Tron Legacy Costume

Hey all, been reading/catching up on this forum this past weekend, read/skimmed nearly all of this thread. My friends and I are going to attempt outfits. One Sam, one Quorra, one CLU, one orange suit (don't think it will be modeled after Rinzler due to the helmet and full body armor... extra complications in time constraint). Joining the game late but incorporating ideas as possible. We're cheap thou... most of our budget being thrown at the lighting (~$70 for each male costume).

Sorry for the dump of questions I'm getting out an entire weekend of reading and pondering

Ordering El Wire tonight. Just curious how much El-wire have you guys been using (not sure if I saw a concrete number anywhere). Our rough-estimates are about 40 feet per suit to get full lighting with some extra feet to account for all the soldering I will be doing.

I'm also interested in how you got the outer ring off on that disc cleanly, I assume you used that to make a negative to cast the new clear ring?

Btw Annise the pics you posted today for your new lighting is awesome was what I was planning on testing out!. Have you tried using a single strand of el-wire in your reflective tape-elwire-diffusing layer sandwich? If so how does it look? I didn't think to outline the section. If I can get away with a single wire to cut down on cost I'm gonna do that, lets me put $10 towards other stuff.

Also for those who used neoprene rubber to get the armor-look... what durometer have you used? Would you go higher or lower if you could do it again? Thickness? 1/16" or 1/8"?

We are sewing up basic black under-suits out of a regular black fabric and will be overlaying-attaching the armor segments. We haven't decided to go with the neoprene or pleather fabric. Eitherway I'm going to try to find a durable method to add some "body" to the armor pieces.

Also I saw a Rinzler Deluxe Identity disk posted in the other thread... but it didn't appear that anyone really followed up on if it exists outside of China/HK area... or if we can order it in the USA. We were otherwise gonna make some Styrofoam discs, cover throw on elwire, cover in plastic and paint.

Another El-wire question... ~35' elwire off 8AA batteries 12V style... anyone know approx how long that will last and if splitting the task between two drivers increase light with so much wire being used? High-Bright 2.6mm coolneon wires.

Also Annisse your Quorra rocks, looks good in the light! That is my #1 goal... to make it look good in daylight.

Might look into custom making the Rnzler helmet setting up home-made bend-table using super-heated wire to heat up and bend some clear plastic sheet into the rough shape of his helmet so I can fill in cracks with foam and paint black... but that will be the last thing I'd attempt as I'd rather get a working costume first.

Hey! thanks so much for your compliments. That is just it. My 1st Quorra is now falling apart. so much that it is not looking that hot in the day time and only looking good in the flash pics with reflective tape. Reason being I went with latex for my redo, no layering, tight fit and just looks more rigid and nicer than the craft foam layered 1st build I did.

Well, I used so far about 36 feet of wire so yes, about 40 feet appr. Not sure how much a male, Sam's, suit would use though, the guys can answer that for you.

I did try all types of materials for backing the El Wire. I tried reflective (silver) tape, looked greyish dark toned. I even tried this chrome shiny like a mirror material I had from ages ago to back it, looked already, but white is the best way to go to back the EL Wire and diffuse it with the shower curtain or the masking tape, either one looked good. I just used the shower curtain because I am worried about the the amount of creases and bends the masking tape will get over time.

A medium sized driver from Cool Neon that power about 30 feet of wire should last as long as the batteries will hold out (8 AA/12V). Maybe 4-5 hours before they go dim.

I am needed to get a larger driver myself now to mount on my lower back like Quorra's turns out I will be attaching the arms, my chest and that one strip down her right down all to my back with one driver that is about over 40 feet of wire. My boot wire I am using a small driver that powers up to 5 ft and just sticking it to the side of my boot. But yeah basically my entire body lights will be connected to one large driver and mounted to my back in a project box with the batteries. Can't wait to figure all that mess out

Good Luck with making your Tron suits and welcome to our almost 50 page thread and growing I am sure

Annisse said:

My 1st Quorra is now falling apart. so much that it is not looking that hot in the day time and only looking good in the flash pics with reflective tape. Reason being I went with latex for my redo, no layering, tight fit and just looks more rigid and nicer than the craft foam layered 1st build I did.

White is the best way to go to back the EL Wire and diffuse it with the shower curtain or the masking tape, either one looked good. I just used the shower curtain because I am worried about the the amount of creases and bends the masking tape will get over time.

But yeah basically my entire body lights will be connected to one large driver and mounted to my back in a project box with the batteries. Can't wait to figure all that mess out

Good Luck with making your Tron suits and welcome to our almost 50 page thread and growing I am sure

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Latex? Like a body-cast latex type suit? Is that sturdy enough in latex?

I'll go straight for white reflective tape thanks and I was planning on shower-curtain or frosted window films... whichever was cheaper and looked better when i try it out at the store

If find that I will be doing elwire-outlines like Annisse for the thicker (chest) lights like you have done we will probably be getting near 50' feet of lighting per men's suit... That Rinzler is looking better and better ha ha.

Yeah I'm responsible for all the soldering/wiring for all 4 suits and I was planning single-driver in the back. There will be so much speaker wiring running along the inside of our jumpsuits it will be interesting to see how that turns out.

I'm grateful to have a wealth of knowledge available and to bounce ideas.

Has anyone tried doing hand-made hex-pattern using a silver or gray paint pen? I saw soulinerta's custom print... never found a post if soulinertia was selling the cloth as of yet. Otherwise I was looking at some car-fabric or athletic fabrics as some people suggested.

Aoiree said:

Latex? Like a body-cast latex type suit? Is that sturdy enough in latex?

I'll go straight for white reflective tape thanks and I was planning on shower-curtain or frosted window films... whichever was cheaper and looked better when i try it out at the store

If find that I will be doing elwire-outlines like Annisse for the thicker (chest) lights like you have done we will probably be getting near 50' feet of lighting per men's suit... That Rinzler is looking better and better ha ha.

Yeah I'm responsible for all the soldering/wiring for all 4 suits and I was planning single-driver in the back. There will be so much speaker wiring running along the inside of our jumpsuits it will be interesting to see how that turns out.

I'm grateful to have a wealth of knowledge available and to bounce ideas.

Has anyone tried doing hand-made hex-pattern using a silver or gray paint pen? I saw soulinerta's custom print... never found a post if soulinertia was selling the cloth as of yet. Otherwise I was looking at some car-fabric or athletic fabrics as some people suggested.

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Yeah! I've looked for that Hex pattern. No luck in finding it though. I'm going to try looking into men's pj's and see if some designer makes that pattern. I'll keep you posted!

For all you EL wire fans out there:

Has anyone tried doing hand-made hex-pattern using a silver or gray paint pen? I saw soulinerta's custom print... never found a post if soulinertia was selling the cloth as of yet. Otherwise I was looking at some car-fabric or athletic fabrics as some people suggested.

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I should be able to do a few small runs soon!

Soulinertia said:

For all you EL wire fans out there:

I should be able to do a few small runs soon!

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If only a person like myself were even remotely built like that. :cry

Hmmm in fact, this design is easier since there aren't panels, just strips...

The rest is about padding on the right places...I like it even better!

gams001 said:

If only a person like myself were even remotely built like that. :cry

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gams001 said:

If only a person like myself were even remotely built like that. :cry

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Hopefully I'll be back at around that build in a few months... not in time for premier thou I'm sure.

Hitting up the gym 3 or 4 times a week for the past month.

I let myself slip after I left college and put on almost 20lbs in a year.

(Currently in the 6'2-6'3 range and 215 lbs).

Hey! I was directed here by Annisse a few days ago, and since then ive blown through all 50 pages.

First off, i want to say that ALL of you are so great. I used to be a hardcore cosplayer and Im glad to see so many talented people offering their own ideas and methods to one another. Its a really great community.

While some people may have put more cash or time into their costumes than others, I commend any person who tried to tackle any of these Tron costumes.

--------------------

That being said, Im planning my own Sam cosplay as well. I had an idea in my head of how i was going to wing through it, but after reading this thread I feel like i really have to step up my game!

I recently bought some EL tape from glowhut so i could play with it and see how I could use it. But now I think using EL wire with a diffusion technique is the way to go. I saw that some of you were using masking tape as the diffuser. I was thinking for my costume that Ill use some form of medium-thick interfacing. (for the front and the back of the glowing pieces, since its white and stiff)

Does anyone think this will be a good idea? My thought process is that interfacing will be stiff, but it wont snag rip or tear. Its also fairly transparent.

For the base of my costume Im using a black leather motorcycle suit. Im going to build armor on top of it out of foam or rubber of some sort. Whats the consensus on the best material for this? i saw a lot of things being thrown around.

Overall I plan on making the light up parts somewhat modular, so I can (hopefully) easily repair/remove them from the motorcycle suit if need be as well as to minimize breaks between pieces.

Any input or last minute tips will be well appreciated!

PineappleTuna said:

Hey! I was directed here by Annisse a few days ago, and since then ive blown through all 50 pages.

First off, i want to say that ALL of you are so great. I used to be a hardcore cosplayer and Im glad to see so many talented people offering their own ideas and methods to one another. Its a really great community.

While some people may have put more cash or time into their costumes than others, I commend any person who tried to tackle any of these Tron costumes.

--------------------

That being said, Im planning my own Sam cosplay as well. I had an idea in my head of how i was going to wing through it, but after reading this thread I feel like i really have to step up my game!

I recently bought some EL tape from glowhut so i could play with it and see how I could use it. But now I think using EL wire with a diffusion technique is the way to go. I saw that some of you were using masking tape as the diffuser. I was thinking for my costume that Ill use some form of medium-thick interfacing. (for the front and the back of the glowing pieces, since its white and stiff)

Does anyone think this will be a good idea? My thought process is that interfacing will be stiff, but it wont snag rip or tear. Its also fairly transparent.

For the base of my costume Im using a black leather motorcycle suit. Im going to build armor on top of it out of foam or rubber of some sort. Whats the consensus on the best material for this? i saw a lot of things being thrown around.

Overall I plan on making the light up parts somewhat modular, so I can (hopefully) easily repair/remove them from the motorcycle suit if need be as well as to minimize breaks between pieces.

Any input or last minute tips will be well appreciated!

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Welcome!

Interfacing? Time to figure out what type of material that is you are speaking about... i've seen diffusion layer done in one of a few ways on the forums thus far... shower curtain, masking tape, clear vinyl with spray on window-frosting... actual window-frosting adhesive sheets. Someone incorporated frosted tubing (can be found in plumbing section of hardware stores or online etc... they got it from their snocone machine ). I think i've heard thin fabrics discussed but not sure if i saw anyone comment to how effective it was... I assume that is basically what interfacing is from a quick google search?

I'm semi-debating casting a bodysuit out of mask latex for Rinzler costume... but i've never done anything large scale with mask-latex.

Aoiree said:

Welcome!

Interfacing? Time to figure out what type of material that is you are speaking about... i've seen diffusion layer done in one of a few ways on the forums thus far... shower curtain, masking tape, clear vinyl with spray on window-frosting... actual window-frosting adhesive sheets. Someone incorporated frosted tubing (can be found in plumbing section of hardware stores or online etc... they got it from their snocone machine ). I think i've heard thin fabrics discussed but not sure if i saw anyone comment to how effective it was... I assume that is basically what interfacing is from a quick google search?

I'm semi-debating casting a bodysuit out of mask latex for Rinzler costume... but i've never done anything large scale with mask-latex.

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Interfacing is *sort of* a type of fabric. Its more of a *material* than a fabric (since i dont think its actually woven). Basically its special white stuff that comes in many different stiffness/thickness thats usually used to stiffen or strengthen parts of garments to give it rigidity or shape.

Hi Anisse,

How many feet of EL Wire are you using in total? I'm making a Quorra for my girlfriend and I'm not sure.
Since it has to be doubled, I'm guessing about 2 meters (about 7 feet) for every strip more or less. Is this kinda correct?

If that is correct, I'm estimating more than 60 feet for Sam's...phewww...

Thanks!

Annisse said:

YAY! I don't know what I would do without you guys on this forum! Thanks for your advice on this!

I am like printing out different comments of ppl's advice for each project I need to work on, this will be another. So much stuff on my mind, I will probably forget when I get home from work.

I too am working non stop on my new Quorra suit. I got the arms finished but so much to do still. I am seeing so much Tron Legacy stuff and thinking about how to make my costume, I have had dreams of the movie for 2 nights now.

You can join me in the looney TL bin

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Annisse said:

For Quorra's gloves. I used the same 4-way black stretch spandex I used to make the legs and half arms to my suit (the upper half of my arm is the HEX print to the elbow). From my elbow to my hand is all one piece sewn, gloves are attached to the arm pieces basically. I had to make the pattern for this.

As far as Quorra boots. I got my wedge black Pleather boots on Ebay. They look just like yours expect they are pleather (fake leather). I then built the shape we see in the movie promo full shots of the costume to look like her boots. I made it in craft foam and used a heat gun to shape the stuff all around my boot holding it with Contact cement Super glue. Took like 5 hours just one boots then a couple hours for the 2nd boot. My craft foam is now slowly cracking due to the arcylic black paint I used and falling apart in some places so I think I will be getting a new pair and redoing the outter design of her boots with neoprene. I am sure will last longer and look better than craft foam. Not to mention it will be black so no paint cracks.

Unfortunately since I bought my Quorra boots in August, I no longer have the link or the seller whom I purchased them from.

Alot of work on the 1st try to learn from but when you don't know what you are doing, that's the way it goes.

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Thanks for the info Anisse! Do you think a polyester/spandex mix would work? I found a couple on ebay, but it's hard to tell from the picture. (as sadly, I can't sew to save my life, so I think creating and sewing off my own pattern might be a tad hard.) Do you think any of these would work?

22" LONG BLACK GLOVES - JUST OVER ELBOW - POLYESTER - eBay (item 400174328430 end time Nov-25-10 12:19:19 PST)

Sexy 1 pair of black long gloves-oz - eBay (item 220688052109 end time Nov-24-10 15:30:46 PST)

NEW LONG BLACK NYLON GLOVES COSTUME 5TH AVENUE FIFTH - eBay (item 310272036660 end time Nov-25-10 05:02:13 PST)

SEXY GLOVES LADIES ELBOW 20" LONG BLACK HOLIDAY PARTY - eBay (item 360318162311 end time Dec-09-10 16:16:37 PST)

I think I'll just have to keep searching for the black wedge boots. Tally ho!

kaiwalkerz said:

Hi Anisse,

How many feet of EL Wire are you using in total? I'm making a Quorra for my girlfriend and I'm not sure.
Since it has to be doubled, I'm guessing about 2 meters (about 7 feet) for every strip more or less. Is this kinda correct?

If that is correct, I'm estimating more than 60 feet for Sam's...phewww...

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Annisse said she used about 36 feet for her lighting.

For our Sam outfits we estimated about 38 feet (single wire with extra few inches added per segment for cutting/soldering). If you wanted to double up el-wire on the thicker lights on the chest/back I guess you would be getting nearer to the 50-60' range.

We're hoping single strand looks good.

It's wig time! :cool

I've narrowed it down to two short black wigs. I'm going the synthetic route as a human hair wig would be way out of my budget. Besides, some of the synthetics nowadays don't look half bad. The tricky thing is trying to find a wig that both fits my small head (and weak jawline. Sadly, I don't have a strong bone structure like Olivia Wilde), but also looks like Quorra's hair.

Wig 1 - Photos 1-2: I thought it was too big in person (I have a wee little head), but it doesn't seem to look half bad in photos.

Wig 2 - Photos 3-6: This is very very close to what my hair would actually look like if I cut it and it's quite comfortable to wear.

Both wigs would need to be cut and styled of course. Let me know which you guys like better!

Hey all, for those looking to mod their deluxe TRON discs, I just posted an interest thread:



http://www.therpf.com/f13/deluxe-tron-disc-retrofit-kits-101434/

TheLadyNerd said:

It's wig time! :cool

I've narrowed it down to two short black wigs. I'm going the synthetic route as a human hair wig would be way out of my budget. Besides, some of the synthetics nowadays don't look half bad. The tricky thing is trying to find a wig that both fits my small head (and weak jawline. Sadly, I don't have a strong bone structure like Olivia Wilde), but also looks like Quorra's hair.

Wig 1: I thought it was too big in person (I have a wee little head), but it doesn't seem to look half bad in photos.

Wig 2: This is very very close to what my hair would actually look like if I cut it and it's quite comfortable to wear.

Both wigs would need to be cut and styled of course. Let me know which you guys like better!

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Wig 2 looks better IMO. And if its more comfortable you should go with that, especially if your going to wear it for long periods of time. Nothing like having something not be comfortable and having to deal with it for a few hours.

Hello guys. Been following this thread and finally signed up. I know it's late but I just wanted to contribute some pictures I have from SDCC Over The Line Club. maybe Someone can use them. Peace.

SUESYLVESTER said:

Hello guys. Been following this thread and finally signed up. I know it's late but I just wanted to contribute some pictures I have from SDCC Over The Line Club. maybe Someone can use them. Peace.

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WOW! thanks for posting those. We're those the actual costumes the used from the movie on display? I was so upset after SDCC was over I was totally obivilous that Flynn's Arcade End of Line Club was there. I had no idea. It was like some big secret. It looked incredible from the photos I have seen online and stories I have heard from ppl that went. Like you had to get there Flynn's arcade which was full of dust covered up arcade games and there was some hidden passage way which led to the End of Line club. Amazing they put that together! Wish it was structured like that at ElecTRONica.

Those lights on the costumes.... SO BRIGHT! and are getting me more and more pumped to finish my lighted version of Quorra

TheLadyNerd said:

It's wig time! :cool

I've narrowed it down to two short black wigs. I'm going the synthetic route as a human hair wig would be way out of my budget. Besides, some of the synthetics nowadays don't look half bad. The tricky thing is trying to find a wig that both fits my small head (and weak jawline. Sadly, I don't have a strong bone structure like Olivia Wilde), but also looks like Quorra's hair.

Wig 1 - Photos 1-2: I thought it was too big in person (I have a wee little head), but it doesn't seem to look half bad in photos.

Wig 2 - Photos 3-6: This is very very close to what my hair would actually look like if I cut it and it's quite comfortable to wear.

Both wigs would need to be cut and styled of course. Let me know which you guys like better!

Click to expand...

Go with Wig #2 girl! Will look sweet when it is styled. I think the cut already looks very close to Quorra's. High back mob cut and angled down coming in towards the chin.