Six-armed goddess Kali Costume

Step 2 Arms, arms, arms!

It's all about the arms!
I made a decision to have three sets of arms even though true Hindu representations always have either two, four or eight sets of arms. I decided on three sets because I wanted the visual impact of many arms, but felt that I would loose my mind trying to wear any more. So my idea was to have a set above my actual arms and a set below.
I wanted arms with movable joints that would move and snap like they had tendons.

I've been working with blue foam lately. Mostly because I get a crazy supply for free. The only thing that is a concern is the toxic fumes released by the foam, so I've had to get used to wearing a gas mask. I should have been wearing one when working with aerosols all these years anyway.
So basically, I get a supply of blue foam sheets and glue them together with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive. This particular adhesive was included with the foam, I believe it's the only spay adhesive that doesn't eat it.

I use hot wire band saw to cut out the basic shape of the upper and lower arms Using a rough template based loosely on my own arm size.

I need to create a elbow joint, so I thought about action figures and toys and how they make movable joints. The idea is to create an interlocking joint held by a central pivot. The black lined areas on the foam indicate the negative space that needs to be cut out.

The lower arm needs to lose a significant section of foam above and below the section of the interlocking joint. This creates the perfect shape for them to fit together like a door hinge.

Once they fit together, I used a 1/4 inch circular drill bit to drill a hole through both pieces at once.

I used a short section of 1/4 wooden dowel, wrapped in wire to plug the hole. I used a long length of wire to wrap around the end of the dowel once it was thread to create a "stopper", so the wooden peg would stay put inside the hole. Now the arms swing freely at the elbow!

Now it's the fun part! I used my various hot wire carving tool to shape the arms in a more realistic manner. I didn't put a whole lot of care into making sure they were identical or even accurate - I know I'm covering them later. I just wanted them to be similar in shape and size to my own. Sand paper helps smooth down rough areas and gives a nice shape and texture.

Finally, I needed a way to simultaneously hold the arm in a bent position, and for it move around smoothly.

Elastic was the answer, I tried stapling a piece with the tension pulled tight, but it just popped out. This is when I discovered that you can treat the foam like wood. Not only can you cut and sand it, you can screw into it and it works great.

So just repeat 3 times and you have 4 completed arms.

Comments

[codongolev]

where do you get free blue foam!?

[nicemag]

I work beside a manufacturing plant that uses it. I became friends with the guy who tosses the scraps and he saves the larger pieces for me. He rules