My Marty McFly Cosplay Project for 2015: 3 Martys In 3 Days

in August 2014, I had the pleasure of attending DragonCon in Atlanta, for the very first time. I had never done any sort of cosplay before, and I decided to dress as Marty McFly from Back to the Future. I've been a huge ban of the BTTF films ever since childhood, so choosing it as a costume was a no-brainer. The problem was I only had about a month to get my costume together. Despite the fact that I had registered for DragonCon nearly a year before, some shakeups in my personal life left me uncertain that I would ultimately be able to go. As such, I didn't commit to assembling a costume until late July. The end result was passable, but pretty far from screen accurate:



Nevertheless, I enjoyed the experience so much that I've already decided to head back for DragonCon 2015. With a year to plan ahead, I've decided to undertake an ambitious cosplay project. I want to dress up as three different iterations of Marty McFly over the course of the three days: Part I Marty the first day, Part II Marty the second, Part III Marty the third.

I first stumbled upon RPF while I was researching my costume back in July. I was so impressed by the breadth of knowledge and attention to detail folks here possess, that I decided to sign up. The timing was fortuitous, as I was able to snag a jacket for my Part II costume right off the bat (more on that later). I elected to start this thread because there's still a lot of items I need to find, and I could use some help doing so. I want to make my costumes as screen accurate as possible (without breaking the bank in the process, natch). I've been very impressed with the rare finds the BTTF prop collectors here have made, and I'm hoping those who are head of me in this department can steer me in the right direction.

I'll be adding to this thread throughout the upcoming year, as I chronicle my search for the most accurate and complete marty McFly costumes I can assemble. I'm not sure if anyone else will find it as interesting as I, but hopefully it'll prove useful to anyone else cobbling together a costume from scratch as well.

Part I Cosplay:

Obviously, I have a head start on this one as I already have A costume together for this. I'm working to fine tune the accuracy. Here's my checklist:

The Sunglasses: I currently have a cheap pair of mirror aviators I bought off of Amazon for around $10 (they really are challenging to get on camera).



I learned elsewhere in the forums that the ones from the film are a nearly impossible to find promotional pair of Zeiss sunglasses (thanks EmmaInCandyland and MitasTouch for the info). I'll gladly settle for a close facsimile. There's bound to be something that's a better match than what I already have.

The Jacket: My current jacket is a denim Guess jacket from the '80s, but obviously not THE jacket....



My understanding is this is a Guess Georges Marciano Denim Jacket. One of these showed up on eBay around the time I started assembling the costume, but in a men's large. I'm only 5' 4", so I would need one in a small. I'm sure I could have a larger jacket tailored to suit, but it seems like a travesty to butcher one of these considering how rare they are. I'm going to patiently wait for one to turn up in my size. I'll have to emulate the paisley lining as well, a fabric pattern for which I found on Spoonflower (more on that further down). One detail I did get right is that I do have the three pins. I have a Fender Precision Bass pin I found on Amazon, an Art In Revolution button from Cafe Press, and a replica boomerang pin ordered from Etsy.

The Vest: The vest I currently have is from Land's End, I believe. It was as close as I could get in a month, and one of the few orange ones I could find on eBay in a small that didn't come with any sort of emblem or logo sewn onto the front of it.



I've been hunting for the elusive Class5 Orange Puffer Vest on eBay and Etsy, but all that have shown up so far are blue ones.

The Shirts: A red undershirt was easy enough to find (Amazon, $5). The Shah Safari White and Black Check Shirt? Not so much, and if I did find one, it wasn't in my size (not to mention usually $200+ for the shirts from the 2010 reproduction run).



So, I called in a favor from a friend of mine who's good with a needle and a thread. I stumbled upon the fabric pattern on Spoonflower, a company that custom prints user-submitted fabric patterns. I found the "Marty McFly Shirt" pattern created by Risu (who is also a member here if I'm not mistaken), and procured enough fabric to have my friend make me a shirt using a supplied sewing pattern (a modified version of the Simplicity 4760 pattern which will more closely match the Shah Safari shirt). It won't be vintage, but it will get the job done for a lot less than it would cost to get my hands on an actual Shah Safari shirt. I hope to have it by halloween.

Jeans: Vintage Guess George Marciano Jeans in Acid Wash, check!



Sneakers: Without enough time to get my hands on a vintage pair of Nike Bruins in a men's size 8 (or modify a more modern pair as some folks have done), I settled on a pair of Nike Dunk Low sneakers, purchased from Amazon for around $60.



Vintage Bruins have been turning up on eBay and Etsy here and there, but nothing in my size yet. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled though.

Accessories: I did pretty good in this area. I have the red velcro wallet (with family photo), the calculator watch (a reproduction, not vintage), and some generic black suspenders. I also had a whole box of "Save The Clock Tower" flyers printed up to hand out at the con. People seemed to like that



The Backpack: I have a lead on a vintage Eastpak rucksack which I'll be purchasing next week (Thanks to MitasTouch for the info). I'll need to swap out the red Eastpak logo patch on it for an orange one, but I figure that's just a matter of picking up an old Eastpak with the correct patch on the cheap and performing a patch transplant.

The Skateboard: This is one item I'm genuinely unsure what to do about. Vintage Madrid Valterra skateboards have shown up on eBay once or twice in the last couple of months, but they always seem to be in pretty sad shape when they do. I did find a forum here that explains how to create one, but as I don't know anything about how to construct a skateboard, it was a bit over my head. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.



The Camcorder: Check! I didn't take it with me to DragonCon, but I DID find it. Snagged for $80 on eBay in perfect working order. It just needs a new battery.



The Cassette Player & Headphones (The "Holy Grail"):



Of all the items for this cosplay I've sought, this one is probably the one I've looked for the hardest. The Aiwa HS-P02 MkII Portable Cassette Player (the photo above is from EmmaInCandyland's collection). As I type this, there's one for sale on eBay, but it's got some signs of wear on the exterior, is missing the belt clip (which it pretty much needs to pull off the cosplay) and requires some mechanical work. I'm okay with getting one mechanically repaired, but I'd like to find one that's in excellent shape aesthetically. A similar model in a gold color that was in pristine condition recently sold for around $175, so I'm well aware that I'll be paying through the nose to get my hands on one. I'd also be okay with snagging the equivalent European model (the HS-P07). As for the headphones, from what I can gather, even folks on HERE haven't been able to track a set of those down. If my research is correct, it's a model HP-M15 set of Aiwa headphones. The current headphones I'm using a cheap pair of 80's style headphones purchased from Amazon for about $8. Having actually used them, I gotta say, headphones have come a LONG way in 30 years.

To Be Continued...

This is great! I actually had a similar idea! I was going to attend New York Comic Con and do the Marty a day thing, but I wasn't able to attend, and even if I did I wouldn't have all the components of a respectable Marty cosplay.

Iv recently made the jump to doing this seriously, Im actually being 1985 Marty for Halloween! I have the puffy red vest and denim jacket. Im working on the shoes now. Vintage Bruins are hard to come by, so what I might do is get a pair of white air forces and paint the symbol red. still thinking about that.

Anyway! Looking forward to what you do, so far everything looks great!

Chip Hazard said:

This is great! I actually had a similar idea! I was going to attend New York Comic Con and do the Marty a day thing, but I wasn't able to attend, and even if I did I wouldn't have all the components of a respectable Marty cosplay.

Iv recently made the jump to doing this seriously, Im actually being 1985 Marty for Halloween! I have the puffy red vest and denim jacket. Im working on the shoes now. Vintage Bruins are hard to come by, so what I might do is get a pair of white air forces and paint the symbol red. still thinking about that.

Anyway! Looking forward to what you do, so far everything looks great!

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Thanks! It's a work in progress, and I have a long way to go with it, but it should be fun to put together. I'm new to the world of cosplay too. Let me know how your costuming progresses as well.

Part II Cosplay:

Compared to part I, dressing as Marty from part II requires a far fewer quantity of garments and accessories. That said, the main parts of the outfit are replicas, as opposed to vintage items. Thanks largely to the guidance of the folks on this forum (and good timing), I have almost everything I need for this iteration of Marty McFly:

The Hat: Check. The Diamond Select hat replicas are very easy to find. $25 from Amazon.



The Jacket: Check!



I first stumbled upon these forums right around the time Mark Poon was offering up his 2015 jacket replicas for sale. Although I was a little late to the party, he came through and was able to provide me with a small. The quality is fantastic, but it will undoubtedly require some shortening of the length and the arms in order to fit me better (I'm 5' 4"). I'm still seeking out a local tailor to do the work. I'm also holding off on assembling the cuffs and waistband as I decide whether to add a sound module to emulate the jacket's voice commands as some others in these forums have already done with great results.

The "Marty Junior" Option:



Although Marty's shirt is just the same red undershirt from part I, the part II cosplay comes with a choice. I already have the red shirt, but one option is to wear Marty Jr.'s white t-shirt with the gray plus and minus symbols instead. A few folks here in the forums have made their own (the photo above is from EmmaInCandyland's efforts), but I don't think there's ever been a formal run of these that I could find. Should one happen, or if they appear elsewhere for a reasonable price, it's something I'd likely pull the trigger on. Since this wasn't actually Marty's attire though, it's not essential to my plan.

Jeans: Check. Same jeans as the part I cosplay. If I exercise the Marty Jr. option, they'll just be worn inside out instead

Nike Mags: Check!!!



These are, of course, the Nike Mag V2 replica sneakers. I was originally going to order the replica Mags from halloweencostumes.com, but folks here who are in the know insisted the V2's are a far superior product. I'm inclined to agree. Along with the shoes, I also have the Mark Poon produced EL strap enhancement. As soon as I get my hands on a soldering kit, I'll be ready to begin modifying these into a more screen accurate recreation.

The Hover Board: Check. Sort of.



I do own one of the Mattel Matty Collector Hover Boards that went on sale a few years back. I had only planned on keeping it as a display piece though, so I'd like to get my hands on a second one specifically for cosplay purposes. Unfortunately, these things go for no less than $300 on eBay these days, which is a far cry from the $150 they were new. I attempted to order an unofficial replica from a prop fabricator on eBay back in August for $150, but the seller wound up taking orders for about a dozen of them and then vanished. I'm still working with the credit card company to get a refund, which will happen in December at the latest. It's a shame, because his listing implied that he made these himself with lenticular material instead of just decals on the board's surface. This is what I thought I would get, instead of just ripped off:



The finished board would have had the hole as well. The seller even asked if I wanted one when I bought it. If he does makes these from scratch, it's a shame he has to resort to disingenuous tactics to make a profit. It appears to be a really nice board. Blah.

Gray's Sports Almanac: Check, though I need to procure a more accurate "Blast From The Past" bag. I'm not yet willing to pay $95 for one on eBay. I'm hoping someone here will eventually resurrect DB537's aborted run of bags from 2013. $32 for two bags would have been a great deal!



To Be Concluded...

With the help of MitasTouch, I am now the proud owner of the Eastpak Padded Pak'r Backpack from part I. This has the red patch instead of the orange one from the film. At some point, I plan to snag a used Eastpak with the correct orange patch and the perform a transplant.



Based on the photos of other backpacks I've seen, I was expecting the inside liner to be either red or black. Mine has a PURPLE liner. It's not a big deal to me though, and if nothing else, I have a Calvin Klein joke to go along with my cosplay :lol



The only thing I'm not sure about is the address tag on the back. As hard as these bags are to locate, I imagine it's even harder to find one with a blank tag. My bag was once owned by someone from Stoue, Vermont. I'm considering removing it from the bag altogether. Which ruins the authenticity more: having a bag without the tag or having a bag that once belonged to a scribble from Vermont?

Good luck with the costume, it's really difficult to gather all of the elements for it! ^^

That's my picture by the way =)

jhk1976 said:

The Cassette Player & Headphones (The "Holy Grail"):

View attachment 388056

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EmmaInCandyland said:

Good luck with the costume, it's really difficult to gather all of the elements for it! ^^

That's my picture by the way =)

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It is indeed! There are other photos of the Aiwa out there, but this one shows it off very well. Besides, your photos work well as reference photos because you have damn near EVERYTHING!!!

jhk1976 said:

It is indeed! There are other photos of the Aiwa out there, but this one shows it off very well. Besides, your photos work well as reference photos because you have damn near EVERYTHING!!!

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Aw, thanks xD! *blush*

I am giving u 9.9/10 for your costume and props and 10.5/10 for your effort! Fantastic job......Back to the Future!

I look forward to seeing your progress on this. A good number of people have bought that fabric, but I have yet to see any pictures of a shirt made from it.

I love the level of detail you're going for here. That's one of the things I love about this site is the passion people have for accurate costumes and the lengths they go to to get what they need.

and what a great idea Playing all 3 over the course of three days!

I'll be following this build as well.

awesom

- - - Updated - - -

otstanding

Thanks everyone! Risu I'll post pictures of the shirt once I have it. I'm expecting it to have it before Halloween.

For anyone out there that has the camcorder (the JVC GR-C1U), have you found an aftermarket battery that actually locks in place? I've purchased two different brands of rechargeable battery (a Powermart battery from Amazon and a Rayovac from Batteries Plus), and neither of them snap into place like the original JVC batteries do. I found this to be a problem if you actually want to use the camera, since the battery becomes disengaged if you turn it the wrong way.
HyperShadow I believe you have a working JVC you use at Cons. Do you have this issue?

Replica Shah Safari Shirt: Check!



Using the pattern @Risu created for Spoonflower, a friend of mine produced a replica Shah Safari shirt for my part one cosplay. I've very pleased with the quality of it, and she charged me very generously for her time. Inaccuracies? Yeah, there's a few: the cuffs aren't right and the pocket should be square instead of angled at the corners, but I'll be wearing this under a denim jacket and a puffer vest most of the time, so it won't be immediately noticeable. Plus, she did me a huge favor by producing it for me

The fabric itself is very nice. My friend suggested a basic combed cotton for making the shirt, which required three yards of fabric. The design is cleanly printed and looks very good up close. The base pattern is a Simplicity 4760 obtained from Jo-Ann Fabrics. She described the finished shirt as being a "big" small, and she wasn't kidding! The boys' large pattern might have been a better fit for me in retrospect, but there was no way of knowing that beforehand. Even so, it'll be tucked in and should work just fine. She admittedly made one mistake, placing the buttons on the wrong side of the shirt. As such, it buttons up like a woman's shirt instead (she confessed to working on this late at night).

All told, the shirt ran me $83 The fabric was $58 and my friend charged me $25 for her time). Not a cheap shirt, but far cheaper than a Shah Safari shirt would run!

jhk1976 said:

@HyperShadow I believe you have a working JVC you use at Cons. Do you have this issue?

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The previous owner of my JVC told me it does in fact work. It came with an aftermarket battery, and while I haven't had any issues getting the battery to click into place on the actual camera, ironically getting it in place on the battery charger is where I've had issues. So I personally haven't seen it work, but all the components are there! If I can finally get the battery on the charger without breaking anything I'll let you know! :thumbsup

HyperShadow said:

The previous owner of my JVC told me it does in fact work. It came with an aftermarket battery, and while I haven't had any issues getting the battery to click into place on the actual camera, ironically getting it in place on the battery charger is where I've had issues. So I personally haven't seen it work, but all the components are there! If I can finally get the battery on the charger without breaking anything I'll let you know! :thumbsup

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Please do. I have the opposite problem. The batteries I've tried fit the charger just fine, but won't lock in place on the camera. I tested the camera out, and it does work, but I need a better fitting battery.

The Jacket: No, I didn't find it, but I got a little closer.



The one on the left is the jacket I was using before, the one on the right is the one I just obtained from eBay. Both are vintage Guess Marciano denim jackets from the 1980s. The one I just got may not be the correct one, but it's a better match than the other. The older jacket is now just a part of my regular wardrobe. They tell me denim is coming back in style, so that works out okay

My Part I costume... so far. This is from a Halloween costume party I went to.