Apemania Appliance$

[jessica]

My lifelong dream is almost a reality!! In a few months, I will be the proud owner of a set of appliances...and I JUST CAN'T WAIT!! I better get cracking on my Zira costume and perhaps I can have everything ready for Halloween!! I'm excited and scared all at the same time. BUTTERFLIES are doing cartwheels in my stomach right now...

:heart::ape::heart:

[grayhank]

Deleted

[jessica]

That's what my sister said when I started talking about getting some appliances. I had to tell her to focus...focus...:smiley1:

[Seeker]

Ahh yeah what are we talking about here? I was thinking stove, toaster and blender too. Its like wow what has she been using to cook with all this time?:yeah:

[BlackKnight]

I wanna see the Giant ApeHead as an Oven,... or the Bola Shaped Frige. :smiley1:

[Raydeen1]

Sweet. Can't wait to see pix!

[SUP-Ronin]

I was stumped as well, not up on my prop lingo I suppose. I believe perhaps this is what she means. Appliance as in prosthetics. Our little Jessica is becoming an ape. Pretty cool.

APEMANIA THRIFT STORE (http://www.apemania.com/Thrift.htm)

[Manspider]

Congratulations and good luck with your set of appliances.

[toys2cool]

so what are we talking about here? :grin:

[txteach]

I thought you meant like a stove and trash compactor. I was wondering how that would look in my kitchen. eeeewwwwww

[spiderrogue]

glad im not the only one that was "confused" by her ramblings(she does that a lot)....21 more to go.....

[HardyGirl]

So are you getting the facial appliances?

[jessica]

Yes, the facial appliances/prosthetics. I can't wait. This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and my dream is probably older than most of y'all.

I'm so excited...I will finally make a monkey out of myself! And just in time, too...for the 40th anniversary!

[jessica]

I wanted to show you guys (and gals) what I have accomplished after two nights of working on my outfit. I am putting this together without any patterns. I had to "MacGuyver" my own dressing form to help me with the hardest part of the outfit, the collar, but the outfit is coming out the way I envisioned it needs to look and I'm so excited at the outcome!!

Here is the outfit on my home-made dress form made out of a sweater that fit well but stuffed with material to make a form: http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/Zira002.jpg

Here is the outfit with the hieroglyph that I embroidered while at the orthodontist's office when they put on my eldest boy's braces. It was the best two hour-wait I ever had. Wouldn't have minded if it had taken longer, because maybe I would have finished the entire hieroglyph.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/Zira013.jpg

I can't wait to get all suited up in ape regalia...For any of you ape maniacs out there, the green fabric is a Ponte Roma from Joanne Fabrics and it hangs so very well. It would even work well in Mego scale and it's the perfect color, too. The great thing about it is that it does not ravel because of the interlock weave, so the possibilities are endless. The fake leather is the same fake leather that I used for Jay's Lois Lane jacket.

[Manspider]

Jess,
You are talented!
Looks fantastic, so far.

[censy]

Jessica, that outfit is coming together great. Good luck with the appliances, hopefully they fit perfectly. Can't wait to see you all done up.

Chris

[toys2cool]

wow it looks amazing! great job :grin:

[miguet]

Jessica, your outfit is coming along very nicely! I can't wait to see it's completion. :yes:

[jessica]

Update: I am waiting to hear back from the makeup gurus. They will give me a set of dates to choose from so that we could all get together and start the process. When they are ready, I am so there!! I don't know how long the entire process will be from start to finish, but they will make me a personalized set of Zira appliances in the same way that the apes were made up in 1968.

I hope that my makeup is ready for Wonder Con in February 2009. If anybody is in San Francisco that weekend in February, look for Zira.

[vulcan2074]

Jessica
Thats an Awesome Outfit. I'm very Happy for you.
V~2074

[jessica]

What do you guys think of this sweater that I'm going to sacrifice for the chimp inner sleeves of my outfit? Do you think the color is OK? What about the weave? Should I keep looking?

No word yet from my neighbor, Cornelius, but I have until February to get my makeup ready. In the meantime, I am going to busy myself by sewing the hood that I will use for the wig that I still have to purchase, the lace hair pieces that will be used for the wrists and the hairline around the face....and also create the chimp shoes...

I now have a pair of ears that were given to me by a friend for use with the costume. This costume is slowly coming to life. Can't wait to be completely immersed in it and go ape.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4308.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4307.jpg

This photo snagged from Evilbay shows the sleeve look I am trying to accomplish.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/8161_1.jpg

[HardyGirl]

Looks good to me! :yes:

[jessica]

I should have taken a photograph of the sleeves next to the green fabric. Darnit. Maybe tomorrow.

[apes3978]

This has been a lifelong dream of mine, and my dream is probably older than most of y'all.

The part about your dream being older than most of us is highly unlikely... I'd guess most people here are in their mid 30s to early 40s... Your dream would have to go back to before 1966 to be older than most of us...:ape:

And BTW: Yes, sacrifice the sweater... It may not be exactly dead on, but it's close enough... There has to be a limit to how far everything can be duplicated "exactly"...

[jessica]

And BTW: Yes, sacrifice the sweater... It may not be exactly dead on, but it's close enough... There has to be a limit to how far everything can be duplicated "exactly"...

I'm going for it! I'm going to sew it on a bias and include the fringe.

Goapebilly is going to send me a cast of the hieroglyph for the chest pocket.

I'm going to recreate the chimp shoes myself and cover it in brown fabric just like the deluxe shoes they make at Apemania. Almost everything will be homemade.

[censy]

Looks close enough. No one will be looking at your sleeves anyway, once you have the make-up on.

Chris

[jessica]

Whoo HOO!! Heard from Cornelius, my neighbor, and they want to start the makeup process late October/early November!! I AM SO EXCITED!! I probably won't be able to sleep for days now...

[GSPUSA]

That's really neat, I'm not even into apes, but I like that and look forward to seeing the finished product.

[almitysufx]

Just think, you're going to be your very own giant living custom. Beautiful work so far! best of luck. I, like everyone here, can't wait to see the pics that are sure to come.

[jessica]

Here are my $2.50 shoes. I got them for sale today (75% off) at Walgreen's. It helped to be able to peek in Bill Blake's chimp shoes, so I could see how it was constructed. Thank God for the internet! It's so super cool to be able to network!!!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4310.jpg

Here are the sculpted toes, that I made with Crayola Magic Air Dry sculpting medium, which dries very lightweight and a little spongy:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4311.jpg http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4312-1.jpg

After this dries for 24 hours, I'm going to cover it with dark brown fabric. I also need to swing by the fabric store so that I could purchase two zippers for the chimp shoes. They need to go up midcalf, like a demi-boot. I am saving myself $950!!

I also need to buy some super large flipflops, which I will use to cover the very base of the shoes. The foam backing will serve as a support for the side toes of the shoes.

[vulcan2074]

Wow Your Super Creative. Looking Very Cool.
Sammy

[Gorn Captain]

Something tells me that, if body modification really becomes popular, our Jessica will truly go "all-ape".....

Very nice work indeed!
Appliances are great. I took a course in Movie Make-up, where we learned to make professional facial appliances. Very cool indeed. I made a demon look for myself, with six separate pieces.

[Hotfoot]

I just might have to fly across country to see this. You are one talented Ape maker!

Now the big question. Once you get outfitted and made up are you ever going to take it off?

[jessica]

Good question, Hotfoot! I am not sure...

[jessica]

I am obsessing again...I can't seem to rest until I complete this project...but here is one of my shoes after a getting covered with fabric. I'm still trying to figure out how to sew in the zipper. I may have to hand-do that..not sure yet.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4321-1.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4322.jpg

[jessica]

I got my Apemania appliance today. She is a beauty. Why didn't I do this sooner? I'm going to try to convert this appliance into a deluxe pullover, for when I need to be in Zira costume and don't have the six hours for makeup application:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4405.jpg

[HardyGirl]

Wow! Very cool!:ape:

[vulcan2074]

Jessica
Thats so Awesome. I Just Love it :beaming1:
Sammy

[jessica]

Hot off the apevine, my neighbor Cornelius and I have set up an official date. On February 2009, for Wondercon in San Francisco, he and I are going to go ape together.

It's far enough in the future that I can take my time with my outfit and get it to where I want it to look. I didn't have to put out an SOS to the POTA Yahoo group to ask for an official date. Whew! I have never been made up before, everything will be new to me, so it will all be overwhelming. He will be there to hold my hand in case the crowd starts to scare me. I don't know what kind of reaction to expect as we walk from the car to the event. He said he was mobbed last February, so...that sounds kind of scary!

In a about a week or two, I will get under the goo to get the lifemold started. Cornelius said it doesn't take Tom very long to sculpt, and they will videotape the whole process so we can share it with the ape community.

Some of you may have already seen me in this, but I'm wearing the Zira appliances from Apemania. It is unbelievably soft and the original sculpt was made for Kim Hunter's face. I can't believe it fits my face so perfectly. The appliance is not glued onto my face yet--just stuck on there with double-sided sticky tape, whatever the appliance came with. It doesn't have any holes for my nostrils but I can breathe in through the foam. Freaky and neat.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_4427-1.jpg

[HardyGirl]

Jessica called me a little while ago and she was SO excited! Just like a little kid at Christmas! :baby02: I'm really happy for you, hun. :yes:

[vulcan2074]

WOW! You Look so Awesome. This is so Cool.
Sammy

[mego73]

He he, I knew exactly what she was talking about (about appliances) because I've done makeup before. I never considered others would be confused.

I've always wanted to get Ape appliances somewhere down the line.

It all looks good, can't wait to see the final result.

[jessica]

This is my under the goop experience which I underwent yesterday. It was SOOOOOO cool, and not very claustrophobic at all. In fact, it was like getting a nice facial. Dan Morgan and Tom Rubalcava were very nice to accomodate me and help me realize my lifelong ape dream. This is just the first part of the process. I think this photograph is right after all the alginate had been put on my face, before they put down the strips of bandages. Very Halloween, huh?
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/hoplite298.jpg


After they were satisfied with the way the alginate had hardened, Dan had me lean forward and hold the weight of the mold with my hands while I made funny faces inside. The funny faces I made forced the mold off my face gently, which really surprised me. http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/hoplite305.jpg

[Wee67]

Jess, this is just too darn cool!!! I may not be as ape crazy as you, but we all have long-term fantasies that have survived from our childhood. Congrats on getting to ive one of yours. Enjoy it!



(and thanks for sharing)

[vulcan2074]

Your so Close. I Can't wait to see you Completely Made up.
Sammy

[jessica]

Haven't heard back yet from the makeup crew, but since I have a lot of nervous energy, I decided to focus on my chimp boots to start crossing off a list of items that are still left for my costume. I decided to go with a tall shaft with zippers on the back and I was going to be fancy and add lining but changed my mind. At this point I just want a nice pair of chimp boots that look ok. I still have to trim the zipper and hem the top of the boot and add the sole. This is the boot for the right foot:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5031.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5032.jpg

Still need to make the brown undergarment, and knit up or weave the inner sleeves, if my sweater doesn't do my costume any justice.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/behind_pota46.jpg

[SUP-Ronin]

Wait, is that you??? Amazing. You must be loving this. Good for you.

[jessica]

Wait, is that you??? Amazing. You must be loving this. Good for you.

That's not me, that's Kim Hunter...But that's my goal...(except I don't smoke)...:grin:

[vulcan2074]

That Boots Looking Great. Everything is coming along Nicely :beaming1:
Sammy

[SUP-Ronin]

That's not me, that's Kim Hunter...But that's my goal...(except I don't smoke)...:grin:

Thought it (the ciggie) was a clever prop. Still, I am sure you can pull that off, no Problem. Can't wait to see it.

[noelani72]

wow jess!
Shortly after we spoke the other day, I went to Apemania....dug and dug and finally found the costume stuff.
Holyyyyy smokes...gonna need some dough to do a general ape like Sarge did for his kid...but whoa mama...totally killer cool.
Keep this updated with pics!

[HardyGirl]

The boots are looking good!

[jessica]

After double-checking screen references and burning the image of the seam placements in my mind by drawing it out, I did the unthinkable and redid the sleeves.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5041.jpg

The top is the original sleeve which really was too narrow. I think this is the reason why the jacket sat incomplete for many months.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5038.jpg

The green jacket actually looks so much better now.

[vulcan2074]

Your Quite the Perfectionist :beaming1:
Sammy

[jessica]

I did both boots--I just have to add the bottom sole (which I bought today)...have to research which specific glue will be best, but it's so close to being done!! Still need to hem the top but that's no biggie. The hardest part is done.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/Zira004-1.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/Zira005-1.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/Zira003-1.jpg

[jessica]

The sweater I was first going to cut up is too light in color and I have not been successful in my fabric to hunt to find the one that would suit well as the chimp's inner sleeve....so I am weaving my own.

Here is my improved loom, made out of prefabricated "frames" that you can purchase at an art store. I guess these are the ones you staple your paint cloth to. I just wrapped my yarn around it neatly.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5053.jpg

It would be faster if I had a loom, but I don't. I am only doing this for the sleeves, so it won't really drive me nuts.
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5054.jpg

After a few hours, I can see progress:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5067.jpg

[jessica]

I know it's supposed to be on a bias...but...I think this will have to do until I figure out the knitted pattern of Zira's sleeve:

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5081.jpg

[HardyGirl]

You know how to weave from a loom too? Day-um girl, is there anything you CAN'T do?

Nice work!

[vulcan2074]

WOW! Your Amazing, You Definately Are Very Talented :beaming1:
Sammy

[jessica]

WOW! Your Amazing, You Definately Are Very Talented :beaming1:
Sammy

Thank you, but I don't think so. I'm just a little ape crazy. :heart::ape::heart:

[jessica]

You know how to weave from a loom too? Day-um girl, is there anything you CAN'T do?

Nice work!

Thank you!!

Here are the soles of my boots, gooped up with glue that dries clear, works on fabric and rubber, is waterproof, and can be used for shoes. It took about 20 minutes to decide which glue to buy. I was not really sure how the Crayola Magic Sculpt would glue up with these stronger glues, but it seemed to do ok.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5085.jpg

Here's something that looks like it's from Gulliver's Travels:
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5086.jpg

The bottoms of the soles are made from a thin cut up tire mat that my Gingher shears were able to slice through. I was going to glue leather but then somebody had reminded me that leather is not very sure footing on rugs...and I remember how scary it could be if your leather soles got wet and you walked on tiles. (It's so great to have a lot of mentors)!!
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn102/apecityoutfitters/IMG_5087.jpg