Help turn my wheelchair into a Hippogriff/Dragon for the HP launch!

[sophieangele]

Hello crafty ladies and gentlemen!

I'm going to a potter party at a book shop on the 20th July for the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We're getting dressed up! I'm stuck in my dorky little mobility scooter though - not very magical at all. So, I want to turn her into something exciting for the evening!

Here's what I have to work with:


(the basket comes off)


And here is what I'm going for: Buckbeak the Hippogriff!



EDIT:
due to the cost of fur/feathers, I will probably try for this:

Dragon!!!


His head would go at the front, at the top of the steering column, like a crazy viking boat with wheels. The wings will kind of go backwards, partly hiding my knees.

Here's a bad photo of another time I dressed up by cripple cart for a Christmas party, as Rudolph, so you get the idea.




Except, this time I want it to look a bit better! That was just cardboard boxes done in 20 mins


Any ideas about how to turn the nunmobile into a dragon? Like, how to construct viable wings, attach stuff, and how to make a convincing head?

Any advice or ideas gratefully accepted, thanks!


EDIT: wings!

[Guin]

Here are some ideas I had while looking at your scooter:
You could try winding a boa of your hippogriff's color around the area where his head attaches (I'm assuming it'll attach at the top of the steering column, but I don't know if I have that right) to hide the handles and make a kind of ruff or mane of feathers.

Try getting a styrofoam wig stand or something comparable in size to act a a foundation for your hippogriff's head - that way you can focus on the visual details instead of a foundation.

What colors are you thinking about? I kind of obsess about color.
Let me know how this turns out! It sounds awesome so far. Try looking at the boa/feather aisles at craft stores for inspiration. you could even make a faux saddle (if it wouldn't destablize you in the scooter) if you wanted to.
If i get any more ideas, I'll pass them along! Good luck!
guin

[sophieangele]

Hi!

I'm thinking grey - I'd love to use real feathers, but I don't think I can afford to  I'd need a *lot* of feathers, and they are quite expensive

So, a way to make good paper feathers, or a source of cheap feathers, would also be great advice

For the head, I was thinking maybe chicken wire - it has to be something I can shape out from the head:


The pink is where I think I'd do stuff.

Maybe I could use grey fun fur instead? Would  that look feathery? And would it look ok on the wings?

thank you so much for your help, please keep the ideas coming!

xxx

[Guin]

Some fun furs look really feathery or at least fuzzy - you could try dampening and shaping bits to look more like feathers, if you got really long-haired fun fur (does that make sense? I've had a lot of sugar today...)
grey's a good hippogriff color!

[sophieangele]

Oh, I've found some fur, but it's very expensive

I'd hoped to make a hippogriff, because they ride on them in the books, but on the other hand I really can't afford to do it justice. I could try to do a dragon instead, I already have the fake leather.

hmmm...

[Queen of the Savages]

Maybe if you can cage yourself in the wheelchair surrounded by your pleather, and add some wings... Broomsticks covered in cardboard and pleather?
Ahmm.
Paper mache.

I don't really have any great ideas.
But if you can pull this off, I would love to see the pictures.
Wow.

[Lizzle]

I don't know how much time you want to put into this, but if you could find some grey tissue paper (a lot of it) I bet it would be WAY cheaper than either feathers or faux fur.  Make a frame for it out of chicken wire, then papier mache over so that you have something solid to work on.  Then cover the papier mache with a layer of the grey tissue paper using watered down glue.  After that has dried, use regular glue to glue on strips of the tissue paper to mimic wings.  You could mix grey and silver and black tissue paper to get shading.

Does that sound feasible?  I don't know how much weight your weelchair could hold on the steering column, but I think it would be pretty light.

[anitacj]

O.k let's see if I can explain this?Take a large cardboard box ( kthink refrigerator box).Draw the shape of the head & cut out.Use duct tape to tape head together.Then see about a cheerleader supply company online.They have all sorts of paper mache,tissue paper stuff that would be great for the feathers.I think they even have it in gray.Spray adhesive on the cardboard cutouts & attach the tissue paper in layers to resemble feathers.Do the same as wings only you might have to experiment a bit on the size.We wouldn't want it to become unsteady now.You could even attach a tail to the back of the scooter and do the same as the head &wings.Good luck & takes some pics.We would love to see the finished project.

[SpottedFrog]

I actually helped someone turn a traditional wheelchair into an Egyptian Charriot once- complete with recycled bouncy horse mounted on a wheel that stuck out in front. It was really elaborate. We painted cardboard wheels & used zip ties to attatch them to the real wheels, a lovely lap blanked decorated like the Nile- we probably spent $350 buck on materials.

I like the paper mache head & wings idea-you could buy some cheap angel wings as a quick starter for your wings. I'd attatch the wings to your arm rests- just remember you are limiting their movement if you do. Actually zip ties pretty much rock all together for this type of thing- just make metal loops on the inside surfaces of your armature in more places than you think you need to allow a good stable attatchment. when you are finished you will have to cut the zip ties to remove the decor. Dont forget the tail! this is easy- make your tail with ties that are long enough to go around the seatback.

Will you be driving your scooter to the event? or do you have a ride/ van? this is a consideration as well when it comes to size. You might want to go in pieces & assemble once arrived- don't forget scissors so you can home.

[Star217]

For wings I would buy some ulta suede (or any fabirc with a suede type finish) and use armature wire to create the shape and form for the wings, (you could even use wire hangers to create the amature.)