Roach-kin costume

wowy319

wowy319

Artisan
So I've decided to make a PC for Crossroads, and that PC is going to be a cockroach-kin. I've more or less figured out how to do the mouthparts and antennae (I got my hands on a brown balaclava that I'll be attaching foam parts to), but I'm frankly stumped when it comes to making costuming for his thorax and wings.

The best way I could describe what I want to make is a kind of shirt with the wings and the little plate that covers the back of a roach's head attached to the back, and a little bit of foam plating on the front. I don't know what I need to use to make the wings rigid enough that they'll maintain their shape and not flop around, but soft enough that they won't break under weapon blows. I'm thinking maybe camp foam as a base for the back with cloth coverings, but I'm not sure how to make that stick to the shirt I'd be using. What would you suggest?
 
I'm assuming the attachment to the shirt is in question because you'll want to wash the shirt but not the wings. Going your route, my suggestion would be after you have the camp foam wings cut out, cover them in cloth but don't glue the fabric to the foam - sew the foam in like a couch cushion and slit the fabric on the underside of the wing (the side against your back) and use velcro to keep it close. You can then stitch the wings to the shirt a key points and then just remove the camp foam from the wing 'sleeves' whenever you need to wash the shirt.

Just remember to wash the fabric you're going to use for the wings first in hot water and then dry it on high heat. This will help shrink the fabric prior to making the wings and you won't have to worry about a lot of shrinkage after you've done all of the work.

Sometimes if the foam piece is large/heavy, it may begin to 'sag down' inside of the cloth covering. This can be fixed by some more velcro on the inside of the covering at the top - attached to the foam.
 
camp pad can more or less be sewn to fabric. Another option is to make a sort of harness type vest with the plating and wings attached to that rather than your shirt.

Really, if you are going to be a rogue and one of those people who climb through brush and bushes to get around people, you want to have as few things as possible hanging off of you to get caught on something.

I wouldn't sacrifice mobility for the sake of the costume.
 
The vest idea is pretty appealing to me. It could easily be done with something along the lines of a biking/trail running shirt, since those tend to breathe well. I've found a good running singlet that already matches the colors I'll be using in the costume, so now it's just a matter of making the wings and attaching the camp foam to rep the plates.

Any suggestions for antennae and mouthparts? I'm using a balaclava that opens enough for my mouth as the base for the head prosthetics. Right now I was going to make the antennae out of thin strips of closed-cell foam and have them be 1 and 1/2 feet long at maximum and stitch most of them to the headpiece. As for the little face appendages roaches have, I'm not sure how to go about those. What should I do in that regard?
 
wowy319 said:
The vest idea is pretty appealing to me. It could easily be done with something along the lines of a biking/trail running shirt, since those tend to breathe well. I've found a good running singlet that already matches the colors I'll be using in the costume, so now it's just a matter of making the wings and attaching the camp foam to rep the plates.

Any suggestions for antennae and mouthparts? I'm using a balaclava that opens enough for my mouth as the base for the head prosthetics. Right now I was going to make the antennae out of thin strips of closed-cell foam and have them be 1 and 1/2 feet long at maximum and stitch most of them to the headpiece. As for the little face appendages roaches have, I'm not sure how to go about those. What should I do in that regard?
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Personally, I would go with head antennae & that would basically be it. Making a mouth rep with all the other stuff just doesn't seem necessary...you will look bug enough.
 
With any long antennae or other headgear, you need to keep in mind frailty of parts and weapon blows. It if is secured to your head well, there is always the risk of it getting ripped off your head (pulling your head partway with it). If you have the antennae attached to a headband or hat, you will merely lose the headband or hat when hit in the head, which is in my opinion more desirous than having my head wrenched around by the antennae.
 
Fynwei said:
With any long antennae or other headgear, you need to keep in mind frailty of parts and weapon blows. It if is secured to your head well, there is always the risk of it getting ripped off your head (pulling your head partway with it). If you have the antennae attached to a headband or hat, you will merely lose the headband or hat when hit in the head, which is in my opinion more desirous than having my head wrenched around by the antennae.
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skull cap would probably be a good option: cover the hair & ears up.
If you have a sewing machine & are able, this pattern works pretty good. http://www.ehow.com/how_5923120_sew-skull-cap.html
 
If you are dead-set on having mandibles you could probably make something out of friendly plastic similar to how people make orc and ogre tusks.
 
Leather seems to be the best thing for any part of your costume people are mentioning. I'm biased since I'm a leather worker, but I'd make leather thorax armor, leather wings (back armor), a leather headband with attennas (I agree, I'd rather have stuff knocked off my head, also less risk of it breaking)...
 
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