Beetroot
Active Member
Hi all,
Here is my take on a budget Mercury Era spacesuit for my son for Halloween this year. First I would like to thank N3rdyboy for his build log
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=262725
this is what inspired me to give this shot. Also shout outs to Ryan Nagata and Adam Savage who's own Mercury suits served as the primary reference for this build.
So... onto the build. The goal was to replicate the look of suit while still being comfortable for a 2 year old (from experience they have little tolerance for the normal comfort issues found with cosplay) complete this within a couple months for Halloween 2016 and on a budget of less the $50.
Onto the build:
To start with the original concept was to use preexisting clothing to increase comfort without requiring a lot of tailoring.
The Pants:
The pants was the only part of the costume that worked to plan. Take a 3 year old (little bigger so they weren't skin tight) dance leggings (about $5) in silver and add a zip plus a substitute for the "radio connection". The greebly ended up being a part from a toy gun as time was running out. The zip was from a local fabric store which matched the overall aesthetic.
The Top:
This is where things started to fall apart. After trying to find a child's "long sleeve silver top" the best I could find was a men's size. This led to modifications having to be made. After 3 attempts and almost running out of fabric (from the original top) I ended up with a top that fit my son and maintained the overall look. After adding more zips and another greebly, this time scratch built to replicate the valve cover the overall suit was coming together. The final straps and pockets were made using the scraps of the silver fabric reversed, white elastic and grey ribbon with the appropriate width.
The final step for the suit was the neck ring. The first version made to fit with the helmet was fabricated out of an embroidery ring that could be adjusted. Magnets were added to ensure a better connection with the helmet. This was used for the first round of pictures but was later replaced with a veggie tanned leather strip that was dyed silver.
The change made it a lot more comfortable for my son and still looked pretty convincing. The ring was hot glued on in both cases to allow it to be removed easily. The red fabric was some left over scraps from another project.
All the NASA and name tags were made by printing onto some transfer paper and ironing it onto an old pillowcase with a high thread count, these were then glued onto the suit.
Next will be the helmet...
Here is my take on a budget Mercury Era spacesuit for my son for Halloween this year. First I would like to thank N3rdyboy for his build log
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=262725
this is what inspired me to give this shot. Also shout outs to Ryan Nagata and Adam Savage who's own Mercury suits served as the primary reference for this build.
So... onto the build. The goal was to replicate the look of suit while still being comfortable for a 2 year old (from experience they have little tolerance for the normal comfort issues found with cosplay) complete this within a couple months for Halloween 2016 and on a budget of less the $50.
Onto the build:
To start with the original concept was to use preexisting clothing to increase comfort without requiring a lot of tailoring.
The Pants:
The pants was the only part of the costume that worked to plan. Take a 3 year old (little bigger so they weren't skin tight) dance leggings (about $5) in silver and add a zip plus a substitute for the "radio connection". The greebly ended up being a part from a toy gun as time was running out. The zip was from a local fabric store which matched the overall aesthetic.
The Top:
This is where things started to fall apart. After trying to find a child's "long sleeve silver top" the best I could find was a men's size. This led to modifications having to be made. After 3 attempts and almost running out of fabric (from the original top) I ended up with a top that fit my son and maintained the overall look. After adding more zips and another greebly, this time scratch built to replicate the valve cover the overall suit was coming together. The final straps and pockets were made using the scraps of the silver fabric reversed, white elastic and grey ribbon with the appropriate width.
The final step for the suit was the neck ring. The first version made to fit with the helmet was fabricated out of an embroidery ring that could be adjusted. Magnets were added to ensure a better connection with the helmet. This was used for the first round of pictures but was later replaced with a veggie tanned leather strip that was dyed silver.
The change made it a lot more comfortable for my son and still looked pretty convincing. The ring was hot glued on in both cases to allow it to be removed easily. The red fabric was some left over scraps from another project.
All the NASA and name tags were made by printing onto some transfer paper and ironing it onto an old pillowcase with a high thread count, these were then glued onto the suit.
Next will be the helmet...
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