The 2 piece eco-couture female fantasy armour ( armor ) was made exclusively from recycled beer, juice and pop cans, mostly the pull tabs. 100% Aluminum can (no thread, tape, velcro, buckles, etc.) - 100% Recycled and Recyclable. For the male armour suit and eventually the 1 piece female suit, I started using string & wire to make them more robust and faster to get into. For all, I eventually added some silicone inside to make them more comfortable too. The RE-Design line of Alumiwear (a.k.a. Alumawear, Alumiware & Alumaware ) was showcased in the Deadly Sins 2 fashion / lingerie show & Polaris 2011 (Workmanship winner, Journeyman division). (Digital Art: Joe Diamond, Rob Emery, Michelle Renee. Models: Stephanie, Alissa, Alii, Rob Emery, Lovina & Jenessa)
The duct tape Wolverine X-Men Uniform is around 90% tape (all duct or duck tape if you prefer) - silver inside, black outside and clear to hold the orange string. The other 10% is foam, velcro, string, buckles, leather gloves/boots and cast resin claws. Iron Man (pic by Convoke) is bristol board and red/gold duct tape over red suit and ski boots. The Arc Reactor is custom made with LEDs and cast arc ring. Batman is a mix of leftovers but the mask, gauntlet and armour are mostly black duct tape. Wolverine was the winner of the Polaris 2010 novice division and workmanship awards, and also showcased at Fan Expo 2010 & 2011 & Dragon Con 2012. Iron Man was showcased at Fan Expo 2012. Batman was showcased at Dragon Con 2012.
Originally, I built a War Machine out of bristol board and duct tape to go with my Iron Man costume, but then switched it into a Cyberman costume (pic by Yuki, Optimus Prime by Venessa) by replacing a few parts and adding some foam trim for shaping. I also made a Dalek out of cardboard and duct tape. The head is a salad bowl, with some eyes from solar lights, and an eye stalk made from pvc tube and a spherical coke bottle. The body is cardboard, with some plungers and paint roller bits to make up the weapon/manipulator. Then the two costumes merged and things went horribly bad for the universe as The Hybrid was born ( Cyberdalek pic by Christine Mak). Finally I modified a coat to go with a purchased vest and old screwdriver for my Jackson Lake. The Cyberman costume was showcased at Anime North 2012 & 2013, Fan Expo 2011 & 2012 & Dragon*Con 2012 and won 3rd place at the Silver Snail Halloween bash 2011. The Dalek costume was showcased at FanExpo 2013. The Cyber-dalek was showcased and won best mashup at CostumeCon 2014. I also made assorted props for Doctor Who: Judoon Scanner, custom (Godzilla sound) screwdriver, Jackson Lake's screwdriver, Osterhagen Keys, Chameleon Arch and some Time Lord cufflinks. The sonic screwdriver is a conversion of the Wand Company's 11th doctor remote control to allow it to extend. All functionality was kept, and only a few extra parts were needed (screws, springs) but the conversion is tricky. The Tardis has some mods to make it portable (fits in a car or under an 8' ceiling). I'm hoping to paint it in War Doctor style sometime.
The Borg was my first costume. It remains one of my heaviest costumes, even with 15 lbs recently removed but has also evolved in quality (Photos by Wandering Dana & FanExpo). I also made the Geordi visor (modelled by Alan) from aluminum sheet and brass screen. The Goa'Uld used light materials making it more comfortable but still hot. For Boba Fett (pic with Lovina as Leia), I had to match shapes (and colours) so I experimented with new materials including plaster (heavy) and mouldable foam (light) only to find out how brittle they both are. Goop (silicone glue) to the rescue! An outer layer on everything makes it fairly resilient despite the brittle core. The Predator (pic by ASPhotography) is a latex paint over a Mr.Incredible suit, plus airfoam sculpted armour, car mats and a very heavy plaster helmet. The Borg was showcased at Fan Expo 2011, Comicon 2013 and Polaris 2011 (People's Choice award w. Deanna Troi (Edith Chartier) at the friday ball) & 2012. The Goa'uld was showcased at Futurecon 2011. Boba Fett was seen at Star Wars Day 2012. The Predator was showcased at FanExpo 2013.
Firefly's Malcolm Reynolds (gun/holster/suspenders) - showcased at Fan Expo & Polaris 2011, CSTS 2011 & 2012 (pic by E. Chartier). Lara Croft guns and holster (Digital Art: Joe Diamond, Model: Djulz). Piccolo was a commission that I later modified by adding latex and thermal glue to the arms, and more fabric to the hat, belt & boots & making the pouch and gloves (pics by ASPhotography and Greg Payne). The gloves were made with air dry foam nails, dollar store gloves and latex, with some LEDs for the special beam cannon attack. Piccolo was showcased at Anime North 2013. Jedi Knight with detachable blade lightsaber - showcased at Fan Expo 2012. Steampunk Journalist with aether teletype and compact camera gear (broach by E. Chartier, photo by Convoke).
When my folks radio antenna got knocked down, I decide to weld it back into a 1/2 scale Viper ( Battlestar Galactica ). I added wings, wheels and engines from garbage picked scraps and free stuff from Craigslist. The canopy & cowlings were mostly made with new materials but worth it. Then I needed a pilot's uniform ( original series ) so I threw one together out of army pants, a Tshirt and the welding jacket I used to build the Viper. Viper pilot costume showcased at Dragon Con 2012. My Jon Snow ( Game of Thrones ) was showcased at the Silver Snail Halloween party 2013 (thumbnail by Very Frank Pictures) - teaming up with Tina (Melisandre) and Nicole (Daenerys). Pete Venkman (photo by Merle Robillard) was made with the Mattel neutrino wand, modified to sync up with the lights on a homemade proton pack. The pack was made of foam over beaverboard, with baking tins, floppy disc cases, Pringles tube, PVC pipe, wood trim, etc. It was showcased at Toronto Comicon 2014. Farscape's Rygel XVI was created to go with my (partly duct tape) John Crichton outfit - showcasing them together at DragonCon 2015.
I also made an Aliens Motion Tracker, an Arc Reactor, a detachable Lightsaber and the necklace is Melisandre's from Game of Thrones.
All images copyright Rob Emery