Eveningarwen
Well-Known Member
I'm starting this thread in the hopes that this will take some of the info in the Tron thread and condense it down a bit. There is still loads of info on there that won't be here but I think that by posting links, photos and describing the stages of the costume from supplies to finished product that this will help those that don't have the time to look through the Tron thread or who may just be overwhelmed by it. If nothing else this build should give you a head start so you know what to specifically look for in the other thread. My fiance (badmonkey) and I also plan on updating this thread with better ways to create the costumes and lights as we play around with them. I still have to light up my Gem after all!!
And now on with the build pics:
Step 1: Gather materials
Gem: spandex or miliskin, white latex, grey latex, grey acrylic paint, 1 invisible zipper, 1 separating zipper, 1 plastic finger painting tray from michaels, 1 ABS Cap, some 1/4" and 1/2" l-200 foam, white tape, 3 gallon oilless compressor, 1 latex paint sprayer, 1 compressor hose and connectors, paint mask, false eyelashes, silver contacts, cut out platform heels, shimmer powder for face, black eyeshadow, neutral lip color and gloss, 1 white identity disc, sticky back velcro, white plastic spray paint, project box, dremmel,
Castor: light weight apparel pleather, Nu-Life vinyl shoe spray in grey, heeled boots, Nu-life charcoal grey and silver vinyl shoe spray, 1 ABS Cap, 1 white identity disc, 36" acrylic rod, led flashlight, pvc connectors, oven, white hair spray or wig, silver contacts, shimmer powder, blue eye shadow, white cream or airbrush makeup for symbol, silver spandex, 1/2" l-200 foam, razors, sticky back velcro, suspenders, 1/4" l-200 foam, white tape, 1 plastic finger painting try from michaels, white plastic spray paint, dremmel
Materials that will not be used for version 2 of these two costumes:
Nu-life vinyl shoe spray, acrylic paint, grey and white latex, 3 gallon oiless compressor. I'll explain why later on.
El Tape material:
33 feet of 0.5" tape-$4.95 a foot-$163.35 total cost
2 feet 1" tape-$7.75 a foot-$15.50 total cost
Half foot 2" tape-$14.75 a foot-$7.38 total cost
1.5 feet of 6" tape-$36.50 a foot-$54.75 total cost
2 inverters-$66.00 each-$132.00 total cost
150 eyelets-$0.08 each-$12 total cost
Total for everything: $384.98 plus tax and shipping
Everything above came from Large Electroluminescent Panels and Strip Lamps - LED Panels - LUMINOUSFILM.COM --USA
Below were other materials needed that came from various stores such as radioshack, home depot and frys:
solder iron, solder(ours was not lead free), solder remover, helping hands with magnifier, wire, stripper/crimper, quick release connectors, connectors, 8 AA battery pack, 9 volt snap converter, switch, marble slab with rubber mat on top, 2mm eyelet cutter and setter (we bought ours from Joann Etc in the scrapbooking section), mallet or hammer
Here are some photos of the supplies needed for the el tape:
Getting the electronics started:
First off we wanted to save money and also have the ability to have custom length wire so we opted to buy only the eyelets from luminous film and attach them ourselves to wire. Here is my fiance all prepped and ready to do solder with his helping hands and supplies all laid out on the table and next to him.
Once the wire was stripped and wrapped around the eyelet a drop of solder was put onto it:
Afterwards some wire shrink tubing was put over the solder joint and then heated with the base of the soldering iron in order to shrink it onto the wire:
Once the tape was cut into the different lengths and shapes every piece of tape was covered in a clear laminate called "3m scotchguard paint protection film". We purchased it from www.stickercity.com
Once you have all the wires prepped you need to attach them to your light tape. By taking the 2mm eyelet cutter you punch a hole on either side of the scribe line, insert the eyelet into the whole with the wire attached and then use the eyelet setter to hammer the eyelet down. We live in an apartment so we needed to put the marble slab and rubber mat on top of our bed while hammering to stop the noise from going through to the neighbor below:
Attaching the light tape to the suit, at first we eyeleted every section and then velcroed the segments together with overlap to make it look like a continues shape. See the back circle for example:
But then we tried the staple method where you staple the tapes together making sure the staples are on either side of the scribe lines, like side to like side. Doing this made the connection points of the light tape segments not as obvious in person as the eyelets do:
You can also see how holes were poked into the fabric and the wired fed through. Here is what the inside of the jacket between the fashion fabric and the lining looked like. This photo shows the wires in the back by the hub and also down the inside of one of the sleeves:
And now on with the build pics:
Step 1: Gather materials
Gem: spandex or miliskin, white latex, grey latex, grey acrylic paint, 1 invisible zipper, 1 separating zipper, 1 plastic finger painting tray from michaels, 1 ABS Cap, some 1/4" and 1/2" l-200 foam, white tape, 3 gallon oilless compressor, 1 latex paint sprayer, 1 compressor hose and connectors, paint mask, false eyelashes, silver contacts, cut out platform heels, shimmer powder for face, black eyeshadow, neutral lip color and gloss, 1 white identity disc, sticky back velcro, white plastic spray paint, project box, dremmel,
Castor: light weight apparel pleather, Nu-Life vinyl shoe spray in grey, heeled boots, Nu-life charcoal grey and silver vinyl shoe spray, 1 ABS Cap, 1 white identity disc, 36" acrylic rod, led flashlight, pvc connectors, oven, white hair spray or wig, silver contacts, shimmer powder, blue eye shadow, white cream or airbrush makeup for symbol, silver spandex, 1/2" l-200 foam, razors, sticky back velcro, suspenders, 1/4" l-200 foam, white tape, 1 plastic finger painting try from michaels, white plastic spray paint, dremmel
Materials that will not be used for version 2 of these two costumes:
Nu-life vinyl shoe spray, acrylic paint, grey and white latex, 3 gallon oiless compressor. I'll explain why later on.
El Tape material:
33 feet of 0.5" tape-$4.95 a foot-$163.35 total cost
2 feet 1" tape-$7.75 a foot-$15.50 total cost
Half foot 2" tape-$14.75 a foot-$7.38 total cost
1.5 feet of 6" tape-$36.50 a foot-$54.75 total cost
2 inverters-$66.00 each-$132.00 total cost
150 eyelets-$0.08 each-$12 total cost
Total for everything: $384.98 plus tax and shipping
Everything above came from Large Electroluminescent Panels and Strip Lamps - LED Panels - LUMINOUSFILM.COM --USA
Below were other materials needed that came from various stores such as radioshack, home depot and frys:
solder iron, solder(ours was not lead free), solder remover, helping hands with magnifier, wire, stripper/crimper, quick release connectors, connectors, 8 AA battery pack, 9 volt snap converter, switch, marble slab with rubber mat on top, 2mm eyelet cutter and setter (we bought ours from Joann Etc in the scrapbooking section), mallet or hammer
Here are some photos of the supplies needed for the el tape:
Getting the electronics started:
First off we wanted to save money and also have the ability to have custom length wire so we opted to buy only the eyelets from luminous film and attach them ourselves to wire. Here is my fiance all prepped and ready to do solder with his helping hands and supplies all laid out on the table and next to him.
Once the wire was stripped and wrapped around the eyelet a drop of solder was put onto it:
Afterwards some wire shrink tubing was put over the solder joint and then heated with the base of the soldering iron in order to shrink it onto the wire:
Once the tape was cut into the different lengths and shapes every piece of tape was covered in a clear laminate called "3m scotchguard paint protection film". We purchased it from www.stickercity.com
Once you have all the wires prepped you need to attach them to your light tape. By taking the 2mm eyelet cutter you punch a hole on either side of the scribe line, insert the eyelet into the whole with the wire attached and then use the eyelet setter to hammer the eyelet down. We live in an apartment so we needed to put the marble slab and rubber mat on top of our bed while hammering to stop the noise from going through to the neighbor below:
Attaching the light tape to the suit, at first we eyeleted every section and then velcroed the segments together with overlap to make it look like a continues shape. See the back circle for example:
But then we tried the staple method where you staple the tapes together making sure the staples are on either side of the scribe lines, like side to like side. Doing this made the connection points of the light tape segments not as obvious in person as the eyelets do:
You can also see how holes were poked into the fabric and the wired fed through. Here is what the inside of the jacket between the fashion fabric and the lining looked like. This photo shows the wires in the back by the hub and also down the inside of one of the sleeves:
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) but instead just VOTE! All of us entries worked so hard and now that the voting is only allowed to RPF members it will really show what our fellow artists appreciate in a costume and in skill. It takes very little time to just look over the costumes and pick your fav and I know that every vote that we and the other costumers get is so appreciated. 
