Brown & Decker Like Black & Decker, only not.

Hi.

Boy, am I SO GLAD IT WAS POURING WHEN I LEFT TO COME HOME SO I COULD DRIVE THIRTY-SOMETHING MILES AT 12 MPH. That's all I have to say about that.

Well, day 2 proved to be vastly successful. In case you're just tuning in, today was the day to finish up the Guy helmet and begin working on the Thomas.

I left at about 2:30 in the morning after clocking what we think was about six hours worth of work. And was it worth it. During that time we were able to watch the whole first season of Flight of the Conchords, and Daft Punk's Electroma (which I can easily say is the most disturbing/sad/funny/awesome thing I have ever seen.

Right, so helmets.

The Guy helmet just needed the detail. We finished up the ear-pieces pretty quickly and immediately began on Thomas/Jim's. Not much talking today, so here's some pictures.









Monday is the day for Aqua-resin-ing and soon to follow is the fiberglassing. GOD I AM SO EXCITED!!!11!!1! I can't sleep. I really wish I hadn't opted to take that extra work shift tomorrow...er today. I could really use that time to get some Math work done.

Andy

Hey.

So ends day one of our making EPIC DAFT PUNK HELMETS. It's 1:15 in the morning and I just got home from Jim's. We worked for about seven hours straight today, with no breaks. Yeah. I feel like hell. My back is killing me from bending over and my fingers are all cut up from Xacto knives (don't even ask Jim how his fingers are doing).

At about four o'clock today, with nothing but Mountain Dew and Crazy Core Skittles to supplement us, we got started (did I mention the amazing feast Jimmy's parents prepared for their guest of honor that night? AMAZING (did I mention that I wasn't the guest of honor?)). We armed ourselves with I Told You I was Freaky by Flight of the Conchords, Interstella 5555 by Daft Punk, and a slew of Batman: The Animated Series episodes to help pass the time.

The first couple hours were tough. We began construction on the Guy Manuel helmet, or the one I will be wearing.



The thing about the Guy helmet is that even though it looks really simple, it has a lot of minute details. Actually that picture doesn't even do justice. Underneath the visor is a web of LED lights, and the back has a row of wires designed to look like hair. I'll see if I can find a good picture...



So, yeah.

We aim to make the Guy helmet as accurate the the real one as possible, but the smiley face is a bit overkill.

Originally when we went to take on the project, we planned in a LOT of time for mistakes. Seeing as how this was our first big thing like this, that was understandable.



Luckily when we started, we moved at such a pace that we were able to finish most of the first step in one day.



So I'd say for a first day, it was super successful. As so as we meet again, we'll begin on the Thomas helmet.



Andy

Hi.

So in case you haven't heard me talk at you endlessly for hours about how Jim and I want to go to Dragon*Con this year as Daft Punk, this is for you.

For those of you who don't know, Dragon*Con is this biiiiig nerd convention in Atlanta where nerds gather in a huge hotel, wonder aimlessly, play games, take pictures, and meet some cool famous people.

But most importantly, these nerds go in costume.

Now for those of you who don't know who Daft Punk is, please close this browser and start Googling. Daft Punk is a really great House/Techno band from France. The reason we picked them is not only because their awesome and one of the first things Jim and I found we had in common, but also because they have these really elaborate robot helmets they wear to conceal their identity.



Our original plan wasn't to build them at all. But as we searched the 'net, it turns out that no one was selling replicas, and the only offer was from the original group that made Daft Punk's, and the catch was that they were 63,000 dollars.

So we weren't going to buy them.

After hours of research, we found that it could be broken down into a few simple steps:
1.) Start with the papercraft base
2.) Reinforce with fiberglass
3.) Detail and modify
4.) Rock out to techno

Only problem is that this whole process takes TIME. A lot of it. We have nine months to prepare.

Andy

Hi.

My name is Andy Brown and my friend Jimmy Decker and I are dabbling in the realm of costume and prop making. We had the idea of setting up a development diary or "dev diary" for short. Hopefully, if all things go well, this will lead me (or us, for that matter) to the answer to the age old question: What are you going to do with your life?

Trust me, many people die without knowing the answer to this question.

That sucks.

Andy


Figure 1. Picture very much related.