Rudolf 4 and Hiromi 2

Sorry for the long break in between posts... been a bit hectic... but I come with lots of pictures and progress!! First here is the ones for Rudolf...

Boot Toppers

So the boots I planned on wearing didn't go over the knee... and it kept bugging me about how inaccurate it would look.

So I searched online and found the perfect fabric for boot toppers, so they would go over my knees!! So I bought it and once it arrived I set to work. First I cut out the template/inner of the boot topper. I chose some really thin cardboard/thick paper, the inner of some wrapping paper to be exact, so it was flexible enough to bend when needed but sturdy enough to stand upright and not go all floppy.

Then I pinned the fabric onto the template like so...

Then I tacked them round, and that is where they currently stand.

They will be finished soon, and then I'll show you what they look like actually in the boots then too... ^_^

Medals

So originally I started making the medals out of clay but then my paranoia kicked. I was worried they would break, so after talking with some people I switched to cardboard. First I found a thin cardboard box and, armed with pencil and ruler, drew out the medals.

Then I cut them out... obviously, XD

You can also see the policewoman badge aswell, as I did it at the same time.

Next I glued the bits that needed glueing before painting.

Again you can see the policewoman badge there.

Then I did the base colour of paint...

And that is where they currently are.

Next I will paint the more entricate shapes before glueing on the gems, ^_^

Belt

Now I am going to be honest here... I couldn't actually see the belt all that well in my reference images, and I think it is actually engraved. But I don't have those sort of skills. So I grabbed my gems and improvised. I kinda went with what I thought would be appropriate for the character, and I think it turned out quite well.

And... that's it for Rudolf updates today. Next... Policewoman!Hiromi!!

I kept noticing more and more props or small things on this costume and it's driving me insane. Even yesterday I spotted she has a tie clip... so off to ebay I went last night, XD Anyway, I noticed that she has a handcuff bag atrached to her belt so... with the left over fabric from the boot toppers I made this:

That's the front, that little white circle there is actually a gem... it needed more sparkle, XD

And that's the back... with the HUGE belt loop. The belt is really wide hence why it needed the huge belt loop of doom, XD It's completely hand-sewn, and even though it's slightly wonky and what not... I'm quite proud of it.

As you saw before in the Rudolf updates I did the badge too, only I finished the badge and only have to attach the safety pin to the back. From the previous pictures of it, I painted it gold and wrote the kanji for Ayana Oto on the front. The kanji didn't end up as good as I would have liked it but the pen was being annoying and not writing smoothly. Then I got gem happy again and this was the result:

And that is all for now. I am back at work on the costumes tomorrow, so hopefully I will come with another update tomorrow. ^_^

Rudolf 3

Hello everyone!! I come with a costume update!! Finally, XD

Unfortunately we had to change around the costume plans so Alain is currently postponed until further notice. Instead I will be wearing Crown Prince Rudolf at May Expo instead. Which is why I come with an update for him!!

The fabric has been bought for a few weeks now but I didn't get a chance to start on him until today.

The fabric has been cut out for the base of the jacket and it has nearly been entirely machine tacked. Just the sleaves left to tack, but I need the black fabric before I can do that.

That is all that has been done so far. Next stage is to finish the base, with the black cuffs and the red collar. Then once it's fitted, the lining will be done. And then it's decoration time. So much edging and accents... they will likely kill me. But it will be SO worth it in the end.

That's it for now. Obviously I will keep you all updated with all of my cosplay progress. ^^ Hopefully it won't be too long before my next update. *fingers crossed*

Dagger 2 and Rudolf 2

As you can see by the title, yes another two cosplay update, same ones as last time too.

But yay for progress!!

First up, again is the dagger. So we left off last time with the dagger drying. So it did dry and I found that the sheath had actually shrunk... the edges no longer matched up properly... Me = Annoyed? Yes. But what can you do?

So anyway out came the no more nails and glued together it became. Not perfect but meh.

Once that was dry the painting commenced! This bit actually took most of the time because of the amount of coats I had to do. The terracotta clay needed a lot more coats than the white clay did.

So first I did the red paint. It was the largest amount and yeah... was easier, XD

Tadaah, red paint complete. Next came the gold bit that the blade sits into and the blade itself. This bit was quite simple to do really and took all of ten minutes?

Yeah in that pic the blade looks blue... but it is silver. I can assure you of that. So I actually had to leave the dagger at this stage cus I had my course and I had to work. But my next day off I continued with painting the gold diamond on to the hilt and the gold edges of the sheath. This took quite a few coats to achieve but I managed it in the end.

And now you can see the silver blade too... XD

Nearly finished now. All that was left to do was to glue on the gems and the gold piping/edging thing. Now the actual dagger that they use in the Takarazuka shows have some HUGE gems on them... and some quite fancy ones too... I couldn't get a hold of those gems so instead I had to get others and sort of do my own design with them to create a similar effect. Same with the edging. What I did end up with though... I am quite proud. Even if I did nearly glue my fingers to this thing... XD

The dagger and blade seperate... and...

The dagger in it's Sheath. Now for second piece of prop work and clay work... it's not too bad. I am actually very proud of it. And I had so much fun making it. I do know how I could improve on it, which I will take into account if I ever remake this.

But for now... I love it. ^_^

Now onto my Rudolf update, XD Not a big one really... only one more item has been added to it...

My leggings arrived. They still need to be modified with the black ribbon and the marroon ribbon, but this likely won't be done until sometime next year. Still nice and simple though. It's the top half of Rudolf that's going to give me the problems... that shirt and jacket... so many accents!! *facepalm* They are going to kill me I swear.

But yay for progress and for completion of another prop!

Bring on the Expo next week!

Dagger 1 and Rudolf 1

Two updates today, one prop and one costume.

First up is the Dagger, aka Lucheni's pointy, XD After finally getting all the supplies in I finally made a start on it today. First I drew a blade template and used it to create the blade pieces out of cardboard. After much drawing and cutting out with scissors later...

Once that had been achieved I then got out the industrial sized bottle of pva glue. Yes, pva, XD XD Using that I stuck the four blade pieces together to create...

Yep, you can see the templates I used in the background there, XD

Then once that was done, out came the clay. And man does that stuff stink. Of course I already knew that from doing my mirror, but this time I used terracotta clay, so my hands went all orange, XD

Anyways first I tackled the bit that the blade fits into, can't remember what it's called. So I cut off a bit of the clay from the pack I had, rolled it out and after much fiddling achieved this...

Then I realised that my plan to use the wire throughout the whole dagger was kinda void... since I had already made the blade and things, XD Whoops, XD

So after that I moved onto the handle of the dagger. Rolling out the remaining bit of clay, I then sculpted the main shape of it, minus the round tip. I then did use the wire in the handle, to make it sort of easier to attach to the blade section once dry and to attach the round tip to.

Then I used the last little bit of that lump of clay to make the round tip. I actually used my ring to make a cardboard template, that I then used to make the circle. Of course my ring was too small, so I then sort of estimated a bigger circle, and then attached that to the handle.

That's the blade and handle together. However it is in two pieces, and they will be glued together once they are dry.

Once the dagger was done I moved onto the sheath. Now as you saw in a previous picture and as I said earlier, I made a rough template to use. This template was too small again, so I estimated again to get the right size, and it actually worked, XD

So yes, I cut off some more clay, rolled it out and cut out the shape. Then I used what the shape I had cut as a template for the other half, though making it slightly bigger so I could curl the edges up.

The sheath is in two parts that will be glued together once dry. Of course then I had to see how the dagger fitted in the sheath, and it didn't come out too badly...

So yes, that's what I spent the last two and half hours doing, ^_^ And I am quite proud. My second piece of prop work.

Obviously once all the pieces are dry they will be glued together. And then once dry again I will paint them. Then once dry again again I'll glue on the gems and gold edging, XD

So yes, the pointy is in progress!! XD

Now for update 2!!

My very first Takarazuka cosplay that I ever planned was Crown Prince Rudolf. This will likely be in either a group cosplay or a paired cosplay with my Tod, Telly <3

After finding the perfect pair of boots on eBay, I bid on them and won... and they arrived today. I am currently wearing them actually. They are quite comfy though currently pinching my little toes, but every pair of shoes or boots you get that you put on for the first time does that. They are almost practically skin tight aswell, which does work, XD

So yes, I now have my Rudolf boots. Yes I will need to attach the flap bit at the top, but that should be no problem.

Walking around in these boots I feel like such an otokoyaku, XD XD

I will also use these boots for other otokoyaku Takarazuka cosplays, ^_^