We really enjoyed seeing all the amazing cosplay at the Maker Faire this year. But in true Maker fashion, it wasn’t just about the cosplay display, it was also about the cosplay crafting. Keep reading as we share what cosplay we encountered at the Maker Faire and even a few things we learned about making your own Cosplay!
Thorsson & Associates Workshop
The Thorsson & Associates Workshop, a custom fabrication shop based in Petaluma, California, had a booth that was particularly impressive. For starters, they had the largest group of professional cosplayers at the Expo Hall. They also had what looked like the most number of collected props on display, and some of the larger sized props at the Maker Faire.  In the slideshow above you can see some photos of their cosplay group, collection of props including helmets, armor, and weapons. My particular favorite was the life-sized ED-209 robot from RoboCop.  It simply towered over everyone and everything! Â
And in support of the Maker Faire theme, Thorsson & Associates team were on hand to explain just how they made some of their props and cosplay to anyone interested. Â In the photo below you can see a representative from their booth explain the different steps and processes that go into making a professional grade cosplay helmet.
Mandalorian Mercs
Next up is the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club. If you’re not aware, Mandalorians are a fictional race of people from the planet Mandalore in the Star Wars Universe.  This custom club expands on the lore from Star Wars, where they put their own flare and design to their Mandalorian armor and helmets.  You can see this in the slideshow below. They also spent time with visitors at their booth explaining how they make their costumes and even the materials they used for their helmets.
Jason Biser
Among the larger groups of organizations was Jason Biser of Biser Builds.  Although his booth was not as large as the other groups above, he more than made up for this with his impressive cosplay on display.  Jason himself even walked the Expo Hall in Cosplay, but more on that later. Getting back to his booth, one thing that caught our eye was his Kayle the Judicator cosplay on display and shown below.  This thing is beautifully crafted, and the detail and size of the armor are just impressive. Also, the wings! The sword even shimmers via some LED lights.
But that wasn’t all. Â As I said earlier, Jason himself was walking the halls of the Maker Faire in Cosplay. Interesting enough, he chose to cosplay in an exoskeleton based from the movie Elysium (e.g. starring Matt Damon). Â See below:
The photo on the left of Matt Damon in an exoskeleton from Elysium movie (photo credit Rotten Tomatoes). The photo on the right is of Jason in his Elysium exoskeleton cosplay. Now what’s really interesting about his cosplay is how functional it is, and how close to the movie exoskeleton it looks. You can see the detail and craftsmanship of his work when you compare both exoskeletons side by side from the back, shown below:
The photo on the left from the Elysium exoskeleton (photo credit Empire Online). The photo on the right is of Jason’s cosplay. You can see the finely detailed mechanics along the shoulders and back of the exoskeleton Jason developed. And what’s more, the screen at the back of his head is a functioning LCD screen that displays the exoskeleton stats, just like the one from the movie. Jason even uses an adhesive to keep the display secured to his head. Now that’s cosplay dedication right there! For a closer look see below:
Cosplay Contest
Now we weren’t the only ones impressed by all the cosplay at the Maker Faire.  In fact, the Maker Faire had a cosplay contest to celebrate all the great work and talent at the Maker Faire that weekend. The contest was hosted by Jackie Craft, renowned cosplayer and contestant on Syfy’s Cosplay Melee. The judges included Norman Chan, The Egg Sisters, Chad Hoku and Shawn Thorsson. Norman Chan is co-founder and Editor of Tested.com. The Egg Sisters have been doing Cosplay together since 2014, where their projects and tutorials have been featured in various publications and magazines. Chad Hoku is from Hokuprops, and they are best known for their Lionhardt cosplay which won Twitch’s 2016 Twitchcon Cosplay Contest’s grand prize. Shawn Thorsson is the founder of Thorsson & Associates Workshop, their booth was discussed in detail at the beginning of his post. There was a lot of good stuff up for grabs at the Cosplay contest too, including a Prusa i3 MK3S 3D Printer for the grand prize. Below are some photos from the cosplay contest, including photos of the contestants, judges, and host.
Winners from the Maker Faire Bay Area Cosplay Contest:
- Special Prize: Sto-Las Amari – Bubble Gauntlet by Vincent Trillo
- 3rd Place: Dual AR-T3C0 pistols by Freddy Schramm
- 2nd Place: Man-Spider Mask by Mikey & Shelley Cosplay
- 1st Place: Elysium – HULC Exo-suit Head Display by Jason Biser, @BiserBuilds
Unsurprisingly, Jason Basier won first place! We can’t wait to see what Jason comes up with next, especially with his new equipment for winning first place! Check him out at @BiserBuilds.
Cosplay Video
And to top it all off, we had so much fun we made a Cosplay video! Â See below:
We had so much fun covering the cosplay of the Maker Faire this year. There was so much great talent and amazing craftsmanship. But if the above wasn’t enough for you we were even able to attend a workshop on how to build your own light-up cosplay. Like I said earlier, the Maker Faire had a heavy emphasis on crafting. You check out our coverage of the light-up cosplay build in our MFBA19 workshop post here.
Also, if we missed tagging anyone please just contact us so we can add you.
If that’s not enough or if you want more Maker Faire Coverage you can find a list of our Maker Faire Bay Area 2019 Coverage below:
- Maker Faire Bay Area 2019
- Show Floor Highlights @Maker Faire Bay Area 2019
- How-to Workshops @Maker Faire Bay Area 2019
- Mech Warfare @Maker Faire Bay Area 2019
For more on Geek Culture and Technology, keep following us here at Skkaw.Blog! Â
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