The theme for Kit's 30th was 80s characters. Game/tv/movies/whatever. I couldn't think of what to go as for the longest time, but then while reading an entry on Kevin Apgar's blog I had an epiphany - Classic 80s Space Guy!! He's been my avatar for years, so I just *had* to do it!!
I did a bit of hunting around the internet for ideas, and in the end decided to mostly copy this one. The major difference being I didn't start with a balloon. I really should have to get a nice smooth dome, but I was worried I wouldn't be able to get it big enough without it bursting in my face while inflating. So I made a cardboard frame instead. This worked ok, except the weight of the wet paper and glue weighed it down, so I had to sit it on a bowl on top of some containers, but that raised the top of the dome too high, so it's really not quite the right shape. And it's pretty wonky. But hey, it had the desired effect, and Kit loved it.
At this point I was really just getting the size and shape right. I had to make sure it would fit around my head! I just started with paper, then added cardboard.
Adding a bit of strength to the frame. Stapling was very effective and much tougher than gluing or using sticky tape.
Testing to make sure it would sit right and the face opening was about the right size
This is the helmet after the first layer of papier mache. For each layer I was using about 1/3-1/2 a cup of flour, about the same amount of water (possibly a little bit extra water), and maybe half to a full teaspoon of salt to help prevent mould. You can see the weight of the wet newspaper sagging into the holes.
This is after about five coats done over several days.
Once fully dry, I covered it in duct tape (got a nice blue roll from Officeworks for $8.68). You can see the bubble wrap I put in around the top of the helmet to let it sit in the right position on my head (and it made it quite stable and comfortable as well).
The finished helmet
For the tanks I got a couple of softdrink bottles and wrapped some cardboard around them to make them actually cylindrical, with some newspaper shoved in the gap between the cardboard and the bottles at the top. I added some extra cardboard around the spouts of the bottles to give them the "top" or joiny bit of the tanks. Then covered the whole lot in duct tape. I wasn't sure how to attach them to the outfit. In the end I just stuck on some string to go over my head. But it was very heavy, so added another loop of string to hook onto my belt to hold it in position and not strangle me. A "backpack" setup might have worked better but I was worried they'd sit too low on my back.
For the logo I found a good quality png online, printed it out and glued it to some cardboard for strength. I used sticky tape to attach it, but sadly this wasn't really strong enough and at point the thing fell off and got trampled on. So if I want to wear the costume again I'll have to print out another one.
For my clothes I simply wore my jeans and my royal blue jumper. I found some gloves in Dollar Pop for $3.50 which worked well, but made it impossible to use my phone!
Here's me in the finished outfit!
kapgar
That is so beyond awesome.
Sylvia Johnson
I laughed out loud at your comment about the balloon blowing up in your face. You certainly went to a lot of trouble, but the effect was spectacular. Well done!