Author Topic: Wampa Challenge Accepted  (Read 6151 times)

Offline nukem25rs

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #30 on: November 18, 2018, 03:50:17 PM »
This is how you drill steel!
Aluminum is Def easier and lighter!

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Mike Kraemer
TK/AR-71508
Centurion 285
Whitearmor.net user- NUKEM25RS
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Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #31 on: November 18, 2018, 04:20:15 PM »
Yeah, I though about renting one. Made more sense to lighten the load in the long run.
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline nukem25rs

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #32 on: November 18, 2018, 04:24:15 PM »
That one is a table top one at Harbor frieght.. Bought mine used (same one) and I've used it tons for at least 8 years! 65 bucks!
The feet look awesome Btw.. That Def gives then more build!

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Mike Kraemer
TK/AR-71508
Centurion 285
Whitearmor.net user- NUKEM25RS
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ARC Trooper Havoc
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Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #33 on: November 21, 2018, 11:15:09 AM »
Still puttering away at improvements and making this costume more wearable. I made some elastic suspenders and attached them to the newly trimmed down "pants." I got rid of the extra material so that I should only have a slight overlap when all suited up again.


20181119_155123 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I made some aluminum hoops that I'm hoping to attach to the inside of the thigh area to bulk them out. Looks pretty good but since I was all by myself, and wearing stilts, a selfie just wasn't in the cards. I may do one more set of hoops a little lower down the thigh so that they have form to the top and the bottom. I am hoping that a few stitches to hold these in place won't be noticed and will be easily covered underneath the layers of fur. Shouldn't be a problem. I'll get that done after the holiday and hope to have a fully suited up picture again.

Next, I added some fans to the mask, just above my eyes and pointed down to blow air down my whole face.

20181121_105100 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I then mounted the battery back on the back of my head/helmet. It is attached via Velcro and then covered with the flap of fur. It hides pretty well up there and since it is about 7'10" off the ground, I am confident that the extra head bulk will not be noticed.

20181121_105111 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Oh, glory be!!! Oxygen!!!

20181121_104503 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

So, the last few things I want to do before I troop:

1. Cut some of the extra overlap fur off the arms and drill some holes in the arm PVC so that it will reduce the weight and hopefully add a little airflow in there.
2. Extra hoops for the thighs and ensure they are sewn in and not going to move anywhere. This will also eliminate the need for the mesh pants that I had made earlier with the plastic corset boning, which just isn't strong enough given the weight of the fur layer.
3. Maybe alter the facial expression a little using fur to give him an angrier brow... I dunno… I also may do some facial fur styling to even out the areas where the fur was cut and looks like it was cut. Want that to look wild and untamed. You know, like how I usually look. LOL
4. Weather it all.

I think that is about all I want to do for now. I'm sure I'll come up with some more stuff but that's a good list for now.
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #34 on: November 27, 2018, 04:51:53 PM »
So, I added the aluminum hoops to my upper thigh/hip area and now the pants will have more definition and it makes me much bulkier. Then, I started messing with the face. I added some more fur around the eyes to make him look angrier. Here is the new face:

20181127_113018 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I still may add a few more jagged teeth but I like how the eyes are less open and he doesn't look quite so surprised!

Then, I bought a Christmas sweater!

20181127_113242 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I started working on lightening the load a bit in the arms. I cut off some of the extra fur:

20181127_133900 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And then drilled out some large holes to make them lighter and hopefully help with airflow once all the layers are on:

20181127_141630 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_142208 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I started the weathering. For this part, I brewed some tea and watered it down slightly and then went at all the parts with a squirt bottle:

20181127_143714 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

The lighting, while wet, makes a real difference:

20181127_144356 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_144620 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_145241 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_163535 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_163541 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181127_163600 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Going to let all this dry overnight and see how much color stuck. The hope is to get a nice, dirty look with areas where it is a bit darker. May take a few more passes with the squirt bottle before I'm happy but I also need this all to dry out before Sunday's troop!
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #35 on: December 02, 2018, 04:28:03 PM »
Took it out on his first troop today. Went pretty well. Cannot say enough positive things about having a spotter, especially when wearing stilts. Hearts of gold, every one of them.

This troop was at Fred Meyer for Salvation Army bell ringing. I thought it would be a good first try troop as it was indoors, level floors, and there was a changing room. The changing room worked well and I am definitely slow when walking in my stilts. I learned a few important lessons.

First, I need to trim the fur down on the inside of the feet as I kept stepping on it and that constitutes a tripping hazard. I'll need to trim it down or else it can become a problem in the future.

Second, there is a very slight transition to the cart area at FM and it is only a rise of about a half an inch, but that was enough for me to get a stilt on it awkwardly and almost fall over at the very beginning. My absolute nightmare in this costume is to fall as there is no way that I can catch myself. Luckily, I flailed around for a bit and was able to regain my balance. Spotter or no, if I fell forward, she likely wouldn't have been able to catch me and then we have 2 injuries.

Third, the costume is hot. All costumes are hot, so that is not a surprise. I wore sweat pants and a light long sleeve underneath as I wanted to absorb some sweat, but I may need something that is more specifically designed for cooling.

Fourth, my fans did very little to help. My right eye fogged up immediately and never cleared. My left eye stayed clear. May attempt to adjust the fans around to see if that can help.

And, lastly, the hands and arms worked. They are heavy and holding on to the bar worked but once it gets sweaty, they get a bit slippery. May try to create some kind of strapping system to hold them in place when my arms are at rest. That may just be too much work. Gloves may be a cheaper and more effective solution.

BUT, all complaining aside, it was an amazing troop and a lot of things went right. The kids, big and small, smiled and really seemed amazed at the costume. I got a lot of really kind and heartwarming comments and there were many more people that recognized a wampa than I thought there may be. So, yes, there are a few things I need to tweak, but what costume doesn't have that after the first 5-10 troops? Overall, it was a really great experience and I'm looking forward to wearing it again!

Here are a few pics of the troop:

received_735286836839430 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Blizzard Force!!!

received_2276594539243468 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline nukem25rs

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #36 on: December 02, 2018, 04:52:01 PM »
Love it man! Maybe a strap that attaches near the hand grab bar and goes up and clips above your elbow.. Maybe with a tensioner so you can have someone pull the strap tight one the arm is on place... Then tuck it in? And rubber grip tape for the handle?

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Mike Kraemer
TK/AR-71508
Centurion 285
Whitearmor.net user- NUKEM25RS
R2-Q5  Astromech.net user Nukem25rs
ARC Trooper Havoc
501stClonetroopers.com User Nukem25rs

Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #37 on: December 02, 2018, 05:15:32 PM »
Love it man! Maybe a strap that attaches near the hand grab bar and goes up and clips above your elbow.. Maybe with a tensioner so you can have someone pull the strap tight one the arm is on place... Then tuck it in? And rubber grip tape for the handle?

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Yes, that's great. Make two please!  :lol:
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline CadBane3

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #38 on: December 06, 2018, 02:13:52 PM »
Being weird, having too much time on my hands, and hating to not have a project, I also decided that my bin needed decoration. Anybody can roll up with a plain old bin, I need to show up like a rock star, or something like that. I was envisioning something that the imperials may transport a Wampa in. You know, like a Wampa containment unit. So, with a little inspiration, I went at it.

So, I started with my plain old bin and painted it white, cause you know, Blizzard Force and snow and all that:

20181203_181115 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I hand painted some ice blue colors to give it contrast:

20181205_113540 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

The paint on the bin didn't adhere very well so I used that to my advantage and scraped off the letters I wanted so that it still has a little white in it and looks like it's a bit frosty:

20181205_130330 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181205_151443 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Except this part, which I painted but I didn't want to do too much up here because that is where my stilts are attached when I'm rolling it, so anything will probably get scraped off.

20181205_151433 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I'll need to come up with some cool stickers to run my troop tracker. My TK bin has TK helmets, my Biker Scout bin has Ewoks, and my Boba Fett will have Han in Carbonite.

It still looked plain so I took this Wampa skull image from the merch section of Blizzard Force and enlarged it to create a stencil.

20181206_123452 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Then, I started carving:

20181206_130449 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

About an hour or two later, I have:

20181206_134749 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

And here is a close up:

20181206_134804 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

Hit it with a little matte sealer to try to keep the main white colors from scraping off so easily and now we have a nice little bin that clearly announce who is rolling up!

20181206_135400 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

20181206_135410 by Michael Halstead, on Flickr

I may go back at some point and add some "Do not open" warnings or perhaps some warning tape. I don't know. It's good enough for now.
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Mike
TK/TB/BH/DS/DZ-42125

Offline Rat

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Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #39 on: December 14, 2018, 06:40:28 AM »
I've given you the congrats but still have to say this costume is just stupid awesome.

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Offline Dax Corrin

Re: Wampa Challenge Accepted
« Reply #40 on: January 11, 2019, 09:06:01 AM »
SO cool, and the containment unit caps it off.
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TI/IC/IG/IN-12485 Dax Corrin
Founder, NorthWest Quadrant Battery

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