Bebop & Rocksteady Costumes

Everyone's favourite mutant rhino and warthog! Who wouldn't want to be the bad guys from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Halloween?!

We had many of the materials we needed already at home, the rest we found at thrift shops, craft stores and costume shops.

You'll need:
* plaster strips
* vaseline
* 2 baseball caps or other tight fitting hats
* newspaper or other scrap paper
* white glue
* thin cardboard
* masking tape
* plastic cups (optional)
* costume mohawk (any purple wig hair would do but I happened to pick up a couple mohawks on sale last year)
* fake fur - we used less than 1.5 meters
* scrap fabric
* sewing machine or needle and thread
* hot glue gun
* coat hanger or similar wire
* elastic
* needle and thread
* air dry clay
* paint
* hairspray
* binder rings
* craft paints
* cheap "skateboarding & trick roller skating" helmet
* rope
* plaster of paris and sandpaper (optional)
* cheap safety goggles
* foam core
* 2 bottle caps
* 3 long-sleeved undershirts
* upholstery foam (the kind they sell in square packs to replace chair cushions will work well)
* red faux leather jacket or vest
* beige tank top or white muscle shirt and tea
* batting or stuffing (I used leftovers from other projects and some of the insides of an old pillow)
* 2 pairs of large work gloves
* coffee
* large wide cargo pants (black for Bebop, camo or khaki for Rocksteady)
* giant shoes (worthy of their own instructable)
* plastic bullets
* skull and bone necklace
* toy guns
* studded choker
* foam craft balls
* pins
* wire
* velcro
* toy grenades

I made the masks the same way I made the Ludo costume, with only a few changes such as using paper clay as a cheaper and lighter alternative to air dry clay and swapping the tuque for baseball caps since I had some free ones lying around.

For Bebop's mask, you will need:

• plaster strips
• vaseline
• baseball cap or other tight fitting hat
• newspaper or other scrap paper
• white glue
• thin cardboard like cereal boxes and toilet paper tubes
• masking tape
• plastic cups (optional)
• costume mohawk (any purple wig hair would do but I happened to pick up a couple mohawks on sale last year)
• fake fur
• felt or other fabric
• hot glue gun
• coat hanger or similar wire
• elastic
• needle and thread
• air dry clay
• paint
• hairspray
• binder rings

Tie your hair back, cover your face in vaseline and make a plaster mask of your face following the package instructions. Make a cast of your chin as well (unless you have facial hair in which case it's not worth it).

Cut the brim off of the baseball cap. Glue the plaster mask to the hat. Apply additional strips of plaster to reinforce the forehead.

Add pieces of cardboard and plastic cups to build up the shape of the eyebrows, snout and cheeks.

Attach wire to chin piece and create the lower jaw out of cardboard.

Sew elastic straps to the hat. Bend the ends of the wire into hooks to connect to the elastic. Try on the mask and adjust until it fits snugly and lower jaw moves when you open and close your mouth.

Apply papier mache pulp. It will be easier if you do several thin layers. Allow to dry between each layer.

To cut down on weight, I drilled holes in the thicker parts of the mask.

Glue cardboard ears to the hat.

Paint the mask brown. While this is not really necessary, it will make any gaps in the fur or visible undersides less noticeable.

Glue brown felt around the lips, the eyes and the inside of the snout. Glue red fabric to the inside of the mouth (I used the extra faux leather from the jacket I bought to make Bebop's vest).

Cover mask in fake fur.

Make nose and tusks from air dry clay (I used leftover clay from making Ludo and Buck). Paint with craft paints and then apply a high gloss topcoat to both protect the paint and give it a wet look. Glue nose and tusks in place.

Remove mohawk hair from skull cap. Sew mohawk hair to a strip of fake fur. Glue to the top of the mask.

Trim the fake fur and mohawk. An electric beard trimmer works well for making the fur shorter around the snout and eyes.

Insert binder rings in nose and ear for Bebop's piercings.

Cut glasses from cardboard. Paint purple and glue in place.

Style mohawk with generous amounts of hairspray.

For Rocksteady's mask, you will need:

• plaster strips
• vaseline
• baseball cap or other tight fitting hat
• newspaper or other scrap paper
• white glue
• thin cardboard like cereal boxes and toilet paper tubes
• masking tape
• plastic cups (optional)
• hot glue gun
• coat hanger or similar wire
• elastic
• fabric
• sewing machine or needle and thread
• paint

Make the Rocksteady mask the same way as you made the Bebop mask.

Make a fabric hood. I used the scrap fabric hood I made while making the Foot Clan costume. Attach the hood to the inside of the hat.

Instead of covering in fur, paint the entire mask.

For Rocksteady's army helmet and goggles, you'll need:

• cheap "skateboarding & trick roller skating" helmet
• thin cardboard
• masking tape
• rope
• newspaper or other scrap paper
• white glue
• plaster and sandpaper (optional)
• cheap safety goggles
• foam core
• 2 bottle caps
• hot glue gun
• paint

Remove the bike helmet's hard plastic shell, you will only be using the inner hard foam portion.

Add pieces of cardboard to lengthen the back of the helmet for the correct military helmet shape.

Tape rope around the bottom edge to create a lip.

Cover entire helmet with papier mache. Cut strips of newspaper, dilute white glue with water, dip paper in glue and apply all over the helmet.

When the papier mache is dry, you could just paint it call it done, but I wanted it smoother, so I coated it in plaster of paris, and when that was dry I sanded it smooth.

Paint the helmet dark green.

Cut two squares of foam core and glue them to the safety goggles. Glue bottle caps on top of foam core.

Reinforce the soft plastic goggles with cardboard on the inside.

Paint the goggles grey and glue them to the helmet.

Drill holes for Rocksteady's ears.

Cut ears out of cardboard, paint them to match the Rocksteady mask and glue them in place with hot glue.

For Bebop's upper body, you'll need:

• long-sleeved undershirt
• upholstery foam (the kind they sell in square packs to replace chair cushions will work well)
• red faux leather jacket or vest
• faux fur
• hot glue gun
• needle and thread

Bebop's torso is 2 pieces: a fur chest that goes on like a tank top and the red vest and fur arms that are attached to make a jacket.

If you've bought a red jacket instead of a vest, remove the sleeves.

If you don't already have a dummy, make one from duct tape.

Put on the shirt and mark where there should be muscles. Put the shirt on the dummy and make sure it's lined up straight and the markings for the muscles are where you want them.

Cut the muscles out of upholstery foam and glue them to the shirt, using the drawn lines as your guide.

At $30 a meter, I didn't want to waste any fake fur, so I first used scrap fabric (an old sheet) to make a pattern pieces for the chest and arms.

Undress the dummy and, using a seam ripper or scissors, remove the sleeves from the undershirt.

Sew the piece of fur for the chest to the undershirt along the shoulder seams and neckline.

Sew around the foam pieces to accentuate the muscles on the chest and abs.

Sew the undershirt sleeves to the lining of the vest.

Sew together the fur arm pieces and faux leather vest.

For Rocksteady's upper body, you'll need:

• beige tank top or white muscle shirt and tea
• 2 long sleeved shirts
• upholstery foam
• batting or stuffing (I used leftovers from other projects and some of the insides of an old pillow)
• needle and thread
• paint

If the tank top you are using is too white, dye it by putting it in a pot of tea.

As with Bebop's torso, put on a long sleeved shirt and mark where you want the muscles and tummy. Remember that Rocksteady should be pudgier than Bebop. Take off the shirt and put it on the dummy.

Cut out the muscles from upholstery foam and glue them to the shirt.

The edges of the foam muscles look too sharp on their own, so round them out by gluing a layer of batting over top.

Put the second long sleeve shirt over the first shirt with the muscles, and sew the two shirts together along key seams.

Paint to match the Rocksteady mask and, when dry, add the muscle shirt.

For the hands, you will need:

• 2 pairs of large work gloves
• coffee
• fake fur
• hot glue gun
• paint

Be aware that dyeing may cause the gloves to shrink, so start with gloves larger than you need.

Dye one pair of gloves brown by soaking them in coffee.

Glue fur to the brown gloves, leaving the palms and insides of the fingers bare.

Paint the other pair of gloves grey to match Rocksteady's mask, with brown cuffs to simulate his bracelets.

For the pants, you will need:

• large wide cargo pants (black for Bebop, camo or khaki for Rocksteady)
• scrap fabric
• batting or stuffing (the insides of an old pillow work well)
• sewing machine and/or needle and thread

Remove any unwanted parts on the pants (the black pants I bought had many studs and chains that I pulled off).

Put the pants on inside out and mark where extra girth is needed.

Using the extra fabric, create pockets where you need padding.

Stuff the pockets and sew closed.

For Bebop's accessories, you will need:

• giant shoes (worthy of their own instructable)
• plastic bullets
• black fabric
• skull and bone necklace
• toy gun
• studded chocker
• foam craft balls
• pins
• wire
• cardboard
• bowl
• newspaper or other scrap paper
• velcro
• white glue
• paint
• hot glue gun
• needle and thread

Bebop's accessories include a bandolier, ball grenades, necklace, studded bracelet and gun.

To make the bandolier, secure the plastic bullets to a strap of black fabric with hot glue and thread. Sew the bandolier to the torso's chest piece.

Sew plastic bone necklace to chest piece.

To make the grenades, pin cardboard details to craft foam balls. Add wire hook. Cover with white glue and when dry, paint silver. Sew to red vest.

To make the turtle shell shoulder pads, papier mache a bowl with strips of paper dipped in glue. Apply a layer of papier mache pulp. When dry, remove from bowl. Paint. Glue velcro to inside. Sew velcro straps to the red vest.

For Rocksteady's accessories, you will need:

• plastic bullets
• toy grenades
• toy gun
• paint

Paint the grenades silver and pin them to Rocksteady's muscle shirt.

Go teach those turtles who's boss!

Bring straws with you! You'll get thirsty and drinking through the masks is much easier with a straw.