I've been away far too long, and I really apologize to all of you who's work I've really fallen behind with. I have been wanting to show you WHY I've been away, and I'm finally at a point where I have something to show... This is actually a re-build of something I made some time ago (like 4 years, to be more specific) in a more durable and more carefully planned design. These are "dragon scales" that I made, the original was sculpted in modeling clay, which was used to make a silicone-rubber mold, then that was used to cast these scales with a resin called "Alumilite". The base color is mixed into the resin, but each scale was hand-painted to enhance the details, and all of them were hand-sewn to the costume (which was also hand-sewn) for this effect. There's alot more detailing that I need to do, trim and the like, plus feather accents along the neckline. In all, 825 scales are on this costume (which is where the title comes from) but this is only the start, because there's leggings and arm-guards still to come! All of this needs to be completed by the second weekend in July when the first major renaissance-festival opens here in Michigan. So that's why I've been kinda anti-social, lately. I found that I could attach only about 28 -32 scales each day, so you can imagine how much of my life this blasted thing has absorbed. Why I keep doing this to myself I'll never understand, but I do like the end-result! There'll be more pictures as I get this thing finished, I promise.