Re: Costuming
Scott Swoboda (giganto@arkansas.net)
Wed, 28 Apr 1999 16:04:35 -0500
Hank Wong wrote:
>
> On Wed, 28 Apr 1999, Jacob Trenta wrote:
>
> > >I'm wanting to make a Yang costume, can you help out, give
> > >>recommendations on what to buy and where, and how to make the signias
> > >>and such?
> > >
> > The gold pentastar thing would be good, we were planning on heading to an
> > Army surplus to start with, but have no idea how we're going to do all the
> > little pins and patches.
The only thing I think you'll find is the belt and belt buckle, and the
Air Force button-down shirt with epillets (dictionary missing..those
things on your shoulder that button down next to the collar. I almost
got one at a uniform shop in Dallas, but they wouldn't sell it to me
unless I was a bus driver. I'll go to California for LoGH, but I'm not
driving a bus in south Dallas. I'm still looking for one in my size.).
The "Green Berets" that you can get at the surplus shops have black
piping and a drawstring at their base, and look nothing like the ones on
LoGH. I got my beret after visiting practically every mall in Dallas,
and ended up in the J Crew discount table.
I bought a few patches at Project A-Kon 3 years ago. I can try to scan
them in and e-mail. I may have to do some digital spell correcting for
the "Free Planets Star Freet". They are embroidered just like they
would be for real. If you take the files to a big copy place with color
printers, they should be able to make an Iron On that you could put on
some canvas and sew on. It would probably turn out nicer than the hand
embriodered patch I had made.
If someone could host it on their web site, I can write complete
instructions for constructing the costume and provide scans of chara
sheets (since the Roman Album is hard to find now), scans of scale
accessories, and scans of the patchs plus photos of the completed
costume.
I can make the pins for you, it's real easy after the master and mold is
constructed. I need to remake my stuff anyway, since the gold paint has
kinda faded and transferred a bit onto the cloth costume. I have some
gold foil that should prevent this in the future, and worked out pretty
well on my Captain Tylor dress uniform.
> Use a Chrysler symbol for the pentastar :P
That's what I used.
For Real.
When I constructed my costume in '94, I left the sewing to the costume
shop while I worked on the accessories. It was about this time that
Ricardo "Khan" Montalbahn was advertising Chrysler's "Crystal Key
Protection Plan." While most of the Chrysler logos had the "spokes",
they crystal key was faceted without the thick spokes. I went to the
big Chrysler dealership and repair shop, and went to the parts
department. The burly, grease-stained clerk was a bit befuddled when I
asked for a part with a Chrysler logo at least 1/2" wide. When he
couldn't recall anything short of an engine block, I asked for a crystal
key. He just gave it to me out of his parts stocks. I guess it was
less paperwork than trying to figure out a way to sell a key without
cutting it.
I laid the key on a plastic plate and covered it with 2 part silicone
RTV. After it curred, I pulled the key out and had a perfect pentastar
mold. That's what the clerk called the shape, but I suppose it's a
Daimler-Chrysler trademark now; it sounds cool anyway. I could fill the
mold to different heights to get different sized stars for the
costume...you need three sizes in all for the full fleet commander
uniform.
I've developed a technique to make multiple simple castings like this
out of a Silly Putty mold, but that's another story.
> > PS - I saw mention of Dallas fan cons earlier, any of you costumers going
> > to A-Kon this year? It's pretty much the only con I make it out to.
>
I'll probably wear Yang again...offstage. You get a chance to mingle
with the costumers outside the auditorium. I find it more pleasureable
than squinting and straining to hear from the back of the room or
watching TV in an overflow room.
