Post Dragoncon update

Well, Cats and Kittens, Dragoncon has come and gone, and I realized this morning that it's been a month since I last posted. That is unacceptable, I know.

My months of hard work on the steampunk harness was a huge flop. I tried it on at home, and it worked perfectly. Not so when I put it on in Atlanta. It fell all to pieces. It wasn't pretty.

So. A few points:
Hot glue, while wonderful, isn't the end-all be-all that I thought it was. It's magical adhesive powers barely affected the pleather. Once it had enough time to harden completely, it popped right off when even the slightest amount of pressure was applied.

The hat, however, was a huge success. I got a lot of compliments on it. Yay!

Lesson learned. I have a little less than a year to revamp, redesign, rework, and revise my steampunk costume. I think I'll bite the bullet and use real leather (although it's much more expensive, and I'll have to buy more than I can use at one time).

I'm also going to experiment with using metal and soldering.

Costume ideas for next year's Dcon? I'm going to do Mr. Freeze. I've got some prelim sketches worked up and some material ideas floating around in me head. I'm going to see about using EL wire this time. Also, I'm going to work with some kind of fiberglass material to make smooth, hard, shiny surfaces. We'll see how that works out.

That's about it for the update. I'll keep you guys posted on the costuming as it comes along. Y'all have a great day!

Cheers!

No, I'm not dead, just lazy.

I just realized that it's been more than a month since my last post. Wowza! I'm sure you, my loyal readers (all three of you) have been wondering about the crazy shenanigans that have been going on.

Well, wonder no longer!

Dragon-con is now less than a month away,

Aug 30–Sept 2, 2013

....only 23 days

and I've been feverishly working on costuming. And, let me tell you, the steampunk stuff has been a headache.

First off, you remember when I talked about turning funfoam into leather? You remember? You may not remember. Well, that idea didn't work too well. You see, once it sat and was allowed to dry and cure for several days, when I bent the foam, it cracked. Oh, it could've passed for costuming leather, all right, but not with those cracks.

Back to the drawing board.


Secondly, I was making the backpack out of foamcore with ceiling fan blades for the wings. Attaching the wings to the foamcore was a challenge, especially since I want them to be retractable. So, I opted to scrap the foamcore idea and use some left over pieces of laminate flooring that I had lying around in mi madre's shop.

I hotglued some scrap pieces of foamcore to the backs for stability, and the laminate worked pretty well.

I hit up the building supply salvage place here in town and came away with a crap-ton of useful bits and pieces. Some of the more important were these unused ceiling fan blades. The ones I had were just a wee bit too short for my liking, so I got some new ones for next to nothing.

The attaching to the laminate was much easier, as I had since thought long and hard about the problem and arrived at a brilliant solution. I drilled holes in the wings where I wanted the connection to be and hot glued a small piece of PVC pipe into the hole. Then, using my anchor bolts that I scavenged off of my model train table from years ago, I easily attached them. Eureka!

I have already decided on the decorations for the backpack, so I just had to turn the laminate into a box. I had four pieces that were approximately the same size. BOOM! I used two for the front and two for the back. I had some other pieces that were approximately the exact size I needed for the top and bottom. BOOM! With a little sawing and adjustment (so the wings would lay completely vertical) I attached it all together with some angle hardware.

Well, there comes the third problem. The pieces on the top and bottom were just too blasted wide. If I used them as is, it would've made the backpack HUGE. So, in true Sam fashion, I decided to hack and slash. I got out the trusty saw (which is really a piece of junk and is the bane of my existence). After much cussing, fussing, fighting, whittling, and sanding, I got them down to the size I needed. I was happy. The backpack would now be the perfect size.

Then this happened.

So...I'm at a loss. I have just a few more scrap pieces of laminate, but none of them are the right size (too small), and piecing them together would make it awkward given the current dimensions. With little time left and even less money, the winged backpack may have to wait until next year.

Instruments of Doom!

Hey, there, Cats and Kittens!

I thought I'd take a brief minute to talk about tools. Particularly, the tools that I use for my costuming. There are tons of people who all use a ton of different things, but I've found the following to be most beneficial to me.

1)  Coffee

Nothing like a nice, hot pot or two of joe to keep the little gray cells moving. This is number one on the list because it's, perhaps, the most important. If I didn't have coffee to spur the imagination, I'd probably have no imagination at all.

2)  Cutting mat

You can pick one of these up at your local craft store (I did) for somewhere in the range of 10-30 bucks. I didn't get a great big one because I don't need a great big one, but I do suggest you fork over the cash and get one big enough for your needs. It's a pretty penny at the beginning, but it's damn well worth it. Better to spend a little up front than to have the wife kill you for cutting up the kitchen table.

3)  Box cutter

There are many different kinds of razor-sharp blades out there. You can get hobby knives of a hundred different shapes and sized, but I prefer the old standby -- the box cutter. It's got a blade that can be replaced anytime you feel like it. Those blades are readily available at almost any store that sells hardware. Those blades are pretty cheap to replace. If you decide to go this route, I suggest you get something in a smaller, handheld variety (like mine). The bigger ones can be a wee bit cumbersome.

4)  Scissors

Buy a good pair of scissors. Don't go cheap on this one. Cheap, frappy scissor will dull quicker than anything. You want to keep your scissors sharp.This pair, made by Fiskars, is a damn good pair. They're heavy-duty and can be used to cut pretty much anything short of metal. I like it! It also comes with a handy dandy blade sheath with a sharpener. Nice. (Hint:  need to sharpen your scissors? Take a piece of aluminum foil, fold it a few times, then cut it with the scissors. It'll give them a non-permanent quick edge.)

5)  Square

Yeah, I know it's not a square. It's a triangle. But it's called a square. A roofing square to be exact. You can find one at your local hardware store. They come in plastic or aluminum. Choose the one you want. I'm partial to the brightly colored plastic ones (they're easier to find). I've got a small one and a big one. They'll run you from 5-15 bucks, but they work wonders for cutting straight edges. They're perfect for drawing straight lines.

6)  Tape

Tape! This stuff will be your best friend. Packing tape, Scotch tape, duct tape, masking tape...the list goes on and on. You can use it to hold material in place on the cutting mat. It temporarily holds material together. Draw a pattern on a piece of typing paper, slap some packing tape across it (like laminate), cut out the pattern, and you've got yourself a handy dandy template. Tape, it's a wonderful thing.

7)  Yardstick

I know I told you the square was good for straight lines (Did I say that? If not, then I'll say it now. The square is great for straight lines.), but sometimes you just can't beat an old-fashioned yardstick. It's three feet long, so you've got a straight edge that's as long as you probably need. It's roughly an inch or so wide, and I end up using strips this wide in a lot of things. And, if you don't end up needing it for the straight edge, you can pretend it's a sword. That's what I do.

8)  Hot glue gun

I don't think I even need to explain this one. If you don't have a hot glue gun, you need one. You don't have to get a super expensive one, though. You can buy one for around $5. Just get a small one. It's all you need.

9)  Pen and pencil

You'll need something with which to write. I like both a pen and pencil. The pencil is good for drawing lines, and the pen is good for drawing designs (especially fine tipped pens).

10)  Doodle book

This is my doodle book. I keep it in my back pocket at all times and jot down any ideas I have. As you can see, I sketch, plan, write, draw, list, explain, imagine, and otherwise doodle my ideas. If you don't have one, you should think about getting one. It's great.

That's it for my "use all the time" tools. I'll talk about materials in another post.

Y'all have a great night!
Cheers

Transforming Fun Foam

Just a quick post tonight, Cats and Kittens.

I've been experimenting with fun foam lately, and I've discovered something interesting.

Using the homemade primer that I talked about last time, and then spraying it with paint, the fun foam tends to look like metal.

Using Mod Podge (available where craft supplies are sold), the fun foam tends to look like leather.

No pics, unfortunately. I tried, but through my wee little phone camera, the results looked the same.

The morale? 

For leather, use the Mod Podge. For metal, use the homemade primer.

Cheers!

Cosplay Experimentation 101

Hey, there, Cats and Kittens!

The Mundane Drudgery Job released me from its icy, soul-crushing grip today (I'm off), so I thought I'd do a little experimenting.

You see, it's come to my attention that one of the greatest materials for costumes and accessories is fun foam. You can get it almost anywhere that sells craft supplies. It's easy to cut, easy to glue, easy to shape, easy to mold, etc., etc., etc.

I've decided that I need a base material for my arm harness. "I know," I told myself in a Eureka moment, "I'll use fun foam! Eureka!" See? Eureka moment.

Now the only problem with foam, that I've read, is that if you're going to paint it, you need to seal it. The foam is porous, which means it's got holes in it. If you just slapped paint on it, the paint would seep into those little holes and not leave a smooth finish, so the tiny holes have to be sealed up. It's just like working with wood or drywall. You can't just paint a piece of wood or your living room wall; the paint soaks right in. First, you have to use a sealer, a primer it's usually called. So, I'm priming the foam. But, in my researchings across the wilds of the internet, I came across mention that the foam doesn't necessarily need to be primed/sealed. These mentions mentioned that you could just go ahead and paint it. "Hmmm..." thought I. "Which is better?"

Experimentation time!

I whipped up a batch of sealant using regular old school glue, flexible fabric glue, and water. Just mix these up in a little glass in a 1:1:2 ratio. That's one part white glue to one part fabric glue to two parts water. Mix it up in small batches because it really is best to wait until the first coat is completely sealed to paint on another coat.

I took a small scrap piece of foam and put sealant on one end and paint on the other. Not too thick; you don't want to gob it on there. Just some nice thin brush strokes. You'll see some tiny bubbles pop up in the paint and the sealant. Those are okay. You can fill those in with the next coat. And don't worry if you leave some brush strokes behind. Typically, those will smooth themselves out as the paint/sealant settles during drying. If they don't, just cover them up with the next coat. No worries.

Let it dry completely before applying the next coats. This may take some time. Don't use artificial heat to speed things up. the extra heat will cause the foam to stretch and warp which will mess up your lovely little paint/sealant job. Just let it dry naturally. I set mine out on the front patio.

And while it was drying, I washed dishes.

And cleaned the kitchen. And surfed the internet. And mixed up a salad for supper tonight. And waited and waited and waited. After, like, a million days, the first coat was dry, so I slathered on a second. Then a third.

The results are finally in!

After the third layer dried, I put a wee bit of paint on the primed side. The left is the "only paint" side. The right, the "primed" side. It looks like using primer is the way to go. The paint is smoother, it went on easier, and overall, just looks better.

Covering the primed side took less paint, too. Less paint used equals paint lasting longer equals fewer bucks spent for paint. Less money spent is always a good thing.

So, the moral of the story? Prime your foam. You can mix your own primer using the above-mentioned recipe (1 part school glue + 1 part flexible fabric glue + 2 parts water) or you can take the easy route and buy Mod Podge (also available where craft supplies are sold). My next experiment will be using the homemade primer and Mod Podge, but I have a feeling the results will be pretty much identical since they are basically the same thing (watered down glue).

Until next time, Cats and Kittens,

Cheers!

 

 





Frenzy! Thy name is me.

86 days until Dragon*Con 2013.

That's 86 days, 20 hours, and two handsful of minutes until D*Con 2013, and we are in a feverish frenzy over this way. Costumes have been locked in, and we are working to see these ideas come to fruition.

Of course, the main obstacle is cashola, but that's an entirely different post.

Here they are, in no particular order (except for the steampunk, which will be worn Sunday):

G.I. Joe:  We're talking the action figures, not the movie. Because of the beard, it was instantly decided by the group that I would be Shipwreck. I'm sorta okay with that. I mean, honestly, who doesn't want to be a drunken sailor on perpetual shore leave who has an equally drunk parrot on his shoulder?

But, friends, do you have the slightest idea how difficult it is to find U.S. Navy dungarees? Used to be as easy as looking left or right. Now, though, it's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. It's more like looking for an invisible needle in a haystack the size of Rhode Island while wearing a blindfold. I have, however, found some suitable substitutes (I think). We shall see.

What I would rather do is Serpentor. Yeah! Serpentor! Cobra Emperor! I've got some ideas cooking in the little gray cells about making a Serpentor costume. We'll see. I may work on it for next year's con.

Superheroes:  The group has decided, after much deliberation, to focus on anti-heroes. Specifically, methinks, we're going with Marvel anti-heroes. This one is not so nailed down as the other ideas. We've tossed around Mad Men meets DC, Batman villains, Justice Society, DC heroes, genderbending...you name it, we've discussed it. Right now, though, at this moment, it's the anti-hero. The womenfolk are planning on doing the two different Black Widows. That's as far as the planning as gotten. Not sure what the other guys are wanting to do (probably nothing). I was thinking of Moon Knight. I would loooooovvvvve to do Marc Spector. I've got some costume tweeks banging around up here.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Steampunk:  We're going with a completely made-up theme:  "Professor Marvelli's Miraculous Travelling Medicine Show! Amazing! Astounding! Lauded by the Crown Heads of Europe, Asia, and Beyond! See the Amazing Science of Dentistry! We Make Rain! See the Incredible Flying Beauty! Sole Purveyor of Dr Lazarus's Miracle Oil, Blessed by the Pope himself! Feel Better! Tastes Great! Weddings and Funerals Officiated! Wills Written! Sermons Preached! Problems Solved! In Town for One Day Only!" I made a top hat,

and I'm working on a suitable arm harness. I'm going to be The Dentist. Mrs. Maestro is going to the be the flying beauty, The Rainmaker. You know how there used to be people who went around the country claiming they could make rain? No? Pay more attention in history class!

Anyway, I decided to make her a device for flying. First, it was going to be a jetpack kind of thing. Then, it turned into retractable wings using a simple pulley system. Now, though, I have lost my mind. I came up with the great idea to make the retractable wings operate automatically. No more simple pulleys for me! With a flip of a switch, the wings open and close by themselves! Astounding! Awesome! Amazing! Only problem is that I have no stinking idea how to do it. I've been frantically teaching myself about electronics over the past couple of weeks. I think I have the basic concept down, maybe. Possibly. Hopefully. Now to put that concept into action. Action! If you never hear from me again, I've fried myself.

So, we've only got about two months to get these costumes finished. It'll take the last couple of weeks to refit, tweek, and adjust everything to make them just right. Hopefully, I can get stuff built, sewn, and glued together way before then. I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck!

Cheers!