Toa Zaz Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 (edited) Hi! So I'm posting several large, wearable Kanohi masks that I've made over the years, as well as a full-body Vezon cosplay. I should have posted these (all but the latest one) years ago; the reasons I didn't were a mix of not feeling 100% happy with how they turned out, lacking internet access for a stretch of time in 2016, and also just foolishly not prioritizing doing so. But better late than never. Anyway: 1. Kanohi Olmak This is my latest, which I just completed earlier this month. It is made of foam. Glued together with a mix of industrial-strength glue (for the main shape), and hot glue for the smaller details. I covered it with white plasti-dip spray, then spray-painted it with a really great metallic gold. It's not perfect but I am still really, really happy with how it turned out. The metallic gold paint in particular really looks awesome. At first I didn't know where to start, because the curved shapes did not make it obvious to me about how to reproduce the shape with foam pieces. The "eureka" moment was to take two sillhouettes of the mask (from the front and from the side) and slide them together; from there I was able to figure out the rest. I was able to attend San Diego Comic Con this year. I stopped by Stuart Sayger's table to show him this mask. He is just the nicest guy ever, so friendly, and you can truly feel his love for Bionicle. He actually signed the inside of my mask! Unlike the others I made, I think I actually made it the right size to cover my whole head while still being the correct shape (e.g. not "stretched" to be tall). My original intent was to make a full Brutaka costume; unlike many other characters, I think Brutaka lends himself really well because his proportions are fairly humanoid. But when I finished the mask, I became worried that it was too big compared to my body; I didn't want the Brutaka costume to look bobble-headed. But after looking at myself wearing it, I decided that the size is good enough. So now my plan is to go ahead with the full costume; my goal is to have it completed by July 2023. 2. Vezon costume ^At Brickfair, 2019 I think. This one was very ambitious, but I thought Vezon lends himself well to a costume; I could make the main body just black and still look good, and the cape would look cool. The problem was that I made the mistake of scaling the entire head around my glasses, when I should have scaled it around my own head, so while the head looked very good on its own, it ended up way too big. Oh well. Overall I'm really happy with it. I also made the eyes light up- I'm proud of being able to pull this off, and I think it looks great. The teeth are also painted to glow-in-the-dark; you can't see it with this picture, but they glow really well. San Diego Comic Con 2019 was when I first met Stuart Sayger (who, again, could not be a nicer guy). He signed the inside of the head! 3. Kanohi Kraahkan ^(The poster on the wall is an awesome fan-designed Bionicle poster from Redbubble. I would credit the artist, but I don't actually know who made it, the poster was a gift). Made in 2016. This one I did not make on my own, I made it in collaboration with a wonderful friend and mentor. He is a cosplay expert, so it was much more refined than the others I made, with beautifully smooth edges using a dremel he has. It was made of thicker foam sheets, and painted with black plasti-dip. I think it was the exact right size needed to cover my entire head; but given the unusual and inhuman shape of the Kraahkan, it had to be pretty large. It has two inner straps, so it can be worn as both sides/configurations of the mask. It was originally much more curved, but over the years, gravity has made the sides become overly straightened compared to the Lego piece. This is something I could probably fix with a heat gun. I also did a giant Great Kanohi Ruru in 2013. Unlike the others, it was made of cardboard and black duct tape, with transparent green cellophane in the eye holes. I wore it to San Diego comic-con, and also Brickfair Virginia, in 2013. Unfortunately, I cannot find any photos of it, and it is currently not intact (cut off the sides to mail it home, and I don't have black duct tape to repair it). It was way way too big, but other than that I was very happy with how it turned out. Anyway, every time I make one of these I learn a lot more and improve in certain ways. I am really excited to do more in the future, specifically the full Brutaka costume! Edited July 28, 2022 by Toa Zaz 9 1 Quote Thank you, BZPower staff. In the past, I wish I showed more appreciation for all that you do. From one Bionicle fan to another, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daler99 Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 These are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I remember seeing the your Vezon costume at BFVA 2019 - I was super impressed. Really cool to see you’ve made some other masks too. 1 Quote ~Daler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toa Zaz Posted July 28, 2022 Author Share Posted July 28, 2022 Just now, Daler99 said: These are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. I remember seeing the your Vezon costume at BFVA 2019 - I was super impressed. Really cool to see you’ve made some other masks too. Thank you so much! Quote Thank you, BZPower staff. In the past, I wish I showed more appreciation for all that you do. From one Bionicle fan to another, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Matoran with a Vahi Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Oh wow, these are impressive! Really amazing work! 1 Quote "New legends awake, but old lessons must be remembered. For that is the way of the BIONICLE." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valendale Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 All look great! Cool to find out more about the person I've been seeing in person at the cons the last several years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bohrokmaster Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Really been thinking of cosplaying as a Bionicle character. I don't know how you americans make such accurate depictions.🤔 All in all, great job!🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axelford Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Ah so you are the man behind the slaughter...or should I say behind the legend? Really cool stuff here and that's quite interesting seeing the behind the scenes work. I'm sure like many, I've been considering making a mask for years now. Do you have any future costume ideas planned? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toa Zaz Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 Thank you so much, everyone! So I drew up a sketch of hypothetical costume pieces on top of my body proportions, and I decided that a full-body Brutaka costume would look good/cool. So I'm going to go forward with it. Hoping to get started soon, in order to have enough time to get it really accurate; goal is to have it finished by next July or so. Afterwards, I am hoping to do Hydraxon. Who, aside from his feet (which I'd probably have to cheat on a bit) is also very humanoid- even more so than Brutaka. If my Brutaka sketch didn't look good, I'd have done Hydraxon instead. When I get around to doing him, my goal is to have it super smooth and refined, compared to the slightly rougher quality of the Brutaka mask (I'm still learning how to best cut and glue foam etc). Beyond that, it'd be awesome to do at least the mask of the Olisi; I think it would have more of a traditional Halloween mask look. My craftsmanship definitely isn't good enough yet to pull it off well, but in the future I'll get better. A movie-style Metru Vakama or Lhikan would be extremely ambitious (the characters are so smooth and metallic looking, have to get the details spot-on for it to be recognizable). But it's doable, TheMrOrangeContinuum on Deviantart made an amazing movie-style Vakama costume: https://www.deviantart.com/themrorangecontinuum/art/Bionicle-Vakama-Cosplay-767338122 Quote Thank you, BZPower staff. In the past, I wish I showed more appreciation for all that you do. From one Bionicle fan to another, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metru Minstrel Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 @Toa ZazThese look fantastic! I've often fiddled with Bionicle costume designs, but was opting for a more 'human' compromise than going all-out. Vezon looks like he stepped right out of the box, and if the rest of Brutaka turns out as nicely as the Olmak, he's going to own. There's an incredible faithfulness to detail here, and you've done magnificently. Quote Did you know that insanity is contagious? I've been spreading it for years! All hail Makuta Teridax that creepy guy to my right,Master of Shadows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused piraka Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 when do we see Brutaka? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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