My Purple Bounty Hunter for the Price Conscious (Budget Zam Thread)

C

Cressie

New Hunter
Intro:

Hey guys! I'm new to the TDH boards. I'm Cressie, a Dragon-Con veteran and recent fellow Zammer. I'm a recovering Padme addict- in other words I need something more challenging than sewing senatorial and I want to try my hands at armor! So I thought Zam would be the perfect costume to get me out of my Padme addiction- Plus I really want a good costume challenge this summer! And after reading most of the threads, it looks like I really have my work cut out for me.

I've been dying to do this costume for several years. She's the sexiest bounty hunter in the galaxy. BUT one problem. I have time to devote to Zam all summer long, but not the money. I'm in law school right now and I can't spend several grand on a costume, but would still like a good replica in time for DragonCon. I'm pretty crafty with sewing (8 Padme/Leia costumes and counting), leather (Mustafar Padme) and powertools (I'm a country girl), so I'm pretty certain I can do the work.

So here is the master plan after a lot of research and reading the wonderful posts on this forum:
  • All hard leather parts will be made in glorious white vinyl. Why? Because I found a 12 X 5 ft roll of it at Big Lots for 10 bucks! It has great texture and it's pretty think and hard like kitchen floor linoleum- so it might be used for the shin guards and skirt only.
  • The soft leather parts will be made from walmart pleather for 2.99/yd.
  • Chest armor will be made out of Sintra or yard sale sign (Thanks ZamIAm!)
  • Greebles will most likely be made out of Bend and Flex Sculpty from Hobby Lobby left over from my Slave Leia. I had great luck with sculpting, painting and the durability of it. You can bounce it on concrete!
  • Shoes are men's hiking boots from Walmart
  • Shin guards are pleather covered vinyl.
  • Bodysuit will be a modified Zentai purple bodysuit from ebay, with a soft foam interfacing to give it the thick look of neoprene. I have yet to receive the suit, so this is still in the works.
  • Helment: I've really bounced around with the helmet. I do believe this is outside my skill level, so I will most likely need a kit. But, i'm not giving up that easy. I'm at least going to attempt my version of it. It might even be fiberglass covered paper mache' hehe :)
Anymore ideas for a budget Zam? I feel like Ms. Cheap from the sunday newspaper! :)
 
While I'm waiting for my Lycra bodysuit from e-bay, I decided to work on the skirt, which is my favorite Zam part visually.

I used my 10 dollar vinyl and 3 different colors of purple spray paint for painting this test swatch (I also cut up an old belt for the ribbon). It seems too shiny, so I'm thinking about spraying a clear Matte finish on it.

i09F0B5FB-E0D0-4164-BF1A-5B42D80F35C3.jpg
 
Boot find at Walmart. They are called Journey in brown by Earth Spirit in the Men's boot section. They were $30 and extremely comfortable. I wore them around all day today (yup, I have no sense of fashion).

Here is a pic of them with my shin guard:
i3F1228AC-8EBB-45C6-9295-A4772DD2CC95.jpg

i87B0B4A2-25AA-4851-86A3-A27B18C58834.jpg
 
And tonight i had my first experience with Sintra. I used a newspaper to create a pattern for the chest armor, thanks to my Dressing a Galaxy Book and my new best friend, My 12 inch Zam Doll. I had no idea she had blond hair under the helmet, i always thought it was dark. Shows what i know! :)

I used my pattern to cut 1/8in Sintra with a sharp box cutter and sanded the edges. Tomorrow I use the dremel to cut out the letters and heat it up to shape. Wish me luck!
i422AF8E9-FEC9-410C-BCB8-5C1BADE3B9FD.jpg
 
I love this stuff...Im a huge fan of alternate methods of costuming and budget concepts...will be a treat watching your progress...looks like your off to a great start
 
Just a couple of pointers from someone who's been using sintra for awhile....and has screwed it up many times....haha. Remember that sintra gives off toxic fumes when heated so be sure to be in a well ventilated area. If you're using the boiling water method, don't use a pot you plan on ever using for food again. Who knows what kind of chemicals from the sintra leach in to the pot. I know it definitely discolors some metals. If you use a heat gun, be really careful. You'll be able to see the plastic start to break down so heat on the side that won't be seen. And....when you sand the edge of sintra it gets a funny texture that becomes more obvious when you paint it. Not a huge deal but thought I'd warn you. Good luck with all of this!
 
Thanks for the tips BFett333,

I hadn't even thought about the pan yet, but I have a large metal wash tub that I use on the stove for dying fabrics, so i'll just use that.

And I was wondering why the edges aren't ultra smooth, I thought it was the type of sandpaper. Thanks! I would have been sanding all day long!
 
Well Bless-my-heart Cressie! :D Isn't that what Tennesseean's say? Welcome to The Dented Helmet and the Zam Forums! Happy to have you on our side... :lol: You aren't too far from where my best friend lives - I'll have to arrange a bounty on her so you can get her into costuming! :lol: :lol:

Sounds like you've got a plan! I also have to say I'm impressed with what you've done so far - it really looks great! :thumbsup: Please keep us posted on your progress! We love pics of that!

And I'm looking forward to meeting you at Dragon*Con! I'm thinking we need to get all of us Zam's together and get a group picture! :D
 
Thanks MaulMaus! And that's exactly how we say it in TN. :)

Yes yes, I'm all for a Zam D*con photoshoot. My boyfriend is an Atlanta area photographer and lives just seconds from the convention- We might be able to sweet talk him into doing it.

I hope to find the hose and connectors at our local Tractor Supply store- i've seen the black connectors, just not the hose. Good ole' Tennessee farm products!
 
Cressie said:
We might be able to sweet talk him into doing it.
Click to expand...
Start working on him! :D :lol:

Well... if you find that hose (1" diameter) Give a holler! A lot of us are still looking for some good hose. Not a lot of farming or tractor supply places in Phoenix... ;) Used to be believe it or not... not any more! :p
 
The hose hunt:
I've seen the hose before. It looks very similar to the one on my grandma's Electrolux vacuum from the 60's. The ribs are perfect, but the diameter is larger than 1in.

Has anyone tried ribbed pond hose? The ones for custom outdoor ponds and fountains? I found a website that sells them, but looks like they don't ship to the US. It looks close, so I might have to go to garden stores instead of farm supply.
 
I don't think either of those would work. The first the ribs aren't far enough apart the second just doesn't look right.

1" hose would be 25mm.

I'm still thinking its some kinda scuba hose... but I've not found anything yet either. :(
 
The stuff we've used is 25mm in diameter.
I've no idea when these guys quote the 'bore' ifit's thr diamater or the circumference?
someone fancy doing a bit of maths?
 
i like the look of that...whats the quantity you need to buy? maybe we could all pool together...get enough for those who want it and have it sent to one person who can cut it up to length(plus a few inches on each hose for connection options) and have it sent out?

the hose im using right now is from a respirator machine in a hospital...looks pretty good but the ribs i think are still a tad close...

normal_hose.jpg


not sure if the other hose john posted is any more open coiled than what i got or not, hard to tell in the pictures
 
This thread is more than 17 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

mcdoubleshot
Boots Looking for Zam Wesell Boots!!
Replies
4
Views
750
DomiEE3
DomiEE3
UscruDrifter
Helmet Zam (Light) Build
Replies
0
Views
2,942
UscruDrifter
UscruDrifter
Cookiedala
My Zam Wessell Build
2
Replies
32
Views
6,793
Cookiedala
Cookiedala
DarthBrooks
Weapons Zam Wesell/Jango AOTC Bounty Hunter Sniper Rifle
Replies
13
Views
5,883
Thebountyhunter
Thebountyhunter
TheDorkyDiva
2021 Zam Build WIP
4 5 6
Replies
108
Views
14,638
BudaFett
BudaFett
Back
Top