Gambit (90's Cartoon / Jim Lee version)

Jumpman2315

Active Member
Hey all. Been working on a Gambit cosplay for some upcoming cons. Decided to go with the iconic version from the X-Men Saturday morning cartoon from the 90's / Jim lee version since that is what I grew up with.

I got some PVC pipes and connectors for the bo-staff. Sprayed it with a couple coats of Plasti-dip, then a couple coats some different metallic silver paints, and finished it off with a clear coat. I added some electrical tape wraps to give it some character.

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For the coat, I made several trips to the local Goodwill store but never found anything close to what i wanted. I also kept an eye on eBay and finally came across one that works well for me. It's a little shorter than I would like as it ends above my knees so I'm still looking for one that comes down past my calves but this one will do for now.

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Next up was making some kinetic cards. I got a deck of cards for cheap at the dollar store and then hot glued on a pattern to make them look like they were charged up. I then painted the hot glue a nice bright pink and finished with a clear coat.

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For the face wrap, I used this face mask (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LW1TRU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and cut out the front to match what Gambit wears. I also cut out ear holes on both sides.

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Chest piece was made by 1StopCosplayCreation on Etsy and he was able to customize the colors to my liking, I ended up touching up some of the pink and adding a couple sprays of clear coat for some added shine.

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For under the chest piece, I'm wearing a black, long-sleeved, turtleneck tucked under the face mask. I got some satin gloves and cut out the fingers from the thumb, index, and pinkie fingers. And with that, the top is done:

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I'm currently working on the pants and boots. I bought a pair of black tights and tried to dye on the pink rectangles on the sides. When that didn't work out, I used pink duct tape to replicate the same pattern. That too failed. The tape just wasn't sticky enough and I had my doubts about their durability when walking an entire day at a con. I'll have to keep experimenting.

Boots wise I'm thinking about ordering some. I attempted making them with craft foam but was not successful. We'll see. I still have a couple weeks until the first convention

I don't wear contacts but I might give them a shot in the future to get the correct eye color..
 
As someone who grew up watching the 90s X-Men cartoon, I have to say that this is looking great so far! For the pink rectangles have you considered using fabric and either sewing them to the pants or using fabric glue?
 
As someone who grew up watching the 90s X-Men cartoon, I have to say that this is looking great so far! For the pink rectangles have you considered using fabric and either sewing them to the pants or using fabric glue?

That's a good idea. I don't have any experience with sewing but I have been looking at getting in to it to supplement this hobby. How durable is fabric glue? Will it hold up to multiple washings and movement? I'm not sure how well it'll stay on a polyester and spandex blend.

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Nice! Thanks for this. Will be very useful.
 
That's a good idea. I don't have any experience with sewing but I have been looking at getting in to it to supplement this hobby. How durable is fabric glue? Will it hold up to multiple washings and movement? I'm not sure how well it'll stay on a polyester and spandex blend.
Well, I used fabric glue to attach the spider emblems onto my Spider-Man hoodie and so far it seems really durable. So far the glue seems to hold up to movement really well (the fabrics on my suit don’t stretch but the symbols flex really well as I move) and the bottle claims to be waterproof to allow the fabrics to be washed afterwards. I would imagine that this applies to all fabric glued but I would check the information on the bottle before purchasing to be 100% certain.

As far as a polyester/spandex blend, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help as the fabrics I used were both cotton-based. However, I think it would be worth testing out the fabric glue as it is a lot faster than sewing and probably creates a stronger bond, too. If it doesn’t work out you can always scrub the pants with some warm soapy water to remove the glue before it dries.

If you’re new to sewing and the fabric glue doesn’t work out I would recommend watching at least one or two YouTube tutorials to learn the basics. Before working on my Spider-Man costume I had never sewn in my life but a short video (around 5 minutes long) taught me everything I needed to know for the basic “running stitch”, which would be more than sufficient for attaching the rectangles to your pants. The running stitch is the only stitch I know and so far the sewing on my hoodie has held up really well.

I hope at least some of this helps. [emoji4]
 
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That’s looking awesome. An idea for the charged cards, maybe adhere on of those coin-battery powered keychain LED lights to the back, perhaps it would give them a glowing effect? Or even rig the LED into the glove thumb so you can “charge” virtually anything you pick up haha.


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Well, I used fabric glue to attach the spider emblems onto my Spider-Man hoodie and so far it seems really durable. So far the glue seems to hold up to movement really well (the fabrics on my suit don’t stretch but the symbols flex really well as I move) and the bottle claims to be waterproof to allow the fabrics to be washed afterwards. I would imagine that this applies to all fabric glued but I would check the information on the bottle before purchasing to be 100% certain.

As far as a polyester/spandex blend, I’m afraid I can’t be of much help as the fabrics I used were both cotton-based. However, I think it would be worth testing out the fabric glue as it is a lot faster than sewing and probably creates a stronger bond, too. If it doesn’t work out you can always scrub the pants with some warm soapy water to remove the glue before it dries.

If you’re new to sewing and the fabric glue doesn’t work out I would recommend watching at least one or two YouTube tutorial to learn the basics. Before working on my Spider-Man costume I had never sewn in my life but a short video (around 5 minutes long) taught me everything I needed to know for the basic “running stitch”, which would be more than sufficient for attaching the rectangles to your pants. The running stitch is the only stitch I know and so far the sewing on my hoodie has held up really well.

I hope at least some of this helps. :)

Thanks for the helpful info. May I ask what brand of fabric glue you used? YouTube videos of sewing are next on my to-do list. What did people ever do before YouTube? :D
 
That’s looking awesome. An idea for the charged cards, maybe adhere on of those coin-battery powered keychain LED lights to the back, perhaps it would give them a glowing effect? Or even rig the LED into the glove thumb so you can “charge” virtually anything you pick up haha.


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That's a great idea! I don't know how well it'll light up in a big convention center though. I also found this on Instructables for making a glowing playing card (https://www.instructables.com/id/X-Men-Series-Gambit-Make-a-Glowing-Playing-Car/). It would require some soldering.
 
Thanks for the helpful info. May I ask what brand of fabric glue you used?

I buy most of my supplies from Hobbycraft and the fabric glue was the store’s own brand. Despite being fairly small, one 60ml bottle was enough to attach both spiders to my suit with about 1/3 of the bottle left over.
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Con went well! I was hot as hell walking from the parking lot to the venue (damn Texas heat) but once inside, it was quite comfortable the entire time. Will definitely keep this in the rotation for future cons.

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