In honor of Metroid's 25th anniversary...

[PrimoOptimoso]

Here's a pretty-much-junk build I did a couple years ago to turn my ladyfriend into Samus Aran. This was a major turning point in my belief in my own abilities - I didn't have a hat, helmet, or anything of the sort to build from and went entirely from scratch. It's not collectible quality, but we and our friends loved it.

Note: I couldn't find any good reference for the back of her helmet, so I just kind of did what I could.

I used a glass mannqeuin head we happened to have lying around to start building the form on. The head is a couple sizes too small but that ended up not being much of a problem.

I used cardboard, tape, a couple of small tupperwares, and plastic wrap to start approximating the form.

Then I used plaster-impregnated cloth strips like papier mache to get something solid going

This was my first time ever working with Bondo. Man, that stuff is difficult to sand by hand if you end up with too much accumulation. Smoothed it over as best as I could and cut out the visor area with hand tools.

Carved in some of the detail lines and sprayed it red. Looks magenta in this pic but that's just the lighting.

 

[PrimoOptimoso]

Fabricated the details out of found parts like the cable-tie tubing and of course foamies foam.

The green tint plastic is from a party store poker-dealer's visor; it barely filled up the opening.

Sytrofoam balls were the only thing we could think would work and be light enough for the shoulder armor

Arm cannon in PVC and layers upon layers of foam sheets. Look how bad the hot glue looks! Yeesh!

A very bad shot of the hastily finished product. Her chest armor was made of cardboard with sheet foam over it. Arm cannon and chest armor were lit from inside by glowsticks, and the arm cannon had a tiny pingpong ball gun wedged in, so she could shoot people with it. Her midriff looked not so good as we weren't finished yet, so I tried to avoid pics of that part, but her legs and boots looked pretty good and I can't find photos of those.

Still, it was a fun one!

 

[Kaufeedrinker]

Very not bad, Primo. Wonderful use of found objects and just about anything else you could use. A great inspiration for those who want decent looking costumes on a budget.

 

[PrimoOptimoso]

Well, with the fact that we have more experience now, and I've learned some new techniques, AND I've found you wonderful guys - I think we're going to try for a con-worthy version of this costume next year. Thanks Kaufee!

 

[Sigma-LS]

There is a pep file out there for the Varia Helmet as imagined in Prime. I think they were working on the rest of the armor too. Dig around a bit and you'll find some really easy aids for beginners.