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Han solo in carbonite9/28/2023 Once I had the right shape, I rubbed more plaster all over the jeans. I stuffed them with those plastic packing bubbles Amazon loves to add to their boxes. Before the plaster dries though, you need to give the pants some dimension. Once the pants were dry, I did caulk the sides to ensure it stuck. I forgot to do that, but the plaster acted as a pretty good adhesive. Before laying the pants down on the frame, apply a good layer of caulking so the pants stick to the frame. I think another type of pants like cotton khakis might soak up the plaster better, but I didn’t have too much trouble. You need to get the jeans good and covered, inside and out. I think I used three cups of plaster to soak the jeans. I used the suggested mixture ratio of two parts Plaster to one part water. Since only parts of Han’s body sticks out, I cut the legs so they matched the amount of leg that shows. I settled on soaking an old pair of my kid’s jeans in Plaster of Paris. You can apparently buy a plastic Han in Carbonite body, but that would take too long and defeat the purpose of building my own costume. Luckily, I remembered I was no good at sculpting and chicken wire would not be flexible enough. I had flirted with the idea of sculpting the body out of clay or building a frame out of chicken wire. Now comes the fun part, building the body. Finally, I painted the whole thing with some white primer. I sanded the inside of the oval pretty well since I didn’t want to get splinters every time I stuck my head in. The oval is about 10 inches long, 7 inches at its widest, and the top of the oval is about 9 inches from the top of the frame. Once the frame was built, I cut an oval for my head to fit through. I left the bottom open since I’ll be wearing the costume and my feet need to stick out. Next, I nailed a 4’ X 6” piece of plywood to each side and a 2.5’ X 6” piece to the top. Since the wood is so thin, I first drilled pilot holes before hammering any of the nails. I used roofing nails with a wide head to give it a riveted look (not authentic, but cool). To support the frame I nailed two 4 foot long pieces of 1” X 2” studs to the sides and one 2.5 foot long stud to the top and one 2.5 foot piece to the bottom. It is pretty flimsy wood so you need to be careful not to bang it around too much. I used 1/8’ thick plywood in order to keep the weight down. Here is a list of the materials I used to build Han Solo in Carbonite: 8’ X 4’ piece of 1/8” thick plywood Two 10-foot long 1” X 2” stud One 10-foot long 1” X 4” stud Roofing nails Plaster of Paris Caulking Tile Mastic Collared shirt Kids pants Gloves Pillow stuffing 12 gauge copper wire White primer Rustoleum metallic spray paint (gray) Random computer parts, VCR/ LCD displays, mint tins I started off building frame of the costume using a 4’ X 2.5’ piece of plywood. I took a few other liberties, but I think the costume is still recognizable for what it is, even if my wife thinks only “geeks” will get it. For instance, I did not track down any Volvo parts to build my control panels I just ripped apart a bunch of old computer parts and glued them on a painted piece of wood. A lot of the truly dedicated have built some detailed and faithful replicas. While researching the costume, I found many people out there that have built spectacular life sized models of Han Solo in Carbonite (HIC as the hobbyists say). That is when inspiration hit - to truly compliment a Boba Fett costume, I can be Han Solo in Carbonite. My son tried to console me by telling me to make a Han Solo costume and wear that. I know there are some good instructions out there on how to make your own Boba Fett costumer, but I still broke down and spent the $50. This year he turned nine and finally insisted on *gasp* a store bought Boba Fett costume. I have been continuing the tradition of making Halloween costumes with my own son since he was young. He fashioned the body out of chicken wire and tin foil, made the arms out of cardboard, and filled it with breath-taking (for 1978) electronic effects like blinking dome lights and an LCD screen that flashed “R2D2.” Sure, it wasn’t an exact replica of R2D2, but I won several Halloween costume contests that year and set the bar high for future costumes. I really put my dad’s awesome set of tools to the test in 1978 when I insisted on being R2D2 for Halloween. Not only has he always been good at electronics (he worked at Bell Labs), but he is also skilled at carpentry, mechanics, and metal work. As a kid who always loved Halloween, I was fortunate enough to grow up with a Maker father who humored my every creative thought.
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