After C2E2 this past weekend, I can honestly say I am glad I went and developed my costume further. There were a handful of Metal Gear cosplays that ranged from obviously half-assed to really awesome.
Naked Snake / Big Boss: There were at least 12 of us. Only 3 of us had the right STABO harness (two of them, including mine, were made by TheRonin) and I think ours were the most put together (unrelated of the harness). Beyond that, there was a lot of stuff missing or off from other outfits. It ranged from larger things such as using the wrong camo (woodland or solid olive) to having absolutely no pouches at all, to smaller things such as missing the mic, missing the kneepad, wrong/missing knives, the wrong pistol, or the eye-patch over the wrong eye. I hate to sound so picky / discerning, but when the outfit is fairly simple material wise (aside from the STABO and the radio), I've really come to realize how much the little details matter. I blame you guys!
Solid Snake (MGS1): There were two of them. One was just a tac-vest thrown over a blue turtleneck with gray pants, a M9 and an bandana. The other was better with a custom vest, some of the extra pads, and a holster for a Mk.23.
Old Snake: There was only one. His stuff was pretty good and he had a few pads to try and simulate the OctoCamo suit.
Quiet: I don't know too many of the details regarding the character, but from the models I have seen, her outfit was really good with the right straps and pouches etc. Had the markings and some scars as well.
Gray Fox (Cyborg Ninja): He was probably the most impressive MGS cosplay there. Foam was used to replicate the armor and "muscle" of the exoskeleton and the helmet was illuminated.
Psycho Mantis: The Gray Fox told me there was one, but I didn't get to see him.
I was the only one of the snakes to have a box, although one of the MGS1 Solid Snakes would always mention when someone complimented mine that he had one that he just didn't bring. Apparently he uses a freezer box, which to me seems like taking the easy way out because you don't really have to crouch at all.
The box is actually what brings me to this thread. Right now the one I have been using for the past four years and eight conventions is actually the MGS2 "The Orange" box. After all that use, being cut apart along the seams after most con's, the lack of the strong packing tape I like, and the extensive use during C2E2, I think it may be coming to the end of it's life if I can't find a way to reinforce it. While it doesn't fit the MGS3 outfit, I chose the pattern initially because I figured it was the most recognizable (although some clueless people think it is a Valve joke...). It took CAD, a plotter, and about 5.5 hours of stencil work to make the thing so I'd rather not just write it off entirely.
The general idea I had that I'd hoped to get an opinion on was to make a box with a bit of internal structure to make it more durable, even at the sacrifice of collapsibility. After how well C2E2 went and how much fun I had, I plan to start going to more cons again. The few ideas I had revolved around putting a sort of skeleton inside the box at the edges. I wasn't sure if I'd be better off using some sort of dense foam or a thin wood (1x1 etc). The foam might need to be thicker to give much use while the wood would probably be heavier. The box is 24" x 20" x 34" and is just big enough for me to fit inside and go all the way down to the floor.
The other idea I had for it would be to incorporate a sort of sound system into the box itself. I saw one of those "turn anything into a speaker" things and got the idea of putting one of those on the upper inside of the box and putting a control in the front of the box where I could trigger things such as the Encounter theme, radio messages, etc. This idea comes from a friend who does a Mario cosplay and has a speaker/remote device to trigger Super Mario sound effects.
Here is a picture of me from C2E2 that was posted on Facebook
Apart from the box, I need to work on some of the details of my own outfit as well. The pants are a bit baggy, the camo itself is brand new so looks a bit too crisp, I need to get some leather scrap to do the CQC knife holster, need to do the right leg knife holster, and the radio pouch/radio. I'm also considering a wig, because I don't know if my hair is good enough.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!