whoa! Weta "legs"

[LittleBit]

FWIW, Coilhouse posted a really good interview w/ Kim recently ...
might clear up some of the confusion around here:

http://coilhouse.net/2010/04/inventorsculptor-kim-grahams-weta-legs/

 

[SmilingOtter]

I was just thinking that Wookiees with legs like that would've been all sorts of cool.

 

[ALPHA D UNIT]

Would make for an awesome Tauren for any World of Warcraft event!!!

 

[CustomPropSculptorGuy]

Time to start that bitchin' Arbiter costume!

Holy eff I would LOVE to sculpt something like that in a 1:1

 

[Riceball]

The Weta legs would also make for a good dinosaur costume, you could make a wicked raptor or small tyranosaur using those legs. No more needing to wear the dino legs on the side of your legs, now you could just have your legs hidden completely inside the costume. Now how freaky/creepy that would be to have something like these walking around but without the operator's legs sticking out it?

 

[Ikariya]

The Weta legs would also make for a good dinosaur costume, you could make a wicked raptor or small tyranosaur using those legs. No more needing to wear the dino legs on the side of your legs, now you could just have your legs hidden completely inside the costume. Now how freaky/creepy that would be to have something like these walking around but without the operator's legs sticking out it?

I am super thrilled you mentioned that! I may have to save up to make one of these things!

 

[darthchiro]

Holy eff I would LOVE to sculpt something like that in a 1:1

Pete mander (kre8-fx) did one, its unreal. Here the pic and link to the you tube making of it. This is a wearable suit, the guy is a genius he has made several large suits, this one is by far the coolest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NsQLq7EMkk&feature=related

 

[darthwhitey]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for your interest in our Weta Legs. I can assure you these are very different to any other legs / stilts commercially available, in particular because they are reverse legs (shaped like a Centaur or Horse). Please take a minute to think about the engineering challenge this poses.

They are also developed for a completely different audience to other legs on the market. These are targeted at performers and costumers, to enable them to take on the appearance of "reverse leg" characters / creatures.

Please post any questions you may have here, and we would be delighted to answer them

Kind regards

Tim

Hey Tim,

Any plans to offer "covers" to go with the legs?

It looks like some of the folks at WETA have experimented with "Minotaur" type legs and hooves

I think it would be really cool if you offered covers like this for those of us unskilled enough to maker our own...:$

thanks

brad

 

[Art Andrews]

Pete mander (kre8-fx) did one, its unreal. Here the pic and link to the you tube making of it. This is a wearable suit, the guy is a genius he has made several large suits, this one is by far the coolest

No doubt. Pete builders some of the best "wow" factor pieces I have ever seen!

 

[mccordia]

The Weta legs would also make for a good dinosaur costume, you could make a wicked raptor

The Making of DVD for Jurassic Park has a nice feature on the creation of the Kitchen Scene, also showing a similar (though I recal wire suspended) pair of Raptor leg/pants worn by a performer for certain insert shots/close ups of the legs.

 

[Riceball]

I am super thrilled you mentioned that! I may have to save up to make one of these things!

It would be pretty neat to see since I haven't seen anyone do a dinosaur costume yet. Doing one with the Weta legs you could really freak out a lot of people at a con. I know that seeing the baby T-Rex at the museum, even with the legs exposed and knowing that it's just a costume, was a little unnerving whenever it came close; of course it also helped that they had a hidden speaker in it that piped low growls.

 

[SUPERprops]

You can make a General Grievous cosume with these.

 

[darthwhitey]

you know if it's Weta it's a jacked up price. No one in their right mind would buy them. did they do market research and see that thousands wanted them for their costumes. District 9 is slowly and steadily moving down the " seen it and done it " films . So you might have once person make a costume for a con..whoopie..

1) Well, I guess I'm "not in my right mind" because I'll probably buy a pair. IMHO, Weta consistently turns out cool props for a decent price, seems like a really cool company to me, full of talented people.

2) As far as the higher price, what do you think would be a fair price for them? And even if it is too high, I've seen a lot of prop collectors spend much more on other silly things. It's all very subjective to what a person thinks is cool and wants to spend their money on.

3) These can, in no way, be compared to other legs out there used to hang drywall etc. These are totally different. Truly a "feet" of engineering.

4) Building them myself? Yeah right, I couldn't find the time to assemble stormtrooper armor, let alone design and build a pair of legs like this!...:lol

5) District 9 is a "been there, done that" film? Are you kiddin' me? I'm not sure what that statement even means? It's probably the most original sci-fi movie we've seen in the last 10-15 years. Highly reviewed by critics and geeks alike!

Who knows, you may be surprised the uses for these legs in the future and their popularity.

Just my $.02 of course...

brad

 

[CTF]

5) District 9 is a "been there, done that" film? Are you kiddin' me? I'm not sure what that statement even means? It's probably the most original sci-fi movie we've seen in the last 10-15 years. Highly reviewed by critics and geeks alike!

I wouldn't take it heart. I mean, after all, he likes Chuck.

 

[WebChief]

Ron and Mike from Alberta made their own and debuted them at Dragon*Con last year with their Lycan costumes from Underworld.

 

[Hamsterstyle]

So resurrecting a deadish thread here. I already asked on the Prop forum,but it doesn't seem like anyone there knows.

But does anyone know what happened to Weta Legs? They are not available, the website for them are down, and it seems like there is no mention of why anywhere online.

 

[Hamsterstyle]

So resurrecting a deadish thread here. I already asked on the Prop forum,but it doesn't seem like anyone there knows.

But does anyone know what happened to Weta Legs? They are not available, the website for them are down, and it seems like there is no mention of why anywhere online.

Ok nevermind, I finally found out what happened. According to this: fursuit: Well that was incredibly short-lived..

Apparently pre orders were too low to justfy production, so they canceled the project and refunded the money.

It seems like it barely got off the ground before they axed the whole thing. oh well, I'll just have to make my own... no clue what I'm gonna use em for, I just want to make em.

 

[LittleBit]

Apparently pre orders were too low to justfy production, so they canceled the project and refunded the money.

Thanks for the heads-up. Sorry to hear WETA have canceled orders, but am
anxious to see any digis that fans may subsequently build on their own . BTW,
definitely shades of bitterness over in that fursuit link you provided ... sheesh.

 

[weaponx82]

My friend is the one that designed those and she works for Weta. She was pretty bummed out when Weta pulled them too. She says she's intending to figure out another way to produce these. I don't know what she wants to do now but, if any of you have a shop or set up where you can build these and are interested in working with her, contact her at her site. Keep in mind she is living in New Zealand right now. Kim Graham Studios

 

[Hamsterstyle]

My friend is the one that designed those and she works for Weta. She was pretty bummed out when Weta pulled them too. She says she's intending to figure out another way to produce these. I don't know what she wants to do now but, if any of you have a shop or set up where you can build these and are interested in working with her, contact her at her site. Keep in mind she is living in New Zealand right now. Kim Graham Studios

It sucks that she moved all the way to NZ only to have the job evaporate a few months later. I hope she is still working with Weta on other projects like [Insert Directors Name]'s Hobbit movies.

I also live in Seattle and I would have loved to have checked these out in person. I'm pondering how I can build my own just for fun. I'm wondering if it can be done with strong plastics/PVC because I don't have a clue how to work with metal.