Character: Jabba the Hutt

Variation: Inflato-Jabba

From: Return of the Jedi

Completed: In Progress

 

::suit::

I like air conditioning. I also like to hide 'fat days', even when costuming. That being said, when I started looking at ideas for making the main body of this costume, I came up at a loss...Especially when looking at cost-effective methods.

Then, I saw some guy, last Halloween, wandering around in the inflatable samurai suit. It just seemed like a brilliant idea...

I lucked out---BIG TIME--and found the perfect fabric on the $1 rack. I bought the whole bolt, just to ensure I had enough. It took every last scrap to make this thing, approximately 14 yards.

The fabric itself is double sided. The top is a soft-front cotton in a mid-greenish khaki. There's a little bit of visibility of the diagonal weave, but only up close. The back of the fabric is plasticized. This is a necessity with inflatables, so I've found, to hold the air in.

The arm and leg holes are elasticized tightly, and the neck has a drawstring elastic entrance with a securing and adjusting plastic setter. I have no clue what the formal name for those things are, but I salvaged it from an old laundry bag. It's fantastic.

As for the fan and its accoutrements, I got the super-discounted kids' halloween costumes last fall, and salvaged the fan. Tried as I did, I never could find a distributor of these fans stand-alone anywhere.

The entire bodysuit's 5 pieces. Arms, collar, and front and back. The width, after inflating, is about 6 feet wide.

:: mask::

The frame is made of Fosshape. Seriously, I'd had it around so long and not used it I felt guilty. It's actually working out for the better, since it's breatheable and can be sewn through easily.

The eyes are made of clay, varnish, and paint. the usual. The nose and bottom lip have model magic bases, with fabric stretched and adhered tightly on. Then, the fabric's edge was stitched down to the base.