Black Manta fast build

Hey everyone, This is my first time posting a WIP here on the boards. So for Dragon*con my wife is doing the night at the aquarium as a genderbend aquaman. I wanted to dress up too and wanted to make a costume fast. So I thought Black Manta would fit the theme and would be pretty easy to do. This is my first time working with foam, and it is a rush job because I'm trying to dedicate my free time to my Sentinel costume. My idea with this cosplay was to keep it simple and iconic. Here is some pics of my WIP:

So the first picture shows what I already had made/bought. For the head I used two Squirrel bafflers and then cut it into the shape i need with my Dremel. I then glued them together. The second image shows the flex tubes i plan on using to connect the helmet and air tank together. The third is Black Manta's wrist harpoon gun. Not my best but what can you do. The fourth is the weird blade weapon he uses from time to time and the final picture is the air tank. I've heat sealed everything and am planning to plasti-dip, prime, then chrome everything. I have some sanding to do on the helmet and some more detail work before I plasti-dip, prime and chrome. here is what it currently looks like

One day I hope the jobs I take my time on will end up as good as some people's rush jobs. Looks great so far! I look forward to seeing how you're going to pull off the eyes.

this is pretty amazing. I've actually never seen a Black Manta cosplay before, so this makes me happy.

Thanks everyone! My idea for the eyes is to use red folder seperators and place them on the inside of the helmet. Maybe just a cut at the top and bottom to help them take the shape of the eye sockets. Then I'm going to use window froster to help make it just a bit more opaque. I'm going to place a foam outliner on the outside.

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Didn't get a ton of work done today due to be being wrapped up social stuff. I did manage to Plasti-dip the harpoon wrist launcher, the bladed weapon, attach the tubes to both the helmet and air tank and add outer lenses to the helmet. Next is plasti-dip the helmet, collar, air tank. Then on to painting. After that the inner lenses!

Yesterday I had some errands to take care of, how I was able to get some priming done on my stuff. This pic includes the collar, that I ended up not using in the final version of the costume

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So there is my finished Black Manta more or less. I still need to add some soles to the feet and maybe a belt. I'm thinking of adding lights to the eyes but I'm not sure. What do you guys think? Is there a cheap and easy method to do this?

Awesome cosplay. What did you use for the red eyes

King of Kittens said:

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- - - Updated - - -

So there is my finished Black Manta more or less. I still need to add some soles to the feet and maybe a belt. I'm thinking of adding lights to the eyes but I'm not sure. What do you guys think? Is there a cheap and easy method to do this?

Click to expand...

Your Black Manta is AWSOME!!!!! Thank you for sharing. Any plans on building it to sell? If so, I am VERY INTERESTED. PM or text me direct (323)630-6432. Spiderstang.

King of Kittens said:

View attachment 351571View attachment 351572View attachment 351573View attachment 351574View attachment 351575View attachment 351576View attachment 351577View attachment 351578

- - - Updated - - -

So there is my finished Black Manta more or less. I still need to add some soles to the feet and maybe a belt. I'm thinking of adding lights to the eyes but I'm not sure. What do you guys think? Is there a cheap and easy method to do this?

Click to expand...

Wow.... I am super interested in your build. Please text/call me 323 630-6432. This is amazing.

That's an awesome costume!! You don't see it very often... although after the Aquaman movie we might see it more.