Mystery Men Shoveler Build

[Wallabe]

Wallabe, I commend you for your work at replicating the most worthy of superheroes, The Shoveler. I'm sorry I hadn't seen this thread earlier. Your attention to detail and efforts toward true accuracy impresses me and you've done an outstanding job with the information you've had to work with.
I believe I can help you out with some of the details:

1. You are correct. The strap is decorative and not supporting the lamp. The lamp was attached to the helmet with some type of epoxy and two screws through the back of the battery box.

2. The strap material is difficult to describe. It is not elastic at all. It feels a bit like a strip cut from the outer shell of a red/orange raincoat. The edges are raw, but there are two rows of stiches through the middle.

3. Again you are correct. The metal item in the back is in fact an acorn nut. It is, however, more like 5/16.

4. The head lamp was made by Fuji-Toki Co., Ltd. Model FC-200. Not sure where you might find a current source. The one you've got looks really, really close.

Again, well done. I look forward to seeing your progress. Give a shout if you hit a snag. I might be able to help.

Wow! Thanks so much for the praise and the feedback.

For your points:

2. Are you saying it's plastic or rubbery? The reference I've got, especially compared to the strap I have on my headlamp now, does seem to indicate that it's something fairly tough. As you mentioned with the raw edges, it's also seems like something that can fray.

3. From flat side to flat side, the 6-32 acorn nut is 5/16, so it may actually be dead on. Or did you mean the screw itself?

4. Interesting. I don't know the model number of mine, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same. As far as I can tell, the knob is the only inaccuracy. Is there somewhere on the lamp I can find it? All I've got is the Fuji logo on the front.

And for an update, while I intend to make some upgrades for accuracy, the only thing the costume needs to be wearable is the holster.

 

[Entropy]

The strap material isn't plastic or rubbery, it's just very tightly woven as if to be water resistant, like from a raincoat or windbreaker. Here's a closeup:



You are correct on the acorn nut, my bad.

The only reason I know the model number on the head lamp is because I was able to find an identical one still in the package a number of years ago. I don't think it's marked on the lamp itself. Since yours is a Fuji, I'm sure it's the same design.

Your vest looks fantastic! I can't tell from your picture if you've already done it, but the eyelets on the sides of the pads for the leather thong lacing should be painted black.

The gloves, while many think they are black, are actually a very dark brown. The denim shirt was originally from GAP, but I don't see a good match among their current offerings. Not that important, though, as it's fairly generic and mostly covered by the welding cape sleeves. The jeans are just Levi 501 button fly.

The shovel holster is all custom leather work, but it's not terribly complex. The only challenging part might be the clip that holds the shovel handle, as it's a slotted piece of PVC pipe that's been completely covered in leather. The grommets are pretty beefy, being 1 3/4 " across with about a 7/8" ID for the hole when set.

 

[Wallabe]

The strap material isn't plastic or rubbery, it's just very tightly woven as if to be water resistant, like from a raincoat or windbreaker. Here's a closeup:

View attachment 519751

You are correct on the acorn nut, my bad.

The only reason I know the model number on the head lamp is because I was able to find an identical one still in the package a number of years ago. I don't think it's marked on the lamp itself. Since yours is a Fuji, I'm sure it's the same design.

Your vest looks fantastic! I can't tell from your picture if you've already done it, but the eyelets on the sides of the pads for the leather thong lacing should be painted black.

The gloves, while many think they are black, are actually a very dark brown. The denim shirt was originally from GAP, but I don't see a good match among their current offerings. Not that important, though, as it's fairly generic and mostly covered by the welding cape sleeves. The jeans are just Levi 501 button fly.

The shovel holster is all custom leather work, but it's not terribly complex. The only challenging part might be the clip that holds the shovel handle, as it's a slotted piece of PVC pipe that's been completely covered in leather. The grommets are pretty beefy, being 1 3/4 " across with about a 7/8" ID for the hole when set.

You're blowing my mind dude, thanks for the pic! I'm pretty sure that the strap is made of thin canvas. There's a couple things I want to touch on from this pic. Is that round bit a rivet? I've noticed a similar one in certain shots on the back of the helmet. I ask because I'm pretty damn sure that the helmet has a custom four-point rigging from another Bullard helmet (does it actually?) and that'd explain how it's mounted I think. Also, I recently decided to do some extra weathering with some dark epoxy putty, which this pic has me feeling a lot more confident about.

Glad you like the vest. It's done, and the rivets are all anodized black.

I did actually notice that about the gloves. The pics from the prop store are pretty telling. The gloves, kneepads, and boots (not pictured) are all on my list to upgrade. I just so happens that the only accurate pair of brown gloves I could find would run me like $100, and I haven't had that much money to drop on them.

My leathersmith friend is working on the harness for me. He's got a pretty damn good eye, he noticed that the "handle" was pvc and he's managed to identify accurate eyelets (though it's gonna suck finding someone who can set them).

Seriously, thanks again!

 

[Wallabe]

On the topic of the strap, any chance I could get the widths for the wide and narrow portions, please?

 

[MrSinistar]

Gotta love Mystery Men!! Fantastic work, Wallabe! And thanks for sharing the fantastic references, Entropy!

 

[Entropy]

I really wouldn't call the strap canvas. Again, the best thing I can relate it to is the outer shell of something that's meant to shed water, like a raincoat or maybe even life preserver. It's very, very thin fabric with a white backing. It's been doubled (as if there were two pieces back to back). The stitching holds the two sides together, but you can spread the two pieces apart above the stitching as seen in the pic below:


It's a hair over 1 1/2 inches at its widest point (obviously cut to fit the full width of the plastic loop on the lamp). It tapers to 1/2 inch over about 1 1/2 inches of the length after leaving the lamp and remains constant at that width the rest of the way.

Here's a shot of the underside which may answer your questions about he harness:

 

[Entropy]

Here's some glove love:



And the harness:

 

[Wallabe]

Holy s#$t dude, you're my hero. Thank you SOO much!

On the topic of the fabric. I say canvas, because it looks almost identical in design to the material alice packs are made of, which happens to be waterproof. I know a girl who studied apparel or something in college, I'll run your pics by her.

So, you've answered basically every question I could think to ask but two. How is the hardhat? Based on the hardhat's design, I'm like 95% sure it's custom. Second, what's the round yellow bit in the picture below? I would dare guess it's a rivet for the harness, but you'd obviously know better than I.



Seriously, thanks again so much dude, this is like Christmas in July.

 

[Wallabe]

Alright, maybe I do have more. Does the strap have any stretch to it?

 

[Entropy]

Alright, maybe I do have more. Does the strap have any stretch to it?

The strap has no stretch at all. It's not even particularly tight on the helmet. Purely decorative.

The round part is the back side of an open ended binding screw, like this: http://www.hudson4supplies.com/meta...g/aluminum-screw-posts-3-16-5mm-open-end.html There are four of them spaced around the helmet for attaching the internal harness at four points.

 

[SWRT]

God gave me a gift...I shovel well.


This is awesome, by the way

 

[Rusty85]

Great work! Always loved this movie!

 

[Wallabe]

The strap has no stretch at all. It's not even particularly tight on the helmet. Purely decorative.

The round part is the back side of an open ended binding screw, like this: http://www.hudson4supplies.com/meta...g/aluminum-screw-posts-3-16-5mm-open-end.html There are four of them spaced around the helmet for attaching the internal harness at four points.

Oh man, I'm gonna end up doing a whole new helmet to incorporate all the mods for the rigging. Can't wait!

And thanks guys!

 

[Wallabe]

Small update, I upgraded the strap on my headlamp. I know Entropy wasn't totally sold on it being canvas, but between the look and the description he gave, it was the best match I could come up with. It was only $10 and pretty much guaranteed to be more accurate, but I went for it. When it came in, I was very happy with my decision. The back was red, so before I cut out strips, I painted a portion of the back white to match the original. The strap itself is far from perfect, but it's a solid step up both in terms of quality and accuracy, so I'm very happy with it.

 

[Will Vale]

I never expected to see MM costumes - great choice. I love the movie, saw it at the pictures when it came out and have watched it countless times since. This despite it having this odd characteristic of being a little bit rubbish while you're in front of it, yet very funny to quote afterwards.

The outfit looks very good to my inexpert eyes, especially with the addition of the catcher's vest/thump-proof corset

In conclusion: You shovel very well.

W

 

[Bigdaddy]

Absolutely awesome build, I love Mystery Men! The dedication to accuracy is inspiring, you have to get a group shot at a con with more MM. :cool :thumbsup

 

[Entropy]

Small update, I upgraded the strap on my headlamp. I know Entropy wasn't totally sold on it being canvas, but between the look and the description he gave, it was the best match I could come up with.

It's definitely not canvas, however, yours looks pretty good. Very nice work! If I ever run across the right stuff in a fabric shop or somewhere, I'll drop you a note and send you some.

 

[Wallabe]

As always, thanks for the kind words guys. I'd love to eventually find other people doing Mystery Men costumes and get a pic, if I can find them.

It's definitely not canvas, however, yours looks pretty good. Very nice work! If I ever run across the right stuff in a fabric shop or somewhere, I'll drop you a note and send you some.

That's disappointing. The more I worked on the strap, the more the little details seemed to match up. I thought just maybe it could actually be a match. Oh well, for now it's as close as I can get it.

If you did come across some, I'd sooooo appreciate it if you did send some my way (though I'd insist at throwing money at you in return of course). Thanks for keeping me in mind!