September 15, 2012

Costume Construction notes:

This is Big Sister the new bad guy or should I say bad girl who appeared in 2k games Bioshock 2. I chose to do this costume way before the game was released; I fell in love with Bioshock and when I heard that 2k was making another I got so excited and since I wanted to push myself skills wise. I determined a Bioshock costume would be a great fit. I was in the beginning going to make a Big Daddy, but when some concept art of the Big Sister hit the web I instantly fell in love and jumped on the project. I started with research on all the concept art that was posted online, going from there I started to plan my costume. It wasn't until I bought everything for it and was already working on it when the designers changed the first concept of Big Sister. Luckily it wasn't too drastic, instead of a gun arm it was now a needle.

Going back we fixed up and altered what was changed; now this was the first time me and my dad ever worked with real metal in a costume and fiberglass. so everything was a learning experience; the leg braces were what stumped us the most. But my dad did some research after I found some better references of her legs and found the exact style of braces the Big Sister would wear and from there he called around to many different hospitals and doctor offices trying to find them. After many weeks of looking we found a local office that had the exact pair we needed, so we took the long drive over and picked them up. So yes the leg braces you i'm wearing are real polio leg braces from the same time area as Bioshock is set in; well at least one is the other is a somewhat newer model but still metal which is no longer used in today's treatment of polio. They were kindly donated to us to use; so with more belts added and a few modifications to the hinges so that I moved better. We had the legs down.

The rest is just fiberglass armor, the cage is real copper tubing, and the tank is 3 metal popcorn tins welded together. All together the costume I think weighs around 30 pounds. The helmet lights up in the face plate, the smaller holes on the side and the top blue part. (If anyone wants to know more detail on construction here is a link to my guide.)

Reactions from fans:

When I first wore it I was at Kumoricon 2009, I entered in a small skit just for fun and to show it off. The reaction from the crowd was amazing. Everyone was crazy about it and afterward many would come and ask me questions. After that I've been taking it to many events like Sakuracon and Wonder Northwest. The costume has only been entered in one contest in it's whole life which it won at Wonder Northwest 2011. Today it is retired until it's requested for me to wear or the new game comes out.

I have to say even to this day after cosplaying for 8 years and making over 35+ costumes that Big Sister is my baby and pride and joy. Though it was a hard costume it was way worth the pain and suffering. Because it taught me new things and has made me appreciate costuming even more because with enough passion someone can create whatever they dream of.

If you'd like to follow my other costuming works I do have a facebook, twitter, tumblr, and DA. Which anyone is welcome to join and watch my craziness unfold.

Cosplayer: BangBangNeko

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