[research] Metal Gear Rising, Raiden Helmet/Costume

Hello everyone,

First time poster on here (though occasional lurker), and novice costumer. I just came back from a Con last weekend and had a great time cosplaying for the first time (I did a sith Acolyte costume - not perfect but a first time learning experience). I've got a year until the next Con, and I want to make an attempt at doing a Metal Gear Rising costume. I'm doing some initial research into materials and anything electrical before starting sometime hopefully in July.



Trailer here:


Now, fan quarrels aside - because so many don't like the direction Metal Gear is headed with their new game - Raiden looks complete awesome in the upcoming sequel. I fell in love with the helmet from the trailers, and I thought I'd like to build it for next years costume. And depending on my pacing with the helmet, I will complete the costume if given time.

When looking at the helmet, I can note the following concerns:

1. The visor needs to be tinted such that it's transparent for the wearer but opaque for any viewers. It also would hopefully be something that can be formed into the desired shape
2. I would like to incorporate the visor opening mechanism. This mean's I'd probably have to look at finding a small enough actuator I'm guessing to fit my piece, let alone learn the electrical bits as well. I've only had limited experience in my engineering education, though I do have access to places like McMaster Carr or even Sayal here in Canada, though if those of you who are more experienced with this have better suggestions and places to pick up the required components, it would be greatly appreciated.

For materials, I've only worked with both EVA foam, and cardstock/bondo. For my last costume, the foam provided great maneuverability, but I noticed that with constant wear and movement, it left many creases and bends by the end of the con. Thus, for a prolonged period of time, the foam simply doesn't hold and I would like to move away from the foam costume and work with something more durable. I was thinking of working with something like Smoothcast 65d, or any similar type plastics. Again, if the experienced community has better suggestions, please feel free to guide me, I'd be more than happy to take some advice

Below are some reference pics; for the time being, I would like to focus on the helmet, but seeing as there are limited pics and short trailer footage, it's hard to come by some good reference stuff. I've also noticed that some of the photos seem to have the visor removed (or at least, from my initial inspection).

Hi fella
did a MGS4 raiden suit once , using a neoprene wetsuit for the base .
As far as most promotiona videos show , the soundtraps ( ear pieces) are the same as 4 , so all you need is to switch the lightup visors with the new ones , and make the new jaw .
For the visor , since this one is more of a face plate than helmet , i think you could try vacuforming it with clear plastic , and then use sprays of clearpaint to make it dark .

For the armor pieces i made them from syntra , 5mm thick pvc board , all you need is to cut the pieces , use a little heat to bend them to your body shape , then some paint and detailing do the trick.
In order to attach the plates to the suit i used a type of screws that resemble an I , the top part its the screw and the bottom its a cilinder where you put the screw , obviously you´ll need a thick fabric , and maybe some washers to hold it better to the fabric.
My suit turned out mediocre due to time constrains ( life gets in the way when you are in college ) but with the proper atention to details , it can yield awesome results .

I wish you luck !