DIY Kamina Glasses

Determined not to go completely costumeless for our upcoming anime convention, we dug in the closets for a sheet of plastic I had bought prior to our engagement, what - two years ago? So long ago!

The idea was simple - make Kamina glasses to wear around the 'con, because Kamina glasses are the new Vash glasses - the height of coolness.

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Kamina is a character from the manga/anime, Gurren Lagan. Though I admit I'm only about half way through the series (I'm still a couple years behind on the anime scene, due to um, life?), I've seen enough to know that Kamina is pretty awesome.

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First, I made a template from paper.  Completely arbitrary dimensions that I freehanded, folded in half, and cut out.

I traced the template onto the plastic (which comes covered in contact paper to prevent scratching).

Then Sak went to town with a coping saw.

But it was difficult, so we bought an acrylic cutter.  First you score the plastic...

..Then you snap!

But sometimes the snap doesn't break cleanly, so you end up with weird tips on your glasses. Ah well.

He cut out four glasses, three of which are near perfect. We'll give the good ones to the guys, and I'll use the bunky ones. I not nearly cool (or gar) enough to pull off a Kamina.

Next, Sak took apart four pairs of dollar store sunglasses.

And super-glued them to the acrylic glasses.

I don't think super-glue was quite the right type of adhesive to use though - I'm pretty sure it melts plastic.  But it worked *enough* in this case.

Technically, Kamina doesn't have arms on his glasses, and they just magically float on his face. We could have made the illusion using sticky tape or clear elastic or something, but for the comfort and ease of around-the-con-wear, standard glasses' arms will work better.

Ready to go!

My this is a bad picture, hopefully we'll get some better ones at the con!

Have you worked with plastic before? Any tips?