The Do it Yourself Optimus Prime Halloween Costume

The Optimus Prime Costume: Halloween 2007

2007-10-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done. 6 weeks, $180 (CDN), and about 3000 swear words later, I give you:

Optimus Prime

(Click on the pics for full size versions)

Thanks to everyone who read along, everyone who commented, everyone who put up with me babbling on and on about this, and especially Lindsay for putting up with me doing this for 6 weeks and not dumping me; and especially for helping me put the #*$&#*$&#& thing on. (About 6 minutes for those who are wondering.)

Hittin the Head (Ewww...)

2007-10-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

With the last drops of blue spray paint, the head is done. It didn't turn out as well as I would've liked but it's done. I'm done.

Milo (my cat) inspected the head thoroughly...

... and gave it her bite of approval. (Followed by subsequent shooing from me.)

Here's lookin at you, Prime.

Tomorrow I'll post pics of a full dress rehearsal. Hope I don't break anything ;)

Touch Ups And Total Progress

2007-10-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

This update tastes like happy. There's something special at the end of today's post. (You'll see.) I started last night by finishing off the head. Namely, the face and "ears". I closed in the front of the face a little bit using some rectangular boxes cut to fit around the cardboard. The special cuts are more visible in the final helmet pic below.

The "ears" ended up being made up of a circular piece bevelled on one side, and an octagon with a giant section for the antenna.

I glued them on...

... and was realized the head, though large, was finally looking like Optimus Prime. The head basically sits on the body, mine doesn't fill it in the least. I'm debating, time and materials permitting, creating a new one. If this is the case, I'll put steps/pictures in here.

I had a few housekeeping details on the torso, namely adding the grey lines under Optimus Prime's windows. For these I simply used two blocks of styrofoam and painted them grey.

I also completed the other shoulder!

... and now for the total progress part. Because my workspace is getting extremely limited (this is a big costume, like I said before I've been working on a balcony), I brought some of the pieces inside and stacked them behind the dining room table... much to my girlfriend's chagrin. She's being a good sport about it. (She bought me a re-release of the original SoundWave a few days ago, how cool is that!)

Pretty. Next I laid everything out on the floor. Aaaaawe yeah!

Tomorrow! The helmet should be painted in all it's giant glory ("Pumpkin Head Optimus Prime"?), so stay tuned!

This Optimus Prime Costume Is Stacked (Well, Half Stacked)

2007-10-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about the stacks... PVC glue just wasn't working as it's not really made for contact joins. (You're supposed to slather a smaller pipe with it and fit it inside of a larger one.) I figured I could use the zip ties without taking too much away from the costume. It'd also prevent accidental breakage.

I prepped the pipe yesterday by giving it a coat of silver spraypaint. Because PVC doesn't dissolve like styrofoam, I was able to use regular spraypaint. So far as I know, Krylon doesn't make H2O Silver.

Next I drilled two small holes in the side of the larger pipe that would be facing the body and fed the zip ties through. It was easier than I thought, but only because I had the foresight to not connect the longer pipe first. (Unless you've got foot long fingers, you're never feeding the zip tie through the second hole.)

Next, I drilled three holes in each, the longer pipe and the shorter pipe, that were equal distance away from each other. These holes would house the zip ties that hold the two together. I fed the ties through and put them on loosely as I went. If I had done them up all the way, each succeeding one would've been a total pain to put in.

It looked like the stack would hold together really well, despite being a bit ugly now. I drilled two sets of holes in the shoulder (the part that would be facing away from the torso) and fed the ties through.

For added strength (read: think of a smokestack getting ripped off of thin flimsy styrofoam) I put a dowel under the zip ties. If anything caught on the stack, they'd have to rip the dowel through now as well.

Finally, I cut out an Autobot symbol I had printed up and glued it onto the arm. There had to be SOME glue in this step, heh!!!

Lookin good!

Housekeeping!

2007-10-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

The really boring part about making an Optimus Prime costume like this has to be that you need to make two of almost everything. Today's post (unfortunately) is just housekeeping.

I made another foot:

... and the other leg:

... and some wheels to go with it:

Tomorrow I'm going to try to finish off the helmet and at least one smokestack.

Well Met, Mr. Helmet

2007-10-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

The moment I've been dreading has finally hit me head on. The helmet. The head. The face. No matter how you want to put it, this is going to be a pain. Well. May as well get into it!

I started by cutting out some cardboard 'ribs', two large and two smaller. The two larger ribs will support the ridge on top of Optimus Prime's head, the smaller two will be for the sides of the head. (This will make sense later.)

Next I took a small rectangle of cardboard and used it as a spacer / support for the two larger ribs. I used sticker paper for to secure everything.

I continued doing this with little rectangles of cardboard until I had completely done the big ribs end to end:

With the center of the head built, it was time to do the sides. I started again with small rectangular pieces of cardboard and secured the ribs to either side of the completed section. I chose to do both at the same time so I could pay attention and make things symmetrical.

After that, same as before, I laid down little rectangles and secured them until I ended up with this:

Here's the underside:

Next I traced the top helmet curve onto some cardboard (the non corrugated kind) and cut out two sides. I glued these onto the sides of the small ribs. These will form the side of the head.

With the sides glued on, I needed to seal the back. I used a block of styrofoam. It's not as big as the back of Optimus Prime's head but it'll work. I also left a 1/4 inch gap for ventilation which I'm really gonna need. Also, now it's a styrofoam/cardboard COMPOSITE helmet. Doesn't that sound fantastic? Wow. Composite. ... ... what do I have to do to impress you people?

Next up was the head ridge. I cut two styrofoam rectangles and them slowly carved a rounded area out of each. The goal here was to match the head contour, which I did, after several hacks of the utility knife. Square end pieces were glued to the ends:

Next I glued the ridge to the center line of the helmet:

After this I cut out a large rectangle and glued the top of the ridge on.

As cool as flat sides looked, I cut out what will be the base of Optimus Prime's ... ... uh... ears? The rounded things the antennas come out of. We'll go with 'ears' for now.

Aaaaand I glued them on.

I used a knife to round off the head ridge. There were a lot of gaps and a lot of glue seepage.

With the wind picking up to 50 bajillion miles per hour, I put in two rectangular pieces of styrofoam to help close the face off and called it quits.

Here's a dry run with the face in the helmet.

It's going to be a long day, stay tuned for more updates!

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin!

2007-10-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

A lot of thoughts had crossed my mind for the wheels. Lawnmower wheels? Wagon wheels? (Note for American readers: Not the delicious snack food.) Wheels for some other kinda wheeled toy? All of these seemed to heavy. The lightest option would be to exclude them entirely. I really thought about that but if the Optimus Prime Costume has fenders, the guy needs wheels. In true spirit of this costume, rather than going with something overly expensive (that would actually look good), I decided to make them myself. I started with four 5x5 blocks of foam. I then rounded off the corners on one of them.

Realizing this wasn't too hard, and that it kinda looked like a wheel, I did the other three.

Next I glued the pieces together in pairs. Since I used leftover 1 inch thick foam, that gave me two wheels with a depth of 2 inches. Once the glue was dry, I bevelled the edge that would be facing outward.

Next the wheels got a coat of black spraypaint. (Again, the Krylon H2O stuff. Almost anything else will eat styrofoam.)

When the wheels were dry, I printed out a wheel rim pattern. I just guessed at the size, they came out at around 2.5 inches. So Optimus Prime has low profile tires. Ah well. I cut out the rims and glued them to the wheels. Are you ready for this? It actually looks alright. Seriously.

This Is Where Things Get Complicated

2007-10-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

After that test fitting, I really wasn't happy with the ways the shoulders sat. Point being, they didn't. They wanted to slide down my arms and I couldn't move without this horrid squeaking sound of styrofoam rubbing on styrofoam. The problem is that when I put my arms through, the grey 'boxes' on the bottom of the arms hold them onto my bicep, but nothing really holds them up top. Velcro might have done it but I didn't have that. Instead I used a "safety lanyard".

safe·ty /ˈseɪfti/
–noun, plural -ties.
1. the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.
2. the quality of averting or not causing injury, danger, or loss.
3. a contrivance or device to prevent injury or avert danger.

lan·yard /ˈlænyərd/
–noun
1. Nautical. a short rope or wire rove through deadeyes to hold and tauten standing rigging.
2. any of various small cords or ropes for securing or suspending something, as a whistle about the neck or a knife from one's belt.

Basically it's a big key chain that has a clip in the middle so if you're wearing it around your neck and your keys get caught in a mechanical rice picker, it'll detach and you'll only lose your keys. In this case, it'd be awesome to cut up and use to prop the shoulders up!

I started by cutting a slit in the top inside of one of the shoulders.

Then I fed the short end through the slit and held it in place with a short length of wooden dowel. I didn't glue this yet as I still needed to measure the length.

I then cut the longer end so that it'd be adjustable. Holding it against the torso, I adjusted the length and used a big safety pin to hold it in place and fed it through the dowel. This seems to work a lot better than having loose shoulders.

The idea behind all of this is that when I put the shoulders on while wearing the torso, that I could slip the lengths of the lanyard together to hold the shoulders up around my neck. That should stop them from trying to fall down my arms. Seems to work. Hasn't done a thing about that squeaking.

Even Nicer Legs. Err. Leg.

2007-10-11T04:38:00.000-07:00

Looking at the leg, while I like the fender, I still couldn't help but think it needed more detail. I decided to do a grill pattern on the front. I began with a rectangle and bevelled the edges.

With that done, I cut the foam into nice bite sized pieces. (I've had mad cravings for strawberry wafers since starting this Optimus Prime costume, let it go.)

Satisfied with this, and admiring the fact I didn't accidentally lop off a finger, I proceeded to bevel the edges. (Hint: If you're following along at home, it helps to number them so you know which piece fits with which.)

If you haven't spotted the trend with this costume yet, let me help. Then I glued them on. (I saw it coming. Did you?)

With the detailing on, I cracked out the blue spraypaint. I'm the last one to toot my own horn, but... that leg looks damned good.

Coming soon: Wheels!

Nice Legs! Err. Leg.

2007-10-10T05:32:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to crack out the blue spraypaint. Failing to find Optimus Prime Blue, I went with ... azure lake mist... or something equally as obscure. To simplify things, it was the only colour of Krylon H2O blue that I could find. I painted the foot, the only complete part that is to be blue.

After doing the foot, it was time to pay more attention to the leg. I made the leg WAY too wide. I would've had to walk like I was feeling the ill effects of a 4 day hot pepper eating contest (read: squatted big time) so I glued the side walls for the leg a little bit inward such that I could cut them off afterward. I tried to line them up with the 'foot shroud'.

One neat thing about this was the cans of spray paint fit PERFECTLY in there as spacers. The whole deal was very wobbly so the cans fixed that situation.

I then sliced the excess of the INNER leg off and tossed it aside. For the OUTER side, I cut carefully as I could use the excess to make Optimus Prime's fender. Simple straight cuts, and one at a 45 degree angle down the edge of the smaller piece previously cut off.

I did that for both sides, here's how Optimus Prime's leg looks so far.

The only remaining piece of business was to glue the back on, I don't think I need to explain that. (Hint: It looked like a big 'ole rectangle.)

Details, Details, Details

2007-10-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

After trying things on, I'm happy that it just might work. I figured now was the time to start applying a few details. I colour printed some yellow shapes for the arm. Not every version of Optimus Prime has these but there are billions so I'm allowed to pick and choose. (I have a signed permission slip somewhere.) Below is what I printed out (it's not grainy with bad lighting. I was attempting an Ansel Adams piece):

After carefully cutting these out and doing a dry run (read: laying them on top of the arm and saying 'neat' a few times before I was satisfied), I carefully dabbed wood glue (all I had to work with) in a thin layer on the back and stuck them in place. The idea here was to a.) avoid wrinkling, and b.) to avoid glue seeping out the sides. Worked like a charm, Optimus Prime isn't going to have flakey wrinkly old Transformer arms:

Next up was a bit of self indulgence. I realized I *probably* wouldn't have to paint the torso anymore so I could finally get around to doing the windows. Being about 700 times removed from a special effects engineer, I found two sheets of acetate (overhead projector transparency sheets) leftover from a silkscreening debacle of days gone by. These were great as:

- They were light
- There were two of them
- They're cheap
- They were already paid for

I decided to try using the Gorilla Glue for these as they're essentially plastic and it didn't seem to have any harsh solvents. Acetone sounds a lot like acetate, and though it's been a few years since highschool chemestry, I was pretty sure I was one carbon chain away from costume themed destruction. I laid a thin bead of the glue around the window frame such that when it got squished it wouldn't bleed out onto the side that would be facing people.

For once, everything seemed to work as intended. Until the hinges loosened like that (They're still usable.)

Things Are Coming Together

2007-10-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

Yep. No pun on that title. I'm strapped for time so this will be a short update. I'll try to update every day this week as it's getting close to the time that I want to have the costume done. In the meantime...

For the exposed elbows of the costume, I went to a local bargain discount store (Honest Ed's for those who care) and picked up a longsleeve shirt for $3.97. Yeah. Under four bucks. :D

So. That being done, here's how the costume looks. Check back tomorrow!

Everything Hinges On The Windows

2007-10-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

With most of the torso painted (I ran out of red paint!!!) I decided I may as well see if I could get the windows on with their hinges. Putting the first hinge onto the window frame went great, screws actually bite into the foam. I have no doubt though, that I could rip them out in 0.2 seconds. (Mental note: Keep drunks away from me on Halloween. And Megatron.)

I also realized I forgot to paint the inside of the window frames. I guess I'll go get some paint tonight from Canadian Tire (hardware store).

Realizing the first window actually worked, I put the second one on. I also dropped one of the screws into that lovely pile of random bits of foam. Took me 20 minutes to find it. I'm not kidding.

That would explain why I was completely impatient putting the grill / wedges on. Not my best work (as if any of this really is.)

Ahead Of The Times

2007-10-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

The moment I've been dreading has finally arrived. I've decided to start on the head while I figure out if I'm going to try to include wheels on the unfinished legs. To me, this is going to be the hardest part of the Optimus Prime Halloween costume. If it looks *really* stupid it's going to ruin the whole costume. I know it won't be 100%, but I'm shooting for 75% at least. Maybe 60%, heh. I started by cutting what would be the mouthpiece out of cardboard.

I then taped it up using scotch tape. Scotch tape would let me have somewhat flexible joints (as opposed to ones that would just tear as masking tape would).

Flexing it back and forth carefully, I stretched the tape enough so Optimus Prime's face mask could take shape.

I then added two more pieces of cardboard on top as most Optimus Prime heads I've seen have this. I guess it makes it look less flat.

In order to keep the shape of the mouth, I realized I'd have to put in a perpendicular piece against it. This would also help set the eyes and the rest of the face back a little bit.

Speaking of eyes, that's what I cut out next:

I taped them to the back of the perpendicular piece. Optimus Prime's face is starting to take shape. (Keep in mind I have to fit my fat head in there, it won't be as svelte as the original.)

At this point I tried painting it:

This went horribly. The paint seeped under the scotch tape and lifted the corners. I thought of a quick solution, using 8 1/2 x 11 sticker paper that I had. I cut a bunch of little rectangles out and 'bandaged' Optimus Prime's face as best I could.

This seemed to be working okay so I finish it off:

Satisfied this *might* work better (anything's better than what I ended up with this morning), I painted it... and it prompty wrinkled to hell. That's what I'm stuck with though.

Back On The Grill

2007-10-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

With the base piece to Optimus Prime's back box done, I carefully cut the two pieces of foam which would be the side. Things weren't a perfect fit as always, but that's what trimming after the fact is for. I slapped glue on the pieces and weighed them down with books.

When dry, I trimmed Optimus Prime's back box and glued it to the back of the torso.

After going for some coffee, my friend John stopped by to check out how the Halloween costume was going. He gave me a great idea for the grill. In order to make it look less flat sitting on the front of the torso, he recommended that I put two wedges underneath. I promptly cut two of them...

... and then did a dry fit:

Satisfied that it just might work, I repainted the grill (some pink was showing through) and painted the wedges.

Tomorrow I start the head. Stay tuned.

Prime Back Bacon & Another Forearm

2007-10-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Optimus Prime's back (unfortunately) isn't flat so I had to get to work constructing a box for it. Nothing too difficult here, though I did want two sides to be at a 45 degree angle. Cutting styrofoam like this is a pain, hence all the nice big gaps. I cut two rectangular pieces for the top and bottom, and a large piece for the actual back itself. Below is a picture of the first side getting glued...

... and here is the other side.

Below gives you an idea of how Optimus Prime's back box should look. I'll need to flatten the bottom edges to fit flush with the back.

I cut out the wrist plug (sounds erotic!) and the pieces of foam that will act as supports for it all.

I did a dry fit and all looked okay (ie no huge gaps).

Here's the arrangement of the styrofoam blocks that will add strength to the glue joint for the wrist plate. The actual piece that comes out (to let my wrist through) won't be glued. It'll just sit snug in place by friction.

I had to put the removable piece in place but did *not* glue it here. The only reason that piece is there is to glue the newly placed block of foam on the right hand side in place at the right distance from the front of the arm. There is glue on the block, placed at the top so that if it drips down it won't bond the removable piece in place.

I also painted the shoulder and the newly completed forearm:

And here's the bulk of the painted pieces lined up next to eachother:

Mega Optimus Prime Costume Update (Yes, I resisted saying Megatron. (Does that still count?))

2007-09-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I got 2 more sheets of styrofoam and between then and now made a lot of progress. I began by cutting arm holes in the torso. Measurements were kind of rough as I just tried the torso on and made utility knife cuts roughly where the front and back of my arm would go. A quick test proved everything worked just fine.

Next I decided to do the top of the chest. For this I put the torso upside down onto a piece of foam and traced it. Any of the detailing Optimus Prime has can be added later, so I didn't need to worry about doing any bizarre cuts... at this point anyway. I designed the top so that it'll slide back toward my neck and then the small rectangular piece will be inserted at the back to lock everything in place.

Here's a dry run. Unfortunately, the styrofoam I got from Home Depot this time went through hell. It was warped pretty bad (as you can see by the left side curling up) and had divots knocked out of it everywhere.

I decided to get around this problem by using wooden dowels that, once glued in place, would hopefully hold everything down. Didn't work. At all.

The following picture is the top now being glued down.

... and a view from inside of the now larger head hole. (It's still not too bad. I plan on wearing a red turtleneck under this anyway so it'll all work out.)

I screwed up earlier when tracing the torso for sizing how big the top should be. I forgot about the extra overhang where Optimus Prime's windows will be. I traced where the top left off and mirrored the line the distance of the windows' thickness away from the original.

Next (you guessed it), I glued
the new extended overhang on.

Here's the new overhang after being carved and rounded. In retrospect, maybe the Transformer I picked should've been Shockwave, he's much more boxy.

I also began working on the second forearm. Since this has already been flogged to death earlier, I'll just show the pics:

I'll Take What's In The Box, Monty

2007-09-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

Gluing the back of the chest was an exercise in playing Jenga(tm). While the glued joints seem sturdy enough, that thing was sagging like mad once I put the books on it. Not wanting to risk my Transformer turning into a home improvement project gone wrong, I stacked a bunch of cans of spray paint et cetera to support the middle.

When all was said and done, I ended up with a box that tapered off at the bottom. The fit isn't bad, it leaves about an inch of space on both the front and back. Arm holes still need to be cut out but I can do that in a little bit. (In other words, when I'm feeling more patient.) I don't want an Optimus Prime costume with arms sticking out of his hips. Or do I... (No.)

Given the amazing (read: craptastic) job I did of aligning and cutting the layers for Optimus Prime's windows, I needed to add a few spacers and do some trimming here and there. You can see the vertical wedges to even things out in between the window frame halves. I'm not incredibly concerned about how things will look inside as most of the time the windows will be closed.

In gluing the windows, I had to invoke all the skill I got from playing Jenga again. (Seriously, it's on my resume right under my ability to set up that damned thing from Mouse Trap in under 18 hours.) You can see how much the front is sagging, and that's 1 inch thick styrofoam. It looks like a geriatric transformer.

Here is the chest, now dry. As with everything on this costume, I'll have to trim the pieces here and there to ensure they line up well.

With that done, I painted the windows. Why not. I'm going to hold off on painting the torso until I can get the 'box' on the back. Yeah. Optimus Prime has a little box on his back. I also think I'm going to get the top of the torso done too and maybe the hip-piece. I don't know if I need to make it shorter yet. We'll see.

Surely You Chest

2007-09-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Status: Running low on styrofoam. Girlfriend hasn't left me yet because of this.
Overall: Not too shabby!

With my decision to continue forward with the torso solidified, I cut and glue the remaining side panels in place. There are gaps. There are probably gaps you can see through. There are gaps you could shove 5 dollar bills through... but this isn't that kind of costume. I figure I'll fill them with gap filler which I'll buy on my next materials run (which should happen soon).

With the first 'large' '3D' piece done, I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something. The back, while cut out, still needs to be glued in place. Before that can happen, I need to cut a few inches off the depth of the torso 'box'. (I'm glad I don't fit into a square box, that'd be depressing). The arm holes still need to be measured and cut out. Overall, I really need to hit Home Depot and get some more styrofoam.

Using what little materials I had left, I finished the foot shroud. This basically consisted of carving off the excess styrofoam and glue.

That's it for now. Before the materials run I'm going to do some detail work. This started off as a venture in being obsessive compulsive with styrofoam, I'd be really curious to see if anybody's actually reading this, and moreso if they're making an Optimus Prime costume themselves.

Miscellaneous Body Parts

2007-09-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to run low on styrofoam which means I'm beginning to pick and choose what I want to complete. For now I've decided on the body as I can use the odd shaped leftovers for trim, detailing, etc. I painted one of the shoulders and did some detailing on the forearm:

While this was drying I decided to work a little more on the front of the leg. I cut two rectangular pieces of styrofoam for the foot shroud, cut off the edge where necessary, and glued the pieces in place. This will be trimmed later to make everything flush.

With this little bit of housekeeping out of the way, I got to work on the torso. As the torso bevels towards the waistline starting at about 11 inches down, I've only cut two panels out for the areas that will rest under my biceps.

Using a cooler and some books, I managed to rig things up so I could apply weight to the whole thing.

Painting The Town - - Err Arm Red

2007-09-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went down to the local Canadian Tire (hardware store) since they've actually got a decent selection of spray paint. As recommended on numerous sites, I found the styrofoam friendly Krylon H2O Latex paint. I quickly snatched up cans of red and blue, but hit a snag when they didn't have silver. They did have grey, and after some though I figured that in the Transformers cartoon, Optimus Prime had a grey grill. Sure silver would look better, but it'd also eat up styrofoam unless I could find some sort of styrofoam safe kind. Besides. I can always paint over it later should I find some decent silver.

With the three cans of paint ready to go (and surprisingly no sales people thinking I was a conscientious vandal who uses water based paint so his work can be cleaned up easily), I sacrificed my Roomba's box to make a spray booth. Come on. You think a guy doing all this work for an Optimus Prime costume would have any other vacuum cleaner besides a Roomba? Pft! (Seriously, I highly recommend them.)

With even sprays, I covered the forearm. The pen marks still showed through but I think a second coat will take care of that. After it dried, I was pretty happy with the colour. Not too dark at all. I have to admit, up until this point, it was looking like a bunch of pink styrofoam. Adding colour really seems to give it new life.

Break A Leg. On Second Thought, Don't.

2007-09-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

The foot piece was looking rather lonely so I decided to start on the lower leg. There's not much to it, just a rectangular piece of styrofoam with a foot hole cut out. Around where the foot will go is a bit of a shroud. I start by cutting out the rectangular piece.

Satisfied I might be able to walk with two of those strapped to my legs (walk = shuffle like a severe case of diarrhea struck me), I cut out two more rectangles, each with a corner taken off. Below are what they look like as they're being glued to the front of the lower leg.

... and here's how the legs are shaping up. I still need to put the front of the shroud on it, but I've no doubt it'll eventually look like a Transformer. Hopefully the one I'm going for. ;)

The Foot Is Afoo - - -.... Oh To Hell With It

2007-09-14T05:13:00.000-07:00

With the costume overall looking alright, I decided to switch gears and start tinkering with the feet. As always, I don't really have much of a plan. I took an old pair of Chuck Taylors from the closet (my girlfriend's glee to get rid of them is gonna turn to angst when she finds out I'm not throwing them away but rather gluing them to 20 lbs of styrofoam) and figure the foot will fit over top of the shoe. Simple enough, just a shoe cap.

I started by cuting out the sides and front.

Then I set up a little mini stonehenge (in sheer homage to Spinal Tap) to let the glue dry...

... which resulted in this. All it needs now is a top...

... which you can see drying here.

I cut a slot out for my ankle, I think that might make it more mobile.

'Cause. Y'know. Strapping a hundred square feet of styrofoam to yourself and 'mobility' go hand in hand.

How Are Things Shaping Up?

2007-09-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Glad I asked! Here's everything to date (except for the gun).

Hot Off The Grill!

2007-09-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

These pun-laden titles have got to stop.

To start the grill, I cut out a simple rectangle. Optimus Prime has a rectangular notch at the bottom of his grill and grill lines above it which are divided into two sections. As you can see on the right, I cut out these two sections as well as the large section at the bottom. Since the bottom section is inset a little, I shaved the piece of styrofoam down with the utility knife.

Next, I sliced the rectangular sections that will make the grill lines into neat 1 inch by 1/2 inch pieces. I then bevelled what would be the top edge of each to make the grill look more three dimensional.

Here's a final image of the grill with all of the pieces inserted.

The Windows

2007-09-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

As much fun as it would be to move on to the other arms and do something I've just finished doing, I decided to work on the front of Optimus Prime's torso. I began by roughly measuring myself (yes, I'm holding back exactly how many inches, get back to your reality TV knaves) and cut a rectangle out of styrofoam. (If it ended up being a square I think I would have cried.) I tapered it off one inch starting close to the mid point. I think that was the easiest piece to do.

After that I cut out two rectangles for the windows. I then drew two smaller rectangles which would be the cut out part, while leaving enough of a frame around the holes to be strong enough.

With the windows cut out, I bevelled the outer edges using my utility knife (which, of course, you can't really see at all here).

I then put the windows on the torso front. They didn't look like they stuck out nearly enough and besides - - I'm supposed to be able to store some beverages in there, right?

I cut out some spacers that would make the windows 3x as thick. I wasn't satisfied with having them appear flat on the body so I made 4 wedge shaped pieces of foam and mounted them on top. Now the windows would look like the roof of a house so to speak.

Below are two more pictures showing the spacers, wedges, and windows.

Here's a dry run of how they'll look. (Nothing has been glued to the torso front yet. Can we say I'm gonna need crack filler? I know I can!)

Tomorrow? The grill!

A Shoulder To Cry On (Especially When I Try To Make Prime's Head)

2007-09-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

One of the shoulders is complete. The good news is that it'll probably be stronger than the Chevy cars that litter the new movie. The bad news is that as of now I've only got a few ideas as to how to keep it on while wearing it. Below is the finished product, with the hole that I've got to jam my arm through on the facing side:

The panel with the 'U' shaped hole has a duplicate one on the bottom of the cube. The problem is, the shoulder would just fall off if I tried to put it on like that. I made a 'box' which is actually more true to how Optimus Prime looks (the lower half of his upper arm). The bonus is that the box helps hold the thing in place.

I'm thinking that since I'll have to wear a red turtleneck underneath (you'll *never* catch me wearing a turtleneck, ever... except for this. I promise.) and I could use a bit of velcro on the shoulder to hold it up there. That's about it, it's a rather uninteresting piece; no crazy engineering here.

Shoulder Design

2007-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

I've done a quick preliminary design for the shoulder. Using my ninja like skills in paintbrush (don't ask) I came up with the below.

It's kind of weird going through all this work for a one-off Transformers Halloween costume. A friend asked me last night "What's this say about you?" ... ... "Well. It says I'm DIY inclined, extremely obsessive compulsive, and trying to compensate for the current state of things by bringing a fragment of my childhood to life." I'm honest, gotta give me that. Besides. It's a Transformers costume. It beats going as a pirate. Or a ninja. Or a pirate ninja that shoots pirates out of it's ninja mask. (inside joke - AFH)

I'm going to get the shoulder done tonight and move on to the chest. The gun is on hold right now while I make sure I've got enough materials - - if I get the rest done and don't have enough to finish it I'll probably leave it out. It might not be worth completing if all it'll earn me is a night in an anti-terrorism cell. I'll be sure to snap a complete pic, it's actually starting to look like Optimus Prime.

Gun Making Lessons From Halal Meat

2007-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

Satisfied with the forearm, I decided to give the gun a shot (pun intended). Near the end of the barrel there's a round bulge. I decided to use multiple blocks of styrofoam with a circular core cut out.

After getting a few of them ready, I slipped them over the ABS tube that is going to act as the gun barrel. After a little bit of glue between each segement, I pushed them together, let them dry, did a bit of carving, and ...

... ended up with something reminiscent of styrofoam halal meat. Satisfied this stupid bit of mickey mouse engineering was going to work, I carved a rough bulge and set it aside to be sanded and shaped later.

The last bit that I worked on was the butt of the gun. It's supposed to be a half octagon shape but there's no way I'd be able to hold it with the bottom smashing against the forearm. So... it got neutered a little bit. The idea is to sandwich 3 pieces of foam with a a rectangle cut out. The ABS tubing will slide into the hole and two more pieces of styrofoam cut to shape will be glued to the top and bottom.

Forearm Demo

2007-09-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Here's how the forearm will work. The wrist plate slides onto two dowels on a block of styrofoam and holds it in place nicely. Still needs sanding and finishing touches (and painting for that matter) but you get the idea.

Houston, we have a forearm. Kind of.

2007-09-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Based on the rough diagram from the previous post, I got to work cutting out the various pieces of styrofoam I'd need to make the forearm. I wasn't too sure how the Gorilla Glue would hold, but it's actually been one of the nicest glues I've ever worked with. It tends to froth up to 3-4 times the amount you put on, but so long as you know you can apply it sparingly. It also stays tacky for a while so there's time for adjustments. The downside is that it takes close to 2-4 hours to dry, but once it reaches that point it's really solid.

To the left are several of the template pieces. The leftmost is the bottom of the forearm which has already been bevelled. The middle pieces with the half circle shapes cut out are going to be the wrist plate. I thought about it and realized the hand hole would look better if it hugged my wrist relatively tight as opposed to being big enough for me to get my hand through. One side will be glued in, the other will be inserted and held in place by wooden dowels (thanks for the idea Ikea). The last piece shown is one of the sides. This piece is boring as it's just a rectangle. Rectangles aren't exciting. When painted, it will have a silver stripe down the side. That's exciting.

This is the bottom and side after the Gorilla Glue has been applied. I'm using a bunch of books leftover from college to hold them down. When this dried, there was a little bit of give as styrofoam bends a bit, but the joint held tight.

This is the near complete forearm. Inside I've glued blocks to keep the wrist plate at the proper depth when inserted. The outer wrist plate in this photo has been glued in place. When it comes time to put the costume on, all I've got to do is insert my arm through the elbow joint, place my wrist against the hole, and insert the other plate (again, which will be held in place by wooden dowels). Yes, I did a dry run without dowels. Worked like a charm. I realize everything looks a bit rough, but when it's all dry I can sand it to smooth it down and paint it.

Ever a captain of efficiency, while the forearm was drying I began work on one of the exhaust pipes. For some reason I found it retardedly hard to cut PVC pipe straight with a hacksaw. I tried twice and ended up with two pieces of equal length that have a slight angle to the bottom. Looking at this, I realized I kind of liked it so I kept them. Using a drill, I put holes in the larger pipe to match Optimus Prime's smokestacks. Using PVC glue (this stuff is NASTY), I glued the two ends together. I simply had to hold them tight for 30 seconds, and then let the pipe sit for 30 minutes. I stuffed styrofoam between the pipes to hold them together and will leave it in for extra strength. I have no doubt I could snap the smokestack in half without any effort, but so long as I don't try I believe it will hold.

Ready To Begin Construction

2007-09-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

After close to two hours scouring the aisles of Home Depot last night, I've secured enough goodies to begin. I managed to snag:

A utility knife
2 12" lengths of PVC piping (smoke stack ends)
2 3' lengths of PVC piping (smoke stack bottoms / gun)
2 10' lengths of 1/2 inch insulating styrofoam (arms, legs, body, head)
1 10' length of 1 inch insulating styrofoam (chest windows / decorative bits)
1 1/4 inch dowel (to be cut into pegs to hold elements together)
Gorilla Glue (great for styrofoam... apparently)
PVC glue (to glue the PVC gun handle to the gun barrel, and smokestack pieces)

Home Depot didn't seem to have any water based spraypaint (Krylon H2O has been recommended) so I'll have to check Canadian Tire or Rona when I get a chance. I plan to start with one of the more simple elements, namely the forearms. Below are the planned cuts of styrofoam:

The Invitation Has Been Issued!

2007-09-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

That's right. I've just received the invite for my friends' Halloween 2007 party. Unlike previous years, I've decided to do things right. With the bad taste of Michael Bay's latest turd (there was only one Transformers movie and it came out in 1986) fresh in my mouth, it's time for Optimus Prime (the real one, not that mish-mosh of CGI triangles) to rise again.

I have until October 27th (the date of the party) to complete the costume. This isn't going to be a red cardboard box complimenting a pair of blue track pants - - I want to do this one right.

Tomorrow I should be heading to Home Depot with Jay, who has graciously agreed to help me get a buttload of materials. The plan so far is for a cardboard core torso as insulating styrofoam... well... insulates. Styrofoam detailing can be applied to the outside without making things look too rickety or too hot to wear. I've decided the chest doors will open towards the shoulders (I'll use two magnets to hold them together when closed) and, given the heat situation, will house a freezer pack and four beverage cans. T'aint the Matrix, but what use have I got for one of those anyway?

54 days to go.