Keycon was fun. It was good to see old friends again, and the guests were good (more on that later). We were able to play Circus Imperium on Saturday night.
I wore my Jack Burton shirt on Friday. I had let my stubble grow out from Wednesday. I wasn’t able to wear my ninja tabi. With the extra weight , my feet must have swollen a bit and I wasn’t able to close the tabs on the side. So I just wore sneakers.
On Saturday I switched into my Captain Hammer. The new shirt had arrived that week. I had also bought a Captain Hammer groupie shirt for Shann, so we were dressed as a couple. Since Captain Hammer is clean shaven, I cleared away the stubble as well. A few friends already noticed this change the next day, so I knew the change for Saturday would have a big impact.
My Kurgan proof-of-concept jacket was completed in time. It did take a few later nights to get all the final sewing done. The hot fix skulls I had ordered did not arrive in time, so instead I had to use the skull beads that I had picked up from Michael’s. They were a bit smaller, but they are much cheaper than the actual skull studs.
Taking off both sleeves, and cutting them into strips to sew together for his arm guard took a while. I also stitched up a bunch of the parts on the jacket where the vinyl was peeling apart. This actually helped add to the look.
The chain mail went fine. I had a spool of fencing wire that I had bought over two decades ago for making mail. I coiled it around a bar we had in order to adjust the teleposts, and cut the coils with a Dremel cut off wheel. The sleeve, pocket square, and partial glove took over 500 rings. If I find a more accurate jacket, I can easily move the mail over.
I wore the same black cargo pants and work boots for both Captain Hammer and the Kurgan. On the night, I combed my hair back and tied it in the back.
I wore the same costume on Sunday morning. But I buzzed my hair down that morning to 1/8 inch. I also had cut a strip of nylons and put a bunch of safety pins in it to simulate the ‘in disguise’ look. The hair cut definitely caught a few people by surprise. People who hadn’t seen me Saturday night didn’t recognize me right away.
I didn’t get around to making the “bullet-proof” vest for Richard Castle. I really should continue and put it together so that I have it for when I need it next. This is another one I can make two of to use as a couple costume.
