Boot Fabric

I got a kickstart on my Superman Returns boots again this week, with all the new pics from ComiCon coming in. Though most are nothing new, some have revealed a couple little details that are interesting.

Recall that my overall strategy is to make panels from urethane that LOOK like leather, and then cut them to size and basically glue them onto existing boots. Then I will sculpt a sole to go around it.

To that end, I busted out the good old 1630 this evening in order to make a mold of the cape fabric. It turns out that on the back half of the boot is a pattern that is basically the INVERSE of the cape pattern. So making a negative mold will produce a positive that matches the design I want. Follow??

I discovered a while ago that mixing 1630 can be a real pain, as you need to get it done quite thoroughly. I found these great little drill bits at Lowe's that are just perfect for the task.



I laid down a coat of baby powder into the mold, then mixed up a couple small batches of the stuff and basically just poured it in. Smells like a leaky BP oil line in my home office now!!!



I will probably do another coat of 1630, and that might just be enough. I may also back it with one pass of fiberglass just for extra strength. I am still not really sure how thick I will need to make it, but I suppose thicker can't hurt.

That's what she said.