Since around August last year, I've slowly been collecting pieces for a Daredevil season 1 cosplay and I think it's about time I came up with a way to store it all that doesn't involve just throwing everything into the bottom of the wardrobe! 🤣
I've always loved the idea of creating unique storage boxes for all of my cosplays, each one decorated differently to match the universe that the character belongs to, but this is the first time I've actually turned this idea into reality. When it came to creating a box for Daredevil, I was immediately drawn to the green case that Matt keeps in the bottom of his closet and uses to store his vigilante gear in season 1.
As far as I remember, the case was only seen a couple of times - the clearest shots being in episode 9, when Matt suits up to hunt down Mrs. Cardenas' killer. After grabbing some screenshots from the episode, I set to work!
First off, I bought a large wooden box from Hobbycraft to use as a base. It's a lot smaller than the case from the show, but it should be more than big enough to store all my Daredevil accessories. Besides, the aim for this project is to create something "inspired by", rather than an exact replica.
I had some 'leaf green' acrylic paint left over from a previous build, so the first thing I did was give the box 2 coats of this. I'd normally use 3 coats, but the slight patchiness gives it that old, battered quality which I think suits the project perfectly (well, that and the fact that I ran out of paint after the second coat!😜) Don't mind the paint on the latch, I'll eventually replace this with something more in-keeping with the rest of the build.
To create the black trim, I opted for some 19mm wide electrical tape; it's the perfect size to suit the scale of the box and the rubbery texture makes a great substitute for what I'm guessing is leather on the original prop. I marked a set of lines around each edge of the box, to help me apply the trim as evenly as possible, then started sticking the tape into place.
Next up: the hardware. I bought some brass corner protectors that I simply screwed into place, followed by a pair of antique brass hinges to replace the chrome-plated ones on the back of the case. I then installed a pair of brass latches, before finally adding the large suitcase handle.
When it came to the large latch in the centre of the lid, I knew that it would need to be a scratch-build. It has a really unique, vintage design that I'd never be able to find online and even if I did, it would probably be way too expensive to justify buying. This latch doesn't need to be functional: since there are already 2 large ones on either side of the case, a third would just be overkill. Therefore, I used layers of cereal box card, an acrylic circle and a mixture of copper, black and gold acrylic paints, before gluing the results pride-of-place in the centre of my briefcase. Not bad, even if I do say so myself! 😜
After looking back over my reference shots, I decided that I wasn't happy with the shade of green on my case - it looked far too bright! To fix, I gave the whole thing a wash of black acrylic paint, which also gives it that slightly old and dirty look that is just perfect.
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