Shawn Thorsson - Props and Costume Armor: Create Realistic Science Fiction & Fantasy Weapons, Armor, and Accessories

Copyright 2016 Shawn Thorsson. All rights reserved.

Printed in Canada.

Published by Maker Media, Inc., 1160 Battery Street East, Suite 125, San Francisco, California 94111.

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Publisher: Roger Stewart

Copy Editor: Elizabeth Campbell, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Proofreader: Liz Welch, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Interior Designer and Compositor: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Cover Designer: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Cover Images: Jason Babler

Cover Photographer: Michi Termo

Indexer: Valerie Perry, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

October 2016: First Edition

Revision History for the First Edition

2016-10-16 First Release

See oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781680450064 for release details.

Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. The Maker Media logo is a trademark of Maker Media, Inc. Make: Props and Costume Armor and related trade dress are trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Maker Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While the publisher and the author have used good faith efforts to ensure that the information and instructions contained in this work are accurate, the publisher and the author disclaim all responsibility for errors or omissions, including without limitation responsibility for damages resulting from the use of or reliance on this work. Use of the information and instructions contained in this work is at your own risk. If any code samples or other technology this work contains or describes is subject to open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of others, it is your responsibility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such licenses and/or rights.

978-1-680-45006-4

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Maker Media unites, inspires, informs, and entertains a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. Maker Media celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any Technology to your will. The Maker Media audience continues to be a growing culture and community that believes in bettering ourselves, our environment, our educational systemour entire world. This is much more than an audience, its a worldwide movement that Maker Media is leading. We call it the Maker Movement.

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Why make props?

The answer to that question is simple: Sometimes you want to possess something that doesnt even exist.

For most people, there have been plenty of times in their lives when theyve been watching a movie or TV show, or playing a video game, and found themselves wishing they could be more like the characters on the screen. People who make up words for things call this form of dreaming escapism, and its one of the main reasons these kinds of entertainment exist. No matter what shape daily life may take, people can take a break and be spirited away to whole different worlds that are more to their liking.

For most people, thats as far as it goes. They witness the end of the evildoers, the adventurers spaceship returns home, and then they step back through the looking glassor crawl back through the wardrobeand leave every part of that other world behind. For most people, thats the end of the experience.

But not if youre a Maker.

For a Maker, the escape doesnt have to end when the credits roll or when the campaign is won. Unlike the mere mortals of this planet, a Maker can have souvenirs from those fantastic worlds.

Do you have a yearning to dress like the armor-clad superhero that just saved the human race from certain extinction? Youre about to learn how a humble floor mat can be turned into that suit of armor.

Do you want to hang that barbarian marauders particular battle-ax over your mantle? Youre just a couple sheets of plastic and a few bits of lumber away from having it.

Want that galactic warriors helmet for your bookshelf? A quick trip to the hardware store and youre on your way.

And whats more, if youre a Maker, when someone points to that just-right thing on your desk and asks where you got it, you can beam with pride and answer, I made it.

Youre about to embark on a journey that will give you a whole new way of looking at the world around you. By the end of this book youll start seeing new uses for everything you can get your hands on, and youll be able to have the kinds of things non-Makers only get to dream of.

Before you get to work, though, we need to take a moment to review safety procedures, the tools youll need, and a few points about responsible behavior.

When learning new skills, and working with new tools and materials, its always a good idea to be educated about the safety concerns involved. Many of the projects in this book will require the use of potentially dangerous tools and chemicals. Read the warning labels on everything. Heed the warning labels on everything.

There are some times in life when circumstances conspire against us to create dangerous, unhealthy situations. When youre engaged in a hobby, this should never be the case. Theres absolutely no excuse for not taking adequate safety precautions while building your own prop and armor replicas. The staff at the local hospitals emergency room wont be impressed when you tell them youre there because you were in a rush to build your spaceman suit and didnt have time to avoid mangling your body in the process.