This Halloween costume is Master Chief, Spartan 117, the hero from the Xbox 360 game Halo 3. It took some time (my dad helped me a little), but I think it came out great. It got a lot of attention at my school's Halloween Carnival. I'm in sixth grade and this will probably be my last costume so I wanted to make something special.

Step 1: Materials, Time, Costs

Here's everything you'll need.

I made this out of cardboard, hot glue, fiberglass fabric, fiberglass resin, spray paint and velcro straps (with help from my dad). The weapon is an old broken Nerf gun that we painted and glued on some PVC piping to make it look more like the one in the game.

We used an old bicycle helmet, (free) broken plexiglass face shield, (free) skateboard knee and elbow pads ($2) from Value Village (second-hand clothing store), old black sweatpants and sweatshirt from Value Village ($4)and some light-emitting diodes (LEDs -- free) that we had around from a racetrack project (we're proud nerds). We also used me dad's cycling gloves, but just velcroed on the fiberglass so they didn't get wrecked.

The fiberglass resin and fabric cost about $30. The spray paint cost $10. These you can get any building supply store (e.g. Home Depot).Everything else we already had and was going to be thrown out eventually.

It took about 20 hours to make. I also earned credit towards my Composite Materials merit badge in the Boy Scouts for this project.

Step 2: Creating the Cardboard Form

Here I am creating the armor for Master Chief's glove. I started by cutting out a piece of cardboard matching the shape of the glove armor from an image I found of Master Chief from the Halo 3 game. The fiberglass fabric that will go on the cardboard is above it.

Step 3: Attaching Fiberglass Fabric

I am attaching the fiberglass fabric to the cardboard form with hot glue. I found that using another discarded piece of cardboard worked to smooth the fabric down onto the glue without getting burned. Geez that glue is hot!

Step 4: Mixing Fiberglass Resin

First you mix the resin using the instructions on the can. It's pretty simple. Just pour the resin into a discardable container and then mix the right amount of hardeneer in with it. You should probably let an adult do this. The fumes are very toxic so only do this in a well-ventilated area.

Step 5: Applying Fiberglass Resin to Form and Fabric

Here I am applying the fiberglass resin to the fabric. Make sure the room is VERY well ventilated. We open all the garage doors and windows here because the fumes are extremely toxic. This requires adult supervision. Wear gloves because the resin is very sticky. After that, it needs to dry overnight. Try to let it dry outdoors if not raining or too cold to avoid the fumes.

Step 6: Finishing and Painting

After the resin has dried we drilled holes in the glove armor form to make it look like our image from the game. Then painted it with primer. That dries quickly and then we painted it with the final color. We used Rustoleum "deep green" "hammered finish" to give it a futuristic, metallic appearance.

Step 7: Attaching Armor to Glove

We attached to armor to the cycling gloves with velcro.

Step 8: Other Pieces

Here are the knee pads and lower-leg armor. The armor is attached directly to the pads which are secured around the leg with velcro. The gun was made from a broken Nerf gun. We added some PVC pipe, the handle from an old ski pole and just painted it.

Step 9: Helmet

The helmet is made from an old bicycle helmet the I grew out of. We attached the broken faceplate from a yardwork safety helmet then overlayed it with cardboard and added some of the modular shapes with more hot glue and cardboard. We also wired four LEDs we had around into a battery case we salvaged from broken toys and used four AA batteries and a toggle switch. The red button switch on the side is just for show. The yellow screen is just yellow cellophane from a gift basket that's been glued in. We also made a "Heads Up Display" like Master Chief has in the game from some clear decal sheets we used for model cars (told you we were nerds). You can't see it too well, though.

Step 10: Miscellaneous

Here are some images we used to base the costume on. We debated about the color alot, but ended up using what we did just because we liked it the best.

I'm not planning on battling the Covenant in this, but the armor did come out a lot stronger than I expected. We even shot it with a bb gun (without me being in it) and it easily withstood that.