Introduction: STAR WARS Tusken Raider Mask

About: Stay safe

The Tusken Raider, on the savage end of Tatooine's native spectrum they are called Sand People by the residents and are famously scared of old people in long robes stumbling toward them. I made this and the rest of the costume last Halloween as a last ditch costume (my Reach Spartan didn't pan out time wise) two days be before Halloween. I had most of the on hand,but if you must know:

Materials:

  • Balaclava (black, dark color or tan)(HAD, ~$10)
  • mini-SOLO cups (HAD,~$5, for a bag)
  • small plastic shot cups (I found one's that would be at church)(HAD, ~$10, for a 50ct. bag)
  • Tan cotton/ canvas(~$5, I used a curtain)
  • Crayola air-dry clay (I used this as it's cheap, light and relativly quick to dry)
  • dark brown/ brown pleather(plastic leather)(HAD,~$5, for a square yard of it)
  • black/dark brown material (HAD, ~$3, for a square yard of it)
  • black/ silver acrylic paint(HAD, ~$3)
  • Glue gun(HAD, ~$5-10)
    (Optional) Brown stain of any type, coffee, watered paint, ect.(for weathering)
    Total: ~$30 (for me ~$5)

Step 1: Cue the StarWars Refereneces

This is a very cheap and easy build to do. After the supplies are collected it takes maybe an hour and a half to two hours to complete. Start by cutting the tan cotton to 1.5'x3' (use one half), then make cuts every ~2in. along the top of the 3' side. When done tear the new strips, you should have ~2in.x1.5' strips. Stack them on each other single-file (to hide their numbers) and set them aside. Now the goggles. Take the mini-SOLO cups and cut the bottoms off (it's your "only hope" for seeing). Then make two venting slots on the half of each cup. Paint the inside black/ outside silver and you can now put them aside as well. Last but not least are the "teeth", the silver double cleft part on the front of the respirator. This can by made from the air-dry clay, check online for reference pictures. Note that the clay should be completely dry before painting as the paint blocks oxygen from drying the clay(24hrs. to be safe). It can then be painted silver.

Step 2: ...One More Thing...

I forgot to mention that you will need one more thing, a friend to help "wrap" the balaclava. It turns out better and it's easier if you have a friend glue the strips on (with your professorial guidance of course)while you wear it. This is much is the most time consuming part and reminds me of a ghillie suit build I did (will be posted later). After the balaclava is wrapped including the eye hole (it's important that the strips are split horizontally over the eye hole). Next roll up to black cotton to make the respirator "triangle". The pleather can now be wrapped around it to give the correct texture. Now bend the pleather covered roll into the correct sized triangle for you and glue it to the mask so the top angle comes to the edge of the eye hole. Now take the "teeth" and glue it to the top angle. Also no that the New Hope/PM versions have a leather (pleather) strip tucked in between the eyes.

Step 3: That New Balaclava Smell...

The last part involves you putting the mask on the taking it off many times, be careful as unneeded roughness could damage the mask. Take the small church/shot cups and paint them silver, then position them on four quadrants of the top of the mask, make sure that the bases are tucked under the loose strips of cotton. Now take two more cups (for the mask's shooters) and position them so that the bases are tucked away, but so that they are also squared up to the respirator. Now the "scarf". Depending on the version mask you what to make you will need a different sized scarf, the New Hope/PM versions have small scarfs used to just cover the neck, they also have moisture collectors, (which I didn't have time to make.) the CW versions have large yellowish scarfs and no moisture collectors. The NH/PM scarfs can be made with the other half of the tan cotton, cut to 6"x3', glue to the bottom of the mask and cut to size(went wore it will be wrapped around and tied/ tucked into the collar or itself). Now the brown wash can be applied if desired (i haven't done that yet) and the goggles can be put in (venting holes down). I held them in my eye socket through friction, (much like a monocle) however you could find other ways to keep them in/ mount them.

Step 4: Afterward

Congratulations you have made a "fully operational" (had to get that in there somewhere) Tusken Raider mask! Prepare to practice sounding like Batman screaming after being stung on the inside of his throat by a bee. Sorry about the lack of work photos, I did this on the fly and it slipped my mind. I not planned to make a robe tutorial as it's not 100% accurate, (neither is this, but for 2hrs. of work it's worth it) it was made of curtains and was just a crude eye-balled pattern (as I imagine their clothes was/is). I can however make a quick tutorial if enough people want me to.

Thanks, DIYtime