Halo 3 Hayabusa Costume

This Costume is my homage to an amazing franchise and my fandom, specifically the Halo 3 customization in multiplayer. I was always drawn to personalizing my character and felt heavily inspired by the Hayabusa armor type. I had always been into crafting but it really clicked when I put on my first designed EVA foam gauntlet. I remember thinking, “Oh God, I can actually wear my artwork!” To be able to wear the armor of my favorite armor type, a character that I had been gaming as for years, man I felt like a million bucks! Wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything.
Designed specifically for my body, I wanted my cosplay to feel as immersive as possible while also remaining comfortable. I discovered how to effectively communicate this by incorporating the effects of real-world elements into the presentation. This is demonstrated by the locations of the battle damage: I figured the helmet is most likely to be hit when looking around corners. I also highlighted damage along the arms with deep gashes demonstrating the attempts to prevent energy sword strikes.
I also explored the relationship of time: how the armor would become worn with each battle and all the use. This is demonstrated with the accumulation of rust, grime, scratches that have built up by layering paint to show it chipping and fading. I used cinnamon with acrylic paint to build up rust and dirt, like along the shoes to show having run in the battlefield.
Being sure to incorporate comfortability was also a concern when designing. I addressed heat by creating an air circulation in the chest: there are fans to pump heat and air through vents and outlets that you see above the shoulders, through openings to allow heat to escape from the top of helmet as heat rises, and by treating the visor with chemicals to prevent fogging. To prevent water and seat damage, the seams were treated with kwick seal and covered with fabric dipped in mod podge to exceed its life before falling apart. It proved to be very effective over the course of the three years that I have been working on it.
Also, I realized very quickly that the music and voices from our favorite characters contributed hugely to what makes Halo such an immersive experience. So I introduced portable speakers hidden in the back on the costume to play as I move around. I play voice clips and the soundtrack which are controlled by my wrist so that I can easily manage its selection. It has been a great hobby and a wonderful stress reliever!

Materials: EVA foam, wood, bits of metal, plastic, plasti dip, spray paint, acrylic paint, and fabric.
For Bonding: Barge cement, hot glue, super glue, fabric dipped in modpodge, and kwik seal.