Tag Archives: charity

Rocket Booster: Part 3

The first booster is finished! Here’s how it went…

After the paint dried, I used a black wash (black paint mixed with water) to darken the silver and bring out some of the details. It makes it look dirty, old, and used. I then dry-brushed silver rub-n-buff on the edges and raised surfaces. If this booster were real, black paint would have rubbed off on these areas. To further add to the used look (and replicate the screen used prop), I gashed the black paint in a couple of places and then filled in the gash with silver paint. This was designed to simulate the booster being dinged and battered during use.

To finish it off, I applied a clear layer of Deft (Satin Finish) in order to protect the paint job.

Here’s how it turned out:

Here’s the progression, from start to finish.

I would love to hear thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Leave them below!

Chris Pratt Visits a Children’s Hospital

Leave a reply

A few days ago, Chris Pratt reminded me that it only takes a small amount of effort to make a child’s day.

On June 20^th, the Guardians of the Galaxy star stopped by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to visit with some of their patients. Despite his busy schedule, Chris spent hours lifting the spirits of those in need. These pictures come from the hospital’s Facebook page and tell the story of his visit better than I ever could.

Is this a wonderful picture, or what?

The Jurassic World lead brought some goodies from the new hit film and personalized them for the kids.

For those who have seen Jurassic World, you know what this picture is…

I’ll bet this patient will remember this visit forever.

Chris poses with the kids.

What an inspiring story.

For me, this served as a reminder of how small efforts and actions can have a huge impact on those who are in need, especially children. In a weird way, it makes Star-Lord feel like a real life superhero and not one that exists purely in the Marvel cinematic universe. I’m excited to finish the costume.

For anyone who would like to donate a couple of dollars to my fundraising effort for CASA, they can do so here!

Star Lord Nerf Blaster Modification: Part 2

Leave a reply

Turns out, it takes a while for spray paint to dry completely. After letting the paint set for 24+ hours, I began phase two of the gun conversion.

After doing some research, I decided to use Deft Wood Finish for a clear coat. If you’re doing something like this, make sure to wear gloves and a mask. The mask is key. The fumes go to your head quickly and – as the bottle nicely points out – can cause brain damage. Yeah.

I had a little debate with myself when choosing what type of finish to use: gloss or satin. I liked the idea of using satin as the gun is supposed to be worn and dirty. I was afraid, however, of losing the metallic look of the rub-n-buff. I ended up applying the satin to the back two sections of the outer shell to see how it looked. I have to say, I loved the way it made the black paint look. However, I did lose the metallic luster of the rub-n-buff and so decided to go with a gloss for the rest of the gun.

After applying the first coat, I was worried that I had ruined my paint job. When the sealer goes on, it often clouds up, making the underlying paint job very hazy. To my relief, it became clear again as it dried. I took the advice of some online forums and did not touch the finish for 24+ hours. Apparently, the oils in your hands can soak into the finish before it is dry, leaving it with a sticky texture forevermore. We certainly don’t want that!

My reference pictures helped during reassembly. I did have to break the blaster down again after discovering that one of the charging slides didn’t function properly. Other than that, it was a fairly straightforward process. As complicated as the inner workings looked to me, I managed to get it back together with minimal confusion or difficulty. And it functions perfectly!

And so, without further ado, here are the before and after pictures:

Before and after. I was worried that the gold paint didn’t make that much if a difference, but it definitely does.

You may notice that I didn’t paint the barrel bluing onto the blaster. I actually tried a couple of different methods, but couldn’t get it right. I think an airbrush would be the way to go, but I don’t have that kind of airbrush skill. Or an airbrush, for that matter. And so, I elected to ignore that part of the paint job. I mean, at some point, Peter Quill’s blasters were new, right?

It looks ready for action!

And it still works!

As always, I appreciate any comments, suggestions, or questions! If you enjoyed reading about the project and have a couple of extra dollars, I (and CASA) would appreciate you supporting my fundraising effort! You all are awesome!

A Study in Pants

Leave a reply

It’s fair to say that I’ve had Guardians of the Galaxy on the brain for the past few weeks. I’ve spent hours scouring the internet for helpful screenshots and digging through fan forums for costume ideas. I’m pretty sure I’ve had a dream about talking trees and raccoons, at one point. So, of course, when I was looking for something to watch last night, I quickly settled on Guardians.

Naturally, I paid close attention to Star-Lord’s costume and props while watching and was rewarded several times with some excellent looks at his clothing. I wanted to share two particularly helpful screenshots which show his legs in detail.

This shot shows some of the details on his legs and his gadgets.

I thought this shot was interesting because it shows his rocket controls and where his blasters sit while holstered. Getting these props shouldn’t be hard, but figuring our how to secure these to the pants effectively and securely may be difficult.

One more interesting screenshot:

This shows Chris Pratt as he is detaching his rocket booster to attach it to Gamora.

This action shot shows Peter Quill twisting the rocket booster to detach it. This is a hint as to how it mounts to the side of his spats. Maybe some sort of cell phone mount would work here? If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to share! Attaching all of these gizmos is going to be a chore…

The Undershirt: The Devil is in the Details

3 Replies

The undershirt, like the pants, seemed easy to me. At first. Unfortunately, I’ve been stymied by details, once again.

My first challenge is finding the right color. Interestingly, Chris Pratt seems to wear numerous colors throughout the movie, from a darker gray to a light blue. I guess this should be comforting. It shows that, despite his “filthy” ship, Peter Quill does care about clean clothes. Or at least the appearance of clean clothes.

These are some shots showing the undershirt. Unfortunately, the lighting isn’t great in two of them, but you get the idea. Stop staring at Chris Pratt’s abs.

So, basically, I’m going to poke around the internet until I find a shirt that is lightweight and seems to match one of Star-Lord’s shirts. Peter’s varied undershirt wardrobe should give me many options and some choice.

So what’s out there?

Option 1: The Hanes Long Sleeve Beefy T-Shirt

The Hanes Long Sleeve Beefy T-Shirt. A very basic option.

So, this is the basic option. Peter’s shirts look a little heavier which makes sense. It is probably a little chilly in his tiny ship and some insulation would help. The collar doesn’t quite match the one above, but that’s not to bad. The best part about this shirt? It’s cheap. You can get it on Amazon, but I think it’s cheaper on Hanes.com. Oh, and it comes in 30+ colors including a light blue and darker grays. I thought this gray was about right. Here’s a picture of a blue which I think would work as well:

This blue would definitely work.

In addition to color, the photos above reveal some details of Peter’s undershirts which are easy to miss. First, take a look at the collar of the shirt on the left. It think, ribbed, and sits a little high. There are also some seams running down his shirt which are pretty unique. The Hanes shirts work for style and color, but they’re missing these details. I bought them as my fallback, but did not stop my search. I am determined to find one that is pretty close to perfect. Little bits of texture – like the collar and seams – are the difference between costumes that look like imitations and ones that really pop. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful thus far.

I spent hours trying to find the right collar. The problem is that the collar doesn’t really match the style of shirt. I’ve found similar collars on some jumpers and sweaters, but all the ones that look right are on heavy, winter garments which wouldn’t work.

I’ve also tried searching for thermals and mock turtlenecks, to no avail. So, for now (and after 3 hours of working on this blog post and trying to find the right shirt), I’m going to settle for the Hanes shirts and see If I can make them work. For now, there is no option 2. I’m not giving up, though. I’m sure the perfect shirt is out there somewhere…

The pants are in!

3 Replies

I came back from a trip this weekend to find *drum-roll* the pants.

Not what I expected.

I mean, they’re not bad, just a little different. To start, they’re a little more lightweight that I thought they would be. When I think of motorcycle pants, I think of heavy material, with a little faux (or real) leather. These remind me of the snow-pants I wore sledding when I was a kid. Without too much padding.

Star-Lord seem like the type of person to wear rough, distressed, leather and tough canvas pants. The type of pants that can take a beating and keep on going. The type of pants that Peter Quill had worn for years and years…maybe without washing. These pants are not those pants. These pants might be able to take a beating, but not many more than one.

That’s not to say that they aren’t cool looking, They are cool. Darn cool. Just not quite what I had imagined.

Anyway, now that I’ve conveyed my first impressions, let’s take a look at some of the details.

First, the obvious. There are some logos and patches that need to be removed. Star-Lord was not advertising “Riding Tribe” in the film. Luckily, everything looks to be sewn on so that, with a care, I can remove the unneeded patches.

Notice the stitching which should be easy to remove.

The stitching is harder to see on these, but is there. This logo should come off easily as well.

Here’s a close up of the material:

It is mesh in some parts. This is great because it somewhat mimics the multiple fabrics of Peter Quill’s trousers.

Here is a side by side of the front:

Star-Lord on the left. My pants on the right.

As you can see, they’re not at all an exact match. However, they are a good baseline. As I said in a previous post, Star-Lord’s pants are custom so short of hiring someone to make me exact replicas – or miraculously developing some serious sewing skills – I was always going to have to make due with “close.” And these pants are close.

They just need a little work. First, I’ll have to remove the logos and pocket. After that, well, we’ll see if there’s any way to modify them further.

Thoughts, suggestions or comments? Leave them below…especially if you will make me a custom pair of Star-Lord pants in exchange for advertising to my four readers!

Why CASA? (true story)

Leave a reply

Why CASA?

The court room was fairly empty the day I visited. Lawyers sat in the front row with an emotional mother who dabbed her eyes periodically. In the rows behind, a few CPS case workers read through their notes and whispered to each other. Everyone was waiting for the judge to enter, the judge who would decide what would happen to a child who CPS recently removed from her mother’s care.

The judge entered and the day began. The mother testified about the progress she had made and her lawyer made the case that it was enough. CPS and the state brought up their concerns. The judge sat and listened, asking thoughtful questions and gathering the information she would need to make this difficult decision.

And then, at one point, a woman took the stand. After she said an oath, I learned that she was the child’s assigned CASA. The judge proceeded to ask her questions about the young boy. How were his interpersonal skills? How does he act when he talks about his mother? What does he say about school? What does he want? Does he want to go home with his mother?

Slowly, thoughtfully, she answered each question. Her answers and her tone of voice reflected the time she had spent with him and the relationship they had developed. She had been his CASA, a figure in his life, as he had moved from temporary home to temporary home. She was there for him throughout the transitions and was at court to advocate for him.

I found out later that she was a volunteer, that there were many CASA volunteers. But not enough. As the Family Court dockets grow in size, CASA can’t keep up with volunteers. But they’re trying. One CASA for every child – that’s their goal.

This is an organization worth supporting. This is an organization worth giving $5.00 to. This is an organization worth registering a website and fundraising for, even if it means hours out of each day and money spent on a superhero costume.

Thanks for reading! As always, I appreciate your thoughts and comments.

Star-Lord’s Pants: Trickier Than I Expected…

2 Replies

Of everything I have to get together (besides the blasters), the pants seemed the easiest. At first.

Turns out, if you’re going for authenticity, that isn’t the case. These pants appear custom made with some interesting features. Take a look:

This is a decent shot of the pants in good lighting. Fortunately, the boot covers conceal the bottoms leaving less exposed area to worry about.

Chris Pratt…being a boss. This is a decent shot of the pants in good lighting. Fortunately, the boot covers conceal the bottoms leaving less exposed area to worry about.

Here’s a look at the back:

Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
L to R: Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) & Gamora (Zoe Saldana)
Ph: Jay Maidment
©Marvel 2014

A thread on RPF.com (click for link) sums the challenge up perfectly. In the words of user Kevin Gossett:

On to the pants. OH the pants! These things are a beast. So many details and multiple fabrics.

It looks as though the exterior panels are made from a waxed cotton/canvas and the interior panels are possibly a cotton twill or nylon/cordura. There is the same type of zipper, which appears to be nonfunctional, that is used on the short jacket. On the front of the pants there are two panels at the top with a faint ticking stripe stitched in, an extended flap closure, more panels, straps, and snaps. You’ll also find the rocket controls mounted to the outside of the knee. At the knee there is also what looks to be some pleated horizontal panels. On the hips are leather padding, similar to motorcycle pants body armor. This is where the quad blasters sit while holstered (more on that later)

Yeah. Custom indeed. Not only do they need to have the right features, but they need to fit properly. They don’t hug Chris’ legs, but aren’t terribly baggy either. More of a “modern fit.”

Luckily for me, I’m far from the first person to study Star-Lord’s outfit or to attempt to recreate it so all I need to do is follow someone else’s lead. A few enterprising fans have paid for custom “from scratch” pants which, I’m sure, cost a pretty penny. This is money I’m not willing to spend with the punch-in-the-wallet coat still looming in my future. I absolutely do not have the skill to sew my own. I needed to find a close match ready-made.

Eventually, I stumbled across a blog post by a gentleman named Darryn Bonthuys (@Darrangedd) who found motorcycle pants which were a close match. Close, not exact, but close enough for me. They’re being sold on eBay. Take a look:

Not quite right…but close?

Fit looks about right. They have close to the correct groin snap thing (I’m sure there is a correct term…which I don’t know). Color, obviously, is good. The red should be easy to deal with. The biggest problem is material. I feel like there is a lot more leather to these than the authentic wardrobe pieces. Unfortunately, on a budget, these are as good as it gets. I may have to do a little customization, but these will get me most of the way. Hopefully.

Ordered them yesterday and they are in the mail.

Fortunately, the seller takes returns.

The Blasters…

Leave a reply

For this transformation, I’m starting with the easy projects. First on my list: Star-Lord’s blasters.

His Quad Blasters, to be precise.

These things are cool looking, even for a casual sci-fi fan. Just look at the screenshot.

Yeah, these guns are cool. Uber cool. Photo credit: Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia. Click the picture for link.

Like I said: cool. So where do I get my hands on a couple of these bad boys? After doing some research, there are basically two feasible options.

First, I could 3D print one. After poking around online I found that an enterprising fan named Helagak on theRPF.com has painstakingly created a 3D print file for a Quad Blaster. Awesome. It seems that a number of people on the forum have printed copies successfully. Oh man, would I love to create an original prop with some 3D printed plastic weight to it that I can wave around (responsibly) the day of the race!

The biggest problem with this course of action is that I don’t have a 3D printer. I’ve never seriously considered owning a 3D printer. They intimidate me. They seem too amazing to be true, honestly. Like magic. Now, I could find someone to print it for me. There are services that link you up with 3D printing enthusiasts. I could also grovel on the RPF forums or go to a Fedex location (I hear they’re doing 3D printing now, right?). This is a lot of work for this ancillary prop, though, and I have no idea how much it would cost.

Luckily for me, there is a budget option. I present the Nerf Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Star-Lord Quad Blaster:

Wait…why is it orange? Photo courtesy of Amazon. Click photo for link.

This blaster is the right size and the right shape (and FIRES UP TO 25 FEET!). Costing a mere $13.50 (thanks Amazon Prime), this is definitely the way I’m going. I’m going to have to figure out how to paint the thing, but that should be a fun project. Hopefully.

I would love to have blaster with the heft of a 3D printed model, but with the potential cost of the rest of Star-Lord’s getup, I’m going with the cheap option here. Click. Ordered. On my way to being Star-Lord.

Becoming Star-Lord.

Documenting my transformation into a Superhero…for charity, of course.

Tag Archives: charity

Rocket Booster: Part 3

Chris Pratt Visits a Children’s Hospital

Star Lord Nerf Blaster Modification: Part 2

A Study in Pants

The Undershirt: The Devil is in the Details

The pants are in!

Why CASA? (true story)

Star-Lord’s Pants: Trickier Than I Expected…

The Blasters…