As a Wasteland Warrior, Faith Roswell is no stranger to the European post-apocalyptic scene. But as an established travel blogger, she’s also no stranger to what the rest of the world has to offer.
Faith hails from the UK and may be best known for her blog “Life Out There” which covers her travels all around the world, specifically at events that focus on the post-apocalyptic side of things.
“I’ve always been interested in the end of the world,” Faith tells me, “especially the ways in which people would relate to each other, and over time my style evolved until I looked as though I’d walked out of a Mad Max film.”
Faith’s interest grew deeper as she found herself wanting to learn more and more about real life experiences with this genre. “There are just so many ways the world can end, so many approaches to the genre in films and books, and the fact that it is such a genuine threat makes it fascinating to discuss!
“For a long time, I thought I was the only strange survivalist-type weirdo walking around in giant boots but as soon as I learned about Wasteland Weekend, I decided I’d go the next year no matter what. So that’s what I did in 2016!”
As a former professional model, Faith knows how to work the camera, as evident by her Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms. She says that she started her blog as a “travelling clothes horse” but soon realized that her large following was more interested in her travel stories than her photoshoots.
“So I started a new blog for my adventures and it grew from there! I now write about my adventures around the world – especially urbex (urban exploring aka looking around abandoned places), covering the ‘how to’ of solo exploring, sharing travel tips and pictures… and have a ‘no yoga poses on a mountain’ guarantee.”
Faith considers herself a professional adventurer now, spending all of her time and energy on her craft. “I travel the world visiting abandoned buildings and vehicles, unusual festivals, hidden sculptures, local legends, and interesting communities – and then I come home and write about them. I’ve filmed documentaries and done some public speaking about my experiences and though I’m usually asked about urbex, I’m also a huge fan of anything postapocalyptic – I’ve visited four countries for major events so far, and I’m planning my fifth for 2018.”
Life Out There has evolved into quite an adventure in itself, spanning the gamut from a beginner’s guide to Wasteland Weekend to a week-long log exploring abandoned prisons in Romania to “a visit to one of Belgium’s most notoriously guarded castles.”
Plus, Faith offers more tips and tricks for those looking to live out a similar adventure, including “a full-disclosure guide to how I travel so cheaply, skills to learn in case of an apocalypse, and my ‘Seven Dubious Wonders of the World.’
“I’m planning some giveaways at the moment,” she continues. “I’ll be giving a notebook just like my own journal away, with personal messages from me, extracts from my travel diary, postcards from current tours, and bonus tips for adventurers! Instructions will be on my Facebook and Instagram pages.”
Back in January, I interviewed Chris and Mika from Rad Roach Gear, who are part of the European Wasteland Warrior scene. Faith is also a member of that elite group of costumers, so I asked her how she got involved. Was there an initiation? Did she have to sacrifice anything?
“I introduced myself in a Wasteland Weekend forum and found an email in my inbox the next day, asking me if I’d like to join the Warriors at Wacken Open Air metal festival, as a prospective member. I already followed the team on social media but it didn’t click that it was THE Wasteland Warriors until more of the team started mailing me and I recognised their profile pictures.
“Wacken was my first major music festival and I hadn’t thought to check the line-up. I was on a nine-hour bus journey when I thought I should probably do that. When I saw Iron Maiden, Ministry, Steel Panther, and Twisted Sister listed, my screech woke up half the bus. Whoops…”
Faith also had her first go at cage fighting at Wacken – an experience I’m sure she won’t soon forget. “I was ridiculously nervous but I was fighting against friends and we’re all super supportive of each other – and I happened to win my first one! You’ll definitely see more of my character “The Deathhawk” in the cage…”
Faith’s current ventures have taken her all over the world as she strives to see each and every abandoned corner that lacks the love from mainstream blogs.
“I got to experience Junktown for the first time. It’s a postapocalyptic festival in the Czech Republic. The climate and atmosphere is very different to Wasteland Weekend and I love both! Junktown is based around an abandoned military base with bunkers and permanent structures built by the tribes, which they work on and revisit throughout the year! It’s definitely worth a visit, especially to certain places in the grounds which are home to some very interesting and elaborate legends about the ‘new world.'”
“I visited two ‘free’ communities – Christiania in Denmark and Slab City in California – before heading back to the Mojave for Wasteland Weekend 2017… but you’ll have to visit my blog to see what happened there!”
As for her next adventure, she says that it will be a bit closer to home. “I’m doing a cyberpunk tour of London, and then I’m planning my travels for next year. It’s going to be even more action-packed than this one and might possibly include two new countries for me to explore.”
As I often like to do with these interviews, I had to ask about any advice for those looking to share a similar experience as Faith’s. Since her expertise spans both blogging and costuming, I figured that this would be a good time to get some wise words on both topics.
“Costuming is always a work in progress; I don’t think a single person I know feels their outfit is 100% finished! It will evolve over time. Watch videos on Youtube; Nuclear Snail is excellent and many of the Wasteland Warriors members have their own channels for costuming. Pinterest is full of ideas… and the Wasteland advice is: ‘needs more dirt!’ If you think your outfit is weathered enough, it probably still needs more dirt.
“For bloggers, find a niche and then consistently fill that market. It can take time to build a following which can be really disheartening. Sometimes it feels as though nobody is looking at or caring about what you do but you have to stick with it if it’s your passion!”
Thomas “Cupcake” McElroy has been wrenching on cars since he was a kid, thanks to his father’s love of the classics like a 1956 Cadillac Coupe or 1968 Fleetwood. “I was more into the smaller, faster things like the ’60s Mustangs,” Cupcake told me. “I do appreciate the big stuff more now. Have two Cadillac Hearses now myself.”
“This genre is not for everyone and there will always be someone that hates it no matter what you do. With that being said, I find there are 2 ways to build a PA car. Cheaper is either find a car (or your current ride) and do stuff to it. More expensive and harder are to build something specific. Like, ‘Hey I want to build a Mustang like yours!’ That (as well as trying to copy a movie car) can get stupid expensive. And don’t be afraid to talk to car builders and pick their brains. Most all of us are very open to share ideas and processes and even help on your build if it works out.”
Dominique has been making costumes for almost four years, starting off in her parents’ basement, and recently expanding into a workshop in her own California home. When a friend invited her to FanimeCon in San Jose, she was hooked.
“Another one of my favorite props was my Bandit Shotgun from Borderlands. I really love that piece because it looks like it is straight out of the game. My favorite part of propmaking is when I get to paint, and there was so much of it (on this one)! In order to get the cartoony look you need to know where to put the highlights and outlines.”
She even comments on how much her technique has grown and evolved in those four short years. “I used to be limited by my skills and experience but after almost four years of practice and trial and error that is no longer an obstacle. I can make anything I put my mind to.”
“I have SO much fun at Wasteland. It’s my home away from home. I am apprehensive about making original designs but I am so proud of the few that we have made and I can’t wait to come up with more.”
Dominique’s Wasteland Weekend line-up usually includes her Borderlands and Fallout kits, but she enjoys original creations as well. “I get artist’s block quite often when trying to come up with an original design or concept, but I am particularly proud of my Fallout-inspired Enclave military wasteland jacket. It was my only original to date that I had a clear direction from concept to completion. I’m also a sucker for anything Enclave so it makes me happy that I could include that in the outfit without it screaming Fallout.”
But once you have your technique down, have created a few pieces that you’re proud to show off, and are ready to show the world, where do you take it from there? Dominique has some great advice for promotion as well.
Chunk-A-Nuke Props
But Chris admits that his technique hasn’t changed much over the years, aside from his painting style. “I still use trash and whatever freebies I can.” In fact, a Multiplas Rifle that he credits as his favorite work so far was built using electronics that Chris wasn’t sure would even work. “It was quite a challenge for me to build due to the overall shape and the electronics. I’m still surprised I was able to get the lights to work with the junk I used.”
That inspiration comes in so many forms with Chunk-A-Nuke’s portfolio, but the underlying lesson here is that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make something memorable. “Don’t let funds, lack of tools, or your skill set get in the way of getting out there and just building something because there is always a way,” Chris offers. “Take as much constructive criticism as you can and don’t get upset when someone says that you can improve on something. It may hurt your feelings a bit when you spent so much time on something but I know it has helped me tremendously and I actually look forward to people pointing out the flaws in my work. Not everyone out there is trying to be a troll.”
“When I first started out all I really had to work with was a hacksaw and a hammer,” he recalled. “But I’ve gotten smarter about it now.”
“Screwloose: This massive people mover is a tribute truck built after Max’s camel truck in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” he said. “It started life as a 1987 Ford F250 diesel that was owned by our good friend Matthew Nelson, a member of Deathguild who approached us to build the truck in 2015. We stripped it of all the body work but the cab and set to work building a custom steel exoskeleton with long bench seats running down either side where the bed used to be. It has four removable steel ribs which support the canvas shade that covers the back of the vehicle, giving it that iconic ‘covered wagon’ look. We then found 36 15×15.5 flotation tires to carry this behemoth across the desert. This required extensive work on the truck to get them to fit. It is now an unstoppable, all-terrain people mover, and carries our camp mates across the desert at both Burning Man and Wasteland Weekend. Screwloose took “Best Survival Vehicle” at the Wasteland World Car Show in 2016.
“Rapture: What looks like an unassuming, flat black golf cart, is really a roaring beast on four wheels. Underneath the golf cart body work is the motor and full suspension of a Raptor 660 quad. The motor is held in place by custom fabricated motor mounts, and it may well be the fastest and scariest golf cart that ever was. (Seriously, somebody is probably going to get injured on this thing someday). Rapture also boasts a custom fabricated shifter by Cupcake and my own custom steering wheel and controls.
“Lockjaw: A 1957 Chevy Bel Air, which has been mounted on a shortened 1996 1500 Silverado Chassis. (We cut 26 inches out of it!) This rust riddled monster boasts 42-inch super swamper tires on the back, and 37s on the front, giving it an aggressive rake, reminiscent of the vehicles in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. We removed the trunk lid and welded in a reinforced standing platform in the back, perfect for screaming ferals to hurl thundersticks from, and threw a nice cushy futon in as a back seat. (Soon to be replaced by the bench seat out of an old Suburban). The electronics and fuel injection were immediately removed to keep it as simple as possible and replaced with a two-barrel carburetor and HEI distributor. This vehicle goes to Burning Man as well as Wasteland Weekend, and playa has a notorious reputation for ruining electronics. It also boasts twin vertical exhaust stacks, and a custom tunnel ram. Like Rapture, it has a signature custom steering wheel and shifter, along with a custom steering column and Blazer seats. We co-own this baby with Nathan Cox of Deathguild, and while she made her debut and was well-received at Wasteland Weekend 2016, we are not done with her yet. Lady Ares has been planning some aesthetic upgrades in conjunction with Nathan Cox, and plans have her completely finished by Wasteland Weekend 2017.
“The most notable bike would be Beastie, a custom GPZ700 survival bike built for my good friend Doug Corbin. It’s my signature style that has followed me from England, with wide bars, a huge fuel tank, low seat, and knobbly ATV tires. It is built to go anywhere, anytime, and has no issues with any kind of terrain. Beastie won ‘Best Technical Motorcycle’ at the first ever Wasteland World Car Show in 2016.
“Maggie O’Monster is a pair of Suzuki GSX600s welded side-by-side and electronically synchronized to power a custom-built dual-sport chassis. Nothing on this vehicle is stock. From the suspension, to the brakes, to the steering, every inch of this vehicle was fabricated from scratch. She seats two but does have a standing platform directly behind the passenger and driver’s seats. It was built in conjunction with Matthew Jane, who is also part of the Wasteland Weekend build crew.”
I want to give a special thanks to Spud for this wonderful interview, which I hope helps a few of you with your own vehicles. Next up on the car-builder interview agenda is the Godfather of the Wasteland himself, Ron Griffith. Look for that interview coming soon!
Owner and designer Schlieber Didl created the one-man shop back in 2014 as a hobby to build props and costumes he admired from movies and video games, but it was a clash with fire that led to the unique name. “I picked the name because I’ve grown my beard since I was a teenager,” the Austrian native told me. “So my friends joked about beards and names like blackbeard and metalbeard, because I am a metalhead (black and deathmetal).” A shop fire damaged his beard so badly that he had to shave it all off, and Deadbeard Props was born.
“I started out knowing nothing about propmaking but now I’m to a level where I can say that I can build nearly everything I want,” he described. “It took a lot of practicing, trying out material and learning how to use them, but that was the fun part. I learned everything by myself with tutorials and a lot of asking, trying, and listening to advice from propbuilder friends I met in the last 2-3 years since I started.”
Schlieber’s current projects include several of the most iconic props and costumes from both Fallout 3 and 4. From Fallout 3, he’s building the Alien Blaster, helmets for the Hellfire Trooper and the Mechanist (yes, the Fallout 3 Mechanist) which he hopes to eventually turn into full costumes. And from Fallout 4 he’s working on the complete version of the Mechanist from that game, plus the Thirst Zapper, the Super Sledge, and a collection of Nuka Cola bottles. “I want to own a complete set of all Nuka Cola in the game,” he said.
He has also very recently been getting into 3D modelling and printing, thanks to some help from his brother and 3D Fusion. “I don’t like 3D printing very much but for fasten up some builds it will be helpful,” he said on his website when he announced his adventures with the 3D tools. “Some tiny and rounded greeblie parts are too time consuming to build and this is why I decided to go the next step into future.”
“Challenge yourself to get better and better. Build things you like, not things because other people build it.”
