Gold Samurai Power Ranger full costume

keirberos

New Member
Hey all! I figured the best way to start out on RPF would be to share the costume I've already done, which was the Gold Samurai Ranger. This costume was made for Alamo City Comic Con last year and was incredibly popular with little kids (and not so little kids :D). It was tons of fun and a fantastic learning experience; I made tons of rookie mistakes but I think the final product still came out pretty decent! Sadly, I didn't take many progress shots— and those I did take were mostly with my little flip phone, so apologies in advance: most of the pictures are pretty low-res.

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It all started when I found a how-to for a Power Rangers helmet and went, 'Hey I can do that!' (which, for the interested, is here: Power Rangers Helmet).

And yes, it really is constructed out of cardboard. And painter's tape. Lots of painter's tape.

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This is my 'first draft' (with paper templates attached for the visor/accents— there is an opening behind it). Rookie mistake #1! I tried to use the tape to help fill out/round out the shape, and reduce how much paper maché and drywall compound I would need later. Well, I succeeded in that, but I also ended up making the surface really lumpy, which caused more work later on. Live and learn!

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Completed helmet! I decided to go ahead and make it a single piece with no hinges for a clean look. It works really well except for rookie mistake #2, which was, in the initial sizing I didn't consider that I would need a little extra space because I would be wrapping the paper maché around the edges... so, it's a little tight going on and off, but once on, it fits really well.

I deviated a bit from the demo for the visor pieces— I used white model magic to form the support structure, then covered it with white craft foam to give it a nice clean look. The visor itself is sheet plastic— quilting template plastic, to be exact— painted black and finished with gloss. I went with the stunt-helmet approach and made the visor opaque, punching holes in it for visibility. Rookie mistake #3— when punching the holes, I tested visibility by holding the visor up to my face. Didn't take into account that the visor would be angled up when worn, so I didn't punch holes far enough down and didn't have a great vertical field of vision.

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Gloves were just ordered online and worn under the bracers. The bracers themselves were also made from the quilting template plastic— picture above is pre-spraypaint, obviously.

I decided the easiest way to do the body would be to get a blue morph suit and do the gold/silver part as an overlay. This was where it would have come to a screeching halt if I didn't have someone (e.g. my mother) to fit the pieces to me while I played mannequin. The white collar is also a separate piece that tucks under the vest and comes up to the edge of the helmet.

Biggest mistake (#4 for those keeping count ;) ) of the whole project: spray painting the boots. They look really good on the counter! (Also, the bracers doubled as handy stiffeners while drying.) ...You can imagine what happened the second I tried walking in them. Or, just look at the first picture. ^_^' I used some leftover gold fabric to do glued-on boot covers the next day, with much better results.

Sadly, I have zero progress pictures of the sword, but it's primarily made out of (don't laugh too hard) a cardboard wrapping paper tube, model magic, craft foam and craft wood. And a lot of hot glue. I think this was the single longest part of the project, just because of how much painting and gluing it required. (One last rookie mistake— didn't take the shrinkage into account for the craft foam when it dried, causing cracks, but I was able to patch them. It's noticeable, but only on close inspection.)

And that's it! I absolutely had a blast doing it, and for a first time costume, I think it turned out incredibly presentable. And, totally doable— I'm so glad I decided to just go for it. Can't wait to work on my next project.

(One last one for the road: )
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Thanks! It's made from scratch— altogether, it probably took about 4-5 days work, including dry-time. Not hard to do at all, just time consuming.
 
Thanks! But shouldn't that be, 'fantastico'? ;)

(Assuming you watched the show. Otherwise, uh... this is not the reference you are looking for.)
 
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