Prop Tutorial: Deco-Carts (Customized Luggage)

"What's a Deco-Cart?"

Every cosplayer needs a carry-cart to transport their luggage, props and wigs. Some people have lots of props, complex wigs and a lot of makeup to move around too... Our carts help us out a lot, so why do so many of us take them for granted?

I often find myself wondering "Why do cosplayers carry around such plain carts?". With so few designs and colors, it's easier to mix up carts or pick yours out of a crowd, isn't it? That's why, the idea of a "deco-cart" was born! Why not get in on the popular cosplay-world movement and customize your own?

In this article we'll introduce some of our own original deco-cart designs. We tried to play with a few different types and come up with some ideas that would be easy for Layers to use.

Making them is easy! It's just like decorating a cellphone or a portable game-system, so let your imagination run wild and you'll be designing like crazy in no time!

If you want, you can plaster your cart with your own decorations, or you can alter the designs you learn here. "Gosh, this is like a homework assignment" right? But hey, I really want to see some cooler carts!

We're giving away the carts introduced here as presents, too, so take a good, long look at them, okay?

Oh, and if you come up with a neat deco-cart of your own, we'd love to see your pictures!

With Ribbons and Lace, You Can Achieve Sweet-Lolita Mode

If you've got a black polka-dot cart, a few ribbons, a bit of lace and sparkly stones can give you a cart that matches your sweet disposition perfectly.

Another Lina Inverse-Style Shoulder Pauldrons

Admit it. Most shoulder armor you see at conventions looks cheesy, cardboard-y, heavy, and is about as ungainly as anything you'll ever see. But it needn't be, as you'll soon see.

Here are the steps I took to create my first stab at shoulder armor using my foam and plastic method. The subject: Lina Inverse from Slayers.

Lina Inverse-Style Shoulder Pauldrons

Materials:
Wire # 16
Soldering pencil, solder paste and tin
Tweezers
Sandpaper # 100 and # 200 (so they say, are the gray and black)
Carpenter's white glue
Silicone gun + glue sticks
stucco= filling wall plaster
Spray paint or enamel (black and gold)
Cardboard
FOMIX
Paper
Brush
1 inch black elastic
Red christmas bulbs

What to do

0. Draw real size top and side view of 1 pad (they are symmetrical parts so right side equals left side)
1. Make profile with wire, folding each corner with tweezers and curve shaping a cylindrical object (this case, use a pot xD). Solder wire where each end point meets after bending. Remember putting solder paste after melting tin.
2. Add necessary guidance (welding) to generate the volume as well as drawing the side view. Horizontal and vertical guides.
3. Cover wire skeleton with FOMIX, pasting on back with silicone to each guide and edge.
4. Cut cardboard or FOMIX in triangular form, paste it on bulb wrapping it.
5. Equal surface with stucco (apply 5 coats and sanding, repeating the process several times) or newspaper (glued with carpenter gum, do not add water because this will delay the process.)
6.Cover bulb with paper and tape to prevent getting stained when you paint base in black and gold borders.
7. Join shoulder with black elastic, paste back of the piece with silicone.
8. Result = a happy Lina

It is a long process but here there is no Wonderflex and those wonderful materials. The finished product is a lightweight but rigid, with an extra layer of resin and is indestructible ^ ^, the wire can be replaced by sewing plastic guides but will not be as reliable structurally. Sorry if it is very hard xP.

Credits goes to: Anne-annie-annet

Sheryl's Mike (Macross Frontier)

Let's make Sheryl's mike with lionboard!

Here we're going to try to make Sheryl's mike with a styrofoam rod and some lionboard! You should be able to get your hands on the styrofoam rod at your local home center or hardware store, you can choose whatever size best suits you. Just be sure to choose something that you'll be able to wrap the lionboard around (in other words, take into account the thickness of the lionboard when choosing your rod).