Harry Potter Death Eater costume - Work in Progress!

Here are a few shots of our Death Eater project as it stands today.  It's very much a work in progress at this point. The mask is a fibreglass cast of a sculpt I made last year. The tunic is the most recent part of the ensemble, put together by my sister, totally made from scratch from a suit pattern she has customized. The embroidery is all done by hand apart from the "stripes" along the bottom of the tunic which were machined. The lower sleeves are imitation leather, sewn onto the elbow of the jacket, then wrapped with leather ties.  

Still a fair amount to do on the costume, the belt, boots and the robe are the next things to do. The outer robe pictured below is not the final one, it's just a stand in for now.  The really important thing still left to do to the tunic is the weathering. It will take a lot of breaking down to get it looking more authentic. That will probably be the next update on this project, documenting the breaking down process.

Here's a nice close up of the embroidery and the little clasps,


It's exciting to see this coming together, but there is a way to go yet. My sister is now working on the final outer robe, and my next task is the wand belt.

Stay tuned!

Doctor Who - Custom Adipose Display

The Adipose stress toy from Wow Stuff is a great little replica of the weird little fat babies from the 4th season episode "Partners in Crime"
 
The only issue with these little guys is that they attract dust and fluff at an incredible rate, so they soon become grubby and don't quite look the part anymore.

I decide to make a simple taxidermy style display for my Adipose, using a glass dome to keep the dust and grime away. I decided to look for a cheap old anniversary clock with an intact glass dome cover to use for my display. The only difficulty I found was that the only glass domes I could find were all too tall to fit my stubby little Adipose properly. I got a bit lucky and managed to find a cheap, old clock which was so rubbishy that it had an acrylic dome instead of a glass one. Nice and easy to cut the bottom off and suitably frame the fat baby.

I used a cutting wheel on a dremel to slice off the base, then sanded the cut nice and flat.

I then collected up a few bits from the workshop,

A piece of thin perforated I took from the inside of an old stereo

An old oak disc which used to be part of a cheap barometer

And a disc of 2mm acrylic I cut from some scrap. This fits perfectly inside the base of the dome, and will be "anchor" which locates the dome onto the base.  I rubbed a bit of 400 grit wet and dry over the two surfaces to make it a little more opaque.

I used the acrylic disc as a template to score the circle onto the thin steel. I then cut the steel with scissors and superglued the two discs together

 
While the glue was setting, I sanded off the nasty old varnish from the oak base, then re-stained it. Then I drilled a few holes and screwed the disc onto the base.

I gave my Adipose a good wash, then sealed him into his new display.  The brass screws are just there to fill up some holes in the wood that were part of it's previous life.

Here he is next to my MFX sonic screwdriver, and a similar display I've done for an old Trilobite fossil I've had for a long time.

WEB - An exciting indie short in the works

A few weeks ago, I was asked by a friend of mine if I'd be able to help out on a new project he was planning. He is making an independent short film this summer called WEB. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll steer clear of the plot, but to keep up to date on the project you can keep an eye on their Facebook page 

I'll be providing a couple of props for the production, and I'll put up some progress photos here once I get the OK from the Head Honcho.

There's a first time for everything...

I've decided it's about time to be a bit more vocal about the ins and out of the Standing Stone Studios workshop. It's one thing to look at polished photos of finished projects on the main site, but a few work in progress shots taken during construction can really help to give an insight into how a project is put together.

There are also quite a few projects that I put together which don't, for one reason or another,  make it  onto the main site. These are mostly just little indulgences I make for myself or my home, but they maybe of some interest to some of you.

So that's what to expect on these pages, a few props, news on upcoming projects and even a bit of home improvement if it's interesting enough.