Note: The picture is the actually me inside the finished cosplay :) !!!

Before starting this instructable, I must warn you.... it is a long process, many times you will despair but the results are worth it!!

The next project is the cosplay of one of my favorite literary characters, Sauron from Lord of the Rings.

I tried to get the cheapest possible materials and also the easiest to get to make this accessible for everyone!

I hope you will love the process and the results as i do :)

To make it simple we will divide it into 5 sections and we will merge them at the end :)

1. THE HELMET

2. THE CHEST AND SHOULDER PADS.

3. TILTS AND WEAPON.

4. HAUBERK

5. ARMOR ARMS AND LEGS

Supplies

For all the process we will need a suitable ammount of some of the following:

Scissors / Knife

Strong Glue

Silicone Gun

Silicone bars (many)

Black Acrylic Paint

Silver Oil Paint

Brushes

Foamy (A LOT of foamy)

Slats/Ribbon strips/ Cloth strips

Sponge with Fiber ( the one used for washing the dishes works!!)

Pull-tabs (Yes, the little things that helps you open the cans!!) PS. you will need A LOT !!!

Step 1: The Helmet

In order to create the guidelines for the helmet, we first made a 3D model of the helmet using Maya and then we transferred the design to Pepakura.

You can download Pepakura from here.

*After installing Pepakura, you need to open the file with the *.PDO format and it will show you a 3D image of the model that you imported.

Before proceeding please verify that the parts have matching numbers to the sides where they should be glued together, for example, you will glue one side "3" with another side "3"...

To print out pattern with high quality : open program "Pepakura viewer", then go to settings > print setting and set transparency to 0% and thickness of line to 10...

If you want to change the scale of model, then set up software "Pepakura designer" and pick 2D Menu - Change scale - Scale Factor.

GOOD LUCK in papercraft!!!

--- Advice: Before you start building your helmet, please look for reference images, i used some images like the ones on this post.

Easy to build:
Cut along the solid lines [ ___ ] and fold the dotted lines, Mountain fold /\ [ - - - - - - - ], Valley fold \/ [ -.-.-.-.-.-.-. ](Line styles vary).

All tabs are numbered just match them and glue together.

There are a lot of examples and tips available online just search ‘Pepakura Tutorials’ !!

Hands On:

1. Once you put the helmet all together according to the printing plans, you need to add a glue layer to the whole helmet to add more resistance to it.

2. You need to cut small foamy stripes (around 3~4mm width) and glue them (using silicone or glue, your choice) around the eyes and in the middle of the helmet, check your reference of the helmet !!!

3. When the glue is dry, you use the silicone gun and from a small distance, you make the silicone drop into the helmet making small circles, this will give the helmet the illusion of the engraving that you see on the movie!!

4. After everything is dry and in place, you need to more layers of glue and let it dry before applying the next one

5. Then you will paint the whole helmet in black and add details using the silver paint, for this, you will use the hard side of a dish washing sponge (the green part). (Keep in mind your reference, check as many times as you need and compare!!)

Painting Tips:

Use the sponge with very low paint and do small hits on the helmet so it will only grasp a small ammount of paint every time, this will help you give the helmet a shiny metallic effect

Step 2: Preparing the Cosplay to Be Portable

These are the important issues on which my armor is based, before we can start making the suit we must have a base, something that covers the body in addition to the armor, for that we need 5 simple things ..
1 black leggins or pants 1 black sweater or long sleeve shirt 10 meters of velcro Thick needle Black thread

First of all, you will need to sew the velcro into the sweater and the leggins/pants, please refeer to the images for a simple way of doing it, however, you can put them the way it works better for you, the velcro will help us to easily put on and off our cosplay! :)

Remember to cover the main points of interest on our cosplay that are more difficult to put on:

*Chest

*Shoulders

*Legs

Step 3: The Chest and Shoulder Pads.

Shoulders:

1. In order to create the shoulder you first will need to cut a cardboard strip that should cover our shoulder on width and length.... please refeer to the images.

2. After getting the base, we will need to start making the spikes, for this, you can use any old newspaper or paper sheet and make a very thin cone with it, after that you will need to add some layers of glue to make them hard

3. When the glue is dry, you will need to glue the spikes into the shoulder base as shown on the images, you can add more detail by adding some long pieces that would make it look like a fin

4. Once everything is glued together, you will need to add another couple of glue layers to make it more resistant

5. Repeat the process for the other shoulder!!

6. We will glue this to a cardboard with a hole where we could fit our head, this will be our base for the entire shoulder piece!!

7. You can use foamy strips to make details on the shoulder piece, please check constantly your reference !!

8. Use the glue gun again to make circular patterns on the space between the foamy strips

9. Paint the entire piece black with black acrylic and use the dish washing sponge (with the green hard side) to paint them, you can add some silver gentle touches to make it look more realistic

10. Add a couple of glue layers or polish and let them dry to make the piece more solid !!

Chest:

1. For the chest i followed my reference and divided the design in "plates", for this, i cut foamy pieces in the shape of the visible armor parts that i could see on my reference and glued them to a cardboard.

2. After doing all this, we will need to follow the same process with the silicone gun and make small circles with silicone to give the armor a nice texture.

3. Now we will need to paint the whole chest plate in black, then with the dish washing sponge (use the hard side) you will give some realistic illumination

4. Add a few layers of glue or polish to make it more resistant

5. Add some velcro strips on the back of the chest plate, ensure that the velcro locations will match the ones that you put on the sweater!!!

6. Always compare with your reference !!!

Step 4: Stilts and Weapon

Preparation:

First you will need to get a reference of the mace!

You can get those just by searching on google for it !!

After getting your reference, you need to split the mace blades into 2:

1. The main blade (first image)

2. The side blades (second image, you will need 2 of those)

Hands on:

1. You can draw those on a cardboard and cut them.

2. Use the glue gun and put some glue on circular-uneven shapes as to resemble the drawings on the mace, you can also get a print of the shapes and carve the cardboard and put the glue there!!

3. Paint the whole blade black and let it dry!

4. Use the silver paint to add the touches and you can also use the sponge to add some details to the weapon as to make it look "old" or resemble the polished steel

5. Check the details!! compare your work with the reference that you picked and add more paint as you see fit!!

6. For the body of the mace, you can use any pole you have at hand, you can even use a broom wooden stick but i would recommend a PBC or any light plastic tube.

7. Follow the same process that you did on Steps 2,3,4

8. You can glue the blades together to the stick/tube or you can glue the blades to a slightly bigger tube than the one you are using for the body, this way you can just assemble the mace really fast and easy!

Stilts:

For the stilts i used a wood to make the footing, a big wooden block (almost the size of your feet) and added 2 small tables to give them more height.

I also used an old pair of shoes and nailed them to the wood.

For the front of the feet, you can use industrial tape to make the shape of the cone from the shoe, or use any other material that you want, only the gray part from the shoe will show under the cosplay!! (check the images that i added as reference).

Remember to be careful and make sure that your stilts provide you enough balance and that they are not uncomfortable since you could (and possibly will) spend a lot of time using them!!

Step 5: Hauberk and Cape

This hauberk is made entirely of pull-tabs, so you can ask some friends that are planning a party to help you collect them, you will need A LOT depending on your complexion...

1. To start on this, you will need to get one and make a small bend on it like on the first pictures.

2. After bending the pull-tab, you need to make a small cut on the middle of the top corner like on the next images.

3. Repeat step 2 A LOT

4. When you think that you have enough pull-tabs cut and bended, start linking them like on the third image, you are looking for not a complete chain mail but more for the part that will show from the waist to the legs, refeer to the last images on this step.

5. Start creating the line following a strap or a line, this will help you on the next step and will also make it easier for you to keep the shape!!

6. When you finished your hauberk, you can sew or glue (recommended sewing) a strap or something that will help you keep it on his place around your waist.

CAPE .. the cape believe it or not it´s just a giiiiaant rectangle with damage, you just have to cut little triangles at the base to make it look old and torn