Here is my crazy aviator costume from Halloween 2008. I was inspired by a recent steampunk ornithopter picture.
Costume
I made the aviator helmet using a leather jacket from the thrift store and the goggles from last year’s explorer costume. I made the pattern for the helmet by taping newspaper to my head. Then I cut out pieces from the jacket to match and sewed them together. The copper buckle is household solid electrical wire.
The wings were made of a variety of parts, some bought but mostly scavenged. The wing frames are bamboo sticks from the garden department at the home improvement store. The wing cloth is a tablecloth from the thrift store. The steam engine is a copy machine toner cartridge, with a tube from a broken mop for the exhaust pipe. The pulleys are wheels from a broken stroller. All enhanced with a variety of spray paints.
Party
With a pompous British accent and a little spiel about doing an aerial survey of the spice islands of Zanzibar, I won a prize in the lunchtime Halloween contest at work, for “best embodiment of the character”. Fun!
