Yrien
Sr Member
A friend had the idea to do a Spaceballs group at Ottawa PopExpo 2015, which I thought was brilliant. I quickly volunteered to make a Dark Helmet costume because I thought it would be fun (and conveniently, I am by far the shortest person in the group!). We ended up with Dark Helmet, Barf, Princess Vespa, and her stunt double.
Given that I only had about three weeks to make the costume (after finishing my Halloween costume) and that I was making mine and modifying the dresses for the Princess and her stunt double, it's far from screen-accurate! But the costumes were very well-received at the con and we had a ton of fun.
The helmet is made from foam floor mats, acrylic lenses with window tint on them, and the top of a shaker jar that we found in our cupboard that we've never used. I followed the template in JFcustom's excellent thread. It's ever so slightly lopsided and the seams are more visible than I'd like, but it was instantly recognizable and surprisingly easy to wear - despite the blind spots! I wasn't able to get the faceplate to slide up inside the helmet (it doesn't fit!), so it's held on by magnets so I can remove it. If I do remake the helmet, that will be one of the things I'd like to change to be more screen-accurate.
The cape was cut down from a "Dracula" style cape that I bought on sale after Halloween. I removed the giant stand-up collar and cut off the front panels, and added an elastic strap that slips over my shoulders and behind my back like a backpack to keep the weight of the cape off my throat. The tie was made from leftovers from the cape and the silver detail done with Sharpie, though it rubbed off every time I dared to touch it so it will need to be done differently. The "balls" are craft foam and paint, as is the coffee cup. The giant glasses were found online (a bit too big, but the best I could find on short notice!). The remainder of the costume is mostly from my closet, with a couple of thrift store finds - I didn't actually own a plain black shirt until I bought one specifically for this costume!
Planned upgrades! I may completely remake the helmet to be more screen-accurate (and the have the faceplate slide up inside it). I didn't love that you could see the floor mat texture on the inside of the flared part. The tie needs to be revisited so that it doesn't leave silver Sharpie all over me every time I touch it. I may try clear-coating this one and if that doesn't work, I have lots of the cape fabric still left over to play with. I would like to get some better gloves and add the studs to them and the shoulders, though I'm not sure I want to add the hard shoulder pieces and the tubing - I kind of like being able to move my arms comfortably. And at some point I would like to make the belt buckle and Schwartz ring!
All in all, this was an extremely fun costume to wear and I will definitely wear it to future events! Our group was very well-received, and I couldn't believe the number of people who recognized (and loved!) the stunt double.
All photos by Richard Dufault of Open Shutter Photography. More photos and WIP at Echo Cosplay.
Given that I only had about three weeks to make the costume (after finishing my Halloween costume) and that I was making mine and modifying the dresses for the Princess and her stunt double, it's far from screen-accurate! But the costumes were very well-received at the con and we had a ton of fun.
The helmet is made from foam floor mats, acrylic lenses with window tint on them, and the top of a shaker jar that we found in our cupboard that we've never used. I followed the template in JFcustom's excellent thread. It's ever so slightly lopsided and the seams are more visible than I'd like, but it was instantly recognizable and surprisingly easy to wear - despite the blind spots! I wasn't able to get the faceplate to slide up inside the helmet (it doesn't fit!), so it's held on by magnets so I can remove it. If I do remake the helmet, that will be one of the things I'd like to change to be more screen-accurate.
The cape was cut down from a "Dracula" style cape that I bought on sale after Halloween. I removed the giant stand-up collar and cut off the front panels, and added an elastic strap that slips over my shoulders and behind my back like a backpack to keep the weight of the cape off my throat. The tie was made from leftovers from the cape and the silver detail done with Sharpie, though it rubbed off every time I dared to touch it so it will need to be done differently. The "balls" are craft foam and paint, as is the coffee cup. The giant glasses were found online (a bit too big, but the best I could find on short notice!). The remainder of the costume is mostly from my closet, with a couple of thrift store finds - I didn't actually own a plain black shirt until I bought one specifically for this costume!
Planned upgrades! I may completely remake the helmet to be more screen-accurate (and the have the faceplate slide up inside it). I didn't love that you could see the floor mat texture on the inside of the flared part. The tie needs to be revisited so that it doesn't leave silver Sharpie all over me every time I touch it. I may try clear-coating this one and if that doesn't work, I have lots of the cape fabric still left over to play with. I would like to get some better gloves and add the studs to them and the shoulders, though I'm not sure I want to add the hard shoulder pieces and the tubing - I kind of like being able to move my arms comfortably. And at some point I would like to make the belt buckle and Schwartz ring!
All in all, this was an extremely fun costume to wear and I will definitely wear it to future events! Our group was very well-received, and I couldn't believe the number of people who recognized (and loved!) the stunt double.
All photos by Richard Dufault of Open Shutter Photography. More photos and WIP at Echo Cosplay.
