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here's the damage: I'm pretty sure I picked up the missing piece, but it's not pictured here.  Here you can see the cracks in this piece. There's the obvious one, and then above it a little bit there's what looks like a scratch, but is actually a crack.    This last one is the one undamaged pieces, shown to illustrate the curve of the pieces and sort-of the way the aluminum bent at the knee joints.
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May 3, 2015 03:24
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n0tqu1tesane posted:Have you looked into using Kydex instead? No, on the grounds that no one had mentioned it to me. How does it compare to Sintra? Part of the constructions involves t-nuts that bite into the Sintra to lock them in place. Would the Kydex behave similarly?
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May 4, 2015 13:59
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So, I finally got around to looking up kydex, and am I right in seeing that this stuff is really really loving expensive, compared to sintra? I needed 6mm sintra, which is slightly smaller than .250, and 6mm sintra is ~$15/sheet for a 12x24 whereas kydex is at least $110 no matter where I go for the same size sheet. At this point, I'm wondering if I could get away with just having, say, some bands of sintra/sheet metal/whatever rigid material between the bolts on the supports and just tacking on some foam padding I have and calling it a day. I could theoretically buy a single sheet of sintra or sheet aluminum, cut some bands of the right length, mold to shape, and then use those in place and it'd be cheaper than having solid pieces.
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May 5, 2015 02:36
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Unibrow posted:How rigid does the material need to be? Would you consider a thick piece of stiff leather? I'm not sure if it needs to be rigid at all. I assume it needs to be rigid enough to keep the supports lined up on the sides of my leg, so that the knee joint can bend properly, etc., but other than that, I don't think it needs to be very rigid at all, just strong enough to hold me up.
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May 6, 2015 13:48
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I almost feel that saying your work is awesome is kind of unnecessary, because all your work is awesome. I'm terribad at sculpting anything. I'll agonize over every little detail for hours/days, and it'll still come out looking like a 5th grader made it in art class. Speaking of completed projects, my stilts are motherfucking DONE. I only posted about them back in February. After enduring through all but two pieces of sintra breaking in that fall(do never buy sintra. that stuff is utter poo poo against compression shocks), I was able to rig a bunch of nylon strapping to use in its place. I sewed until my eyes crossed, and the end product is strong enough to hold my weight but also strap tight enough to clamp the supports to the sides of my legs, making them immobile, which is great. I'll get some pictures of me walking in them tomorrow. For my next step, I have to design some folding forearm crutch/stilts that also incorporate some large mechanical hands. I have the idea of how I want the crutch/stilt part to go, but I need to get some idea for materials for the hands. Can anyone recommend me a material that is relatively light, bend/flex resistant, able to be sanded/cut easily, and most importantly, cheap? I know acrylic is definitely out due to price, but something similar in properties to that would probably work great.
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May 25, 2015 03:38
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thespaceinvader posted:At risk of sounding facetious, wood satisfies those conditions pretty well... I need the individual pieces that will make up the fingers to be too thin for most woods to work well. One bit of pressure to a side and it would snap. My plan is to build a skeleton of finger "bones" that will be a slightly slimmer version of what you see here, then secure PVC tubing over the bones to round out the finger segments, and cover the whole thing with a fabric glove that'll be the skin. everythingWasBees posted:How large do you need the pieces to be? Because a lot of plastic supply stores have plenty of acrylic scrap that they sell for dirt cheap. I'm actually not 100% sure. I'll probably go with 3mm sintra for the frame piece that the fingers will be mounted to, so that leaves each finger segment. I've gotta get some posterboard and experiment, but I'd imagine that the longest bone segments should be maybe 3-4 inches long or so.
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May 26, 2015 02:26
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Funhilde posted:What about 3D printing? I found a few websites that did special orders for good prices. I was planning on asking the local makerspace about possibly whipping up some pieces for relatively cheap this week, yeah. The only problem there is that I have no 3D modeling software to give them, so I'd have to have them help me do that, which is more a bump than a hurdle, I guess.
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May 26, 2015 04:09
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I'm trying to figure out what would be creepier for a mask. Imagine a big, 4 legged, non-human thing. Definitely alien or other-worldly, with dark colors, wispy, flowy sorts of patches coming off of it that kind of hide its exact form in a breeze, with a face that's blank white, with muted features that lack detail, and big empty, black eyes. What would be more unnerving, seeing it have a face like this, or like combination of this and this, minus the details?
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Jun 2, 2015 17:20
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Baron Snow posted:Something like the DC Comics Court of Owls mask? While that had come up in my googling, I don't feel like it's deep enough in the Uncanny Valley. There's also the fact that that's a Batman thing, and I don't want people to make that connection, since this is something I'm coming up with on my own. Maybe if the beak were more prominent or something, I could use it as a base. Patattack posted:Perhaps take some inspiration from the Shy Guy, with a less cartoonish twist? That's sort of what I'm going for, yeah. Something that's recognizable as a face, but is dead and soulless, and thus creepy. I like the barn owl mask that I posted, because those fuckers look pretty creepy as-is. Getting a mask that has the shape of their face, but is muted and lacks detail pushes it way further into creepy territory, which is a good thing. Too bad the person who made the owl mask I posted about apparently only does limited runs of certain masks, and may not even remake any before I need this one. I need to find an alternative place to get a similar one in the next couple of months.
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Jun 2, 2015 22:00
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The Repo Man posted:Could you maybe post some kind of concept of what you are going for? Is it something like this? In fact, that very video is my inspiration for the thing I'm making.  These guys were the first to make that sort of costume and make it Youtube famous, as far as I've ever been able to tell. They took inspiration from the landstriders from The Dark Crystal, and from No Face from Spirited Away. Obviously, I'm taking my own artistic direction on my version. I was originally going to do the blank theater masks like they did, and I still will if other options are too hard to get, but I would like to explore those other options as much as possible. Part of the big problem is finding something that's creepy to as many people as possible. For some, it's the theater mask, or button face, or the cracked doll faces. That human-but-not-human face sends chills down their spines. For others, seeing that it's something wholly inhuman does it, which is where masks like that barn owl mask I posted come in. For yet others, like yourself, not seeing a face at all does it best, because of the fear of the unknown. There's a number of directions to go, and trying to find a common point is difficult at best. EDIT: Another thing that makes it difficult is becoming desensitized to the various creepy things you're looking for, thus making it even harder to find something good. neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Jun 4, 2015 |
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Jun 4, 2015 13:54
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I'm actually not sure if a fully face-covering mask would be preferable to a smaller one or not. One thing I want to be able to do is walk on 4 legs and two. The stilts I built will facilitate that, but I can't just toss a mask on my head and call it a day without it getting really awkward when I go from walking on 4 legs to 2. To solve that, I'm going to build a rig that will attach to a helmet that I'll wear. The rig will allow the mask to sit on a pivot about a foot above my head, which will be counter-weighted to keep the mask facing forward as I go from basically looking down to looking forward. This means the mask can be literally anything, with no concern for visibility, which is nice. It'll also give me a blank background to work with, so I don't need to worry about my face. If anyone needs me to, I can draw a lovely MSPaint of how I'm building this when I get home later tonight.
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Jun 4, 2015 21:49
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Does anyone have any good sources for inexpensive cloth? I'm at the stage in my project where I need to begin thinking about skinning it with fabric. I'm looking for any black fabric that has a smooth, mate finish, and isn't see-through when stretched slightly. It wouldn't need to stretch too much, just where my elbows, knees, etc. are. I also need a ton of cheesecloth or similar fabric that I can dye various shades of gray-brown and hot glue onto the black fabric skin I'm going to have.
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Jul 19, 2015 01:34
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I have some gloves I'm building that I want to have that sort of "lava-flowing-through-cracks" kinda look. Sort of a red pulse that you can see move from the elbows toward the finger tips. Does anyone have any recommendations for a setup that would be relatively cheap and low-profile?
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Sep 12, 2015 02:47
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TwystNeko posted:They do make EL wire that has a flowing effect. Like so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3moYbyQs-g Ooh, I'm actually using a couple of Ardunos in this particular project. Do you happen to have any specific examples you could link?
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Sep 12, 2015 16:33
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CzarChasm posted:That looks cool and I really like the shield. I actually agree. The line above the eyes looks like eyebrows to me. I'd fill it in and paint over it. As for the cheeks, I could see it going either way.
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Oct 17, 2015 17:09
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Inzombiac posted:Looks neat, good job! Have you considered trying to find someone to 3d print at least a shell of the gun? Shouldn't run that much for the plastic. Try hitting up the local makerspace if there is one, or checking around Craigslist or something.
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Mar 22, 2016 13:31
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Inzombiac posted:That's a great idea except that I don't have a jigsaw or plane. gently caress, I really ought to, though. Dude, don't you know? The very first thing anyone does with their first 3D printer is print the parts to build a second one.
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Mar 22, 2016 21:16
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Hey, maybe you guys can help me out. I've got a project I'm working on that involves a pair of gloves that need to be very articulated and dexterous, but also look armored, especially in the palms. How would you guys go about designing plates of whatever that could be fastened to the palm of a glove to make it look armored, but still allow the palm and fingers to move naturally?
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Mar 24, 2016 23:11
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Patattack posted:Someone on the RPF made these very nice-looking armored hands just by gluing Worbla to some plain black gloves. Huh. Something like that might work perfectly. thanks!
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Mar 25, 2016 13:33
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Tamir Lenk posted:Thanks for the info. Still fleshing out the wiring and layout of my lights/smoke show. I like this simple approach, but suspect that the tiny e-cigarette component would need frequent oil/battery changes that might annoy me. If my own setup fails during testing (still waiting on some components), I may double back to this instead. Get a bigger/longer lasting vape setup. Attach the air pump close to the rig and bring the long tube from the other end to your wrist. I agree that that setup is very neat, but it probably won't last long if you want to use it semi-frequently. A bigger rig can be hidden elsewhere as long as you can run a tube to where you need it to go.
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Jun 7, 2016 18:29
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Tamir Lenk posted:That's pretty close to where I am going with this. My tank, however, has a different intake, and I am using a squirrel blower instead of an air pump (because the vapor has to travel through about 3-4' of tube from tank to wrists. The tank in question uses a sub-ohm coil - which supposedly will produce big thick clouds, but also makes the voltage calculations trickier, as it needs low volts but significant amperage. So I'm playing around with manifolds and wiring to get the power and airflow right. Will definitely keep updating ITT, especially if it fukken works . Please do. I've been thinking of doing a large Grim Reaper sort of costume, but the second most major effect, trailing fog/smoke everywhere I go, had eluded me over the years. This is exactly what I need to pick it up again.
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Jun 8, 2016 21:26
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HardDisk posted:Man, everything there looks loving amazing and I'd put it all way past beginner level prop-maker... If you think that's weird, you haven't seen anime before.
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Aug 26, 2016 15:12
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What do you guys know about articulated wings? I'm making some for a laugh, and because I haven't made them before. I'm using this video as my primary tutorial, and making the "bones" of the wings out of cheap, disposable wood slats that look like they're for repairing trellises. I'll replace or reinforce them later. Right now, I'm trying to decide the best way to control the wings. The costume I want to use them on will have my hands and arms confined, so pulling a cord or having the frame of the wing attached to my upper arm is out. I'm hesitant about using pneumatics both because of their cost and because of the noise produced when you release the pressure in the cylinder and let the wings down. If I could find a way to muffle the loud "PSSSSHHHH" when the pressure comes off, I might suck it up and spring for that. Until then, I'm wondering how else I can get the wings to move. Maybe some sort of tension spring system? EDIT: Actually, I probably should start thinking about reinforcement. These slat things will likely break the first time I try to gently flap them. What would you guys recommend? Expense is the biggest factor here. I could possibly just buy another bundle of slats and double them up. Or should I try for, say, some old broom handles or something? neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 02:34 on Aug 31, 2016 |
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Aug 31, 2016 02:01
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Rodenthar Drothman posted:Look for Crooked Feather (maybe has a "the" in front) on Facebook and I think youtube. I'd provide links but I'm in a rush. They have a lot of videos that, if they're not flat-out tutorials, will give you a good look at their wings (i believe she does that for a living) Oh, so that's that girl. She was on Outrageous Acts of Science a few weeks back for her wings. She uses pneumatics for her wings. Ah, here's the clip. Sounds a bit off though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzKk4XwEHnc
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Aug 31, 2016 16:44
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Rodenthar Drothman posted:Pretty sure you can rig something up that isn't pneumatic with a similar design, though. Got any ideas? I'm totally open to hearing them. I'm still putting together the frame work, so I've not yet had the chance to try things out.
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Aug 31, 2016 20:55
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Ashcans posted:Not that there is anything wrong with that idea - I have seen people do a ring-pull version of the wings, although often with the cords at the back rather than the front. I think the real issue is that neogeo didn't want a cord version either: I would likely need a minder, yeah. I'm planning on using the wing frame as a catch-all sort of thing I could use whenever I need them, but I always plan for the the toughest use-case, which would be if I ever wanted, say, bat-like wings on a 4 legged stilt walker costume. I figure that, in that case, I may be able to flap the wings by moving my shoulders back and forth, but my hands and arms would have long sticks/similar strapped to them, and my hands would likely be covered.
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Aug 31, 2016 23:04
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Rodenthar Drothman posted:You'd likely need different builds for the different needs. The basic, untested idea, was that you'd be walking on all fours, so the wings would naturally lie almost flat against your back. Most articulated wings have them connected to a panel or frame of some type so that they're hinged right around where the shoulder meets the arm. Since the idea would be to flap up instead of down, you instead connect the wings to a central hinge that runs along the spine. Next, starting a few inches out, but not as far out as your arms, connect hinged solid piece of something, and strap to the upper arms, right under the armpit. From the front, the mechanism would look like a stretched M. Pushing the shoulders together would push the two outermost levers together, raising the wings above your back. That's all a moot point now though, as we've decided on something that'll have me standing up all night as it is. I'll be using tension springs and braided steel rope to open and close the wings. My next question is about the feathers themselves. Ideally, I'd like to follow Alexis Noriega's fake feather tutorial, but I don't have $40 to spare on a bucket of industrial adhesive. Instead, I'm trying to cheap out and find other ways of making flat black feathers that will look ok enough for a halloween costume. I'm seeing tutorials on how to make feathers from paper, but I'm also wondering if there's something cheaper than the giant gently caress off bucket of loctite I'd have to get if I were to go that route. Anyone got any ideas or recommendations?
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Sep 2, 2016 23:38
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thespaceinvader posted:That's a good tutorial but she desperately needs an editor holy crap half an hour long. Yeah, her freakin' bird is the most annoying thing holy poo poo. Her other tutorial videos are all the same, to. It's like she has to take it to whatever room she's in. I'll try some basic Elmer's glue and see how that works out. I don't need the feathers to be perfect at all, just stiff enough that they don't go all wobbly, and that the fabric I use stays black. Looking at the tutorial video, I think she decided to use that Loctite brand stuff because the glue is more of a paste than a liquid. Are there any other inexpensive glues that are more like that? If not, is there a way to thicken the standard Elmer's stuff so it doesn't run all over the place? EDIT: Gonna try 1 part each glue, flour, and cornstarch per some googling and see how it works out. I'll post back my experiences with it later. neogeo0823 fucked around with this message at 16:05 on Sep 3, 2016 |
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Sep 3, 2016 15:50
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So the test went well. I think I could've made the glue a bit thinner, honestly. I bought a tiny little 1.25 oz bottle of Elmer's Glue-All and mixed the whole thing with 1 tbsp each of flour and cornstarch. The result was a sort of very thick cake batter consistency that spread on very easily, but was kind of too thick. It didn't bleed through the material at all, which was good. I ran out of test glue too quickly, so I didn't get very consistent coverage, but I was able to make a pabble sized test piece, which is just about the perfect thickness and stiffness. Here's some lovely pictures of the results:  I got impatient and tried to blow dry the test fabric. Big mistake. The wrinkles won't come out.  Good news though is that it's lightweight, pliable, but stiff enough to hold its own weight. And the wire quill looks decent. So, Joann Fabrics has their big sale today. The fabric I need is 50% off. And I can get a whole gallon of glue at Lowes for cheap. Time to start on the giant feathers.
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Sep 4, 2016 15:27
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Skandranon posted:Maybe you could frame it as "I'll purchase it, use it for the show, and then DONATE IT to a worthy cause". Now you're the good guy!  Or, find a broken one, fix it up, trick it out to your standards, lighten it a bit, and then donate it after the show. A guy I know found an old Rascal that was headed for the dump, picked it up, tricked it out with a comfy chair and a remote control, and used it as a ride for a friend of his who couldn't walk for a Halloween thing, then ended up just giving it to him afterward. Sadly, I don't have any pictures, but was pretty cool.
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Sep 8, 2016 17:48
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Inzombiac posted:Holy crap sticks. Man, go whole hog and show up like this. But for real, Joanne Fabrics will have fake fur and the right material if you wanna sew yourself a cloak.
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Sep 12, 2016 18:09
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Does anyone have a good resource for very cheap, large, black feathers? I found www.moonlightfeather.com, and it seems decently cheap for the bulk packs, but I don't actually know, considering I've never looked before, really.
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Sep 12, 2016 22:11
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Inzombiac posted:Okay, I have a pretty good idea for a druid staff. Depending on the sticks, you might be able to find them at Joanne Fabrics, AC Moore, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby. You can also find cheap spools of floral crafting wire in the same sections as the sticks. It's very thin and green and made to blend in with plants much more easily than fishing line will.
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Sep 14, 2016 04:54
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Does anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or tutorials for a raven or crow themed cane? Either something like a crow skull on the top of the cane, or maybe a crow's foot gripping a glass orb with something neat in it? The local Spirit has these two canes that are kind of what I'm looking for, but I'm looking to trim costs wherever I can, so if I can make one cheaper, I'd like to do so.
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Sep 18, 2016 19:25
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Does anyone have a resource for a simple pattern for a leather hood? I'm trying to make one to fit with a plague doctor mask I'm making, so the open area where your face would normally be needs to be decently closed off. If the hood could extend down to around the shoulder area, that'd be fine, but it's not a huge deal.
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Oct 5, 2016 01:13
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What's the easiest way to make an approximation of my head? I'm trying to make a relatively close-fitting hood, and it'd be a lot easier to do if I had something that was roughly the size and shape of my head to work on instead of myself.
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Oct 11, 2016 17:54
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foxatee posted:I know this question must've been asked before, but: How the hell do I keep my daughter's Pikachu ears standing up straight? These fuckers keep flopping over. Are they just too heavy? I've got pipe cleaner and poly-fil up in there. They are attached to hair clips since she hates headbands. What the heck are they made of? Go for something thicker than pipe cleaners? Go to Lowes, in the hardware section, near the stuff for hanging pictures, you'll find thick crafting wire in spools. It's like 9 to 14 guage. Buy the thickest wire you can stuff into the ears without having it be seen. measure out the length of the ear plus a few inches. insert wire into ear, and bend at a 90 degree angle where it exits the ear. Clip ear into your daughter's hair, then clip the bent end of the wire into her hair with another clip. curve for comfort if needed, and be sure to hide the wire under some hair so it's less visible.
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Oct 13, 2016 23:55
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What would you guys recommend for a sort of super stretchy elastic material? I'm making a set of articulated wings, and I'm looking for something to stretch like a webbing on the inside of the elbow joint that'll help to keep the wings from opening slightly when closed and stop the fabric from bunching up and jamming things. The issue is how much it needs to stretch. It needs to go from 3 inches out to a foot and back, and needs to still have some pull at that 3 inch mark.
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Oct 15, 2016 00:37
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What do you guys recommend for dealing with foggy lenses? I've got this mask I'm working on. I attached a piece of fabric to cover the mouth, and some lenses in the eyes, and they fog up like a bitch because my breath is basically directed straight up to them. I've heard of anti-fogging solutions, but I'm not sure how well they work or if they're worth the price. Should I be looking to vent my breath in another direction, get the anti-fog solution, or be looking for some other thing I haven't thought of yet? I'll take any ideas you guys can give me.
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Oct 21, 2016 00:55
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McPantserton posted:Woo, my silly hammer is ready for grunge! That looks pretty  Hey, do you have that photo of you in the WH40K armor with the cigar in your mouth? One of my supervisors is a huge 40K nerd and I was telling him about your armor cosplay, and it didn't feel right showing him your work without that photo included. Unless I missed it, it wasn't in your post history.
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Jan 13, 2017 00:59
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