A Power Ranger Mystic Phoenix Titan Costume made mostly from Reclaimed Construction Foam Core, Aluminium Foil and Tape.

Halloween might as well be a perennial favorite at our house. Just like his dad, my son plans months in advance exactly what he'd like to be and for the most part, participates in the month long activity. I've been making costumes for years but not documenting their creation. Three years ago I decided to document and post the infamous "Wall-E Kid Costume Mostly from Recycled Materials" http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-WALL-E-and-EVE/ and this time we hope not to disappoint.

This year he chose the Power Ranger Mystic Phoenix Titan... yes, of all the characters out there, he chose this... he chose an obscure 6+ year old Disney mixup of the Mighty Morphin franchise. That's what happens when you leave it up to a 7yr old.

The project took about 25-35 hrs, I lost track of the total time. I chose to tackle the project with more of a "hand made" look, rather than a full reproduction. For a one-off halloween costume I try to balance time and an overall impression. If this was yet-another-ironman costume that could be worn for several years over, maybe I would have taken a different approach, however I also wanted my son to participate in the process and solve as my design issues as possible with these limited resources.

Tools:
Hot Wire Cutter
3M 77 and 90 Spray Adhesive
Razor Blades
T-Pins

Materials:
Tape!
*Glossy Red Duct Tape
*Extra Wide Black Gaffing Tape
*Thin Black Gaffing Tape
*Black Masking Tape
*Clear Packing Tape
*Paint Masking Tape
*Aluminium Foil Tape
Kitchen Aluminium Foil Wrap
Spray Paint
*Sliver
*Black
*Gold
8'x4' Reclaimed Sheet of Insulating Construction Foam-core (can be purchased from Home Depot)
Recycled desktop computer box
Recycled cpu box
Recycled Kid warmup sweats and hoodie
Pair of Gloves
Found Sword
Found Floral Hemisphere (can be purchased from Ben Franklins)

Step 1: Shoulder Pads and Basic Fittings

I chose the tackle the "shoulder pads" first for a number of reasons. First and foremost, he had to wear this to his second grade classroom, so it needed to be "school appropriate". What defines school appropriate exactly? Well, being able to sit comfortably and have some mobility, etc. I though an oversized shoulder that rested comfortably and evenly would be the most important feature.

As it turns out, a basic computer shipping box with two sides of styrofoam padding turned out to be the exact size for not only the shoulder frame, but the wrist guards (see step 6). The shipping foam was a little wide, but considering the need for mobility and the minimal emphasis on accuracy, I decided to it would do.

To frame the shoulders, I used pretty much the only image of the Titan I could find and sketched out the basic pattern on 11x17 paper. Newspaper would do just fine, just something as a template. After cutting the template up, I put it against the Foam Core and carved out the shape with the hot-wire cutter.

I attached the walls of the shoulders to the frame with 77, careful not to spray it directly on the Styrofoam-- it melts it to shreds!

I cut-and-creased some cardboard around the edges, securing it with 77 to the foam and T-pins to hold.

Cut a hole for the head- I used a cerated carving knife and smoothed with the hot-wire cutter.

The Face Mask was quickly constructed from the leftover motherboard packing foam. Hot-wire cut to fit a small head.

Finish it off with a fitting. It's good for morale for both kiddo and dad!

Comments

[ecsaul23]

Very cool. My kids are already planning their costumes for halloween and they want to be power rangers and this is the best thing on here so far for this. Thanks :)

[scoochmaroo]

Fantastic! I definitely think you should lead with the last picture in the of the real costume - it's very impressive!

[anthonyshafer]

Thanks for the suggestion- Done!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Great costume! I think the helmet turned out awesome!