Halloween 2017
*flop*
Well, that was good. Was pressed for time getting suited up after a meeting ran long, but hey, it still worked out. Walked a few blocks downtown after work to see a lot of people out with their kids there.
On the up side, the suit's wearable. The quality is good enough to turn some heads and win the office costume contest (not that there was high turnout there, but still). It's recognizably Mandalorian to those who know such things, and close enough to get a Boba Fett comment from those less into the fandom. Nothing fell apart. Getting sprinkled on wasn't a big deal. I definitely call that a success.
Drawbacks? Well, it's a bit confining, limiting some range of movement. If I'm giving it another lengthy/serious wear, I definitely want to make some better vambraces. These were just thrown together with EVA foam, shaped, painted, and velcro'd pretty quickly and don't have any fancy features. And it doesn't take much to fog up the visor - not sure what to do about that.
I'm pleased. I also think I might have suffered heat stroke if I'd worn it at Comic Con.
Well, that was good. Was pressed for time getting suited up after a meeting ran long, but hey, it still worked out. Walked a few blocks downtown after work to see a lot of people out with their kids there.
On the up side, the suit's wearable. The quality is good enough to turn some heads and win the office costume contest (not that there was high turnout there, but still). It's recognizably Mandalorian to those who know such things, and close enough to get a Boba Fett comment from those less into the fandom. Nothing fell apart. Getting sprinkled on wasn't a big deal. I definitely call that a success.
Drawbacks? Well, it's a bit confining, limiting some range of movement. If I'm giving it another lengthy/serious wear, I definitely want to make some better vambraces. These were just thrown together with EVA foam, shaped, painted, and velcro'd pretty quickly and don't have any fancy features. And it doesn't take much to fog up the visor - not sure what to do about that.
I'm pleased. I also think I might have suffered heat stroke if I'd worn it at Comic Con.
In re: fogging lenses, there are a variety of things to spray or rub onto the the lens to help prevent fogging up from what I have read. Some suggested a paintball supplier or underwater diving equipment? The mask Wade made for me has a little fan gotten off the back of a cheap, third party X-Box cooling device. I imagine a small computer fan for the processor could work, if you had the room for it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm aware of most of that in a general sense. I'm kind of skeptical of coatings, though they might help. Seems like more a ventilation issue. Space is limited, but I do have a couple deliberate holes in the design, including the "keyholes" in the back. I think my "ideal" route would be to mount a small fan back there that draws in air and blows to the side to circulate air around within the helmet. I haven't mocked that up in any way to be sure it's workable, but the theory seems sound.
DeleteOn the other hand, I'm more than a little tempted to see about purchasing a molded plastic helmet rather than putting more time into this hard hat/sintra/foam/bondo one. Making the helmet from "scratch" was an experience much like building a computer from components - good experience, I'm glad I did it, but possibly more trouble than it's worth. ;)
Aside from helmet mods, I also put some serious consideration into some sort of cooling vest back when I was pondering patterns and finding materials. I still like the idea, but I couldn't find anything that seemed like a reasonable fit without being obnoxiously expensive. Would be kinda neat to integrate a jetpack/backpack that internally housed a radiator system for a liquid-cooled vest or the like. Just like it would be cool to put functional electronics into bracers.
That's a whole 'nother level of commitment, though, that I don't think I could embark on without some serious community support that seems unlikely.