Costume ideas from Flight of the Conchords

Just got this update on facebook (my language settings are on Pirate, which explains the timestamp! ):

Yestarrrday upon the hour of 3:30 in the evenin'

Hey Flight of the Conchords Fans,

Halloween is almost here! Save yourself the trouble of coming up with a costume idea, and dress up as Bret, Jemaine, Mel or Murray – and share your pictures with other fans!

Upload your photos to the Flight of the Conchords Fan Photos section. C’mon, it will difinitely be funny!

Check back to see how other fans look and stay tuned for Season 2, arriving early in 2009.



Source:

It's their facebook "
fan page"
(as opposed to profile). I don't know who manages it, but I guess maybe someone at HBO if they made that poster?

ha ha...this is funny. I am sure more than ever people are going to be dressing up as them!

I'm tempted to be Mel just because that would come so easily! ;
) The only thing is, I'd have to dye my hair (temporarily) brown. Last time I used the temporary stuff, it stayed in a little longer than expected...and not that there's anything wrong with brown hair, I just think it would look weird on me!

Murray is another possibility 'cause I've got almost the right hair color for that! Just need to find a goatee...hehe

I saw this yesterday and my settings are also on pirate!!!!!

Thanks for posting this, Jess " title="" border="0"/>

I want to be Jemaine.

rhymenocerous wrote:I saw this yesterday and my settings are also on pirate!!!!!

Thanks for posting this, Jess " title="" border="0"/>

haha, I love the pirate settings!!

Welcome! I just like the poster. " title="" border="0"/>

hellomyfriend wrote:I want to be Jemaine.

You should be! And wear a 'Breterosexual' shirt...heehee ;
)

I want to be 1/2 Jemaine and 1/2 Bret.

(Or Bob Dylan...I don't know...I gotta think about it.)

I want a group of people to do "
Bowie through the ages"
...like 3 could do the ones Jemaine did, for instance.

gezyka wrote:I want a group of people to do "
Bowie through the ages"
...like 3 could do the ones Jemaine did, for instance.

I think this is one of the best ideas for a Conchords costume that I have heard of!!!

rhymenocerous wrote:

gezyka wrote:I want a group of people to do "
Bowie through the ages"
...like 3 could do the ones Jemaine did, for instance.

I think this is one of the best ideas for a Conchords costume that I have heard of!!!

Thanks! And I nominate...you! (plus some friends) Hop to it! ;
)

ha ha! the 3 stages of bowie! that would be 'ucking cool! I wish I was going to some halloween party so that I could be SOME character from the show...like Jemaine.

Hey jess! send me some of those *sideburns at boaders* ;
) jk

gezyka wrote:I want a group of people to do "
Bowie through the ages"
...like 3 could do the ones Jemaine did, for instance.

Ree and I were talking about doing that last week!
We just need a third person " title="" border="0"/>

step0nmi wrote:ha ha! the 3 stages of bowie! that would be 'ucking cool! I wish I was going to some halloween party so that I could be SOME character from the show...like Jemaine.

Hey jess! send me some of those *sideburns at boaders* ;
) jk

ha! I don't know what stopped me from purchasing them right then and there! ??? Maybe they still have them.....

Ukulady wrote:
Ree and I were talking about doing that last week!
We just need a third person " title="" border="0"/>

If only I were in Australia!! That would be so much fun! Despite being FOTC fans themselves, my friends here lack ambition........ " title="" border="0"/>

Ukulady wrote:

gezyka wrote:I want a group of people to do "
Bowie through the ages"
...like 3 could do the ones Jemaine did, for instance.

Ree and I were talking about doing that last week!
We just need a third person " title="" border="0"/>

*volunteers* " title="" border="0"/>

i'm 90% i want to be mel...

The Distant Future, The Distant Future!



[size=75:9kfc9z2i]It is the distant future. The year 2000… Things are very different since the robotic uprising of the mid-nineties…
- Flight of the Conchords


Halloween is almost here, folks. And here at Base14 we couldn’t help but salute the much-loved HBO comedy show, Flight of the Conchords. If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last two years, you’ll know that FotC made robots cool again with their aptly titled song and music video: Robots. So of course, just as many other FotC fans are doing this season, I had to make my own Robo-Boogie Costume. The best part is: I’ve documented the entire process below, so everyone at home can follow along!


Step 1: Gather Supplies

One of the appeals of making your own FotC robot costume is it’s easy and cheap. Bret and Jemaine did us the courtesy to make the mundane appealing. So there aren’t many things you’ll need.

* Large cardboard box (approx. 80cm x 50cm x 30cm)
* Small cardboard box (approx. 25cm x 25cm x 25cm)
* Duct tape
* Silver spray paint
* 4-inch diameter dryer vent tubes
* 6-inch diameter dryer vent tubes
* Wire coat hanger
* Bright red paint
* Turquoise paint
* Empty water bottles
* Other old bottles/cans/bottle caps


Step 2: Make Blueprints

Now, if you’re one of those impulsive types that likes to jump into things with no planning, proceed to step 3. Otherwise, make sure you have a good schematic for you costume design. I took screen shots from the show and used the water bottle diameter as a ratio for determining the dimensions of the rest of the costume. Yeah, I’m that analytical. Here’s the final schematic. I had to nudge the numbers a bit to match my box and fit my body type. So adjust appropriately.




Step 3: Cut Out the Body

We’ll start with the robot’s body. I took a box and cut it down to fit the dimensions I wanted, then flattened it out into one sheet so I could cut out the arm holes. I used a compass to get nice clean circles, and cut them out with a mat knife.








Step 4: Add Function Buttons

Another important thing to add while the body is still flat is the function buttons. I am not sure what they used on the show (my best bet is Bret’s buttons are bottle caps and Jemaine’s buttons are the bottoms of 20-liter soda bottles). I took some artistic license and used the bottoms of aluminum cans, due to their smooth, button-like qualities. I suggest you just use whatever you’ve got lying around. These would be best attached with hot glue, but I don’t have a glue gun so I improvised with duct tape.






Step 5: Assemble Body

Once your holes are cut and function buttons affixed, it’s time to assemble the body. The more duct tape used in the step, the better. I needed extra cardboard to make the top of the body, so I built it separately with reinforced corners. I designed it to fit the circumference of the body precisely. Then I wrapped the body sides around the top piece and taped them up to get a nice, strong body.






Step 6: Build the Head

Now that the body has been built, it’s time to construct the head. For this it’s good to find a single, small box that’s nearly a cube. I had to pull up the flaps on mine to get the right shape, but it worked.



Once you’ve got your box, there’s three main features to add: face hole, side bolts and top antenna. Make the face hole close to a square, leaving a little bit more room on the forehead for colored stripes. The most important thing, though, is just to make sure you can see out. After that attach the head bolts, which are the bottoms of water bottles. Again, hot glue would be ideal for this, but I got by with duck tape. Don’t worry that they’re clear now, the spray paint will make them opaque. Finally, I used a wire hanger to make a head antenna. If you want an antenna like Bret’s, you should find a broken TV set with one of those circular antennas.




Step 7: Paint

Well, now that all the construction is done, it’s time to paint this sucker! Myself and a friend who made his own robot costume both found a full can of spray paint barely covers the entire suit. So if you want a really heavy coat, I suggest you buy two cans. I let mine dry overnight before the next step.




Step 8: Final Touches

With the costume painted, it’s time for some final touches! The thing really comes to life with the addition of a bit of color, so I went out and bought the cheapest acrylic paint I could find and colored the function buttons red and blue. I also painted some tape red and put it on the helmet forehead, but if you have red tape to begin with, that’s even better. Finally, don’t forget the extremely important dryer vents for arms and legs. Through careful research, I decided that the arms should be 4-inch diameter vents and the legs 6-inch diameter vents. I got cheap and only bought the 4-inch, so my legs went un-robotized. I suspect that to keep the leg vents help up, one would need to make a duct tape belt or suspenders of some sort. It was difficult enough keeping the arm vents from slipping down. This issue requires further research.




Step 9: Boogie!

Robo-Boogie, that is. With the final touches your costume is complete and you’re ready to hit the town. Make sure to practice your dances before heading out, because the suit does cut down your mobility a bit. But if you use it to your advantage, you’ll be the hippest post-apocalyptic mechanical being on the scene.


[size=75:9kfc9z2i]Photo by: Tobias Beidermühle

Binary Solo! 00000001. 00000011. 00000111. 00001111!

source:



I love that two of the tags for that blog post were "
fashion"
and "
fine arts."
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omg! that is soo awesome! i am so making myself a robot suit now, not even for Halloween. just to have one. awesome!!

lixxx wrote: ... i am so making myself a robot suit now ... just to have one. ...

You never know when you're going to be invited to a wedding.

hellomyfriend wrote:

lixxx wrote: ... i am so making myself a robot suit now ... just to have one. ...

You never know when you're going to be invited to a wedding.

Haha.

And once you post one more post you'll have 3,000 posts!

post...

hellomyfriend wrote:

lixxx wrote: ... i am so making myself a robot suit now ... just to have one. ...

You never know when you're going to be invited to a wedding.

i should make it and wear it instead of a wedding dress....OMG! im so gonna do that. who ever is cursed to be stuck with me in marriage will have to wear one too. omg. and i'll have my wedding invites printed in binary. haha. oh man. i love it. thanks for gving me this idea nikki ;
)

WOW.....

This is AWESOME, Nikki!!!!! I am so going to make one of these " title="" border="0"/>

am i the only one who thinks that guy kinda looks like a combination of bret and jemaine?