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Its a shame about the bucket I have one as well and it is a perfect fit if my head was a touch bigger it would not be so.

Mynock wrote:Its a shame about the bucket I have one as well and it is a perfect fit if my head was a touch bigger it would not be so.

Yeah it was disappointing to say the least. It''s a real good bucket too, lightweight and easy to work with. If I only had the option to shrink my inflated head I'd take it.

Update time! I just finished prepping for and working a big Wargaming convention here in Southern Ontario, and now that those projects are done its time to resume working on my Guard.

Bucket:
Some very good news on this front. Thanks to the help of a good friend of mine (and newly minted TK) we ordered a Rubies supreme edition bucket from Amazon. We received it yesterday and I tried it on with some trepidation:

Hahah it fits! With room to spare too, so I can install padding/fans and a mic. I'll have to replace the visor as per CRL, but I don't anticipate major issues with that step.

Outer Robe
Now that I have the bucket, I can colour match to make sure I avoid having to repaint the dang thing. I selected some velvet samples from http://www.syfabrics.com and the swatches got to me near the same time as the Rubies bucket.

Picture in normal sunlight


Picture with flash, same location


Colour matching, under indoor lighting.


At this point I'd like to ask for feedback as to which fabric is best and will result in approval. The lighter fabric (labelled Red Cotton Velvet 56") is my ideal choice, as it's wide enough for my seamstress' plans and colour-wise its perfect for the bucket. Its less "poofy" than the other one though, but the other sample only comes to a 45" width and doesn't colour match as well.

I'll be contacting my seamstress with an update and once I get a greenlight on outer robe material, I'm going to go ahead and order it in. Hopefully everything will be ready by May 4th.

Nice little progress. I cant comment on the fabric, but tge rubies helmet is super easy to modify. I just removed the visor (held in by screws) and used it as a template on a face sheild! Good luck. Mtfbwy

BuddyLove wrote:Nice little progress. I cant comment on the fabric, but tge rubies helmet is super easy to modify. I just removed the visor (held in by screws) and used it as a template on a face sheild! Good luck. Mtfbwy

Thank you! And yeah I started doing visor work yesterday. Removed the stock plastic, used window tint from a local auto glass shop that they gave me for free and installed it on the stock plastic visor as a test run. Will use rare-earth magnets to install onto the inside of the bucket.

Have to do a second visor set for the first bucket that didn't fit since part of the agreement I have with the buyer is that I install a visor.

You'll be wanting to go with the red plush velvet, not the cotton velvet

Quick update!

Outer Robes and Sourcing Velvet

I might've just solved my velvet problem. An auntie of mine managed to find velvet that's affordable, but still a real good colour match. Best I've seen of all the samples I've collected.



I'll be picking this up (which involves a border crossing into Watertown) this week, passing it on to my seamstress, and then its off to the races!

The end is nigh! I had a fitting with my seamstress today and we got my final measurements and hem lengths.

Inner Robe and Obi

Is complete! I thought the obi would show the centre stripe better but as per CRL we used hte same fabric all throughout. Please excuse the lumpy man beneath the robes.



Outer Robes

Some more modifications to the velvet sleeves and lining had to be done, and hem length (<1.0') was established. ETA for completion Tuesday (if everything goes well), then its off to the GMLs for review. If I'm lucky, I might get everything settled in time for a big con (Ottawa ComicCon) on the weekend.




We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! And its very red.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

I picked up my robes after 2 final hours of adjustments and stitching. And just an hour ago I took my approval photos and am writing up my application now. Fingers crossed!





What a ride, and I already have modifications and things to change just from this photoshoot.