Another Cosplay

Hello again!  I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting frequently again (it's hard with a job).  :(
But I do have some things I've been meaning to talk about.

At the end of this month there's a local cosplay picnic that I will be attending (of course), so I wanted to have something good made for then.  I really wanted to go as Chell from Portal, but not only am I stuck on portal gun trying to find something good to make the white shell out of, not just foam, and then how to attach it, plus I haven't had a chance to finish the electronics, by the time I get done with that I would still have to make the long-fall boots.

So I needed something quick that I could do that would still be amazing.  I decided on Hawkeye.

At first I was thinking this wouldn't work either because I don't have anything for the costume started at all.  I was looking at pictures of his suit to see if there was a quick and easy way of making it, like my Star Trek Next Gen. shirt.  I didn't think of any but I did find a good looking cosplay for sale online (see it here).  It was kind of pricey for me but then I started thinking about it and realized if I were to make the whole thing by the time I had bought all of the material it would probably be about the same and there is no guarantee it would come out looking that good, so I ordered it and it is on it's way.  To me this feels like cheating but then I realized that loads of people don't hand make their cosplays from scratch, so I'll let it slide this time.  Pictures and review of costume to follow.

Meanwhile I still needed an arm guard, glove, quiver, arrows, and bow.  I used to do archery when I was in 4-H and my dad still has some equipment, but as luck would have it, none of it would work for this.  I could have painted one of the bows but I don't think my dad would be to happy about that.
On worlds best learn-anything-you-could-possibly-ever-want-to-now-and-never-even-thought-of site a.k.a. YouTube, I found out how to make a bow out of PVC pipe, it's quick and easy, and it can be used as a real bow.  One video their PVC bow had about a 60 pound draw, however for cosplay events I'll be using a "fake" string so that it can't be fired really.  I haven't started on the bow yet, I figure it will probably only take one to two afternoons to accomplish and then give it a few coats of spray paint.  The quiver and arrows are coming along nicely.  The quiver is my main concern, I figured that would take some time to do.  Here is what I've done so far:

Cutting PVC pipe into the correct shapes.

"Skeleton" and pattern.

I used 1/2" PVC for the middle and left over scraps

with a bolt through them as spacers, the larger pieces

are 3" PVC.  I drilled holes through them and zipped

tied them all together.

Pattern traced on to foam

(I bought a cheap camping bedroll for this).

Foam cut out and checking the fit around the PVC skeleton.

Just to compare this is the main picture I'm using for reference:

^ This is what I'm aiming for...

get it? "Aiming"

Right now the arrows are just dowel rods I've painted

black, and cut to size, I will probably be putting the

vanes on them tonight.

I will not be putting tips on them for safety reasons

as these are for cosplaying only, not to be fired.

Even if I did want to shoot them in a safe area I

wouldn't, as cheap dowel rods coming out of a 60 lbs

bow, could potentially make them explode.  If any of you

intend to make your own bow and arrows please consult

someone trained in the area first, because anything could

go wrong.

Age of Ultron is AMAZING!

I know it's been a LONG time since I've written anything on here but life happened.
Yesterday I saw Age of Ultron, and without revealing any spoilers I am just going to say WOW!  Marvel's still got it.  This is the best Marvel movie since the first Iron Man movie!
When the first Avenger's movie came out I was super disappointed, not that it was bad it was just average.  After all that time they had been hinting at doing it in the scenes after the credits of their other movies I was thinking it was going to be the greatest movie of all time, and everyone else who saw it before me said it was so my hopes were high.  I really think they were rushing to get it done.  With the second one now that they took their time it turned out a LOT better.  Two words: character development.  It felt like all of the Avengers were a main character, you were able to see inside of them a little more, and with this many people in a movie as main characters I can imagine it was no small feat to pull off.  This in a nutshell is one of the two main reasons I believe the second Avengers is so good.  The other reason was the story goal and threat was revealed much earlier in the film (I won't say anything more than that in case you haven't seen it yet).
I believe the main problems with the first movie is what the second got exactly right:
In the first they spent the majority of the movie arguing like a classroom of kindergartners, in the second from the very first you see them working as a team.
Loki wasn't a big enough threat in the first movie, if you think about it, Thor by himself could have taken him out by himself leaving the rest of the Avengers to take out the aliens, which by the way seemed kind of cheap, the aliens I mean.  What I mean by that is they've got nobody to fight through out nearly the whole movie, so they fight each other, then just so you can get your fill of action they throw in a random army of cannon fodder aliens for a big end fight scene.
Sorry, I'm just still sort of upset about the first movie.
End rant.
The point is if you haven't seen Age of Ultron yet: DROP EVERYTHING!  GO NOW!

Age of Ultron Trailer Review

If you haven't seen the trailer yet.  Here you go.

You're welcome.

I prefer the extended version of the trailer 'though because of the beginning.

It seems to tell a little bit more of the story of what's going on.  I'm assuming Tony started tinkering and didn't know when to stop and that somehow made his suits / computer go power crazy and take on a life of their own.

Just for your information I do know my comics and yes I know Ultron was originally created by Dr. Pym, but when has any of the new Marvel movies stuck exactly with the original story?  Even the first Iron Man movie there were differences.  For one Stark was Iron Man for some time before coming up against Obadiah Stane / Iron Monger, Obadiah actually owned a different company before that and renamed Stark International as Stane International when he did, and when Iron Man did defeat Iron Monger Stane blew his own brains out.
But enough about that.  I just wanted to prove I knew what I was talking about.
Back to discussing the trailer...
THE HULK BUSTER SUIT!  *drool*
This is one of them that I wondered if they would ever get around to doing.  I also really hope it's in it for longer than two seconds like all the cameos of all Tony's suits in Iron Man 3.  I mean come on.  Each suit can only handle one punch and they burst into a million pieces, just because the guy was kinda hot?  And yet before that an older suit was able to withstand and actually absorbed a lightning blast from Thor?  Why didn't it fry everything?

Also when watching the extended trailer, in the beginning scene, something I realized: the only one who came close to lifting Thor's hammer.  I realized it wasn't because of Cap's super strength that he budged the hammer, strength has nothing to do with it, but remember why he was chosen to receive the super soldier serum?  It's because of his good, worthy, heart.  Just giving someone super powers is not a thing to be taken lightly.  You would want to chose well: someone who wouldn't abuse their new powers and use them for evil, but instead someone who would always use them for the good of others and to protect the innocent.  That's why Steve was able to move Mjölnir.

This geek moment brought to you by the Phantom.

Bonus:

And I have to say just the music playing in the background in context with Ultron, this made one of the creepiest Marvel trailers I have ever seen.

Hello Again!

It's seems like forever and a day that I've written something on here.  Even though I haven't been writing I've been keeping up with the news and you've probably all heard this too but I still want to mention these really quick.  First of all we've gotten a glimpse of the new Avengers movie and right off we know who the villain is (the last movie I thought they were going to do something a little bit more than Loki with a bunch of aliens).

And since it's Ultron I'm guessing they might include Ant Man (aka Dr. Pym), Ultrons creator.  There was talk about an Ant Man movie but it comes out, but since Avengers 2 is scheduled to come out in May 2015 and Ant Man at the end of July '15 I'm not sure how that will work.  Maybe he's just alluded to in the Avengers and then you finally get his story in the Ant Man movie.  That's my guess any way.  I have several other theories but I based on what they've done in past movies this seems the most likely.

Want to read more about the upcoming Ant Man movie?  Click here.

Also possibly coming out next year...

SHERLOCK!

With a gap of about two years in between seasons fans of the show were not hopeful of getting the next episode before the end of 2015.  However Martin Freeman hinted at there being a holiday special in December next year.  The news of the special was confirmed by Moffat (although I'm not sure if he confirmed the date).  The special will be followed by a complete, three episode, season.  I'm very excited about this but I remain skeptical of the date and wouldn't be surprised if it got moved to late 2016.

And then we have the first official trailer for the new seasons of Doctor Who.

This came out earlier this month along with several teasers and an accidental leak of the unedited first episode and script.  Apparently when they were sending the footage to the editing team someone accidentally put it on the public website.  It was immediately taken down, and the few people that did see it were asked to keep it secret until it airs.  I've been very tempted to hunt this episode down but since it's coming out next month I guess I'll wait.

Between keeping up with the news, work, and trying to get my Power Wheels ready for the Maker Faire, I haven't had time to do much else, but I did start coming up with some ideas for a portal gun.  I suggested cosplaying at my family reunion this year, and my aunt who is in charge of it said maybe to give it more of a theme to just dress up as a character from your favorite game...  so I said: "Heck I'm going as Chell!"

I would really like to go as one of the Assassins from Assassins Creed but either making or buying all the different weapons is going to get kind of pricey so I'll save that for another time when I've got more money.

Next week: Sherlock 4 theories!