Coolest Bebop and Rocksteady Costumes 10 from the Original Ninja Turtles

My homemade Bebop and Rocksteady costumes were born out of a love for the characters and more than a little inspiration from the amazing papier mache masks a friend of mine had been building for his Halloween costumes the last few years.

I started with the masks, using simple cardboard boxes, newspaper, 3/4” pipe insulation, a pair of Styrofoam cones, a mohawk wig, a couple old pieces of body jewelry, duct tape, and a mean pair of scissors to construct the basic forms. I used a couple layers of traditional papier mache, followed with a healthy amount of Cellu-Clay to flesh out the, well… the flesh, really. Dry, paint, and BINGO! Masks are done!

For the Bebop and Rocksteady costumes, I cut muscle-shaped pieces of foam with a turkey carver and glued them to a long-sleeved tee shirt using a spray adhesive. I then covered the muscle shirt with pieces of panty-hose, again using the spray adhesive. Once that was dry, I painted the muscle suits with spray paint (three shades each of black/gray and brown, respectively).

The clothes for Rocksteady were found easily enough at Wal-Mart, while the Bebop outfit required a lot more ingenuity. I found a denim vest at Goodwill, bleached it, and dyed it red, then plastered it with metal studs and pins. The pants are cut-off cargos with tons of safety pins in them. And, of course, a pair of bright red Chuck Taylor All-Stars completes the show.

I found some great “monster” hands that I painted to match the muscle suits, and added several appropriate accessories, like the wristbands and belts. I found a taxidermist who sold me authentic turtle shells for Rocksteady’s belt and Bebop’s shoulders, and a real snapping turtle skull for Bebop’s necklace.

All together they took about 80 hours combined.

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