If the head remained, it would actually protrude from the top of the headcrab in its in-game position. I couldn't scale the zombie based on my height, as the zombie model has a 'squashed' head. Pepakura designer is one of the simplest ways to resize models due to the inclusion of a tool that allows you to measure the distance between two vertices. After grabbing a model of the HL2 normal zombie, I used Noesis (A model browser / viewer to convert the zombie into a file that could be read by Pepakura Designer. The template I used for the headcrab can be downloaded via this link.īefore beginning construction of the Headcrab, I decided to check the default scaling of the template to see how well it compared with the in-game model.

I settled on cross between a couple of designs, using the ribcage of the regular zombie with the clothing of the scientist zombie from Black mesa. To save time and for ease of getting around, I forwent the prosthetic hands, but may implement a future system using gloves. While not all models have exposed ribcages, one common trait among them is the elongated fingers, or 'claws'. The clothing has the greatest degree of variation between each design, and depending on which model you choose, you may end up spending more on the clothing (i.e., Zombine body armour) but saving time in other areas (Zombines would not need prosthetic ribs or organs making). One great benefit of the headcrabs as a costume is that they remove the need to apply any zombie themed face paint or prosthetics. The headcrab part of the costume is by far the most challenging, as matching the shape and colour of the headcrabs is tricky without either spending a lot of time generating a real world model from templates, or by sculpting them from scratch. Most of the Half-Life zombies can be broken down into 3 build sectors from a costume perspective:

Half life 2 pepakura files