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Thread: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

  1. #1
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    For those of you who somehow haven't yet heard of TRON: Legacy (coming 17Dec2011) here's a peak at the *awesomeness* (be sure to admire the fine babes and catch the extra eye-candy at the endings)

    TRON Teaser CGI (HD)
    Official Trailer #1 (HD)
    Official Trailer #2 (HD)
    Official Trailer #3 (HD)
    "Sirens Dress Sam" Clip (HD)
    "Quorra Saves Sam" Clip (HD)

    A little more CGI troncandy can be seen in the Daft Punk's "Derezzed" music video. Also the game TRON: Evolution has a number of clips and trailers as well.


    But I've been asked to do an interesting "mod" ...

    A friend of a friend is into cosplay stuff and wants a "Legacy" TRON suit. Now I'll point out that I don't do cosplay at all, in fact I think it's kinda nerdiculous in ways beyond my ken and I can't sew worth a damn and I really see little merit in the whole thing at all beyond sometimes leering at pics of incredibly hawt sexy chicks who costume themselves up.

    So this girl wants a black-neon TRON suit and she's going to handle all the sewing stuff herself (it's what she does) - and her albums show she's quite fantastic at it, actually. My job is going to be duplicating the glowy light stuff and handling all the electronics. I can get some cash for doing this. She also wants the helmet, glowy disc, and cape to go along with it and she's apparently capable of making them herself, so again, my job is just to handle the electronics side. I imagine these can all use subtle clip connectors to draw battery power from the "main" suit, except perhaps the disc thing which is, uh, throwable.

    (I'll admit I'm so seriously geeked out on this TRON movie that I'm kinda seriously considering doing this job just to get her to make one of these suits for me instead of being paid cash. I'll wait until I see how the movie and her suit turn out, they might surprisingly suck.)

    My initial thoughts ...
    - EL-wire and LEDs? She doesn't want phosphorescents, she wants self-luminous.
    - Battery life should be fairly decent, at least a few hours of continuous operation.
    - Shouldn't generate uncomfortable or unsafe heat, radiation, voltages, etc.
    - Ideally, the electronics and batteries shouldn't weigh too much.
    - I can do microcontroller stuff no prob ... is it possible to shift the colour of EL strips? (The movie clips show red, yellow, green, blue, white, etc)
    - Her budget hasn't been stated, but it looks like she's willing to spend about $100-$200 or maybe more (for electronic parts and materials, on top of the $100 she's offering me) on the lighting effects. I've already told her the parts cost shouldn't be that high, though I might be wrong. I thought this seems a bit excessive, but then again, how much do we spend modding PCs?

    Any suggestions?
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  2. #2
    ATX Mental Case mofo's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    9 volts in the "backpack" that the first clip shows (where the light disc hangs)
    el wire and paper for the body parts. frosted plexi on the chest and back.
    I think its fully doable. by the 17th, that might be tough.

  3. #3
    Overclocked Okele's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    Here I will save you a buttload of time.

    http://www.glorope.com/

    Good luck!

  4. #4
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    She said she's doing some convention in early Jan, but doesn't expect this outfit to be ready before her next one in Feb (California I think). Plenty of time I think; I suppose we need to work together on the design a bit.

    The glorope products look useful ... but they aren't self-luminescent. I wonder if some strategically-placed white or UV strips/LEDs could make it look "active", sort of like white things under blacklight?

    Is a standard 9V battery enough to drive EL? How many, for how long? I haven't worked with it much before, but I understand a little inverter is necessary? Can a control be used to adjust brightness/intensity, or is it more "all or nothing"?

    I suppose they won't look much like they do in the Hollywood vids; maybe camera shots show the glow better than the eye, and of course real-world observers don't benefit from optimum lighting and CGI cleanup. Still, nicely nerdy in the dark.
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

  5. #5
    ATX Mental Case Crimson13's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    The actual suits made for the movie and promotions are made with el-wire and el-panels.

    Most el-wire will run off of AA's for 12-24 hours. Some inverters can dim and/or strobe.

  6. #6
    Water Cooled Diamon's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    You should build a hydrogen fuel cell and use that to power the suit
    Or you could salvage a lithion-ion battery from a laptop or other mobile device. Alternatively you buy one.
    Projects: RGB Tower - Custom CPU water block

    Watching someone else use your computer is like watching a drunk orangutan solve a rubix cube. They have no idea what they're doing and you just wish they'd hand you the damn thing so you can do it yourself.
    -TheOatmeal

  7. #7
    Anodized. Again. Konrad's Avatar
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    Default Re: TRON Legacy ... "mod" (sorta)

    Buy one instead of being paid to make it?

    Besides ... I'm not quite that geeked out on Tron. The suits are damned cool, yes I want one (especially if it comes with the transforming helmet mechanism). But also I don't ... that infamous dorky "internet Tron guy" ruined it for all of us.
    My mind says Technic, but my body says Duplo.

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