Looking for advice on arm lengthening for costume

[Egon Spengler]

I'm constructing a rather large costume. The head of the costume sits above my head and I see out just below the neck. The shoulders are also raised above my shoulders about a good foot or so. I'm trying to figure out a way to have my arms be hidden inside arms that will go up to the creatures shoulders. I know how to do it, and it may be the only way to do it, but it'll make the arms bed in an odd way above where my shoulders actually are on the costume.

I also need to be able to slip in and out of the arms as well to easily put the costume on. I'm considering going with some foam, and covering that with fabric that will Velcro shut around my arms where they enter the larger arms.

Here's a really thrown together example image.

 

[Shylaah]

Will you need to use your hands when you are in the costume?
And will you have help getting into it?

Shylaah

 

[etheren]

That's essentially what kropserkel did for their Ringwraith costume.

 

[Egon Spengler]

Shylaah: I won't really have use of my hands in the costume except to operate some stuff inside the lower arm. That will be no problem though. I'll probably have help getting into it too.

Etheren: Yeah this is a bit similar.

 

[Shylaah]

Ah man, I got nothin'!
I was thinking if you were sharing armpits with the costume, if you just made sort of an elasticized opening into the arm/sleeve and bent your arm before you put it in the sleeve, and had some straps like suspenders on your shoulders that you could hold onto to keep your arms from becoming fatigued from holding them in there bent. But that probably would throw your hands to far toward the front and make for bulges sticking out at the front of the costume where your real shoulders are inside the costume.......in a man boobs sort of way :wacko

Shylaah

 

[Homicidal9]

You could attach the arms at the elevated shoulders with some sort of joint. Halfway down the arm, you could have an opening to insert your hands/arms into. If you made the sleeves big enough on the costume, I don't think anyone would be the wiser...just my two cents...

take care,
Tommy

 

[Homicidal9]

kinda like this...just make sure the clothing around the shoulder area and arms are big enough to where movement is not noticeable...

 

[Egon Spengler]

kinda like this...just make sure the clothing around the shoulder area and arms are big enough to where movement is not noticeable...

Yeah I've been thinking of something like that. I actually tried to use pipe insulation covers to make a muscular like structure that would go under fabric that would act as a skin. Hasn't turned out too well though.

Actually, I take that back. On the left arm it's worked out well, but on the right arm the structure made from the pipe insulation keeps coming loose.

Thinking of switching to rubber hose for the durability factor.

 

[Homicidal9]

I have built stuff similar to this in the past using pvc pipe. I used upholstery foam in order to fill it out. I just wrapped the foam around and used duct tape to actually shape it into muscle shapes....

take care,
Tommy