Civil War: Tony Stark on a budget

[Sundowner]

Every year around this time for the past 12 years, I have been running a charity event called The Mustache Bash. The Bash is a month long mustache/costume contest with the proceeds going to Children’s Burn Camps. So far we have raised about 70k which isn’t bad for starting out in a basement with a handful of firefighters!

Well this year I decided that I was going to costume as Tony Stark, specifically from Civil War-ish. I’m going to have an exposed chest arc just so people recognize the character more. This is also going to be on the cheap too!

The suit ($0)
Already had this bad boy. It’s a bit lighter but that’s ok.

The glasses ($5)
Just some simple clear frames. Side note, the movies glasses are so badass that I’m thinking about getting a pair. But these will do for now

The arc ($2)
I bought two tap lights from the $1 store.

The gauntlet ($6)
The minimalist gauntlet reminds me of a hold out pistol for Tony. It’s very thin and form fitting so I decided to go with a metallic glove.

 

[Sundowner]

I started on the glasses. Tony’s glasses have a reddish peach color to the lens so I tried a few different methods.

Rit Dye method

I found a great color combination with Rit. I tried the stove top method where I heated water, vinegar and dye. I didn’t want to have the water boiling because the lenses could warp. However it was unsuccessful.

Second round was Rit dye, water and acetone in a glass jar. The lenses started to warp. Unsuccessful as well.

Third round was Stain Glass spray paint. Two coats I was pretty happy with the results...

...until I tried putting the lenses back in. I broke one! Nooooooo! So the glasses will have to wait while I order a new pair.

 

[Sundowner]

Next up is the gauntlet. This is a bit different because in the film it’s pretty thin for a gauntlet.

I purchased red metallic gloves and cut the fingers off

I tested out some silver tape and it stuck great even with me moving my hands. This isn’t the final design with the tape, just testing.

I took the lens from a tap light, sprayed it with frosted glass spray paint and fed an led through the glove. Surprisingly the lens stuck to the glove great with super glue. I tested everything on the glove I wasn’t using to be sure.

 

[Sundowner]

Tonight was work on the chest arc. I painted the tap light with frosted glass spray paint but it was too bright. I knocked it down with some white paint which did the trick...until the light stopped working. It would randomly flicker on and off but I guess that’s what you get for a dollar.

So I grabbed the ring from a mason jar and cut up an old Blu-ray case to fit in the ring. I packed it with some wax paper to diffuse the light a bit. I installed 5 leds that I sanded to diffuse even more light and wired it up. I’m oretty satisfied with the results. Again this is on the cheap

 

[Sundowner]

Today I finished up the glasses. The stain glass spray worked really well. Two coats and I was pretty happy with the results.

I painted the frames then realized I swapped the black and clear so I had to strip it and start over. I’m pretty happy overall with the results

 

[StormyStorm]

This is a really interesting build. Nice job! Looks superb so far.

 

[Sundowner]

Thanks! It’s a pretty fun build so far

 

[laellee]

Glasses look great! Nice touch with the blu-ray case piece in the palm as well, simple, cheap, and totally looks the part.