Tron Legacy Costume

Anyone pre-planning or actively planning how to make a costume from Tron Legacy?

We have 6 months until the premier... it would be cool to go all glow suited up.

Any templates/patterns out there yet?

Thanks,

Russ

 

I'm focusing on the "first-generation" (Tron 1) program costume. I need to get some chest protector pads to make it complete, however.

I know UD Replicas are making a replica leather suit and that toy maker Spin Master are making a full-size Light Disc (which I'm going to get when the toys come out).

If you need some reference photos, here you go:


http://media-file.net/7/tron/images/Olivia Wilde and Garrett Hedlund in TRON LEGACY_jpg_jpg.jpg

http://media-file.net/7/tron/images...ett Hedlund on the set of TRON LEGACY_jpg.jpg

http://media-file.net/7/tron/images...ph Kosinski on the set of TRON LEGACY_jpg.jpg

http://media-file.net/7/tron/images...ett Hedlund on the set of TRON LEGACY_jpg.jpg

 

I knew about the UD leather version... but I'm willing to bet it's more than I can afford right now.
I'm looking at DIY as a cost saving measure. Of course, I've also done DIY projects and had it cost
more than an off the rack version.

Thanks for the ref images. I think I've stole... I mean, Archived most of those already.

Russ

 

Man I can't wait for this film, I hope it does the original justice. A replica light disc is a must (preferably with working electronics)

 

I hear that.

Russ

 

Love the design of this suit...and would love to order one if someone does a DIY version.

 

LOL! It's not DIY if you just order one.

Unless you're talking parts kits. Which could get interesting.

I know what you mean though.

I "think" the undersuit has a texture to it, at least under the arms and along the ribs. It has a texture like some sort of athletic mesh, or perhaps the "stay cool" mesh that some women's bras are made from. The material is available online by the yard. I can try and source it again if anyone's interested.

Russ

 

Hehe, I would be very interested Rook 3. Only just started looking at this costume, not sure if it will be financially viable for me to do, but I would love to rock up at the premier wearing it. Do you reckon the undersuit is a skintight suit like a dive suit or body glove? How do you reckon the rest of the costume could be made? A lead on the helmet would be sweet. I was thinking EL Sheet or wire for the light up parts. (Probably just stated the obvious, but someone has to do it.)

That arm piece looks like it goes from the fingers right up to the shoulder. The glove is pretty sweet!

 

I was thinking about this the other day. I'm not sure about the very base suit, but all those raised panels have the glowy bits on them, so it would be possible to sculpt all the pieces and cast them in Smooth-On DragonSkin, or something similar to it (so that they are clear for the glowy bits). Then just use the paint that Smooth-On makes that's specially formulated for DragonSkin, and paint out all the black parts, leaving the glowy bits clear. Then just put the EL sheet under it and affix the whole thing to the base suit.

 

My boyfriend and I were considering these for Halloween but wanted them to look as close as possible and the material they use for the light strips ( lighttape ) would probably runs us almost a grand for enough feet for the both of us so we're probably going to pass...though there is a cheaper alternative, lightwire...the only thing is that it's much much skinner in width and would need some kind of translucent top layer in an attempt to make the light look wider.

May end up going the cheaper route...will post if the decision follows through!

 

I'm just speculating based on available images, but the suit looks (to me) to be at
least a 2 piece composite, with an undersuit that has "vented sections" to aid in
keeping the wearer cool (the mesh like material under the arms for example)
and a semi-rigid protective shell on top. The Lit areas look to be intergrated into
the "shell."

In it's most basic form, it's "kind of" like a suit of Boba Fett armor, with plates
over a fabric base.

Russ

 

Not knowing alot about different mediums, but that almost looks like leather to me, maybe with pockets for the lighting to be put in?

 

Here is a product called lightsheet I found a couple of years ago. You can cut it to almost any shape. I don't know how much it runs but I think it's cheaper than light tape. Electroluminescent Sheets and Panels

 

I want to do this costume, I imagine its going to be seriously sweaty tho.
EL sheeting and wire isn't too expensive and comes in a wide variety of colors and thicknesses

 

BOOOooOoOoOoooOo they only have pink solid sheets right now! I'll have to scour for blue elsewhere... I gues $56 for 8x11 isn't too bad... though I'd still estimate it at at LEAST 4 sheets per costume which would be over $200 bucks just for the sheets. But I think the tape ran up to like $500+ for enough for the two of us... Could get away with three sheets but that'd be cutting it close. I think the sheets are almost a better option, though, since the light tape is only in certain widths and the sheets you could have the wide-to-narrow strips and not worry about any folding at the rounded corners and stuff since you'd be cutting it in the exact shape.

Nice find! Definitely going to look more into it!

 

These look like tough costumes, lots of different materials, textures, lighted sections. No matter how hard it looks to reproduce though, I imagine we are going to see some awesome stuff once people have had some time to work on them. The pictures in the UD Replicas tron thread show the textured patterns that I believe they copied right from the movie costumes so those may be helpful in terms of getting patterns for some of the components.

 

What's up with Olivia Wilde's backside in these pics? I mean, what's going on there? Is that a weirdly shaped skirt or is that just skin tight on her butt?

Also in one picture the glow tape looks literally taped on?! Oh the magic of movie photography!

 

For Olivia Wilde's costume, it is an oddly shaped skirt. It's a really weird angle, but that photo shows the skirt coming to a point behind one of her legs. It just makes her backside look really funky from that angle. Different angles make it make more sense.

 

The pink solid sheets light up blue. They are pink when powered off.

 

Hi Everyone!

I'm brand new to the forum and this is my first post! TRON is my favorite movie, saw the original in the theater when I was 11 years old. I can't wait for the sequel!

I've never put together any kind of costume, but I'm thinking of attempting to make one modeled after Sam's suit for the TRON: Legacy release in December. (Maybe Halloween, if I can finish it by then!) I too had checked into LightTape, which is ridiculously expensive. So a cheaper alternative is most likely in order. I had also thought about the custom cuttable EL sheets as they are more cost effective.

One thing I thought of was if you got the POWO (Pink Off - White On) sheets, maybe you could use backlight film that you could print out with a blue tint to overlay the sheet with to make it appear blue? Since you are cutting the EL sheet into a strip, you could attach an overlay strip of blue tinted backlight film over it. I don't know how well that would work, but it might get the blue tint you're looking for.

Another idea along those same lines would be to use several strands of high-bright blue EL wire sewn together side-by-side and then have either a white or blue backlight film overlay on it so that it diffuses the light from the EL wire strands. Again, I don't know if that would work or not, but I thought I would throw it out there.

Another area I'm struggling with is how to achieve the rubberized armor look. I assume it's some sort of latex rubber overlay attached to some type of hexagonal patterned undersuit. I've never worked with latex rubber, so I was thinking of maybe using layers of craft foam, but I'm not sure how well that would work. Finding fabric with that hex pattern is proving to be very difficult as well!

I guess as a newbie, I sure picked a doozie to start with! LOL!

 

I was thinking the same thing. A blue film, or if it can hold up, I'd try to use some clear, blue tinted spray paint. But I don't know how well paint works with the light sheet.

For the hexagon pattern under the suits, I'm lost. I'm thinking that is the only part I can't make accurate. It might have to be substituted for mesh.

Right now though, I'm getting the plans and measurements down.

 

Sweet costume. I'd love to know what the body suit fabric is made from

 

I am actually working on costume too, I use to work for a company that made EL wire but since went under. I have an over abundance of it at my house so this costume seems like it has to be done.

Some people were thinking about going to the EL route, I think i am going to run multiple strands next to each other and then try difussing it with some clear viynl I spray painted with frost. I have attached some pictures.


I think the clear viynl needs a few more coats of spray so you can't see the wires...

 

sell me some of that EL wire and I will send you detailed pics of the suit they had a comic con.

 

You could also perhaps lightly sand or steel wool the underside of the vinyl to aid in diffusion. I did that with the lenses of my Ghostbusters proton pack and it worked pretty well.

Russ

 

anyone know how much el wire it would take to do a full suit? would 2 separate long lengths be the best, one for each side of the body, left and right i mean not top and bottom although i suppose that would work too

 

What would some one else have to do to get those pictures?

 

I'm not sure how much wire it would take for a full suit, but instead of doing a single long length of wire down the side of the body, I would probably break it up into separate segments at points where there is a bend. From what I understand, EL wire doesn't take bending stresses too well, so you might want to put in breaks where there is a bend, like your waist, your knees, your elbows, etc. to avoid bending the wire too much and causing it to short out or break. So, for example, if you are putting EL wire on your arm, don't put a single strand from shoulder to wrist. Put in two separate strands, one from shoulder to elbow, then another from elbow to wrist. That way, you avoid putting the wire through the point of maximum flex, the elbow. (I hope that makes sense!)

 

I was at the TRON LEGACY panel and even the actor guy that plays SAM said you cant move around a lot because of the EL strips are fragile and the key is to just stand up straight when you are wearing the suit. LOL

Regarding the TRON suit that they had on display at FLYNN's arcade. It was just there for people to take pics of, you couldnt touch it, but it wasnt encased in glass or anything so I got really up close and personal with it!

took really good pics of the back of the suit where the disc is, and the shoulders, abdomen, and thighs.

 

I partially disagree with how fragile EL wire... the only weak part of the how operation is you initial solder point to the invertr. You have 2 very small ~.002in according to the calipers. You will more than likely need a micrometer for an exaxt. The point is that is where your weak point is.

If you can avoid any high impulse force to the solder joints you should be ok. Maybe add a loop for some give?

The wire itself is VERY durable, I have taken a blow torch to it for 2-3mins..... the plastic does melt but it will keep its continous glow. You can see in the pictures how sharp up apoint you can make it. Its also not that hard to wrap or move around, don't think it would impair movement very much, I think the padding built up around the thin suit is what is causing the resistance when moving.

 

the base suits remind me of the suits they made in Xmen. Strong leather (or in Tron's case rubber) like panels with stretch sections for the actors to move.

 

I have worked with El wire myself since 2004 my 1st trip to Burning Man and it IS quite fragile depending on how it is used on the body.

I am a costume designer and I decided one day after returning from BM I was inspired to make a line of EL Wire costumes. I did and made corsets. One of the corset tops I made with El Wire has broke many times because of the way it was sitting on my body. If you bend that wire enough and if you are moving around alot, let's say dancing, then yes the wire in the mid section point can break and there goes your whole connection.

It's kinda like if you have a thin metal wire. It is durable with a few bends back and forth, but when you keep bending it over and over and over again it eventually will break. The El Wire is similar. I kept moving, dancing, the mid section of the wire were it was hitting like around my waist caused friction and the thin wires which are encased in the clear tubing of the El Wire, broke and I lost my light up connection. There is no way to fix that either.

I made another corset and just the tightness of it on my waist and me walking broke and my whole corset design was left in the dark.

Some of them broke near the solder point and some in the mid section of the wire. Either way point is, yes, El Wire is not as durable as you say. Even if you get a thicker gauge it is still capable of being very fragile. It can only take so much repeaded bending abuse.

The Tron Legacy costume application looks very streamlined and flat laying on the body, so it should work much better than what I went for and I am sure El Tape, which I have yet to try, would hold up even better.

Just my input from someone that has worked with this stuff many times.

Carboxyll, can you please tell me how you frosted that clear vinyl you used to difuse the El Wire? That is very cleaver and a great idea. I almost want to try that method out on my Quorra suit I will be making instead of going with the El Tape.... I just don't understand how to use the Cut and Shape your own.

Thank you!
~Annissë

 

Does any one know if there is a demontration vid where it shows you how to work with that Cut and Shape El Light Sheets? I just saw the website for them, but I can't understand how you will be able to cut those sheets into the many pieces you will need to install into the TL suits. I have never worked with El Light Sheets before only wire. They seem perfect to do the suits with, I just need to understand how to use them exactly and get all the pieces you cut rigged to the power source to light them all up.

Thanks!
~A

 

I'd be interested in that myself. Regular EL wire isn't bright enough to light a identity disc brightly so I was thinking of going with sheets. From the sheet kits I've looked at I don't get how you can cut it into strips and keep a continuous circuit.

 

I'll see of if I can take some disection pictures of the EL sheet for you tomorrow.

For the vinyl I purchased some spray-on frost from Lowes (It took me like 5 mins to find because the gloss spray looks the same packaging wise), my Walmart did not carry it. I actually just sprayed one brief coat then another after 30 seconds or so. Later that night I did tried it on some glass. I did about 4-5 coats but i waited longer between each application and that turned out really nice. Oh yea, I also prepped it with some prep-all, but any cleaning solution would work.

 

The work you've done so far on your disc is amazing caboxyll! :thumbsup

 

I don't know of a vid but I read a post on another forum once. I have now Idea where is was, but it's something like: there is a specific side that has connection tabs sticking out of the sheet. You can cut it in any shape as long as you don't cut those tabs off. so you can almost cut it however you want as long as that side is a part of your piece.

I did just find this forum post about how a guy used this for a tron inspired arcade controller:High-end artwork mod #2: Electroluminescent Panel

Here is a vid I found of it lighting up:YouTube - Electroluminescent Paper Demonstration

 

I think it'll be much easier to work with Reflective tape than El-wire. While it doesn't glow, it produces spectacular effects when a picture is taken with flash. Here's an example:



This is my own helmet that I recently finished for a con. I'm planning on finishing the whole suit, however I'm not sure that the whole suit will be covered in reflective tape.

At ComicCon, there was the Flynn Lives ARG event, where people were dressed up as programs (I'm assuming they were civilian programs, and not the gladiators (Sam, Quorra, etc.) that we're used to seeing). They used much less rubber and more fabric materials compared to the costumes we've seen so far. They also used the reflective tape effect.

Lot's of reference pics:

 

Hi Annisse,

The website that was mentioned earlier, Electroluminescent Sheets and Panels states that sheets can be "overlapped so that no seam is visible in a field of light." The custom Cut and Shape sheets have terminals along all four sides of the sheet, so as long as you keep any two terminals attached, the sheet will light up. The way I've thought about cutting them and rigging them to the power source would be through the use of splitters. For example, the A4 sized custom sheet has a lit area of 7.7 inches x 11.1 inches, which means you can have, for instance, 7 different one-inch wide strips that are 11 inches long. Since the sheets can be overlapped, you can overlap each 11 inch segment with another one (tape them together or attach them some other way) until you reach the desired length. At that point, you would need to use multiple splitters so that you can split the single connection coming out of the driver in order to connect to each 11 inch segment. Some drivers come with multiple splitters, I saw a 4 way splitter on another site somewhere. That's one way you could do it. You'd be running wire all over your body, but you would be making the most of the EL sheet.

Using that same concept, you can cut out angles (such as those on Quorra's arms and thighs) and overlap them with straight segments. It may be a bit cumbersome, but I think it might achieve the desired effect. I hope this makes sense. If it's not clear, send me a message and I'll see if I can explain it a little better.

Good luck on your Quorra suit!

 

WOW! yeah easier said than done I would really have to see a demo in person or at least a video to understand how that cuttable EL sheeting works. All I need is to see it once and I can take on constructing the costume on me own. That EL sheeting is totally new to me, I have never even heard of it till I came to this forum

Thank you for your help!
~A

 

Interesting but does not help on how you would apply the EL Panel sheet to the Tron Legacy costumes. All he did was cut holes for his controller to this panel, I understand that, simple, but how would you cut multiple stripes then attach all those stripes to your TL costumes and get all those individual stripes to light up???

~A

 

im thinking the same thing

the lights are probably the hardest part of these * costumes

i mean you can always be cheap and use reflective tape, but who really wants to do that

and Carboxyll
my girlfriend and i were thinking of trying that
i was told that it doesn't really work buy the guy who designed the manufactured the Tron inspired motorcycle jackets at Comic-con

but i have this feeling if you do it just right it should-work
so i say give it a try and tell us how it works out

cause my guess that will be cheaper and easier then like EL Sheeting and whatnot

 

Nobody dared to try my idea? http://www.therpf.com/f9/i-think-ive-found-easier-way-cheap-tron-costume-44676/#post596062

 

I remember speaking with you. You had that killer Mad Hatter costume on...great suit BTW.

Let me just add that you guys here are capable of anything. I'm constantly blown away with what you're all doing and I'm sure that you'll all find suitable ways of lighting your own suits. What I personally deemed unfit, not usable or inappropriate for our suits was based on bulk production factors and possible headaches we'd be facing if we did the lights one way VS another.
Truth be told, it's a complicated process even for us...but what we chose to not use, for what ever reason.... may work wonders for you guys and your suits just the same.:thumbsup

My advice....try everything. Experiment...go nuts!!!! Have fun with it all and I'm sure each and every one of you will find suitable ways of getting the lights to work to your satisfaction.

When I said "doesn't work" .... was directly related to our product and how we need to have it all function. I can only bet that in the next few weeks/months you all are going to find ways of making this all work in a fantastic way.

Dont let any one person discourage you, and if our talk in any way did that then please accept my apologies....and continue to explore these options shown in this thread.

Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

David
Universal Designs Ltd.

 

are the sam flynn legacy suits blue or white lights? i cant decide in most of the promo shots or screen shots they look white and in the trailers they look kinda blue to my eyes

 

OH DUDE YOUR ON HERE!
cooool
now we can be friends XD

but yeah, my girlfriend os nuts
i told her what you told me and she was like
"Whateve, i wana try it anyway" XD

we have a few new ideas since ive been scouting these threads
so ill be sure to post our progress

and it was great talking with you, i hope to see you again next year ^^
(buy the way, you are still selling the Batman suits right, a friend of mine wants one like theres no tomorrow)

and Ken
im sure there white
but a light blue would register just as well

 

Yep, David's here, and he has a great info thread about his suits located here:

http://www.therpf.com/f9/officially...lica-suits-updated-video-posted-6-25-a-81156/

Russ

 

I tried making a quick mold just to see how the EL wire would look in the suit.
I poured the mold with some silicone i colored black.... It didnt turn out well 1. because i didnt let it cure all the way, 2. Its too low of a durometer I used.

Next time I will try a higher durometer silicone so it will be more stiff.i cut some reflective tape and layed it down, and then EL wire, then the test samples of the silicon.

eh.. I'm not happy with it, i'll play around with it some more and figure another way to diffuse the light. Hopefully the higher durometer silicon will have a crisper edge and hold its shape better.


oh yea, i guess i should explain the pictues.... I cut a mold, then sprayed smooth-on mold release (you can veg. oil if in a bind), smoothe on pigment mixed in with the silicon. put in a vacuum for 4 mins to degass it.

 

I posted this in another thread on here, but I thought it was relevant here as well.

After seeing this article about the new TRON: Legacy/Adidas apparel collaboration:

AJANAKU » Blog Archive » Adidas x TRON: Legacy x Oryon Tech

I checked out the Oryontech website at Oryon Technologies : Innovative Technology. Endless Possibilities... [www.oryontech.com] and realized that the ELastolite technology was what they used on the actual costumes for the movie. I was mistaken in an earlier post (possibly another thread) when I said that LightTape was what was used in the movie; it was actually ELastolite. The ELastolite technology is different than that of LightTape. It's created using a different process and the end product is actually thinner, more flexible and more pliable. I have no idea how much the ELastolite costs, but from what I've read on the wardrobe costs for TRON: Legacy, it probably ain't cheap. I may email them and see if I can get some more info.