Covid 19 Invader

Hello there !! This year i had a flash of genius when i thought about making a Covid-19 costume out of scratch. I think there is nothing more in context at the moment and i knew it would be very original to create.

My plan was to build a Coronavirus epic costume with a mask as the main piece and add accesories to make it more outstanding. I did'nt want something boring like wearing a giant covid ball as most people would anticipate when thinking about a covid costume. Instead, i imagined the virus as a kind of alien like scary invader. I thought he could have some kind of living backpack with the virus inside of it. This biological tank would be connected to a gun meant to infect people with the virus. I knew this costume would be complex and use the most of my ingenuity to build but i was willing to make it.

That being said i'll quickly introduce myself and my intentions on writing my first ever instructable tutorial! On a daily life i work as a mecanic. But in my spare times i like being creative and sometimes i build costumes. When i started this project on september 13th, i was not expecting to participate to any kind of challenge. However, when i found this online costume contest around the end of september i thought i should perhaps give it a try since there is no halloween in town. So since then, i can't even count how many hours i've spend on that project but it was so much fun and i think the result is just amazing.

I'm not a professional youtuber , neither a writer and even less a reader. So when writing this i'll try to be as straight forward as i can to make it less heavy and endless to read. I'll write in first person and try not to talk about useless stuff ( mecanics don't like to explain useless stuff ) . Every items of this tutorial are listed below and there is a specific list at the beginning of each step! Hope you'll enjoy my work as much as i did !!

Supply needed:

1. - A balloon
2. - Newspapers
3. - Crafting glue (Art supply store)
4. - Epoxy based resin (Art supply store)
5. - Light modelling compound (Art supply store)
6. - Modelling compound (Art supply store)
7. - Flexible modelling paste (Art supply store)
8. - Led lights , small electric wire , 8 volt battery and a switch (Amazon)
9. - FIMO modelling clay (Art supply store)
10. - FIMO gloss varnish
11. - Clear plastic sheet 1/8'' thick (Art supply store)
12. - Acrylic paint heavy body ( Purple)
13. - Styrofoam balls :16X 1'' and 4X 1''1/2 (Dollar store)
14. - 3X 4'' diameter foam ball
15. - Red ice cream scoops
16. - Toothpicks
17. - Nerf arrows (Dollar store)
18. - Red and Violet synthetic feathers (Dollar store)
19. - Crazy glue
20. - Window foam bands 1''1/2 thick and 3/4'' diameter round foam bands
21. - 3/8 '' thick EVA foam for kids (Dollar store)
22. - Coleman cooler
23. - Large white cardboard sheet
24. - 1X (3''1/2x 3/4'') Diameter wood rod (Home furniture store)
25. - 16X (1''1/2x 1/4'') Diameter wood rods (Dollar store)
26. - 4X (2''1/2x 1/4'') Diameter wood rods (Dollar store)
27. - Tubular foam piping insulation
28. - Sharpened pencils
29. - Prism violet and cyan acrylic paint
30. - Synthetic blue feathers
31. - 4 x Cheap belts
32. - 3/16'' x 1/2'' rivets
33. - Fittings: 3/8'' Tube to 3/8'' NPT Female and 2X 3/8'' NPT Male to 1/2'' hose nipple
34. - Two 7/16'' O Rings
35. - Silicone
36. - Flexible 1/2'' clear rubber hose
37. - Nerf Super Soakster watergun
38. - White acrylic spray paint
39. - High viscosity acrylic paint ( brown, gold, turquoise, pink, red, violet and purple )
40. - Halloween violet feather scarf
41. - Blu-tack
42. - Violet morphsuit

Tools needed:

1. - Soft Sandpaper (120)
2. - Measuring gallon
3. - Scissors
4. - Sharpie
5. - Tin welder
6. - Hot glue gun
7. - Utility knife
8. - Heatgun
9. - Painting brush set
10. - Oven
11. - Small clay spatula
12. - Small electric dremel tool with cutting and sanding bit
13. - Drill and 3/16'' bit - Riveter
14. - Small camp stove or anything that could be use to heat a blade

!!EVERY SAFETY WARNINGS OF THIS TUTORIAL ARE LISTED BELOW AND WON'T BE REPEATED SO TAKE TIME TO CAREFULLY READ THEM . BECAUSE SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY!!

- Allways wear gloves when welding with a tin welder

- Be careful when using a hot glue gun not to burn your fingers , wearing gloves is also recommended

- Allways wear gloves and safety glasses when using a dremel tool

- Be cautious when heating a blade at high temperature

- Wear gloves and don't use a lot of force when cutting with a utility knife

- Be careful when using a heatgun or you may burn yourself

Obviously the mask had to be the main piece of my costume. I wanted it to have a creepy look with a large smile and sharp teeth. To have glowing eyes and colorful spikes that would look like if they were coming from the inside of it.

The mask is what would give the costume an emotion so i worked a lot to give it a nice expression. I started from a balloon and newspaper to end with what I consider to be a real piece of art.

This is how i've made it !

What i used:

- A balloon

- Newspapers

- Crafting glue (Gloss podge)

- Gedeo crystal epoxy based resin

To start my project i knew i had to make a kind of shell as a solid frame. So i looked on google and found i could use newspapers wrapped around a balloon with some glue to make it stick to it. I applied as many layers as i was able bare hands using all the glue i had. Spreading the glue and small pieces of papers roughly but evenly all around the balloon. I figured out it was the fastest and easiest way to do it as i struggled much less with wrinkling.

At the end my frame was about 1/4'' to 3/8'' thick. After the glue dried, i added resin on it to make it as stiff as possible. Then used scissors to cut a hole so my head can fit inside.

*Funny fact: When i look closely inside the mask i can spot the word covid-19 a few times among all those newspaper articles that compose it.

* I did'nt take any measurements , i just inflated the balloon and compared it to my head in front of a mirror to be sure i would fit inside.

What i used:

- Sharpie

- Scissors

- Light modelling compound

- Soft Sandpaper (120)

For sketching a smile template, i simply drew half of it on a sheet of paper then folded it and cut around the edge so i knew it was symmetrical. I placed the model where it looked good on the shell and traced around with a sharpie. Then i used scissors to cut the smile. For the eyes disposition i just drew their approximate shape hand raised.

Then i had to make the surface of the mask softer because it was full of bumps and uneven. So i used light modelling compound to fill every holes and sandpapered it several times. I found this compound to be perfect for this purpose as it was almost like gypsum once dry and easy to rub with sandpaper. I've let the eyes area without compound because i knew i wanted them to look like if they were coming from the inside of the mask in the next step.

What i used:

- Red Ice cream scoops

- A drill - Led lights , small electric wire , 8 volt battery and a switch

- Tin welder

- Hot glue gun

For this step i went to a dollar store and found some red ice scream scoops with the perfect shape. I've cut them using a dremel tool , sandpapered the INSIDE so we can't see clearly trough it. Placed it where i wanted and drew a line around with a sharpie.

Then i built a simple led circuit , drilled holes and poked the bulbs from the inside out. I replaced the scoops onto it and glued everything in place including the battery and the switch.

*I did'nt use a lot of hot glue, just enough so the scoops could stand there by themselves because i knew i would add clay and other stuff on it that would make it stick solid.

What i used:

- FIMO modeling clay

- Flexible modeling paste

- Utility knife and camp stove to heat the blade

- Clear plastic sheet 1/8'' thick

- Hot glue

- Heatgun

I wanted those globular eyes to pop out of Covid's head. So i bought modelling clay and molded it around as evenly as possible on both sides. I tried to mimic frog eyes shown in the pictures. As the clay dried, it started to crack. To counter that, i applied something called ''Flexible modelling paste''. It's pretty sticky when you try to spread it but when it gets wet , it becomes really smooth and fills every cracks and imperfections. I added multiple layers of this paste all over the rest of the mask when i realized how of a good finish it gave me once dried.

There i was starting to have a nice silhouette of what i was creating. But with all that stuff on it, my mask began to collapse under it's own weight. You can see the smile on the fourth picture how it's compressed compared to when there used to have nothing on the mask.

So i placed two short sticks of the right lenght in the mouth opening to make it hold by itself. Then using a utility knife and a small camp stove i heated the blade to be able to cut through a clear plastic sheet and make two stripes. I placed those stripes inside the mask at the end of the smile where i wanted it and used a heatgun to melt it so they take the angle of the same area. I Waited for it to be hard again, glued them in place and retrieved the sticks.

What i used:

- Small painting brush

- Acrylic paint heavy body

- Styrofoam balls :8X 1'' and 4X 1''1/2

- Toothpicks

- Nerf arrows

- Red and Violet synthetic feathers

- Crazy glue

- 8X ( 1''1/2x 1/4'') Diameter wood rods

- 4X ( 2''1/2x 1/4'') Diameter wood rods

I've been looking to dozens of different coronavirus pictures on google to decide what color i would use. Since my eyes are red, i chose to use purple for the skin as they fit really well together. Then for the ''crown'' i tried many combinations before finding what i thought was best. I did'nt want too many colors so i stood with a dark violet for the big spikes set with red feathers and red spines. For the smaller spikes set i used a pale violet with vivid violet feathers and cyan spines. Those spines were in fact toothpicks (144 to be accurate) and i used foam balls to poke them into. The rods are nerf arrows for kid guns with 1/4'' diameter wood rods inside to give it solidity.

I used a heatgun to give the foam balls a more complex texture as well as the nerf arrows prior to be painted. Each pieces was painted individually before i superglued them together. I pierced holes in the balls with a needle so i could stick the spines and the feathers inside more easily then i've made a hole in each one of them with a pencil to be able to poke the wood rods in.

*

*You probably noticed i added part of the teeth on the last picture. I was making them at the same time but i did the rest later. I'll talk about it in 2 steps.

What i used:

- FIMO Modeling clay

- Flexible modeling paste

- Purple Acrylic paint Heavy body

- Hot glue

Once the spikes of the crown were done, i had to place them on the mask as symmetrically as i could. I held them at different places with my fingers to give me an idea of the look before i glued them with hot glue. I started with the big set followed by the smaller. I kept looking at the mask between each spike i was adding and unglued when i thought it was looking wrong. I used a really similar disposition than the toothpicks on the foam balls for the spikes placement and i love how it looks. Everything naked eyes.

After the crown was at it's place, i needed those spikes to look like if they were coming from the inside of the mask. To do so, i applied wet modelling clay around each one of them ( picture three ). Once dry i added flexible modelling paste and flattened it with a bit of water to have that nice skin finish ( picture four ). By the way i took some time to give the mask some touch ups with the same paste then i painted it.

What i used:

- Fimo Modelling clay

- Fimo gloss varnish

- Super glue

- Oven

This step was pretty important in the making of the mask as the smile is most likely to be the first thing you would look at when staring at it. I opted to carve the teeth with a kind of modelling clay that goes in the oven and gets really hard after it cools down.

I started to carve as many teeth as i could with the pack i had using my fingers. I tried to make them similar to each others while making smaller and bigger sets. I've made them pointy and a bit incurved to give a creepy look.

Once i had a bunch of them done, i placed it in the oven and waited for it to cool as written on the pack. Then from left to right, i began gluing them one by one. I used smaller teeth at the end of the smile and bigger near the middle. I unglued several times what i did because it looked wrong or uneven.

After few try i even decided to add a pair of canins on the top row. It was a long task of trial and error but i managed to create a nice creepy look to my taste. For the final touch i added 3 layers of gloss varnish from the same brand.

What i used:

- Window foam bands 1''1/2 thick and 3/4'' diameter round foam bands for the edges

- Super glue

- Paint ( Same as skin )

Now that my mask was pretty much done i needed to make it comfy and fit for my head. For doing this, i simply glued window foam stripes inside of it . I placed two bands close to the middle and one on each sides. I added another one for the forehead. Then i wrapped some tubular window foam bands around the edge of the mask opening. I've cut sluts with scissors so my ears could pass easily when i slip my head in it. Finally, i painted the edge the same color as the skin.

And there, my mask was done ! :)

I think my idea of making a kind of living backpack with the virus inside of it was awesome. I could only have build a mask and kept it simple but my costume wouldn't have been the same.

I thought i should make a tank with similar spikes as the mask. It would have the same skin color and same texture. And to make it even more complete i wanted it to be fonctional like a real reservoir in which I could pour liquid. That reservoir would later be connected to a gun meant to spread the virus.

I had this great idea but I had to find a way to build that bio-tank. Let me show you how I did !

What i used:

- Coleman cooler

- Measuring gallong

- 3/8 '' thick EVA foam for kids found in a dollar store

- Scissors

- Hot glue gun

- Modelling compound

- Small clay spatula ( Easier to spread the compound )

For the making of that bio-tank I had to find something that could be use as my reservoir. So I went to a Walmart and bought a Coleman cooler. It was about the right dimension, not too small not too big. Perfect for that purpose.

But i wanted that backpack bulky and round.. not cylindrical and flat. So i needed to thicken it at first. I unscrewed the lid, measured the bottom part circumference and width. Then i traced two EVA child's foam stripes using those measurements. I've cut those stripes with scissors and hot glued them on the cooler . I used two different foam stripes to make it all around because the ones I bought were too small to do it in a single piece. I then patched the gaps between them using a small clay spatula tool and something called modelling compound. This compound really looks like plaster and has a similar texture but it's made specifically for art and works really well to fill empty spaces. When it dries it becomes hard and does'nt crumble.

I did the same process with the lid. Measured, traced, cut and glued foam all around. For the top foam piece I placed the lid directly on the foam sheet, traced around with a pencil, cut and glued.

What i used:

- Small electric dremel tool

- Large white cardboard sheet

- Super glue

- Flexible modelling paste

- Measuring gallong

Now i needed to make that lid a little more round and add a lip to hide the joint. So i used a small electric dremel tool with sandpaper to bevel the edge and give it a nice angle. For the lip, i measured the circumference and traced a stripe on a white cardboard sheet. Then i superglued it on the edge to overlap the joint between the lid and the bottom part.

Finally, to make the surface smooth and hide every cracks. I spreaded that so usefull flexible modelling paste all over and flattened it with a bit of water. Once dry it has that nice skin finish.

What i used:

- EVA kid foam

- Scissors

- Hot glue gun

- Small electric dremel tool

- Modelling compound

- Small clay spatula tool ( Easier to spread the compound )

- Measuring gallong

Now that my bio-tank was a bit thicker, i had to add another layer of foam on it to make it rounder. One more time i measured the circumference of the bottom part. Traced and cut two foam stripes to wrap them all around the cooler with hot glue.

I've made that second layer a bit less large to make a kind of staircase. Again, i filled the gaps between the stripes with modelling compound and beveled the edges using my dremel tool to have a nice angle.

What i used :

- Flexible modelling paste ( a lot )

Did i mention i really like that flexible modelling paste ? It makes almost every imperfection invisible once you spread it on top and flatten it with your wet fingers. I've put some all around the bio-tank to have the same texture as the mask.On top of making everything smooth , it makes the angles i beveled with my dremel tool more round.

I finally had that bulky and round shape i wanted !

What i used:

- 3/4'' wood rod

- Dremel tool with cutting disk

- Heatgun

- Tubular foam piping insulation

- 4'' diameter foam ball

- Sharpened pencils

- Prism violet and cyan acrylic paint

- Synthetic blue feathers

- Superglue

At first i only wanted to put small spikes similar to those on the head on top of that tank. Then i thought , why not build a '' Master spike '' bigger than any other on the costume and put it right on top of it!

For the rod of the spike i started by cutting a 3/4'' diameter wood rod at 3''1/2 with my electric dremel tool and a cutting disc. Then i've cut a piece of tubular foam piping insulation a bit shorter than the wood rod and put it on it. After that, i used a heatgun to make the tip of the foam shrink a little.

For the sphere on top of that rod i found some foam balls a the dollar store. I did the same process with the heatgun and you can see the difference before and after the treatment on the photos. It makes a really nice texture on it with a lot of relief. Then i painted it with prism violet acrylic and a painting brush.

Next to that i had to pierce 3/4'' hole in it to insert the rod in the sphere. I started by poking a pencil in it then i took a big sharpie to enlarge it even more. I then superglued the ball on top of the rod.

For the spines of that '' master spike '' i used 12 pencils that i've cut at 2'' 1/2 before i painted them with cyan acrylic paint. I've made small holes using the pointy side of one of those pencil prior to poke them into and superglued.

Finally i added synthetic blue feathers found at the dollar store on top of the sphere. For each feather, i've made small holes with a toothpick to stick them into and then superglued.

What i used:

- Modelling compound

- Flexible modelling paste

- Small spatula clay tool

To plant that huge spike on top of the tank, i used a small spatula to spread modelling compound around it. Going from large at the base to slim near the middle of the spike. I waited for it to dry and i applied flexible modelling paste and slicken it with my wet fingers. A few hours later my spike was standing solid.

Now i had the texture i wanted all over my tank so i gave it's first coat of purple acrylic paint using a brush.

What i used:

- 4 x Cheap belts

- Hot glue

- Superglue

- 3/16'' x 1/2'' rivets and riveter

- Drill and 3/16'' bit

- A friend of mine

Then it was time to build the basket in which that living tank would sit. I bought four cheap belts and wrapped two of them around it tightly then superglued under their entire length. I've made new holes because it was too long and cut the belt excess.

For the placement of the straps of the basket, i asked a friend to hold the tank on my back approximately where i wanted it. Then i placed the buckles on top of my shoulders and asked him to mark with a sharpie where the straps happened to meet those glued on the tank.

Next i used my dremel tool and sandpaper to rub the surface of the belts where the marks were and hot glued them in place. Then i've made two 3/16'' holes per attach point and riveted them in place to make it solid.

What i used:

- Small camp stove

- Fittings: 3/8'' Tube to 3/8'' NPT Female and 3/8'' NPT Male to 1/2'' hose nipple

- Two 7/16'' O Rings

- Utility knife

- Silicone

- EVA Kid foam

- Flexible modelling paste

- Hot glue

- Purple acrylic paint

- Flexible 1/2'' clear rubber hose

To make that reservoir fonctional i had to add a fitting to connect the hose. So drilled a hole in the center under it. Then i had to cut it because the insulation coating was too thick for my fitting. I took a utility knife and heated the blade to be able to cut a circle through the plastic. I passed the male treads in the hole and screwed the nut from the inside of the reservoir. I squeezed one O-Ring on each side of the wall and added silicone to seal any leak.

To hide that big hole i glued an EVA foam piece with the same diameter and a smaller hole in the middle to let the fitting pass through. Then i spreaded flexible modelling paste and painted everything.

Next i'cut a flexible a 1/2'' clear rubber hose at two feets and painted it violet.

What i used:

- 8x 1'' diameter foam balls

- Nerf arrows for kids gun

- Toothpicks

- Synthetics feathers

- Superglue

- Modelling compound

- Flexible modelling paste

- Purple and cyan acrylic paint

For the final step i had to replicate the same small spikes i have on the mask. So i did the same process i did in step 5 and 6. The only difference is that i waited before gluing the balls of the spikes on the rods. I struggled much less when it was time to spread and work the modelling compound and paste around it this way.

For their disposition on the tank, i did everything naked eye. Placing the rods with my fingers where it looked symmetrical and superglued them. I decided to put two rows of three spikes near the edges and a row of two spikes in the middle portion.

Once i've made everything smooth with flexible modelling paste, i painted eveything and glued the balls of the spikes on the rods and that's it ! My Bio-Tank was finally done !!

Introducing my last piece of equipment but not the least the ''Cov-Gun''. I allways loved biomecanical stuff and i liked the challenge of creating this living object. Same concept again, it would have similar colors and texture as the rest of the costume and two big protuberances on it with feathers and spines to make it alive. On top of that, this gun is a real watergun which i can use to spread the virus !

Link for the Watergun: https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/gp/product/B0721876LK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What i used:

- Nerf Super Soakster watergun

- White acrylic spray paint

- High viscosity acrylic paint ( brown, gold, turquoise, pink, red, violet and purple )

- Small painting brushes

- A lot of patience

My plan for the making of that gun was to buy a nice watergun on amazon and modify it's appearance to make it look like a living gun. Then adding a fitting on top of it to connect to the tank and having a bigger virus reserve.

So there i found that awesome Nerf SuperSoakster watergun for 60 bucks ( link in the intro ). At first i painted all over it with white acrylic spray paint to make it easier to put the colors i wanted on. Then i looked at my gun closely and noticed it was composed of many small details. There was a big and a small tank held by two straps with a buckle and some rivets, some hoses and a kind of radiator at the back. There was a Nerf logo that i had to get rid of too but i had a plan for that shown in next step.

I wanted all those details to have different colors to make that gun realistic. So i started the long job of painting each element one by one with a small brush. I knew it would take a lot of time.. but i knew it would look good. I sat on a chair with the gun hanging from my ceiling fan in front of me for countless hours. Listening to music really helped focus and appreciate that task. For the frame color i used the same purple as the skin of my character.

What i used:

- 4'' Diameter Foam ball

- EVA Kids foam

- Heatgun

- Modelling compound

- Flexible modelling paste

- Hot glue gun

There was an anoying Nerf logo on both side of my gun that i had to make disappear. My idea was to add some kind of pimples on them. It would give that biomecanical look to the gun at the same time.

I took measurements of the logo and made two squares out of kid foam that would go on top of it. Then i placed those squares onto the gun and molded them to the gun's shape with a heatgun.

Next i used a utility knife and cut through a foam ball in it's center line to split it in half. I heated those half sphere with a heatgun to give it texture and hot glued them on the foam squares.

As you can see on the sixth picture, it left a big gap between the foam square and the sphere. So i filled that empty space with modelling compound and a small spatula tool. Once dry, i've put flexible modelling paste and flattened all around with my wet fingers to make it slick then painted it purple.

I then hot glued those pimples on the logo on both sides of the gun. Added modelling compound and flexible modelling paste around to make it look like if they were part of the gun and painted purple again.

What i used:

- High viscosity acrylic paint ( brown, gold, turquoise, pink, red, violet and purple )

Once the pimples were at their place, it was time to finish that paint job. I already had one side done so i started the other and slowly joined them together. Then i painted the foam balls i just added and ended with the handles and the barrel. After that, i sprayed 2 coats of Matte clear finish to protect the gun and the paint.

For the final touch my friend had this great idea of adding a biohazard sign. So i printed on cardboard a picture found on google and i've cut it precisely with a utility knife to make two nice biohazard signs. I glued them on the barrel and BAM! My gun got way cooler! Thanks to my friend !!

What i used:

- Super Glue

- Toothpicks ( For the spines )

- Blue Synthetic feathers

- Halloween violet feather scarf

- Blu-tack - 3/8'' Male NPT to 1/2'' hose nipple fitting

Those pimples looked empty like that so i had to pimp them a little. I poked holes with a toothpick near the edge of the pimple in a square pattern and sticked blue synthetic feathers in them with superglue. Then i've made 4 other holes offset from 45 degrees close to the center and added smaller feathers.

Like a cherry on a sundae, i painted a small blu-tack ball violet and poked 3 cyan spines on it in a triangle manner then superglued it in between the feathers on both sides. Then for adding a kind of camouflage i superglued a scarf of violet feather on the barrel.

And finally, to link the Cov-gun to the Bio-tank i had to add a fitting on it to plug the hose. So i drilled a 7/16'' hole and screwed directly the treads in the plastic and painted it purple. Then i plugged the gun to the tank with the hose.

And there my gun was done, and it was epic ! :D

There are many brands selling morphsuits on amazon. I picked one that had a similar purple than my costume and crossed my fingers that it would be as shown on the picture. Luckely it was just as i expected and the size is perfect.

Link for my morphsuit: https://www.amazon.ca/-/fr/gp/product/B07VX6LJTK/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

- Water and red food coloring

This project took almost 2 month of dedicated work and i could'nt be happier of the result. By myself i've made a unique costume that i'm really proud of and when the pandemic will be ending i'll keep at least one good thing about it.

Now i can enjoy being a man size Covid-19 invader and take some awesome photos while i'm shooting a red stream of virus in the air. And it feels soooo cooool :D

Hope you liked my first instructable! If you have any questions about my tutorial please write them in the comment section i'll be pleased to answer them! See you on next year's halloween!! ;)