I agree that that is the best way to hold it together when it is done. I am unsure of the process for actually attaching metal to metal as part of the frame. Particularly the bra piece...I cannot see a way to make the whole thing from one piece so I am thinking I will need to make probably about 4 separate pieces and then attach them. Also, I probably should not have assumed that everyone is as dorky as me and automatically knows what I am talking about. Picture of my first version:

That one was done without any metal. The "metal" parts are craft foam covered with caulk and then spray painted with a metallic paint. The lining of the bra and the skirt are, of course, fabric. And yes, for anyone concerned, I did take precautions with undergarments (though they did need to be adapted a bit to not show a lot) just in case something in the costume should decide not to hold together. =)

As far as leaving marks, as long as a costume does not leave scars, I consider it a success. lol

Having done nothing with metal before, I am fairly ignorant on the processes involved, but I thank you very sincerely for your detailed description. I will have to look up some of the things you mentioned, but it sounds pretty do-able, even for a metal-working novice like me. I will most definitely keep you updated as I work on the costume, though! :-)

The processes involved are pretty well documented on the 'net, so I'm sure you'll come up with what you need to know. I have every faith that you can pull this off very nicely since you have the prime prerequisite - determination. I'll be really interested to hear of your progress, and if you have any questions I can help with, feel free to ask. If I don't get to your question here within a day, I may have missed seeing it, in which case you can email me through this site's message system.

Best of luck with it!

Rich

Libertydawn,

The top would not be too hard to make, you could take maybe 24 oz copper and use the sinking method, (working into a hollow bowl like in a stump) and that would work pretty good. Does not look like a big cup size (grin)so you would not have to worry about shrinking the edges too much. If for larger cup size I would use the raising method and you could make more shape to the way you want. Using copper rivets you could make some copper straps if you have a hook type clasp you could use that in the front to hold together.
Now the bottom is another story. In the crotch area you may want to use leather or fabric so you have some flexibility. Shaping up two pieces for the front and back would not be that hard, just beat a piece of copper on a sand bag. I would form a bead on the outside edges of the pieces to help hold their form and to keep from cutting into you. Like Rich says you could do some fancy repousse and get really fancy. I know a guy that makes metal costumes for movies and most of that is riveted and a lot of repousse and raising is used.

www Metalrecipes -- heat and beat to the desired shape, repeat as necessary.
warren

Yeah...when I first decided to make this costume, we had no idea what to use. We googled our hearts out and found about a million tutorials on the Leia costume, but a lot of them involved materials I knew nothing about like Sintra and resin. Most people advised just buying the resin-cast pieces at various online sites that apparently mass-produce them. As I do not have a ton of money AND wanted to do it myself so I could be proud of the costume, my best friend and I decided to experiment with things that were cheaper and more readily available. We ended up using sheets of craft foam that were pretty thin and then layering them with caulking to get the texture to look right. We got lucky in finding the metallic paint that looked awesome with it. The fabric is held to the "metal" parts with hot glue.

I wore it to a Star Wars convention in L.A. and to a Gen Con in Indianapolis. I got lots of compliments and "Where did you get that?" both places. And it rocked to be able to say, "Well, actually, we made it." In wearing it, though, some problems became obvious. The first was that foam and caulk are not structurally sound enough to really be molded into the shape you want. Consequently, there was a lot of hassle in trying to make sure the top was actually covering everything it needed to be covering. The front and back of the skirt were held together by elastic and hot glue on the sides and it held together remarkably well, but, over the course of two conventions, it has degraded to the point that enough repairs are required that I might as well just remake the whole thing. And, if I am going to remake it, I want it to be better this time. So, here I am. lol

Copper is a great metal to work with. You just have to remember to anneal it or it will crack. The rivet idea the great. If it were me, and the world is glad that it is not, (grin) I would line all of the pieces. Big time air conditioning on bare copper, reminds me of the whole face down in the snow thing.

Most commercial roofing co. keep 16 oz. copper on hand. That may be to thin to get the movement you need.

Good luck and may the force be with you (couldn't help it)

Rick Sidebottom
Aspiring Metal Artist