Zeppo
Sr Member
Well, after several years of procrastination, I finally got these done tonight. I'll be debuting them at Vancouver FanExpo weekend after next, with the rest of my long completed Mal costume.
I started with a pair of slip on shoes that I found about 7 or 8 years ago, after scouring the web for days trying to find something similar to what was used for the hero boots. Luckily, I managed to find 1 store in Calgary (when I was home visiting for Christmas) that had them in my size. So, I swooped in and bought them.
Using green painters tape, laid directly on the shoe, I created a pattern for the uppers and how they'd fit onto the shoe.
I then patterned the rest of the uppers using measurements of my leg and studying as many photos of Mal's boots as I could find. I bought some leather, cut out and stitched together the uppers, and then let them sit around for about 5 years while I procrastinated and tried the figure out, off and on, how to make the ribs.
It then struck me as I was looking at these leather guitar straps I'd picked up for cheap at a set sale a few years ago. They were perfect!
So, I traced out the size of the uppers and created a template for the ribs:
Traced that onto the leather backing (from an old jacket I'd cut up for something else)
Glued them down
Then, after all of the construction was done on the uppers - ie: zippers put in (which a buddy of mine, with more leather working experience and a better machine, helped me with) I glued the ribs in place.
I then roughed up the shoes with some sandpaper, and using Barge All Purpose Cement, I glued the uppers onto the shoe. I taped it all into place, and left it to dry over night.
Using Cordovan coloured Nu-Life spray, I sprayed the boots a uniform colour and then masked off the shape of the grey sections on the sole and painted those on.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.
I started with a pair of slip on shoes that I found about 7 or 8 years ago, after scouring the web for days trying to find something similar to what was used for the hero boots. Luckily, I managed to find 1 store in Calgary (when I was home visiting for Christmas) that had them in my size. So, I swooped in and bought them.
Using green painters tape, laid directly on the shoe, I created a pattern for the uppers and how they'd fit onto the shoe.
I then patterned the rest of the uppers using measurements of my leg and studying as many photos of Mal's boots as I could find. I bought some leather, cut out and stitched together the uppers, and then let them sit around for about 5 years while I procrastinated and tried the figure out, off and on, how to make the ribs.
It then struck me as I was looking at these leather guitar straps I'd picked up for cheap at a set sale a few years ago. They were perfect!
So, I traced out the size of the uppers and created a template for the ribs:
Traced that onto the leather backing (from an old jacket I'd cut up for something else)
Glued them down
Then, after all of the construction was done on the uppers - ie: zippers put in (which a buddy of mine, with more leather working experience and a better machine, helped me with) I glued the ribs in place.
I then roughed up the shoes with some sandpaper, and using Barge All Purpose Cement, I glued the uppers onto the shoe. I taped it all into place, and left it to dry over night.
Using Cordovan coloured Nu-Life spray, I sprayed the boots a uniform colour and then masked off the shape of the grey sections on the sole and painted those on.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.
