The Rahkshi Costume Project

A What?

"What do you want to be for Halloween?"  I asked my 3^rd grader.

"A Rahkshi."

"A what?"

OK, I knew that my son collected Bionicles, which are Lego's answer to the action figure market.  And, I knew that they had Polynesian-sounding names, some of which were the names of actual Polynesian deities.  I even knew that some Polynesian authorities had sued Lego over the sacrilege.  But, I couldn't tell a Toa from a Rahkshi.  "OK," I said.  You can be a Rahkshi."

What I didn't know, and could never have imagined, is that the Lego corporation could make a whole series of toys based on plastic masks, and an animated movie starring a mask, and somehow miss the obvious marketing opportunity.  In 2003, not one Halloween mask or costume based on Bionicles was for sale anywhere!

 So, we set out to make our own.  It became the arts and crafts project for several weeks, not to mention a lesson in planning and managing a big project.

The Model

We had two models for the costume.  One was the plastic toy itself, and the other was the animated figures in the movie.  So, we rented "Bionicle - Mask of Light" on DVD and got screen snaps. Oddly enough, there are hardly any still images from the movie anywhere on the Web.  

One thing you will notice right away is that the movie monsters have armor that is much more round and smooth.  In general, most of the costume we made was like the movie armor.  Also, in the movie, the beastie inside the armor is more of a lizard than a slug.  It looks out through the helmet.  We really liked that.  Although the movie monster's helmet opens up like flower petals, we were not able to make our open that way.  It was complicated enough as it was.  But, we left the sections partway open so you could see the beastie inside.

About the only thing we used from the plastic toy was the spines along the back.  They were metallic blades, while the ones in the movie looked like jade kris knives with bronze handles.  

Here are some of the images we used for the costume.  (Fair use - quotations for review and fandom only.)

Here is the plastic action figure.  Notice how much more angular and perforated it is.
The back has an articulated carapace with spines.  The spines in the movie look very different from the ones on the toy.  We liked the toy ones better.
The elbow has a strap sticking out from the back.
The side of the vambrace (forearm) has a round hole, and the bottom of the forearm has an oval one.
The greave (shin) and cuisse (thigh) have oval cutouts.
The cuisses (thigh armor) have holes at the top.  The codpiece is separate from the breastplate.
When the Rahkshi walks upright, the top of the carapace is nearly horizontal.
The leg pieces have holes on the outer sides.  So does the toe cap, although we decided not to drill our toes.
With the mask open, you can see two green sides with red eyes, and a green mouth-like thing above.  There is also a black rectangular chin guard.
You can see the red eyes through the gap in the cheek armor.  Also note that the breastplate wraps around like ribs.
From the top, you can see the shape of the shoulder plates.

The Bill Of Materials

• One old blue foam camping pad
• Lots of two and three liter soda bottles
• Two quart-sized Kefir bottles
• A gallon milk jug
• Black, green, silver, and brown spray paints
• Outdoor Goop contact adhesive
• One gray sweatsuit
• Some black cloth
• A coat hanger
• Some foam rubber
• Aluminum roof flashing
• Popsicle sticks
• Carpenter's glue
• Toothpicks to hold things while the glue dried
• Goof Off gunk remover
• Cardboard boxes
• Hot glue

The Construction

You can build just about anything out of blue foam and Goop.  Here we are making the band that goes around the mask.
We made an oval band of foam to go around the head, with a flat face and a hook in back.  It works just like a fending mask.  To make the hook, bend a piece of coat hanger wire into a long, narrow U.  Use a wire cutter to cut the ends on the diagonal, so they'll be sharp.  Then, poke it through a strip of foam until the wire sticks out the other end.  Goop the joint  liberally, poke the wires into the head band, and secure it all with toothpicks while it dries.  Paint the mask black.
Here we are marking one of the greaves (shins) on a three-liter soda bottle.   The key to the whole project was noticing that many of the simple and complex curves for the Rakshi were to be found in bottles of various shapes and sizes.   We got most of our bottles by dumpster diving, which was very convenient at apartments where they have special containers just for plastic bottles.  But, there were no three liter bottles in the recycling bins.  So, for the largest pieces, we ended up buying about ten big bottles of generic soda and pouring them out.  That was the most expensive part of the project. Large rubber bands make good marking guides on curved surfaces.  Adjust the band until it is straight and symmetrical, then trace it with a marker. In many cases, you can cut around the glue left over from the label, but if not you can remove it with Goof Off.
Here are some of the armor sections being painted.  Krylon brand paint sticks very well to PET plastic bottles, and also to blue foam.   It does not stick well to LDPE milk bottles.  (Almost nothing sticks to LDPE!  I noticed at the store that Krylon makes a new line of paints just for polyethylene, but we didn't try it because they didn't have the right color.)  We painted some pieces in the evening, as the dew was falling.  It gave them a very rough finish.  For this costume, I couldn't tell whether the rough or glossy finish looked better. To drill the holes, use a 3/4" spade bit, but be careful to back each hole with a fresh piece of scrap wood.  Unless the plastic is firmly supported from behind, it will twist and ruin your piece.
The staff for the double-ended trident was the handle of an old rake.  Sometimes it pays to be a pack rat.  My son cut the broken rake head off with a coping saw, then sanded the shaft and sprayed it black.
To make the tridents, we measured the toy and compared it to the rake handle. Then, we did some math to get a ratio of 8 to 1.  Then, we used a photocopier to blow up an image of the toy trident.  We did some more math to figure out what percentages to use to enlarge something repeatedly and end up with 800% .  My son cut out the copy and traced it onto cardboard.  We made each one a double layer, then glued popsicle sticks to match the ridges on the toy.  Silver spray paint finished the look, and hot glue attached the tridents to the staff. The cardboard proved to be the least satisfying part of the costume.  It was floppy and broke before the night was over.
For the articulation on the carapace to work, the plastic bottles need to have a particular shape.   Don't glue the lames (segments) to each other.  The glue should only be between each lame and the blue foam back board. Then, the whole thing will flex and bend very nicely.
Here is the final assembly of the carapace.   Three-liter bottles made the tail section and shoulder section.  In between were two-liter bottles with the tops and bottoms cut off.  The aluminum spines stick out through slits in the PET bottles. The slits weaken the plastic, but the glue that holds the spines strengthens it again. You can cut the aluminum roof flashing with a sturdy pair of scissors.  The edges are not very sharp.  On our model there were only five spines, but it would be better to have six. The only problem with Goop is that it takes a long time to dry.  (OK, it stinks, too.)  Toothpicks stick nicely into blue foam, and hold the pieces until they dry.

The Finished Product