Scouter of Prince Vegeta

It's OVER 9,000!!!! ~according to Prince Vegeta's scouter at least.... ^.^;;

I outdid myself this I-Con26!!
This is was one of the most time consuming aspect of the Saiya-jin costumes that Kat, Angel and I made.

I made three of these scouters! Angel's (AKA Vegeta costume boy) scouter came out the best. The process of making these scouters was a long, TOXIC GAS filled jamboree.

I had limited resources as far as what materials I could manipulate and what I could make them out of. I will break it down in steps as best as I can.

My first concern was the the lens. It had to be made of something morr solid then pastic wrap or plastic transparencies... So I took a gamble that if using casting resin could be used to make jewels (see all the reference you want in my previous project Ocarina of Time:Tiara of Zelda ), it could be fashioned to make a lens.

I made a mold out of a plastic paint pallet, but instead of using a round one to make round jewels, I used a flat, rectangular one. I proceeded to mold this rectangle using alot of scotch tape, long strips of plastic transparencies (perfect for molds, the less rough surface area the better when simulating glass) and Euro coins (or whatever coin currency that you have sitting around the house that is unfortunate enough to be seen) to reenforce the transparencies' diagonal angle where the scouter and the scouter lens meets. This was a trial and error mess with thinckness of the lense and resin dye, but result came out satifactory enough. DO NOT USE PAN GREASE!! It's not worth it, it clouds the lens. Patience and slowly bending or breaking the plastic pallet will free the lense. I recommend buying a small dermel tool to fix mistakes (resin aways will seep out a bit if not alot).

Anyway, Angel got a red lens, Kat a green and I a purple.

Then once more, out of polymer clay I made the scouter. I recommend getting a "clay machine" to make even, flat and smooth surfaces to work with. I folded play tightly to get the ripples of at the center of the scouter. then I made a rectangle sheet of clay with a hole so that the ripples show through.

Funny enough, I found that how your elementary school art teacher taught you how to make a basket out of clay more effective then any other complicated method of making the "ear cup" of the scouter.

I always try too hard to reinvent the wheel. After you finish your "ear cup" basket, I smoothed the outer walls and voila! All I needed to do was make the arm of the scouter, slowly smooth the arm over the side of the cup until they are one and safely joined. scratch and smooth out that red, inverted square button on the arm and it is ready to be baked and hardened!!

I then used paper clay, it's lighter (which we want), but unfortunately not so strudy, to help fix the junction between the clay scouter and the lens that got warped in baking.

I used acrylic titanium white paint as a base coat, painted everything else that needed red and gold paint and went it dried, put a high gloss, clear sealer on the clay scouter.

Then I got the most powerful non-yellowing, clear drying glue I could muster and connected the resin lens and the scouter.

I wasn't done yet!!! I had to make a ear cushion (did not know how to make somethind easier) using flat foam and fake vinyl. That was a pain to do by hand, hurt alot!!!! Very thick fabric to sew through!!

Then I made thin, metal loops that I attached inside the scouter cup with paper clay and more over that glue. I quickly sew them together (was out of time) and it was sort of done!!

Next project is figuring out how to get the think to successful attach to the head and stay there!! FUN!!

Okay I am out of words.....

Questions? Comments? Complaints? I'll proof edit this later...... Good night! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz