I cut small blocks of cloth and began attaching them to spiderman.

I started off using two-sided tape then switched to hot glue.

The fabric looked best where it was pulled tight, and wasn't leaving any seams. I could have spent a lot more time making it look perfect, but I knew it would only have to look good in the dark, so I rushed through it.

Anyone that saw the spiderman figure at this stage said "Wow, he is life-size!" I thought you were going to carry around a small one!

His pose reminded me of the pieta. 

Stacy,  Mark H. and Tom came by to check on my progress and gave Spidey a test-lift. 

In the days heading into halloween, I tracked down costume contests for Friday and Saturday nights. The Empire club in Sacramento had a contest Friday, and a local radio station was holding a giant party at Cal Expo fairgrounds on Saturday the 30th.

I planned to visit the Castro street party in San Francisco on halloween night.

A $7 thrift store coat would cover the backpack frame, with pvc pipes poking through in several points.

There was a lavender trench coat for half that price, but I didn't want to be called Dr. Octopussy all night, so I went with the tan one.

Silver claws drying.

A main design challenge was creating pieces of the costume that could be disassembled and loaded into my little Hyundai's hatchback.

I wired two claws onto Spiderman's back in such a way that his weight would be evenly distributed. The round 3" pipe fittings would snap onto the upright arms of the backpack rig.

Please continue reading page 6.