Giger Style Alien Costume: Torso

Giger Alien Suit – Torso

This page is about the torso sculpt and cast, check out the main project page for the rest.

My plan for the majority of the costume pieces was to make the moulds flat, and then wrap the pieces back around the person in much the same way that conventional clothing is made from flat sheets of fabric. So I started by making a paper pattern around a mannequin torso and then unwrapping it.

My plan for the majority of the costume pieces was to make the moulds flat, and then wrap the pieces back around the person in much the same way that conventional clothing is made from flat sheets of fabric. So I started by making a paper pattern around a mannequin torso and then unwrapping it:

   

   

The pattern was cut in half and then the best half was used to draw out both halves on a large sheet of polystyrene board, this way the pattern is perfectly symmetrical. The board is around 1m x 1.3m:

   

The build up is initially foam board and some conduit with aluminium wire inside which makes it stay in shape. Everything is hot-glued to the board:

   

I’ve also used wooden curtain rings, bubble wrap and duct-tape to make some of the pieces:

   

   

Klean Klay was used stuck over the foam to make the sculpt:

   

   

   

Latex was then painted over the lot to give it a smoother finish, and also to make sure that it has a skin to pull every last piece out of the mould when it’s ready:

   

Around 20Kg of Herculite 2 Plaster was used to make the mould, which was added layer by layer, and then finally covered with several layers of modroc.

   

Once the plaster has dried, the polystyrene board was hacked off and all of the foam, curtain rings and clay are removed:

   

Now black pigmented liquid latex are built up inside the mould layer by layer.

   

After the first few coats, some 5mm square cross-section aluminium wire is laid into the mould. This will become embedded in the finished piece after more latex is built up:

   

More latex, followed black soft toy stuffing and layers of black poly-cotton fabric are added:

   

Once all the latex has dried, its time to pull it out:

 

Here are the finished pieces once they have been cleaned up and bent back around the mannequin. the aluminium wire makes it stay put. There will be a separate breast-bone piece which will link to the shoulders and ribs at the front to hold it all together: