Check out our Bumblebee and Optimus Prime Transformers!

aztravis

New Member
My brother Josh, friend Kevin, and myself are very proud of our Transformer builds. we have tons of pictures and videos of this past Halloween and other events we have done. I will be posting more pics if requested.

41IEP


Video of Flamethrower

A few details about the costumes...

---Bumblebee. (Owner-Josh)
-Built by Travis and Josh in 2010 over a 2 month period
-9 and a half feet tall to the top of the helmet.
-Full movement of his arms at shoulder and elbows. Currently working on hand and finger movement.
-Standing on drywall stilts set at 24 inch height
-Fully working flamethrower that shoots an amazing flame 3 foot long!
-Working mic with megaphone to interact with onlookers and kids.
-Full movement of head in helmet with 120 degree viewing.
-Working headlights and awesome accent lights for night time.
I have to give credit to ExtremCostumes and this guy. Links are below to their work) I was able to look at what they did and see what worked and what didn't. Thanks guys

---Optimus Prime (Owner- Josh)
-Built by Kevin and Josh in 2011 over a 2 week period
-Stands 10 feet tall to top of his helmet
-Full movement of arms at the shoulder. Has a joint at elbow but the costume is too big and arms are just too long to appropriately make it work.
-Standing on drywall stilts set at 30 inches tall.
-Working sound system wired throughout the costume with mic
-Full movement of head and vision to 120 degrees.
-Working headlights and amazing agent lights that look awesome at night!

These costumes started out as an idea and a lot of free time do to being laid off. It has turned into a very fun hobby and a fun possible side biz. Both costumes made a combined $8500 in cash and prizes this past halloween in Arizona costume contests. We have done many birthday parties and fundraisers too!

Along the way we have talked to many a costume enthusiast and learned what works and what doesn't. We are putting more time aside this year to build at least 2 more big costumes. One thing that I want to add to my costumes is that detail that makes it more movie accurate and detail that makes you look at it for half an hour and still not see everything.

I am eager to hear any feedback on both costumes in the hopes of making them better. They will never ever be done cuz there is always more that can always be bettered. I hope to interact with like minded people and expand my knowledge within this website. Thanks guys and girls!

Extreme costume
Extreme Costumes | Facebook

BumbleBee transformer (Greg A)
Greg A's Bumblebee Transformer Costume

Photo Album - Imgur
Photo Album - Imgur
Photo Album - Imgur
Photo Album - Imgur
Photo Album - Imgur
 
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Whoa! Nice touch on the flame thrower too! Only thing is would it be a factor when going to any cons? Like would it be considered something illegal?
 
We always have safety in mind as our priority. We have a spotter not in costume when using the flame. We back everyone in front and behind and use it only when a command is given from spotter. As far as legal, we have not come across anyone that doesn't want to see it and that includes police officers! We are very precautious and it shows when performing.
 
That's funny cuz my brother Josh will probably be up there the week before Mardigras. (not sure if I spelled that correctly). He doesn't have plans to bring the costumes... As of yet.
 
Personally, I LOVE the costume. The dedication, the drive to build it...well okay, you get the idea.
Anyway, I, personally, would definitely take the costume to Mardi Gras. Of course, I tend to enjoy a bit of pure unholy chaos every now and then. So long as I'm not in the middle of the chaos, I don't mind instigating it either. Besides, what better way to wind up on CNN? (Sorry, my sarcasm got the better of me.)

Way to go on wanting to take the costume to hospitals to see the kids though. Besides, the kids will at least have a very memorable moment in a time they might be doing so well. So good work.

Making costumes that are lots taller than you is a definite challenge, both to plan, and to execute. Making it worth every penny and second you put into it, even by taking it and letting kids get to see you, is where it's worth it, from an outsider's point of view.

Btw, I do have a friend that is in a posse, and yeah, I'm sure he'd want to see the flamethrower too. As to legality, I know all designs were supposed to be destroyed after Vietnam, as the UN pretty much made them illegal, but that was for war, so just showing off? I have no clue.
 
Tom here from Extreme Costumes, Great Job on both bots :)I know the challange of making larger then man sized. I'm sorry to say, I disagree on the flamethrower...I'm from RI, and was less than 1 mile from the "station fire" that claimed 100 lives. I lost some friends. I know your being careful, but mistakes happen, and what about YOU ? A leek of any kind would be deadly...How fast can you get out of your bot ?
I hope my opionin on this matter does not detract from your AWESOME bots...LOVE them, you should post links to the facebook page and share there as well :)
 
I need to clear it up but our flamethrower is not a military grade build by any means. We built it using a butane refill canister set inside. I think it's the 12 oz. can. When we press the "trigger" It presses down the butane along with a lighter you would use for a grill. When you let go , everything shuts off. There is never any lag and after our 15th can, it has worked perfectly every time we have used it. I am sorry to hear about your loss Tom, but rest assured, our goal is to bring excitement to everyone we come across and add a little spice to it.

P.s. (Deamon324). I think you are thinking of another transformer builder. We have not visited any hospitals. There is another guy on here that I think your thinking of but I'll have to look him up to give in the credit. We have done fundraisers for Head To Toe Therapy clinic for kids in Arizona. Great company and a great cause.
 
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Please do not take my comments about the flame thrower as a critasism of you bots (witch are wonderful). I just know from my years of costume experance...things go wrong at the worst time...when its silly string...no big deal. I have made desins with flamethrowers myself, but have always vetoed them due to the dangers. It is not all the sucesses you have to worry about, it's the one failure.
All that said, I still love your builds. You should post links and pics at my facebook or on Transcostumers, Great job on both of them :)
 
I've seen your Facebook and I will. I am not familiar will Transcostumes though after I post this I will be checking it out!
 
Whoops.

Still, any kind of that work should not go unnoticed. Please accept my apologies for the mistake. Anyway, excellent costume. And I figured it wasn't military grade. I was being simply informative. An aerosol and a lighter wouldn't count as military grade, and as long as you take as many precautions as you can, then I personally don't see the problem.
 
DUDE.
O.O

Good Lord those are amazing. Puts my normal sized ones to shame!

Tom from Extreme and Josh and Travis, Lady Megatron of the ECC (East Coast Costumers), nice to meet you guys. Tom, I'm a fan of your Bee and of Freaky the Snowman! :lol I've laughed my butt off many a time at your scare vids! And I'm a believer in GreatStuff foam now! I've started using it in some prop building myself.

Travis, Josh....great job guys! How hard are those to move around in?! They look incredibly heavy!
 
Bumblebee is lighter to walk in than Optimus. We can walk around in both costumes for an hour till we get tired. We can go most places but height becomes an issue with doors! We can handle curbs no problem but no stairs. Our legs allow us to walk pretty easily. I'll upload some walking video if your interested. We are thinking about remaking a bumblebee and making him lighter an. More detailed with a different support system for the chest piece. Right now all of the weight is on the shoulders when it should be displaced on shoulders and hips. These costumes will never truly be completed. Lol
 
Ouch. Just an hour. They must be heavy then. I think the longest I've spent out in Meg was 8 hours. I admit my legs were KILLING ME by then but I was having too much fun at a con and not ready to take it off yet. Now in Soundwave, longest I've went so far in him was 3 hours, but he's a lot more flexible and I can move a lot better in him (I can sit, stoop, bend, sit on my knees, go all the way down and sit cross legged and get back up if need be in him so he's easier to get around in, I've just not been in it for long periods of time yet). The heaviest I've had was about 25-30 pounds, and tallest was 6 foot. I can't imagine walking around in a huge heavy one.

Are you guys doing any cons with your bots?
Any plans for others in future builds?
 
Awesome dude. I am currently about to undertake the same sort of build of the bumblebee. I'm assuming to get all sizes of limbs and components to scale ad my 6"4 size it will be nearing the 10 foot mark. But that will make all the more impressive I rekon.
 
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