Ninja Turtle Raphael Costume

I have always loved TMNT so I decided to be a ninja turtle this year. I was a lone turtle, as I just moved to Chicago and don't have a cosplay posse here just yet. So what better turtle to be than Raphael, the loner, the badass. And I just really like the color red.

So, I had to start collecting supplies early, here's a list of the stuff that I got:

Lots o' Green
-- green jeans/tights
-- a green t-shirt or a turtleneck
-- green gloves
-- green little girl leggings, 3 pair

For the Shell of It (front)
-- thin yellow foam rubber sheets
-- yellow bra

For the Shell of it (back)
-- large oval aluminium turkey pan, 2x
-- lots of green duct tape
-- brown paint
-- any color thin foam rubber sheets
-- pipe cleaners, preferably green

Accessories/Extras
-- at least half a meter of red fabric, a meter would be better
-- a doctors mask
-- green eyeshadow
-- two brown belts
-- two sais

I started with the back shell because it would take the longest to make. I each turkey-pan and by hand, rounded out any unturtle-like patterns in it. Then I cut pieces of the foam rubber sheet into shell plates and taped them loosely onto the outer part to mask the turkey-pan shape. With the two of them fitted snugly into each other and the foam rubber taped on, I started covering the whole thing with the green duct tape, making sure to angle it so that the tape folded in neatly to the creases to minimize wrinkling. Once the tape was applied, I painted in the gaps between the plates and painted concentric circles inside each plate.

For the front shell, I cut the sheet of yellow foam-rubber to fit under the wire of the bra and glue-gunned it on, and then shaped it to my own body, and finally drew the plates on with marker. I glued on the top pieces as well, and shaped them once they were in place.

For the body, I only had a t-shirt, so I had to make the arms with little girl tights, and the neck area as well was made of another pair of slightly larger little girl tights.

Then I buckled the two belts together and wrapped them around the shell and myself, so that one loop was over my shoulder and the other was around my waist, and both loops around the shell. The I twisted the pipe cleaners through holes I made in the shell and around the belt in three places to keep the belt and shell from sliding around.

For the head/face I used the doctor's mask and cut a slit in the front for the mouth, and so I could drink and breathe. then I put the third pair of little girl tights over my forehead and wrapped them around the front of my face to cover most of the mask and leave the mouth part open in the middle so I could bare my 'teeth'!

And lastly, I cut the red fabric into strips to make the mask, and wrist, elbow, and knee pads, and voila! Raphaela, the Girl Ninja Turtle!