ANT-MAN Suit and Helmet - XCoser & Cosplaysky a Review and Build/Improvements

[Psicorp7]

Here is an ongoing review and build for an Ant-Man suit using mostly "off the shelf" items. I have build several Star Wars and Marvel costumes from scratch but I was running low on time and thought I would give a few online vendors a try to put together an Ant-Man suit from the first movie.

The two primary vendors are CosPlaySky and XCoser. I chose them due to a past history of good products at the low prices I needed. I know there are more "high end" options but budget was a driver as well as time.

First off: CosPlaySky Suit/Costume

The Good!

- The suit fit really well out of the box and I will not be altering it in any way to fit. (I used the standard sizing as it matched up to me perfectly!)
- The colors are quite good and the shading was already done for the most part in the red areas. More on the unshaded later.
- Fully lined and quite comfortable.
- It is a jumpsuit and all one piece so no gaps at the waist.
- The silver pipes are well done and mostly the correct number and placement.
- All foam add-ons are easily removeable for future upgrades.



The Bad!

- The red side panels are not shaded for some reason. Unlike the rest of the suit. I have no idea why?
- The foam gauntlets, belt and backpack are very low quality and while they are better than the sew items in the website pictures they are lesser than Halloween costume quality and will all be replaced.
- The main zipper in the back seems a tad too small and low quality and I fear it will be the one item that might wear out after repeated use. We will see.
- The gloves are useless and have WAY too short of fingers for me to use and I will be getting new all-in-one gauntlets to replace them.



That is my quick start of a review and I will be adding items from XCoser for the helmet and belt in the future to compare and round out this costume. I will also be making my own backpack and a few other greeblies to complete the build. More to come!

 

[Darranged]

Thanks man! I've been looking at one of these suits for a while, but too scared to go for it without seeing a review or two. Thanks for taking the plunge.

 

[MiamiLoco]

Great review!! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[mickeybrown]

This was actually my first choice for an Ant-Man costume last Halloween but when I ordered it and paid for it, the company told me they ran out of fabric for the costume. Really pissed me off :angry

 

[Psicorp7]

This was actually my first choice for an Ant-Man costume last Halloween but when I ordered it and paid for it, the company told me they ran out of fabric for the costume. Really pissed me off :angry

Yeah, it was my first choice too! I called first to get a time estimate and then they told me about the fabric being out of stock. I am glad I waited though it really is quite nice.

 

[Psicorp7]

On to the next review!

I purchased the XCoser gauntlet pods and the non-lighted belt to replace the foam parts on the CosPlaySky costume.

The Good!

- The pieces are all cast in high quality resin and hard/flexible rubber for the belt.
- The paint color is pretty good with a light bit of black wash (it just doesn't match the silver on my suit).
- Really pretty accurate for mass produced.
- Very low cost so a great value for those on a budget.

Here are the XCoser parts next to the CosPlaySky versions.



The Bad!

- The parts are too dark metallic grey to match my suit or the helmets out there. They will require a repaint.
- There is no back to the belt and will need a silver belt and back boxes to finish the look.
- The leather and elastic on the wrist pods to too thin and will need to be replaced with a new set of heavy duty elastic.

The REALLY Bad! :facepalm

- The cast the words ANT-MAN into the parts on the belt and the wrist pods!!! Why...why would you do that!?!? It means I will have to fill them with putty on pods and sand smooth before the repaint and probably cover them up on the belt since it is rubber and the putty would just pop off. It just baffles me why they would bother to do that and ruin the look for no good reason. :confused



So, overall, they are still worth the money but there a few things that will need to be upgraded and fixed to make it really work for your costume.

Up next, helmets!

 

[Psicorp7]

I bought two of the import helmets to try them out and see which one I liked. One is from CoStyle (on the right) and the other is from XCoser (on the left). Like all the reviews I will run down the Good and the Bad.



The Good!

- The paint and light finish on both helmets is quite nice and does not need a repaint to look good out of the box.
- The details are good and not too soft.
- The material is nice and thick on both and they do not feel flimsy.
- CoStyle is nicely sized and fits great.
- The XCoser has the center of the respirator and the sides cut out already and it just needs a bit of mesh inside.
- The lenses on both are a nice deep red.
- Both are very affordable! Both cost me around $45 each shipped to me.



The Bad!

- The XCoser is way too small and I could not even get it over my head. I have a 22.5" head and have helmets from many vendors but this is the first one that just would not go on, at all.
- The XCoser is also warped a bit. It could be straightened with some heat but It doesn't fit so I am not going to bother.
- The CoStyle does not have the respirator or the sides cut out so I will have to do that so that I can breath and not pass out from heat!
- No padding in the CoStyle.
- Both are lacking in overall accuracy and a close but not dead on.

The Verdict?

- Will be selling the XCoser since it is too small. I am keeping the CoStyle and making a few mods to make it more comfortable but will stop there as it is accurate enough at this point. If I want a spot on replica there are vendors on here that offer really nice ones.

 

[Psicorp7]

I have started the upgrades!

New paint on the belt and hip pods to match the piping on the suit.



I also drilled holes in the wrist pods to house the piping for the gloves. Speaking of piping, I am using some parachute cord I found at Wal-Mart and gluing it into the wrist pods and then capping the other end with necklace caps that can be sewn to the gloves.



Plus my minions have arrived!! I am keeping the large "bullet" ants and the little ones will be given away to nice kids at the movie opening and Free Comic Book Day.

 

[mickeybrown]

What paint did you use on the belt?

 

[Psicorp7]

What paint did you use on the belt?

I used one light coat of Krylon ColorMaster Metallic Aluminum. I did just a light coat so the dark grey was still visible in the valleys and shadows.

 

[Psicorp7]

More Progress!!!

My first priority was to finish the tubes for the gloves. I just used a bit of thread to sew the tips in place and superglued the other ends into the previous holes.



I then moved to the backpack. The previous foam version was in need of a big upgrade!



I made a quick buck out of particle board and plywood and then did a pull in HIPS. After a quick trim I added a bit of PVC pipe and right angle flanges to the top. They are held in place with two screws through a block of wood for stability. I also filled the hollow with three layers of foam mat and hot glue to make the whole thing rigid.



I attached the Backpack with two magnetic snaps and two pieces of velcro. The tubes out of the helmet are thick braided speaker cable and are wrapped on the end with fuzzy velcro to fit snugly in the right angle flanges.



A wee bit of paint makes a world of difference!!



Plus I added a bullet ant for the premiere tonight! More pics later!

 

[SpartanT101]

Great progress and input! Do you have a link to the Costyle helmet?

 

[Psicorp7]

Great progress and input! Do you have a link to the Costyle helmet?

I bought mine on eBay so you might try there first. We cant post links to active auctions.

 

[Psicorp7]

I don't have the pictures from the Civil War opening yet but I do have a set of great shots from Free Comic Book Day! The suit still needs a number of add ons and upgrades but I went over quite well with the crowds.



I also spent the day handing out tiny plastic ants out of a tin cup to all the kids that day. It was a huge hit and the kids had a blast picking out their ant! I bought 144 ants for about $6 so it was totally worth it and I will do it again!



More pictures soon!

 

[Spitfire0]

Many thanks for your info. I also have a helmet of XCoser. of the size but I have no problems. I carry a 23.5. I decided to buy the helmet without painting. have amplified it with fiber glass in order to prevent deformation. the visir I cut and is still functional.
I chose the XCoser because the details come to best advantage

Here are some pictures of the work

I bought two of the import helmets to try them out and see which one I liked. One is from CoStyle (on the right) and the other is from XCoser (on the left). Like all the reviews I will run down the Good and the Bad.

View attachment 615922 View attachment 615921 View attachment 615920 View attachment 615919

The Good!

- The paint and light finish on both helmets is quite nice and does not need a repaint to look good out of the box.
- The details are good and not too soft.
- The material is nice and thick on both and they do not feel flimsy.
- CoStyle is nicely sized and fits great.
- The XCoser has the center of the respirator and the sides cut out already and it just needs a bit of mesh inside.
- The lenses on both are a nice deep red.
- Both are very affordable! Both cost me around $45 each shipped to me.

View attachment 615918

The Bad!

- The XCoser is way too small and I could not even get it over my head. I have a 22.5" head and have helmets from many vendors but this is the first one that just would not go on, at all.
- The XCoser is also warped a bit. It could be straightened with some heat but It doesn't fit so I am not going to bother.
- The CoStyle does not have the respirator or the sides cut out so I will have to do that so that I can breath and not pass out from heat!
- No padding in the CoStyle.
- Both are lacking in overall accuracy and a close but not dead on.

The Verdict?

- Will be selling the XCoser since it is too small. I am keeping the CoStyle and making a few mods to make it more comfortable but will stop there as it is accurate enough at this point. If I want a spot on replica there are vendors on here that offer really nice ones.

 

[Psicorp7]

Nice looking helm, great job! I have wondered if mine was deformed from the soft plastic. Does your visor open?

 

[Spitfire0]

Mine was also deformed way. therefore I have strengthened him with fiberglass. he is also heavier and sitting perfectly. My visor is capable of opening, but not yet installed the mechanism.

 

[Psicorp7]

Some better pictures from the Civil War premiere!



Still more upgrades and improvements to come!

 

[razorsharp192]

Nice looking helm, great job! I have wondered if mine was deformed from the soft plastic. Does your visor open?

I got one of the Xcoser helmets aswell and had the same trouble of it being too small, but what it was was that it was actually just deformed. After i'd heated it up and pushed the faceplate part forward it fit no problem. Personally I prefer the Xcoser version as I think it's more accurate in terms of details. This is the one I modified:

 

[Psicorp7]

Well, with all the mentions of deformation on the helmet, it looks like I might revisit the XCoser helmet and see if a little heat and elbow grease will mold it back into a wearable shape. Thanks all for the suggestions!