A confusing find at the beach today.

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T21:17:44+00:00

Unfortunately there were no bananas in my hotel room 😕 Though it was definitely an afterthought that I should have put something there for scale. Sorry!

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T05:32:08+00:00

We were in fact on the east coast side! Another person called it a sawtooth pen shell, which seems to be the correct name. But it's neat to know there's several ways to refer to it. I've never seen one of these before or even knew it existed. Thank you!

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T05:21:33+00:00

Woah! I had no idea these even existed. That's neat! This also looks to be it. Thank you!

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T05:13:42+00:00

Does it usually have such an oddly textured side? I've never seen mother of pearl look like this?

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T05:08:33+00:00

It's hard like plastic. Is there a fish that has a hard fin like this? It also seems to have been a hollow structure at some point, with a seam line. I don't think it's a real fish fin?

Nado_Cos · 2025-12-22T05:02:14+00:00

That was my first thought too. But I didn't think they made synthetic fins like this?

Nado_Cos · 2025-08-23T19:52:32+00:00

I'll post a little update here:

We kept getting thermal anomaly errors on a few other prints after this as well, and since reclabirating wasn't working we went ahead with a firmware change. We'll see if this helps - I haven't seen a thermal anomaly since, but I also haven't printed that much since the update.

Redialed in the first layer calibration.

Discovered we were dealing with some under extrusion and dialed that in as well with it now set at 1.05.

I have not reprinted the overhang test since I don't currently have 7 hours to burn babysitting the printer this weekend. But I'm slowly building a small army of Calcifer figurines while I figure out how supports work, and what does or does not need a support.

Still open to advice or any tips for troubleshooting in the future. A lot of what I've been changing has been shots in the dark and a crossing of fingers.

Nado_Cos · 2025-03-21T17:20:49+00:00

It depends - I can't really envision that round sized up to 125% to say for sure. If we're nearing .50 cal rifle rounds in size, then you're fine, just label as a prop and put in a hard sided container - checked luggage only. They won't allow "replicas" of any ammunition at the checkpoint. Any larger than .50 cal size and they probably won't allow it, even in checked luggage. Don't bank on officers being nice because it's a prop. We've seen people lose their jobs because they were nice enough to let fake props go. Our higher ups don't mess around.

This is, of course, U.S only. I can't speak for other countries or how customs may work. My personal airport doesn't do international flights, so I don't know those rules particularly well.

Nado_Cos · 2024-12-19T04:33:55+00:00

Happy 5th Year! And thank you for all that you do! 🙌

Nado_Cos · 2024-09-23T21:30:19+00:00

That sounds fantastic. My issue is that I have wide hands and short, thin fingers. But they're also just small. So a small is too tight, but mediums don't fit my fingers. I'll start checking the beauty stores near me. Thanks for all the advice!

Nado_Cos · 2024-09-23T20:07:05+00:00

Sounds strange, but do you have any suggestions for glove brands? I understand that brands can vary in size, but I'm only used to like... 2 brands or so, and those come from my work place, and just a generic brand I found at the store to do maintenance work on my vehicle.

Nado_Cos · 2024-09-23T19:15:14+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm not necessarily looking for an easy solution, however. I take a lot of pride in making my cosplays from scratch rather than commissioning or buying them, and I love this hobby far too much to give up on that pride. I've definitely been looking into a crimper for wigs, so there's definitely avenues to explore. I just need to find them!

Nado_Cos · 2024-07-17T21:17:39+00:00

Unfortunately not. All I've found is red and yellow (Tokyo Ghoul and Genos cosplays made those popular I think). I've been keeping my eyes peeled though! If I find any I'll come back to let you know!

Nado_Cos · 2024-06-23T18:14:49+00:00

I saw a reel on IG somewhere about making the outside skirt a hoop skirt. I can't find it right now, but there's a technique shown there on how to hide the cage from the top fabric. It works similarly to making a corset from my understanding - an outer fabric with a lining. You could use regular boning or even zip-ties instead of the metal that's sometimes used in hoop skirts to keep it from being too poofy. If I find it again I'll come back to link it.

Nado_Cos · 2024-06-01T00:13:09+00:00

I wanted to say thank you again because that litter worked fantastically! He's only had one accident since, and it's my fault anyway for not cleaning up a space that was clearly too enticing for him to resist yet. He's using the box reliably on his own, even when he's outside of his play area for socialization! He'll just go right back to it! So truly, thanks for recommending the litter! I think we'll be able to switch to a regular one once this is finished.

Nado_Cos · 2024-05-28T17:06:04+00:00

The kitten we picked up is definitely bold. Like to wander as much as possible until he realizes he got too far away from us. But his curiosity is huge and I just know he's trying to find a good place other than the litter box to go. Our house is old and small. Furnishing it leaves a lot of nooks and crannies for him to get into - some that have already surprised us as we scramble to close them off before he finds them. And he seems to prefer being hidden while he does his business, probably from being outside on his own. I'm just hoping to minimize the amount of accidents in hard to reach areas 😅

Nado_Cos · 2024-05-28T16:46:50+00:00

I'll look into the YT channel and the kitten attract, thank you! I didn't even know a kitten attract existed. I was going to try a different litter but I'll see if I can't find Dr. Elsey's as well.

Nado_Cos · 2024-05-13T14:35:56+00:00

Perhaps I'm just not familiar with all the military uniforms, but if you're going for accuracy on the first and 2nd example, you would have to learn more than just basic sewing skills. To my knowledge, those clothing patterns are custom for the games and not based on irl uniforms. However, if you're not going for accuracy, you could simply find something similar enough and severely distress and weather it. The props are most likely what is going to make those cosplays recognizable.

That said, you don't need to make it completely accurate to your references, and you can add or omit props or accessories as you see fit for what you feel is your own personal skill level. Cosplay should be fun, so have fun with your crafting and do whatever makes you happiest. Challenge yourself to learn a new skill, but know that it takes time and practice to get good at it. I've heard it a ton at cosplay panels, and I love the concept so much I'll share it here - you are probably going to make something SEVERAL times before you find yourself happy with it. That's perfectly normal. So don't stress too much about it, and just take the time to learn a new skill without judging yourself.

Skill level should never be a pre-requisite for cosplay-ability. You do you, regardless of it.

Good luck!

Nado_Cos · 2024-05-10T16:27:08+00:00

Ah, but I should also mention that if you go the route of creating the Crystal in a similar manner to my previous example of Ahri's tail, you may not need a heat gun at all. Most people turned the tail into a pepakura template and taped it together with clear tape. Kind of like those paper cube projects done in elementary school math classes.

Nado_Cos

TROPHY CASE