Captain Olimar and Pikmin Constume

Halloween time again!  This year my son didn't decide what he wanted to be until around the beginning of September which only gave me a few weekends to get to work.  Pikmin 3 came out this year and he plays it constantly.  So naturally he wanted to be on of the captains from the game.

Step 1: Classic Fishbowl

For the helmet I ordered a 14" diameter clear acrylic globe.  The kind used for light fixtures.  The neck of the globe was only 6" which is too small for my son's head to fit through so I had to cut the opening a bit larger.  I also needed to drill some holes for him to hear through and to allow fresh air in so he doesn't suffocate.  The acrylic is not that thick so I prepped it by using some masking tape as an extra insurance against fracturing.  I made sure to drill the holes very slowly and not use too much pressure.  When I cut the existing lip off of the globe opening it seriously reduced the integrity of the whole thing.  It was necessary to reinforce the neck hole as well as make it so that there wouldn't be a sharp edge against my son's neck and shoulders.  I used a foam garage floor mat to make a ring the same size as the opening and glued it in place.

Step 2: Neck Support

The helmet is quite large and needed some way to stay level on my son's head.  I added some semicircular pieces to the front and back and glued them in place.  Next I coated the whole thing with glue to give me a better surface to paint, as the foam will soak up the paint and give a dimpled finish.  I made a "plug" to keep paint from getting inside the helmet while spray painting.

Step 3: Backpack and Painting

The Pikmin captains have a "backpack" that I assume is their air supply.  I used more foam and glued it all together.  Next I masked off the helmet and painted everything blue.

Step 4: Foam and Material

To make the helmet fit a little better and more comfortable I added foam.  Then to make it all more aesthetically pleasing I glued some fabric over the foam.  The backpack is attached with some bolts.  Lastly I cut a small hole right in front to stick a brass whistle through.  For those of you who don't play the game, this is how the players call the Pikmin.

Step 5: Pikmin!

The Pikmin are pretty simple.  They are made of some felt pieces held together with "no sew" adhesive strips and a bit of foam to make them puffy.  They will be velcroed to the costume.

Step 6: Viola!

The space suit is a $20 generic costume I ordered from Amazon.  For the price it is actually pretty durable.  I added some Velcro to stick the pikmin to the suit.  I also added a book light to the top of the helmet.

Comments

[8ambere.brown88]

Hello, I am making a costume that involves a similar use of the acrylic globe (Madame Leota from the Haunted Mansion) for my daughter. I have a website that I am ordering the acrylic globe from that will cut the hole for me, about what size did you cut the hole to fit your son’s head in?

Thank you! What a great idea!

[Nick70587]

I believe it was 8-9 inches. I need to give you a heads up though he did not wear it for more than 10 minutes. He told me that the sound of his own talking reverberating inside the helmet hurt his ears. He said he could see just fine but the sound was too much for him even at a normal speaking tone.

[Pikmin]

Where did you find the space suit and what was it called i can't find it and Halloween is in 6 days!!!???

[JeanieC4]

What did you use to cut the neck hole larger? Not sure what tool to use.

[Nick70587]

I used my Dremel with a small cutting disk. The masking tape helped keep the plastic from fracturing during the cutting.

[sokiboi78]

CREATIVE!!

Nice job.!!.check out mine what u think? made out of card boards and tape lol Vote if you like ;-)

[bmaxwell5]

Very cool I did something similar years ago for a buzz light year costume ... Didn't think of using the masking tape