In which I lay out plans for my next Tailor Project...
My housemate has decided that his birthday party this year will be Sci-Fi themed so obviously I need to step up to the plate. Time to plan for this shindig!
Project 0
In which I detail my next Halloween project, kind of ...
So following the success of Project Thor you might be wondering what my next project will be. While I'm certain I'll have other opportunities for smaller scale fancy dress throughout the year (there has already been talk of Game of Thrones amongst my housemates*) I am already planning for next Halloween :)
*I can grow the beard for Ned Stark, so shotgun!
The Details I Will Give You
So this Project will be shrouded in mystery **dramatic music**. I will tell you that it involves an extended fitness program again (starting today!), the acquisition of a particular set of skills† and of course the purchase/creation of a costume.
Each of these things represents a goal. Whenever I reach one of these goals I will post a new blog post and increment the title of the post and this category.‡ There will also be hints as to what the costume is (see below).
†Not those ones though
‡Not necessarily numerically
The Game is Afoot!
So every time I post about 'Project 0' I will post a part of a picture freely available on the internet. If you track this down you will find the full size picture which will be a clue as to the costume. Once you've worked it out feel free to email me at: tom@tinkertailorsoldiersponge.com for prizes!§
§No actual prizes, but the first correct answer (with working as opposed to blind guessing) will get mentioned on the blog when I do the big reveal :)
Example
Here is a small blurry image (I'll find better quality ones for the actual game).
Game example
If you correctly searched for this image you would find it linked to Pimp That Snack.com.
Armed with this image you would see that they are crushing Hobnobs into bits. This would give you the clue that the costume was linked to The Hobbit.
This is a new idea of mine so I hope you all enjoy it!
Tom Out!
Project Thor: Aftermath
In which I assess the results of Project Thor using graphs...
Weight Loss
So the weight loss wasn't as much as I expected but I did gain a fair amount of muscle. I'm pretty certain I look like I've lost some weight which is probably due to the shift of some fat to muscle :)
Weight (KG) over the course of Project Thor
Muscle Gain
I gained a few inches on all of the muscles I measured while also reducing my waist and hip measurements. Again I expected greater gains but I think there was a visible difference by the time I donned my armour :)
Muscle size (inches) over the course of project thor
Strength
The most noticeable change during Project Thor were my strength gains at the gym:
Strength gains
Stay tuned for details of future projects (Project 0 - coming soon to a blog near you!) and any other small Tailor costumes. Here endeth Project Thor.
Tom Out!
P.S. Before mine, there was another Project Thor
Project Thor: Armour
In which I cover the creation of Thor's armour, the hardest part of the build.
This follows a similar, though more complicated, method to Mjolnir (Parts 1 & 2)
More Pepakura
So once again I downloaded a pepakura template.* Then I began cutting out the hundreds of parts (there were 54 A4 pages of parts). I numbered all the edges so I knew which ones went together and laid them out on the floor:
Project Thor: Mjolnir Part 2
In which I finish Mjolnir...except for the painting.
So I was able to get hold of a hot wire cutter but the wire broke and so I have been forced to continue with the pepakura version of Mjolnir.
The Handle
First I began by cutting some brown shoelace to the correct length and gluing it to the wooden handle in a loop.
Loop
Then I cut strips of leather the correct length so that they would go all the way around the handle. I glued them around but had to hold them for a long time to let them dry, there must be an easier way to do this!
Leather banding
The Hammer Head
For the hammer head I continued using the pepakura method though I had to cut a hole for the handle to pass through.
Continuing pepakura
Hole for the handle
Then i glues the top of the handle to the inside of Mjolnir for stability.
Completed hammer
Painting
Before painting I first rubberised it with Plastidip which takes a few hours to dry. I then painted the hammer with a dark mix of silver and black acrylic paint. Once this had dried I drybrushed* over the top with silver acrylic paint. I also painted the gaps in the handle with the black base coat and silver over the top.
Mjolnir
*Drybrushing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drybrush
Tom Out!
P.S. There are several more Thor updates to come!
Project Thor: Dr. Donald Blake
In which I reveal my secret costume for SSAGO tonight.
Dr. Donald Blake
Those of you who were watching the film very closely (or have read the comics) will have noticed the following two scenes in Thor.
During the infamous Thor-gets-his-abs out scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOddp-nlNvQ&t=105 he's given a t-shirt belonging to Dr. Jane Foster's (Natalie Portman) ex-boyfriend Dr. Donald Blake. This is Thor's alter ego in the comics.
Donald Blake
Later he also has a falsified driving licence based on it.
Don-Blake-Drivers-License
Me as Donald Blake
With thanks to Dale and the embroidery machine at Fab Lab I was able to get an embroidered t-shirt in the style of srubs lab coats. (The font is Script MT Bold which is available in Word)
DSC_0563a
DSC_0566a
DSC_0567a
Tom Out!
1000 views!
The blog has now had 1,000 page views :DUPDATE 1/10/12: As there's increasing interest in this blog I've upgraded to tinkertailorsoldiersponge.com ! :)
Tom Out!
Project Thor: Mjolnir Pepakura
I have all the materials to craft Mjolnir now - to the Forge! ... for real this time :)
Pepakura
As I'm still lacking a hot wire cutter I've decided to try the Pepakura method instead. Pepakura is paper modeling. Using the Pepakura Designer software you can take a pre-made paper folding file (such as the Mjolnir one here: http://www.lacasadeel.net/2012/03/fabricando-el-martillo-de-thor-en-papercraft.html) and edit it following this a YouTube video (sadly now removed) in order to make a foam version.
Crafting
So now I have these materials to play with:
Thor Materials 2
Cutting out the template onto the foam was easy and then using wood glue I've started to form the hammer head:
Hammer head
By Thor's Beard!
I've started growing the beard but it is currently unimpressive:
By Thor's beard!
Tom Out!
Project Thor: Mjolnir Attempt 1
I have all the materials to craft Mjolnir now - to the Forge! ... or not
Materials
Mjolnir materials
So I now have all the materials for Mjolnir. Polystyrene for the hammer head, wood for the handle, leather for the handle grip and plastidip for coating the hammer head. I'm short the amount of leather needed for the loop at the bottom but I might use string or something for that.
Crafting
Initially I tried cutting the polystyrene with a craft knife but that didn't work very well. I also tried using a saw and a carving knife. These were also all terrible ideas. I finally settled on heating a bread knife over the gas hob. This cut through the polystyrene like butter but if it was too hot caused more to melt than I wanted. Sadly we end up with this:
Mjonir head 1
While the general shape is there it isn't up to my exacting (read: fairly lax) standards.
Where From Here?
I'm going to see if Fab Lab has a hot wire cutter or obtain one from somewhere else. If that fails I'll have to try the Foam Pepakura method (which I'll detail in a future post when talking about the armour).
Tom Out!
P.S. Polystyrene: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290617011792
P.P.S. Wood: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221116725954
P.P.P.S Leather: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190699033294
P.P.P.P.S Plastidip: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000KL5WOI/
Project Thor: Progress
A brief round up of Project Thor so far...
How's the Weight Loss Going?
Not so good. As of Tuesday my weight was 91 kg. Up 1 from the start but I have gained muscle in that time. I need to do more HIIT as I've mostly been concentrating on the gym aspect. From now there will be more HIIT and I'm changing diet plan to just reduced calorie intake as the other one was really hard to stick to this time round.
How's the Gym Going?
The gym is going pretty well. Here's a table comparing my starting rep weight and current rep weight.*
| Lat Pulldown (lbs) | Shoulder Press (lbs) | Chest Press (lbs) | Leg Press (lbs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previous | 75 | 42.5 | 72.5 | 140 |
| Current | 125 | 67.5 | 107.5 | 205 |
| Improvement | +50 | +25 | +37 | +65 |
There's visible improvement too but I'm waiting until the end for proper before and after photos :)
*Clearly not the maximal weight I can do. For example my starting maximal leg press was 210 lbs.
How's the Costume Going?
I have all the material components for Mjolnir now and will probably construct it this weekend :) I've just ordered a load of foam to make the armour with and I'm looking into finding templates for all the pieces.
My hair isn't growing fast enough for the full Thor length but I think with dye it will still look the part, also a few weeks will get me a reasonable beard too :)
Part of me is tempted to go as Avengers Thor before he dons his armour as it's proving difficult to find a good material for the arms.
Thor
Tom Out!
Project Thor: Very Demotivational
In which I discuss how easy it is to fake weight loss.
Motivation
As part of Project Thor I'm hoping to get some pretty good before and after photos. Obviously this required me to take some before photos and then they've sat on my camera for a few weeks :S
Now taking photos of yourself before losing weight is quite demoralising (or even demotivating depending on your personality) and that's all the excuse I need for a title for this blog-post!
For the purposes of full disclosure I thought I'd take photos of me standing straight and hunched and the difference is very dramatic. These photos taken seconds apart show a completely different physique. This reminded me of a post I saw weeks back about how easy it is to fake those 'dramatic weight loss' pictures you see on website advertising. Apparently their method involved:
Taking the 'after' shot first
Eating a lot of foods which make you bloated
Waiting 30 minutes
Taking the 'before' shot
Once again don't trust everything you see on the internet (though I expect you knew that already). Enjoy a little demotivational featuring yours truly:
Weight Loss
In other news I now own a large block of polystyrene and some wood. Once the leather turns up I can start to craft the mighty Mjolnir! Expect pics and a how-to in the following fortnight!
Tom Out!
Project Thor: The Slow-Carb Diet
Slow Carb
So here is the diet plan for Project Thor which is based upon the slow-carb diet from Tim Ferriss' book (see previous post).
Luckily most of this is available online for free so I can post the rules this time :)
Slow Carb
Rules:
Avoid 'white' carbohydrates - any carb that is white or can be white (e.g. brown rice is still bad)
Eat the same few meals over and over again mixing at least one item form the three groups: protein, legumes, vegetables.
Don't drink calories
Take one day off a week
There are some other additions to these rules covered in the book and online (see links below).
My Changes
One of the additional rules in the book is allowing you to eat carbs within two hours of exercise so I've been using that rule when going to the gym. I'm also taking the 'cheat day' and spreading it out across the week as this helps my lack of self control :)
Links!
Tim Ferriss' blog post on the Slow-Carb diet: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/
Diet reference (tells you whether a food is allowed): http://www.eslowcarbdiet.com/
Tom out!
Project Thor: On Measurement
Waists!
Firstly an announcment! Tea reviews will re-commence on Wednesday and run bi-weekly for the foreseeable future! Also if there's a tea you think I should try feel free to proffer it to me when I see you for my delectation and reviewing pleasure :)
So onto the post -
Measurement and tracking is very important when following an exercise program, mostly because it stops you from going insane. This is because it is very hard to see if you are losing weight* if you look in the mirror everyday whereas cold hard numbers don't lie to you**.
So below is my table of starting measurements before Project Thor so I can compare the results at the end.
Though in defiance of my earlier paragraph there is a number which lies to you - the waist measurement on your clothes. I've been defiantly wearing my 34" jeans since I managed to be too small for 38" and 36" jeans last year. Recently they have gotten tighter but still fit (sadly all the cake I've eaten this year was not a lie). Now hopefully you haven't scrolled down far enough to see the measurement table yet - do so now and see how inaccurate this flattering lie is!
| Weight / kg | Waist / in | Hips / in | L Bicep / in | R Bicep / in | L Thigh / in | R Thigh / in | Total Inches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 40.5 |
39.5 | 12 | 12 | 21.5 | 22.5 | 148 |
Even if you ignore the half inch which would explain the slight tightness of my trousers that's still wrong by 6 inches! A 17% inaccuracy. Maybe if they gave clothing sizes accurately across the board it would help solve our obesity problem.
Finally, the total inches measurement allows you to see if there is an overall improvement even if, par exemple, your waist doesn't decrease one week. Huzzah for improvements!
*Well weight is affected by muscle mass and fat so it is possible to stay the same weight while looking more trim, but generally.
**The scientist inside me forces me to point out I mean mass which is referred to as weight; obviously going to the moon is great for any weight-loss program :P
Tom out!
P.S. This P.S. is a lie!
Project Thor: Exercise Plan
So what's the plan regarding the weight loss for Project Thor? I hear you all cry.
The 4-hour Body
Well it's a two part exercise plan and a diet plan (in a future post).
So the plan is:
HIIT
4-hour Workout Plan
Part the First: HIIT
HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training (more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training). I'm going to fulfill this part of my exercise plan via running. Unlike the marathon however these sessions are short (~20 mins) with a warm-up followed by 20 second bursts of sprinting interspersed with 10 second jogging sections. Feel free to laugh at my first attempt here: http://runkeeper.com/user/tomw2005/activity/107815470?&mobile=false
Part the Second: 4-Hour Body
There is a book I used last year to lose 2 stone. It is called the 4-hour body and is written by Tim Ferris. Previously I used the diet part of the book (discussed in the next post). This time I plan to use the 4-hour workout plan (so called because you have 8 half-hour sessions per month) as well. However I'm pretty sure there must be some law preventing me from posting all the ideas from the book here so I'll just leave the Amazon link and his blog link here: Book & Blog
Tom out!
Project Thor
Thor
So this is my major Tinker (& fitness) project for the time being - Project Thor!
Basically I need ridiculous goals to achieve anything resembling fitness (c.f. running the marathon) and I have not done anything yet for the Tailor part of my blog so I conceived a cunning scheme - to go as convincingly as possible as the guy to the left [<-], The Mighty Thor!
This requires the following things:
Getting my weight down to 79 kilos (12.5 stone)
Putting on some muscle
Crafting Mjolnir
Making the upper body armour
Obtain some crazy black trousers (I mean just look at them [<-])
Obtaining some boots
Growing and dyeing my hair blonde
The challenge ends on October 31st 2012
Obviously there are a few caveats to the "convincingly" I wrote above. Clearly I am not an actor paid lots of money just to work out for a role so I will do my best to achieve a reasonable physique for the costume.
An update will follow later with 'Before' photos.
Tom out!
P.S. Apparently I already have a cape! :)
P.P.S Follow my weight-loss at Runkeeper: http://runkeeper.com/user/tomw2005/profile
Times-are-a-changing 2.0
Hello everyone!I have now shut down by old blog (still there for posterity but everything has been moved over here).
Onwards!
Tom
Hello World!
Well this is the first post I'm making here on my shiny new blog.In short I thought no-one would want to listen to my problems etc. (those who do can do so IRL) so I decided to make a blog full of useful/interesting things (or at least it will be).
The name of TinkerTailorSoldierSponge sums up my intention for this blog fairly neatly - these will be the 4 major categories of posts:
- Tinker - a catch-all term for DIY and computer related geekery
- Tailor - costume design/construction for fancy dress purposes (or even porpoises)
- Soldier - Airsoft related activities
- Sponge - cookery (mostly cakes) [won't start until mid-June when I move to a house with a working oven]
Over the next few days I'll be getting to grips with WordPress and blogging in general. First to pick a theme...
Tom W