Mask with wig attachment dilemma

[milieux]

I'm working on a female Clockwork Droid from The Girl in the Fireplace/Doctor Who . I'll be wearing at a convention as a hall costume. I'm also on staff and will be speaking on several panels so I will need to be able to remove the mask easily (displaying my 18th c. makeup) and reattach it several times during the day.

I do not want to fasten the straps of the mask over the wig for obvious reasons, but if I have it fastened under the wig I'm in a quandary as to how to get the mask on and off without disrupting the wig. The mask is paper mache and paperclay but with the paint and sealer it's not feather-light and does have a bit of weight, so the idea of clipping it to the wig above the forehead doesn't work as it pulls too much on the wig

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Mordrun]

Could you put straps in the wig that go around you head and clip into the inside sides of the mask? From what I saw in the picture I goggled, your ears won't be showing. Although you might have that same mask weight problem.

 

[milieux]

Could you put straps in the wig that go around you head and clip into the inside sides of the mask? From what I saw in the picture I goggled, your ears won't be showing. Although you might have that same mask weight problem.

Yeah, we tried the fastening on the sides first, then added the top, but the wig wants to shift. I can pin the wig down well, but then it pulls like heck on my hair and scalp which would get damn uncomfortable after a short while. I looked at how fencing masks go on- they have a piece on the top that kind of hooks over the top of the head but they also grip the sides of the head with padding and are not just a face mask, so I don't think that would work either.. Hrm...

 

[Yrien]

What about putting magnets under the edge of the wig and the inside of the mask? If you put them on some sort of strap system that's independent of the wig, the mask wouldn't pull on the wig directly.

 

[Miker]

Here's a thought. Have you considered using rare earth magnets? Tiny ones? You could make a head strap out of elastic which goes across top of your head from ear to ear, and across back of your head ear to ear. Put tiny rate earth magnets in it and at corresponding points on the mask. Bobby pin the magnet strap to your hair beneath your wig so it essentially floats under your wig when the mask is not attached. Then "snap" mask on to straps when needed.

(Edit...I didn't see the refresh w Yrien's post, but we're on the same page there.)

 

[milieux]

Hmm. The magnet idea sounds really interesting! That might work nicely. I'll need to figure out a way to keep the head straps secure though. Since the magnets will be pulling on each other, the mask is likely to pull the magnet straps off my head.