In my own revolt against crappy and overpriced astronaut costumes, I made a homemade Apollo astronaut suit for Halloween.
…UPDATE! (10/29/09)
Awesome, I got a bunch of emails from people who wanted to know how I made this. Here’s the skinny:
The suit itself is made from a painter’s tyvek cover-all suit (~$10) with some patches (~$10) sewn on.
The helmet is the most expensive part of the costume–it’s a 16″ clear acrylic globe for outdoor lighting from Amazon and set me back about 40 bucks. I cut the top rim off an orange Home Depot utility bucket and hollowed out the lid so I’d have two locking rings–one I epoxied to the globe (after carving out a spot for my head with the dremel) and one I kinda sewed to the tyvek suit. There’s no picture of it, but half of an empty tinted beer ball stuffed inside words nicely as a shade.
The backpack (life support system!) is a hiking backpack frame with an under-bed tupperware bolted to it. Inside is a boom box for blasting glitchy space beatz, the 2001 theme, and Space Oddity. A FUBARed voice changer with a mic extended to a computer headset lets me talk out of a crackly speaker with the helmet on.
The boots are vintage snowboarding boots from eBay (~$14)–not only do they look like space boots, but they force you to walk in a slow, awkward moon gait. The gloves are normal ski gloves ($0). My roommate’s lacross shoulder pads (borrowed) added some bulk, and some white duct tape (~$4) on the shoulder straps cleaned up the look. I threw some pipe fittings on the front for oxygen, too.
Not a super expensive or difficult project if you’re handy and willing to put in some time. Trust me, space geeks… it’s worth it.
Any other tips for DIY Astronaut costumes? If you make one of these, please post a picture below! I’d love to see how it turns out.
7 Comments
Those are some great-looking moon boots you’ve got on your feet! -
How did ya get a hold of those?… Please write something about where all the parts came from, and how you put the whole costume together.
Sorry, if this is a little off topic but it is for Shelia at her request: Here a great costure idea – Take a box and cut it to fit the person. Paint it with red and white stripes and write “POPCORN” on the front. Glue popped popcorn around the top of box. String some popcorn in your hair. Wear white make-up. Use an upside-down popcorn bucket for a hat. —————— You’re welcone. I hope this helps you Shelia. Have Fun. Deborah, The Costume Lady.
May I ask where did you get that giant plastic sphere? I have a different costume that requires something of similar nature. Please let me know!
Thank you
i was googleing astronaut costumes.
and this came up.
your the most handsome boy i have ever seen.
Good one Lady…NOT! That might be the dumbest idea I have ever heard. “Yea, go as uh…Popcorn! Yea popcorn is a good idea!” I would rather go naked and save myself the embarrassment.
Im just kidding around. That sounds awesome.
I made a MMU a manned maneuvering unit (basically a jet pack) out of styrofoam and a backpack frame. The helmet is made from a dollar store plastic bowl and cardboard. I printed out the logos and spray glued them on.
Acrylic can shatter. Please consider using polycarbonate instead of acrylic globes for your astronaut helmets.
They can be found for around 20 dollars more than the acrylic ones.
Watch the following video if you are not convinced by mere words alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsls5ZPCUnE