Alien Xenomorph Costume

There comes a time in a man's life when he has to put aside his childhood dream of having an Alien costume and actually decides to do something about it.
Ever since I was a kid I wanted an Alien costume, and after my experience carving foam into the masks of the stretched faced Maitlands from Beetlejuice for Halloween 2011, I decided to try my luck. I told myself if I could carve the head and make it look cool, I would consider making the entire costume. And hey, if you don't have time for an entire costume, you have an alien head to hang over your mantle.

It all starts with a block of foam...

Step 1: Before you Begin: Key Tools and Ingrediants

Tools:
Scissors
Fabric Scissors
Low temp glue gun
High Temp Glue Gun
Dremel drill with assorted bits
Caulk Gun
Mannequin Bust
Heat Gun

Materials:
Foam board Insulation (Carving head, back pipes and back spine)
Liquid nails for foam board (Back pipes)
Fleece vest (chest)
Backer rods, assorted sizes (Pipes on chest, neck, legs, feet)
Vacuum Cleaner hoses (details on shoulders, chest, tail)
Foam insulation tubing (Shoulders, ribs, details throughout)
Rubber insulation tubing(tail base)
A Bicycle helmet (Head)
Black fabric (neck)
Industrial strength Velcro (Grion, sternum, back pine, neck piece)
Upholstery sheet foam (details on tail, legs, chest)
One pair of pants or leggings (legs)
Fleece gloves (for hands)
Black cord (Details on hand, chest and legs)
Masonite board (Tail base
Flag mount (tail)
A black military belt (tail)
PVC pipe that fits into Flag mount. (Tail)
2 wooden dowels (Back pipes)
Assorted screws and washers (Back pipes)
Black nylon straps (feet)
Epifoam (tail spike, shoulder shape, various supports)
1very understanding girlfriend ( to go as Ripley)

Comments

[pokiespout]

This is absolutely beautiful. I love to see a great piece like this that is truly made from easy-to-find, over-the-counter materials. When the most important ingredient is ingenuity and not specialized materials, the outcome is that much more impressive! Kudos, sir.

[spyderskiss]

I really want to try this for a Werewolf/Lycan head...This looks very light and you acheived alot of detail...any iidea how many blocks of foam are needed for a head alone? And is it possible to make the lower jaw moveable using the foam?

[Mostlymade]

This is incredibly light. Before I added bondo to fix the shape of the dome (detailed in the steps) the whole head maybe weighed 2lbs at most. Carving a Lycan head would be a breeze out of this stuff. you could get all the shapes of the hear carved and glue fur on top. A movable jaw should be very easy, just make two holes for hinge points and attache a small spring inside to help pull it shut.
The foam comes in sheets, I think they are about 7-8 feet long, and they come in two widths. I usually get the smaller sheet so it fits in my car (you ca cut it to fit in the store too) and it is usually around $15.
A tube of Liquid Nails for foam board is another couple bucks.
I have a big head and I usually stack 4-5 boards next to each other to make the block. I don't mean FULL boards. I figure out the size I want it and cut a piece and cut the following pieces traced from that one.
TIP: The two center boards, cut out out an upside-down "U" shape for your head. This will save a lot of time carving out later.
Please also see my INstructable on The Maitlands masks, you will be able to see good preliminary pics of the boards glued together.
Hope this help, feel free to ask if you have more questions.
-Ian

[spyderskiss]

Amzingly well done and thought out. I love some of you tips...did you do any detailing on your hood to help it blend into your costume and suit more? Can't really tell from the pictures. All of which are incredible.

[Mostlymade]

Actually you can see the detail on the hood in the picture! just under the back of the jaw on the neck, see those horizontal lines? That's the sport where I see out!
The hood is under the neck flaps on either side of the head and the only part that shows is the front. I sprayed some horizontal lines on this for detailing so it blended in with the other details with no loss of vision.

[zoo2boy]

amazing costume idea and extra advice for the shoulders if epifoam isnt available any substitues recomended?

[Mostlymade]

Find some thick cardboard. Not regular cardboard box stuff, like1" thick stuff. Try looking in the dumpsters by a SEARS or someplace that ships/sells large appliances. OR, use the insulation foam board that I used for the head. You can carve it to fit, it it rigid and light weight.

[zoo2boy]

thanks for the advice ive modded the design to the card board idea and it turned out great thnks again

[GaGaOhLALA]

Please, can you tell me the mensurations or dimensions of the Head ?! It's for carnival, it's urgent ^^. Thank you for your help ! Your costume is juste awsome ! :D

[Mostlymade]

The head is 3ft long. But use your judgement in comparing it to your own proportions.

[TwistedFrosty]

you can add hot glue to the sides of the mouth for a saliva look, but be sure to practise with it first( i have a sculpture with predator stabbing alien in the gut with his forarm spikes, and hot glue is how they made the saliva look on it)

[poofrabbit]

Congratulations on being a finalist in the Halloween contest!!! Can’t wait to see if you win! Good luck!

[kristylynn84]

omg i hope you win LOL my new bff, an alien. <3

[bcbreakaway]

Great job. Looks very convincing!

[nicolekrobb]

This is fantastic, great work!!

[Greasetattoo]

Wow, great job, man!

Had to post a comment, with all that work and time you put in your costume!
You have my vote!

5 Stars!

Foam is your friend!

[Aoibhiel]

That is...amazing. Well done!

[Honus]

Outstanding! You should send pictures of this to the folks at ADI- they would probably get a big kick out of this.

http://www.studioadi.com

[Pixie Puddle]

that is absolutely fantastic I am a HR Giger fan and a lover of alien you have done a brilliant job, :)

[rachel]

Fantastic work! A friend pointed this out to me saying "This guy just won Halloween, by a long shot." Well done sir.

[Tatterhood]

This is *beautiful* (as only Xenomorphs can be) and a fantastic Instructable. I can only hope to one day make one as awesome as yours!

[Unihorn]

Wow. That is extremely good! I'm really impressed with your foam work and airbrushing finishes. The tail sub-structure is really well setup also. You may already have it, but did you consider doing cable work for the extra long fingers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHF3NRIQrFY

[Penolopy Bulnick]

Awesome! The detail in the head is amazing!