August update (-77ish)
I'm really bad about updating this, I know. I figured since it's been about a month, I should probably update whomever still reads this with what is going on with us.
We're in the middle of a bedroom remodel. Actually, it's not the middle anymore. It's almost done. Yay! It's been really stressful, and these guys constantly interrupt me, so I can't get anything done. I'm trying to get some costume stuff done here& there, but it's slow.
Jisha came by a few weeks ago with my Hikaru sword. It's looking good. We didn't get it ready for paint, though, and that was a little disappointing. I also didn't get as far on my armor as I would have liked, since I wanted his help for mass-casting armor.
I decided to make positives out of expanding foam and bondo, then make a mold out of fiberglass. Unfortunately, the duct tape body double didn't turn out all that well, so the positives were a little off. There was no way to know by how much until I at least finished the molds& could hold them up to my body, so I had to continue to work on them. I usually just make a positive, and that's it. I'll sculpt it out, cover it in fiberglass, then finish it with some bondo, and that's that! I thought that since we needed 3 sets, it would be nice to be able to make a mold and mass-produce them, de-stressing the girls about the armor parts.
It took me two days to make the molds because it's too damned hot out. Temperatures during the day out on the deck are in triple digits, and I workout in the mornings, so outdoor prop work is only happening in the evenings right now.
The chest mold turned out pretty good! The edges aren't perfect, but it looks like the piece fits. It may be a little big. I'll need to actually use the mold to make a chestplate to know for certain.
The back positive didn't want to release from the mold, and I'm still bummed about that. I had to destroy the positive to get it out of the mold, and I was really trying to avoid that. The mold looks like it turned out ok, but not as well as the chest mold. It's probably because it didn't want to release :/ I probably tucked the fiberglass too close when I tried to get it to lay against the edges. I think my mistake was using a big piece of sheeting for the mold, and not a lot of little pieces. I may have had better luck with the fiberglass matting. I don't know! It's not a huge deal, though, because I think I can clean the mold out and use it.
I'm working on a contingency plan, though, since the rear plate seems to fit really poorly. I blame the bad foam blowout. It's warped all wacky around one side, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the back plate will be completely unusable.
If that's the case, though, I suppose the back piece could be made out of a matching fabric, and you'd get a much better, tighter, and more comfortable fit with the front plate that way. I need to talk to the girls about it.
I also still need to make a positive for the shoulder armor. You think I would have done that when I was making all the other positives, but I forgot to buy balloons at the store XD For shoulder armor, I always paper mache over a balloon and use that as my base. I've also hear that you can buy cheap plastic bowls from Wal-Mart and use those as bases, too. At any rate, the shoulder piece is going to require a more delicate touch, and I won't be able to hack away at it with an electric turkey carver. So.. I was kind of putting it off. I need to get to work on it soon, though, because I'd really like to be able to mail that piece with the chest plates as well.
It's been ages since I last made any sort of fiberglass armor, so it's been a huge learning/ re-learning experience. Like last night, when my fiberglass resin started getting REALLY hot and I realized WAY TOO LATE that I used WAY TOO MUCH hardener. lol. XD
While stinky chemicals set, I managed to re-paint my Arshtat waist cincher. By re-paint, I mean completely paint the new one I remade :/ Anyway, it could probably use a second coat, since white just doesn't go on well, but it's otherwise essentially finished. I still need to take like 6 inches in on the skirt, adjust the brown strappy things, and fix the sun flare on the crown. After that, Arshtat is wearable.
I need to take in Natalia, which shouldn't be too hard. I'm basically taking in a 6 panel tunic, shortening the shoulder straps... ( A LOT) and taking in the boot covers. The boot covers are going to be tricky, though, since they are glued down to the shoes. Really well. -..- I may have to do some hand-stitching to get a flattering fit on those.. We'll see. As long as the thighs come in by at least 2 inches, they should look better than they do now.
The other project that has to be done by AnimeFest is fixing up Kefka. Even if I get all that done by Afest, though, I only have one week between then and NDK, so I really need to try to finish Arche and make Kyoko if I'm going to get everything done that I wanted. That means I need to get my ass in gear, since I essentially have a month to do all of this. I'm a little stressed out. I'll probably end up dumping Kyoko for now, even though it makes me sad. I have the wig and everything!
Speaking of wigs.... -..-
My Hikaru wig & extensions have been on backorder all year. They are on the restock list for late July/ August, and I'm really not sure I'm going to have a Hikaru wig. That's a little stressful too. I could probably find some garishly bright red thing at a ghetto hair store at the last minute, but I really don't want to spend money on another wig when I've already ordered the wig& extensions from Arda. I kept it down to only two packs of extensions, but with the wig it's all still expensive! I think I'd probably be more stressed out about the wig situation if I wasn't so far behind on everything else.
I'll try to remember to update this thing some more eventually. I'm still posting a lot on my diet support group, so it's taking blog time away from LJ. And, well, LJ is dead :P
We're in the middle of a bedroom remodel. Actually, it's not the middle anymore. It's almost done. Yay! It's been really stressful, and these guys constantly interrupt me, so I can't get anything done. I'm trying to get some costume stuff done here& there, but it's slow.
Jisha came by a few weeks ago with my Hikaru sword. It's looking good. We didn't get it ready for paint, though, and that was a little disappointing. I also didn't get as far on my armor as I would have liked, since I wanted his help for mass-casting armor.
I decided to make positives out of expanding foam and bondo, then make a mold out of fiberglass. Unfortunately, the duct tape body double didn't turn out all that well, so the positives were a little off. There was no way to know by how much until I at least finished the molds& could hold them up to my body, so I had to continue to work on them. I usually just make a positive, and that's it. I'll sculpt it out, cover it in fiberglass, then finish it with some bondo, and that's that! I thought that since we needed 3 sets, it would be nice to be able to make a mold and mass-produce them, de-stressing the girls about the armor parts.
It took me two days to make the molds because it's too damned hot out. Temperatures during the day out on the deck are in triple digits, and I workout in the mornings, so outdoor prop work is only happening in the evenings right now.
The chest mold turned out pretty good! The edges aren't perfect, but it looks like the piece fits. It may be a little big. I'll need to actually use the mold to make a chestplate to know for certain.
The back positive didn't want to release from the mold, and I'm still bummed about that. I had to destroy the positive to get it out of the mold, and I was really trying to avoid that. The mold looks like it turned out ok, but not as well as the chest mold. It's probably because it didn't want to release :/ I probably tucked the fiberglass too close when I tried to get it to lay against the edges. I think my mistake was using a big piece of sheeting for the mold, and not a lot of little pieces. I may have had better luck with the fiberglass matting. I don't know! It's not a huge deal, though, because I think I can clean the mold out and use it.
I'm working on a contingency plan, though, since the rear plate seems to fit really poorly. I blame the bad foam blowout. It's warped all wacky around one side, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the back plate will be completely unusable.
If that's the case, though, I suppose the back piece could be made out of a matching fabric, and you'd get a much better, tighter, and more comfortable fit with the front plate that way. I need to talk to the girls about it.
I also still need to make a positive for the shoulder armor. You think I would have done that when I was making all the other positives, but I forgot to buy balloons at the store XD For shoulder armor, I always paper mache over a balloon and use that as my base. I've also hear that you can buy cheap plastic bowls from Wal-Mart and use those as bases, too. At any rate, the shoulder piece is going to require a more delicate touch, and I won't be able to hack away at it with an electric turkey carver. So.. I was kind of putting it off. I need to get to work on it soon, though, because I'd really like to be able to mail that piece with the chest plates as well.
It's been ages since I last made any sort of fiberglass armor, so it's been a huge learning/ re-learning experience. Like last night, when my fiberglass resin started getting REALLY hot and I realized WAY TOO LATE that I used WAY TOO MUCH hardener. lol. XD
While stinky chemicals set, I managed to re-paint my Arshtat waist cincher. By re-paint, I mean completely paint the new one I remade :/ Anyway, it could probably use a second coat, since white just doesn't go on well, but it's otherwise essentially finished. I still need to take like 6 inches in on the skirt, adjust the brown strappy things, and fix the sun flare on the crown. After that, Arshtat is wearable.
I need to take in Natalia, which shouldn't be too hard. I'm basically taking in a 6 panel tunic, shortening the shoulder straps... ( A LOT) and taking in the boot covers. The boot covers are going to be tricky, though, since they are glued down to the shoes. Really well. -..- I may have to do some hand-stitching to get a flattering fit on those.. We'll see. As long as the thighs come in by at least 2 inches, they should look better than they do now.
The other project that has to be done by AnimeFest is fixing up Kefka. Even if I get all that done by Afest, though, I only have one week between then and NDK, so I really need to try to finish Arche and make Kyoko if I'm going to get everything done that I wanted. That means I need to get my ass in gear, since I essentially have a month to do all of this. I'm a little stressed out. I'll probably end up dumping Kyoko for now, even though it makes me sad. I have the wig and everything!
Speaking of wigs.... -..-
My Hikaru wig & extensions have been on backorder all year. They are on the restock list for late July/ August, and I'm really not sure I'm going to have a Hikaru wig. That's a little stressful too. I could probably find some garishly bright red thing at a ghetto hair store at the last minute, but I really don't want to spend money on another wig when I've already ordered the wig& extensions from Arda. I kept it down to only two packs of extensions, but with the wig it's all still expensive! I think I'd probably be more stressed out about the wig situation if I wasn't so far behind on everything else.
I'll try to remember to update this thing some more eventually. I'm still posting a lot on my diet support group, so it's taking blog time away from LJ. And, well, LJ is dead :P