Cheap Child's Sith Trooper Costume
Introduction: Cheap Child's Sith Trooper Costume
With Coronavirus lockdown in full swing, do you need to do something with all those cardboard boxes? Well, I have just the project for you. In this Instructable, I will show you step by step how to build a Sith Trooper costume made entirely out of cardboard, and craft foam! In fact, the materials cost less than 30 dollars! (Not including the shirt and pants)
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
The supplies needed are as follows:
- REFERENCE PICTURES (These will help you so much. It almost doesn't matter how much you love whatever character you're building. There are SO MANY details.)
- Scrap paper to draw the pattern onto.
- Tape
- Cardboard (Lots. I'm honestly not sure how much I used)
- Glue (I used hot glue for most of the costume, but I also used super glue to attach the tinier details)
- Scissors
- Caulk
- Sealer/Primer (I used PlastiDip)
- Red Spray Paint
- Black Acrylic Paint
- Velcro
- Black Longsleeve Shirt
- Black Pants
- Black Gloves (I forgot to purchase these)
Step 2: Making the Pattern: Part 1a
The first step of making the pattern is wrapping the limb or body of the "client" (little brother). Most experts on the internet such as <PERSON>, and Odin Makes use aluminum foil, but paper works ok for this project. Just keep in mind that the foil will work better for tighter curves, such as the head or chest. The hardest limb was the thigh. You can see above how I wrapped the lower thigh, then taped more paper on top to cover the upper thigh.
Step 3: Making the Pattern: Part 1b
The one piece of the pattern that I did not use the wrapping technique was the chest. I laid out my brother's shirt and drew the shape of the chest piece on paper. Please note that the pattern did not give enough length for the shoulders. I added an extra piece of cardboard on each side to bridge the gap.
Step 4: Making the Pattern: Part 2
Next, you want to draw the shape of the armor onto the paper. This is where reference pictures will come in handy! You may want to also draw large details or ideal locations for seams during this step as well. When considering seams, also think about any sharp corners that are included in the design. For example, the shins square out at the front, but it will be difficult to remember exactly where this detail is when the pattern is flat. (Don't worry about getting the lines perfectly straight. This will be fixed later!)
Step 5: Making the Pattern: Part 3
Now you will cut the pattern off the subject, and attempt to lay the pattern down flat. 286
Some pieces, such as the bicep will lay down flat, no problem. Other pieces, such as the calf piece (pictured above) will need to be cut further.
1. Locate where the pattern is resisting and rising up off the table.
2. Draw a line from the edge of the pattern, to about the center of the problem area.
3. Draw registration marks. They are the lines that are perpendicular to the cut line. These will help you line up the pattern later.
4. Cut the line.
5. Try to lay the pattern down flat. If the previous steps did not completely solve the problem, go back to step 1.
Step 6: Making the Pattern: Part 4
For the shins, you will need to make extra cuts to create the sharp corners seen on the front of the shin. Take a ruler and redraw the lines that you made while the pattern was still on the limb. You can see where I drew my lines. Once you draw the lines, label the lines so that you remember which ones connect where. I forgot to do this, and it makes later steps harder.
Example: If you draw a line, you will label each side of the line the same letter A | A B | B etc
(This step isn't too complicated, and it barely warranted a step. However, these cuts are necessary to make the nice sharp angles seen on the shin.)
Step 7: Tracing the Pattern
Now you will trace the pattern onto cardboard. Once you trace one side, label it either left or right, then flip the paper and trace the pattern for the opposite side. You can see in the picture above that I used the left back pattern to create one piece so that there wouldn't be any ugly seams on the back. This is done by tracing the pattern once, then flipping it and tracing the opposite side right next to the initial tracing.
When tracing, be aware of any creases or shipping stickers that may be on the cardboard. 316