You can now get a Hanover Cougar T-Shirt with the Cole Train’s number on the back at Hot Topic! The T-shirt features a distressed Cougars Thrashball logo on the front with Augustus Cole’s name and number on the back.You can pick up the shirt here, or check out all of the Gears of War 3 merchandise at Hot Topic here.
Well, it’s last few weeks leading up to the release of Gears of War 3. And it’s no surprise that the game is making headlines all over the place in the last few days. While you await the final launch, we thought we’d round up some of standout news items, you know, as reading material. You’ll find all sorts of details on the campaign preview we conducted, from outlets far and wide.
But instead of making you click and read on every single link, we thought we’d provide you with a bit of an overview of some of our favorite reviews.
First up, there’s Peter Eykemans of IGN. Eykemans brought it down to one word — survival:
More than any of its predecessors, Gears of War 3 is a scramble — for cover, and now for ammo as a resource. I found myself running from the action with an empty clip, rolling out of the way of fireballs, polyps, and upset “glowies.” As the remaining humans scrounge for supplies, the lack of ammo shows the tides are turning from bad to worse. This tension is a great motivator, setting the pace from the get-go.
Yes, Gears 3 is gritty. Seasoned players will expect that. But what they might not expect are the ways in which it’s different from its predecessors. One of the most obvious changes affects not only the battles, but the very landscape. As Tina Sanchez of 1UP explains:
The Lambent are expanding all throughout Sera. Lambent stalks can now grow anywhere — including the ocean — by spewing out of polyps. And I quickly learned that destroying the polyps hinders the amount of enemies thrown at the Cogs…
Check out the amazing new Thrashball Cole Statue by NECA . This highly detailed resin statue is painted with a bronze finish and stands nearly 13″ tall. It’s limited to only 100 and will be available at San Diego Comic-Con for $100.00. Be sure to keep an eye on NECA’s official website for more details.
Over the years, we have seen some amazing Gears of War cosplay created by our fans. Even our very own Preston Thorne has appeared as Marcus Fenix in his custom cog armor at gaming events around the country.
One of our recent favorites is a cosplay created by Dale Harvey. Dale recreated Augustus “Cole Train” Cole’s Thrashball uniform in amazing detail. Wanting to know more about how Dale created the uniform, we reached out to him for an interview.
Flak: How long have you been doing cosplay?
Dale: Almost two years now. I started last year at Pax East doing a Cole Train/Carmine cosplay, there were only a few of us doing cosplay at Pax East at the time, but it went over so well that now I’ve got the bug pretty bad!
F: What was the first cosplay you did?
D: Cole Train/Carmine, I keep calling it that because when I have my helmet off people tend to call me the “Cole Train” due to my size, with the helmet on of course the first thing people think off is Carmine, If they are familiar with the game. I have images of both on my Facebook page:
Cole
Carmine
F: Have you had any favorite moments while doing a cosplay?
D: Really it’s just meeting the different people that are at Cons and in public, but mostly it’s the kids! I love them and the things that they will say are amazing because they have no filter.
As for a favorite moment, at NYCC/NYAF last year, a father of a young boy dressed as wolverine, had a extremely frightened look on his face as he walked up to me. When we spoke, he let me know that he suffered from agoraphobia, and was only out here for his son. He asked if he could please photograph his son and I together. I was happy to do so, at which point the kid smiled and proceeded to stab me in the jimmies with his claws!
F: What kinds of reactions to you receive when you wear your Gears of War cosplays?
D: They have all been really kind and rather awesome. Because I’m a big guy, it is often harder to find something that fits just right, or looks great, but doing a Gears of War cosplay just kind of fit. When I looked at my love for the game, my size, my passion for cosplay, it all really just came together. Of course, I also have a really understanding and loving wife.
Most people that don’t see me coming in a con hall way usually back out of the way very quickly due to my size and armor. Quite a few will ask for a picture, and I’m happy to oblige. Thrashball Cole Train was a bit different because it’s so new. Not many people are doing this cosplay yet I got a lot of different reactions and questions from adults. It gave me a chance to talk more about Gears of War 3, who Cole is, what is Thrashball, and when Gears of War 3 is coming out. Surprisingly, it was almost always the kids and young teens who knew who I was on sight and ran up to me begging for a picture, that was very cool.
F: Are you planning doing any more in the future?
D: I would like to do more in the future, and I will add different cosplays as time goes on. I’m getting a lot of requests to do Tai for some reason, and I don’t mind cutting my hair into a Mohawk so it might be a possibility! For right now, I currently cosplay as Cole/Carmine, Thrashball Cole Train, Coach from L4D2, an “Agent” from Crackdown and as Thanos in a upcoming fan film
F: What were your biggest challenges while making the Cougars Uniform?
D: Lets see, due to the fact that I have a bucket for a head, finding a helmet that fit was a beast! Next was matching the correct color of blue for the uniform. I asked five different people, and tried four different samples of paint before I found one that I was happy with. When I made the test set, I knew they were too small for my frame so I made a second set. In the end still didn’t fit like I wanted them to, so I made a third set! I just got them finished before I ran out of paint.
There was a ton of sanding, and cutting and sewing that went on no one will ever see because it’s in the little details. With the last mod, I wanted to pull my hair out from working on the six battery powered LED lights to put in the front shoulders of the Cougars uniform. I’m still not sure how well they are going to hold up under the strain of a day of wear, but I’m hoping for the best. It was difficult, but I like a challenge and would do it all again.
F: How long did it take and what materials did you use?
D: On and off it took about three months to finish. I was lucky that I was able to use a stock football helmet and shoulder pads. Outside of that there are bits of fiberglass and resin that I used to give a bit of strength to areas I felt might be beat up a bit more. I modified the Thrashball Cole Train images that were released by Epic Games for the beta in Photoshop to create vector files, and with a friends help, I was able to create the custom decals for the Cougars that I use. There was a ton of spray-paint, sandpaper, masking tape, LEDs, wires and EL panels for the helmet. I had the base for the boot covers custom made by dleather, which I then had to modify for size shape and color.
F: What do you like about Augustus Cole?
D: What I like about Augustus Cole is his intensity, honesty, and loyalty to Baird and the rest of Delta. In the novels, I enjoyed seeing just how much deeper Cole is as a person, and how he deals with his feelings by doing the best he can to make sure that all his squad mates are good to go. I see a lot Cole in myself, so I can see why I gravitated towards him as a Cosplay.
F: How long have you been playing Gears of War
D: I’ve been playing Gears of War since Gears of War 1, and have loved every moment of it.
F: What first attracted you to the Gears of War universe?
D: What first attracted me to the Gears of War Universe was that it was different, it used cover as a primary mechanic, it was third person and it wasn’t afraid to be gritty and in your face about it.
Once I started to play and saw that, not only could you curb stomp a person, but chainsaw them in half with your weapon. I was hooked!
F: Thank you Dale for taking the time to talk with us!
D: No thank you, I look forward to September 20th with you and every other Fearhead out there!
Dale walks us through the whole process on his Facebook page.
We will be sending Dale a Gears of War 3 Beta Tester T-shirt with the Cougars logo. If you’d like to have one for yourself, post in the comments below. We will choose one lucky winner at random Tuesday afternoon!
The Gears of War 3 beta may be over, but it won’t be forgotten. Just take a look at these awesome Gears of War 3 beta tester t-shirts!
Yeah, gorgeous right? But you know what the best part is? We’re giving them away!
How do you get your hands on one of these sweet shirts? Just share your final thoughts about the Gears of War 3 beta in the comments, and be entered for a chance to win one of three t-shirts. And if you don’t win this time, don’t worry — there’s bound to be plenty of opportunities in the future.
So go ahead. Tell us what you think!
UPDATE: The giveaway ends at 9am EST on May 18th! So be sure you’re heard before it’s too late.
UPDATE: WINNERS!
BrendaySaidt
Bryn Hill
Dan Carragher
Congratulations to our winners and be sure to watch out for more chances to win!
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