Tron Legacy Costume

[Canobi]

r2tincan,

I mounted my hub with four 3/4" x 1/8" rare earth magnets in mounting cups, then another four magnets on the inside of the garment. That was enough to hold it onto my leather coat.

I had a bit of 2mm perspex kicking about, so I cut a bit off and used that to attach the tub lid to the costume, the main body is hollow and removable, very handy space for batteries and inverters. I used some very small nuts and bolts and made sure they stuck out inside the holder (now trimmed) and added a switch for the costume that is hidden when the disc is in place:

 

[Crimson490]

Here's my clan. My one son backed out at the last minute and reeeealy wanted to be a pirate. I didn't mind - cause i got to wear his CLU helmet! =)
The Rinzler helmet worked out well too with a few well placed holes in the front for vision. My son loves it so much he sleeps with it next to him. hehehe.

 

[cannibal869]

Question for you guys...

I was thinking of making a Gem costume for my wife for next year.
The disc is the easy part...
I read through and saw that some people stitched together some zentai suits to make the Gem / Sirem costume. I also saw on some of the websites that there are...uh...strategically placed zippers for possible bathroom access (although I have a feeling that's not what they were originally intended for). In either case, I digress...

It looks like the Gem costume is a real PITA to get in and out of (thinking again of having to use the bathroom). Specifically, if there is a zipper up the back of the suit (which I think there is), and the disc is mounted on the back in the midline, then it would probably be a two person job to get in and out of the costume, right?

I'm also wondering if it might just be easier to make Gem/Siren - inspired costume... maybe something using the Padme costumes as a basis??
i.e.

or

what do you guys think? Doable? Also, if it were the two piece one, then that would make it a lot easier for bathroom breaks and such, right?

-C

 

[HQuinn]

Umm . . . I'm seriously in love with the base of your suit. What fabric did you use? Thanks!!

 

[Eveningarwen]

Umm . . . I'm seriously in love with the base of your suit. What fabric did you use? Thanks!!

Thanks! Here is a better pic of the suit after it's been slightly rubberized and painted:

http://www.therpf.com/f24/tron-legacy-costume-88230/index189.html#post1976119

The base of the suit was just some soft spandex/jersey fabric that I found. Kind of like miliskin. It was very thin and had 4 way stretch. I bought it at Mood here in L.A. and they don't really label all of their stuff so it's hard to say exactly what it was. I tend to pic my fabrics based on touch so I don't always pay attention to what it's made from.

 

[Akira]

Here's my clan. My one son backed out at the last minute and reeeealy wanted to be a pirate. I didn't mind - cause i got to wear his CLU helmet! =)
The Rinzler helmet worked out well too with a few well placed holes in the front for vision. My son loves it so much he sleeps with it next to him. hehehe.

Looks great! And those helmets, awesome job on those!

Tim

 

[Thermistor]

Some pics from a very fun Halloween:

 

[aoifrost]

Hi! I haven't posted much on this thread, but I have been reading it for inspiration for quite some time.

I went the LED route with the costume and here are some results!

I also kept a photoblog with a lot more progress photos and some of the theory behind the build:

TRON Legacy Suit

And I made a video that briefly covers the working principle and all the important points of the costume:

DIY TRON LEGACY LED Costume - YouTube

Overall I am very happy with the costume!! I need to re-watch Tron Legacy!

 

[thecountofzero]

Hi! I haven't posted much on this thread, but I have been reading it for inspiration for quite some time.

I went the LED route with the costume and here are some results!



I also kept a photoblog with a lot more progress photos and some of the theory behind the build:

TRON Legacy Suit

And I made a video that briefly covers the working principle and all the important points of the costume:

DIY TRON LEGACY LED Costume - YouTube

Overall I am very happy with the costume!! I need to re-watch Tron Legacy!

This is very cool and very creative.

Great job!

 

[ModernDayMarc]

here's another pics from the block party contest I was in:





@aoifrost: holy crap you two look great! yet again, wish I was good enough to work with led's.....job well done!

 

[twinight]

Question for you guys...

I was thinking of making a Gem costume for my wife for next year.
The disc is the easy part...
I read through and saw that some people stitched together some zentai suits to make the Gem / Sirem costume. I also saw on some of the websites that there are...uh...strategically placed zippers for possible bathroom access (although I have a feeling that's not what they were originally intended for). In either case, I digress...

It looks like the Gem costume is a real PITA to get in and out of (thinking again of having to use the bathroom). Specifically, if there is a zipper up the back of the suit (which I think there is), and the disc is mounted on the back in the midline, then it would probably be a two person job to get in and out of the costume, right?

I'm also wondering if it might just be easier to make Gem/Siren - inspired costume... maybe something using the Padme costumes as a basis??
i.e.

or

what do you guys think? Doable? Also, if it were the two piece one, then that would make it a lot easier for bathroom breaks and such, right?

-C

I must be getting old, the first thing that came to my mind was BUCK ROGERS, not Padame.
But thats a great costume base to add lights onto.

 

[tim]

Wow! :eek Awesome work! :thumbsup

 

[Vew]

I completely forgot to post photos from Halloween. Sorry about that. Most attention grabbing costume I've had yet, and I have made a few. Guess people are attracted to glowing things

My friends said I made a portable poll dance :lol

My buddy in the red/orange version

close up

and of course the shoes i made for my friend

 

[colonelmasako]

Hi! I haven't posted much on this thread, but I have been reading it for inspiration for quite some time.

I went the LED route with the costume and here are some results!

I also kept a photoblog with a lot more progress photos and some of the theory behind the build:

TRON Legacy Suit

And I made a video that briefly covers the working principle and all the important points of the costume:

DIY TRON LEGACY LED Costume - YouTube

Overall I am very happy with the costume!! I need to re-watch Tron Legacy!

As a fellow pioneer on the LED route, I must say your concept is brilliant! I never though to use the LEDs as you did, to diffuse them using foam while they point outwards, rather than reflect off a surface. It allows infinitely more flexibility and is still awesomely bright! I'm so using this method for my next build. Thanks for sharing!

 

[thecountofzero]

As a fellow pioneer on the LED route, I must say your concept is brilliant! I never though to use the LEDs as you did, to diffuse them using foam while they point outwards, rather than reflect off a surface. It allows infinitely more flexibility and is still awesomely bright! I'm so using this method for my next build. Thanks for sharing!

I couldn't agree more. I am going to play around with this this week.

Laying the LED strips flat will allow for so much more flexibility and less bulk.

 

[aoifrost]

Thanks guys!

As I mentioned in the video, the poly foam isn't the perfect diffuser. In real life I still see the little dots where the LEDs are located. If you took a little more time and made a gap between the poly and the LEDs (I glued them straight on top), I think it might diffuse better as well. Alternatively maybe you can layer something on top of the poly foam to diffuse the light even more.

Goodluck!

 

[Randell]

I had a lot of fun browsing through all the photots! You're all doing wonderful jobs, keep it up!

 

[cannibal869]

So I'm thinking....


About those LED strips.
how about trying to use the SMD LED strips (similar to the ones in the SoulInertia disc kit) for the costume similar to what aoifrost did.

But as for diffusion - think about the MR lightsaber blade - it's also essentially a "ladder" of LEDs. Then there's a layer of foam on top of it to help diffuse the light away. In our LED saber blades, we also use a few layers of polypropylene (i.e. clear wrapping paper) to help "spread out" the light more evenly as well. I wonder if that same technique can be applied to the LED strips...

Maybe do it like LED strip, air gap, polypropylene, then foam diffuser?

I'll mess around with it and see if there's anything easier than the EL tape (since the EL tape tends not to be very energy efficient, and requires the use of an additional inverter)

-C

EDIT: the downside is that the strips could get a bit bulky...

 

[thecountofzero]

Ok, for those interested, I figured I post the process I used to make the light panels to light up my suit.

The attached pictures should help simplify my explanation.

First I created cutouts of the lighted sections using poster board. I made them slightly larger than the size of the area that will be lit up in the suit.

I then covered these pieces with aluminum duct tape for reflective purposes.

Next I attached the LED strips around the border of the pieces so that the LEDs were facing inwards (perpendicular to the poster board cutouts).

Once the LEDs were in place, I cutout another poster board piece in the same shape but 1/2 inch larger all the way around and then glued the piece with the LEDs attached to the center of it, leaving 1/2 inch border all the way around.

I then took 1/2 inch weather stripping and glued it onto the 1/2 inch border behind the LED strip. This provided backing/support for the LEDs and gave the light panels some height and more structure.

Next I wrapped the panel with shower curtain liner. And lastly, to give it a smoother finish, I covered the shower curtain liner with white dry erase tape. I found a roll of this at Home Depot and was able to cutout the size and shapes needed.

I then glued industrial strength velcro around the the border of the light panel so that it could be attached to the inside of the suit.

I followed this procedure to make all of the light panels that would light up my suit.

For the suit, I bought some neoprene fabric at a fabric story in NYC. It was labeled as neoprene, but I think it was 1mm neoprene wrapped in some stretchy material (possibly nylon). I cut out a piece that covered my front and back and cut out a hole stick my head through. There were no sides (added them later).

I then cut out the sections where I would install the light panels. I put velcro around the cutouts so I can attach the light panels.

Once I put the light panels in place, I wired everything up and then taped down/cleaned up the wiring.

Using a small piece of the neoprene fabric, I made a small pocket on the inside near the small of my back to hold the battery. The battery has a switch on it and I was actually able to easily reach around back and flip the switch through the vest.

Ok, that's enough for now.

Big thanks to fireslayer26 and jason527 for their inspirations.

 

[Icey]

After wanting to throw this costume out the window several times, I was finally able to wear my Clu costume. It's rife with issues at this point, but here's the basics:
- Coat modified from a Matrix coat pattern
- High bright el wire diffused with shower curtain and contact paper
- Helmet of paper mache and joint compound
- Microcel foam for the leg pieces

I ran out of time to do the leg lighting, so that still needs to be added. I'm not overly happy with the diffusion method for this. It's great on the form fitting costumes, but for looser ones like the robe the pieces got easily bent with normal body movement and it doesn't work as well for wider width pieces, namely the inside of the cape. I'll have to see about using LEDs or something underneath there because not only wasn't it as bright, it was heavy and dragged the back of my costume down.

Here's a few pictures from the con I went to tonight. They're taken with my point and shoot by my friend who was freezing his ass off, hence the bit of blur, so they're not that great. We're going to take some more tomorrow with a DSLR and a tripod after I fix the short in the front and repair my disc since it decided it didn't want to light up when I took the pictures. The backdrop is downtown Detroit and the Windsor skyline.