Zeon posted a full-size Berserk sword earlier today, and then mentioned he wanted to see a full-size Final Fantasy VII Buster Sword. Mike Schropp at Total Geekdom made exactly that, Zeon! He also posted the illustrated process of making it. AND Schropp has a picture of himself and the completed sword in costume (for Halloween) with special Final Fantasy effects. If I posted that picture here, you wouldn’t think it was really him. So I selected this picture instead. You can go see the rest. Link

The level of detail, from the overall shape and balance to the fine detail work and superb paint job, makes this one of the sweetest Samus costumes I’ve ever come across on the interwebs.

I like that she decided to go with the original Power Suit, while letting her feminine side show more than it ever did in the original Metroid NES game, and gamer girls, especially those who enjoy playing retro games, always get my vote!

Link

These custom made heel springs, like the ones worn by the protagonist Chell in the Portal video game franchise, don’t seem like a very useful creation in real life, but who needs function when the form is so cool, and they’re an integral part of a wicked Chell costume? Scifi femme fatale prisoner cosplay FTW!

If only they actually allowed you to survive a long fall, like they do in the game, the creator Harrison Krix would become a very rich man indeed!

Link  –via Geekosystem

When cosplayer Joshua Smith decided to make a costume for BlizzCon, first he went to Wal-Mart then he went all out, building this massive, amazingly detailed Diablo costume in honor of the release of Diablo III.

There are lots of photos of this amazing costume at the link below, including shots of the suit lit up with a demonic glow. If I owned this costume, I would scare the crap out of my entire neighborhood on Halloween!

Link –via Destructoid

Are you tired of returning to the real world, after epic length Elder Scrolls: Skyrim gaming sessions, without some way to show the world just how obsessed you are with the game? Well then, this fleece Dovahkiin helmet must be yours! Just don’t try to use it as an actual piece of battle armor, or you’re in for a massive headache.

Link –via Ology

I try to refrain from posting every cosplay gallery link I come across for obvious reasons, but I thought i’d share this one because it features obscure characters and some seriously well-made costumes.

Among the characters present: a couple of creatures from They Live, Priss Asagiri from Bubblegum Crisis anime, a scary Little Sister from Bioshock, and a strangely fitting female Rule 63 Aquaman. Which costumes did you like?

Link

This baby just might be the most powerful being in the universe, since she has harnessed the power of all Lantern Corps. emotional color spectrums!

Readers of the DC Comics Green Lantern series (among the many other Lantern Corps. related titles) know that it doesn’t stop with the power of green, but no one has ever harnessed all of the spectrum powers at once, and looked so cute wearing them all!

She even has the dreaded Black spectrum suit, but you’ll have to head to the link to see her scary side.

Link

What would you think if you saw this thing walking down the street, eight feet tall and full of sinister snarl? Personally, i’d steer clear unless I had a squad of Spartans by my side, you know, like the ones found in the HALO video game franchise? (Thanks for the nerd edit Bearfoot!)

Hit the link and see the process from mere mortal to becoming this amazing alien creature.

Link

This costume will have people rubbing their eyes to make sure they didn’t imagine seeing the full scale sprite of Samus from the Nintendo game Metroid walking by.

Dan Cattell created these Metroid inspired sprite costumes, and Nintendo liked them so much they featured them in Nintendo Power magazine. Hit the link and see how cool Samus and a Chozo Statue look when they’re about to battle it out!

Link –Dan Cattell’s DeviantArt page

Parents get letter informing them that their little darling has to dress up as an Evacuee, Victorian child, Roman, etc.

Time-poor, stressed parents don’t want to have to spend ages researching and making said costume when they could be spending their time w/their actual child (or OK watching TV) (this doesn’t really apply for the Roman one because that costume is a sheet)

Parents grumblingly shell out their 15 pounds or so. All kids at school end up dressed identically. Costume company laughs all the way to the bank.

Well, there you go. Link

Halloween is a time for silly costumes, and some use it as an excuse to drag out every racial and cultural stereotype they can think of for a silly costume. That’s not cool. Students Teaching Against Racism (STARS) is an organization at Ohio University that put out a series of posters to “educate and create dialog” and to ask people to think before they select an insensitive Halloween costume. See the rest of the posters at Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Link -via I Am Bored

A few weeks ago, we started noticing that a lot of people were planning to dress up as redbox kiosks for Halloween. Some of the costumes are simple, and some are elaborate, but they are all amazing. So we decided to help out. No gimmicks, no strings, no costs. Just simple fun.

Broseph featured above hand-drew his letters, but if you too would like to be a certain fiery-hued DVD rental box for Halloween, head over to DressLikeRedbox and get some downloadable costume assistance, including printable stickers and templates. Link

Thanks, Michael!

Image: Nashville Metromix

Here we see Wolverine decked out in his rare Banana variant costume taking a well deserved break after a day of slipping on himself, re-hydrating so he doesn’t ripen and turn brown. If you see Wolverine in this outfit try to get a pic but be careful- he’s bashful when he sports his Banana Style!

Link

Unicorn Costume – $26.95

Do you dream of having your own rainbow pooping unicorn? Make your dream a reality this Halloween with the Unicorn Costume from the NeatoShop.  Just combine one rainbow pooping baby or toddler with this incredibly adorable Unicorn Costume and live out the fantasy for one glorious night.

If you can’t locate a rainbow pooping baby consider faking it with the Rainbow in My Room rainbow projector. See photo below.

Rainbow in My Room – $29.95

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Dress Up fun!

Link

Collin wanted a badass costume for DragonCon and built this epic recreation of the Executioner from the movie Resident Evil: Afterlife. He worked on it for the better part of a year! The extra couple feet in height come from drywall stilts. The axe is homemade from metal. See more pictures, including some of the creative process at Unreality magazine. Then imagine him showing up at your home for Halloween! Link

Image: National Museum of American History

Tomorrow is the 72nd anniversary of the U.S. debut of "The Wizard of Oz," and The Smithsonian Snapshot sent us details:

On Aug. 25, 1939, “The Wizard of Oz” debuted in theaters nationwide. Ray Bolger wore this straw-stuffed patchwork costume as the Scarecrow, one of the friends who accompanied Dorothy to the Emerald City in the 1939 Technicolor film. Designed by Gilbert Adrian, MGM’s premier costume artist, the straw-stuffed clothing fit loosely enough so that Bolger could perform his comedic dance number, “If I Only Had a Brain.”

Not shown in this photo is the most troublesome part of Bolger's scarecrow outfit—a rubber face mask designed to simulate burlap. Under the hot lights on the set, the mask was stifling and it frequently had to be replaced. The mask did not last for more than a day—Bolger went through more than 40 masks during the shooting of the movie.

Gwendolyn R. Bolger, Bolger’s wife, donated this costume to the Smithsonian in 1987 with a spare bag of raffia to stuff the costume.

This item is one of 137 million artifacts, works of art and specimens in the Smithsonian’s collection. It is on display at the National Museum of American History.

Thanks Jessica Porter!

See also: The Wizard of Oz items from the NeatoShop | Movie Trivia: The Wizard of Oz

Not all cosplay takes place on the floor of some comic convention somewhere, and adding a setting or proper lighting really makes these characters pop. Take a look at this gallery from ComicsAlliance and see just what every cosplayer wishes they could look like. If only I could get people to clear the floor around the characters when i’m shooting pics at Comic Con!

Link Image via Benny Lee

First off, it’s awesome to have a Princess Leia costume. You know, with the buns and all. But how cool is it to have a Princess Leia costume made of duct tape? Yeah, that’s what this is!

Lindsay Boo Barrasse made this out of tons of duct tape. She gives us some details about how it was done:

the dress lining is a white button down shirt and a pillow case for
the skirt – all put together as one piece

I used 4 1/2 rolls of 15 yard white duct tape, one roll of black for the hair and one roll of silver.

the belt buckle piece was a vintage bucket painted with silver nail polish and a small piece of cut cardboard

my blaster is an authentic star wars blaster hasbro 2004

The dress would be a modern size 2-4

Definitely a conversation-starter!

Visit Lindsay at YouTube or at her website. -Thanks, Lindsay!

The Burger Baby is but one of 10 Burger-inspired designs, as compiled by Nora Vega in this nom-eriffic post over at Oddee. Hmmm… burger …. Link

Brody Qat attended a gathering of Santas as her character “Desaturated Santa”, which she introduced last year, and posted photographs at Flickr. To counter many accusations of Photoshoppage, she also posted a picture of her makeup and contact lenses to explain how it’s done. She said:

Many people find it hard to believe that someone would go to all the effort of creating a gray & white Santa suit and painting their face, when it’s “so much easier just to do it in Photoshop”. (Yes, but where’s the fun in THAT? Heck, why visit Paris when I can just Photoshop myself in front of a picture of the Eiffel Tower?)

Link

And all she needed was some faux leather and electroluminescent tape strips: Link | more at Syuzi’s blog Fashioning Tech

Previously on Neatorama: 10 Neat Facts About Tron

This guy made a Mecha {wiki} costume for Halloween and spared no expense.

Sheet metal, aircraft aluminum, and other parts: $600.
Rivets, bolts, hardware: $250.
Tool purchases/rentals: $200.
Spraypaint: $90.
Truck rental to carry costume: $210.
Hours: 250+.
Looking like you could take down a tank: priceless.

It’s a good thing he rented a truck. That’s a lot of weight to walk home in, considering he couldn’t fit through a bus door. -via reddit

Almost three-year-old Gram wanted to be Robocop for Halloween, so his dad went to work and made this costume. They went out for a photo shoot and met some real Detroit police officers!

They even let him sit in the police car. He in awe during the whole encounter. Detroit’s finest were there to help protect a movie or TV Show that was filming on that block. While we were talking, some Hollywood-type rushed over to take a picture of the kid with his camera phone. “I’m good friends with Peter Weller, the guy who played Robocop on the movie,” he said. “He’s gonna get a kick out of this.” The guy proceeded to e-mail the photo to Weller, so chances are the real Robocop has seen my little Robocop. Then we headed back to the first precinct for some repairs (after such an eventful shift, the paint was peeling off the suit and parts were falling off).

The post includes many more pictures, and how the costume was created. Link -via Metafilter

The best Halloween costume is clever and easy! This t-shirt transforms with a flick of the wrist into a zombie mask -all you have to do is ask. Link

No matter how much effort you put into a costume, it goes south when you find you are one of ten Batmen at a party -or even worse, a costume contest. Geeks Are Sexy has some ideas for costumes taken from movies, games, and literature that will be recognized by other geeks, but you’re almost guaranteed to have the only one of its kind. Pictured is an appropriate literary costume most of you will recognize right off. Link

Move over, Lady Gaga, this guy had a meat suit back in 1894! In fact, he’d fit right in with the internet generation because he’s dressed as a side of bacon. Mmm… bacon. Link -via Buzzfeed

Cheryl of Sew Can Do regularly makes "Hairdo Hat" for her cute little girl. Her newest one, Prince Leia hairdo is definitely out of this world! Link – via Distracted by Star Wars

Check out NeatoGeek for more Star Wars and sci-fi geekery!

Fine Art Print by Christian Waggoner

Acme Archives is offering this limited edition by Christian Waggoner, simply titled “Boba,” for the low, low price of $1350. It’s a framed giclee on canvas, 36″ x 35″ and you can see Han Solo’s frozen body in the visor’s reflection.

Found along with many other Fett-ishes at Gunaxin’s post, Why We Love Boba Fett.

Photo: Futurestar Entertainment Group

Mask Changing (or Face Changing) is an ancient Chinese tradition in theater, used to indicate a character’s shift in mood and demeanor.  Accompanied by fan flourishes and other methods of obscuring the actor’s face, masks are changed with lightning speed.  He Hongqing is considered one of the best.  Check out the video at BBC.

Link

Photo: kindacarsick

For Halloween, blogger Sarah McPherson painted her face and shirt to resemble a low-resolution image. She writes “The shirt took forever to paint, and my face only took slightly forever.”

Link via GearFuse

Jacki was Spaghetti Cat in 2008. You don’t have the time to make a better costume for this year, unless you have been working on it a while already. In case you’ve forgotten, here is the origin of Spaghetti Cat.

Brad O’Ferrell showed up at the “A Night To ReMEMEber” internet meme party in a Keyboard Cat costume.  All it took was a cat costume and a keyboard.

Matt Cutts is a LOLcat. Or he was for Halloween last year. The cheeseburger was a nice touch!

This LOLcat costume is perfect for trick-or-treating. You won’t get the full effect until you see the back of the t-shirt.

This Ceiling Cat costume should be easy to do, depending on the size of the ceiling. If you are going to sit on the porch and hand out candy, this would be OK. It might be a problem if you are a cab driver.

You can buy Hello Kitty costumes of all kinds, but making your own is a real accomplishment. Pink Daisy at Craftster made her own version of Hello Kitty for Halloween 2008.

This costume was posted earlier on Neatorama, but this collection wouldn’t be complete without Lime Cat, Melon Cat, Helmet Cat, or whatever you want to call this. Flicker user Alida Saxon’s brother put this costume together at the last minute. The helmet is a basketball painted green, and the fur was salvaged from a stuffed toy.

A warning: if you dress as an internet meme for Halloween, be prepared to explain yourself. Unless you’re meeting up with your online group, you’ll probably have to tell the whole story of your costume. If you’re willing to do that, the few who will “get it” will make the entire effort worthwhile.

I had two boxes, a large one for my body, and a smaller one for my head.  I cut armholes in the big one and a hole in the top, where the other box went.  I painted the whole thing orange, and cut out eye holes.  About fifteen minutes after leaving the house, I realized the total and devastating failure of my endeavor, and returned home a sad, orange robot disgrace.

I know there are other stories out there that beg sharing, like Susan’s as told to Lemondrop, among other confessions:

My brother and I dressed up as George and Martha Washington one year. (My Dad was a big history buff.) Yup, it was incredibly nerdy. And also kind of funny that I was about a foot taller than “George Washington.” (pictured, above).

More terrible costume stories at their site, but since I confessed, it’s your turn!  What costume idea of yours turned out to be less than you’d hoped for?

Link

It’s cool enough to have a realistic Bumblebee costume, but what makes this one Neato is that it actually transforms from robot to car mode. I don’t have any more information about this clip. CrunchGear thinks that it’s being used as a promotional gimmick in a car dealership, which seems like a reasonable guess.

Link via CrunchGear

Evan Booth created this awesome "gaping hole" costume for Halloween using a travel DVD player with video feed from a digital camera strapped to his back.

I don’t know what is more awesome, Evan’s wig or the gaping hole costume! Link – via Unique Daily

If Tony Stark can make out out of scrap metal and other industrial junk in an isolated Afghan cave, then surely you can make your very own Arc Reactor in the comfort of your garage.

Instrucables user msraynsford will show you how. Here’s the step-by-step guide on how to make your very own Iron Man Arc Reactor out of LEDs and polymorph plastic.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Jake.

For Halloween, Sterling Ely built himself and friends a set of Ghostbuster proton packs out of foam. Silly strings substitute for real proton discharge, and I’m sure that Sterling remembered not to cross the stream to avoid total protonic reversal.

Link: Ghostbuster Proton Packs [Flickr photoset] | The proton packs in action

This has to be one of the most serene/patient feline I have ever seen. Dressed in ridonkulous costumes this cat gets its picture taken for a calendar in Japan and wishes you all a Merry Christmas. What a thoughtful kitty.

via – Tokyo Mango

That’s Kokoron-chan, a Japanese mascot to inspire people to donate blood. Leave it to the Japanese to spice up a blood donation drive with a cute (and bloodthirsty) mascot that looks a lot like the Kool-Aid Man.

Pink Tentacle has more of Japan’s blood mascots: Link

So he spent two months modding a store-bought costume to include:

* Repulsor Air – Blows air with CO2 air pump on hip and hose back to his hand.
* Repulsor Missile – Using CO2 air pump can also launch a paper missile.
* Repulsor Sensor/Light – A magnetic switch sensor lights his repulsor hand light and fades out and in his glowing eyes. Arduino handles this effect.
* Arc Reactor – A LED night light from Costco embedded in his chest. [...]

It rocks to have a geeky dad! Check out the video clip here: Link – via Gizmodo

For those who don’t know about the duct tape bandit, here’s his story: Link (with photo, so you can compare!)

Thanks Becky !

The winners, in categories such as General Awesomeness, Kid & Baby and Pet, have now been announced.

Seen in the photo to the left is the Sci-fi winner.

Link – via Craftzine

I’m not sure why of if anyone in the world would want to dress up their 3-9 months old kids in Little Trees car freshner costumes, but it is possible.

Link – Rare Bird Finds via BB-Blog