Sunshine Spacesuit Custom Display Mannequin
Custom display mannequin for a spacesuit from sci-fi thriller Sunshine
This spacesuit from Danny Boyle’s 2007 sci-fi thriller, Sunshine arrived to our studio for a custom display mannequin and a little bit of light restoration/repair work. Although the costume arrived on a stand, we felt that the angle it held the costume at and the way the suit was being supported could be improved. The size and sheer weight of this massive movie spacesuit costume made it impossible to use a standard retail mannequin. The space boots alone weighed nearly 25 pounds! They must be lighter in zero gravity 😉
The original stand was made of a very sturdy metal and we were able to reuse a lot of the materials rather than starting from scratch. TSD lead fabricator, Pierre Briel reshaped and welded the upright supports in a more vertical orientation. He also added additional metal supports to the base to help distribute some of the weight. Additionally, this new positioning allowed us the create a better attachment point inside of the space suit. He also added several casters to the bottom of the steel plate base to allow the client to be able to more easily move the display which weighed nearly 200lbs. When the adjustments to the base were complete, the entire base was given a fresh coat of black paint.
Overall the space suit was in good condition but there were a couple of areas that needed a little touch up including one of the sleeves where the seams had separated. This costume is the perfect example of repairing areas that could cause stability issues for the costume, but not doing an over-the-top restoration.Areas which show the age of a piece can add interest and history to a screen used prop or costume and so we prefer to leave things as untouched as possible. Per the client’s request, we did refresh the gold paint on the legs (and these leg tubes were replicas so we felt better about painting them) to blend them into the rest of the costume and prevent them from pulling focus from the rest of the pieces.
Have an original movie or television costume in need of a custom mannequin or themed display? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!
