Prime Soundwave Help

[Neko-chan700]

I have had some big ideas for my Soundwave costume, but the thing is I have no clue on how to do it or what to use. I know I will use cardboard for the arms and the lower section of the legs, but the more rounded parts, I have no clue.

Front Sketch
Sketch edit: knee guards will be connected on bottom instead of top.

Questions:

1. What should I use for the face screen?
2. Where might I be able to find a small audio level device that lights up to be seen through face screen?
3. Where might I be able to find a sound effects box that I can put my own audio to?
4. Where to find a black body suit thing and what to add to it to make sections reflective purple? Local store has some...
5. Is it possible to make a control for all possible LEDs on the costume?
6. A way I can make Lazerbeak easily removable? Will figure out after Lazerbeak is built and flying.
7. Good references of Soundwave's back?

[sergeant duck]

Wow, it's really hard to find back pictures of TFP Soundwave! Anyways, this is the best I could do before I got tired of searching. One is of a toy and the other is actually a pretty good sketch up.

http://tformers.com/transformers-new-looks...15808/news.html
http://www.itsalltrue.net/?p=16739

[Neko-chan700]

Thank you. I actually already have the toy, I just needed to cross-reference it to the show design. Thank you for the character sketch.

[Pilot]

1. I'd just say plastic mesh from the craft store with black spandex stretched over it.

2. You're not going to find the kind of visualizer that you want that will fit in a mask with room for your face and maintain your ability to see (that isn't going to cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars), so you're either going to have to sacrifice visibility and rig up some kind of LED set up like that guy did with the Daft Punk helmets, but that's going to cost you an arm and a leg as well, so you might try something simple, cheap, and static like EL wire.

4. You can sew one yourself out of spandex/lycra, or find one online and sew on your own pieces of metallic purple spandex or something. Or you can find a seamstress to do it for you for a fee.

5. Yes, but it will take planning.

6. A lot of rare-earth magnets or velcro? Or figure out some kind of system that will allow him to clip on someplace.

[Neko-chan700]

For the mask, one of my friends suggested that I use clear plastic vinyl and put that stuff that you use to tent car windows on it so that it still has that "computery screeny look" to it. The main problem would be making me be able to breath and I thought I could put some black cloth stretched between the helm and the mask for air to pass through. Does that sound like that sould that work?

For the audio lines, I've decided that I will get a rubber phone case and attach it to the back of the screen so that I can slip my phone into it and use my phone as a speaker for my sound effects box and download something for the audio lines onto my phone.

My dad has agreed to help me with the LEDs, so that's covered.

The problem with Lazerbeak is that I don't want anything that could hinder his flying... Something too heavy may put him off balance enough that every time I try to fly him, he crashes. I'm leaning towards velcro, but until Lazerbeak is built, I won't know for sure.

[Pilot]

Cool! Can't wait to see how it works out.

Rare earth magnets are actually very tiny (and very strong): http://www.amazon.com/Small-Powerful-Neody...s/dp/B005BSRCUW

[Neko-chan700]

Is there any type of store that may carry some of those? There is a very low chance I will be able to buy anything online while I am making this...

[Pilot]

I'm pretty sure I've seen them at Radio Shack, and I can't imagine a large hardware store or place like Target not having them either.

[Neko-chan700]

Thank you, now the only thing I need to figure out is where to find a sound effects box that I can import my own audio into.

[NatsumeRyu]

Yeah I was going to suggest the magnets for Laserbeak as well. I think they will be more aerodynamic, though slightly heavier than vlecro.

Also, I've seen them at Walmart in the past, but they appear to be seasonal items for some reason. o.O I'm fairly certain Hobby Lobby carries them, and I don't see why Michael's might not carry them....

As for the sound box, I remember Mirai used one way back when on Jazz for voice changing....
Also, Laserbot's Jazz used something to play her music while in costume, and I know, Pilot, you did something similar for Blaster. Any chance you think that might be what Neko-Chan is looking for here? :/
I think it might be feasible, Neko-chan, since I'm pretty sure these folks used MP3 players to play the music....you might be able to simply put stuff on an mp3 player....otherwise, I'm also recalling I think someone mauled one of those music-playing T-shirts to add sound to a rig. I have no idea how that worked though....

[Neko-chan700]

The magnets could also be used as a counter weight, but I'll focus on that more after Lazerbeak is done.

Another question: I just acquired some LEDs, what could I use to do the purple glow from Soundwave's chest and the sides of his helm?

[NatsumeRyu]

If it's the parts I think you're referring to - EL strips? It seems like some of them would be fairly wide...I'm not sure how draining that might be on a battery, or how many you could have before it just makes everything too dim.

<---- does not do electronics.
XD I'll let someone else post on it.

[Neko-chan700]

What I have are just little LEDs that we took out of some smashed solar-powered lights. My dad is doing the rigging on them, I'm just trying to figure out what I could put over them to make it look like glowing purple.

[NatsumeRyu]

Oh! Well that's a bit easier then! You can use actual light film/gel (the stuff they put over stage lights to change their color), or you could probably find some thin plastic, maybe even in the purple color already, otherwise something cheap like a soda bottle could be mutilated and painted with a translucent purple paint - that should make it purple.

If you want to diffuse the light as well, I'm sure there's a way, but I'm not scientifically certain how.. ~:[

[Pilot]

I used some thin fabric to diffuse the light on the LED clusters in my Samus costume. You could glue some purple fabric to the underside of a strip of plexi or acrylic.

As for Blaster, I didn't actually have any voice modulation; it was just a sound system hooked up to an ipod. Mirai will have to help you with that one.

[Neko-chan700]

I would use an iPod or something for the audio, but I want to be able to choose what audio plays without having to look. When I am in costume, I like to try to get in character, so while I'm doing Soundwave, I will rarely talk. That's what the sound effects box is for. I will load it up with clips of different bots so that if someone asks me a question, I can use actual sound clips from the show. I have seen many sound effects boxes that are the size I need, but I can't find any of them that I can import my own audio into...

I have talked to someone on how to make my iPhone be the speaker, and we have already figured out what type of cable I may need (all depends on the type of sound effects box), how long it will need to be, and how I can get it from my arm to my mask without being seen.

Due to the fact that I will have a good amount of my plastic acrylic sheet after I'm done with Soundwave's mask (and possibly my spotter's visor) I'm going to try painting over it with some kind of transparent purple paint (probably acrylic) and see how they glow. I think I will be mostly trial-and-error with it.

[keyismykitty]

For the iPod, I did something like that once. What I did was bring a couple friends, and have their texting tone set to a different thing...and every time I wanted to 'say' something, I'd have one of them text me. I had a bunch of different sound effects, can't recall exactly, but it wasn't for a 'bot, anyway...

There's probably a better way to do it, because that method not only requires having a group of friends following you around (although you probably will anyway, you're gonna need spotters), but they also have to be paying enough attention to know when the 'right' time to play their sound effect is, and it takes a few seconds for the message to get to your phone. I'm wondering if there's a system you could rig up in your forearm...you know, Buzz Lightyear style, just push a button and it plays different things.

[Neko-chan700]

I'm only going to have one spotter and she doesn't own a phone...
That's why I'm looking for something handheld with buttons... My iphone is the speaker and I talked with someone on what cord I may need.