Cutting back due to finances...

[Luananeko]

All, due to some bills that have been coming up combined with the fact it costs over $200 to order each batch of body paints (for 4-5 paintings, meaning $40-$50 for paint per troop, not counting removers/alcohol wipes), I'm going to be cutting back on trooping for a while... I have enough paints for 1, maybe 2 more paintings. Until mid August at the earliest, that's going to have to be it for me.

I'll still spot the events I can't go as Aayla for, but I need to start saving up to finish a bodysuit for Aayla and/or a costume that doesn't cost me good chunks of money and 2 hours of painting/prep every time I put it on. Current plan is to look into making a Ceremonial Leia outfit (since we have plenty of regular Leias and I don't have the body or guts to do a slave Leia, which we already have several of already too) as a nice and relatively inexpensive (compared to other costumes on my wishlist: Bo-Katan, Shadow Guard, etc) costume that wouldn't take too long to put together. So if anyone sees for sale threads for Ceremonial Leia costume parts, please feel free to toss them my way Thanks!

[Volund Starfire]

Katie can help you do the sewing and we know of a couple great places (read: not to expensive) for materials.

[Mosi]

You should just put together a generic Jedi or an Imp crewman... you can do them on the cheap and you don't have to worry about paint.

[Luananeko]

Jason - Thanks, was actually talking to Katie about it yesterday in fact

Mark - I'm really not a fan of either of those costumes... If I'm going to spend money on a costume I want it to be something I like wearing. Otherwise I may as well just go as a spotter.

[Daverian]

always need more spotters!

[Terrys]

Anyway to cut down on the amount of paint? Thin it out or maybe a partial bodysuit for the midsection and some gloves. That alone would cut your paint in half...maybe more if you can thin it a bit or adjustment on the nozzle or air pressure. Just thinkin out loud. Hate to not see that stellar costume out there.

Sometimes I find if I kick my pressure down and thin it, I save a lot of paint. Cosmetic tanks usually are not adjustable. Kind of like mashing the gas pedal. I have an adjustable air tank and artsy air gun with a bunch of different nozzles. It can push any kind of paint. Used it for Ackbar. If in Eugene anytime, we could try mine out and see if it saves you any $$. Wouldn't take long to find that economy mix.

Hope you find a good solution either way.

[Luananeko]

I know, I hate not being able to constantly wear Aayla too since the hard work usually pays off in the reactions it gets from crowds... The kids and parents really seem to love the colors and are fascinated by the paint not rubbing off on them

I'm working on getting a body suit, but with the crafting work I've been helping Ron with I just haven't had the time, energy, nor extra funds to work through my current stumbling block (found a body suit that fits great, but has been near impossible to get to accept any dyes or paints in a non-streaky/blochy manner).

Cutting back on paint is great and I'd love help on tweaking our setup, but even an ounce of the paints I use is between $10.60 to $13.50 depending on the size batch I get. That's fine for special or long events, but it's just not economical for everyday trooping, even ignoring the 2 hour painting time combined with the 1 hour clean-off time. I haven't found any thinners so far that don't affect the durability/evenness of the coat when the paint is applied... So the only way to cut back on paint that I've found is to just be better at using the airbrush

[Terrys]

No problem. Whenever you want to look at this, I would be more than happy to see if we can find something more economical and time saving on the application process.

I keep thinking small things like gloves will help a lot too. You probably shoot $5 of paint into the air just doing them alone.

[Luananeko]

Yeah, easily... Hands are the hardest ones to get coated evenly and to get to stay, not to mention it makes driving a pain. A glove on the side where I have the sleeve would work, but it's a little harder on the bare arm side since there's no place to hide where the glove switches to bodypaint...

I'll look you up when we're down in Eugene next

[stevo502]

Hopefully there's a solution out there to get you back trooping soon, like you said your character is always a big hit.

But I definitely don't blame you for cutting back, at $50 a pop on top of gas, I'd definitely be cutting back on troops myself. That adds up FAST. That's a thousand bucks for 20 troops, which is not an unreasonable number for a year. That's almost another costume.

-steve

[Blue Leader]

I'm sorry to hear about that. That really sucks, but I do understand, that's expensive having to buy the paint all the time. It's a shame that I never got to see the costume in person, though.

Among the options you're looking into, have you though of a skin suit? It may work. It's a full-body suit, covering the feet, legs, hands, arms... everything. It's one idea, anyway. Though you'd probably want to remove the head, or at least cut out the face, and use body paint on that area instead. But even so, that would save quite a bit of paint.
Here's what I'm talking about. There's different colors, including white which could probably be dyed.
http://www.spirithalloween.com/product/light-blue-skin-suit-adult-costume1/

There's a Halloween store in Beaverton that's open year-round, and just last weekend I saw some of these for sale there, if you want to look at them first. I don't remember what colors they had, but I'm sure they could special order them.

[Ilovesanddirt]

All, due to some bills that have been coming up combined with the fact it costs over $200 to order each batch of body paints (for 4-5 paintings, meaning $40-$50 for paint per troop, not counting removers/alcohol wipes), I'm going to be cutting back on trooping for a while... I have enough paints for 1, maybe 2 more paintings. Until mid August at the earliest, that's going to have to be it for me.

I'll still spot the events I can't go as Aayla for, but I need to start saving up to finish a bodysuit for Aayla and/or a costume that doesn't cost me good chunks of money and 2 hours of painting/prep every time I put it on. Current plan is to look into making a Ceremonial Leia outfit (since we have plenty of regular Leias and I don't have the body or guts to do a slave Leia, which we already have several of already too) as a nice and relatively inexpensive (compared to other costumes on my wishlist: Bo-Katan, Shadow Guard, etc) costume that wouldn't take too long to put together. So if anyone sees for sale threads for Ceremonial Leia costume parts, please feel free to toss them my way Thanks!

Just get a full body tattoo of the blue!  It's expensive at first, but you will NEVER have to do it again!   

[Blue Leader]

Just get a full body tattoo of the blue!  It's expensive at first, but you will NEVER have to do it again! 

Or eat a stick of prototype three-course dinner gum, one with blueberry pie for the "dessert".
'Course, it'll turn you blue, but then you've also got the whole swelling up like a blueberry part...