Tron Legacy Costume

SithsPadawan said:
well its been so long since i posted a pic of anykind
so i figured i should let you know what im all up to
SDC11758.jpg
SDC11803.jpg

if the pictures work you may have figured out im doing Castor ^^
well, kinda. I dont have the time to do the pants just yet so im doing Eckerts pants and hair from ElecTRONica. but the coat and cane are all Castor

i used EL for my disk as a temporary solution till i can get Souls
but i made the cane all my own. infact ill be selling them and i can make the cane glow in any color, even change colors ^^
Click to expand...

Castor was one of my favorite characters from tron legacy, can't wait to see this finished!
 
DigitalBabylon said:
Hey man (or woman), I know how you feel and can empathize. Hopefully, what I have to say will give you a few ideas and help with the costume.

I wanted to make a replica Tron costume as well, but I have never worked with EL Tape before. I've been working with electronics for years, and that has taught me to at least plan small and work up from there. So, instead of going full out, I'm just going to add a few pieces of EL Tape to some very choice articles of clothing (a black vest, a fedora hat, and possibly shoes). I will also try to add pics and some details on how I did it as I progress.

It's not the whole setup, but it's a start to learn how to work with the material and will be a pretty slick costume style (my own version of Castor). Maybe something like that would be a good compromise for you? Also, nice thing about this is that they could be worn to just random parties or out at a club sometime. Maybe find something like a hoodie or jacket to use one strip of EL tape? It'd give you that Tron look, and it would be a lot more do-able especially since Halloween is creeping closer.

I'm also going to have a Castor-esque cane, but I've already got that complete since I made a Luxeon LED style lightsaber long ago that still works. I must say though, much respect to SithsPadawan for his Castor cane. If I didn't already have a fit for one and wasn't on a tight as hell budget, I would buy one of those. So damn classy!
Click to expand...

For the record, I'm a man! haha! And actually, thank you SO MUCH for the tip! You really helped me decide what to do! I think I am going to buy two strips of el tape that I will line from each side of my jacket from, over my shoulders, and down the back. That way, I am not doing any cutting or soldering, but I will get the light I want. For the rest of the glow, I will use reflective tape! Then, maybe actually getting a chance to play with the el tape, I'll become more comfortable with the el tape and order more to replace the reflective tape for later events down the road! WOW! I feel so much better! This now seems possible! Thank you so much!
 
Another question for you amazing Tron costume makers out there. Where can I buy or what can I use for an identity disk mount? Link? Also, are those earth magnets the best way to go or are there other similar simple solutions? Links? Thanks!
 
JDiz said:
Another question for you amazing Tron costume makers out there. Where can I buy or what can I use for an identity disk mount? Link?
Click to expand...
There some discussion elsewhere in this (long) thread about the type of gizmo you can get from Home Depot that's just the right size to serve as a disc mount. Others have used plastic bowls and such, if memory serves.
 
thanks @Annisse for sharing the link! Lots of information for me to read and so nice to know I'm not alone in the TRON fan world! Now I just need lots on money and free time! The things I want to make :)
 
tim said:
Well, started looking in earnest for a good base jacket today. I went with a $30 pleather bomber jacket from Burlington Coat Factory, but comparing it to production photos, it's not close enough for my taste. Guess I'll trawl the racks at Burlington (and the nearby Salvation Army) tomorrow!
Click to expand...
Well, I checked a different Burlington location and found the below. It's pleather (PVC), not perforated, but has, I think the right general look and feel to the Young Flynn jacket. Plus, it was only $35, so I won't feel bad messing with it. The no-name brand is "Point Zero."

tron_jacket.JPG


I was planning to use Velcro strips applied to the jacket and EL tape. Will I have any trouble getting the Velcro's adhesive side to stick to the PVC? I'll probably use a few hand stitches here and there to tack down the Velcro once in place.
 
Great find tim! I actually saw that jacket when I went to Burlington, but it was way too big for me. I was pissed cause it would have worked well.

I picked up some sheets of neoprene today and am gonna see about making a suit. Not very confident. Wish I knew how to sew. Would make this a ton easier
 
thecountofzero said:
Great find tim! I actually saw that jacket when I went to Burlington, but it was way too big for me. I was pissed cause it would have worked well.

I picked up some sheets of neoprene today and am gonna see about making a suit. Not very confident. Wish I knew how to sew. Would make this a ton easier
Click to expand...
Cut out pieces and glue or velcro it to a black compression top. Or any black top. No sewing required
 
JDiz said:
For the record, I'm a man! haha! And actually, thank you SO MUCH for the tip! You really helped me decide what to do! I think I am going to buy two strips of el tape that I will line from each side of my jacket from, over my shoulders, and down the back. That way, I am not doing any cutting or soldering, but I will get the light I want. For the rest of the glow, I will use reflective tape! Then, maybe actually getting a chance to play with the el tape, I'll become more comfortable with the el tape and order more to replace the reflective tape for later events down the road! WOW! I feel so much better! This now seems possible! Thank you so much!
Click to expand...

Hey man, glad I could help. I'm not too sure about the disk setup, but there are a ton of references on this thread. If you do an advanced search for it, you'll probably get a good amount of hits and info about it.

Also, I got my EL Tape from Funhouse, and I'm very pleased with the initial try out just to make sure everything works. I'll give a run down, then I'll post some pics of it.

I got two different drivers, the Fish Driver+1, the peacock driver, and two strips of the 1m aqua Cool Neon ribbon. I also got one of the 12v 8AA battery holders (as suggested by the web site). I'm not trying to promote in any way, but the stuff works very well right out of the box.

I first used the 9v connections with the Fish driver and it lit up quite brightly. There is a bit of buzzing noise accompanied, but that can probably be dampened with the right stuff. I then used the 12v attachment, and it lit up pretty brilliantly.

The peacock driver was dimmer, but still pretty nice. Granted, it is powering a whole 1m ribbon (not meant for that length), and I am certain once I cut it down the driver will work great. The 12v attachment didn't make much difference here.

All in all, I am very satisfied with this setup. The ribbon has no fade in the center and it is about 13/16" in illuminated width. Just about right for a Tron-style replica.

Here's some basic pics (since I'm lazy and don't want to fill the page with pics, here's a link for my photobucket page):

Pictures by DigitalBabylon - Photobucket

Next step will be to start working on adding an EL Ribbon to my Fedora, and adding an actuator switch.

Also, couple of quick notes. One, the dark picks don't capture the brightness well, except when using the 12v with the fish driver. However, they are quite a bit brighter than they appear in the dark pics. Two, be cautious when working with the drivers. If you have power attached, and the metal prongs from the driver are not plugged into the EL Ribbon connector, then the potential for a nice little zap is there.
 
Last edited:
[/QUOTE] be cautious when working with the drivers. If you have power attached, and the metal prongs from the driver are not plugged into the EL Ribbon connector, then the potential for a nice little zap is there.[/QUOTE]

Hi all

Just wanted to add to digitalbabylon's good advice...:thumbsup

It's not just the shock to an unwary costumer, it's actually quite bad for the inverter as well to be on, but unplugged from the EL wire/tape. They need the EL to draw the current or it will burn itself out. I wrecked one when I was experimenting with a piece of tape because I kept unplugging it when it was switched on.:cry
 
Hello everyone! I'm kinda on the late start for making my Quorra costume, but I actually dressed up as the blonde who dresses Sam in the beginning... (profile pic) Anyways, I have a few ideas for the base suit, but I've still got a little bit of confusion on the EF Strips/Tape/Wire... I found some for $22/1meter on the EL site, but I'm not sure how it works. Do yall basically tape the EL to the suit, and then there's a wire going back to a battery? Can you cut the tape/does that disturb the current? Sorry for all the questions but I'm new to the electronic tape :/ Any info about it/and tips will be greatly appreciated! :)
 
my LED tutorial-

Start with a vinyl base cut out roughly like the shape your going to light up. It's best if you have a template or pattern to follow for each piece (I used poster board)

I then placed red masking tape on the vinyl (I liked the effect of it on the finished product. This product says masking tape, but it is more of a plastic tape than the feel of normal masking tape. I liked it a lot for this project.
- Amazon.com: Intertape 4379 Poly Masking Tape 2-Inches x 60 Yards: Home Improvement

then i taped the LED lights to the perimeter of the pattern that i had placed on top of the piece of tape/vinyl. the LED strip can be cut every third LED. and there are a + and - are on each connector for easy soldering. I solder everything to speaker wire that will all go to at least 1 battery pack.

I then used the diffusion method (with one more twist) that was on page 42-43? of this thread. (Credit to Eddy!)

My twist was that I also put the red masking tape on top of the shower curtain that was used. in the picture it still looks very white but in person it has a very red glow to it

I taped down the top layer shower curtain/masking tape with duct tape. I then defined the lines with black electrical tape. I did notice that it is much more efficient to have the entire section lit up while using the electrical tape. so you know where the hot spots are and can cover them up!!

Please if you have more questions, feel free to ask! This is my second costume I have ever made and am so thankful for everyone here on the RPF that has been so helpful. I am still blown away by all the work that everyone has done. thank you again.
 
tim said:
I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. I was a bit caught up by the captivating creativity of our RPFers!
Click to expand...

I can just picture the guy saying:
"Remember, remember, the 5th of Novem... holy ****! There's two hot TRON Sirens in front of me!"
:love:lol
 
jason527 said:
I don't think my pictures attached :confused
Click to expand...

Great job! A couple questions though if you don't mind.

In picture one, is the white piece poster board or vinyl?

In the second photo it looks like you used some sort of gray/silver duct tape with which you created a lip of sorts to which you used to attach the LEDs perpendicular (inwards facing) to the red taped vinyl.

What is the silver tape? And is my description of what you did accurate? And if so, how did you make the lip? Fold the tape?

Then it looks like you covered the whole thing with the shower curtain. Did you cover the shower curtain with the red tape before doing this? You said you taped down the shower curtain with duct tape. Not sure I see that step, but this probably because the black electrical tape covers it up.

What is your suit going to be made of and how will you attach your lighted segments.

Sorry about all the questions, but you have done a great job and I figured I'd pick your brain since it's probably fresh.

Thanks,
Mike
 
Thank you for all the questions. Having been doing this for about 4 weeks now I forget to explain some of the details. i have a couple videos I just made (sorry for the poor quality) that give more depth to my process. I think that my videos explains all the questions asked by "thecountofzero" and I will answer them here.

In picture one the base piece is vinyl. The only thing I used the poster board for was as a pattern.

The silver tape is just duct tape. The "lip" on either side are just for space for the tape that is holding the LEDs in place to stick to the vinyl to keep everything in place.

It shows in the video but i did cover the shower curtain with the red tape to give it the red color.

The jacket Im using I got from ROSS. I have un-stitched the seam of the liner so i can place each segment into the jacket without wires hanging everywhere. from there I am going to cut out the same pattern into the jacket and attach each lighted segment to the jacket from the inside of the jacket. I will re sew the liner in (with battery packs running from pockets or the small of the back) and one master switch probably in my pocket. so when I take off my jacket all you see is the normal inside of a jacket and on the outside TRON!!!
Tron Legacy costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
 
jason527 said:
Thank you for all the questions. Having been doing this for about 4 weeks now I forget to explain some of the details. i have a couple videos I just made (sorry for the poor quality) that give more depth to my process. I think that my videos explains all the questions asked by "thecountofzero" and I will answer them here.

In picture one the base piece is vinyl. The only thing I used the poster board for was as a pattern.

The silver tape is just duct tape. The "lip" on either side are just for space for the tape that is holding the LEDs in place to stick to the vinyl to keep everything in place.

It shows in the video but i did cover the shower curtain with the red tape to give it the red color.

The jacket Im using I got from ROSS. I have un-stitched the seam of the liner so i can place each segment into the jacket without wires hanging everywhere. from there I am going to cut out the same pattern into the jacket and attach each lighted segment to the jacket from the inside of the jacket. I will re sew the liner in (with battery packs running from pockets or the small of the back) and one master switch probably in my pocket. so when I take off my jacket all you see is the normal inside of a jacket and on the outside TRON!!!
Tron Legacy costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
TL costume - YouTube
Click to expand...

Wow, this is a new combination I haven't seen on the boards! Its like the diffusion method of EL light wires except with LED's. Which will be ridiculously bright. Red was something I wanted to do but after my research I'm hesitant to use el tape or wire. And I've seen red LED's projected outward and shower curtain diffusion. But I think is innovated to have them side projected. May not be as bright but significantly brighter than EL tape, and diffusion more controlled. I give you kudos for this effort.

And keeping it in pieces is such a good idea over attempting to make them bend around joints. The only other red program I've seen using leds had just rectangles but I'm digging the patterns.

Too MCP!!!!!
 
This thread is more than 3 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

Skater Maid
Glowing cosplays (IE Tron/Vocaloid)
Replies
2
Views
163
Skater Maid
Skater Maid
FoamIdiot
Quorra, Tron: Legacy
Replies
4
Views
1,441
FoamIdiot
FoamIdiot
fleming42
Living the dream! My replica costume at TRON 40th!
Replies
1
Views
1,172
nick daring
nick daring
fleming42
SDCC 2022 / TRON Photo Gallery Now Up!
Replies
1
Views
1,112
greenmachines
greenmachines
fleming42
Tron & Yori prop costumes for SDCC 2022
2
Replies
20
Views
3,416
Dreamforger
Dreamforger
Back
Top