Spaceballs

**n810** · #1 06-10-2010, 06:21 PM

Anyway, life has kept me of the boards for awhile, and off of designing as well. anyhoo... my roommate and I were discussing Halloween costumes (already, I know) and we were thinking about building full scale spaceballs trooper outfits. Would anybody happen to have 3D drawings or reference materials I could use while designing these? thanks a million!

**RodentMaster** · #2 06-10-2010, 08:04 PM

Spaceballs, da costume!

Sorry, I don't have any references, just a witty quip!

Hope you pull this one off, it will be classic!

**WickedClownInc** · #3 06-11-2010, 02:16 AM

Oh man, there is so much potential with that. You can get a group of friends together and play the major characters. I'm sure it would be a hit. Dark Helmet, Lonestar, hey if you have a heavier set friend he can play Barf. Or even better, a MEGAMAID....bum bum baaaaaaaaa!

**scarmig** · #4 06-11-2010, 05:17 AM

I looked into making a Dark Helmet costume a couple of years ago. Most people have taken a motorcycle helmet and added paper or plastic to it to get flesh out the helmet. However, I've never seen one that had a working mask. That would be the hard part. For doing the troopers themselves, I imagine something similar would work. A base helmet with an expansion out to the "giant headed ball" in the movie. It might even be something you could build up with paper mache', and then sand and paint.

**murphyaa** · #5 06-11-2010, 08:53 AM

About 10 years go I worked for a fast food company who's mascot was a jack in the box (and the name of the restaurant).

For halloween that year I dressed like the mascot and made a papermache head , formed around a beach ball. For the final layer I used drywall spackle and sanded it smooth.

So paper mache is definitely an idea.

**rbeach84** · #6 06-11-2010, 09:26 AM

Use a more traditional molding technique:

Take an appropriately size ball (such as a beach ball) and then cover it completely with a thin coat of paste (for a smooth finish), then layer it up with either gauze or paper strips. Plan on more than one coat as too heavy an application will 'crack' due to the uneven drying stresses. You want the inside surface to be thorougly dry and smooth. Once you have a sturdy "shell" formed around the ball, carefully cut through the shell to make two halves. A dremel and cutoff wheel would be perfect, though the ball would probably 'expire' in the process. Try and remove the shell in such a way that the 'seam' is complementary to the final piece (as I remember, the trooper helmet of course has a cut-out for the face...) The goal is to have a two part 'mold', smooth surfaced on the interior that you can use to create the costume helmet. By having two parts, you can lay up the helmet inside the shell (through the face cutout) and then, once dry, remove the mold leaving a one piece helmet 'molding'. You can enhance the mold by adding a clamping flange along the edges of the two parts to help with alignment and to keep the shell together while doing the layup.

I suppose there are different formulations of "paste" - joint compound for drywall is good for sanding to a smooth finish, but I'm not sure how flexible it would be. Something with a bit of plasicizer in it might be better. Just keep in mind that the shell must be 1) completely sealed against moisture, so a polyurethane coat is indicated and 2) you should use some form of release agent so the molding comes out of the shell cleanly. For paper moldings, a vegetable based oil (cooking spray?) should work and won't react with the shell sealant or the molding (paper mache 'cures' by evaporation of the water, so no problem with chemistry there.)

Given the experimental process, you probably would be advised to have at least some tests of the materials you plan on using to ensure all goes smoothly. Don't want to have to buy more than one ball!

Hope this gives you some ideas, and would be great to see your final results! Cheers!

**rickstef** · #7 06-11-2010, 10:00 AM

simpler way of saving the beachball, position the valve in the area for the face cutout, and then just deflate the ball once dry(saves money)

**Maltedfalcon** · #8 06-11-2010, 11:18 AM

Coolest Homemade Spaceballs Costume 8

**rbeach84** · #9 06-11-2010, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickstef

simpler way of saving the beachball, position the valve in the area for the face cutout, and then just deflate the ball once dry(saves money)

Excellent idea, Rick!

Glad someone is "on the ball" today (groan!):D

**Millenniumfalsehood** · #10 06-11-2010, 11:35 PM

If you want, I can send you all the references I have of Spaceballs. I've got a truckload of the Spaceball Troopers and Dark Helmet.

Also, the best way to create a Spaceball helmet is to simply get a sphere (such as a 60s-era lamp shade) or order one of the cheap plastic styrene spheres from Plastruct (they come in a variety of size), then cut a 90 degree channel out of one side. It's a heck of a lot less work than the paper mache' idea and a lot more durable. The rest of the costume is simply a set of white coveralls IIRC.