Tron Legacy Costume

Okay Members here might be some good news. I don't think many of us are good at Using & connecting electrical wires for any Tron Outfits. I Noticed ANNISE Used 3M TAPE. But there 's a way to heighten the effect so it not only glows, but it's not expensive. I looked a glow in the dark paints. I always thought there was only green. But I was wrong. They have all the Tron colors. The trick is using a base color of white. Then you paint the top with the Glow paint. There's even a website that claims it will stay lit up for hours after being charged in light. The effect is the same as the EL tape. And a lot cheaper. There's some websites that are not up to par. Make sure as you search they have the intese phosphorus. I'm going this route since I'm on a budget! Good luck to everyone!

Awesome! Do you have a link?
 
First off, this is for you:
Thatguy-1.png

Circled is him. It's his back, however you can see the front in the reflection.

Thanks! - Yeah, I zoomed in to an HD still of that shot, but I still can't seem to figure out how the long material hangs in the front. His arms seem to be free (not covered by a cape) and the arm cuffs seem to be robe like. That's how I came to the idea of a priests robe which is what Neo wears in the matrix. The top part would be fairly easy to construct with the big luminescent collar so it got me thinking it would be a cool version to do for Oct. 31st.
 
I got my first prop for my Tron costume. It was only $7.99 at ToysRUS and looks pretty authentic; it is also not heavy and can be velcro on the back or can be thrown at someone. :love The bottom of the disc is concave shape so I am not sure how I am going to velcro it yet. I took the picture with an Iphone and a flash light in the dark. I will try to get a digital picture with a flash if anyone is interested in seeing it posted.
IMG_0766.jpg

is thats the fancy fomey frizbie like one??
 
any idea where i can find a bace helmet for the one Sam is wearing on the dicks game grid
i need to make it but am having no luck with a place to start
 
Originally my plan was to build sam's suit out of cardstock and fiberglass and velcro the individual pieces to some underarmour. I was also planning on using el wire for the light effects. After some lurking I have significantly changed up my idea. Thank you all for the info/advice/research. Here's my new idea:

I'm going to take a 3mm full length neoprene wetsuit and cut it for the 'armor' pieces. Build it up with some L200 foam and cover the whole thing in plasti-dip. Then the plan is to add the scotchlite accents (thanks Annisse for the awesome pics!) and attach the whole damn thing to a matte black lyrca catsuit. After adding all the accessories I estimate my total cost to be <$200.

Thoughts?
 
Alright... I have pretty much caved and think I'm changing my Halloween costume plans to Sam/Quorra... I've most of it planned out except I'm not too sure how the EL tape works.

The tape you can't cut, right ( or can you? )? At least not without killing whatever you cut off, making it unusable... So how would you make the smaller light up spots like the ones on the boots? Would it be best to buy multiple small strips and pull all the wiring up together to the main box on the back? Anyone who's used the EL tape ... is there enough wiring to do this? Or would it be best to buy a couple really long strips and use them from toe to shoulder on either side and just conceal the non-lit parts in between to make it look like the lights stop and start again throughout the suit?

If you DO cut EL tape, does the whole thing not work anymore? Or just the piece you cut off?

If I were to buy an EL sheet for the smaller parts and circles, etc... would I need to buy connectors/inverters for each piece I cut? Or is there an inverter with splitters that have multiple connectors?

This is the only thing I'm really having trouble with...and I'd LOVE to use the EL tape so if anyone can help me out with some answers it'd be very appreciated!!!

Thanks!!
 
Alright... I have pretty much caved and think I'm changing my Halloween costume plans to Sam/Quorra... I've most of it planned out except I'm not too sure how the EL tape works.

The tape you can't cut, right ( or can you? )? At least not without killing whatever you cut off, making it unusable... So how would you make the smaller light up spots like the ones on the boots? Would it be best to buy multiple small strips and pull all the wiring up together to the main box on the back? Anyone who's used the EL tape ... is there enough wiring to do this? Or would it be best to buy a couple really long strips and use them from toe to shoulder on either side and just conceal the non-lit parts in between to make it look like the lights stop and start again throughout the suit?

If you DO cut EL tape, does the whole thing not work anymore? Or just the piece you cut off?

If I were to buy an EL sheet for the smaller parts and circles, etc... would I need to buy connectors/inverters for each piece I cut? Or is there an inverter with splitters that have multiple connectors?

This is the only thing I'm really having trouble with...and I'd LOVE to use the EL tape so if anyone can help me out with some answers it'd be very appreciated!!!

Thanks!!


Hey aelynn000, (and everyone else)

I've haven't gotten my Large Light Tape ( Light Tape® - Bring your imagination to light! ) mail order yet (Warning..EXPENSIVE) hopefully it will arrive soon, But after chatting with them you CAN cut it and reattach but you need a connector for each new piece you attach ( Light Tape® - Bring your imagination to light! ) also, you have to run it "parallel" (http://www.lighttape.com/library/DesignGuide/Connecting_Multiple_Segments.pdf ) meaning you can't connect to the tape in a chain...(see pdf)

HOWEVER...as of LAST NIGHT, I was able to figure out a way to make some inexpensive light tape that I ordered online (its normally used for computer casings) cut and then re-attach. It was really tricky but here's what I did.

First you have to open up the lamination to get at the electronics (be very careful not to rip the phosphorescent positive and ground as it likes to stick to the laminate) then using an exacto knife carefully scrape away some of the positive phosphorescent so to leave an empty space between that and the ground. Then using just a sliver of copper tape attach one to the ground side and then another piece (can be a little larger) to the positive side, leave some tape sticking over the edge. Then then roll the tape so it flips over so you are working on the plastic side. This is where I had a ton of trouble cause you can't just solder onto the copper tape..(it melts the plastic) However I found "Silver epoxy" (also expensive $33 for .35oz) but it works great!! I was able to connect the wire and let it cure overnight and the tape is working just fine. YAY!!!


as for your other questions, if you just want to buy a bunch of tape and cut without reattaching then yes the part you cut off wont work but the other part will (Make sure you seal the end of the part you cut (YES you will get a nice little shock if you touch the end ;) )

Getting a large copper wire that's attached to the inverter will make attaching the strips easier. see (PDF)

as far as the circles, this is what I have planned. On my bigger light tape order I purchased 2" light tape that I plan on giving the illusion of circle by covering it with black gaffers tape. That way I wont have to cut it (If you try and cut curves into light tape it wont work, straight cuts only)

I haven't worked with light panels, but I do know you can cut it all sorts of shapes, but you need to leave 2 points of contacts for the alligator clips to attach to. Look back a page or 2 there is a guy who has been working with the panels (And has done a great job btw)

I'll try and get some pictures up over the next week or so to give you a picture of what I did. This has been a big chore but supper fun and I've learned a ton (like how to solder)
 
wow...actordiver...I don't think I can do all that! :S

I'm not very hardware handy so taking electrical stuff apart and trying to put it back together isn't a wise idea for me, I don't think...

I'm trying to figure out a way to do it by buying multiple thin strips and stuffing all the batteries into one case on the back. I think I might be able to get away with 3 or 4 strips 5' long... one across the chest for the arms, one down the left of the chest and down the back, and one down the right and over the back... maybe another for the boots...though I'm thinking it would just be easier to use reflective tape for those small bits.

The strips I'm looking at are only about 1cm wide... I'm thinking of using wider white reflective tape and putting the el strips in the center... so it has some glow in the dark, hopefully widened a bit by the tape beside it... and then a lot MORE glow in photos.

I was also thinking about just using white reflective tape and painting it with white glow paint on top... but then I realized having the paint over top would probably completely ruin the reflective quality... even though it dries clear... it seems like it would... but because it's clear.... I don't know! I feel like I should know...but I don't! Can anyone test this out/confirm/deny?
 
I'm going to take a 3mm full length neoprene wetsuit and cut it for the 'armor' pieces. Build it up with some L200 foam and cover the whole thing in plasti-dip. Then the plan is to add the scotchlite accents (thanks Annisse for the awesome pics!) and attach the whole damn thing to a matte black lyrca catsuit. After adding all the accessories I estimate my total cost to be <$200.

Thoughts?

Very ambitious! I can't wait to see the results!

I wonder if after you covered the armor in plasti-dip you could apply the scotchlight with a protective film on top. Then apply another coat of the plasti-dip and pull the film off of the scotchlight leaving it slightly recessed within the plasti-dip armor.

Just throwing out an idea.
 
I wonder if after you covered the armor in plasti-dip you could apply the scotchlight with a protective film on top. Then apply another coat of the plasti-dip and pull the film off of the scotchlight leaving it slightly recessed within the plasti-dip armor.

Me likes. I'm wondering...painters tape? I've unfortunately never worked with platsi-dip before. Not exactly sure of its behavior :confused But that would add a great depth element!
 
Alright! Since I can't work with electricity or cut or solder or any of that cool stuff...here's my plan for Quorra.

Wet look leggings, custom making the boots with vinyl, neoprene top, armor will be vinyl ( might experiment with latex coating after Halloween ) and the lighting will consist of 3 strips of 2.3 El wire and 1 strip of 5mm... all will follow seams and be wrapped underneath the armor or clothing where it's not supposed to be seen and exposed where the lighting is, all with the battery packs meeting up at the back where I'll have one case for all 4 ( might be a bit bigger than I want...but I don't think I'm going to attempt to pull apart the battery packs ). I plan on using some scotchlite as well, underneath the lighting so that it gives off a little more glow than normal, and flash photography doesn't drown out the lighting.

I decided on the wire since I'm buying 8 foot strips, I'll have more than enough and can just trim where needed instead of having to connect...and then it's all wired and ready to go from the get go! ( and cheap :) )

HOPEFULLY... this works. I'm pretty confident it will! I might have to use just the scotchlite on some minor lighting detail, but I'm ok with that. :)

Starting the armor tonight!!! :D
 
EL Sheet Update

OK, I'm still waiting on some parts so I really haven't had the opportunity to work on the costume. But I did get some EL sheets in, so I decided to work on the front of the body armor...

First picture show the back of the EL sheet and these famous 'contacts'. The alligator clips of the battery backs need to clip on to two consecutive contacts.

Second pic is the design I cut from the sheet. Next to it is the template for the next chest design (the infamous circle).

Third pic is the electrical tape I placed on the back to insulate it. I'm not getting shocked by a swarm of duracell batteries. I used an exacto knift to cut away the excess as well as trim the tape on the front so the design is just the way I want it.

Fourth pic is the glue. The stuff works. DON'T get any on you.

Fifth picture is the body armor by Fox.

Sixth picture has the design glued to the front with the leads attached to the EL sheet.

Seventh is the final product. I can use the electrical tape to even out any 'anomalies' to make it a little more neat and tidy.

The circles on the chest are next. I'm just waiting on some body armor to fuse to the back of this chest protector. It will be the base that I place the identiy disk on, and the EL sheet will run along the sides of this piece. More pics coming. I expect the delivery tomorrow for the stuff, and I'm off from work. I could get alot done. Keep checking the thread!
 
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