Arsenal Cosplay Build

Hey, as previously mentioned, I decided to go to Orlando's 2019 MegaCon as Arsenal (AKA Roy Harper). However, if you've followed this blog at all (or...not), you may know that the Loonatic is the person to go to for detailed, picture perfect cosplays. For better or worse, I'm more inclined to make costumes inspired by a character or idea. So yeah, think of this less as a roadmap to becoming Roy Harper from Red Hood and the Outlaws-volume 2-page 6, and more as a Roy Harper outfit inspired by his costumes in Outlaws.

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Most of Roy's costumes involve a more traditional spandex suit, which I decided to nix pretty much out of the gate. Instead, I went for a more casual look that I thought might still evoke Roy's character. To that end, I wore a loose muscle tank and a bandeau in what will become a familiar eye-searing shade of red.

Pants

After trawling through a couple thrift stores, I found an appropriately red pair of pants that I thought fit the bill, with a slim fit and cargo pockets on the sides.

Shoes

Weirdly, this may have been the most difficult item to find, but in the end the thrift store came through with this pair of casual sneakers in poppy red. They were definitely worth the wait, though, as they may actually be the most comfortable shoes I've ever owned.

Greaves

In Red Hood and the Outlaws, Roy's costume often includes what looks like armored boots or greaves. In light of my redneck bootleg version of the costume, I picked up some cheap shin guards from Walmart and spray painted them red to match...everything else.

Arm Guard

Aside from the quiver, this was the craftiest part of the outfit. Although Roy is more likely to wear red gloves, Florida weather prompted me to reconsider this option. Instead, I went for an archery bracer made from a layer of upholstery vinyl covered in a thin, rubberized fabric. For the pattern, I followed Vulpinoid's LARP bracer tutorial (http://vulpinoid.blogspot.com/2017/02/archery-bracers.html).

Mask

I've never attempted to make a domino mask before, and I decided early on that sticking the mask directly to my face might be a bad idea. Instead, I cut a domino/zorro-style mask out of the same rubberized fabric as the bracer. However, the points of the domino tended to deform when the mask was stretched, so I cut the domino shape out of a thin sheet of foam as well, and glued it onto the back of the mask. This kept the mask form straight and comfortable.

Hat

Part of Roy's dubious fashion in the Outlaws is a series of trucker/baseball hats. I can't say I really know why, but it has the benefit of being a distinguishing feature (beyond all the red).

Bow and Quiver

The quiver with it's arrows was a bit of a build, which can be found in a previous post on this blog. The bow, though, was all about luck and thrift stores. I do actually have a basic recurve bow, but there were a couple problems using that. A) I didn't want to permanently change or damage it, so alterations would be more difficult. B) It's larger and heavier than I really wanted for something I was going to have to carry around all day. And C) Con rules about what weapons are allowed or prohibited made me nervous to bring anything that could be construed as actually dangerous. Instead, I trawled once more through the local thrift stores, and picked up one of the many Nerf compound bows that tend to show up in the toy sections. A couple coats of spray paint later, and voila, a perfect lightweight prop bow!

Be careful with the Daleks, kids!