I plan on making my first cosplay costume. Only it's not going to be a Transformers character. It's going to be one of the megazords from power rangers. I picked the Astro Megazord. I already got a lot of old cardboard boxes. I have super glue and masking tape. I have newspapers and white glue for paper mache. I want to be sure I make it fit me, be able to move in it, and be able to get it on and off with out breaking it. I would appreciate some helpful advice from all of you experienced cosplayers please.

 

Make some tape forms of parts of your body to have a base to test armor on so it will fit.

If you don't know what tape forms are, they're when you take, say, an old shirt you don't want anymore, put it on, and wrap it in duct tape, etc. Then cut the whole shirt/tape thing off and you'll have a form of your chest to work off of.

 

Thanks for the advice. It sure is a lot less messy and less expensive than making a plaster mannequin of myself. I watched a few youtube videos and I found one that says to cover your clothed body with plastic wrap then with duct tape.

 

I would skip the super glue. Hot glue works great with cardboard and in the end will cost you a lot less money. In my experience an adult size robot costume will use 200-400 standart hot glue sticks. I figure one stick equals one super glue tube so you can see how that adds up.
When you start you need too think of a base. I did a real quick sketch to show you what i mean. You should print a picture of the character and draw over it. I find that helps. Build the basic shapes first and then add details after you test fit the basic form. I thinks its best to start with the biggest piece first which would be the chest. All other pieces will need to scale to that. This will be easier since you made a body form. I also drew a few connector tabs to show an easy way to glue pieces together. You can also bend cardboard. The less pieces a part is, the stronger it is. I use the edge of a table. Hope it helps and dont be afraid to make adjustsment and changes at any stage. It happens but there is always more glue. Good luck!

 

Check out Midland Cosplay Creations on FB. He has a great Bumblebee cosplay and a ton of WIP pics... It will give you a good look at many of his steps.

 

I did a duct tape form of my whole body except my head. I cut the legs,arms, and torso apart so I wouldn't have to use the whole dummy when planning a piece of the costume. I'll get a duct tape form of my head later on.

OK I'll return the super glue and get a glue gun and some glue sticks. I cut the body form into separate pieces. Legs, arms, and torso. I already printed up reference pics of the Astro Megazord. Thanks for the advice and the sketch.

I don't have a facebook account.

 

I've got a duct tape form of my head made.

 

There's nothing wrong with needing a assistant to help you get your costume on is there?

 

Your almost definitely going to need someone. Mainly to make sure you don't damage your costume or hurt yourself putting it on/off. You also gotta think how far does this costume travel and do I have space in my ride for it on and/or off. Can I fit through doors and do stairs are also things to consider.

 

I'm using velcro in my costume project. Should I apply the velcro to the cardboard before it's papermache and painted, or can I do it after?

 

After papermache would be my recomendation. The shape and weight will change as you build it up. You might need to adjust for that so thats why Id wait. I never paint til everything is built for the same reasons.

 

Not sure how much help I'll be but I've made a mech suit before (it was my first one and not that great but I learned a LOT of useful stuff) - if you have any A2 paper, what I'd also do is take measurements from your body and draw out the pieces on the paper first, check they look a good fit and then you have a great template to use to cut around the cardboard. When it comes to adding Velcro, bear in mind that as the build continues, you may realise you cut a piece too short or put it in the wrong place etc etc and ripping it off and replacing it can damage the costume (it doesn't necessarily need to be done at the last minute but just be careful how you order things especially if things are really fragile).

There's nothing wrong with needing an assistant! For my suit I needed a lot of help getting the chest piece on securely, and you really need a friend there in case a strap breaks - plus my vision in it wasn't too great so having someone there really helps.

I would also super recommend a mini glue gun but you almost always need way more glue than you think  

A helpful link to make a duct tape dummy is here DTD – Made Fur You and a link to my costume showing what I mean with the paper templates is here Wouldn't It Be Cool To Have Sex With A Car

 

I already made a duct tape dummy of myself, got poster paper, and doing all that stuff you mention on how to make the cardboard pieces. I plan on having an assistant with me at the convention. I already got a glue gun. Thanks for the advice though.

 

I dug up pics from a previous costume I made. I posted several build pics that might be of some help to you.
Heavy/Scratch: - Cardboard Grimlock Costume

 

Thanks, your build pics gave me a lot of helpful ideas for making my costume.

 

I'm trying to find a youtube video of the Rhode Island Comic Con 2015 costume contest. I've browsed through so many videos and I can't believe no one has made a video yet of that contest. If anyone has recorded that costume contest please upload it to youtube. I want to see it. I've already watched RICC 2013 and 2014 costume contests.

 

I've yet to actually make any myself but I've been researching Transformer/mecha costumes for years. These should be helpful.

General Gundam/Mecha Cosplay Tutorial
Evil Ted Smith

 

I've completed my costume and went to the RI Comic Con. I didn't win anything, but still had fun. I'm thinking about making a cast of my body to test future costume pieces on. Or should I make separate cast pieces of my body? What materials and tools should I use and where can I buy them?

 

Where are the pics? Ive been looking forward to seeing it finished. Only if your cool with sharing of course.
Now a few points on body casting. First a warning you can burn yourself bad if you use the wrong material. Its really more usefull for things like latex masks and appliances. Maybe you would use it for that so itd be worth it. Not to talk you out of it but there are easier and cheaper ways. I would think combining the body form pieces you made you could make a good mannequin. Another idea is make a costume rack. Ill include pics of mine. Its boring looking but the same height and width as me so it works. If you do it definately share the process.

 

The materials I used for making my costume.


Where I got my materials.


Stages of my costume making.