Cool Homemade Star Trek Costume: Klingon Warrior!

Star Trek the Next Generation has always been my favorite of the Star Trek television series. I especially like the Klingons, so I decided to be a female Klingon warrior at our local Phoenix Comicon and also for Halloween this year.

First I looked online to see what I could buy as far as costumes and head ridges but thought they looked too cheap and plain.  I had no idea there were so many who enjoyed cosplay as Klingons so much they actually learned to speak Klingon fluently.  I didn’t go that far, but thought it was interesting they had so much dedication. I saw that other cosplayers made their own and showed the process online, so I convinced my husband to help me make mine. I made a mold for my forehead then applied layers of liquid latex. It turned out just as I had hoped.

My face makeup is always fun. I made my own bushy eyebrows from some wig hair I had lying around. As for the hair itself, some people asked if it was my real hair. It’s just a very good wig I bought.

I am light skinned so used my new airbrush and airbrush makeup to darken my skin and blend my new skin color into my forehead. For the teeth, which are one of the coolest parts of my costume, I bought the most realistic, yet sharp and intimidating set of choppers I could find. Klingons just do not visit the dentist it seems.

Brad and I absolutely love making our own costumes or embellishing store-bought ones so they don’t look exactly like everyone else. For my Klingon clothes, I found a lot of it at thrift stores, for instance the bottom sleeves were cut off a sweater and the upper sleeves from a faux fur vest. I sewed them together and then sewed those to a shirt I already had.

The boots and boot covers were also thrift store finds. The claws on the boots are from a hobby store. We molded clay mounts and cured according to the instructions on the package and glued them to the boots.  The metal effect on the side soles is just silver duct tape. I cut off the fingers to some Darth Vader gloves, and made my own faux leather piping and sewed to the tops, then cut out my initials in Klingon letters with silver craft paper and glued them on the backs of the gloves. Brad also molded claws from black clay that hardens when heated, and attached them to the knuckles.

For the breastplate we bought a broken rental from our local costume shop that we used as a mold. It was our first attempt at Wonderflex to make the custom breastplate. While the process was quite challenging, I have to say I think it’s the best part of the whole costume. The bottom webbing of the breastplate is craft foam cut into strips, woven then glued onto the bottom and brush-painted with metallic silver paint. I sewed my own faux leather straps and attached them with bolts and washers.

I sewed the neck piece using faux leather, craft foam, piping and cabinet handles for the decorations on the front. We used black plastic floor covering and cut up a silver bath mat for the shoulder armor and craft foam around the edges that gives it the metal look. We had fun walking around hobby stores or retail chains looking for materials that would work. Finding a bath mat with just the right color and design was a happy accident!

The spine armor is silver-painted black craft foam, we found the pattern for it online. Brad cut out the Bat’leth (sword-type weapon) from foam board and wrapped the handles with faux leather.

I thought about making my own Klingon Disruptor (gun-like weapon), but bought one due to time. Brad made the holster to carry it out of some heavy duty rubber material and applied a Klingon logo.

Although it took months to make, we had so much fun and feel it really paid off. I finally got to live my dream of being a Klingon Warrior and I like the fact that I can truly say my Klingon costume is one of a kind. I won first prize at my office costume contest and my husband, Brad, and I were featured in a local online newspaper as one of the 20 Best Halloween Costumes in Metro Phoenix for 2013 (Brad was Commander Data). Needless to say, we are very proud of our costumes!

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