Gareth’s Alien Costume

The body suit presents some choices; Do you leave the exposed fabric between the parts (cooler) or paint the fabric with liquid latex (looks better)? I painted the front of my legs and the arms before the NSC Sci-Fi weekend. I may remove the parts and redo the suit in the future to make it better looking.

I had some difficulty finding a lycra suit to fit me. I finally found a suit that was designed to be worn under motorbike leathers. The fit is quite good, but it is slightly baggy in the underarm and crotch areas.

I painted the latex suit parts black before I stuck them to the suit. I also sealed the underside of the parts using the Krylon glaze. I hope this will delay the inevitable latex rot!

The suit must be stretched over a mannequin while the parts are glued on. If parts were glued on while the suit is unstretched then the suit would rip or the parts would peel off when you put the suit on! I used contact adhesive to stick the parts onto the suit. The procedure I used was:

• Place the part onto the suit and mark its position with chalk
• Apply contact adhesive to the suit inside and just outside the marked area
• Thinly apply contact adhesive to the back of the part, avoiding raised areas of detail
• Wait about 20 minutes for the adhesive to dry (a fan can be used to speed it up)
• Align the part with the chalk marks on the suit and press it down firmly
• Tidy up any loose edges

I then painted some of the exposed suit fabric with the latex/paint mix. In retrospect, I think I applied the paint too thinly; the texture of the fabric still shows in some areas.

My suit has a double-ended zip on the front. I stuck the belly piece on one side with Velcro so that the Alien can pee! This was another consession to my comfort during the NSC Sci-Fi Weekend.

One day, I will peel the parts off this suit and rebuild it. I don’t know yet if I want full latex coverage or a cooler, all-fabric suit.