Greetings!
So Recently i wanted to modify my Bucket to be that of a Twi'lek. I could not find many picture of Mando Twi'lek, and of those i found it appeared most just added holes/slots in their helmets to allow a worn lekku to be displayed and allow the user to remove the bucket and show their face. As I did not want to show my face and that i am Male and much harder to get the correct look! So i decided to design a bucket modification that will allow my Lekku to easily be seen. While yes I have to keep my bucket on the whole time this is nothing new to me.
So began my thought process.
As we may or may not known there are MANY differnet looks for the Lekku (things that hang from the back of the Twi'leks head. So I put my mind into that of a Twi'lek. Once could assume that part of the brain or some important function is, be it the brain, spinal cord connections, or something. So one would want to have them protected at least near the base. So I need to make some armored ports that would protect the base of the lekku which connect to the bucket. I also wanted to enable the lekku to somewhat easily pop out in the case that someone decided to tug on them! So i started down the path below.
First step was to aquire a set of Lekku. I decided to go with Twi'lek Pams Lekku because they are top quaility. I ordered them off her Shop on etsy. With Lekku in had i started off by Painting them to the color of choice. This color was Turquoise as my kit has a metalic green look to it. I felt it would match so went ahead and got Reel Creation Body paint to paint the Latex Lekku.
Next step was to figure out a way to armor the Lekku while keeping the overall shape, look, and feel of them. So with some brainstorming with a friend i decided to get some PVC pipes from HomeDepot/Lows. The pipes had to have a 3 inch diameter in order for the lekku to fit without to much pressure.
With the Pipes in hand i decided to CUT the Lekku out.... This was VERY HARD to do as Lekku are not cheap! But with my plan should the lekku get damaged near the connecting point i can also just have shorter Lekku! So it works out!
Here are my painted Lekku inside the pipes. I currently do not have them secured in they are simple laying there! Sorry for no flash!
At this point in time the pipe has been unedited. I decided to CUT the pipes to fit the curve of my bucket. This was VERY HARD to do. I ended up using a Chop Saw in a way that would get me kicked out of wood shop! After getting a clean cut i also hit it on the Belt sander. Overall it was extreamly hard to get it to match the natural curve with enough points touching to get a solid connection.
Above you can see the results. After getting the cut i desires i have to think of ways to better connect the pvc to my bucket. So i decided to also figure out how to connect the Lekku to the pipes. First idea was to have magnets and Sintra inside both pvc pipe and Lekku. But with lekku being PVC i quickly decided to NOT to do this as PVC is hard to glue objects to. The section option was Velcro. I found that velcro was a great solution. While i do lose the ability to quickly and easily remove the lekku i still have the ability to remove them for transport. The Velcro allows me to even adjust where the lekku are pointing. As a BIG guy i need to have them pointing away from my body and am working on my kit to help lower the going out by adding a cape that will allow me to remove the back plate and better posture.
Next is the attachment of the Pipes to my helmet. This part took one of the longest to figure out how to do correct. So i brainstormed with a few friends once more and decided to put sintra inside the pipes and form the sintra to the bucket. With this i then added the sintra to the pipes with Plently of Superglue and Hot glue (the extra hot one). I then Drilled into my bucket to screw into the sintra to secure the pipes to my bucket. I also added a good amount of glue one again to make sure it stayed put. I did this while keeping the bucket on a flat (ish) surface so that the pipes would land on the table so i could put the bucket down!
Granted this is not painted but you can see that it is laying flat and the extra glue! I thought between bondo and covering the glue. I felt that covering the glue would give it a interesting look. As a friend put it "What type of space metal did they use to put that on!" So i decided to paint the bucket and later added the space metal!
Here is the inside of the Pipe! As you can see the sintra, glue, screws, and Velcro. I also added some padding on the inside to protect the lekku. This is a hand grip for a painters took i ended up re-purposing. Granted it does make the hole smaller and add a smalll crease on the lekku but i can be hidden behind my back!
Velcro is on both sides of the lekku!
Paint job and weathering!
Added Magic metal.
First troop!
Pros:
Easy to wear.
Simple to transport.
Save tons of Body paint.
Everyone knows your are a Twi'lek or Twylek
Cons:
Bucket is not back heavy. Padding has fixed this but it will take some times to get used to.
Can't take the bucket off. Already used to this with my time in the 501st.
Lekku dont match the body perfectly. This is mostly to do with my big frame. Need to improve my posture and lose weight! #LifeGoals
Things to be figured out!
Best method for transporting and storage of Latex Lekku. (similar to a rubber band can dry out....)
Special Thanks
Syper of Teren Clan, For letting me pick his brain and help attaching the pipes to the bucket!
Tracy of the 501st GGG For giving me great advice!