What's Next?

The Destro and Baroness costumes were a hit. The Destro mask didn’t hold up as well as I would have liked, some paint chipping and cracks, but it did the job. Likely going to do some repair work and use it for Halloween.
Lessons learned from this costuming:
TIME. No matter how much you think you have, you need more.
No more leather or vinyl. I must have lost 5 pounds in sweat and I know I ruined two chairs from sweat leaching from me to the fabric.
The whole process of making the costume and wearing the costume is incredibly AWESOME. I can totally see how people get addicted to conventions and costuming.
What’s next?
If anyone ever sees me on XBOX Live, you’ll know I’m somewhat addicted to the game BioShock. It has great game play and a truly original and intriguing story.
There have been many people that have made successful costumes from characters in BioShock, so that’s where I’m going next.
There is a character called the Big Daddy. He is a protector of the Little Sisters. In the first game, the Daddys can be an intimidating and difficult enemy. In the second game and DLC, you play as a Big Daddy and against other Big Daddys. This one class of Big Daddy is called the Alpha Series. The two characters you play, subjects Delta and Sigma, are Alpha Series Big Daddys. My goal is an Alpha Series costume, specifically subject Sigma.
The costume will have multiple components. 4 tanks that are worn on the back (two are re-breather tanks and 2 are life and Adam tanks). Building the tanks may not be too hard, but working out the backpack portion to wear them could be. There is a deep sea dive helmet that the Daddy wears. Building that will be fun. The dive suit shouldn’t be too hard as it is really just a jump suit with some custom armor plating. The Daddy has a couple of choices of weapons. There is the iconic drill arm and in the new Minerva’s Den DLC on the XBOX, there is a new ion laser. The laser is the goal. Also, most BioShock costumes are done with two people, one as the Daddy and one as the Little Sister. In the game the Little Sister rides on the Daddy’s back. I am going to attempt to construct my own Little Sister to ride on my back. Lastly, in the games, the audio and dialog creates a very unique atmosphere. I will be attempting to wire in an audio system of some sort to play audio and dialog from the game as I walk around in the costume. So, if that works, I will have a soundtrack, periodically groan, and the Little Sister will speak. If this works, it will be amazing.
Wish me luck! I have a little less than a year to get this together. My hope is to have a prototype in place for the East Tennessee Adventure Con. I can go to that and do a test run and have time to work out bugs before Dragon*Con.

Dragon*Con - What's Going On

Dragon*Con has finally published their tracks and schedule!!! As always though, with any convention, there is the "can change at any time" disclaimer. Melinda and I have been looking through it, and we may have overbooked ourselves, and it may cost us $100. If it does, oh well, it does.

Each Push Pin is a convention hotel. The little pink bed is our hotel.

The three across the top aren't bad. There is a tunnel and walkway system connecting them. The yellow for the Westin isn't bad since it's right there at our hotel. That stupid light blue pin is the trouble maker.

We've been looking through the schedule and we have some tough decisions to make, and a lot of walking to do.

Thursday - 10AM - 10PM - Preregistration pickup - Sheraton
7:30PM - 10PM - D*C Rennfest/Celtic Extravaganza - Marriott (Celtic Party)



Friday - 10AM - 11AM (all the below are from 10 to 11...too many choices)
45 Years of Jeannie - I Dream of Jeannie Panel - Hyatt
Interview with the Cast of True Blood - Hyatt
V: Aliens Among Us - Interview with the cast of the reboot of V - Marriott
Star Trek - Engage - Opening of the Star Trek Track - Sheraton
Intro to Alternative History and Steampunk 101 - Westin

Friday - 11:30AM - 12:30PM
Star Wars Costuming and Accessorizing - Marriott
What Happened to My Space Program - Panel with NASA - Hilton

Friday - 1PM -2PM
Costuming: From Concept to Working Model - Marriott
Star Trek Costuming - Sheraton

Friday - 2:30PM - 3:30PM
A Hobbits Tale - Conversation with Sean Astin - Hyatt
DS9 - Home of the Prophets - Sheraton
Meet the Stars of Star Wars - Hyatt
Weasley's Wizardry - Hyatt

Friday - 4PM - 5PM
Hydrogen Cars, Wind Farms, Ethanol, and Other Silly Ideas - Hilton
Lost in Space 45 Years - Lost in Space panel - Marriott

Friday - 5:30PM - 6:30PM
30 Years Since the Empire Stuck Back - Marriott
Simon and Kaylee Reunited - Firefly panel - Westin
D*C Opening Ceremony - Hyatt

Friday - 7PM - 8PM
Troi Unplugged - conversation with Mirina Sirtis - Sheraton

Friday 11:30PM - ??
Live Astronomy - Star Gazing with NASA - Hilton
Are you a Death Eater? - Marriott

Saturday 10AM - ??
Dragon*Con Costume Parade Down Peachtree

Saturday 11AM - 12PM
Dreaming of Jeannnie - Marriott
True & A - Q&A with True Blood - Hyatt

Saturday 1PM - 2PM
A Living Doll - Conversation with Kelly LeBrock - Marriott

Saturday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Articulation: Objects in Motion Costuming - Marriott
TNG: Adventures in the 24th Century - Conversation with ST:TNG Cast - Sheraton

Saturday 4PM - 5PM
Firefly Guest Extravaganza - Firefly cast panel - Hyatt

Saturday 5:30PM - 6:30PM
Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow 8th Annual Fundraiser and Bake Sale - Hilton
Question for Q - Conversation with John Delancy - Sheraton
Spotlight on Adam Savage - Hyatt
The Toytastic Generation - 80s toy cartoons - Hyatt

Saturday 7PM - 8PM
Freaks and Geeks in the Potterverse - Marriott

Saturday 7PM - 9:30PM
Guest of Honor and Awards Banquet - we have tickets for this - Hyatt

Saturday 8:30PM - 10PM
Star Trek World Record Attempt - Sheraton

Saturday 10PM - ??
Last Party on Alderaan - Star Wars Party - 10PM - 2AM - Marriott
Dragon*Con After Dark - 10PM - 12AM - Hyatt
Star Trek Party - 10PM - 12AM - Sheraton

Sunday - 9:30AM - 12PM
Iron Artist - Iron Chef, but with Art - Hyatt

Sunday - 10AM - 11AM
Faith and Fantasy - GOD - God's role in SciFi - Marriott
Filling the Gaps - Prop Making - Marriott
V: Visitors Are Our Friends - Hyatt

Sunday 11:30AM - 12:30PM
An Hour with the Tams - Simon and River Tam from Firefly - Westin
Gargoyles: The Animated Series - Panel with the voice actors - Hyatt
What is the President's Plan for Our Space Program - Hilton

Sunday 1PM - 2PM
Avery Brookes Q&A - Sheraton
Sin & Salvation in Bon Temps - True Blood - Marriott
Weasley's Wizardry - Westin

Sunday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Data from Data - Conversation with Brent Spiner - Sheraton

Sunday 4PM - 5PM
DNA Forensic Crime Investigation - Hilton
Futurama Cast Panel - Hyatt
Miss Star Trek Universe - Sheraton
Star Wars Comics and Art - Marriott

Sunday 7PM - 8PM
Race of the Tauntauns - Tauntaun sleeping bag race

Sunday 8:30PM -12:30AM
Yule Ball - Harry Potter Party

Monday 10AM - 12:30PM
Star Trek Cast Closing Ceremony

Monday 1PM - 3:30PM
Dragon*Con Has Talent - Talent Contest - Hyatt

Monday 2:30PM - 3:30PM
Turning the Pictures in Your Head Into a Roof Over it - how to make a living as an artist - Hyatt

Monday 4PM - 5PM
Closing Ceremony - Hyatt

The Mask - Part 4 - Paint

Time to prime all this mess and paint it. I've got less than 10 days now for Dragon*Con.

The primer goes on great. Let each coat dry for an hour and then apply another. 3 in total if I remember correctly. Primed the vinyl as well.

Nothing says "Obey Me" like a head on a pike. I turned this toward the door and asked Melinda to come outside. Scared her to death. I laughed.

Now for the silver paint. I have two kinds and I don't know what the difference is. I use the first kind and get two good coats. Next I take the new paint and hit it with a coat of it. This new paint has some sort of metal flakes in it. It almost feels like glitter paint. But why would Home Depot stock glitter paint without putting a warning on it. I only hit it with one coat of this and wait for Melinda to come home and deliver her opinion.

"Why is it sparkly?" -- Melinda
Ugh...I had turned Destro, the greatest weapons dealer in the world, into a freaking Twilight vampire. I never looked at it in the direct sun, but sure enough, there was glitter everywhere. Gold, silver, blue and purple sparkles all over my mask.

Fortunately, I had more of the first kind of paint, and it covered the sparkle paint very well...after two more coats. Now, with primer, I have 7 coats of paint. Time for two of clear coat and call it done.

At last, I have my mask complete. It is not perfect. I could work on this solid for a year or more and still see things wrong with it. I have no time left for my OCD. It is what it is, and I just hope someone thinks it's cool, because I do.

The lumps in the vinyl smooth out when it gets stretched over my head.

Oh, you might be wondering about now, how am I going to see out of the mask? I wear glasses and there is no room for them under there. Well, while I was building the features with the card stock, I built in a foam form around the eyes. Once everything was done, I took the lenses from an old pair of glasses and inserted them in the foam form just behind the front of the mask. As, Travis put it "you made a prescription mask?" Yup.

The glasses are there.

Modified dog collar for the bottom of the mask. Helps hold the neck in place. Cut off the original buckle and just added more velcro.

The Mask Part 3 - The Back Half

Remember earlier on I mentioned I made a big mistake with the mask that I wouldn't find out about until much later? Well it's much later now. I have a front piece 90% done, but it's useless until I can get the back done. I treat the back just like the front. Using tape and cardstock to build up the surface, then treating with resin. So far so good.

Then I try to join the front and back. Not good. I need this to be easy and quick to do, and I am not seeing any way to do that. There is a huge gap between the front and back. I try to make a cardstock filler, but I just can't work out how to join them. I've got the front holding onto my head with three velcro straps (left to right and one from the top to middle). I thought about adding velcro to the inside of the back and just letting velcro work its magic. But there is still the gap, and I have less than 20 days now.

Eventually, I decided to scrap the back from the original mask. It wasn't working. It wasn't comfortable. It wasn't going to be easy to attach. Instead, I sat down and sewed together a new back from some of the vinyl I have left from my other pieces.

I essentially made half a baseball cap and then ran two strips down from it that velcro at the tops and down the middle. It's not seamless like it should be. It's not as elegant as I would like, but I am out of time and worst yet, out of ideas. I did test to see if the vinyl would take paint and it did like a champ (I mean it's plastic, it should). I joined this piece to the front with Gorilla brand duct tape and of course this now introduce more seams and that stupid tape texture that you can't hide. CRAP!

I could use more resin over the tape. That would cover it in plastic and hide most everything, but that resin has some strong fumes that really linger. So, I did something I knew I shouldn't and switched mediums. I went with a patching flexible sealant putty typically used for countertops. It dried fast and was low odor, but new and I didn't know how to work with it. It dried rough in some parts. It didn't sand well at all, meaning it didn't sand at all. It did do the trick though and it hid most of the seams just like I wanted.

It's not perfect. It's not that close to what I had originally envisioned back in February, but it's what I've got.

The Mask - Part 2

Now I have this big lump of tinfoil, duct tape, and fiberglass resin. What to do now? Well, I guess I need to see and breath. Eye holes cut. Nose cut out and reformed. Oddly enough, it now looks like a wrestling mask. Crap.

I used this image of a bust that a short lived company made of Destro as my source. I then took what I had learned from PaperCrafting, and folder card stock over the mask, using it as a form, and the card stock to build up the features. The lips for the mask were a challenge. How do you make cardstock roll smoothly. You don't. Instead I took a piece of cotton rope I had for a dog leash, cut it to length and taped it in place. Instant lips. It worked pretty well. I used electrical tape to secure the cardstock, which may not have been the best idea. When I later tried to cover the card stock and tape with resin, it didn't seem to want to adhere to the electrical tape. Either they don't like each other, or my mix of resin was not right. Either way it did eventually get several coats of resin. I don't have any pictures of the resin part, because it is messy and I didn't want to accidentally screw up my camera.

After the resin had dried, I noticed there were still some rough areas that needed attention. I could keep trying to smooth it out, or bring in my dear old friend Mr. Bondo. Some bondo and sanding and its looking pretty good.

This is when I start to run out of time. I still need to fix the back, join the two halves, and paint. About now, there are maybe 20 or so days until Dragon*Con. This going to be rough.

Costume Repair Kit

According to everything I have read, you should take a costume repair kit with you to conventions. Makes sense, especially if you are flying to one. Only thing is though, costume repair kits were never intended for redneck geek costumes. For example, I can't take paint and fiberglass resin with me and use it in the hotel. Well, I guess I could, but I may want to go back to that hotel one day.
So, now I have to build the redneck geek costume repair kit. So far the kit contains:
A small sewing kit (needles, threads, etc)
5 different kinds of tape (scotch, duct, painters, electrical, chrome)
Safety pins
2 kinds of glue (Instant Crazy Glue, Elmers)
Silver touch up paint and brush
Sharpies (black, red, silver)
Zip ties (large and small)
2 sided sticky velcro
Roll velcro
Replacement decals
Cutting tools (scissors, exacto, razor knife)
Velcro zip ties

Hopefully all this can get us through the weekend. I would ideally like to include a dremel tool and attachments. Along with fiberglass and spray paint, but again, I think the hotel may frown on that. Not sure though, I may have to ask.

The Mask

The mask...the mask...that #*%*&#() mask. What in the world was I thinking about trying to make a full head mask by myself. I've never done anything like this before. This is totally new territory.

I thought about casting one in latex. Make a plaster mold of my head then poor a latex mask from that. Couple of problems. This is expensive. This is dangerous. And latex ALWAYS looks like latex. A rubber mask is a rubber mask. This is supposed to be made of metal not rubber. So that is out.

I thought about making one out of aluminum. I did cast aluminum in college so I have some experience with that. Still though, it would require a mold of my head in a substance that could be burned away by the molten aluminum. Maybe next year.

I found a full mask of Destro for sell on eBay and have seen other people with them. This could work, until I saw the price. $250. For just the mask. Nope. Going to have to make one myself. Somehow.

Now when I was making the papercraft guns, I learned a lot about how to mold with paper and use fiberglass resin to "freeze" it and basically turn it to plastic. So, that would work. Plastic is hard and can look like metal when painted right. Unfortunately, there are no papercraft patterns for making a full head mask. But I didn't give up.

I did find a way to make a full head mask yourself. I don't want to say where I found this technique, but even gimps can have a good idea from time to time.

To make the mask:
Step 1 - have someone wrap your head in aluminum foil. Foil is a good substance for this. It's flexible, but will hold shape well. This lets features like eyes, nose, ears and mouth to be marked, but doesn't provide a perfect mold.

Step 2 - have the same person that wrapped you head in foil now wrap your foil wrapped head in duct tape. This is the real trick to it. This will basically freeze the foil wrap in place and give the whole mask a little more substance. Note: Be sure the person tears the strips of duct tape BEFORE putting the tape on your head. That tearing sound is loud.

The Straws are so I can breathe.

Step 3 - cut the mask off your head. Either with one cut up the back or a cut up each side. This is where I made a mistake that took me months to find.

Step 4 - take the removed mask and use fiberglass resin on the inside. You'll do the outside too, but later. This coat on the inside is simply for strength. Best to do it early too so the fumes will have time to fade before you have to wear it.

The remaining steps involve creating the features on the front of the mask. Applying the resin to the front. Fixing the back half in my case and then reattaching the two halves. How bad could this be?