Costume: Zedas (Gundam AGE)

Hey look! I finally made a mobile suit! Not a gundam since it's an enemy unit but y'know. It is the most beautiful mobile suit design from all of the Gundam universe so I figured why not?

One of my primary concerns was the weight of everything since I'm pretty weak and this would be a lot all together. And that's why I chose EVA foam. For the finish I put down a base layer of plastidip then painted on two coats of Charcoal spraypaint. The Zedas is a very dark grey, not black, so I wanted to make sure I kept true to that.

I also decided to add some lighting! The red "eyes in the chest light up though it's a bit hard to see. The green in the face is a bit easier to see though!

Sadly on the way down to craftsmanship judging I encountered some very strong wind and it blew off one of my wings. I was able to fix it at con with hot glue and sprues from a gunpla (no joke) but I did have to redo the wings after to make them stronger.

Because I took a lot of pictures while building I've put them all in an album here.

Cost	Amount	Item	Store
$8.65	1 roll	Craft foam roll	Michaels
$4.63	2	Transparent folders, green and red	Office Depot
$32.46	1	Folding trolley for transport	Harbor Freight
$29.03	4 can	Plastidip	Walmart
$2.13	1 pack	Nitrile gloves	Walmart
$24.03	4 cans	Charcoal Spray Paint	Walmart
$.64	1	3/8” dowel rod	Michaels
$3.21	7	Poster board	Michaels and Walmart
$21.48	1	Floor mat	Walmart
$23.18	4	Hi temp hot glue	Joann’s
$10.40	5	Center release buckle	Joann’s
$6.89	3	Twill tape	Joann’s
$4.31	1	Soldering iron	Harbor Freight
$12.96	4	Rosin	Harbor Freight
$4.86	1	Shoes	Salv Army
$6.88	4	Buckles	Hobby Lobby
$3.87	2	Ball ornaments	Hobby Lobby
$11.85	2	Battery holders	L&M Wholesale Electronics
$6.48	1	Bust enhancers to bulk out arms (unused)	Joann’s
$1.56	1	26” zip	Joann’s
$2.15	1	7/8” black lanyard	Joann’s
$8.19	5	Super glue	Harbor Freight
$41.60	35	Loose craft foam sheets	Hobby Lobby
$5.38	1pk	Plastic stakes	Walmart
$6.23	2	LI button batteries	Harbor Freight
$2.15	1	Micro clamps	Harbor Freight
$1.28	2	Hook and Loop	Joanns
$36.11	1	Foam for wings	FoamOrder (San Fran)
$32.87	1	Foam for Replacement wings	TNT Cosplay
$355.46

Costume: Schwarz Bruder (G Gundam)

The costume that I've literally been meaning to make for 10 years. And now I did it. I've actually bought the materials three times over but would toss them out before a move or use them for something else. I've had the materials I actually used laying around for two or three years.

I used some left over spandex from the shirt and glove I made for Natsume's Origami Cyclone so I used that and some upholstery foam to bust out a rough fake dude chest. Then once I had that I draped the coat and got to sewing. The boots, pants and silk scarf I happened to already have in my closet (those are some of the slacks I wear to work). I still need to do the shoulder armor though.

Cost	Amount	Item	Store
$.97	1	Yellow paint	Joann’s
$4.97	1	Belt Buckle	Joann’s
$1.00	1	Gold dots	Joann’s
$3.49	1	12” zip	Joann’s
$8.11	2/3yd	½” upholstery foam	Joann’s
$3.05	3 sheet	Craft foam for mask	Hobby Lobby
$1.39	1 pack	Red piping	Hancock
$3.90	1/2yd	Red Twill	Hancock
$1.68	1 can	Spray paint gold	Walmart
$6.97	1	Raglan shoulder pads
$13.98	2yd	Charcoal bengaline	Joann’s
$7.18	2yd	Sunflower lining	Joann’s
$61.37

Costume: Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain)

I kind of fell in love with tiny baby Mantis as son as I saw the precious thing. Also it seemed like it would be easy enough but it also wasn't at the top of my list. And then I fried what was supposed to be my new Yuna wig when I was trying to dye it darker so I figured that was my sign to do the tiny Mantis child.

The wig was spray painted in order to change it from brown to red. I had to hot water style it after painting and then heavily thin it afterwards as the wig was much poofier on my head than on my head double.

I spent the better part of an evening debating materials for the clothes but eventually settled on a pleather which actually wound up being a joy to sew. I can't wait to make more things with it. The leggings are actually the backside of a stretch alligator material but I liked the darker brown shade and the thick woolen feel. I toyed with the idea of doing the straps out of leather but I liked the color of the twill a lot and I wanted a bit more movement than leather likely would have given me. I also thought it would save me time but LITTLE DID I KNOW those straps with the center back seam then pulling inside out then doing the parallel seams then unpicking the ends of the parallel seams to add curves to the ends and lets not forget about adding eyelets, there's 90 of them, for enough straps to warrant 13 buckles. All I can say is bless ebay for helping a girl out when she needs 13 sizable buckles and doesn't want to break the bank. Also thank you Game Grumps and Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, without y'all I wouldn't have remained sane through all that sewing. The bottom of the jacket is made with elastic so it stays fitted no matter what but allows for easy movement.

For the text on his jacket I lucked into a pretty decent screenshot which I cropped to just the text and emailed a Russian speaking colleague. She was able to get the first two lines and from there I was able to extrapolate the rest. It says Leningrad University Parapsychology in case you are wondering. So I typed that in the closest font I could find and imported it into my Silhouette editor and then copied the weathering from the screenshot. It was actually my first time using the Silhouette but I'm very pleased! The above picture was from a test I did on some spare vinyl the the gridded one is the final stencil.

Originally I was just going to buy an Israeli gas mask from ebay since it's super close but the hydration port is on the wrong side... So I made one from scratch. Because I'm crazy. The canister is worbla I formed over a pineapple can and the hydration port is a pipe fitting I sanded down. There was so much sanding. So much. 

The straps velcro on one side to make for easy on/off. As for shoes, I got a pair of blush colored ballet flats since it's winter and I didn't want my toes to freeze. Little did I know PAX South was going to be unseasonably warm but it worked out since I shot Mantis in an abandoned plant later and the shoes protected my feet from all the broken glass. Because I'm not the real Mantis so I don't actually float. I spent a little more than I would have liked but the shoes are an investment and honestly a good part of this was just the findings/all those darn straps.

Cost	Amount	Item	Store
$3.79	2	1 ½” x1 ½” Triangle D rings	Northwest Tarp and Canvas (ebay)
$21.09	3yds	Black pleather	Joann’s
$12.98	1 yd	Brown croco stretch	Joann’s
$21.64	2yd	Olive twill	Joann’s
$5.22	2 cans	Spray paint	Walmart
$21.25	1	Buttercup silky in sepia	Arda
$2.30	4	Gas mask buckles (other 6 used on Cherche)	Ebay
$19.81	13	1 ½” Nickle Buckles	Ebay (Tandy)
$21.64	1	Shoes	DSW
$129.72