Here is my ROUGH blueprint to my C.L.U. helmet... I know I need some things like the pyramid on the top where the camera went in the film version, (maybe one of those tiny helmet cameras can go there if I can find one cheap enough and have an easy way of taking it out,) the front panel looks a tiny bit too wide at the top and bottom, the side panel with the curved crease down the center shouldn't go all the way to the back of the helmet... But, it doesn't look bad so far in planning... I will make a cardboard cutout from each view, then will fill it with sheets of foam, sanded down to generally have the right shape, then a thin layer of clay to actually sculpt it. Or bondo and sanding it down. From that...
I'll be cutting out pieces of paper for each panel so I can cut the plastic pieces to the general size needed for each, then using my portable heater to slowly bend the seperate clear plastic pieces using the sculpture, then I'll cut/finely sand their edges to fit each-other perfectly, glue it together, coat in clear-coat to help the edges look cleaner, tint it so I can see out of it while keeping it black-ish, thicker tint in areas I don't need to see out of so it looks solid, and I'll probably dip the whole thing in clear-coat again to help seal it up and make the outside more purdy/shiny. Then I will install the lights and battery pack when I fit it and attach it to my sanded-down bike helmet so I can wear it comfortably.
(Click on the image to see it bigger.)
I've found some plastic sheets (at a local craft store,) that are thin enough to bend easily yet not too thin, (1/8",) so they can still hold their shape and be stiff enough... It's $17 for a sheet about 2'x4', so I'll probably be buying two depending on how much I will need based off of the paper cutouts, and then a bit extra just in case...
Before I had thought it be easy to find black-tinted plastic, but it isn't, so I have to tint it myself... But I'd rather do it myself because the clear blacks I was finding weren't dark enough, so I'd have to tint them more anyway. :-/ A spray-can of black window-tinter is $4-$5 in 3oz size... So I'll probably pick up a few. A 6oz spray-can of clear-coat/sealer/protection is $3, so I'll probably get a few of those as well. In total I suspect this helmet will cost no more than $50. ($13 for the power-source and few feet of EL wire.) Not bad for something that I hope will look like the movie one.
My costume I also plan to make look like the movie version... It will cost $175, ($80 for just EL wire and power sources, $48 for wicking lycra undersuit, $3 for yellow gel shower curtain, $3 for white gel shower curtain, $10 for normal black fabric used for under the armor pieces to attach them to the undersuit, and a few other things like craft foam and iron-on velcro so I can remove the undersuit and wash it, and some cans of matte black plasti-dip and matte modpodge....) I'm also making my own 10" disc, (the deluxe disc toy is the 9" version from the movie's props, the female version... All of the men carried 10" discs.)
This is how my lighting will work:
The EL wire will be against the yellow shower-curtain rubber while sandwiched between the top layer of electrical tape and a thinner clear film, and the bottom layer of white. This lights the yellow up rather bright, (the wire is on both sides of the yellow,) and the white on the bottom helps reflect it and make it brighter/lit evenly across. Reflective tape is nice, but it messes with cameras. The electrical tape will also seal up any cracks the light might escape through. The whole thing rests on top of the foam body panel, (but the part it attaches too will not be modged and plastidipped... Because it could easily rip off taking those layers with it.) When there's a break in light strips on the costume, the wire travels under the panel, wrapped in electrical tape, between the panels on the costume and such. When there's a point of movement like my elbow, (well, in-between every gap really,) I will leave an extra three-or-so inches of the wire coiled once in a loop so that when I move I won't be pulling on the wire. This design with the film on the top allows the wire to remain hidden as well. I hope this wasn't too diccicult to understand... It will be a lengthy process, but I do think it will look the best, and won't be as delicate as the EL tape like from the movie. This is how I'm lighting the helmet as well, but instead of the film layer on top, there will be a layer of clear rubber cut to fit the hole I will cut when cleaning up the edges of the plastic when assembling the helmet. Will do it similarly for the disc's inner ring as well... Wiring the costume will be the last thign I do though. Because once I start pulling the wire through all of the intricate things and attaching/sealing it into the layers like shown above, I can't do anything else to the costume without destroying something... Except attaching and detaching the wicking lycra undersuit if I want to wash it, because I do intend on wearing it for more than 30 minutes at some time, so I will probably sweat in it a little. Being able to clean it will be awesome. At least, being able to clean what is in contact with my skin is awesome.
So my costume will be a little pricey, but it will be totally worth it to me... A lot of my materials like the bike-helmet or the shoes I already have, so it's saving me a bit of money. Oh, BTW, I am using dress shoes, which I will cut up into sandals of sort so my feet have less layering (there's still the foam/rubber from the armor, :-/ ) and won't sweat to death, and add gel soles to make them comfortable. The outsole protrudes 1/4" from the side of the shoe, so I can layer the foam and such around it, to line up with it and look seamless... The shoe is rather thick and strong, so I won't need to worry about it falling apart. The only problem I might have with it is attaching it and securing it to the costume. I may take the layer of fabric used to secure the panels to the lycra and roll it's edge up and use a heavy-duty sewing machine to attach it strongly... Also the treads looks EXACTLY like the ones in the movie.
Oh, and they are slip-resistant.
Sorry for the wall of text. I am just excited about it.
Also, sorry for the typos if you see any.