Evil Dead Costume Help

[tezzle]

Okay, so Bruce Campbell is God to me (next to Batman, but when it comes to real people, Bruce is #1) and I want to go as Ash for Halloween. Thinking I'll get a metal hand, as I don't feel like lugging around a fake chainsaw all night. Anyway, I pretty much know everything I'll need to get, but I still need to know one thing:

Where do I get that shotgun-holster he's got!? It's got all those straps & stuff, and I've never seen it anywhere else I don't think. Does it really even exist? Did they just make it for the movie because it looked cool? I wouldn't know. I'm not exactly a shotgun connoisseur. Please speak up if you know anything that'll help me know how to get my hands on one of these things. If I show up at that costume party as a Boomstick-less Ash, (because if I have to lug around the shotgun, I might as well just get the chainsaw) I'll feel like a dork. No one else will care but me, but I'm not really doing it for anyone else, am I?

So help a fellow Campbell enthusiast out. I love the "Evil Dead" series & Halloween too much to botch this costume.

[TheFrankEinstein]

I get the impression it was handmade for the film.  It certainly was improvised in the film (Ash just cobbled it together in the workshed, didn't he?).

[Names_Ash_Housewares]

It was made for the film, there was one on ebay a few years ago that was hand made and looked as good as the one in the movie, it shouldnt be too difficult to make one, a gun holster should be easy enough to get hold of and a few leather belts put together would work.

[EvilDeadChainsaws]

I run EvilDeadChainsaws.com, and Ive been asked about a mechanical hand quite afew times.

The best suggestion I could come up with is to have a look around the internet at places that
sell medieval armour for battle re-enactments (but reproduction stuff made recently not
expensive antique originals). I did look into that a while back and saw you could buy individual
parts like single gloves rather than having to buy a whole suit of armour. If you have the cash
its just a matter of hunting round and finding the right look or emailing an AOD screenshots to
every company you can find to see if someone can help you out. You might need to buy one
and then do some modification work on it yourself if you can't get an exact enough match, or
see if you can pay the supplier that made it extra cash to do any modifications for you.

I'd imagine you might spend between $50 and $200 but what you'd end up with would look
bloody good!

With regards to the holster, thats fairly simple. The best way to get it done would be to
take your gun to a saddler (someone who makes horse saddles, among other things, from
leather) all it would need is a rectangle of leather about 2ft x 1ft which tapers towards
the bottom like an inverted trapezium shape. Then it would just need to be folded in half
and sewn down the long edge. get them to add some leather straps and you're away!
that sounds simple but sewing leather is no easy thing, it'll cost more but the result
will be much better quality and it'll save you a heap of time.

[APannos36]

I have been Ash for Haloween 2 years running, and I will be doing it again this year. The costume I made looks great and it didn't break the bank either.

Here is a good site for a nice toy shotgun that will fit the bill on Ash's gun:

http://www.toyarsenal.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=4T&Product_Code=DBShotgunDT&Category_Code=

as far as the holster, what i did was I went to Dick's sporting goods, bought a brown rifle holster and cut the part that goes to the barrel of the gun. it makes a nice back holder for the shotgun. for the strapping, i bought black nylon strapping from a hradware store, along with some metal rings and some plastic clips. Then I studied the Movies, my Ash Todd McFarlane Action figure, and Evil Dead Regeneration Video game to get the proper placement of the straps and I made my own harness (I put the clip on the chest so I oculd get it on and off easier. i also bought a blue shirt and brown pants from the salvation army. I ripped the shirt according to the movie too. Unlike you though, I bought a homelite chainsaw from e-bay and i gutted the engine out and put some pvc on the end to make it look like my hand was in it. as far as the metal hand, i don't know what to say on that since i went with the chainsaw. if you want to see my costume, go to my myspace to look @ the pics:

www.myspace.com/apannos36

if you want anymore, i have some other pics on my computer as well.
Good Luck!!

[Kain]

APannos, you should submit your picture to our Ashplay section 

[Deadite280]

Is there any way to make a decent-looking chainsaw for a costume? I'm still in high school, so a real hollowed-out chainsaw is out of the question.

[swallowthis93]

if u was u i wud make it from belts it luks lyk tha is wa ash did in the montage.
u just need 3 or 4 belts and a circular buckle 4 in the middle then u cud probably buy a gun holster to attach to it
thats all i could think of!

[APannos36]

APannos, you should submit your picture to our Ashplay section 

Done and done!

[shortimer52]

I know this is really late but you can find the Homelite XL chain saw on ebay. Just have to make sure you get the right one, the older ones. One of these days im going to buy one.

[gar2000]

Okay, so Bruce Campbell is God to me

No offence, I mean I'm an Evil Dead fan and all but, I think you need some help there buddy... and I think if Campbell himself read your comment, he'd agree with me.

[BoomstickChick]

It's actually not as hard as you would imagine to sew your own holster. I did for my version of a female Ash (Ms. Ashley J. Williams) if you please for my screamfest costume. See reference image below -

No good frontal shots, but I'm doing an in the woods cabin shoot in it this week. I added more blood, gore and dirt - it's quite possibly going to be my halloween costume for as long as my hand can fit in the saw.

Now I know it's late for halloween - but for next year, you'll need -

A metal ring (two if you doing the holster from AOD, not the end of Evil Dead II)
A yard of fabric (brown, semi-resembling leather)
A buckle
Buckle straps
Tons of patience.

Measure your chest and shoulders, and be sure to write these measurements down somewhere. For the boomstick holder, use your shotgun as a base for the width. Cut the approximate length of fabric, wrap it around the gun and pin for a tight fit. Sew, and set aside. When cutting the straps - be sure to use two layers of fabric to avoid flimsyness - and help with sturdiness. Sew four straps around the metal ring, attaching the top two to the middle of the boomstick holder pinned and sewn previously. Attach the straps to the buckle and measure the straps by your waist line and cut. Sew them to the back of the chest straps - and buckle it around your lower back. Adjust for a tighter fix.

Viola. Boomstick holder.

[PlaidPineapple]

I actually did the Ash thing when I went to see Evil Dead the Musical.
I didn't wear the gun holster since its hard to sit down with it on, but I wore the harness.
Its a from scratch kind of thing made from metal rings, old belts and some webbing.
Plus you need the forked metal piece to start the chainsaw with.
Some people there actually thought I was IN the show...
And some guy outside wanted to buy my chainsaw off me. Its my only one and I had just gotten splatter zone all over it..so I wasn't willing to part with it.