Manky Monkey Motors

Excel Centre
London Docklands

A celebration of all things Sci Fi with the emphasis on "Cos Play" -designing, making & wearing costumes to emulate your favourite film, video game or cartoon characters. Merchandise, video gaming area, celebrity interviews & autographs etc.
A fun get-together with amazing creativity & imagination.

Did you go Andy, or anybody else?

I did.
Walked into town this morning to catch the train to London, only to find all trains from Basingstoke to Waterloo were cancelled due to work on the line. There were hundreds of people milling about, waiting for the replacement bus service, so I walked home, got my car & drove to the Excel Centre in London Docklands instead.
So didn't get into the exhibition halls till nearly lunchtime, but stayed until the security guys started hussling people out at the end of the day.
I don't know why, but I just find that whole World of film/TV based sci fi geekdom fascinating. The costuming side of it's fast becoming as big as the rest of the event. I really fancy having a go. This was my 4th Comic Con, (3 in London & 1 in New York), & I've gone from curious observer to actively stopping people in costume & asking where they found the materials, how they made this or that, which materials work best for various parts etc.
Trouble is, a lot of costumes are based on computer game or comic book characters, so although they look amazing, I've got no idea who they are. I need to go old school -seriously thinking about trying this guy :)

Old school sounds a good idea Andy., did you take any photo's ?

Yep, but haven't had a chance to go through them yet. I'll post a few later.

I helped my grand-daughter to make a costume for a comicon she went to - it was quite easy, it's amazing what you can do with simple stuff.
We made the cape between us, she bought a cheap pair of trousers and sewed some tape on them to make stripes, and a friend knitted a long scarf for her.  She bought the 'ears'.

Grace (on right) and friend at Bournemouth Comicon 2015 dressed as Eridan and Tavros from Homestuck (whatever that is!!!)

A selection from Sunday.
It's the imagination & creativity of cosplay that appeals to me. Painting, writing, music, sculpture, or building custom vehicles -it's all part of the same urge to create something.
Some costumes are very simple & convey the essence of the character with just a few materials & props, while others are massively elaborate. I love 'em all.

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Local people.

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Members of the UK Garrison, a Star Wars re enactment group.

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Hello. :)
-sorry. A soldier from the "Halo" computer game
A lot of body armour is made from EVA foam, which can be softened with a hair dryer, moulded to shape & glued.
This entire suit, including the gun, is made from 5mm thick yoga mats & 10mm thick Halfords garage floor mats, (I've got 20 of those in my lock-up).

Dobbie!
The house elf from Harry Potter. His head's made from a thermo plastic called Worbla, which comes in flat sheets & can be heated & moulded, then painted. The offcuts can be warmed & rolled together to make more complicated shapes, a bit like plasticine. It comes with a heat reactive adhesive layer on one side, so parts can be warmed & stuck together. About 30 quid per square metre in black, brown or transparent finishes.

The Flash. A mixture of foam & Worbla parts.

Game of Thrones? I've never seen it.

Tom Hanks's "Big".

Love the colours.

Foam armour. The bow was 3D printed in resin using a 300 quid home printer. Ain't technology amazing.

Foam arnour. His sword has a foam core, covered in a layer of Worbla for rigidity.

Same guy with his helmet on. It was printed in 6 parts on a 3D printer. The lion's heads on his armour are also printed in resin.

Hugely complicated foam/Worbla mix with LED lighting
Imagine wearing this all day -how do you go to the loo? Where do you put your car keys, phone, cash etc? Lots of full body costume wearers like this had a "minder" with them to take care of that kind of stuff. This girl couldn't even sit down all day.

Worbla bodice with resin jewels. Great make-up.

Gorgeously made velvet coats. There are lots of small businesses making cosplay parts. One stall will be selling nothing but hats, the next has weapons, or fairy wings, or animal tails.

Arnold J Rimmer, or Mr Brittas if you prefer

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I need to make a big head like this -no, I haven't already got one :(
Not sure what material this was. Should've asked.

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The legendary Terry English. Master armour maker.
He makes full suits of armour for films, museums & collectors. Beautiful, beautiful work & a tip top chap.

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I've lived my whole life following this man's teachings  :P

When Mars Attacks.
Really vibrant colours. Where would you start to make that head?

Foam Samurai.

:)

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My T shirt haul for the day.

i made a mad hatter tophat for my youngest a few years ago from the foam  floor mats.
good fun

:) Haven't tried them yet -what glue did you use?

and some think I'm a tad crazy, nuts the lot of them, but why not??  ;D ;D

Great photo's Andy Thanks for sharing . Must put it on the calendar for next year 

I've got a feeling they were there last time as I think I said the same thing - surely that is the real Steve Pemberton on the right.

I thought that was a small toy you'd photographed. That costume is really good. Did you give him the address of your garage in case his mate wants one for next year OR are you going to be joining him?  :)

Great photos Andy. Really shows what non specialists can do with a 3D printer. Must be great fun recreating these costumes. Interesting what you found out about some of the other materials they use.

Was Chris Barrie the only well known actor there? I didn't recognise him at first. He's looking old. Rimmer must look younger but then again, he is a hologram.  ;)

Thanks for sharing. I was hoping you were going there so we could (vicariously) visit the show too.  8)
 

contact cement. the hardest bit to get the hang of is how long to leave it to "dry" before sticking it together

Ahh, I guess it's just a matter of experimenting then Ben. There are websites where you can download paper templates for making basic helmets & armour sections.

https://youtu.be/XEa4GwcWJpw

I need to have my truck finished for next Spring, but once that's done I think I'll have a go at making something. The London Comic Con's held twice a year, in May & October, so maybe I could create something to wear to the October one :)
Jay Jay, I don't think I've seen the "local people" before, but they were very good. I love the way everyone immediately adopts a well rehearsed pose when you ask to take their photos :)
Chris Barrie is old! The original Red Dwarf series aired nearly 30 years ago. Lots of celebrities there, with long lines of fans queuing for their autographs, (20 quid for a signature & a selfie with them), but most are from films or TV series I've never seen. Bernard Cribbins was there -still the voice of the Wombles to me, but he's appeared in a couple of Doctor Who series. I was told No Photos by the guy looking after him -unless you join the queue & pay of course :) When I lived on a National Trust estate with Tazet, he used to come fishing there.

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Jay & Silent Bob.
Bob, in the black overcoat, is a comedian/film maker/comic book writer called Kevin Smith. He created these 2 characters, who appeared in a series of comedy films.
These guys had the look spot on.

Dad was in full Star Wars pose mode.
Son just wanted to go home :)

This lady had a better moustache than me :)

Goat man was a lady :)
Her costume was lit with sewn in LED lights. Check out the stilleto hooves.

Clever latex prosthetic make up.

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I love the girls in pointy pixie ears. Very cute. You can buy accessories like that ready-made. This was at the Japanese Anime Festival in New York a couple of weeks ago.

Foam helmet & body armour.
Plywood & foam gun.
The security people check weapons on the way in to the building. Anything deemed too dangerous isn't allowed in.

Very cute!

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Foam again. The guy's visor lit up with red LEDs.

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Oh yes, we can see that you do!    ;) ;) ;) ;)

 :D

A professional video of the weekend's best cosplayers -none of whom I saw on Sunday.

https://youtu.be/6Kkdw1FyBLA

CGI versions of classic cartoons -I can't decide whether that's cool or just wrong.

https://youtu.be/jDHU6QwyDAc

A very good Hector from the film Coco. Only watched it the other day when my younger Grandson was visiting. Probably one of the very few characters I recognise. Must watch more films. Surprised no Deadpool characters were there. Just watched 1& 2 back to back. Not, I realised too late, films to watch with your Grandson. Okay, this one was 17 yrs old but I can't tell you how much I wanted to fast forward in places.  :-[   Pity I'd committed myself to watching both of them!  ::)   Also recently watched Black Panther. I expected to see more characters from that film as well (saw one in the YouTube link).

Great links. I've subscribed. The videos of the event were really well put together. I liked the cartoons too. Still worked. Loved it when Marvin wound down the window.  ;D
Cheers, JJ  8)

Yeah, that did amuse me :)
Apparently that clip's part of a live action/CGI film called Loony Tunes, back in action that came out in 2003, starring Brendan Fraser.
Lots & lots of DeadPools at all the Comic Cons I've been to -to the point where I've stopped photographing them! Most appear to be shop bought costumes, but accessorised -for example, there's a scene where he wears a dressing gown & fluffy bunny slippers over his suit -so there's lots of different versions of him at the shows.
I saw a really good Black Panther at the New York 'Con.

Are these guys from the Black Panther film? I'm more of a Pink Panther fan myself :)

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A selection of New York Deadpool characters.

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Good ones. Nice selection.  8)

I'm much more impressed with the costumes people have made than with the obviously bought ones - bit like the custom bikes 'built not bought' slogan!

Very true.