Break a build into pieces, with a budget

Pieces are the things you actually have to make or buy — helmet, chest plate, undersuit, boots, wig. Each carries its own estimate, so the build knows what it costs.

Before you start

Add pieces

1. Type the piece

   Under Pieces, type into + Add a piece.

2. Make or buy

   Choose Make (the default) or Buy beside it.

3. Estimate it

   Put a rough cost in Est $ — the cost of one — and press Add.

Fill in a piece

1. Open it

   Press Edit on the piece.

2. Give it a kind

   Kind: Costume, Armour, Prop, Wig, Makeup, Lenses or Accessory. The list can then show one kind at a time.

3. Material, quantity and source

   Material, Quantity, and Where from (link) — a shop or pattern link, shown as ↗ on the row.

4. Money

   Estimate, each ($) and, once you know it, Actually spent ($). The total at the foot multiplies the estimate by the quantity.

5. Save

   Press Save piece.

Wigs, makeup and lenses

A piece of those kinds asks for more when you edit it. A Wig has Colour, Length and Styling notes. Makeup has Products and shades: one a line, the shade after a comma. Lenses have Prescription, Wear limit (hours) and Notes.

Track what you're buying

1. Move it along

   On a bought piece, the row's menu reads buy · to buy. Change it to buy · ordered when you order it and buy · arrived when it comes.

2. See what's outstanding

   While anything is still to buy or on order, filters appear above the list: All, To buy and Arriving, each with a count.

3. Tick it done

   Tick the box at the start of a row when the piece is done; the build's progress counts it.

Tutorials for each piece

1. Say what it takes

   In Edit, tick Skills it takes: EVA foam, Armour, Sewing, Wigs, Props, LEDs & electronics, 3D printing or Paint. Untagged, a piece you're making is judged from its kind, its material and whether you modelled it in Piece Forge; a piece you're buying takes none until you tick some.

2. Open them

   Press Tutorials (…) on the row. It lists the build tutorials for those skills, and More on … opens Build Tutorials filtered to them.

Make it in the Workshop

A piece you're making has Model ›, which opens Piece Forge for it; it reads Model ✓ once the piece has a design. ↑ and ↓ reorder pieces, and ✕ removes one.

If something's off

“Use a number for the estimate, like 12.50.”

Type the amount only, without a $ sign.

The total doesn't match the Est. column

The column shows the cost of one; the total multiplies by Quantity.

↑ and ↓ jump over pieces

With a kind filter on, the arrows still swap a piece with its neighbour in the full list. Choose Every kind before reordering.