Build: Zipper and wrench

Hey'a All!

In the summer of 2015 I cosplayed Gadget Hackwrench from Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers.
My friend was a casual genderbend of Montery Jack. I decided that I needed a giant wrench and of course we couldn't cosplay without Zipper.
Last week I found the pictures of the build of these two props so I thought I would share the build.

Let's start with the wrench as this was the easier project and was done over a couple of days.

The shape of the build was done with only my notes, a pen, a ruler, a saw and sandpaper (not pictured). 

I drew out the general shape and started cutting off big chunks. Sandpaper was used for the smaller details and to make the surface smooth again after the saw roughed it up. 

This is the general shape I went for. You can see my guidelines for getting the shape right.

After the general shape was attained I decided to cover it all with some lightweight wall putty. This was then sanded down and another layer was applied. 

After one layer of putty. Ready for sanding.

This step was done to cover all the small holes in the foam and also to protect the foam from the fumes from the spray paint I used to paint it.

I primed the whole wrench before I painted it, and then it was sprayed it with silver paint. The styrofoam is not flexible and the prop is not expected to have to endure a lot of damage so I simply just used normal spray paint. 

After spray paint the wrench is finished.

As you can see the wall putty did not protect the prop very well and the fumes from the spray paint has made the styrofoam texture show. This is not a big deal, just annoying because of the steps I took to avoid it.

Things I would have done differently:

I only had access to foam with very large holes, was I to do this project again I would use a denser foam. i would also switch the wall putty with wood glue or mod podge as these sand better and they would probably hav protected the styrofoam better than the wall putty. 

On to Zipper

I decided to needle felt him as I lack the knowledge to make an actual teddy bear. It is not difficult to needle felt it just takes time. I think I spent about 40 hours on him. This was my first ever needle felting project so I am quite proud of the outcome. 

I started with his wings so they were ready for attachment. They both got a thin blue line attached in the middle and then they were ready.

The wings are made out of two thin white strips of felt. 

Zipper's body, head and limbs all have a core of teddy bear stuffing. It turns out that teddy bear stuffing felts really well and as it is a lot cheaper than the coloured wool, I used it for the core of the body parts. 

Progress on the head.

Basically I just bunched up a lot of stuffing and started felting. *Stab, Stab, Stab*. When I had the general shaped I wanted, I covered the body part with turquoise felt. 

Covering with the right colour

With the body part covered with the right colour and a better quality material I could begin shaping details into it and really getting the shape down which is impossible with just the stuffing. 

Time to add more details

I don't have pictures of the next step but when the head was covered with turquoise wool I used some yellow wool for the eyes. When the body was covered with blue, I gave Zipper a red shirt and joined the head and body together. I also attached the wings

I then made each limb and before covering them with felting wool I joined them to the body 

Here you can see the process of attaching the legs to the body. I used some loose stuffing and just stabbed away. 

Sidenote: Quite awkward to stab Zipper between the legs >.< Sorry Zipper! 
When the body parts were attached I covered them with turquoise and finished the last details such as his mouth, eyelashes, nose and sleeves.
Things I would have done differently: To be honest there is not much I would have done differently. He is not perfectly symmetrical but symmetry comes with practice. I would have bought more wool though as his shirt is quite thin.

Here is a picture of the two together:

If you've enjoyed my build please do not hesitate to tell me. I hope to return in the new year with some of the builds for Weiss. But until then...

See Ya

- Miliyia

Ps. I am sorry for my language in this post, but I have not used my written english since the last blog post.

Life update and cosplay planning!

Hi again guys.

As you might have read on twitter, life hasn't really been stable for me. I was living with my boyfriend temporarily as my apartment was unavailable and as it happens we broke up. This caused me to move in with my mom while my apartment was being renovated. Besides the stress of that there is a lot of sickness in my family right now (cancers and broken bones) so I have had to deal with all that before going back to cosplaying. I am now in the middle of getting back on my feet and getting my life together and I am ready to just enjoy life :-)
This of course means that I have more time for cosplay ^_^

As for getting back into my cosplay I have begun working on Weiss Schnee. In this post you will get an overview of the Weiss build and the planning behind it. Later, as I am building the cosplay, I will share my more detailed plans for each part and I will share my notes as well.

For me, a cosplay build starts with a lot of research. I divide the cosplay into different parts and plan the build according to my schedule. Usually the train of thought is as follows:

1. I divide the cosplay into different parts and I research each part separately to determine which materials, tools and techniques will be needed for each part. This step is really important to me as I otherwise would get overwhelmed with the whole thing, as most cosplays consist of many parts and lots of different techniques.
I am also not very artistic in general which I make up for with careful planning and researching!

- In this step I usually write and draw a lot on paper. I will show you these notes at the appropriate points during the build.
- This is also the time where I estimate the cost of the build and also figure out important deadlines for online shopping.

2. I start buying materials and tools I will need. This is to ensure that I spread the cost as much as possible. This process sometimes takes a week, and sometimes months ;-)

3. Slowly I start building. Usually I will start with fabrics and mock-ups. I usually start with the most time consuming part of the build.

4. While building I frequently stop and do a bit more research or evaluate what I'm doing, just to ensure that I am working as efficiently as I can.

5. I'd like to be done at least a week before the con, just to be able to redo some things and such. This almost never happens - but I try and plan for it, so there is room for some delays!

This is the overall plan for every cosplay I build. During the Weiss build, you will see this in a lot more detail and - I hope - get a view of how I think and plan my builds.

Weiss:

Meet Miss Schnee. 

Weiss is from the Rooster Teeth animated series RWBY. I fell in love with this character during season 1 and have been going strong ever since. She is strong and dignified, but with a troubled past and difficult family relations and her look really suits what I have been wanting to do with my cosplay for a long time, so the decision to cosplay her wasn't hard at all. 

So - first of all, let's break her down into pieces as to not get overwhelmed from the start.

At a first glance Weiss has

- A bolero

- A dress

- A wig

- Boots

- Myrtenaster (the sword)

I divide these into 4 categories.

Clothing: The dress and the Bolero plus the belt and her small bag (not shown)

Bought accessories: Wig and contact lenses

Shoes: Knee-high wedges.

Props: Myrtenaster, the hair piece plus jewelry.

Mind you. These categories will expand as you research - all these research details are included in my notes. But as an example - think of the wig: It is a long white wig - but to actually replicate it you first need to pick out the wig, then consider if you need extra wefts to hide where the ponytail attaches, you have to cut the wig, restyle it and then make her hairpiece. There are so many small details to look out for, and the wig is the easiest when it comes to that. 

Clothing: I bought this pattern at a local fabric store and I will base my work on this and then modify to my needs.

Obviously the bolero need to have bell sleeves and a tall collar. The dress I will make as is, and then put a petti skirt underneath. This is the part of the build I am planning to do first and I plan on having the first update in a week or so. I will do a mock up in a cheap fabric first just to get to know the pattern before moving on to satin. 

Bought accessories: For the wig I will buy Arda Wigs' Jeannie in pure white and perhaps some loose wefts as well.

The contacts will be the 'Ice Blue' from EOS

Shoes: I haven't really figured out the details for the shoes yet, but I will buy a pair of generic wedges and then modify them. My shoe-making skills aren't great, so look forward to that struggle ;-)

Myrtenaster: I will not go into detail about Myrtenaster here as it deserves its very own post when I begin building it. I am currently gathering materials for this and trying to make a space where I can actually work on it, instead of having to travel 1.5 hour to borrow my Mom's garage :-P 

Basically, this is the whole cosplay planned out in very broad terms. As we go along I will go into detail about everything, but to do it here would definitely be an overload of information. 

Also, if you want a more detailed explanation of planning a cosplays in general, write it in the comments and I will see to it.

So until next time

- Miliyia

Twitter: @MiliyiaCosplay

Miraluka: Pictures so far

Sorry for the delay. Here is the finished robe. My boyfriend doesn't have proper lightning in his apartment so we had to wait until we were both home in the daytime.!

I will continue with the wollen undershirt and the skirt this week.

Robe done!! And temporary life changes.

Hi!

Welcome back to my blog. I haven't posted in a while, as I've had nothing to post :P 

The reason I've had nothing to post is that my phone decicded to stop working last month which lead to me losing all of the pictures of the miraluka build :'( Whilst limited by my lack of phone, I have also been forced to move out of my apartment for the duration of September as it's being renovated - so I can't access all of my tools and equipment - but I will do what I can while living away.

As of now I have settled in where I'm gonna stay in September, and my phone has been repaired, so I have tried filming the rest of my build of the miraluka cosplay. 

I finally finished the robe today and I am so happy with the result! I will post pictures on this site tomorrow and I hope to have an edited 'making of' video ready in a week or so.

This has just been a quick update as I'm exited to be done with the robe and really looking forward to making the shirt and the skirt! Check in with me tomorrow for pictures or in a while for more progress updates. 

Thank you for reading this :) 

Best regards

- Miliyia 

I went to Genki... Kinda ;)

Heya everyone!

As you might remember I had opted out of going to Genki-con this year because of finances and unstable social relations. But late thursday evening my brother called me and said he and his girlfriend wanting me to go with them to Genki on friday. Of course I went and I had a great time. I had a great time with a bunchof friends.
I did not cosplay as I am repairing a lot of costumes at the moment and none were ready to put on with such short notice.
I did wear my '1 up outfit (Green Mushroom from Mario)' of which I have no pictures :'( but basically it is a large 1up 'shroom hat a 1 up t-shirt and a 1 up backpack. I will try and get some pictures the next time I wear it.


That's enough blabbering... Progress-wise I am still trying to finish my mock-up for the miraluka, but as I had an exam to study for, I didn't get much done in July. But as of now I am taking a break from studying so I hope I will be able to create a lot faster now. Fingers crossed!

Just a small update - if anyone wants a more detailed review of Genki, ask me and I will write a post on Genki as this was my 3rd or 4th year attending :)

Seeya!
- Miliyia

A cosplay identity crisis?

Hey guys. 

I know that I haven't posted much since my last convention in March and there is a reason for this. After the convention and what happened there (I will explain later in the text) I haven't really been feeling like cosplaying, working on costumes, or planning new ones.
Cosplay in general has just been filled with a lot of mixed feelings for me. On top of that, I have finished my last year of my bachelor's degree so I've been busy with school as well. I hope you can understand and forgive me.

Well then.. What happened at J-popcon?

Overall I had a wonderfull time as I always have, and I went to a lot of amazing events and saw a lot of amazing people. But in my little group of cosplay friends, emotions were stirring. It all escalated Saturday night, and the group was split into two, me and some friends and then my cosplay-partner and her boyfriend.

Without gossiping too much and without betraying my cosplay partner, I can say that she made the decision to attend cons later this year, with neither me nor anyone from the group as company.

This has left me with some mixed feelings
On one hand it does not bother me. I have a lot of people to meet up with at conventions, and I had started making my costumes alone anyway.
On the other hand, this takes off a lot of my motivation for going to the second big con I usually go to - Genki con, as travel time is more than an hour each way every day. This wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the people you generally meet on the train. There is, in my experience, a lot of harassment and enduring the ride can sometimes be difficult, even with a group of friends. So travelling can really ruin the whole day (or costume!!).

All this is something I have been thinking a lot about for the last few months, and my identity as a cosplayer has been a theme in my thoughts throughout. I have been considering if it was time for me to let go of this expensive hobby or if I should continue alone and see where it takes me?


I have decided to continue cosplaying - Yeah cosplay is expensive and who hasn't been living off of oatmeal a whole month because of a new supply of materials? ;-) But it is so worth it when I enjoy every minute of sewing, fabricating, showing off the costume and meeting new friends!

I am still dealing a bit with this, and have ultimately decided to skip genki this year - I would have gone alone, but money is low this month, and I'd rather focus on Copenhagen Comic Con this September as it is 5 minutes from where I live and I already have a ticket,

I am still in the progress of making my Weiss cosplay and I expect it to progress a lot faster this month. I will also be making my personal Star wars: TOR character for Comic Con.

I hope this has given you some insight as to why I haven't been posting lately and what can happen in the mind of a cosplayer, when motivation is suddenly on demand.

Best regards

- Miliyia 

Costumes done and worn!

Hey guys... I know it's been a week since I went to J-popcon, but things have been crazy. I finished both my costumes thursdag night a bit after twelve - and thus got around 6 hours of sleep. Which was way more than I expected :) The con was great, and I hope, at some point next week to write a full review on it. This post will be about my costumes and my thoughts about them. One of the main reasons this is late is because my laptop was attacked by Coca Cola and the keyboard has stopped working... Yeah, that sucks...

Mine was my cosplay on friday. This picture was taken 5 minutes after I arrived with full on stress so forgive me for the pose. The other was taken with a phone. I do realise I look a bit chubby in these pictures - but I swear I'm not in real life ;-) 
Overall I am happy with what I made in such a short time. The wig styling was pretty easy and took about 10 minutes, and the hair piece is just glued on. The white belt was fitted with velcro and the fur was hot glued to the bow. The shoes I made after several tries and they turned out okay.
Things I want to remake: The shoes were far too small and the fabric was too thick and stiff - and also, they broke, so I will need to remake them.
The white belt kept falling off because of the quality of the velcro, so that needs to be fixed.
I need to do some more details on the shirt
In consideration of the leggings I will have to figure out what to do, as I am not happy with how they turned out, but I am out of ideas.


Other than that I am happy with the costume - the next step is to actually learn to pose and get some pictures taken by a good photographer with a proper camera. If I decide to go to Genki-con this July I will wear Mine again, but I am still undecided - more about this in my upcoming review of J-popcon.



I wore Electabuzz saturday. Again, I am really not this fat in real life ;-) I decided not to wear a wig and no contacts. This was mainly because I had neither time nor inspiration for a wig and I had no time to buy contacts. My favourite part of this costume is most certainly my tail. I just love how big and fluffy it is. 
The tail is attached with a belt, which is put through holes in the back of the dress. I had to have it on really tight as the tail is quite heavy - but it was worth it. I decided not to have my hand light up with a 'thunder punch' as I didn't have time to sew a pocket for the battery pack. 
I don't know if you can see it on the picture but one foot is larger than the other. I really loved this cosplay and I think it is the perfect combination of cute and accurate for a Gijinka. I also tried the dress without the tulle underneath and it looked really cute but naturally lost the width of Electabuzz. 
Things I want to remake: I want to fix the back of the dress as it keeps sliding down and distorting the look.
I might change the shoes so they are more alike, if I find a method where I don't have to start completely over. 
I had made som earrings out of oven baked clay but I forgot them x(  - an easy one to correct. 

I am sorry for not having more or better pictures - but the one single thing I am really bad at is posing and finding photographers. I will try to do better the next time. 

As mentioned I plan on writing a post about the convention as a whole - this will propably include my thoughts about participating at Genki this summer. 

Until then - Have fun.

- Miliyia

Progress - getting ready to finish

Hello everyone. These last weeks have been weird for me. I haven't really been sick, nor heallthy so I have unfortunately been lacking in motivation and energy. But I have made some progress. I am getting ready to finish both of my costumes these days and I just need to endure!

 As you can see I have begun the headband for my Electabuzz-Gijinka, and I hope to finish it today or tomorrow. I have fastened two cheap knitting rods with some wire and a lot of hot glue, and now I need the spheres at the end and a second cover of fur. I have also been making the tulle undercoat for the gijinka-dress but I haven't got any pictures yet unfortunately.

This was my progress on the headpiece of Mine. It is made with self-adhesive craft foam and some regular glue. I think it turned out quite well in the end.


I am sorry for the short post, but I will head back to finishing the costumes and taking more pictures. See you soon.








- Miliyia

Decisions and failure

Hello everyone.

Yesterday I had to make a hard decision. Since I am still sick, and only might recover before the con, I have decided to postpone my big Electabuzz fursuit :'( I am doing this because there is no way I can finish it before the con when I also have Mine and Electabuzz-gijinka to make and I'd rather have 2 great costumes than 3 mediocre. I will hopefully attend Genki-con in July with the full Electabuzz-suit and I am looking forward to this.
I have started working on the tights of Mine and her shirt, but the sickness is delaying me, but pictures and progress should be up in the next couple of days :)

I just wanted to update you all on this. I'll se you in a few days. Have fun.

- Miliyia

Delay! God damn you health!

Hey everyone.

I know that I promised a new entry far earlier than this, but unfortunately I've been busy trying to cough my lungs out - not recommendable ;-) Just as I thought my body had fought the sickness I woke up yesterday with a sore throat - whch I hadn't had earlier and a different coughthan the last couple pf weeks . *Sigh*. I am sorry that you have had to wait this long, but I haven't really been able to think or work on my costumes. This leaves me with a lot of stress and not a whole lot of energy.
But I will try my best over the next weeks to update you as there will be a lot of progress (because 'm behind on everything) and I will be working my ass off.

I am in the middle of furring the feet of Electabuzz so pictures are soon to come. But some weeks ago my friend and I started the mock suit for Electabuzz, which I will try and finish this weekend. I have a few pictures from making the DTD of the feet, but I don't know yet whether or not I will actually be using it.

 So again I am sorry for not posting and that this post is short and pretty uneventful. But I will try my best to do a lot this week and to get a lot of pictures of it. Wish me luck.


- Miliyia

Ps. If this entry seems a little incoherent or off, it is because I still have a massive headache form coughing so much >.<

Mine: Confusing shoe sizes and learning japanese

Yesterday I had my first lesson in japanese! Yay! Finally, through the charity of my BFF (and cosplay partner) I have started a beginner's course in japanese. I am very excited to finally be learning japanese as I have been interested in japanese culture for over ten years now, and I don't think you'll ever be able to understand a culture fully withut learning the language. It was a fun introduction lesson where we were taught to say our name and write it in katakana, I am looking forward to the next lesson in two weeks (next week is cancelled because of 'winter vacation').

Besides learning nihongo I have been prepping Mine's shoes for fabric. The seller I bought them of off Ebay didn't clarify which shoe size chart she used, so they ended up being way too small for my big feet. But after a couple of cuts and a lot of tape, they are ready for fabric to be glued on. Unfortunately I spent all of my money on Electabuzz this month, so I will not be able to buy the fabric until March *Sits in a corner and cries*.

My BFF have finished the skirt for Mine for me - we only got half of it done last time - and when I get pictures of it I will share them with you. Next Wednesday I am planning on starting on the Electabuzz mock suit so I'll have som pictures around then. The other thing I'll be doing this month is the foam for the head of Electabuzz, I plan on having some pictures ready on sunday.
Until then - have fun!

- Miliyia

DTD - Duck tape dummy and failed leggings

Hello everyone, just a small update and what to expect next week.

Today I tried to sew up Mine's leggings by hand, but as I was soon to discover, the thread pulled the fabric so when I tried them on they ripped. *Sigh*. So the new plan is to use my newly made Duct tape dummy of my leg (see later) and buy a pair of nylon and a pair of thicker leggings and glue them together when they are stretched to their maximum. I really hope this works, as I can't really finish the costume without the leggings.

The other thing I did today was a dummy of my head and a dummy of my leg with help from my bf. I hope to build the head of Electabuzz and the leggings - including painting them - of Mine on these, when I manage to get them home with me ;-)


I am unsure how much I will be making cosplays next week and thus unsure how much I will post as I will be really busy with school and such.
Hope you've enjoyed this small update.


Best Regards
- Miliyia

Progress and rookie mistakes

I am sorry this post is late but things didn't go along as fast as I hoped they would, but I have worked on the cosplays as much as I have been able to =)

Electabuzz: 
Last weekend I made the electabuzz gijinka dress and as it was the first time I ever really used a sewing machine I am very proud of myself. I managed to plop out the whole dress and underskirt in a day - and in time for dinner too ^_^
But shortly afterwards I realized I made a rookie mistake on the tulle underskirt and I will be re-making that and then uploading some better pictures. But the main part of the dress is finished.

I know that the lightning looks crooked when the dress is flat, but when I wear it, it looks perfect :-)
Mine: 
I have received the leggings and am in the middle of modifying them - but as it requires a good deal of hand sewing it goes slowly as I find the job tedious, but they will be done soon, I promise. I have also received the wig - it was really damaged at the top when I got it and I am trying to save it, but it is difficult to brush it through as it has a lot of curls and I don't wanna damage them.

Damaged wig x(

I also have to cut the bangs a bit - I will upload a picture when I finish the main part- I am probably not gonna style it 100% before March as I have limited space and I need my mannequin head for Walter and Electabuzz.
My cosplay partner and I are in the middle of making the skirt for Mine, but we only got half ways yesterday (and I forgot to take pictures. Baka!) and we have yet to plan another sewing date - more info on that below.
I have received the circle lenses I will be using, and plan on making a review for youtube, but I expect it won't be done until the middle of next week.
I have also bought new makeup for Mine, and I did try it out, but wasn't 100% happy with the result, so I will try again and then show you.


Walter: 
While sewing with my cosplay partner this Tuesday, we managed to finish the vest for Walter, who my boyfriend is cosplaying. As he had to leave in the middle of making it, we still have some finishing touches to do before the con.
I have also worked on the monocle, as I received the glasses yesterday. It is still a bit crude, but the last touches will be made when my boyfriend comes over again so I can fit it to his nose instead of my own.

As for the progress form now on, I am unsure when I will have time to do a lot in one day. This week I am on break from Uni so I have been able to work on the cosplays a lot, but from next Monday I have afternoon/evening classes every day and as I have told you guys before, I currently do not own a sewing machine, so I am fully dependent on my cosplay partner (and seamstress). This sucks, not because I don't like spending time with her - I do, she's my bestie - but our schedules are not really compatible so it is difficult to meet up, unfortunately and I also wanna hang out with her, without sewing! But we will definitely do our best and try and avoid stress right before the con.

Best wishes.

- Miliyia

First post - YAY! - and costume progress.

Firts post evaar - Yay! 

Since this is my first post I should probably tell you something about myself and my current cosplay projects. I go to two conventions each year, both based in Denmark where I live. One in March (J-popcon) and one in July (Genki-con). For J-popcon this year I have decided - with my cosplaying partner (and sewing helper) that I want to make three costumes. One is Mine from the anime Amnesia, the other one an Electabuzz fursuit and the third an Electabuzz Gijinka of my own design.
I decided upon Electabuzz as it is the twentieth anniversary of Pokémon which J-popcon will be celebrating and I needed something bigger than my old Ash Ketchum costume.
I will also be helping my boyfriend with his cosplay of Walter from Hellsing, so there might be some pictures of that as well.

I will try and post progress pictures here - I think some people might want to follow along and it is quite interesting I think, to follow your own journey through costumes.


Progress on Mine: 

 (Not my photo! Found on google)

I have ordered the tights, the shoes and the wig. Now I am waiting on then to arrive, which usually takes 6-8 weeks. Next week my cosplay partner and I will be sewing the skirt and the dress of Rika from the same Anime as we are cosplaying together. I am planning on ordering EOS Ice Pink contacts for Mine. 

Progress on Electabuzz:

So far I have the foam core to go around my body and the foam of the feet. I will possibly carve off some more of the feet. I have made one claw so far, but I will make som more next week I think. 

This Friday I will go on a huge fabric haul so there will probably be a lot of progress next week. Hopefully. 

I still don't know where I will be getting my furfrom since I am in the middle of a big furry nightmare. Last July I ordered a bunch of fur samples where one was absolutely perfect. Flash forward to this January and behold, they do not stock it anymore. Thus my search began anew. I have tried 3 different american stores. But one wants 26$ for a sample, which I will not pay. The other wants 100$ for shipping. And the third has just sent me a sample, I am waiting for it, but i expect it to be too golden as this batch is supposedly more golden than normal. 

I found one english shop which carries faux fur and ships to Denmark. but the fur was too golden. 

So now I am waiting on 2 samples from Switzerland and one from Germany. Wish me luck. 

Progress on Electabuzz Gijinka:

For this costume I am planning on sewing a dress this weekend, and using the hands and feet of the Electabuzz fursuit. I might update with some drawings, but I am really bad at drawing, so it might not be of much help explaining ;-) 

I hope this has peaked your interest and I will try and post progress pictures whenever something exiting happens. 

Bye for now.

Miliyia.