I've begun work on a Godzilla Costume

rockstarbd82 · #1 August 21st, 2008, 12:55 PM

Thats right, no joke, no bs. I actually had the guts to go to Home Depot the other day and supply up on the materials I need for a project I've wanted to do since I was a kid.

Basically I found a site that gave me a generic idea/procedure I thought I could possibly add some more creativity too. I'll share the link right here for anyone else interested in making costumes. http://www.rc2000godzilla.com/frankenstein/home.shtml

I got the carpet liner and rolled them into tubes glued w/ non-flammable contact cement. So far I have tubes made for the upper body portion, bicep, forearm, and part of a neck. The body needs to be reglued cuz it didn't stick last night but the arm portions. I also used duck tape to secure them while the glue dries but might just leave it on to make damn sure it doesn't come undone.

I plan on basically using foam rubber as "joints" between the tubes for more added movement. I do agree w/ also using it for chunks of rough hide/skin, but I'm also considering a mix of that, shopping bags (not trying to copy off huntie's costume in kaiju killer) and bubble wrap in certain sections where I see fit.

The tail I want to be long with stuffing inside to weigh it down. I don't want it pointing at an angle in the air like i've seen some home-made costumes. (nothing against that idea, just not what I would do)

The spines/teeth/claws I'm still up in the air on what to use. I plan on going all out w/ this costume so I might use the products Fosshape or Wonderflex that were mentioned on here. I would like to install some tiny light systems to make the spines glow at the touch of a button inside the costume somehow. If that doesn't work, maybe i'll resort to something else.

The head is my main concern and may need outside help w/ that. I know a make up guy who does make up for indie films that I want to ask to maybe make a head cast from a design I'll sketch. I would like to have one part of this costume be latex so it stays somewhat true to Godzilla's original look. Foam rubber just seems too easy/half @$$ed and actually want to have a detailed head with some way of making the lower jaw open and close. but thats for much later so I won't worry about that now. And if I succeed there, I'll try and throw in a Fire Extinguisher along w/ a blue light to illuminate the spray for good measure (again if I'm damn lucky)

I will take some photos of my progress (as proof that I'm doing "something") and post them later today on here. I've still got a long way to go, but I'm already having fun w/ this.

Any suggestions/advice is welcome as I'm new at this and want to take this seriously, and hopefully have it ready for the next G-Fest.

rockstarbd82 · #2 August 21st, 2008, 02:49 PM

Godzillakamper · #3 August 21st, 2008, 11:47 PM

What kind of materials are you useing?

rockstarbd82 · #4 August 22nd, 2008, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Godzillakamper

What kind of materials are you useing?

so far just durable carpet liner, foam rubber, contact cement glue, and duck tape for now. Other stuff I'll add as I go.

rockstarbd82 · #5 August 24th, 2008, 03:14 AM

the neck is glued together w/ some foam rubber. redid one of the forarms so i can use the spare one to experiment on skin efx/paint. have 2 joints ready to go. tomorrow i'm going to attempt to connect the bicep portions to the big upper body portion and see what happens.

here's a video i put on youtube of my progress today. enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HTMYUjb4SA

rockstarbd82 · #6 August 24th, 2008, 11:52 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b75XLMN5K-I

another update, fun stuff

rockstarbd82 · #7 September 2nd, 2008, 09:44 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzSJkUj-jPY

both arms/hands are done, tested out the upper body, so far so good. enjoy.

Hybrid Gojira · #8 September 2nd, 2008, 10:22 PM

Pretty cool stuff man. I cant wait to see the final design.

Monsturra-Jake · #9 September 4th, 2008, 12:58 AM

Yeah, it looks good so far. I say, with some modifications, you could make into a Iron Man costume.

rockstarbd82 · #10 September 26th, 2008, 04:40 PM

here's a new update, lots of good stuff, sry its been a while

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByhW13crVn8

rockstarbd82 · #11 October 6th, 2008, 11:22 AM

one more entry before everything is fitted together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1u7QxkyJvE

Monsturra-Jake · #12 October 7th, 2008, 12:39 AM

Looking good.

rockstarbd82 · #13 October 28th, 2008, 12:49 PM

alright, so its been a few weeks since i've given an update and i'm sure some of you are wondering if this project is still alive. to answer that question, yes its still alive and going. i've been very side tracked with other things i needed to get done. plus putting the sections together i found out is going to be ALOT harder than i thought. my mother suggested that she could sew the sections together from the inside w/ a stretchy fabric. I've tried foam rubber and sticky tape for the arms to the body and none if it worked. so now i'm taking my mother's suggestion, but even this poses a problem as the sticky tape she's sewing thru didn't stick well when i put the thing on last night (as she was taking measurements, otherwise the stitches are holding. i'm going to try cement glueing the tape down today. assuming i'm successful w/ that, other problems await me. i'm starting to wonder how after the sections are pieced together, will the thing hold up/stand on its own. i'm trying to consider how to reinforce it so it won't fall thru, or if i just need to keep the sections separate.

however there is some good news. i've modified the feet w/ foot handles like a huge flip flop so they are ready to go and look bad @$$. i've experimented w/ making a paper mache head and there's good news/bad news. bad news is my trial here turned out too much like a t-rex/crocadile head and won't really fit with the neck. the good news is that the paper mache idea works and makes the head stiff which is good. so in essence i'm going to try to make the head more roundish and more of a mix between the showa and final wars godzilla.

all things considered, there's still hope for this, but i'm starting to wonder if i'm doing this right, and if i'm successful putting it all together, will it work . . .

rockstarbd82 · #14 January 5th, 2009, 01:12 PM

all right, so sorry for this long "absence" of mine. its a long story for another time, but the fact of the matter is things are looking better for my project here. to make things short and sweet here, i basically hired a residential sewing contractor (since i'll admit i have no sewing skills) to assist me in sewing a black stretchy material in between the arm/leg sections and connecting them to the upper and lower body portions pretty much. here's how it looks so far:

the sewing should be finished by this weekend and hopefully if all goes well, i can finally get back on track with this thing. i'll keep you all posted.

mattman · #15 January 5th, 2009, 02:59 PM

That is so cool.

Will the head have a functioning mouth or something like that?

Years ago I found a link on how to make the kaiju head, but it was taken down.

rockstarbd82 · #16 January 5th, 2009, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattman

That is so cool.

Will the head have a functioning mouth or something like that?

Years ago I found a link on how to make the kaiju head, but it was taken down.

ohh damn!!! that would've been helpful. you wouldn't have remembered anything it said on it did ya.

yes i do plan on having a functioning mouth. i think that there's 2 ways i can do it. an easy and a hard way.

the easy way would be gluing a stick near where the lower jaw meets the neck. the lower jaw would have to be attacted underneath the head and made to move up and down easily somehow. make the stick to where you can press your head against the stick, lifting the jaw up to closing position, then easing back on the stick to open it.

the hard way would be attaching the jaw underneath the head like above, but also having 2 wheels glued on either side of the jaw's base. i would then glue over a string/wire that would line the jaws, go over the wheel as a pulley, and make it to where i can fit my chin over it. pulling my chin down would close the jaw where giving it slack will open it.

thats my plan so far, but if anyone has a better idea, i'm all ears and would appreciate any suggestions.

rockstarbd82 · #17 January 13th, 2009, 09:51 AM

its looking good. now its time to connect/glue all these pieces finally. this is only the beginning.

rockstarbd82 · #18 January 19th, 2009, 09:39 AM

Finally a new update!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJSrUM7uZwU

i'm finally back on track with this thing

rockstarbd82 · #19 February 5th, 2009, 12:36 PM

its comming further, just a few more pieces to glue on and its ready for a full body test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9OWxTC6B08

rockstarbd82 · #20 February 15th, 2009, 06:43 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LK1Q_aMzOY

let me know what you think.

rockstarbd82 · #21 February 20th, 2009, 05:27 PM

I apologize if some of you had to go to the link above only to find it not working.

I had to go back and cut out that "unnecessary" interview (I'll admit I don't have the best interview skills lol). Here is the final edit of the video. Hope you enjoy

:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xl_OPJGg9s

G2KMaster · #22 February 20th, 2009, 06:59 PM

Cool... Verry cool...

Hybrid Gojira · #23 February 20th, 2009, 08:50 PM

nice man. Cant wait to see the finished product.

Showa Godzilla · #24 February 20th, 2009, 10:21 PM

Damn, that suit is looking very good! I can't wait to see the head!

rockstarbd82 · #25 February 24th, 2009, 12:16 PM

Would anyone be able to suggest what type of paint would work best on surfaces of carpet liner, foam rubber, and duct tape. I looking for something that will work well with all three, won't chip over time, and will be flexible with movement. Anyone have any ideas???