8 Dollar King Thranduil Cosplay

In this Instructable, I will show you how to make the costume of the elf king Thranduil, from the Hobbit trilogy. This is a simple, yet intricately detailed costume, that can be made in under six hours. And the best part of it, is that all of the materials can purchased for eight dollars, or less! (except for the computer and printer!) I did not include any templates in this Instructable, but I will explain how to make them, and the size will also differ. In this Instructable, I also show different techniques for painting. I hope you enjoy this, as much as I did!

• Large craft foam sheets

https://www.amazon.com/XCEL-Medium-Cosplay-Craft-Black/dp/B07GT4926V/ref=sr_1_21_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=large+craft+foam+sheets&qid=1604974540&sr=8-21-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVTZMOUdFQ0hUTUo3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzM0NTM4MUsxVjc5RjBUQ0ZQTCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjA0NzkwMkg2M0w3UkpPRUxDUiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

• Silver spray paint
• Black acrylic paint
• Utility knife
• LOTS of hot glue
• Gorilla tape
• Paint brushes
• Plastic container
• Old rags
• Roll of adhesive velcro
• Ruler
• Hair dryer
• Permanent marker
• Computer
• Printer
• Black gloves
• Long-sleeve black shirt

The first step to building anything, is to obtain good reference images, or a well written plan.

To begin the breastplate, start with a thin piece of EVA foam, with dimensions of 2 feet by 2 feet. Using a ruler, mark out the rough shape of the chest armor. Cut out this shape, also adding in bevels in the sides, for the shoulders and waist. Also cut out two pieces for the raised section on the bottom point. Curl these pieces using a hair dryer or heat gun, and use rubber bands to make them hold their shape. Also use a hair dryer to shape the main part of the breastplate. Hot glue the two small pieces to the bottom of the main piece.

Using a permanent marker, sketch out the raised design onto the breastplate. To form the design, trace along the lines with hot glue.

Out of EVA foam, for the shape shown in the first picture. This piece will be going around your neck and connecting to the breastplate, so make sure to check the size, before cutting it out. Hot glue this in a circular shape to the top of the breastplate, and use Gorilla tape on the interior to strengthen the joint.

On the inside of the breastplate, place adhesive velcro on it, and place more velcro on the ends of a foam band, to hold the breastplate tightly around your waist. Cut another foam strip, going from the band around your waist, to the foam around your neck, to keep tension on the neck-guard.

Out of craft foam, cut out the ten pieces shown in picture 4. Layer them with hot glue, as shown in picture 5. Using a hair dryer, curl them to the shape of our shoulder. Using a permanent marker and hot glue, add the raised decorations, to the pieces. Place a piece of velcro on the top edges of the breastplate, and another piece on the edge of the shoulder guards, to hold them in place.

Using the provided template, scale it to size and print it off. trace two of them onto thin craft foam. Cut out, and apply raised design, with hot glue. Apply a strip of velcro to the edges, to form around forearm.

Cut out two of the provided shapes, the same size as the top of your hand. Apply hot glue to the raised lines. Glue to the back of black gloves, as shown in picture 2.

Give all of your pieces a thick base coat of silver spray paint. Brush them with diluted black paint, and rub off the excess, to give it the look of dulled metal.

For the swords, I did a modified version of my PVC Wakizashi, with a hand-guard.

Link to my PVC Wakizashi:

https://www.instructables.com/DIY-PVC-Wakizashi/