Okay, back to business...thanks for the chance to tell you about Mark.
Given the time constraints with which I had regarding the costume (my fault entirely--someday I will learn how to manage time), I tried something new--for me. I bought the fiberglass casting tape that physicians use to make casts. It's like a plaster bandage, but impregnated with resin, which can be activated by water...although I found that if you leave it out, it will set regardless, even if you try to re-wrap unused portions in plastic bags. I used the following methods because though I needed a plastic/fiberglass casting, I didn't have time to sculpt, mold, cast then clean-up the parts. However, it's a pretty challenging method, and probably is only best to use in certain circumstances.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the process, so you'll have to rely on my descriptions. Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them.
The first thing I tackled was the bracelets (which I completely missed that they're supposed to be silver, by the way). I started out by cutting the toes off of a tube sock and stretching that over the arm casts, to act as a barrier and to give the final product some space between the casting and her arm. Next, I wrapped the casting tape over the sock, just like an arm cast would be made...I ended up making it about three layers thick. The tape sets in about 5 minutes, after which time I took a razor knife and simply sliced it straight down along the inside of the arm, cutting through both the tape and the sock.
Carefully spreading the opening, I pulled it off the arm cast and rough trimmed the length. After mixing up some auto body filler (Bondo), I spread it over the casting with a polypropylene spreader to smooth out the fiber texture. Once the Bondo set, I sanded it smooth and repeated that step several times, filling all the voids. I usually start out with 80 grit, and working my way up to 400 or 600, hitting it with filler primer along the way to check my progress and to help fill small voids and scratches. Getting closer to the final surface, I used spot putty to get small scratches and holes, until I was happy with the surface.
It's been a long day...I'll explain about the rest of the parts tomorrow.
--Don
RIP
