Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
CosBlog #89: Gears Of War Brigade By Cos.n.Fx
As a bit of a Gears fan myself (understatement), I was blown away by each and every build Cos.n.Fx has seen to fruition. Unable to choose just one costume for the blog, I’m highlighting the lot, including the two smallest, most adorable Gears you’ll ever see. Their impressive projects warrant an update to a classic quote – the family that cosplays together, stays together.
Who: The Character
Queen Myrrah, Flame Grenadier Locust, Samantha Byrne, and Karn from Gears of War 3 and Judgment.
Why: The
Decision
We're big fans of the Gears of War franchise - the storyline attracted me much more than most other games, and the character designs were visually striking and unique. When a Gears suit is done right, there's no mistaking what it is. We've done four complete suits for ourselves (Locust Flame Grenadier, Sam Byrne, Queen Myrrah, and Karn), two mini-COG suits for our twin girls, and are currently working on a number of commission suits.
Our first Gears build was the Locust, which Billy chose because he wanted to do a Gears suit, but wanted do one that was unlike anything we'd really seen done before. We worked on my Sam Byrne costume at the same time. I chose her because I enjoyed her attitude and sass. Both costumes were our first serious forays into EVA foam armor building, and after successfully building them, we were hooked on foam. I knew almost immediately after finishing Sam that I wanted to build Queen Myrrah. I hadn't seen her done to completion before, and her crazy armor was just the challenge I was looking for. While working on Myrrah, I made the mini-cog suits for my twin girls, just for fun. Our fourth adult suit was Karn, from GOW Judgment. We signed NDA agreements with Epic, and were given reference material for the as yet unreleased game. Karn was an exhausting build, simply because of the time crunch - we completed the suit in two months to have it ready for the game's release.
What: The
Process
All of our Gears suits are made with EVA foam, and we learned from watching other foam builders progress photos and youtube tutorials. We use duct tape dummies of ourselves to scratch build the suits around. The locust suit began with a Captain American bodysuit, which we modified with cotton and latex, the same way they do over at the Hunter's Lair. We built the armor entirely from foam, and built the helmet around a child's bike helmet. We spent about $700 dollars on the Locust build, and probably $500 on Sam. We learned alot during the Locust and Sam builds, and both together took about a year to complete.
Myrrah has all foam armor, with a thick suede undersuit. Assembling the leather bodysuit was the most difficult part of Myrrah, as most of it had to be sewn by hand. Due to time constraints, we purchased a lovely raw cast of Myrrah's helmet from prop maker Dave Wilson to complete the costume. She took about two months of intense binge building, and cost about $850 in materials. Both the Locust and Myrrah suits are difficult to wear in the summer due to overheating. The Karn suit was another set of firsts for us. We did sculpts for the mask, feet, and elbows. The mask and elbows were cast in latex, and the feet in flex foam. Overall, Karn cost about a grand and was built over two months of exhausting labor.
Where and When:
The Debut
The Flame Grenadier and Sam debuted at DragonCon 2012. Karn and Myrrah will debut at DragonCon 2013. Most of the photos were taken by ourselves, and were done at the Old Woolen Mill here in town. We recently did a photoshoot with Dim Horizon studios at Sloss Furnace Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama, which is a popular site for cosplay photoshoots. It was perfect for Gears of War.
Links: The
Cosplayer
We update all our costume builds on Facebook
You can also see high res photos of most of our cosplays at DeviantArt
The Gallery
Photos by Cos.n.Fx and DimHorizon Studios
Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive of past costumes.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
