DC Bombshells Hawkgirl - Another Jetpack Story

Hello Makers, I'm back!

A few years ago I was gifted the DC Bombshell's Hawkgirl statue and I KNEW I had to add it to my list of future costumes. If you have followed my previous builds you know I am a red head and I make a majority of my costumes with my hair in mind, mostly because I hate wigs (oh the itching). Bonus is the Husband has a few 3D & Resin Printers so, my builds can be so much cooler now! So let's get to the build drama, shall we?

Supplies

I will start off by saying that I planned this out very poorly . . . in fact I had no plan. I was just cruising along having sourced actual clothing rather than making it (an olive jumpsuit from forever 21 for $12, um yeah that's cheaper than making one myself, sold!) and didn't really think of the time the jetpack and helmet construction would take. I should have known better (see rocketeer build). But Nope! I just wasn't thinking. When the company announced it was throwing it's Halloween Bash on 10/27 I realized I had 2 weeks to make this and I had better get started. Then I got notified I was exposed to covid so that started the 10 day self quarantine clock. (I was in the clear but better safe than sorry) Being house bound meant I had to use what I already had or could get shipped to me super fast from Amazon.

Amazon

2mm Thick Self-Adhesive EVA Foam Sheet, Black [8.3x11.8"] 10 pk $13.79

Costume Welding Goggles, Black, w/Red Interchangeable Lenses $13.13

Black Polypropylene Webbing [1.5" wide, 10 yrds] $13.29

Quick Side Release Plastic Buckles and Tri-Glide Slides, Black, 6 pk [Fit for 1.5”/38mm Webbing Straps] $7.79

Moldable Cosplay Foam Clay Air Dry (300 Gram tub, White) $15.32

ACCO Brass Paper Fasteners, 1/2", Plated, 1 Box $4.89

High Density Half Round Foam Roller 12x3 , Black $9.99

Other

Forever 21 Rayon Jumpsuit, Olive - ebay $11.95

Basic Square neck Tank Top, Yellow - ebay $11.69

Modcloth Lace Up Knee Boots, brown faux leather - Poshmark $30

Flat Black Paint & Primer in One, Spray Paint 11oz - 1 can - Lowes $9.98

Metallic Titanium Silver Spray Paint 11oz - 2 cans - Lowes $21.96

Plasti-Dip Black 11oz - 2 cans - Lowes $13.96

Six 1/2 " 90 degree elbow connecters, gray - Lowes $7.68

On Hand

2 Poster Tubes [3"w x18.25"L]

Aquarium Tubing (left over from my Rocketeer helmet build)

Plastic Shelving tubes (arms, from an old set)

Glue gun & glue sticks

Small Mason jar lids

1/2" gray plumbing pipes

Pray paint can caps & other odds and ends

Velcro 3/4" wide.

Black Elastic 1.5"

Blue Pleather remnants (from Wonder Woman build)

Non Adhesive Multi Colored Foam Sheets (from many past projects)

Priority Mailing Box

Other small shipping boxes hiding in my garage

Cosmetics

Black gloves (purchased a few years ago at Target)

Husband's Purchases [he's the 3d printer guru, not me]

Bondo 261 1 Pint Salmon Bondo Body Filler $11.97

3M 401 Bondo Fiberglass Resin - 0.9 Pint $19.65

ANYCUBIC 3D Printer 405nm UV Plant-Based Rapid Resin $27.99

OVERTURE PLA Filament 1.75mm $18.99 (I know there was more than one roll used)

Step 1: Fake It Til You Make It With Cardboard

One thing I knew was that I had 2 poster tubes roughly the same size (one was a little longer so I cut down to match) and they would have to become the main thrusters for the jetpack. They were smaller than what I had used for rocketeer (I did order a foam roller like I used before but I felt it was way too big) but then again, the Hawkgirl pack looked proportionally smaller to me too on the stature. So I decided I was going to go with these poster tubes and everything else was going to have match in scale.

Side Note: I completely forgot that Staples was a place I could have ordered from . . . A 4 or 5 inch poster tube would have been better to use and yes, they have those in stock, but nope totally forgot they existed. Ugh my brain!

As I mentioned in my Rocketeer build, I have a pinched nerve in my left shoulder that gets testy with too much weight on it so, when I make a build like this, I have to keep weight in mind. I need to make this as light as possible. Taking inspiration from my previous work I ordered a 1/2 round foam roller that was 6x12. I used that as the basis for the start of my central tank build that would fit between the poster tubes. I cut it down into a more teardrop shape with a box cuter. (OMG so much static-y foam mess, I was finding it everywhere, this is what I get for buying the high density one rather than a softer one!) It's basically the same shape as a scooter or motorcycle gas tank.

Apologies, I do not have WIP pics from the carving down of the foam roller, I was too annoyed by the debris to remember to document it. A lot of this base build was "on the fly" piecing and testing so, I was in that zone.

After cutting the roller into the shape I needed it still wasn't quite the right length. So I had to start looking at what I could use to build it out more. I happened to have recently bought a magnetic door hook for a wreath and the packaging plastic had a great shape that would help make a better tapered tip to the bottom of my "tank" so I pulled out my glue gun and added it to the bottom of my foam piece. Next I needed to build up the top more and get a slightly more tapered look. I had a used up roll of packing tape so I took that and used it as a guide, it was just enough height that I need to add. Then I went scrounging through all my cardboard supplies (all the boxes hiding in my garage I have yet to break down to recycle). I found the box my favorite lotion comes in was the perfect size and unfolded easily into a piece I could work with. I finessed it's shape to be less box-y by curving it over my knee or the poster tube as need to get it to arc over the tape roll. I kept a section completely straight and used that as an added back support to glue the Frankenstein-ed "tank" to.

With that done I decided to start adding the EVA foam sheets to the "tank" section to help create a cohesive form and also have something I knew the hot glue would bind to rather than melt away. (It can do that to foam) I cut the sheets to match the plate metal design on the original Hawkgirl statue and started slowly smoothing it on. I gotta say these adhesive backed sheets were perfect! Suddenly my Hodge podge of shapes and textures became the "tank" unit I needed. There were a few areas around the bottom that needed some added sticking power to keep it's shape so, I used more hot glue there. I then did the same thing to each poster tube, adding the foam sheets in pieces to create the metal plate design. Then it was time to assemble!

It was at this point also borrowed the hubby's Ryobi cordless glue gun . . . if you don't have one, go and get one, it is fantastic! I went through 3 batteries but I was also using it for hours on end. This jetpack is at least 1/3 hot glue. With the tank covered in it's EVA foam I then glued the poster tubes to sides of the "tank" (I had carved out the sides a bit to match the curve of the poster tubes) this helped me create a more stable connection. I held it in place from a few minutes until I felt the glue was cooling enough to hold the thrusters in place. With the central elements in place it was time to to figure out the smaller details and the secondary set of smaller tubes that attached to the thrusters. As well as figure out how to make a harness and a set of arms, so much to do!

Step 2: All Tied Up

After being a floor troll for hours upon hours figuring out how to make this jetpack, I needed to take a break. I needed to stand for a bit.

I decided to try my hand at making a harness. I had researched skydiving and safety harnesses to see how they were put together. Both had a central belt and from that were attached leg and arm straps. The arm straps sometimes had multiple support pieces. I knew I wanted to keep mine minimal mostly because I was working with what I had and did not have a triangle swing buckle to allow for a crossed back strap design.

I ordered 10yrds of black webbing to build the harness with. The best part about the webbing is that I just have to run a flame over the cut end to melt it a bit and create a seal that will not unravel. This meant I didn't need my machine to hem all the ends, I just needed to do a little hand sewing, yay!

I started by making the belt, it was basic enough, and added adjusters to it so I could tighten it up if I needed to. I tried to make this as adjustable as I could. Then I made the leg straps. I decided to do these as a fixed loop and add a belt loop at the top to feed my belt through. The belt loop was wide enough for the webbing to pass through but not for the plastic buckle. I used mini clamp/clips to help me fit the strap around my leg and attach to the belt. Once I was happy with that I trimmed the extra webbing off, sealed the ends and cut a second strap length to match and fit it over my body again confirming the fit before stitching the strap to create the leg loop and then the folding over the loose ends and making the belt loop. I duplicated the process on the other leg and in short order I have the bottom half of the harness completed.

Next was the arm straps. I cut long pieces of webbing from the roll to make it more manageable. I looped the strap around the belt so I would have the two loose ends at the top, since I was going to be adding release buckles. This allowed me to have some extra adjustment either longer or shorter too. The buckles also matched with the statue's design. I used my clips to help crate the loops at the back where I had looped it around the belt. Then fed the loose ends through the buckles and pulled to tighten until I had the fit I wanted. Thus making it a full body harness. With the clips holding it in place I slipped off the straps and hand stitched to finish the belt loops. I added the front strap across the chest last. I also wanted to be able to adjust the placement of this strap too so I looped one side around the arm strap and stitch it into place with enough give that it could slide with some effort. The other side I looped around the other arm strap and had it connect with Velcro.

Maybe if I had help getting into and out of the harness that would have made the buckles more useable. But as I was doing it on my own, I found leaving them connected and pulling on the straps more like backpack worked better. So that front strap across the chest also had to be able to be taken off of at least one shoulder strap.

I also used Velcro to attach the Insignia piece to this cross strap. I thought the contestant movement would have made gluing it problematic and the Velcro worked great! I glued it to the back of the resin circle and hand stitch the other Velcro piece to the top of strap.

Later, when we figured out how we were going to attach the harness to the jetpack, I created two holes in the back of the arm straps and sealed the edges so we could use our screws without shredding the webbing.

In hindsight, I should have made this harness as 2 pieces. A upper harness for the shoulders to carry the jetpack and the lower harness made up of the belt and leg loops. I did not consider the awkward nature of an all in one harness, having to step into it and pull it on with an attached jetpack. Cumbersome does not even cover it. The added tightening of the upper straps, once I had the jetpack attached, caused the belt to be pulled higher up in the back, most uncomfortable. 2 pieces would have been far more practical, live and learn.

Step 3: Wings and Things

OK harness more or less complete at this point, it was back to floor troll mode to add on the smaller elements.

For the bottom of the thrusters I found 2 matching spray paint caps that had a ridged detail that was similar to the statue sculpt. Sold! (And free since they were in the paint box in the garage) One poster tube had a solid metal bottom I could glue too but, the other one was open, I had to come up with a way to close it off similarly. That is when I remembered our small mason jars with the 2 piece lids. I found 2 sets of these lids not being used so I claimed them (free from the kitchen). I hot glued the disc part to the bottom of the open tube and then I had a solid surface I could glue the caps to. The second piece, the metal rings that screw down the jar lids, I used on the tops of the tubes to create a place I could attach the resin printed nose caps to once they were ready.

Next I made some wings from a priority mailing box (you guessed it, from the garage stash). I eye balled the shape of them by looking at the statue's wings and drawing it out a few time on paper til I felt I knew the shape. Then I drew it on the priority mailing box and cut it out with scissors. I made the a little bigger than I needed, better to trim them down then be too small from the start.

The wings have different details on each side. I created the segmented design on one side by cutting strips out of remnant pleather and spray mounting it to the card board. This worked ok but I had to go back in with hot glue to really secure it after we painted it.

The other side had a raised panel shape. I cut out a template from paper and trimmed it up until I had the right shape then I cut out the shape from my adhesive backed EVA foam sheets (Seriously I LOVE THIS STUFF) and stuck them on. I attached them to the poster tub thrusters with hot glue. I had left a gap in the EVA sheets I wrapped around them to allow for the addition of the wings and it worked out really well. Yes, you can see the glue but they aren't going anywhere.

Side note: I probably could have used an epoxy glue to add the the wings and avoided the gloopy hot glue that was visible. But I didn't have any in the house (remember quarantined), I did have bags of glue sticks!

Next, I added the aquarium tubing, I hate this stuff so much but I could not find my silver fabric tubing I had kept from my Rocketeer build, (this still makes me mad) so I had to use what I could. This damn tube was so unruly! I used multiple glue sticks on each one to get it to stay in place. I absolutely burned up my finger tips holding this damn thing in place but I won, it stayed. (children do not do this, this human is dumb) I used two small empty thread bobbins as one connection point for the tubing and electric wiring caps as the connection point at the bottom.

The rivets on the tank were brass brads. I cut off the prongs and hot glued the round heads to the tank section matching up placement to the statue. This was the most comfortable part because I could sit up in a chair, my back was thrilled.

Now my husband began delivering the resin printed parts that had been making him nuts (the helmet is another saga, more on that later), sometimes the print filed sometimes it didn't, it took a few prints to end up with what we needed we needed. We printed 2 of the detailed nose caps, 2 joystick style handles, 4 half dome pieces [actually these were 3D prints in PLA], along with the Thanagarian Hawk Symbol in 2 sizes, one for the pack the other for the harness.

**We did not design these pieces, we take no credit toward that.**

The Nose caps were added to the tops of the poster tubes to complete the thrusters. The half dome pieces were added to the tops and bottoms of the secondary tubes to side of the thrusters. Those secondary tubes were also secured to the main thrusters by, say it with me now, HOT GLUE! (I should have stock in this stuff)

Step 4: High on Fumes

It was the night before the office bash (see what I mean about bad planning) and 90% of this pack was assembled and ready to paint. I have very bad allergies and a lung condition so my husband actually did all the painting for me. We decided to to do a base coat of Plasti-Dip to give the different pieces a unifying texture, I also hoped it would help the stupid aquarium tubing keep it's paint on (unlike the way it rubbed off on the Rocketeer helmet). After the Plasti-Dip dried my husband used the metallic top coat. I picked titanium silver thinking it would be a nice color and I really love the quality of it. the Metallic really gave it a nice shine. I also chose these because they had spray nozzle tops. Now the only issue with that is one of them was clogged up and ended up spitting paint rather than spraying at first. There are a few the show through the other layers of paint but I think it adds a little character to it. I probably should have bought 3 cans (just in case) and it could have used a third a coat but this was the NIGHT BEFORE so uh nope, it was fine!

With paint drying we had a few things left to do.

1. create the arms.
2. attach the pack to the harness (by screwing it to the wood backing my husband had added, that was quick)
3. figure out how the arms connected to the jetpack.
4. add the Hawk insignia to the tank.
5. add the decals* to the wings

It was midnight, and my husband banished me to bed while he put together the plumbing pieces (with hot glue) to create the armature and also glued on the resin handles and raided his stash of switches & buttons to add a red button top to one of the handles.

I am not sure when he went to bed but at 5:30am my alarm went off and he said it was complete accept for attaching the arms to the jetpack and there were 2 options to do it. we could glue the arms in place on top of the wood plank, this meant they would be stationary or we could figure out a way to connect them to the harness. I took a look and decided I wanted the ability to have the arms move so, the best options was to attach them to the harness and I had an idea. I hand stitched 2 pieces of black elastic around the central pipe the ran along my back and then sewed those to the loose ends of the webbing. This kept the added weight off the jetpack and they could swing down and out of the way when I was walking.

*The final touches were the decals, ok so mine aren't decals. I did not have time to make them as actual stickers but what I did have was a red marker, some white foam and reference art. So I free handed the "the Hammer" name and the mace out of foam, accented with some gold nail polish (thanks Mac for that Star Trek Holodeck gold!). I then cut them out and glued them in place. I used my other markers to write "THANAGARIAN Weapon Systems" on the wing. Now these monikers should actually be on both sides of the jetpack but, I didn't have time to do it twice and the space available on the other side was more narrow (because that damn tubing was such a pain to match placement perfectly on both sides). Thus I decided not to do it on both sides. The I remembered I had the window sticker's for this very Bombshell character and the DC Bombshell's logo was part of that so, I cut it out and stuck it on the other wing. Is this accurate? Nope. Was it a cute touch? I thought so.

Step 5: The Name Is Hawkgirl

I do not wear makeup regularly, I tend to be allergic so I only wear it for events, and Halloween is an event.

I always start with a clean face, I use Function of Beauty's face cleanser that is super gentle and unscented. Followed by my regular moisture combo of two pumps of Timeless Hyaluronic Acid then my The Better Skin Co. Mirakle Cream moisturizer. I love this cream so much I give out as gifts. With crazy skin like mine, if I find something that works I share!

Make-Up

• Bésame Cosmetics: Agent Carter eye shadow pallet & face powder, Victory Red Lipstick
• Just for Red Heads: Lip liner pencil in Scarlet Red & Henna Supreme Sensitive Eye Mascara in warm brown/auburn
• Giella Cosmetics Concealer in Ivory Beige 

I cover my eye lids in the concealer and also under the eye a bit, after minimal sleep I do have shadows under my eyes that gotta go! Then I start layering on the lighter shades in Agent Carter eye shadow pallet. (I love this pallet and use it all the time). I use a soft brush and start with a creamy white ["zero matter"] followed by a pale pink ["english"] in the crease and up to the brow, I will go back in with more creamy white just under the brow line to add a highlight.

I do not wear eye liner, the last time I did my eye swelled up and got all goopy, it was so gross. So, I stay away from that stuff. Instead I use the darker flat brown ["midnight oil"] eye shadow with a small angled brush and press it on to my eye lid at the lash line. I only use it on the top lid, nothing on the bottom lashes. I also used this same brown shadow and angle brush to fill in my brows a bit, I think it gives it a more natural look than a pencil. Stepping back to look, I decided I wanted to add a little more depth to the eyes so I added some of the deeper rose ["leviathan"] into the crease of the lid and a touch of copper ["dugan"] to add a little shimmer. With that I was happy with the eyes. I pulled out a small blush brush and added a little of the pale pink ["english"] shadow to the tops of my cheek bones, I didn't want much and the pale pink was just the right hint of color.

Next, lips! I add a little concealer along the edge of my lip to act as bleed barrier when I wear red lipsticks, it's just the best way I have found to do it. Then I pulled out my lip pencil to outline my lips and draw the rectangles on my cheek. Again, the lip liner pencil helps to stop bleed of the lipstick. Since DC's Bombshells are across the 40's-50's, I knew I had to use my special 1940's Victory Red lipstick from Bésame Cosmetics. I have a number of their lipsticks, the pigment is incredible and feel so good on. They have a angle shape to the lip stick so it work perfectly to fill in my drawn on rectangles as well as layer on the lips. I do two rounds of lipstick application, layer once, blot on paper and layer on again. This will give it staying power for all day wear.

I always do Mascara as one of my last steps, I use this on my lashes and also my brows to help keep them in a good shape. I use my favorite sensitive eye mascara from Just for Red Heads, it is the perfect shade of auburn/brown that works for my lashes & brows. Final step is setting everything with a big brush and a light dusting of my face powder ["The Peggy 1946 Translucent Powder"]. It just gives an overall finished look to you face.

So is this make up accurate to the stature? No.

The statue has more exaggerate makeup. Dark lined eyes with winged liner and feathery black lashes and a more orange-y gold eye shadow. The cheek marks and lips though are very similar to my Victory red lipstick.

Hair

My hair is much longer than the statue's shoulder length, so I could no do the simple flip to the ends that the stature has. I also do not have bangs, I hate bangs and they hate me back. The stature has a side swept tuft of bags popping out from under the helmet so, I had to come up with my own take on the hair. I made a dramatic sweep of "bangs" by flipping a front section of my hair over to the opposite side of my usual part, this gave the hair a great volume and lift. I wound the ends around my fingers to star a curl, then continue to roll it up until I had the right drape of the hair and pinned the curl in place with bobby pins. (again very 40's-esque) The rest of my hair I curled with a curling iron into loose ringlets that I separated with my fingers. I used some light hair spray [Paul Mitchell Hot Off The Press] to help hold the hair in place and that was it. Sadly, this was hidden by my helmet but it held up even under the helmet so when I took it off, I had great hair ;)

Step 6: “Life Sucks,get a Helmet” ~ Denis Leary.

Addendum: Helmet Build Notes

The helmet was a 3d PLA print done entirely by my husband. My husband purchased an STL file of a statue and had to cut out the figure til he had only a helmet to work with. He used his math skills to size it up to fit my 22" head, splice it up into printable parts for the smaller printer beds. Once printed he glued said pieces together, adding bondo and resin coating to the outside before painting it up. We ran out of time to also do the inside so we layered in some of our sculpting clay foam to harden around the sides and back so it would not scratch my face or catch on my hair. Then glued in a piece of foam to the roof to make it a more comfortable fit. My husband used the black primer and paint in one over the entire Helmet and also used the titanium silver on the dome of the helmet (the second can sprayed perfectly) and boy did it look pretty. He finished up with gold acrylic paint on the eyes.

This is the shortest section because my husband did it all, amazing man that he is, and it was not without a great deal of trial and error, yelling and cursing, fixing printers when they broke down, etc. It was a 2 week print, almost non-stop. For being the second helmet ever made for a costume, I think it turned out incredibly well. I had been thinking of making it out of foam or paper mache so that tells you how much more amazing this is! He has issues with it, at one point it fell cracking one wing, we used clay foam to repair it, it worked. meh, imperfections. The bondo and resin were not quite smooth in some sections, we later learned that wood filler actually works better than bondo. Lessons learned all around.

Also, I am never going to ask for a 3D helmet print. Especially within in a ridiculously short amount of time. I owe him BIG for all his incredible work and forfeited sleep, to say nothing of his sanity.