2005 Cyberman: Lights, Strapping, and Voice Changing

 Lights!

A key feature of the cyberman is that his mouth lights up as he talks.  I experimented with a couple of ways to do this, and here is what I settled on.

2005 Cyberman: Time to Paint

Me at a job interview, a true story:

Interviewer: So what are some of your interests and hobbies.

Me: Uh…. (thinking of the cyberman body parts staked in my backyard like I’m some sort of witch doctor) … I like to read.

2005 Cyberman: Gloves and Trying on the Suit

I think making the gloves was one of the more difficult parts of making this suit. And honestly, by the time I got to making the gloves I was tired. I had been working on the cyber suit for months, and to have to do one more thing felt impossible.   But I soldiered on because the hands are so critical to the 2005 cyberman.

2005 Cyberman: Undersuit

Here is a picture I got from the internet of the actual undersuits used on the show.  I believe they are some sort of rubber.

I ordered a body suit off of eBay from China.  I wanted a suit without a face, which I couldn’t find locally.  The good thing about the suit from china was that I sent my measurements, and they made it custom, at about the same cost as what I could have bought at a Halloween store.  The down side, is that I ended up having to resew some of the seams, as they were cheaply done.

2005 Cyberman: Almost Ready for Paint

I’m a busy mom and I teach part time so sometimes I’ll go days without having time to work on my cyberman. I steal hours away when I can, and I’m happy to report that I am almost ready to paint.

Here are a few photos of my progress:

Let’s Build a Mannequin

While building this cyberman something became clear, I needed a mannequin.  I just did. I kept building parts and then put them on myself and looking in the mirror to see if they were fitting right and it just wasn’t working.  I investigated getting an adjustable dress mannequin but those are costly and don’t have arms and legs.  I’m a real sized middle-aged lady, not a size 0,so I couldn’t just buy a store mannequin. Then I saw a post in the 13th Cyber Leagion on Facebook. Some fellow who had built a full sized Groot costume had put up some youtube tutorials, and one was on how to build a duct tape mannequin.   My birthday was coming up so I decided that this is what I wanted to get/do for my birthday.  I know. Crazy.  After watching several tutorials, and having to make modifications for being female, we gave it a try.

What you’ll need:

2005 Cyberman: Helmet

I’ve finished the helmet and now I only have a couple of problems.  Originally I was going to have my husband wear this cyberman. He was a bit hesitant about the idea (he, generally being a shy guy) but agreed because he loves me.  However, when we go the helmet on his head we realized one major problem.  He can not wear the helmet and his glasses; he is practically blind without his glasses.   This was enough excuse for him to bow out of the cyberman wearing agreement. Next problem.  This helmet is too big for me or my teenaged daughter to wear.  This pattern builds a cyberman that fits a 6’2″ man that weighs over 200 lbs.  I’m like a 30% less human size than that. My final problem is that now that I’ve been cutting with my bandsaw-from-the-gods I see all the flaws in this helmet.  Conclusion: I’d like to remake this, but I’m not going to do it right now.  I’m going to press forward with the rest of the suit. If I still have enough passion when I’m done to make another helmet, then I will.  

My New Ryobi Tabletop Bandsaw Sent from the Gods!

I had a conversation with my doctor a couple months ago. I’ve been having some numbness and tingling in my right thumb that flares up mostly when I’m crafting, specifically when I use scissors or a box-cutter.  At times it’s gotten bad. I’ve worked on a project and my thumb has tingled for days afterwards.  So in addition to wearing a wrist brace when I craft,  my doctor also told me to cut back on those activities.  “How much do you really need to use a box-cutter,” my doctor joked. “You have no idea,” I replied.

2005 Cyberman: Mask

I know I hinted that Missy would be my next cosplay project, but then I got to thinking how cool would it be if Missy had a cyberman.  I did a little research and a little more and discovered that this wonderful crafter named wondersquid on RPF had made a pattern for a 2005 Cyberman and made them available.    Now honestly, I know that Missy didn’t use the 2005 cyberman,  and in my opinion, the 2013 cybermen are much cooler looking, but it’s also true that the 2013 cybermen are much more detailed and difficult.    So weighing all my options and experience I decided to give the pattern and the 2005 cyberman a try, then if I want to, I’ll have more of an experience base to design my own 2013 cyberman.

I made a donation and I got a download of the Cyberman pattern.  I had to get it printed on large paper so I took it to my local copy place and paid $5.00 for the 30 or so copies. The pattern can be tricky at time, but luckily there are a lot of pictures online, so between the pictures and the pattern I’ve been able to figure it out so far.