Tusken Breather

I made my breather using two spray cans of wire lube. 🙂 I got the spray cans from Home Depot. The caps on these are perfect as is the diameter!

Next I sprayed out all the lube into a bottle and disposed of it. And then peeled off the labels and cut the bottom off the cans. I also removed the spray heads. On one of the can, I cut it into vertical slits (See pic). I then inserted this can into the bottom of the other one. I used 2 part epoxy to glue these together. Be very careful. These cans will be sharp. I then drilled a hole in the caps to allow the copper tube to pass thru. And glued the caps back on the cans.

The “hanger” that goes around your neck. I used 1/4″ copper tubing. I got some cone shaped nuts and a 1/4″ Brass Compression Union that’s used for to join two lengths of the copper pipe together.  In the picture below you can see all the components I’ve mentioned.

I placed a nut on each side of the caps and glued them into place. I measured an estimated length of pipe and fed it thru the cans.Once I was satisfied with the length. I formed the pipe to hang properly over my shoulders and trimmed it a little. Then I fastened it with the 1/4″ Brass Compression Union. Then I shaped the tubing a bit more.

Then I primed it black and then painted it silver.

Once the paint was dried I used some real leather that I bought at a local craft store and cut it down to size and glued it on the body of the can. I did it so the seam would be on the back side. So you can’t see it. The leather I used is the Tandy Leather brand.

Now came the fun part! Weathering it. I used some acrylic model paints I had and black washed the whole thing. Even the leather. Followed by some dry-brushing  on the caps to bring back some of the highlights of the groves. I then did another wash with a rusty brown color to give the metal and aged look. The leather I gave it several black and dark brown washes. I brush on the wash let it sit and then wiped some away. Kept doing this until I was happy with the way it turned out. I even rubbed some dry dirt on it.Once I was happy with it. I sealed it with a dull clear coat. I love the end result. I’m always getting compliments!

Hope you found this useful. Feel free to contact me with any questions.