Tips For Cosplaying as a Space Marine!?

[Lupus Irae]

Hi battle brothers!! I am in the planning/gathering materials stage of my Space Wolves pack and I had a few questions. Me, my brother, and my best friend will be going to debut our Space Wolves at the Boston Comic Con coming in August 2014. This will be our first time cosplaying let alone even being at a comic convention. I would love to get the insight from the great cosplayers on this site on their experiences at conventions cosplaying as a Space Marine. It would be great to snag some tips and tricks and gain more knowledge on making it look good in that SM armor lol. Things like how long at max could I last in a EVA built suit (with stilts), Tips on staying hydrated/ Going to the bathroom  , etiquette with taking pics and talking with other cosplayers, and anything in between. We will be entering the costume contests as well so any tips on cosplaying and working with the crowd/ judges would be extremely helpful. This site is such a wealth of info and I would love to soak up as much as I can. Thanks guys in advance!!

[Finnlock]

I think you should talk to anyone who has done Wookie costumes, stilts and a full body wig!
I did my ork 2 years at dragoncon and  I lasted for about probably an hour MAYBE an hour and a half...yeah...it was so hot it was like a sweatbox inside so it felt like 3 years. So if you can rock it with out a helmet it will be much easier and enjoyable. And one last thing you WILL NEED.. Handlers...you need handlers because they are your life line. they will help giude you through crowds, in and out of doorways, help keep people away from you if needed. Help you in and out of your armor (this stuff is impossable to do alone for the most part).
everything else will come naturally

I hope some of the awesome folks who have rocked full Marines will chime in and let you know how it was for them.

If all goes well maybe I'll see you in Boston. I have family up there ( I grew up in New England) so it's one of the ones I have always wanted to check out.

[Ronan]

I just wore mine at a Comiccon here in SLC. Check out my post here. http://obscuruscrusade.com/forum/index.php?topic=1690.msg39624#msg39624

I made it right after I went so things were still fresh.  Couple things different then your build is I didn't do stilts and I designed my whole suit so I could take it on and off solo if need be.

[Lupus Irae]

Thanks Finnlock and Ronan!! Yeah I would love to learn as much as I can. I will be having my wife as my handler and my brother and best friend will have their girlfriend and wife as their handlers so at least we have that covered. I want to add fans and maybe even camelbacks to the suits some how. I'm hoping I can get as much time in the suits as possible. Ronan I'll have to check out ur thread there. Thanks guys and keep the tips and tricks coming lol!!!!

[Lupus Irae]

Hey Finn if you do head up to Boston let me know. Would love to meet up with other cosplayers from the community!! 

[Shadowwolf]

Yes, handlers are so great! When you tire of the power sword, need to take of the helmet, your elbow breaks of the bolted strap springs loose, they are life-savers!

A good thing to note is, the bigger you are, the more you will act like a freight train. I've only been to one convention, but in my armour I can't see anything closer than 2 m on the floor. That means the kid with the lightsaber who snuck up on you from the side to pose for a pic runs the risk of severe traumatising when you trip over and bury him in your immense body mass. On the other hand, there is no greater intimidation bonus than the one you get from being 2.25, a meter wide and armed with a power weapon. No-one will reach your shoulder even. You'll have a great view of the crowd and you can easily keep things in distance in check. Just don't let people get too close without you knowing it.

Then again, when you start walking, people MOVE! First because you're awesome and they want to let you pass out of respect. Secondly, you're big enough to scare the shit out of them :-) You're also going to suffer from PAWS. That's Power Armour Withdrawal Syndrome. You're gonna miss the size and commanding posture of your armour when you take it off again and wander the con as an ordinary human :-)

It's gonna be hot in there too. Regardless of the temperature outside, you're gonna be working up a sweat after a few hundred meters in power armour. A set of computer fans inside will keep you cooler, but it is still a one-man-sauna.

I could handle about 1 hour in power armour. And I LOVED standing still, cause walking in the thing is not what the body of this skinny nerd was made for. Lots of strange muscle pains the day after. But it's worth is! Every drop of sweat, every grimace of pain behind the helmet, every mashed kid under your iron boot.

[Lupus Irae]

Lol Shadow thank you so much for sharing. I feel like I have a bad case of PAWS now and I haven't even got to build my suit yet lol. Yeah I'm gonna do everything I can to stay in costume as long as possible. When you guys did exit your suits where do you put them? Did you guys have a hotel room nearby or stash it somewhere so you would be able to keep it safe. God I hope I don't crush any little kids under the mass of awesomeness of being a Space Wolf lol.

[Shadowwolf]

I had the fortune of attending an event with the 501st legion (Darth vaders and storm troopers) and they usually get an area to store wookie costumes and such and I was invited to share the storage

But I had planned for the event of having no storage area and brought my stand. I quickly noticed people were very interested in touching, feeling and waving parts of my costume around, but one I had assembled it on the stand, its stern look and menacing presence kept the game-store-kid-mentality people from mischief :-) But make sure to bring some string or a band or something to secure your armour to the wall. You wouldn't want it tipping over the unfortunate bystander.

[Ronan]

I was able to last all day in mine, mostly.  I would walk around for an hour, sit for a bit (yes i could sit in mine, just needed help up)  then walk around for a bit more.  I did find a couple out of the way alcoves I could duck into and strip down.   People would still come by and ask about your suit.  It was a good chance to show how it's built.  But again I designed mine from the start to be mobile and easyish to take off and on.

[Lupus Irae]

Yeah ill have to check out the grounds  at the Boston Comic Con and see if I can find a spot to strip down after and get to walk around as a normal human lol

[CLOTHAR]

I have done two different conventions with my suit, and was able to go around 8 hours suited up.  It can be a tiring affair, but totally worth it.  Fans can be a life saver, and if you can get a camelback with ice water, do it.  I also wore "underarmour cool" shirt and pants, which wicks heat and moisture away from the body.  I built a flap into my armour for bathroom breaks, but honestly I was sweating enough that I never needed to use the washroom. 

[Lupus Irae]

Thanks Clothar appreciate the input. Your suit on stilts or are you human size? The camelback is actually an idea I was thinking of incorporating as well so glad that worked for you. The flap us a good idea lol

[BattleReady]

if you can afford a Welding Hood Ventilator system, you could live in the suit. 

[Quothcorvus]

I'd suggest taking along copious amounts of a good energy drink.  I usually drink 2 or three litres of Lucozade when costuming for a full day in a fully enclosed costume, plus water.  Haribo is quite good too!!

[Lupus Irae]

Thanks for the suggestions guys I really do appreciate it with this being my first experience cosplaying