Duct Tape or Space Suit?
I have decided that, though my existing bird suit is unique and fun, I want to try making my own. So the first step is making a duct-tape dummy, but I was told I’d pretty much be ruining a set of clothing in order to do it.
Why? For $10 or less you can buy a painter’s jumpsuit from the hardware store and make the job even easier. My friends Zschamm and Darius and I bought some tape and a suit and away we went.
So here’s how we started out- first by taping the suit taut against my skinny body. Gotta make sure the crotch isn’t sagging down and the sides aren’t billowing out.
Of course, that’s just the beginning…
From there it’s like building a duct tape corset… only the painter’s jumpsuit comes with an escape route. If you tape everywhere except the front zipper, you’ll be able to get out a lot easier when all is said and done. The zipper keeps the front taut and shapely when it’s closed, so leaving it untaped isn’t a detriment.
Of course, Zschamm noticed that the billowing arms and legs made me look like some Shakespearean nightmare. I couldn’t resist the pose.
Of course by the time you’re done you feel like a robot, let alone look like one. But still, the tape conforms very well to your body and still leaves a long zipper to escape through.
When we were finished, all we had to cut was a bit of the legs, pretty much up to the knee. A little wriggling and the aid of the giant front zipper…
…and voila, I’m out of there. All that’s left is a nearly intact empty space suit. Stuff it with some filler, zip up the front zipper, and it’s a working model of your body. We had to tape up the zipper a little bit, though, since those jumpsuits aren’t meant to be stretched or stressed at all. The TyvekŪ paper-fabric around the zipper may rip if you’re not careful, so once I was out we decided reinforcement was in order.
Now, on to the beak! I’ll have photos of my vacuum-forming efforts when I get some.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:45 am
That’s one nice looking spacesuit. Imagination plus some cheap components can get one quite far. You proved it.
July 11th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Nido-
Actually, it’s not a spacesuit, though it could very easily be turned into a Mercury-era suit, I suppose. We were making a duct-tape dummy for the purposes of making a bird suit. This thing will help keep the measurements correct.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I’m sorry.
I’ve been working on coding all day so I think I lost my concentration a but in reading the post. That, the title and high orbit podcast made me come to the conclusion too fast. It does put the beak part in perspective.
Good luck in creating the bird suit in order. You might want to sow the zipper as well aside from just taping it. Fixing it after the suit has been completed is a hellish job.