Wrong Way Raul wrote:seig, OH....MY...GAWD! hold you mold the leather to the mask shape you want? kinda iffy as to how to do it.
I used the 'FB Oven method' on the so-called "bug-eyed vulture" one, and it was rather easy.
After making the under-plate out of armor grade leather, I measured all of the various distances- top of head to top of eye, etc. and then transferred the measurements to a paper pattern.
After thouroughly wetting the pattern, and seeing if the various bends and creases I planned for it would fit on the underplate, and not interfere with perripheral vision.
I then cut out the leather, preheated my oven to 180 degrees, and soaked the leather in room temp water for about half an hour.
I squeezed some of the excess water out, and, with my fingers, pinched all of the creases in, and, to achieve a rounded shape to fit the underplate, rested it on a non-metal cylinder and stuck it in the oven.
I checked back every twenty minutes to moniter drying time, and to pinch where I needed to.
Because the mask was so small, and it was thinner than armor-grade, it was completely dry in about an hour.
Then I burned the patterns into it with a wood burner, then painted it, then riveted it onto the underplate.
I used veg-tanned leather, which is why this one is whiter than the skull one I did earlier...
That is fantastic!
