‘Getting close to the final
look- It took months just to get this far’
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The
leg and arm guards pictured below were crafted the old fashion way. With
hammer and brute strength, along with several sizes of GRC (galvanized rigid conduit)
pipe, the armor was formed from heavy gauge sheet metal over the summer of
2006. For days upon end, Donato and Rick formed the armor in Rick’s garage
while temperatures reached well over 100 degrees. After the armor had been
formed, Rick then drilled holes for future strapping points and began to
cover the armor in liquid rubber. After a few coatings he then padded the
inner side with foam for comfort and also added ankle and upper calf straps
& buckles. After a few weeks time all of the armor was completed and then
he moved ahead with the task of building the headgear for the guards. The
helmets were made with liquid PVC from a mold crafted by Rick. He poured, let
dry, removed them from the mold, and did a basic clean-up before handing them
to Donato for further sanding. Once D.C. had finished with the sanding they
went back to Rick, who then cut the slots for each eye lens and drilled out
the necessary areas for switches and lights. He then prepped each unit for a
custom fit and after all of that they went back to D.C for a final touch-up
and then each unit received their respective paint jobs. After the paint
fully dried, Rick was at it again outfitting each unit with lenses, lights,
wiring, power supplies, vent holes, inner padding, and finally a chin strap
along with an added detail or two.
The
chest plates were found in a costume shop in southern CA, while Rick was
visiting family and friends. They were very cheap and flimsy but he had
already discovered a way to beef them up. The modifications made to the basic
plate took several weeks. Each unit received a nylon reinforced backing,
heavy duty strapping, padding, and more than 2lbs. of liquid rubber applied
in several steps to both sides. When asked what the symbol on the chest
plates represents, Rick plainly states, “It is the symbol of the Army of
Darkness, a fiery dark sun, like the heart of one who is enraged with
anger”. |
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Watch out
for that arm guard! Many cast and crew members alike felt the sharp edges
first |
Tiris’
leggings and arm guard in black and silver. The Captain is definitely partial
to the Oakland Raiders. |
The arm
guard pictured eventually wound up being used for the Sergeant character. Go
figure…. |
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Kaan’s personal
guard sports this particular unit in the |
The
leggings were crafted from sheet metal and formed by hand by Rick J. and
Donato Cocuzza. |
Standard
guard leggings and arm guard along with
light saber. |
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From left to
right- Standard Guard, Sergeant Voko, and Captain Tiris’ chest plates. |
Voko’s
finished helmet. This
particular helmet received special attention. |
Guard
helmets in various stages of construction |
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Several helmet units were handcrafted,
then blue & red light emitting diodes were incorporated.
Each unit was then hard
wired with switches installed along with a dual 9v power supply.
Each unit weighs
approximately 2.5 pounds.
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The armor chest plates have
a plastic inner core and nylon reinforced backing.
All units are coated with more than two
pounds of liquid rubber and then were adorned with metal ornaments.
After preliminary
modifications the armor was then fitted to each actor, and final adjustments were
made.
Final sanding and detailing
of over eight helmets took countless hours.
Rick spent weeks fine
tuning and creating the armor, costumes, sabers and utility belts
that the primary cast
members would eventually don.
Below is the craftsman hard
at work.
Comments by Droids
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