Well I debuted my suit at the Louisville Comic Con today and got an honorable mention. Frankly I’m surprised I was earned that since I had equipment malfunctions. That said, I learned a few important lessons about how to improve my experience at con in an Iron Man suit.
1. Create a checklist to make sure everything is packed up. I left part of the suit at the house.
2. Make sure your helpers stay close by. After helping me get my helmet turned on, my son went to watch the contest. After I left the stage and I was ready for my helmet and gloves to come off, and I could see him, but he couldn’t see me and I didn’t want to walk over to him since he was in the front row. Luckily someone asked to get my picture and afterwards I asked her if she would tell him I needed him to come over. He came over and took off the lid, then he returned to his seat. I ended up needing more assistance but had to endure without while standing through the remainder of the show (I was #4 in the lineup) with my gloves on, parts needing adjustment, and my hair in my face.
3. Ensure you’re mobile enough to get up stairs. I could barely make it up the steps to the stage and ended up partially dislodging the top of one of my gloves when I grabbed the railing for support. That loosened it just enough so it popped off on stage.
4. If you have long hair, don’t put it in a ponytail when you are going to wear a snug fitting lid. Having my hair pulled back forced my face to be too close to the front of the lid, and it wouldn’t descend all the way when the helmet shifted. A lightweight balaclava or zenti suit hood with an open face would have kept the stray hair under control and made it easier to get the bottom portion of the lid connected. I have one but didn’t bring it and I couldn’t figure why the lid wouldn’t close. I repositioned the batteries a number of times to no avail which ended up loosening one of the connectors enough so my helmet was non-functional. If I’d forgone the pony, I would have been fine.
5. Batteries to run lid eyes and servos are probably better off mounted in the chest or back with leads run into the helmet.
6. Bring a straw or two so it’s easy for your helper to keep you hydrated.
7. Use Loctite on any screws holding your suit together to make sure the screws don’t back out. I had 4 Chicago screws come loose. Not during the contest, but afterwards.
8. Pepakura Iron Man suits are heavy and uncomfortable when worn for 3 hours without a break and no ability to sit without removing the cod, legs, and boots. I also could have used more padding on the shoulders.
Good things I came away with. Pepakura shoes aren’t as bad to walk around in as I thought they’d be. People love Iron Man and asked lots of questions about the suit. Guys are surprised and impressed when chicks make costumes with electronics. My kids think I’m awesome for finally wearing this thing I worked so long and hard to make.
These are the only two pics I have from the Louisville Wizard World con since my kiddos were supposed to be taking pics.
