Hi, I joined last month.

I am thinking of building new costumes and props. I want to have fun, and look fun. I'm sure I could search for some of these answers, but I expect that many of you know more about how to do these things around here. Speed will be important, as I want to use any of this stuff by June 29th.

Puffed:
This should be easy, use a blower to inflate a “bunny suit”. Painters suits and bunny suits are readily available. Elastic could be used at the wrists and the ankles to cut air escape. Fabric paint might be used to make designs.

Anyone have ideas about how well a painter's suit would work?
What kind of electric pack should be made? (the blowers and batteries)

Bubble Helmet:
A helmet is needed, if it can be lightweight and cool. I am often hot, so I want to avoid stuffing or layers. I also think I would need a fan if I have any face covering.

I'm open to ideas about construction. All I can think of is a big acrylic bubble that could be cut. A 20 inch (50cm) bubble could be cut to contact a person's shoulders, back and chest. The sharp edge of the bubble could be padded with foam that is sold as pipe insulation, after being blunted with a file and a layer of tape. The bottom could be blacked out and have an input fan at the back and a output vent by the mouth. This should lead to most of a hot exhalation being forced out. Hopefully, this would lead to reduced fogging. I have a 12 volt ~= 10 inch copy-machine-style blower that would be good for the application, if there is enough space in the helmet. Copy-machine-style blowers do not produce much pressure. Perhaps a fanny-pack blower with hose to the back of the helmet would allow this helmet to use the same electrics as “Puffed” above.

Where would I be able to find the bubble?
What is the best way to vent this?

Surround-Sound:
If you have a bunch of robots, or Storm Troopers, it would be good to have speakers to play there movie sounds. One of the troopers could use a hand-held (remote activated) MP3 player. It would lead to a cool effect if all the troopers had wireless speakers so the sound was synchronized and everywhere without being too loud at any one point. It would be nice if the MP3 player would automatically adjust the volume of playback based on current room noise levels.

What kind of wireless speaker system would work for this?
What kind of MP3 player would work best?
How could it be activated to play and stop without looking out of place?

Robot-shaped:
Most costumes are little more then just coloring the person and evoking a character with props. Robot costumes can be difficult because they don't have the build of humans. You need to hide the person and add chunks to make them robot-shaped.

I think that the best way to build this type of costume would be to have a strong black jumpsuit as the base. Then you would attach pieces. The pieces would be cut foam blocks or bags that would inflate. If this does not turn out to be feasible, one could use polyester-filled pillows (too hot, not geeky).

The foam would be cut and painted. I worry that the surface would not be durable, and it would need to be re-sprayed after being bumped into (now wet paint).

The bags would be easy to transport. They would be more durable when you are bumped into. Sadly they would need a blower or two. That would take power, and make noise. I am more worried about noise. While many air-moving systems make less noise (axial computer fans), blowers make the pressure that you need and are loud.

When? Where? What? Why? HoW?

Squrit Gun Painting:
It needs a holster and a cool chrome/brass looking gun. The holster should be as or more important then the gun, so the final selection will be made to fit the holster. For the gun, a painted squirt or dart gun should work. I have a test squirt gun.

What are the ingredients and steps to do this well?
Where would I rent/buy a good western-looking holster?

Working on CONvergence stuff, eh? So am I!

Bubble helmet: A few friends and I are doing a group costume, 50s-era sci-fi spacesuits. The helmets are made from a 14" plastic globe for outdoor lights: http://www.1000bulbs.com/product/7570/3202-14020-003.html. A collar piece is built up around it, with fans front and back. The suit is a modified mechanic's speedsuit, with custom-embroidered patches. Preview pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danbackslide/sets/72157626919911758/

Squirt gun painting: My brother and I have steampunked a fair number of Nerf guns; the Maverick in particular is cheap and cool-looking (like a giant revolver). I like to disassemble the gun before painting, but my brother usually leaves them assembled. Start by giving the gun a light sanding, just enough to break up the surface a bit. Then spray the whole body with flat black paint for plastic, which will give a base for other paints to stick to. From there, imagination is your guide... A pic of my brother's work on a Nerf rifle: http://greasedupdeafguy.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d3e07by