Tarnation! or, the end.

When last we left our poor Duke, he was hanging tarred and feathered with smoke-delivery hoses buried in silicone blobs on his back. (Part one of the process available here.)

But how to deliver that smoke?

I did a lot of research into smoke delivery systems--pocket foggers, model railroad smokestack mechanisms, etc. Ultimately, we decided to go with a product called the Wizard Stick, marketed as a "science"-related children's toy, which generates smoke from a solution of glycerin and propylene glycol (ingredients in FDA-approved soaps and perfumes). We first did an allergy test with our actor, Scott Ripley, to make sure he had no adverse reaction to the smoke the Wizard Stick creates. Then we rigged the costume in a fashion similar to an arterial-spray blood-pack rig...

( Read more... )