Ok, so last sunday I saw someone as Soundwave on the transformers convention here in the Netherlands. I thought SWEET! I'm going to do that too!

Mainly.. because I didnt want to go alone in cosplay, now, knowing there are others, I'm going to start working on my costume in a few weeks. Better too early then too late.

My choice was Thundercracker, because I'm a huge fan of the seeker. (only 1 figure away from owning all of his)

Now I'm hoping you guys can advice me what would be better to use;
Isolation foam plates + something to smoothen it
Cardboard + plush foam and fabric

Jack Doud's Soundwave Costume Construction this is a VERY good guide to use, but I'm iffy about the fiberglass part, since I have no idea how I'd get my hands on that.

SURPRISEEEEEEEEE by *SeishinKibou on deviantART and this is a very good example of the board and plush type costume.

My main concern is annoying little brats, as I saw that poor Soundwave's gun was ruined by one on the convention. I'd hate to have my wings or armcannons broken by a kid.

Attached drawing is a simplyfied seeker drawing by a friend, since planning is just as important as the build itself?

 

I'm not a cosplayer, but I know another material they use to get some rigid "hard" pieces is styrene. You can get it in sheets, a few mm thick. So even if you go with foam or cardboard, you could always put this on top. Styrene is a plastic so it'll have a nice smooth uniform finish.

You might also want to get in touch with Artoni, or look for her Vector Prime WIP thread around here somewhere. She's amazing. I had the pleasure of seeing her costume in person at TFCon. You can tell she puts a lot of work into it.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. I don't do the cosplay thing, but I love seeing TF costumes! My only advice would be to paint it black and purple and change his name to skywarp... lol.

As for kids ruining it, I recomend mousetraps, pepperspray,large machettes, or running and electrical current through the wings & arm cannons(that way you can bring new meaning to the name Thundercracker)....... Note* I'm only kidding, don't hurt the kids...this time....Mwah ha ha!

 

I plan on making the cannons sturdy enough to do a decent whacking with, and to put LEDs in the ends to shoot rays into fog. (and maybe blinden annoying kids?)

 

well i used cardboard, tape and hot glue. I note that spray painting tape is horrid and will go of.. like u probally saw

 

Transcostumers is a board specialising in Transformer cosplay, as well as anything similar (Gundam, other costumes heavy on the armor, weaponry/accessories etc). Not a bad place to pick up design and materials hints, as well as see the results both incredible and, uh, slightly less full of energon-y goodness.