halo36
New Member
I have been viewing the forum for a while. I appreciate all the info and ideas. For the most part, I had my costume planned out before I found you guys. I just wanted to share my experience for anyone who has not already built theirs.
-EL tape: I think tape gives the best effect. Depending on which type you choose, it can be easy to handle and requires no soldering. Let me say that Light Tape is awesome. If you are considering using something besides EL wire, light tape is the only way to go. I used half light tape and half EL tape from glowhut and only the light tape held up. The other was unlaminated and ended up breaking (light going out) or delaminating with the layers separating. Light tape is way more durable, comes in different widths and uses connectors that make it super simple to cut and connect sections.
-Color: I chose to do a Clu design. Even though I bought yellow tape, it glows greenish yellow. Maybe an orange would be closer in color when lit.
-Identity disc: Making the identity disc from the non lit version of the toy and 5 ft of EL wire with a small battery pack worked like a charm. I found super strong magnets (one at the top, one at the bottom) held the disc on very securely. It was cool to be able to take it off and on with no visible velcro, etc.
-Black Foamies sheets (from Joann fabric) worked well for cutting out patterns to lay over the EL tape to add a little depth and design to the suit.
-Glue: E6000 works well for gluing but make sure you use enough. There is also a different brand in a yellow package that dries much quicker but is just slightly weaker in its bond. It can work well for certain things.
-Suit: I used a leather one piece motorcycle suit. Although it is not as form fitting as spandex, it had many advantages. I made sure I got one that was as fitted as possible and the fit ended up working pretty well. The leather is easy to cut and glue but the big bonus is the mesh inner liner that allows all the wiring to be run between the leather and the lining instead of directly against your body. The unlaminated EL tape can zap you on the sides, trust me. The motorcycle suit also has a foam bump out under the neck down the back. This allowed me to cut out inner sections to place battery packs and give a more realistic bulge to attach the identity disc to.
-Sections: When using EL tape, use the light tape because it is laminated and can be cut and connected easily. I found out the hard way that many small sections are much, much better than longer sections. All of longer sections ended up breaking due to stress of movement and will have to be replaced. The shorter separate pieces allowed each piece to move independantly; this reduced stress on the piece itself and the glue bond.
-Batteries: I wore the costume two nights in a row. The first night I wore it from 9pm until well after 2 am. I did not notice any decrease in brightness. I did replace the batteries on the driver that ran the wider tape sections for the second night but kept the original batteries for the other two sections. On each of the drivers, I replaced the 9v battery with an AA 8 pack.
-Drivers: I used sound active drivers for all of the sections. Although I planned on using two, I ended up adding a third to bump up the brightness. I chose sound active drivers which did two things. First it gave a very cool effect being that I was at parties and clubs. The suit reacted to the sound very well and made it much more fun. Also since it was flashing and not lit continuously, it allowed the batteries to last much longer. I know it is not as authentic but the effect was worth it. The first night I had all of the drivers at the top of the bump on the back behind the identity disc with the battery packs inside. The second night I relocated one of the main drivers at my wrist which allowed me to turn it on and off or adjust sound sensitivity easier.
I didn't end up getting a ton of pictures myself but I was photographed by others a ton. Here are a couple throughout the process. I plan on making several updates / upgrades including replacing all of the non Light Tape tape by the time the premier hits.
-EL tape: I think tape gives the best effect. Depending on which type you choose, it can be easy to handle and requires no soldering. Let me say that Light Tape is awesome. If you are considering using something besides EL wire, light tape is the only way to go. I used half light tape and half EL tape from glowhut and only the light tape held up. The other was unlaminated and ended up breaking (light going out) or delaminating with the layers separating. Light tape is way more durable, comes in different widths and uses connectors that make it super simple to cut and connect sections.
-Color: I chose to do a Clu design. Even though I bought yellow tape, it glows greenish yellow. Maybe an orange would be closer in color when lit.
-Identity disc: Making the identity disc from the non lit version of the toy and 5 ft of EL wire with a small battery pack worked like a charm. I found super strong magnets (one at the top, one at the bottom) held the disc on very securely. It was cool to be able to take it off and on with no visible velcro, etc.
-Black Foamies sheets (from Joann fabric) worked well for cutting out patterns to lay over the EL tape to add a little depth and design to the suit.
-Glue: E6000 works well for gluing but make sure you use enough. There is also a different brand in a yellow package that dries much quicker but is just slightly weaker in its bond. It can work well for certain things.
-Suit: I used a leather one piece motorcycle suit. Although it is not as form fitting as spandex, it had many advantages. I made sure I got one that was as fitted as possible and the fit ended up working pretty well. The leather is easy to cut and glue but the big bonus is the mesh inner liner that allows all the wiring to be run between the leather and the lining instead of directly against your body. The unlaminated EL tape can zap you on the sides, trust me. The motorcycle suit also has a foam bump out under the neck down the back. This allowed me to cut out inner sections to place battery packs and give a more realistic bulge to attach the identity disc to.
-Sections: When using EL tape, use the light tape because it is laminated and can be cut and connected easily. I found out the hard way that many small sections are much, much better than longer sections. All of longer sections ended up breaking due to stress of movement and will have to be replaced. The shorter separate pieces allowed each piece to move independantly; this reduced stress on the piece itself and the glue bond.
-Batteries: I wore the costume two nights in a row. The first night I wore it from 9pm until well after 2 am. I did not notice any decrease in brightness. I did replace the batteries on the driver that ran the wider tape sections for the second night but kept the original batteries for the other two sections. On each of the drivers, I replaced the 9v battery with an AA 8 pack.
-Drivers: I used sound active drivers for all of the sections. Although I planned on using two, I ended up adding a third to bump up the brightness. I chose sound active drivers which did two things. First it gave a very cool effect being that I was at parties and clubs. The suit reacted to the sound very well and made it much more fun. Also since it was flashing and not lit continuously, it allowed the batteries to last much longer. I know it is not as authentic but the effect was worth it. The first night I had all of the drivers at the top of the bump on the back behind the identity disc with the battery packs inside. The second night I relocated one of the main drivers at my wrist which allowed me to turn it on and off or adjust sound sensitivity easier.
I didn't end up getting a ton of pictures myself but I was photographed by others a ton. Here are a couple throughout the process. I plan on making several updates / upgrades including replacing all of the non Light Tape tape by the time the premier hits.
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