This is the realm of cosplay, not historical costuming, but I'm hoping you good gentles and theater folk have some suggestions for us.
Milord has an ensemble that includes a molded vinyl "wig" covering his hair (it began life as a full-head JFK mask), and we are having trouble with getting the corners and edges to stick to his face, and not pop up while he's wearing it. We've tried spirit gum, but it just doesn't work. I'm not sure if it's the vinyl, or if we're not using it right (TOTALLY a possibility, but this is the only time we've had this problem, so we're looking for an alternative anyway). Is there something else we can use to keep those sideburns and back stuck down firmly? Fashion tape? Super-adhesive stick-on Velcro?
(He usually tries to stick them down again for photos, but you can see a little bit of what's happening on his left sideburn. And, yes, that is indeed Lindsay Wagner with him! :D)
(http://borgdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/bionic-man-and-bionic-woman-action-figure-cosplay-with-lindsay-wagner.jpg?w=512&h=388)
Any suggestions?
Thanks!!
Off the top of my head, liquid latex stippled onto the edge and out to create a thin feathered edge so it will have more area to grab and blend smoothly, spirit gum to tack it in place and if it really needs to stay on more liquid latex stippled on over the edge of the appliance and onto his skin. Powder after it has dried to help keep the sticky factor down.
*Disclaimer it has been a really long time since I played with this and wore my elf ears, but I think they did something similar with keeping on the hobbit feet in LotR, the EE edition has a nice documentary on the make up.
And just remembered there is this stuff, but I have yet to try it out.
http://www.pros-aide.com/ (http://www.pros-aide.com/)
Quote from: CenturiesSewing on April 08, 2013, 12:26:32 PM
And just remembered there is this stuff, but I have yet to try it out.
http://www.pros-aide.com/ (http://www.pros-aide.com/)
That stuff is awesome. I usually use spirit gum, because it's cheaper and easier to get, but if you want top of the line, pros-aide is definitely up there.
Gem, what are you doing with the spirit gum? (i.e., how are you attempting to apply it?) It's also possible it's not working because the mask is too thick/stiff at the edges, and nothing short of super glue will hold it (don't use super glue! not that you need to be told that, I just don't want it to look like I'm recommending that. :) ). In which case I'd recommend very carefully trying to shave down the edges (from the inside) so they're thinner and more flexible.
Be aware that if you stipple liquid latex over the mask, you're going to need to apply makeup over the latex or it will show. Which is a whole other can of worms. :)
Am I correct in thinking you cut the hair from the full mask? If so can you experiment with the face part, possibly destroying it? You might want to try applying heat (gentle at first, maybe hair blower on low, then on high, then maybe a heat gun).
It looks like the hair piece is shaped so that the sideburns(?) flare outward. A bit of heat (on the inside), might soften the vinyl enough so that you could actually remold it to be more form-fitting.
Definitely experiment with something you don't care about before trying anything on the hair piece itself.
Polly
One other thing to consider, along with the other suggestions, is looking at the inside of the "wig" - if it doesn't fit exceeding tight against his head, you may need to "stuff" it with cotton etc to help shape it or fill it in, so that it keeps it's shape and molds itself correctly. I know that when m'lord wears his long faun ears, they need cotton balls on the inside to give them the right body, and that seems to help the spirit gum etc do it's job properly.
Spirit gum is certainly my immediate thought in this situation, however, it is important to get the remover as well. Taking it off is obnoxious! You can also use rubbing alcohol (as I recall) to remove it. The key here is to have something on hand to remove it with. Having little bits of it stuck to you is no fun.
Got to love the photo!!!