anchors aweigh!

a wasted seaman and the U.S.S. ?

hey, it spins!

inspiration came when i found that stylin' navy shirt w/ the epaulets & gold buttons on the clearance rack at Ross for for $8.49. figured i could build a pretty good costume around it. i already had the captains hat (from 1989?) and andy already had the white pants from the colonel sanders costume, so... that was easy. but it took me 2 months to make that stupid wheel, mainly b/c i had to plan it all out so it wouldn't fall apart after wearing it for 10 minutes. i made the wheel from really thick cardboard. the side is thinner cardboard braced with bamboo skewers (hand whittled so that each end would be sharp enough to puncture the front & back surfaces) and then i added a ton of gorilla glue, you know, just to make it extra sturdy. the center section is a foam cylinder shape that i was kinda forced to buy at a craft store due to time constraints, and the spokes are clear plastic tubes for protecting fluorescent lights. i mounted the wheel onto a piece of sheet metal using a 5" screw threaded all the way through, and hung the metal piece from my neck. also had the bottom of the mount strapped to me with a stretchy belt. 

i think i went a little over budget ($30), only because i had to buy two cans of spray paint, and the rope wasn't cheap either. it's definitely a quality piece. maybe i can rent it out next year and recover some of my expenses.