Advice for Gundam Cosplay: Star Build Strike

[Lockon Stratos]

hi everyone, I'm kinda new to armor building and props, my first serious armor cosplay was my attempt at making Star Build Strike gundam. I took 3 months to build this, and when I tried it on, it was just too heavy to even move in. The height was 8 feet, made from foam and chipboard/cardboard, I used wood for the stilts, and paper mache to strengthen the chest and legs. The helmet was made from pepakura files, and the rest was from freehand templates and drawings,I found the weight to be a difficulty, as well as mobility and the shoulders were also dropping down constantly, I'm rebuilding it, and I'd like some advice before I start my 2nd attempt at this cosplay, thank you

 

[Christhall]

you might want to check on Clive's tut on gundam build.
I think the mobility always be a problem, i've not yet found a good cosplay mobility with this kind of huge build (for example; Hulkbuster, Space Marine and Gundam), but you may want to replace it with pvc pipes which is lighter and cheaper.

 

[kialna]

I second the clive-lee tutorial on gundam builds. I built mine partly with his tutorial and freehanding.

 

[AndyTheFirefly]

You might find that building with eva foam will make it lighter. That's what I built mine from (and contact cement) and it was fairly light. I would also avoid paper mache, that might make it heavier too. Also I made my stilts from cardboard and styrofoam and covered with eva foam, so they were very light. Although, wood makes a sturdier base, and the thumping (from the wood) noise walking onto a stage is impressive.