The cheesecloth worked!

One painted layer did not conceal enough, but it was easy to keep adding layers. Five layers seemed to be the perfect combination of internal visibility and external camoflague.

I taped the screen in place and glued down the edges with fresh strips of paper mache.

On his bobblehead figurine, Dwight is dressed in a brown suit, with a yellow shirt and a brown tie.

I was really lucky to find a suit coat and pants at a thrift store ($7.50), and Stacy hunted down the perfect yellow dress shirt for $1. The tie was more elusive, so I ended up just spray-painting one.

This was one of those things which make me wonder, "How many other people, in the history of the world, have ever spray-painted a tie?"

As I mentioned earlier, the second design challenge with this costume was the springy support mechanism. A real bobble-head uses a compression spring to keep the head bobbing up and down, but I wasn't able to find one which was matched to my 12-pound head.

Instead, I tried a variety of an extension springs, in a few different configurations. I settled on using two pulleys and a large extension spring mounted on the back.

The costume head never did replicate the tight springyness of a real bobblehead. I think the great mass of the head made that an unattainable goal. It did move and bounce, just not as much as I had hoped.

Just as in previous years, I was working to show this costume at the Zone Ball in Sacramento. They have a big money costume contest with a $2,500 first prize.

The night before the contest, I was far enough along to give everything a test run. I don't remember ever being this well prepared in the past.

With some agile manuvering, I slipped my arms into the harness and hoisted the giant head into the air.

It looked great! The head was bouncy, but restrained. It pointed mostly forward and seemed to settle at a very natural angle.

The best thing was that it wasn't attached to my head! The backpack support was a little restrictive, but surprisingly comfortable.

Meghan shot pictures while I paraded around my backyard, practicing my gestures. Stacy and Meghan were laughing at my antics and I was having a great time!

Not one design flaw showed up on the dry run. I was ready for the main stage!

Please continue reading page eight of the Dwight Bobblehead Costume.

page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8