Steam....Punked???
Well here it is, my first costume I ever built. It was a rush job, but I had a lot of fun making it. My friends Threadmizer and djsonikbuster had managed to kidnap...ergh....I mean invite me to Magfest 2016. I started on this within the first week of january that year, and considering Magfest was in february almost immediately after Katsucon you can bet the crunch was real.
I made it a personal goal to myself: Don't talk about it Raf, do it. the moment I got home from my friends place I set about mocking up a rough sketch of the character I wanted to bring to life. I knew magfest is a gaming and music festival but I wanted to do something new and unique for my first convention run. I went all out on the design aspects. I decided to go with steampunk as my theme because it's a popular style and can fit in most places from what I gathered. I jotted down little side notes here and there as I went and eventually settled on the concept you saw.
It was here where I learned the true potential for foam application. The tricks and tips I had managed to glean from the research I did prior to this helped but isn't the same as doing it hands on. I worked 4 hours before and after my day job on as minimal sleep possible. I started with the gloves originally, then worked my way up to the forearms. I really liked the grill aesthetic and how machine like in appearance it caused and rolled with it. Slowly but steadily I worked until I had two full sets of foam arms.
Then came the legs. Oh boy. I still feel like to this day they were a project unto themselves. It took a lot longer to fabricate them than I thought and I had change some of the design due to time constraints. The lower leg parts are actually one solid piece with 2 layers of detail. The feet are shoe covers that simply slide over a pair boots I wore at the time. A little extra refining with my rotary tool and It was ready to be painted.
I wanted to try using a method for sealing that I had read up on. Some cosplayers used a material called "Plasti-Dip" for such a purpose. I picked some up, followed the instructions on the can, and sprayed about 3 layers on. As far as paints go I used acrylics mostly because it's what I had to work with and therefore what I made me more comfortable using. I originally wanted to sew the clothing parts and I even managed to paint a nerf gun to match, but to save time I went to a local thrift shop and found adequate attire that fit.
I stayed awake for 24 hours putting the final touches on my parts, making sure my repair kit was set, and test fitting it. After all was said and done I walked away with a whole new set of experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I for now its a hobby, but in the future I want to turn it into a living and the road to that will be worth every second.
Thank you for the time you put in to read this, and I want to give a special thanks to the makers over at The Evil Ted Channel and Punished Props for inspiring myself and others to do this.
Stay creative guys,
-Raf
