Problem is, a week is not nearly enough time to do a proper MM2 costume, as you all know - or at least it wasn't enough for me (mostly because you're invariably going to order something off the internet or eBay and need time for the auction to end, delivery etc.).
But, I figured I'd do my best and then improve it in future years. I decided to post my process here along with some tips, pics and info for the next newbie like me that comes along and wants to take a crack at this outfit.
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First step -
THE JACKET
I didn't have an accurate Australian motorcycle jacket (this costume will be a series of constant upgrades for me I think) but I did have an old leather jacket that I didn't need anymore. I had painted something on the back from my old goth days so the first step was to paint over that with a little black. Here's a before pic:
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Got a cheap little wrench at the hardware store that seemed to be the right size and attached it to one of the zipper pulls. His wrench was on his sam browne belt, but I didn't have time for one of those. I plan to order a sam browne belt from Australia in the future. For the red rag (which I consider optional since he only has it tied off there for about half the movie) I used a red polyester "pirate bandana" from the Halloween store. It was really big and I was able to use the rest of it for my dog's bandana. I tore up the edges so it would look worn. My hunch is that the perfect red rag might be one of those red shop towels that you'd see at an auto parts store.
The shoulder pad was a pain to make, even using the great instructions available from Karol. I won't go into detail on making the shoulder pad, except to say that part of the reason I had trouble is that I had never used rivets before. I didn't even really know where to buy a rivet kit. I looked at Home Depot (they had a grommet kit but not a rivet kit) and eventually found them at Michael's craft store. They had a kit with the tool and multiple sizes of brass and silver rivets. Had to buy a separate leather punch. This thing was already costing more than I planned... Got a fairly accurate football shoulder pad off of eBay... Finished the shoulder pad. I'm pretty handy with rivets now...
WEATHERING / DISTRESSING / AGING whatever you want to call it -
This was a really important step for me. Something about all of the other Mad Max 2 outfits I'd seen is that they always looked kinda new. In the movie his outfit is really busted up. Covered in dust and dirt etc.. I really wanted to capture that look. (I should say that in some photos, my costume doesn't look as weathered as it did in real life. So it's possible the other outfits I've seen online WERE nicely weathered, only the flash washed out the highlights on theirs like it did to mine. It's also possible that people just don't feel comfortable trashing the outfit they spent so long creating - which I can understand).
Anyway, I did a bunch of research online about how to distress leather and couldn't find a whole lot that was helpful. The best tip I saw and the one that worked the best for me was sandpaper. Just take some regular old sandpaper and scuff the hell out of your leather. Especially any seams and edges. I still think mine could have used even more scuffing. I did notice that there was sort of a blue tinge in my leather as I scraped off the outer layers. Maybe this is normal, maybe it's a function of it being a cheap leather jacket. I don't know.
After the sandpaper pass, I wanted to add some dirt. I didn't have the time or money to go to a theatrical store and get fuller's earth, or texas dirt or any of the other things they use to make props and people look dirty on stage and screen, so I did something else -
I wanted to try and achieve that red australian dust look that was all over the movie, but I also didn't want to create my own cloud as I walked around the party and sat on the upholstery. So I found a red brick, went out to the back yard and started whacking it with a hammer (wearing eye protection of course). When I'd get some smaller chuncks I'd pulverize them down into dust and then put them in a bowl with a damp sponge. I then sponged the red muddy water onto the costume and let it dry. I kept everything bunched up so that the crevices and wrinkles would collect more of the water and more of the reddish residue once everything dried. It worked pretty well.
THE RED RAG - This was a minor thing, but I remembered that Max's red rag was the same one that he used to mop up the gas in the beginning of the movie. I couldn't have it looking new. (also, with my weathered jacket a bright red rag would stand out too much). So I used the rag to wipe down my car engine. Then I rinsed it in the sink (just water, no soap) so that the dirt would go away but I'd keep the stains. Did the same thing for my dog's bandana.
Here is an after photo of the jacket:
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Time out for a quick tip - Save all your scraps as you work, you never know what little piece of leather or whatever you might need later!
