Rubies one piece Jango helmet
- Thread starter SomeGuy
- Start date
Wow, great idea for an elevated paint frame! Love it. Beats laying out the dropcloth and scrap plywood/cardboard, which has been problematic over the very wet spring / wet ground we have had here. I know a thrift store that usually has pieces of wire shelves available. It should be easy to make one with that and 2x4 leftover cuts from the lumber section hardware store.
I have to endorse the idea of going to a sign shop and buying scrap plastic from a sign shop. I read online for years about other people doing that, and always thought "No way it could work for me, those people know somebody or something." I noticed a sign shop near work, drove by it for months before I got the balls to go in there and ask. I dreaded that "you're a weirdo" look you sometimes get in hardware or other stores when you tell employees you're working on costumes or Star Wars.
Anyway, 5 minutes and $20 later, I was still breathing and the sun was still in the sky - I walked out with so much styrene -enough to make leg/arms shins for both my sandtrooper and stormtrooper armor sets, all the chest pieces for Fetts, etc. Importantly, it was enough that I could play around with it - cutting shapes, learning, trimming, heating, etc. I could throw way half of what I got and still have enough for multiples of all of those. The shop did have a lot of scraps available. It wasn't like I went there and dug in a trash can for funny-shaped pieces (which is partly what I thought would happen going in there, haha). I just picked from a bunch readily available, walked out with a big stack of rectangular pieces about 10 inches wide by several feet long.
For paint - if there is a Hobby Lobby craft store within driving distance of you, use their 40% discount coupon (off of one item) and buy your spray paint one can at a time that way. You can pull up the coupon on smartphone from their site if you forget the paper one. Bring your significant other and ask them to use one too, so you can get two cans at a time ("Honey, want to go the craft store so you can get some decorations?" lol). Not sure if AC Moore or other craft stores have coupons too. I think you can still get 10% off total purchase coupons from Lowe's hardware by picking up a free Moving Kit (stuffed envelope, not the postcard one) at your local U.S. Post Office.
Cheers,
- Tom
I have to endorse the idea of going to a sign shop and buying scrap plastic from a sign shop. I read online for years about other people doing that, and always thought "No way it could work for me, those people know somebody or something." I noticed a sign shop near work, drove by it for months before I got the balls to go in there and ask. I dreaded that "you're a weirdo" look you sometimes get in hardware or other stores when you tell employees you're working on costumes or Star Wars.
Anyway, 5 minutes and $20 later, I was still breathing and the sun was still in the sky - I walked out with so much styrene -enough to make leg/arms shins for both my sandtrooper and stormtrooper armor sets, all the chest pieces for Fetts, etc. Importantly, it was enough that I could play around with it - cutting shapes, learning, trimming, heating, etc. I could throw way half of what I got and still have enough for multiples of all of those. The shop did have a lot of scraps available. It wasn't like I went there and dug in a trash can for funny-shaped pieces (which is partly what I thought would happen going in there, haha). I just picked from a bunch readily available, walked out with a big stack of rectangular pieces about 10 inches wide by several feet long.
For paint - if there is a Hobby Lobby craft store within driving distance of you, use their 40% discount coupon (off of one item) and buy your spray paint one can at a time that way. You can pull up the coupon on smartphone from their site if you forget the paper one. Bring your significant other and ask them to use one too, so you can get two cans at a time ("Honey, want to go the craft store so you can get some decorations?" lol). Not sure if AC Moore or other craft stores have coupons too. I think you can still get 10% off total purchase coupons from Lowe's hardware by picking up a free Moving Kit (stuffed envelope, not the postcard one) at your local U.S. Post Office.
Cheers,
- Tom
Mullreel said:
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