Ophiuchus Shaina

Character: Ophiuchus Shaina

From: Saint Seiya (Knights of Zodiac)

First apparition: Lucca Comics & Games 2008 (Saturday and Sunday morning)

Awards:

Why did I choose this character:

Originally this costume was for a duo with my friend Logan but since he had problems to finish in time his costume (that was Ikky), I carried on this project by myself.
Plush I like very much Saint Seiya and Shaina fits me very well, both for her personality and for her phisicall aspect. She's cool, sexy and strong! *_*


Making off:

Probably this has been absolutely the most difficult and expencive costume I ever did!!!
The most complicated part has been the armor, made with forex (which is something similar to ABS), modeled on my body with a heat gun (I know I'm crazy XD).
The round parts, which are breast cups, kneepads and shoulder pads are made of a sort of hard material I've created by myself with papier-mâché, plaster and vinyl glue. Papier-mâché because it was easier to work for round things, plaster to make it stronger and smooth and vinyl glue to make it shiny and alastic so plaster it wouldn't crack..
The cobra headband is made with a regular headband with a snake shape made from a piece of light insulating panel cutted in the right shape, curved with the heat gun, covered with plaster and vinyl glue and then glued onto the headband together with the other parts made in the same way.
The cobra arm band is made out with forex too and then decorated with rubber snakes glued on it. A bigger one to recreate the cobra in the middle and other smaller ones for the trims. Then the hand pad is made too again with forex, trimmed with thick soft rubber tape. Knuckle pads too are made out with forex and then hot glued on the lycra glovev. And finger pads are made out with spraypainted cartboard.
Clothes are completely sewed by me since I didin't found them in the colors I needed in any dance shops of my town and they are made of with lycra. The belt too is made out with a piece of yellow lycra such as the purple gloves too!
The mask is an unrefined papier-mâché mask I bought in Venice, cutted in the right shape, than covered with plaster and vinil glue, spraypainted silver and hand painted. The eyes of the mask are covered with some silver spraypainted toulle, so I can see through but poepole can't see my eyes! :P
The only things I bought are the wig, which has been very hard too to find and the shoes, which are an authentic pair of tango shoes painted yellow and covered with yellow glitters!
For the nails I used finger nails colored with one of my hundreds of mulicolored nail polish (having hundreds of nail polish in lots of colors can be very useful! XD).

Thanks for the pictures from 3 to 25 to Criss, Vision Weaver, Walter Pellegrini, Elettra_Pandora, +Maddy+, Stronzella, Miki4, Giorgiacosplay, Cinzia Zamboni and Cosplay Foto