Halloween

This year for Halloween I decided to head out as Tony Stark; billionaire industrialist, alcoholic playboy, and (not so secret) identity of Iron Man. The costume was based primarily on Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of the character in the recent film adaptation of the comic.

The main component of the costume is the "arc reactor" which in the film, not only powers the suit, but keeps Stark alive. Unfortunately, there are no commercially available prop replicas that would suit my needs, so I made my own using photos and movie stills as reference.

The reactor consists of around fifty modified and scratch built parts. The three LEDs in the center are powered by a battery pack which fit in my front pocket. An elastic material was used to secure the piece to my chest and conceal the wiring. I'll post some pictures of the final costume once my friends get around to uploading them.

The Exactra 20

I picked up this 1974 Texas Instruments calculator at a thrift store in Indianapolis for under a dollar. Curious to see if it was worth anything, I did some research, and learned some interesting information about the piece.

While building the props for the original Star Wars movie, the art department frequently scavenged parts from existing technology. The seven LEDs in the Exactra's display were used in the creation of Luke's first lightsaber.

The Exactra 20 and its predecessor the Exactra 19 were the only two calculators produced with this 7 LED array. As a result, the calculators are in high demand with enthusiasts and reproduction prop builders. This one will most likely end up on E-bay soon.

Harold

I recently drove out to Illinois to work on a film my friend wrote and directed. Jill and I served as Art Department, making props and dressing sets among other things. "Harold" was one of the props I built while there to mimic an actual human body under canvas. Working with a very limited budget, I was able to put together the entire rig for under one hundred dollars. The bulk of the cost went to the purchase of a fiberglass mannequin which I used for the base. An elastic material was used throughout the interior of the body to create realistic movement.

We also got to make fake blood!