Definitive Clockwork Orange Costume

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Thanks guys.:thumbsup

Those pants are the ones I use for my Snowtrooper. They aren't the ones from the surplus store. (They are British, mine are German) BUT they are extremely similiar, if not the same. I'd certainly go for the surplus store ones should I ever need another pair. They do come with buttons on for braces, but only one per side. I'm not 100% certain wether there should be a button for each loop or if you should cross the loops and put them both on the same button. I'll do some more research.
As for the shillelagh... I've absolutely no idea whether you can "straighten" them out or not. Personally, I'd be doubtful. If you're struggling, there are plenty to be found on E-Bay UK that would match. Although if you're short on time, this could be an issue. If you don't get a genuine Blackthorn, go for a cheaper alternative wood and paint it up. Mine's holly and NoTsOsErIoUs has a hazel one.

For instance..
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/large-haz...eAntiques_Collectables_EH&hash=item2a23a1b14d

 

[Doddsino]

Man, I should've let you do my shopping for me. Haha. That one looks fantastic! Yeah, the one I bought will do for now, but I should have checked Ebay UK before I decided on an American seller (as if we know anything about shillelaghs!). Oh well, I may eventually pick up a different one.

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Just had a look at the film again tonight. The buttons for the brace loops are on the inside of the trousers' waistband.

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Re-made my codpiece today. I wasn't happy with my first attempt.

Old one on top, new one below. That's much better in my opinion - I used a different make of groin guard, which has a better shape to it I feel.
Thanks to NoTsOsErIoUs for the paint colour tip.:thumbsup
I managed to track just the one tin down on E-Bay. (Sorry - I know you were after another.:unsure)

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Looks really good!

 

[Bigdaddy]

This is CRAZY cool! I have 3 brother and we had considered this as a group costume. Can't wait to see the finished costume. Great work!

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Cheers:thumbsup
Alex and his 3 droogs would be awesome if done properly.
Wish I had 3 brothers (or indeed 3 friends) who would be willing to put the effort in.:lol

 

[Doddsino]

Ugh, I got most of stuff in the mail at once (thanks, Columbus Day). I'm especially happy with the boots. The shirt that I got seems to be more of a cream white, which really sucks. I might end up needing to buy yet another shirt in the meantime. The shillelagh is a nice piece, but I need to get it painted. I'll also be working on the codpiece, but I'm slightly curious about how I'm going to go about it, but thankfully the guard I bought wasn't too small. Haha. I'll probably upload some pics pretty soon here when I'm done. The bowler is on it's way too.

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Yes, please post pics!

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Argh! My first setback...
The woman who was making my shirt has informed me she can't do it. Why it's taken her two and a half weeks to getting round to telling me is anyone's guess, but it's cheesed me off somewhat.
No matter, it's not a disaster. I've found another seamstress who's willing to do it, so fingers crossed.....

 

[LeVicomte]

man, am i happy this thread came back to life!!!!!!! u guys are posting some pretty good looking items here!!!!! congrats!!! @FranticHedgehog: it really sucks that she cant make u the shirt!!!!! d'u mind me asking what reason she gave u??? im gonna have to have one done as well!!!! as 4 me, im having issues as well...the road to perfection is a tough one...and sometimes it leads to nowhere! ehehe first, i bought some pants, and when they got here they were about 5times my size...second, i still am not done with the codpiece...i cant get the fabric to stay in place as i would like it to. also, i had a pair of eyeballs for the cuffs, i was not satisfied with them, so, though im not that skilled as a sculptor i engaged in this madness which is takin 4ever!!! last but not least, im fashoning, or at least im trying to, a shillelagh with the hidden blade. it looks im not gonna b Alex this halloween either.... : (

 

[Doddsino]

Sorry about your setbacks Hedgehog. I've had several of my own;

1. Shirt is a cream color...I doubt I could bleach it without ruining it. I bought another shirt that is hopefully on the way. There is actually another one that I saw that looks to be almost identical, but the jerk won't answer any of my messages, so I guess he must not want my money that much.

2. The surplus store I bought from emailed me that the pants were on back order and wanted additional pay on shipping since it's overseas. Hopefully, it'll still make it, but since I hardly check my email, then they may have already canceled since they said if they didn't hear back soon, they'd cancel. Overall, I've been pretty disappointed with their lack of communication.

3. The hat still isn't here.

4. My stupid digital camera is messed up. For whatever reason, it's not accepting the batteries and just turns itself off. Another $200 I gotta worry about.

The good news is, I finished the shillelagh. The thing was a beautiful piece of wood and I was talked out of painting it, so I tried something I thought wouldn't work, I used friction tape to cover it. It actually looks really good and only very close up can you tell it's tape. I figure this way, I can use it in a few weeks and resell it for a more accurate one. But still, I'm very surprised at how good it looks. I still might upload pics of is using my phone, but I doubt it's going to show much detail.

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Yeah! Get some pics up.. we can learn from each other! :0D
To stick the fabric down, I used a spray carpet adhesive on my first codpiece, but got a bit impatient and tried to do it all at once which left it with far too many creases etc..
On the second attempt I used something called Copidex, which is a fabric glue in a pot. Don't know if it's available in the States.
Anyway, I brushed this on gradually, a small section at a time, and making sure to smooth it as I went along. Much happier with the results.
As for my shirt, I got the impression she just couldn't be bothered. She claimed she had a crisis which prevented her from doing it, but when I went round to collect my material, she hadn't even taken it out of the bag it was in, so I presumed she'd just had it for a couple of weeks and decided she just didn't want to do it. Anyway, I found a dressmaking shop who seem far more professional, so they can have the job.

Which shop was it with your pants Dodds? The UK surplus store?
Good idea with your cane btw. B-)

 

[Doddsino]

Indeed I went through the UK surplus, however I don't know if that was a good idea. I still haven't heard back from them and have no idea about my purchase. I may end up having to call them. That should be fun. It's honestly my fault to an extent. I didn't respond to them within a few days after placing the order since I was busy. I may have waited long enough for them to just assume I canceled.

I'm starting on the codpiece tomorrow. Would you say I use adhesive to attach the fabric to the piece and then sew everything on the back. Also, should I use any elastic or anything like that? I'm just curious what the best process and the items I need would be before I dive into this.

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

I just cut the fabric so it overlapped the foam straps, folded it over and stuck it down. The only thing I sewed was a strip of velcro on the ends.

My shirt is now with a professional seamstress. She's been ringing me all weekend asking questions, so I'm confident of her getting it right.

 

[pandasquare]

Re-made my codpiece today. I wasn't happy with my first attempt.

Old one on top, new one below. That's much better in my opinion - I used a different make of groin guard, which has a better shape to it I feel.
Thanks to NoTsOsErIoUs for the paint colour tip.:thumbsup
I managed to track just the one tin down on E-Bay. (Sorry - I know you were after another.:unsure)

I'm in the process of making my codpiece and have decided to start with the kickboxing cup. Before I go all out and possibly screw it up irreversibly, I was wondering what kind of fabric you'd suggest. I have this felt material but it is flimsy and seems all wrong. Any hints?

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Well I used a faux suede called suedette which seems to be ok. Someone else further up used the reverse side of some leather hide I think.

 

[Doddsino]

Do you suggest using any form of support for the attaching belt area? I think the front of the codpiece would be fine, but I'm worried that the fabric will bind or tear if I don't have some kind of material inbetween.

 

[Doddsino]

*sigh* 4 Emails sent to that Surplus store now and no response. And of course, I was going to call them today, but they're closed on Wednesdays. Ugh!

 

[Frantic Hedgehog]

Oh no, sounds like you're having a nightmare. Have you actually paid them too?
As for the belt, I used heavy duty staples to attach it to the guard and then the fabric covers and supports it. As there already is an elasticated band on the guard, this takes all the strain of support, so there isn't actually any stress on the foam belt.