HOWTO make a "cyber tank girl" Hallowe'en costume

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Where do I get a sideways walking dog?

Start with a crab. Dress up until dogginess reached.

Looks niiiice. The build log is somewhat rudimentary but quite sufficient.


Thought re Halloween accessories.

Use ultraviolet LEDs, illuminating bottles or vials with a fluorescent fluid. An alcohol (maybe even water) extract of a highlighter may do. The liquid from spent (or even non-spent but it is sort of waste when the spent ones are free) glow sticks does a good job too; the energy supplying compounds are used up but the light producing molecules are still there, waiting for reuse, and can be excited by near-UV.

Could also make a nice-looking lamp.

Another random thought. Use strontium aluminate “glow in the dark” powder, suspended in suitable carrier (water (assuming water-resistant powder flavor) or oil with a gelling agent, to avoid too quick settling?), excited with a bank of UV LEDs, and circulated using e.g. a peristaltic pump through flexible tubing.

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Real tonic water with quinine is fluorescent as well. It glows teal.

Wikipedia says: The UV absorption [of quinine] peaks around 350 nm (in UVA). Fluorescent emission peaks at around 460 nm (bright blue/cyan hue).

Maybe a worthwhile option if you don’t want to worry about the nastiness of the glowstick liquid (yes I know it’s relatively non-toxic, but it can stain really bad).

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The problem here is with the cheap UV LEDs emitting at 390-400 nm. Not sure it is enough to excite the chinin absorption peak…

Shorter-wavelength ones are becoming Very Expensive rather fast.

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I see. When I was working at RadioShack, I coulda quoted you the emission specs on the UV leds we sold, but that was a long time ago. These days I don’t really pay attention to that kind of stuff anymore.

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I admit to being out of the loop here. What is a “tank girl”, in the context being displayed here?

Because I’m only familiar with Tank Girl in the context of Jamie Hewlett / Lori Petty, which I admit I’m not seeing much of on display here. If pressed to classify this with terms I am familiar with, I would hazard this to be some basic form of generic cybergoth / rave fashion.

That’s not a tank.

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A few years ago I rigged up a costume with a series of tubes with one end in a 2 litre bottle clipped to my waist and the other up by my mouth. Fill the bottle with gin and tonic, add uv reactive contacts and a room with black light, and you have yourself a fremen costume.

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