August 23

Using a 3D Printer for Cosplay Props

San dagger from Princess Mononoke by Jade Falcon

At each MakerFaire I’ve attended, 3D printers always have a large presence. So I was intrigued when I saw Jade Falcon’s post about using a 3D printer to create cosplay props. The photo above features her prop of San’s dagger from Princess Mononoke.

In her post, she talks about finding free 3D printing source files on Thingiverse. I also recently took advantage of their file archive to create a Father’s Day gift for my husband.

It was a cool group effort. My son came up with the idea of 3D printing a small dagger for him, but couldn’t find a cheap way to handle it in New York. Our local library in Kansas City offers free 3D printing, so I found a Thingiverse file for Bilbo’s Sting blade. My brother coordinated with the library to print the dagger via email and I went and picked it up. Bonus: the library offered to print two blade options – one black and one GLOW-IN-THE-DARK. Very cool.

Sting-3dprinted

Have you done any 3D printing, for cosplay or otherwise? Share your experience in the comments!

Links of Interest:

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August 2

Soda Can DeLorean

delorean

Dave Hax made a DeLorean out of Pepsi cans. Pepsi sponsored the “Back To The Future” films and the cans are made from steel, perfect for a Delorean!

In reality, the DeLorean DMC-12 (commonly referred to simply as the DeLorean as it was the only model ever produced by the company) was an American sports car manufactured by John DeLorean’s DeLorean Motor Company for the American market from 1981–83. The car featured gull-wing doors and an innovative fiberglass chassis and underbody structure, along with that iconic brushed stainless steel body. Daves’s car also features the thrusters and Mr. Fusion, but unfortunately no flux capacitor!

If you’re interested in making your own car, templates to make the Delorean are featured in the video, linked above.

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July 25

Sewn Comic Book Wallet

wallet

DuctTuff is an Etsy store in Portland, OR that specializes in sewn wallets. One example is this Batman, Batwoman and Robin wallet, available for $14. It’s a handmade item, made of a comic book, sandwiched between layers of an adhesive vinyl laminate. This makes for a super durable and long lasting wallet that is very water resistant. Sewing it combined the quality and strength of a traditional wallet with the novelty of comics.

It also features: four card slots that can expand to accommodate more than one card each; a 3” x 8.25” cash pocket; comic images in cash pocket; and is about 4” x 3” when closed.

Even with the variety of wallet themes available in the shop, DuctTuff also makes custom orders.

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July 11

Batman Cosplayers

Ah, the internet world is agog with Batman, his armor and cosplayers right now, thanks to San Diego Comic Con and the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Today, we’ve got two awesome Batman cosplayers to show off.

F0cyBKY

First up, Dhareza posted his bat-armor over at Imgur. This was inspired by Batman’s armor from the upcoming movie. It was amade entirely out of a combination of LED lights, Worbla and eva foam by Dhareza, over the course of 2 months. The base of the costume used to be Batman Thrasher, which Dhareza built to compete at Denver Comic Con and won first place.

This costume is actually for sale, and anyone interested can contact Dhareza through Facebook.

Batman cosplayer

Next up, we’ve got Julian Checkley, with an Arkham Origins Batman that he made himself. Made over the course of about a month, Kevin LeProp 3D printed the parts, then Checkley painted and pieced everything together in Galway, Ireland. He ALSO built a ridiculously dangerous, fireball-shooting gauntlet.

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June 28

Maker Faire KC 2015

Photos from Maker Faire Kansas City 2015

Have you been to a Maker Faire? A celebration of things people make themselves, Maker Faires are organized by MAKE Magazine, and started in San Mateo, California in 2006. Now these events take place across the country. My hometown, Kansas City, happens to be one of the “featured” Faires, where more than 200 makers participate. I have shared Faires in the past, in 2011 and 2012, so I figured it was time for an update.

Above is a montage of photos I took – here are the highlights, starting in the upper left corner, and working around clockwise:

  1. 3D printers were big again, as they have been at each Faire I’ve attended. These were some 3D-printed TARDISes and Star Trek Lego figures.
  2. Some more examples of 3D printed items – these were very ornate vases by Sage Kaneko.
  3. A chainmail demonstration by Michael of Amanda Lynn Chainmaille Creations.
  4. The Artifex 2 desktop 3D printer – it printed in the usual hard plastic filament, but also wood and a flexible “NinjaFlex” thermoplastic elastomer.
  5. Eco Elvis performed – he was all shook up about the effects of acid rain.
  6. The Flipbookits were a cool find in the Maker Store – it’s a DIY kit to make your own motorized flipbook, designed by kinetic artists.
  7. Artists from Dare to Dabble were on hand to help attendees create gelli prints with acrylic paints, brayers, stamps and stencils.
  8. I made my own glycerin soap with Feto Soap! It smells like cinnamon and I chose a cute little gnome as the “prize” in the center.
  9. There were speakers scheduled throughout the day, discussing all sorts of interesting make-y type topics. The one I heard was about the use of hydraulics in Hollywood.
  10. Many booths encouraged attendees, particularly kids, to try their hand at a variety of tasks. This booth by Leela Village School for Purposeful Play offered a DIY playground with robots made from found materials. (P.S. Did you know “Leela” means “divine play” in Sanskrit?)
  11. A steampunk dirigible
  12. There was a table for Raspberry Pi Geek magazine – we got my husband one of these little credit card-sized computers for his birthday this year, so I was sure to pick up one of their sample magazines.

There was so much to see, and scrolling through the Instagram feed for #MakerFaireKC, I can see I missed quite a bit! Be sure to allow a few hours at least if a Maker Faire hits your area, if not a whole day!

What have been your favorite things to see at a Maker Faire? Share with us in the comments below!

Links of Interest:

 

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