7 Cool Robot Costumes You Can Make Yourself
Halloween is often about ghosts, ghouls and zombies, but I think there are plenty of scary or at least cool and fun robots out there. If you need something to wear for Halloween, and you are a robots fanatic (or have a robot fanatic in the family), then here are some great ideas to try.
Transformers, stomping giants, Gort, Starwars robots - so many of them are here - and if you’ve found some I don’t have Most of them can be built yourself, in your home.
A Full size Aliens Powerloader costume
Powerloader is a robotic forklift used in the film Aliens, and fights in a spectacular battle with the Alien queen. You can build a Powerloader costume yourself using Foamboard, an amber light and a few other parts found in DIY stores.
The Instructables user AlexTheMovieGeek has created this stunning costume and kindly shown others how to build it. The costume is quite heavy, and some improvements could be made in that probably by making more hollow or honeycomb structures throughout. Suiting up is a job that may require a helper too.
- Build a Full Size Powerloader Costume
- More info on Powerloader - specs and detail
- Another Powerloader Costume - a somewhat more complicated version
Build a terminator Mask
Throughout much of the 2 Terminator films, Arnie was seen with half his face blasted off, showing a glowing red eye on a smooth metal skull. The effect was quite chilling, serving as a good reminder that this was a robot, a machine assassin.
You can build a face mask to give yourself the look of the Terminator. Materials required include a Red LED and battery (easily found in LED torches), and a whole bunch of modelling/casting gear - so this one is relatively involved and may require a bit more time.
General Grievous Costume
General Grievous was a Cyborg who commanded a whole Droid army. He was once an organic creature, a Kaleesh, but was completely reconstructed in a robotic body. He has much anger, and is also a fierce opponent, skilled with a sabre, and due to his robotic enhancements, able to wield multiple Light Sabre's in battle.
The build is much simpler than the others, using jumpers and foam core. It is one for both the Star Wars fan, and for those with little time to make something more complicated.
Build a General Grievous Costume
Building an Optimus Prime costume
If you are a fan of the Transformers, and would love to be their fearless leader, why not try building this one - a costume based on the original cartoon series which looks great.
Optimus Prime is the brave and strong leader of the Autobots, the force for good in the simplistic world of the transformers. He transforms into a truck, which also served as a mobile HQ for the Autobots.
While not the simplest of builds, and having a material cost of around $50 + a load of salvaged gear, it is by far one of the best finished I’ve seen on a costume, even against the shop bought ones.
Build an Optimus Prime Costume
Perhaps you’d prefer a simpler one for little one, in which case there is a mod based on a shop bought costume that puts him into vehicle mode!
Transforming Optimus Prime Costume
Soundwave Costume
Perhaps Optimus is too nice to be scary, and you want to dress as one of the bad guys? The Decepticons are the classic bad guys in Transformers, guilty of greed, violence and dishonesty. They lack even loyalty to their own leader.
Soundwave is an enforcer. He is not particularly quick or clever, but he gets the job done. He transforms into a cassette player, and so has a melodious voice when speaking.
Build a Transformers Soundwave Costume
Make a Gort Costume
Have you seen the classic 1951 film “The Day The Earth Stood Still”? No? Perhaps you know the 2008 remake starring Keanu Reeves?
The character Gort was a robot with apocalyptic powers, set to destroy all the inhabitants of Earth, at least all the people on it, if we didn’t “Get it” and comply with the requests of Klaatu - a creature from another world set on bringing some form of galactic justice. He notes our injustices, our wars, our environmental contempt and our attempts to face him and Gort with force. Gort is almost unstoppable.
So, how about dressing as this menacing machine for Halloween? It is a fairly simple costume!
Become a mad cyborg
This guy made a pretty amazing costume. Using many salvaged computer parts with some ingenuity and a bit of silver paint he made a really convincing Cyborg costume. It has light up LED’s on a chest plate and eye, and a motorised moving gripper that sounds the part.
It is perhaps one of the most amazing robotic costumes I have seen, although it looks little heavy and may be the most difficult to build on this page.
Anyway - the best robot costume instructable: BECOME A MAD CYBORG… part human, part dead computers.
The Rick Moranis style expression is probably optional.
See the scary mad cyborg in action!
If you are not yet convinced that this is the best costume - watch the video to see it actually moving…