I was always a big Ninja Turtles fan growing up so what better way to celebrate Halloween as a 21 yr old and get 3 other guys together and dress up as the 4 green brothers! My only stipulation when I set out to make these Ninja Turtles Homemade Halloween Group Costume was I wanted a real size shell that I could both a) pull my arms, legs and head into (just like a real turtle) and b) I wanted to be able to spin on my shell.
I made all four costumes and put them all together myself so that they would all look the same. First I started with wire hangers and I made the shape of all 4 shells then lined the wire with computer paper. Then I paper mached the shells about 4 layers or so to give them their hardness. Then I painted them a greenish brown mix and the shells were done.
Next I bought 4 cheap life vests and cut them open to get the padding out. I then taped the padding together to form the underbelly. I took the padding and sewed it into a tan fabric and then took fan thread and hand stitched the lines on the underbelly followed by a little paint to make them really pop.
Next I fitted everyone for their shells and underbelly and attached just the shoulders of a green tshirt to the underbelly via sewing and gorilla glued the other edge to the top of the shell. I did the same thing to form the sides and attach them to the shell. Then we bought suspenders that we attached to the wire on the shell and then the inside of our pants to help hold the shell up. The bottom of the underbelly and the shell were clasped together via a buckle off the life vest, so as to make easy access for using the restroom.
We then bought some muscle arms, the weapons, some green under armour-like long sleeve shirts and pants, green face paint, Zorro masks which we painted their appropriate colors, borrowed some knee pads from our volleyball friends and died them brown, white swim caps that were painted green once on and spray painted a pair of shoes green.
It was the best Halloween costume I have ever worn or made and we were needless to say the hit costume of the party/bar scene!
WOW! Good Job! This is one of the best ninja turtles costumes I have ever seen! It’s nice to see home-made costumes, not just a store bought one, good for you guys!
Thank you for posting this. Great costumes.
You did a fabulous job on these costumes. I’d like to create something similar for my 4 year old, but am afraid I will not have enough time. Thanks for sharing! :)
you look like the hulk!