uses a custom pattern, hand tooled, dyed, stitched, and painted to match game
• Quiver artwork was hand traced from game
• Pouch uses a custom pattern, with braided “stamp” trim, hand tooled Celtic design accent, and hidden magnet closure
• Finisher Axe holster is a custom pattern, also hand tooled with the same artwork as “Mammen” axe face in-game, and uses hidden magnets to help secure axe
• Finisher Axe holster affixes to Yoke with grommets & ties (it “floats” in game)

Weaving

• All leather on armor pieces was hand cut, edged, burnished, wet formed, and woven to match in-game armor patterns
• All for weave patterns were hand made from interpretation of in-game screenshots
• Leather had to be taped off for priming, painting, & sealing Worbla & EVA sections
• Dyed using “Medium Brown” Antique Gel

• As with most games, armor attachment points are unrealistic or in some cases impossible given the in-game appearance
• To compensate, magnets were used to reproduce many in-game “float” connections
• Magnets are used in the Cuirass, gorget, cape, tabbard, fur, linen belt, leather belts, greaves, Finisher Axe & Mjolnir.

• Scar created using lip liner & rigid collodion
• Originally, Eivor’s head tattoo was created as a vector and applied using InkBox
• Tattoo is now real!! Sat for 1 hour in July for the real piece. No, it didn’t hurt too badly 😜!

• Created custom patterns for tabbards, linen belt, and yoke
• Linen belt is covered with sewn 1” strips to create a layered linen “wrap” look
• Cape uses McCall’s 4139B pattern shortened, fused with stabilizer, and linen lining
• Ten magnets are hidden between outer fabric and lining to hold cape on cuirass and “back” under the gorget and pauldron
• Cape can be pulled forward over the shoulders to “equip disguise” like in game, without removing other armor
• Jacket combines digitally generated basic “tunic” top pattern, altered Simplicity 8769 “A” skirt, and custom “Viking Armpits”
• Jacket is classically lined in the top, with short linen lining around upper skirt for extra padding under chainmail when sitting
• No lining was added around the bottom of the skirt for better distressing and flow
• Yoke is visible only at the shoulders in game, and acts as padding under cuirass

• All knot work and other armor designs were hand-drawn in Adobe Illustrator by tracing in-game references
• Some of these patterns were then cut using a Cricut Maker—either into stencils for tracing on to fabric, or directly into Worbla or EVA
• Others were simply used as a reference or for sizing armor patterns
• No digital game assets were directly used

• Traditional card weaving done on Heddle Loom using 3/2 Perle Cotton (Belts) and embroidery floss (Jacket trim)
• Woven belts made with 18, 4-string cards, with a 20 turn pattern
• Jacket trim made with 12, 4-string cards, with a 20 turn pattern
• Patterns designed using Guntram’s Tabletweaving Thingy (GTT)

“Finisher” Axe / Mammen Axe

• Eivor’s “finisher” axe is used in certain killcams, and is a part of her outfit in game no matter what armor you are wearing
• In my research, I found it was based on the “Mammen Axe,” and so opted to match the historical artifacts’ dual-sided design
• Crafted using layered EVA foam, PVC, Paperclay, magnets, and leather wrap

Mjölnir

• Mjolnir is custom patterned and hand crafted using EVA foam, LED foam, Worbla, and PVC
• Uses 112 inline NeoPixels, plus 44 NeoPixels within “rings” (2×12 + 16 ring pixels)
• Neopixels were soldered into 4 separate strings of 8-10 LEDs, in pattern to match Mjolnir’s geometric line work (over 130 individually soldered connections)
• LEDs wired to an Adafruit ItsyBitsy, using three pins, each with a 300mAh resistor
• ItsyBitsy connects to PowerBoost 5000C
• Powered by a 2200mAh LiPo battery, with in-line 1000mµ capacitor to prevent shortages
• I recruited a friend to help me dissect and write the custom “lightning” code⚡️⚡️⚡️
• Code uses a starting “on” / strobe for the rings, followed by a randomized time delay up each light string, before the rings go off and begin again after another random duration between 0-50 milliseconds
• Mjolnir uses a “magnet” switch—so can only be turned on when held by Eivor!
• Because magnet switches are extremely sensitive, I used a smaller inner PVC to affix the switch so it can be removed from the hilt of the hammer and replaced if necessary

Mythical Raider Axe

• Mythical Raider axe consists of two hollow EpoxyCoat Gray casts, backed with fiberglass cloth
• Master was created from EVA foam, Worbla, and PVC
• All knot work was traced from in-game art in Illustrator, and cut into a single layer of Worbla’s Black Art using a Cricut
• These were hand applied and “sculpted” to give the knot work depth
• Pommel was sculpted in ApoxieSculpt by hand over an EVA foam base
• Knot work on hilt was created using cut Worbla, sculpted to create knot work depth
• All Worbla was primed with Bondo spot glazing putty, gesso, and filler primer
• Each half was molded using MoldMax 29NV (over a gallon used for both molds)
• Casts were cleaned, primed with flat black, and painted by hand with artist acrylics
• Hilt is wrapped in dyed leather to match the leather straps on the armor

• Wig is an Arda “Renee” in Ash blonde
• Right side was de-wefted and removed
• Small portion of removed lace front was re-stitched to the right side
• This is then glued to my head to create a more seamless “lace-front-AND-side”
• Custom weft “parts” created using bias tape, and stitched in for braiding
• Hand made Worbla “hair beads” were painted to match in game artwork
• Leather ties glued in to match game