OK.......I am throwing together all the steps I took last year to get a Rubies mask to work for me and my limited budget...at the time. So using a rubies mask, some backer rods, some upholstry foam, magnets, and a bio purchased from e-bay, I basically made an undermask, which looks far far better than the original rubies, which honestly I would never wear without a bio on it, the face is quite sad. It did me until ready to splurge on a much better quality mask. Anyhow, first thing I did was chuck the plastic bio that came with it, and pull out the 4 foam dreds that came on it. You may wish to keep the plastic bio for the time being, if a better bio is not in your budget.
Here is the original Rubies mask....ok for a starter costume...but probably the first piece you should change when you get the bucks!!!!
Now, I ended up making about 40ish dreds out of backer rods, using mostly 1" thick, some 7/8", and some 3/4"...whatever I could get my hands on. I cut mine at 2 ft lengths (some slightly shorter), you can do less or more, totally up to you. Try to use somewhat shorter and thinner ones up by the front sides, and use the longer thicker ones for the back. Once cut, I tapered the ends simply using scissors, cutting the ends from the tip upwards, to try to make as good of a tapered end as possible. Then I slightly melted the ends with a heat gun, which smooths it out considerably. Carefull not to melt it too much!
Again since I was on a budget, I used copper pipe for my dred beads, you can use whatever. I originally put 2 pieces per dred..but lesson learned, all that copper weighed a ton! The mask was crazy heavy...so I had to take some off. Keep that in mind! I put the pipe pieces on the dreds, covered them in masking tape, and sprayed the dreds with black plasti dip. I tried many different types of paints before I could finally find the plasti dip, and none worked....they all cracked and peeled off. Was a big waste of time and money! Do yourself a favour, and use plasti dip the first time!
Now, to attach the dreds. Twas very simple actually! Simply make some small cuts in the areas you wish to attach the dreds (MAKE SURE THE CUTS ARE SMALLER THAN THE BACKER RODS, OTHERWSIE THEY WILL FALL OUT!) I found that by making a small 'X' instead of an actual hole worked best, and was a nice tight fit. No need for glue or anything to hold the dreds in..simply stuff it in the hole!!!! Makes it easy to take them out and adjust if need be.
I started off with holes, but found that an 'x' cut was better...
Start stuffing the dreds!!! Good thing is you can always add more holes where needed....but dont make too many cuts too close together, otherwise the mask may rip with all the dreds in it.
Mmmk, so the dreds are all in now. I might suggest also painting the back of the mask black with plasti dip..you know, the part of the mask with the fake dreds and fake painted dred beads. I didnt do that , but was really thinkin about it! You could be done at this point, if you are sticking with the plastic bio. If so...I would really suggest removing the elastic that holds it on, and use some magnets instead. Every little bit helps to remove some of the cheesiness from this mask!!!! I opted for a new bio. This new bio weighs far far more than the plastic one..so I had to use a whack of magnets to hold it on. SOmewhere around 24- 8lb magnets!!!!! Yup, crazy but true. The plastic bio would probably only need around 4-6. Magnets glued to the underside of the bio...
Once this was done, I put the bio on the mask, and from the inside of the mask, placed the remaingin magnets so they were attracted to the ones on the bio. Then glued them in place...
Bio holds on pretty good now. My new Celtic bio is much lighter than my P1 bio...so it wont take as many magnets either. Velcro is a good idea if you are planning on having a faceless mask, with bio always on.
So now I had new dreds, a new bio. Looked cool!! Except when I tried it all on my head, I could not get the eyes in the mask to line up with the eyes of the bio..no matter what. I cut pieces of upholstry foam and glued it to the inside of the mask to make it fit more snug. Helped big time...but still couldnt see **** out of the mask with the bio on. My only option was to cut the face off the mask. Which was no real big deal, since I never was going to wear the rubies mask without a bio...its too ugly for my tastes. So here it is, no face!
I can see!!!! Can also breathe much better, not as hot.
Finished product with P1 bio....
and with this years Celtic bio (not done painting it yet!!!)
SO there you have it. It can be somewhat flexible as an undermask on the cheap. For me, its only temporary...its still a rubies..nowhere near as nice as the masks on the lair. But its good for starters or those that dont wanna spend a load of coin. Hope this is of use to all you out there with a rubies! Good luck...and feel free to send me any questions.
