Setting up the Glasses
Purchase a pair of LED display glasses. These glasses should be able to connect to your smartphone with an app. The most popular brand is the Chemion brand, but you can use other brands too. You can find them online and in stores that sell computers and other electronics. LED display glasses have a single lens that goes across your eyes, more like a pair of ski goggles than a pair of prescription glasses. This tutorial will focus on the Chemion brand. The set-up and construction for other brands may be different.
Download the appropriate app onto your smartphone. The type of app you download depends on the type of LED display glasses you bought. Read the instructions that came with your glasses to find out what sort of app you need to download. Most apps should be free to download because they are included with the purchase of the glasses. For example, if you bought the Chemion glasses, you should get the CHEMION app. Without the app, you won't be able to customize your glasses.
Connect your phone to the glasses using the app. How you do this depends on your phone, the app you downloaded, and the lenses that you bought. Read the instructions that came with your glasses or follow the on-screen prompts provided by the app. In most cases, you'll have to do the following: Turn the glasses on. Establish a Bluetooth connection. Input a passcode to prevent hacking.
Use the app's creator function to create your desired emote. For the Chemion lenses, the app will have a lot of pre-set designs. These designs won't work for Wrench, who uses emotes, so you will have to find the "creator" tab, then input your own emotes. Look up the emotes Wrench uses on his mask, or create your own emotes. Some good ones include: X X O O ^ ^ LOL H I
Modding the LED Lenses
Use a screwdriver to remove the backing from the sides of the glasses. If you look on the inside edges of the ear loops, you'll notice a panel secured with tiny screws. Use a mini screwdriver to take these screws out, then use a flat-head screwdriver to pop the backing off. You'll eventually have to do this for the other ear loop, but just focus on the first one for right now. Don't worry if you accidentally bend the backing. You don't need it. As long as the wires are safe, you're good.
Remove the battery, then pull out the battery component. The battery is set into a little case, which is then fitted into the ear loop. You need to slide out this entire case. This should loosen the wires from inside the frame. Push the end of the battery component into the ear loop, then slide it toward the lenses. This should pop it out.
De-solder the red and black wires from the lenses. If you follow the red and black wires, you'll notice that they are connected to the front of the frame. Use a soldering iron to melt the connection point between these wires, then pull the wires out.
Repeat the process for the other side of the frame. Remove the screws from the backing, then pop the backing out. Pull the battery out, then slide the battery component out. Loosen the wires from the frame, then de-solder them.
Remove the frame backing from behind the lenses. On the Chemion lenses, it's the part that looks like blinds. You'll have some screws on each side of the backing as well as under the frame in the nose gap. You should remove the screws from the hinges as well.
Pry the backing off and separate the layers. Use a flat-head screwdriver to pop the blinder-like backing off of the frame. This should remove the front lens too. Next, use your fingers to carefully pry apart the 3 layers that make up the LED lens: The plastic blinder-like backing The middle perforated board The black or silver front lens
Pull on gloves, then remove the blinders from the LED display. The blinder-like backing is actually composed of 2 layers: the blinders and the LED display. Pull on a pair of vinyl or latex gloves, then use a mini screwdriver to remove the screws holding the LED display panel to the blinders. Carefully pull it out along with the flat copper wires. Be very careful during this step. The LED display panel is fragile!
De-solder the wires from the LED panel. Keeping your gloves on, use your soldering iron to melt the connection between the flat, copper wires and the LED panel. Pull the wires off, then set them aside. Be careful during this step. The LED panel will heat up considerably. You can discard the flat copper wires. You don't need them anymore.
Solder the red and black wires onto the LED panel. Use your soldering iron to heat up the connections on the left side of the LED panel. Take the red and black wires, along with the battery component, and set them into the melted metal. Use your iron to solder them into place. Repeat this step for the right side. Pay attention to the positive and negative placement of the wires. For the Chemion lenses, the red will go on the top and the black wires will go on the bottom. You will notice 3 connectors on the LED panel: 1 on each side and 1 in the top corner. Ignore the connector in the top corner for now.
Test the connection and make sure that the emotes display properly. Pop the batteries back into the battery components and turn the lenses on. If they still work and everything displays properly, you are good to go. If they don't, turn them off, remove the batteries, and re-solder the wires into a different position. For example, if red on top and black on bottom didn't work, try black on top and red on bottom.
Assembling the Lenses
Get out a set of replacement lenses for a paintball mask. You can use any brand you want, but this method will use the ones by Thermal, because they work the best for Wrench. Other brands may be set up a little differently. The Thermal lenses are composed of 2 layers of plastic with a piece of foam along the top. You can remove your gloves for this step.
Remove the foam from the top edge of the glasses. This will allow you to reach the space between the 2 lenses and slide the LED panel into place. The easiest way to do this would be to heat the foam up with a hairdryer, then peel it away. If you don't have a hairdryer, use a craft blade to slice through the foam. Make the slice 2 inches (5.1 cm) wider than the LED panel.
Slide the LED panel into the gap, then pop the lenses onto the mask. Slide the LED panel into the gap between the 2 lenses first. Next, snap the lenses onto the front of the mask. The wires and battery components should travel under the top part of the mask and down the sides. Make sure that the LED portion is facing out through the front of the lenses. Secure the battery components to the mask with Velcro or hot glue. If there are pockets, you can insert them in there.
Connect a wire and momentary switch to the top corner connector. Get a momentary on-off switch, then connect a wire to it if it doesn't already have one. Thread the wire through a hole in the top of the mask, then solder it to the remaining connector in the upper corner of your LED panel. Drape the momentary switch across the top of your glasses. Be sure to wear gloves for this step. Pay attention to the positive and negative connections! For a nicer finish, wrap shrink tubing over the momentary switch, then heat it with a hairdryer. You can find these switches online and in stores that sell electronic supplies.
Test the momentary switch. You should be able to turn the LED glasses on and off by simply pressing on the switch. If you can't do this, double-check the wiring and batteries. If you need to, de-solder the wires, and re-solder them into a different position.
Adding the Mouthpiece
Get a black leather or pleather Steampunk face mask. These types of masks cover the bottom portion of your face and often come with spikes. You can find them in online stores, such as Etsy, Amazon, or Ebay. A store that sells punky or gothic accessories, such as Hot Topic may also carry them. Make sure that the mask is black.
Add more spike studs to the mask, if needed. Purchase a pack of silver spike studs that match the size of the ones on your mask. Insert the bottom screw portion of the stud through a hole on your mask, then screw the upper spike part on top. Be sure to fill all the holes. If your mask doesn't have holes, punch them yourself using a leather punch. Make the holes big enough for the screw part of the studs to fit through. How many spikes you add is up to you. It also depends on how accurate you want the mask to be. Look at reference pictures of Wrench. You should be able to find the spikes in the leatherworking section of a craft store or fabric store, but you may have better luck online.
Fit the leather mask over the bottom portion of the paintball mask. You can hot glue the mask on, or you can keep them separate. If you choose to keep them separate, you'll have to fit the leather mask over the bottom portion of the paintball mask when you go to put your costume on. Alternatively, you can drill holes through both the paintball mask and the leather mask, then screw them together with more spike studs.
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