Halloween costume help: Kaneda from Akira
October 5, 2011 7:08 AM Subscribe
I'm going to try to make a Kaneda (from Akira) costume for Halloween.
What craft materials do I want to use to make this happen?
I'm starting with a base of a red leather jacket and a Nerf Stampede gun. I have red vinyl pants and goggles from ebay.
What materials and tools do I want to use to:
a) Mod the gun? I'm thinking PVC pipe and wood? What's easy to work with, relatively sturdy and can be bonded/glued together?
b) Make the power pack?
c) Paint the capsule on the jacket?
d) Make the buckles/snaps on the front?
Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated, feel free to answer any part of this question!
(For reference, this is the character.)
I'm starting with a base of a red leather jacket and a Nerf Stampede gun. I have red vinyl pants and goggles from ebay.
What materials and tools do I want to use to:
a) Mod the gun? I'm thinking PVC pipe and wood? What's easy to work with, relatively sturdy and can be bonded/glued together?
b) Make the power pack?
c) Paint the capsule on the jacket?
d) Make the buckles/snaps on the front?
Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated, feel free to answer any part of this question!
(For reference, this is the character.)
For the gun, Wonderflex might be an idea, or insulation foam. For Wonderflex, you would need a heat gun, but it's malleable and hard to screw up.
For the power pack, I would find a box that already is a similar size and shape, and then cut the corner as needed. Then I would cover it all w/cut-to-size craft foam (smooth and paintable, easy to work with, cheap). For the raised sections on the pack, cut foam w/ x-acto knife and glue on. Paint it all silver. For the decal (?), print it out and glue it on. I can't tell what material the strap is supposed to be, but maybe vinyl (from fabric store) or even an old re-purposed belt or something can do the trick.
The fasteners on the front--I would use foam as well and paint them--same idea as the power pack. I did something similar with an Edward Elric costume for my son a few years ago. To make it actually 'attach' the jacket, I put a gob of hot glue on the back of the foam piece and stuck a safety pin in it and let it set. Pinned the foam piece to the jacket and voila.
posted by methroach at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2011
For the power pack, I would find a box that already is a similar size and shape, and then cut the corner as needed. Then I would cover it all w/cut-to-size craft foam (smooth and paintable, easy to work with, cheap). For the raised sections on the pack, cut foam w/ x-acto knife and glue on. Paint it all silver. For the decal (?), print it out and glue it on. I can't tell what material the strap is supposed to be, but maybe vinyl (from fabric store) or even an old re-purposed belt or something can do the trick.
The fasteners on the front--I would use foam as well and paint them--same idea as the power pack. I did something similar with an Edward Elric costume for my son a few years ago. To make it actually 'attach' the jacket, I put a gob of hot glue on the back of the foam piece and stuck a safety pin in it and let it set. Pinned the foam piece to the jacket and voila.
posted by methroach at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2011
Definitely paint the capsule on the back of the jacket, that shit is iconic. ("The Capsules" is the name of Kaneda's motorcycle gang.) When I did this costume, I used white acrylic primer to paint an oblong on the back of my jacket, then painted the blue and yellow on top after that was dry, and finally used a Sharpie to add a black outline. Don't skip the primer! Without it your colors won't be bright enough.
Remember, Kaneda wears a pink polo shirt under his red jacket.
posted by milk white peacock at 8:30 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Remember, Kaneda wears a pink polo shirt under his red jacket.
posted by milk white peacock at 8:30 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by mkb at 7:33 AM on October 5, 2011