HackSpace_-_October_2019

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cosplayer by night. His Raiden Cyborg Ninja costume

(hsmag.cc/uNeaHC) uses a motorised face shield that

looks awesome. The major part of his Instructable

focuses on fabricating and sculpting the costume from

EVA foam using patterns crafted from cardstock. He

created the face shield using two high-torque servos

and a Pololu Maestro Servo controller. The

microcontroller is programmed to move the two servos

simultaneously at the push of a button. He also created

a sword and then wired some LEDs in the sheath

diffused with a blue Mylar folder to get the right effect.

Andrew’s also created a Stealth Iron Man costume

that has a mechanised helmet (hsmag.cc/dysXIl).

Again, the majority of his Instructable is about crafting

the costume to perfection. Just like before, the helmet

is powered by two servos glued to the back that are

operated by the Pololu Maestro Servo controller. LEDs

in the gloves, eyes, and chest piece complete the look.

Jerome Kelty, a bicycle designer turned jeweller also

loves creating elaborate costumes. One of his most

extravagant ones was put together when his friend

approached him to animate his fibreglass Iron Man MkIII

costume (hsmag.cc/stqMPa). He decided to replicate

as many functions of the suit as depicted in the movie.

Jerome’s project uses an extremely large number

of electronics. For instance, in addition to 20 servos,

the suit uses four Arduino Pro Mini boards. There are

two on the hands, one on the helmet, and the fourth

on the boots. A couple of digital mini servos and XBee

radios control the helmet. Two RFID tags in the left

glove trigger the helmet, hip pods, and back flaps.

Similarly, the RFID tags in the right glove trigger the

forearm missile and shoulder rockets. The boots have

infrared sensors that light them up and make

mechanical movement sounds when the boot is lifted

from the ground. Replicating the build is no easy task,

but Jerome’s Instructable has extremely detailed and

illustrated instructions.

Just like Jerome, Anatoli Arkhipenko also loves to

animate ready-made costumes. However, his choice

is sure to freak out everyone at a Halloween party.

That’s because Anatoli’s Predator costume doesn’t

only sound like one, but is complete with a head-

tracking plasma gun and laser sights as well

(hsmag.cc/Zlvkre). Anatoli has combined elements

of a ready-made costume with some 3D-printed

components such as the faceplate and gauntlets. The

motion, light, and sound effects are controlled by a Wii

Nunchuk controller, while a Teensy 3.5 microcontroller

is used for the head tracking. It took Anatoli over a year

to complete the build working only on the weekends,

but you can replicate his costume in a fraction of that

time thanks to his easy-to-follow instructions.

THE BOOTS HAVE

INFRARED SENSORS

THAT LIGHT THEM UP

The LEDs in the

eyes are wired

to a reed switch

that switches

them on and off,

depending on

whether the face

mask is open

or closed

Jerome has

created an

animatronics

forum for makers

to help each other

as they animate

their builds

Anatoli even has a

custom suitcase to

store his costume

that’s branded

with a Predator

icon and an

Instructables logo