Hello again! =) I'm back for more constructive criticism!

The thought process has begun for upgrading my 9.1 scaled Optimus Prime toy costume. This was my first big-challenge costume, made for Halloween 2013 and slightly improved for the April 2014 Calgary Comic Expo. I want to upgrade it for this Halloween and for use at the next expo I attend.

It is made of double-thickness cardboard & duct tape, with simple home-made suspenders. It is all a 9.1 scale to the toy except for the head & gun handle. The chest opens exactly like the toy.

At the moment I plan to strip off the latex paint, then reinforce it with two painted-on coats of Envirotex resin, which remains flexible. Then, a new paint job with some kind of metallic spray paint. There is an engineering fix needed as the upper arms are kept in place by a strap that runs behind my neck; I'd like to do away with that but rig in another method to keep the upper arms in proper position. I'd like to add detail to the back, but it would have to be shallow as the torso is already pretty deep. The gun should be replaced as I got some bad advice for painting it, and it is balanced terribly - I can only hold it in one hand for 10-15 minutes until my thumb cramps up!

For Halloween I'll need a way to drink of course. The first version had a cup holder where the matrix is now, with a tube running up into the helmet. I'd love to keep the matrix where it is, so am thinking to build an energon cube cup holder with straw/tube system (I can't reach my head with a normal straw). Naturally, the cube would be opaque with multiple colored LED's powered by 9V batteries. (wouldn't take the gun to the bar)

For next use at a convention, what upgrades would you like to see here?

 

Thats badass. Dude it's pretty much perfect. The only change I suggest is maybe wear grey (and if you can find them) silver pants to match the upper leg's true color. Seriously though, awesome.

 

Wow Marthony, that G1 Prime costume looks great! I agree that it just needs gray/silver pants. Maybe try using pants from a track-suit; those are sometimes shiny. Perhaps using a red long-sleeve shirt underneath would cover your neck, elbows, and wrists to complete the look. LEDs in the rifle and chest & toe truck-lights wouldn't go amiss, but that's just icing.

But really, that's only nitpicking, because you did an AWESOME job! If & when you wear this at a convention or event, you should post pics.

 

Since OP transforms into a road vehicle I think you should try to incorporate an actual cup-holder in the chest. Maybe off to the side of the Matrix?

 

Thanks guys, your comments are very helpful! And thanks for the compliments, they make the 3 months of work that much more worth it.

A red shirt is a simple edit. I'll start looking for silver pants, as I have grey dress pants already. Ok, side-step for funny story that this makes me think of... On Halloween a girl grabbed my ass in this costume. Totally didn't expect any manner of sex appeal in this, was kind of funny! Yeah, that's a married man's processing of it...  

The cab does have lights; my apartment was bright and my wife is a foot shorter than me. =) These photos are better for showing that. I hadn't considered toe lights. Red brake lights? For the replacement rifle I can rig LED's into the tip; where else do you picture lights for the rifle? For a kicker I can also add a sound effect to it; I've bought those programmable sound cards used in greeting cards - you can swap out the .25w miniature speaker that comes with them for a powered speaker.

I'm not sure there's space next to the matrix for the cup holder, but perhaps behind it... Thanks for the mention, I hadn't thought of it within the rig again!

I have very few pictures from the con; I've since learned that no matter how many pictures are taken of you, don't expect to find any of them online after. Here they are!

I was in the costume competition as a 'walk-on' vs. a skit. I walked on, struck a pose, then opened the chest, and walked off without tripping. A personal win...I never expected a shot at winning, and the short pre-judging session confirmed it before the on-stage part.

 

I thought that the cab had lights, but I wasn't sure, so never-mind. As far as the rifle goes I meant that an LED at the tip might look cool, maybe blue-white or orange-red; I see purple as more of a Decepticon color. If you're going to add sounds, I suggest from among the following: Peter Cullen quotes, the transforming noise, his G1 rifle blast, truck engine revving sounds, and a big-rig horn honk for good measure. And yes, I think red & amber toe brake/turn lights might be an over-the-top addition too.

But like I stated before, these are only sweet-toppings to your already FANTASTIC costume!  

 

I'll review the original cartoons for rifle laser color and try to match that.

Nice set of suggestions, thanks again!

 

for the hydration and added back decor...engineer a camelbak system into a jetpack

and make a six wheeled wagon paint it blue with a blinkie light on top so you can haul stuff around at the conventions

add thin clear plastic film to the window cutouts and dry ice tanks inside the stacks so they "smoke"

oh and...a lightup orange ax

 

I've always wanted to make an Optimus cosplay but it never occurred to me too make one based on the toy. That's awesome.

The only improvement I can think of besides what others have mentioned would be too try to make a smaller helmet. I know there's not much you can do cuz your head has to go inside it but I would think if you made it more firm fitting, you could probably go a little smaller.

 

A disguised hydration pack as a jet pack for a con is a great idea! I wouldn't want to use the pack for the bar as I don't think they'd like that for alcohol. A detailed jet pack 1-2" deep could really improve the look of the back.

Hey now...a trailer would really only be good if I had a toddler going trick or treating; too cumbersome for busy places! (ok, also good if this was a transformable costume to conceal body parts) Funny image though, would really amuse other con goers. Ok, I'll keep this in mind.

The cab does have plastic windows. Do you know how to use dry ice this way? It would be awesome if it could be done!

A glowing axe would be a great add-on, made to go over the hand holding it. Nice!

I admit I'm reluctant to try and re-do the head, as helmet making is a weak point for me. This one is built onto a hardhat, which gave good structure as well as ventilation. For Megatron is was a cut-down bicycle helmet, with iffy ventilation. I'll consider it, but this is a harder part to improve. I see what you mean though!

The head is also the main part that isn't to proportion, as Optimus's head is physically impossible to scale to a human's size. So, I got in the major features as best I could.

Thanks again, please keep the comments coming!

 

Longer gloves, the grey and some tinted windows so the matrix is not that obvious is my suggestions. Looks great!

 

Thanks, I hadn't thought more about the gloves. But...matrix too obvious? My default thought is to show off that prop; I'll need time to process this. =)

 

Veteran heavy armor cosplayer here, I can give you some great tips.
First, let's address your concern about the harness/rig.
A great thing to do is to look at the military harnesses. They start with a basic set of suspenders keeping a pistol belt up. This is important because the pistol belt is the key piece to the whole rig. The vest you see people wear is also attached to the pistol belt, and strapped in.
The LBV88 is a good base to examine, but also some airsoft rigs work just as well. The newer vests are a little too covering for what you want though.
The point is that the straps distribute the weight across your torso evenly, while also giving several places for things to attach to. The arms can be attached to the straps that go over your shoulders, you can run makeshift garters under your pants that are attached to the shins to keep them secure. There's just lots of things you can do. You can opt for something much simpler, like a Stabo harness or a SPIE harness which are basically long straps wrapped around the limbs of your body and use carabiners to attach limbs if you want less work.
As for my other suggestion, I think you can redo the helmet and make it much, much more form fitting (and thus smaller), and here's how.

Styrene (the kind you find in hobby shops) is perfect for this sort of thing. Optimus doesn't really have any complex curves, so if you use cardstock to make a close fitting pattern, you can cut it out of a reasonable thickness of styrene (I suggest 0.040) with just scissors, and then use a hair dryer to heat the styrene up to gently bend it. There are tutorials online about how to work with styrene, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Some people might suggest craft foam (I use a LOT of that) but for something completely covering your face like that, you'll want it as light weight as possible.

 

So a harness system that would be the default base for all costume rigging? Sounds a lot more practical than inventing the wheel each time! =) Thanks, I'll have a look at these and see about costs.

Well, I suppose I had to look at learning helmet building closer some day, and perhaps now it will be...tomorrow! =) Thanks, I'll start with watching some videos about this.

 

So in concept you're referring to this: Army Military Style Load Bearing Tactical Combat Assault LBV 88 Vest Black | eBay

How about this version of airsoft harness in your opinion? https://www.amazon.ca/Seibertron-Tactical-Miliary-Molle-Style/dp/B016UD2KMG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1463943061&sr=8-9&keywords=airsoft+rig

Thanks!

 

righteo. The problem with the LBV 88 (and why they don't use it anymore) is that it doesn't distribute the weight evenly enough, and also the different types of pockets were not typically removable.
But the modern Molle style might be too much weight causing you to get overheated and exhausted faster. That's entirely up to you, as only you know how heavy and hot your costume gets, and if saving every bit of weight matters.
If you try to make your own version using stuff like backpack straps, you can make it very light, with no pockets.
Also, depend on what all you need to strap to it, you might only need a basic suspender rig, like this
OneTigris Molle Tactical Waist Padded Belt Airsoft Combat Duty Belt Pad with Suspender (Tan), Tactical Vests - Amazon Canada

As for videos, some of my personal faves are Bill of Punished Props, Ted from Evil Ted, and Volpin Props. They all do tutorials and they work with all sorts of materials.
As for working with styrene, you can head over to the tutorial and how to section here at the radicons, as many scratch builders use styrene in their projects as well.
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/tutorials-how-tos/201900-table-contents.html#post7127204

 

Thanks! I'll have a look around. For this specific use I do like the airsoft version above as clipping in the upper arms isn't going to pull the straps off my shoulders.

I'll look at the alternative head building methods, but confess I'm not wanting to replace the head for this costume at this stage. Another year, who knows!

 

the black upper legs is a massive turn-off.
you've had many people mention getting more proper colored pants or at the vry least finishing the upper legs and codpiece. you made the rest of the costume. so the way i see it is why stop there.

Keep going. hide all the more obvious human clothing. You could even make yourself a proper unitard, or heck... Buy yourself some cheap TF animated halloween costume and wear that sucker underneath. black clothing isn't needed since G1 Optimus toy or otherwise has nothing black anywhere on him except for his nice Rubber tires and Black Gun.  

Other than that like so many have already stated, your costume is pretty damned cool. maybe get yourself some working lights even for the optics. not hard to do.and not too expensive.  

Good luck and hopefully my suggestions aren't to far fetched fo ya.

Good job on the costume so far.  

 

Roger that on the black pants! =)

I might think the purchased version could be distracting with its different design, but I'll have a look. Perhaps a silver unitard? I'll have a look at helmet lights as well, as there is space within to mount such things.

In the toy reference sense, the upper legs are complete with the silver panels; his thighs are quite short. I'm thinking of either mounting them to silver leggings, or if I really figured it out, detailing the legging's thighs to match, perhaps stretching the toy's pattern to fit?

Thanks for the pointers and compliment!

 

Loving the G1 design 

My Prime looks a bit simplistic in comparison but I'm happy to compare notes.

I'd go grey slim leg jeans - they're comfy  

Uper arms - I have mine attached to the top of the chest with small bolts just above my shoulders, it give some rotation so easy to move about.

I also have my waist assembly based around me wearing a belt so it holds in place off the belt (hence the jeans), this probably won't work for your Cab front design but having a belt in the outfit does come in handy and may provide you with an anchor point for other straps.

Hands - look at pair of paintball gloves or football gloves, they make a great base for that mech/armor look and easily take paint.