Costuming (Burlesque) Loki: The DIY Helmet

For my girl Paige, and anyone else suffering through a DIY Loki helmet/horns…

 

Last year I came to DragonCon in Atlanta with my Burlesque Loki costume.  The costume itself was very easy to make, and very striking when completed, but the helmet/horns were quite the challenge.  I was so intimidated by the project that I put it off and made it after the rest of the outfit.  Feeling like the helmet was deserving of it’s own post, here’s how I made mine, and the rest of the burlesque costume is up next.

 

Anna of Darkstar Photography and Costuming snapped this photo of me before meeting up with the rest of the Burlesque Superheros and Villains group at DragonCon.  More of her photography and costuming can be found on her Facebook page.

 

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Let’s start with the horns, since their size and placement on the helmet are critical.  I had seen a few hacks and tutorials on Pinterest to get me started with a few ideas such as Styrofoam hearts, Venetian masks, and the proper order or smoothing Worbla, so this was my lifeline.  I started with two Styrofoam hearts (Floracraft FLOXTH9 Styrofoam Extruded Heart, 9″ by 1″) and cut them in half down the middle (one heart was back-up).  I then whittled them down with a steak knife until the heart halves resembled Loki’s horns.

 

 

Next was the base structure that the horns would attach to.  I purchased a mask on Amazon and cut it to the shape I wanted that most closely resembles his.  Mine is sold out on Amazon but this one is very close:
RedSkyTrader Womens Skull Venetian Aged Finish Mask One Size Fits Most Red.  I then added low relief detailing with 2mm and 3mm craft foam and made sure to leave room for the horn bases.

 

 

The Worbla was the fun part, and way easier than I thought it would be!  The helmet overlay smoothed out very nice over the foam detailing, and I used my fingernails to gently dig the Worbla into the creases in the foam.

 

 

The horns were a little more stressful, and way more awkward.  I had to lay the Worbla down in sections and used a rolling pin to smooth out the seams.  I had to apply just the right amount of pressure to smooth the Worbla without damaging the Styrofoam underneath.  I attached the horns to the mask/helmet with high heat hot glue, Worbla, and crossed-fingers.  I need to be very careful about running into doorways!

 

 

After smoothing the Worbla, I lathered on wood filler (Elmer’s Carpenter’s Color Change Wood Filler, 8 oz., White (E916)) and left it overnight to dry.  I like this particular wood filler because it’s purple when wet and white when dry.  The next day I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded!  This is critical, as Gesso and paint are only going to highlight imperfections rather than fill them in.  I also needed to go over a few spots with more than one application of wood filler between sandings.

 

After sanding and cleanup, I applied a couple coats of sandable Gesso (Golden Acrylic 8 Oz Sandable Hard Gesso) and let dry overnight.

 

And prior to painting, I sprayed the helmet with lacquer (Rust-Oleum 1905830 Lacquer Spray, 11-Ounce, Gloss Black).  I purposely used black so I could see spray coverage compared to Gesso and paint coats.

 

 

Finally, I painted this glorious piece with gold metallic spray paint (Rust-Oleum 245221 Universal All Surface Spray Paint, 11 oz, Metallic Pure Gold).  I’m sure there’s a better medium that other people recommend, but I love this paint so much and have used it on many other projects, so we pretty much buy it in bucketfuls.

 

 

I added foam for padding, ribbon for tying, and combs to hold the helmet in place on my wig (months later after the damn thing kept falling down the front of my face).

 

 

Next: Costuming Burlesque Loki: (The Outfit)

 

“I am Loki of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose.”

– Loki, The Avengers

 

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