#and the option to buy additional packs of different gear of his to dress him up in

[homoeroticgrappling]

Via Danhausen's instagram story on 24/1/25

[sticks-and-stone]

Hampton Tract

October 10, 2019 - October, 12, 2019

So we did Hampton Tract this time for our second round of monthly camping. Hampton is in the same water management district as Potts, but on the western side of the Hillsborough Nature Preserve. Prepping for this trip was wildly different than prepping for the Potts trip for several reasons. The first being that we had done the camping thing and now knew what we were missing and what we needed to get to prep. We were also given a lot of gear by family and friends. So a lot of our upgrades became major game changers. 

We also planned for two nights instead of just one this time. We figured since we had proven that we wouldn’t die in the woods, it would be safe to try for a second night. A quick overnight is mostly setting up and taking down anyway. Not a whole lot of time to just enjoy the trip. This meant that I also needed to make sure that there was plenty to do so we wouldn’t get bored and just drink too much. So I introduced the concept of a “toy bag�� which is basically just a bag of crafts, card games, coloring books, and such. This way, if we got bored or it rained, we would have options. 

In addition to the toy bag, our gear had improved drastically. We got ourselves more organized and more prepared. It didn’t feel like our second trip at all, it felt more like our 9th or 10th. Still not quite perfect, but we felt ready. We organized our gear into categories, researched what other people pack with them for this time of year, and made so many lists. 

We had two main categories for gear this trip. Hardware and software. Hardware included the tent, the chairs, and any other structural pieces for the campsite such as clips, ties, and stakes. The Software bag was for things like flashlights, bug spray, first aid, etc. this separation helped a TON with staying organized on site. 

We added a small amount of gear to this trip. Smaller than I would have expected, but the items we added were complete game changers. This time around we had more coolers. I went to dads and cleaned out his shed in exchange for taking whatever old camping gear I could find. I didn’t take much, but I did take all of his coolers. The first one was a typical, 10 gallon wheeled guy. The second was a five gallon water spigot cooler from our soccer days, and the third was a tiny square spigot guy that might hold a six pack of beer. We used the big wheeled guy for beer and our pre-made coffee supply, the five gallon spigot for our ice water supply (a new thing that made all the difference) and then I continued to use my roommates cooler for our food. Being able to separate the drinks from the food was huge. The first time we went, they were all in the same cooler and the ice we needed for the drinks melted and got water all in our food. So this time, we only used ice packs in the food cooler to protect against moisture and then just loaded up on the ice in our drinks cooler. So our beer was ice cold and our food stayed dry! 

I also got a folding shovel from my dad. This came in very handy with the fire pit which was full of someone else's garbage (including an old diaper) when we arrived. Jenna borrowed fireplace gloves from a friend of hers too. Just those two, easily forgotten items, made a world of difference when it came to fire maintenance. 

As far as other borrowed supplies go, Jenna also borrowed a headlamp from that same friend. I had never thought about using one before, but I will never go camping without one again. We arrived very late at night, so having that made setting up in the dark a breeze. 

My roommate gifted us with a hammock. Again, this was a piece of gear that I had never thought about adding to my pack before, but it was the most relaxing part of the entire weekend. Being able to sway softly and read a book (even one I didn’t enjoy at all) was amazing. 

So here we were, gear-wise, having an epically better camping trip than the last and I haven't even begun to explain the game changers I actually spent money on. During our Potts trip, we realized that we needed more lighting at our campsite. After the sun went down it was very dark and we could see next to nothing. We definitely didn’t want any booming spot lights or anything, but just some soft background lighting to help us out. So I went on Amazon and bought two tiki torches, and a string of battery powered fairy lights. At Hampton, we were able to use the tiki torches not only to illuminate our area and square it off, but also to help repel the bugs which were still kind of bad for October. And the string lights helped us avoid tripping while we found spots in the woods to pee, but also made our entire little set up look very cute. I hope to continue to work on the aesthetic of the site during future trips. 

Beyond the lighting, I also bought an air pump that plugs into the car, so we didn’t have to sleep on the ground! Small, but significant game changer. I bought rope (paracord) but we never used it. I’m keeping it in the gear kit though because every blog I’ve ever read tells me to. I’m sure it will be just a space taker until I actually need it and will be grateful to have it. 

On the way down, we stopped at a dollar general for additional supplies (toys). We bought bubbles and glow sticks to mess around with after dark. We got a TON of extra bug spray and a citronella candle for bugs. 

So gear-wise, we didn’t do much, but the things we did buy were such game changers that it made the Hampton trip so much better than we could have expected. We did things a little bit differently this time as far as execution goes. Two nights is drastically different than one so we had to think in advance, plan for the worst, and just mostly roll with the punches. And there were definitely a few punches. 

We arrived at camp at about 11pm at night on friday. Way too late if you ask me, but we had not thought through it too well, I guess. The first thing we did was unload the car. We were much better this time about making sure that our hardware was easily accessible so that we could set up as fast as possible. We got the tent up first. It took us mere minutes and once it was up, I ran to check out the bathroom facilities. 

The bathroom was a good ole fashion outhouse. A concrete building over a hole in the ground with a bucket and a lid covering the hole. The room was filled with dead and living love bugs and a broom in the corner to (I guess) sweep the massive layer of bug bodies out of your way? The toilet paper was damp (thank god I brought my own) and there was a smell that I swear could make you cry. I figured I would just pee behind the tent in the cover of the trees most of the time and only use this outhouse if I absolutely had to. At least this time I was not on my period. 

Once the tent was up, Jenna went to work on the fire. Since it was so late, we didn’t need to eat, just needed to get the fire up and get settled in for the night. So we spent the evening around the fire, taking shots of gin (why did I have that?) and drinking beer. At some point I think we broke out the guitar and sang probably too loudly for our fast-asleep neighbors. There was a camper just across the field from us who I’m sure hated our guts by morning. Otherwise, we had plenty of space and privacy for this trip. Which I loved a lot. We stayed up far too late and finally passed out around 3am. I woke up before Jenna at about 7am. The air mattress was a game changer so I slept like a rock. It also didn’t get that cold (for October) during the night, so I was very comfortable. 

I couldn’t get the fire started - I do not have the skills that Jenna does. So when she finally got out of bed (about an hour after me) I threw my hands up and told her it was her problem now. She got it going in no time (I was bitter) and we got to work on breakfast. It was about 10 am by the time we had breakfast on the table and our day was underway.

After breakfast we decided to go for a drive and check out the area a little. We left the site around noon after we got dressed and secured the site for our departure. This was the first two night trip and the first time that I really realized how slow you can actually go and I loved it. We left the site and drove down the long country road until we got to another corner of the Hillsborough Nature Preserve. The guy at the gate said that this was the hunting portion but that if we were just driving through we could do so. Apparently we didn’t strike him as the type of girls to sneak rifles in and hunt illegally. So off we drove. The man told us that it was just a few minutes to the end of the road and we would find ourselves back at the primitive campground. He was very wrong. After driving for about an hour through the woods and passing very sketchy looking groups of hunters with rifles (yikes) we finally got back out to another major road. Not our camping ground. We caved and broke out a phone to GPS our way back to where we needed to be. We were about 45 minutes away. So we tracked ourselves to the spot and stopped for gas, more beer, and snacks on the way. 

We finally got back to the campsite around 3pm and took to doing our own things. We hung the hammock and Jenna took the first turn while I went to the picnic table to try my hand at whittling. I got comfortable enough with the knife and small piece of wood I found and relocated to the fire which I was able to get going and keep going on my own. I made a pencil!

Before we had left for our venture, the couple in the camper across the way offered us their leftover firewood, so we had plenty to get us through the rest of the trip. I whittled away and Jenna swayed and napped in the hammock. After a while, a car pulled in and two lesbians and their dog made camp in the spot where the couple in the camper had been. They drove a small sedan and unloaded a small tent and two chairs. They used their car to block our view of their entire set up which was disappointing. We enjoy scoping out other people’s set up to get ideas of our own. 

Around the same time, we started to notice the sound of a small dog barking on the other end of the campground - about 100 yards away. We didn’t think much of it until it began getting louder and more annoying. We made comments to each other about it - mostly sarcastic, but didn’t honestly think anything of it. 

Finally, Jenna got tired of being interrupted by the noise and offered me my turn on the hammock. I was eager to try it out so I grabbed a book and some extra bug spray and headed over there. I realized very quickly that this was my new favorite camping activity. The book I brought with me was a novel from Scotland that I never got around to reading. I figured I would give it a go and try out at least the first few chapters. As it turns out, I hated the book. It wasn’t broken into chapters at all and the language was difficult to keep up with. I gave up on it and just dosed in and out of a light sleep while I swayed softly. The dog - which I now realized was two dogs - grew louder and louder as more people piled in with their campers, tents, and dogs of their own. I wondered why the owners wouldn’t shut them up. 

Jenna and I decided to start working on dinner. We brought steaks and potatoes with us to cook over the fire and the first thing we needed to do was get the coals hot enough which would take a bit of time. So I did that while Jenna started “marinating” a steak. We brought nothing to do this, but she managed to use the single packets of ketchup and BBQ sauce to make-shift a marinade. Honestly, I was wildly impressed. Don’t tell her. So we let the marinade soak in the tupperware container and just enjoyed a couple beers by the fire. 

Suddenly, a woman walked up to us and presented us with the best drama. Apparently she had arrived around 1 or 2 that afternoon and from the time she got there until the time she walked over to our camp (around 5pm) those dogs had been barking nonstop and she wanted to know if we knew anything about the people camping there. Of course, we didn’t, but I did tell her that I noticed a car there this morning that was no longer there. Which made the woman (I cannot for the life of me remember her name) feel a lot better. Her concern was that someone was dead inside the camper. She said that it was about to get dark and that she was growing concerned for the animals. We agreed that if it got to be 8pm and no one showed up to the camp, we would take a closer look and possibly call the police. 

So 8pm rolls around and she comes walking back over. This time, one of the lesbians from across the way and her dog are with her. Block party. So they tell us that they want to go look into the camper to see what the situation is but are afraid to do so alone. Me, being drunk, decided to be the brave one and lead the search crew. Jenna at my side. We walk over there with our flashlights and shone them in. There was a Jack Russel on the bed which was walled with a bug screen (so he got fresh air). His teeth were barred and his hair stood up on his back. He was not happy at all that we were there.  Behind him (or her) there was a cage on the counter next to the bed. Inside were 4 Jack Russel puppies. And on the floor of the camper was a litter box and two black cats next to it. So what we thought  was one or two dogs ended up being 7 animals just left alone in this camper. According to the woman whose name escapes me, they had been inside for at least 8 hours, maybe longer. So we decided to call the police and see what they could do. 

Jenna did that while the lady and I walked around to the other campsites and let people know that the police would likely be showing up soon. Before we could make it back to our own site, a forest ranger showed up in her truck. Super nice lady. She asked us to go back to our sites and that she would handle this. She drew her weapon (I had no idea that they armed rangers) and her flashlight and started looking around the camper and trying the door - which was locked. Me and Jenna, the lady, and the lesbians all watched from our perspective sites. As the ranger looked around. Right as she was about to get back in her truck, a car pulled up next to the camper and a woman and a young man got out. Apparently it was their camper. They talked to the cop for a while then went inside and the barking stopped for the rest of the night.

A little while later, the lady whose name escapes me came back over to our site to gossip. Apparently she was really nervous that we had pissed off the people for calling the cops. We agreed not to tell them who called (Jenna) if asked and to just say that we were all really worried about them thinking that they were dead inside. The lady told us that she was newly divorced and was trying camping out as a new hobby. She didn’t want a lot of people to know, but she was solo camping. Trying to find her independence I guess. She was nervous now and said she was going to sleep in her locked car. We told her we had a huge tent and she was welcomed to stay with us, but she refused and said that defeats the purpose of her trip, but that she thought we looked nice and she wanted to let someone know she was alone and scared. I have so much respect for her. I wish I could remember her name. 

Jenna and I finished our dinner in peace and played music for a bit. We went to bed earlier than the night before (thank god) and got a great night’s sleep.  

We woke up the next day and just kind of took our time. I slowly started repacking our bags and bins and would take frequent and long breaks in between. We had done this trip so much better than the last time that I wanted to saber it. I decided that I wanted to brush my teeth and get myself ready for the repacking of the car and the drive home. 

While I was brushing my teeth, the lady that owns the dogs in the trailer came driving up to introduce herself to us and apologize for her animals. We explained to her that we were just concerned that there was a human in there that needed help. She explained that she was “on campus writing a paper all day” and that she would be again today but this time she was going to leave her adult son behind to watch over the animals. 

Needless to say, that was a strange encounter and we were sufficiently creeped out. Who goes camping when they have a paper to write? Who brings their adult son to campus to write a paper? We had so many questions but figured that most of them were better left unanswered. We quickly finished packing and just left before she came back 

Besides the neighbor drama and the really gross bathroom, this was a pretty good trip. Gear-wise, we really stepped it up and I am pretty proud of us. 

Get Outside, 

Stone

[socmedsean]

Step-By-Step G.I. Joe Snake Eyes DIY Cosplay Instructions

SocMedSean - Social.Media.Sean Step-By-Step G.I. Joe Snake Eyes DIY Cosplay Instructions

I know, it’s a little bit of a divergence from my regular social media-focused content, but I’m in the middle of writing an article about the impact of social media on the world of cosplay and comic-cons, so I thought I would share one of my favorite cosplay creations. I’ll be sharing the link to the article about cosplay and social media in the next few days.

As some of you might know, I have been involved in cosplay for a while now and have built costumes for myself, friends and family.

I started cosplaying as a way to engage in crafting projects with my kids. We’re kind of a geeky family. My daughter is a big Harley Quinn, Ellie (from The Last Of Us), and Bucky/Winter Soldier fan and my son is a Nightwing, Green Arrow, and Star Wars fan.

As a result, I found that building costumes for each of us for Kansas City’s Planet Comicon was a good way keep us all involved in a project throughout the year.

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            A post shared by Sean R. Nicholson (@socmedsean) on May 22, 2016 at 8:56am PDT

My daughter as Bucky Barnes – AKA the Winter Soldier

Planet Comicon is in the Spring of each year, so we would start thinking about our costumes in June/July (post-Comicon) and we would build with the idea that Halloween would be our dry run.

The kids would wear their cosplay costumes while they trick-or-treated and we would take notes of what worked and didn’t work so we could make adjustments.

While the kids’ costumes have always been the priority, they always wanted me to participate, as well, so I created costumes for characters such as Deathstroke (to go with Green Arrow) and Joel (from The Last of Us) to compliment their costumes.

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          Our #planetcomicon crew for today featuring Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, TheHood and Daniel from Amnesia. #harleyquinn #thehood #greenarrow #deathstroke #amnesia #daniel #cosplay #KansasCity #dccomics

A post shared by Sean R. Nicholson (@socmedsean) on Mar 14, 2015 at 5:56pm PDT

This year, though, neither of my kids wanted to cosplay so I decided to start on a project that I have long wanted to do…but have been a bit intimidated by. This character is one of my all time favorites from my childhood, so I was a bit nervous to do it. Most of it was in fear that it wouldn’t turn out as good as I wanted it to.

The character of Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe is one of the baddest characters of all time. His ninja skills, combined with his mastery of modern weapons made him a force to be reckoned with. His self-imposed silence and ongoing feud with his brother, Storm Shadow, made him even more mysterious and daunting.

So…with that in mind, I decided that this was THE year for Snake Eyes.

Honestly, I’m really, really happy with the outcome.

Did everything turn out as good as I wanted? No.

Were the results of my work completely satisfying and made me really happy? Yes.

Did people keep stopping me at Planet Comicon for photos? Yes.

Is there still room for improvement? Yes…and that’s what I love about all good cosplay costumes. They are never finished and can always be improved.

To share the love, I thought I might start the process of documenting my cosplay costumes in order to help someone else out there who wants some guidance.

This tutorial has detailed instructions for anyone wanting get started with a Snake Eyes comicon cosplay or Halloween costume. I outline all of the items that I purchased, as well as the steps to create the items that I built from foam.

Please – If you create a Snake Eyes cosplay based on these instructions, send me a link and I’ll update the post with your photo or photos. Let’s document some of the baddest Snake Eyes costumes out there.

Snake Eyes Cosplays That I Drew Inspiration From

To start, I want to recognize all those that came before me and helped me visualize the version of Snake Eyes that I wanted to portray. If you don’t know, there are many options for Snake Eyes, ranging from the comic book full spandex suit to the heavily-armored, helmeted movie version.

After Google searches, these are the ones that helped me decide on my approach, which is the comic book version of the character. Some of the Google searches that returned the best results were:

Snake Eyes cosplay GI Joe

Snake Eyes from GI Joe costume

Building a Snake Eyes cosplay costume

Examples of great Snake Eyes cosplay

Snake Eyes visor cosplay (more on this below)

As you can see in the photo below, I have 5 comic books hanging on my wall at work and the comic book above is one of them.

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            A post shared by Sean R. Nicholson (@socmedsean) on Jun 19, 2018 at 10:15am PDT

In addition to this badass comic book rendering, I used these cosplays for inspiration:

Neumatic on DeviantArt

Trooper 13 on AminoApps

Snake Eyes 1 & 2 on Pinterest

This unknown Snake Eyes on Pinterest

The great Snake Eyes images on Meijin Cosplay

The common characteristics for these cosplays were basically:

Comic book character version with no helmet

Visor instead of goggles

Sword as the primary weapon

Pants

Tactical vest or armor

Important Note: This year, Planet Comicon announced that they were not going to allow freely-carried, realistic looking firearms replicas as props. The decision was made after working with local law enforcement agencies on the response to potential active shooter situations. Because the Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) would have a difficult time distinguishing a prop rifle or pistol from a real one and, thus, identifying an actual shooter, they opted to not allow them. For this reason, I wanted my primary weapon to be the sword.

The Basics – Boots, Pants, And Shirt

Affiliate Disclosure – Before going any further, be aware the links below to the actual items that I used are affiliate links. When you click these links, I may earn a portion of the sale. It helps me keep the site going and creating and sharing great cosplays. The decision as to whether to buy the same items is completely up to you.

Let’s start from bottom up.

Finding A Comfortable Pair Of Black Combat or Work Boots

The boots I use are Black Brahma Work Boots that look a bit like combat boots. The biggest reason I use these boots is comfort. I have tried several different boots with my Deathstroke cosplay and by the end of the con, my feet were killing me.

So, after doing some research, I landed on these boots and I love them. They are comfortable for walking the con floor and they go really well with both my Deathstroke and Snake Eyes cosplays.

You don’t need to go expensive. If you find a really nice set of boots that you like but they don’t have comfortable insoles, just rip them out and buy a set of gel insoles from Wal-Mart. The key is comfort.

These are the boots that I use for both my Snake Eyes and Deathstroke cosplays

The cost of these boots is pretty reasonable. You can find the boots on Amazon or at local shoe stores ranging from $45 – $60. The boots I have are discontinued, so the ones on Amazon and your local store might be a little different. 

Trust me though, invest in your boots (or at least the insoles). Your piggies will thank you after a long day at the con.

The Shirt Needs To Be Comfortable And Breathe

Cons get hot.

There are a lot of people packed into small space and if your costume is great, you’re going to get up-close-and-personal with people for photos. Make sure you don’t stink from overheating and sweating like crazy.

For that reason, I highly recommend you look into a lycra, breathable athletic shirt. For me, I went with the Starter Men’s Long Sleeve Tech T-Shirt in Black.

This Starter athletic shirt kept me cool throughout the con, allowing for up-close-and personal pics with Snake Eyes fans.

I am 6’1″ and 170lbs and usually wear a large shirt, but I wanted the shirt to be tight, rather than baggy, since Snake Eyes wears a skin-tight suit. So, I went a size down and chose medium. It was just right and never came untucked, so I was happy. It also allowed air to flow, so it kept me cool…despite being tight.

The Pants Should Be Tactical AND Have Pockets

Let’s address the pockets element first.

Being at a con without pockets sucks. Sure, it might be canonical that your character doesn’t have pockets, but you need to carry a wallet, keys, con map, bottle of water, etc…For that reason, buy pants with extra pockets. They go with the tactical look and are functional.

The pants I chose are the RothCo BDU pants in black. Again, I use these for both Snake Eyes and Deathstroke (see a pattern forming here?).

These pants were cost-effective and have help up really well over the years. The extra pockets are great for con gear.

These pants are comfortable, light, and have extra side pockets. They also have an adjustable waistband that allows you to “let them out” a little bit if you eat too much at the con.

One note on these pants. I ordered this pair back in 2014 and they have served well. The stitches and buttons have held tight and the buckles that adjust the waist still work flawlessly. The dark black color, though, has started to fade after all the washes. I will probably be buying a new pair this year so I can get that dark black color back.

Five years for a $35 pair of pants is pretty damn good, though.

The Tactical Vest, Utility Belt, Hood, And Gloves

Now that you’re pretty much dressed, the next group of items are the ones that go over your shirt and pants.

Get A Tactical Vest That Is Versatile And Comfortable

The utility vest that I use is one of my favorite items in my cosplay closet. It is very adjustable, has tons of pockets and clips, and allows for the use of pistols and swords (more on those later).

The vest I use is the UTG Law Enforcement Tactical SWAT Vest. As you can see in the photo below, it allows me to accessorize with faux shotgun shells, grenades, rounds of ammunition, and even has a pocket big enough to carry a water bottle. In fact, in the pocket to the left of the pistol, there is currently a 16oz water bottle. Can you tell?

This tactical vest is one of my favorite, most versatile pieces of equipment.

Get A Comfortable Hood That Doesn’t Obstruct Your Vision

I went through two hoods before I landed on the right one. Remember, Snake Eyes has a visor but his mouth is visible. For this reason, you need a hood that covers your head, but allows your eyes to be open. I landed on a lycra hood with one big eye opening, rather than two, individual eye openings.

The first hood I tried had the two individual eye openings (think ski mask with no mouth hole) and it obstructed my ability to look right and left. Cons are busy and Snake Eyes already has a visor in front of his eyes, so do yourself a favor and go with the bigger, single opening.

The one I eventually went with is the ULTRA THIN Lycra BALACLAVA(Black). It was comfortable, didn’t obstruct my vision or breathing and was really, really cheap. The neck was not loose and baggy, so it worked well with the visor and fit around my chin.

NOTE: I have a beard and when I first put on the hood, my whiskers all poked through the lycra. It was hilarious, like little grey and black pine needles sticking through. Be aware that if you have a beard, you might need to shave it down so they don’t stick down.

These are the gloves and hood that I use for my G.I. Joe Snake Eyes cosplay costume.

Get Gloves That Not Only Look Cool, But Work.

Okay, let’s talk gloves.

The ones in the photo above are really cool looking and they go well with the rest of the costume. To be honest, these are my motorcycle gloves and they are broken in and feel really comfortable. 

However, I wouldn’t really recommend them for your Snake Eyes cosplay. The reason is because they have no tactile ability in the fingers…which is a fancy way of saying they don’t allow you to operate the touch screen on your phone. This means that every time you want to text a friend or take a photo with your phone, you have to take your gloves off.

For this reason, I will be looking for a new set of gloves to go with both my Snake Eyes and Deathstroke cosplays that will allow me to use my phone. The key is to have a tactile finger pad that activates the touch screen.

If you find a good pair, let me know in a comment and I’ll check them out.

A Comfortable Utility Belt With Pockets And A Leg-Holster Rig That Allows You To Secure The Pistol

Along with the tactical vest, this combo is one of my favorite parts of the costume because it’s comfortable and brings out the bad-ass look of Snake Eyes.

The utility belt is fully adjustable and has several small pockets to hold any small items like your car keys. That can free up your pants pockets for the map of the conference, panel schedules, etc…

The utility belt is sold separately from the holster and is the CONDOR Tactical Belt (Black, Up to 44-Inch Waist).

This utility belt and leg holster are sold separately but work flawlessly together.

The leg holster is fully adjustable to a lot of various leg lengths and allows the pistol to be secured according to the con prop policies. It attaches right to the utility belt in a snap.

The rig that I use is the UTG Elite Tactical Leg Holster,Black (Right Handed). They do offer a left-handed rig for those lefties out there. I’m actually left-handed but shoot right-handed, so I chose the right-handed rig.

Again…I use both the belt and the leg holster in my Deathstroke cosplay, so the investment is worth it.

The Weapons – Pistols, Ammunition, Grenades, Sword, and Scabbard

As I mentioned earlier, cons have really started adjusting their rules about realistic looking weapons. Previously, realistic looking pistols and rifles. Any realistic looking weapon has to be zip-tied securely to the costume in order to be allowed in. Freely-carried realistic rifles/carbines and even swords that could be used as a blunt weapon had to be secured.

The Pistols

As you can see in this image, my pistols were realistic-looking. Even though they are rubber dummy training pistols in an active-shooter situation a police officer might not be able to tell the difference.

Per the con rules, this rubber training pistol is zip-tied into the holster for security reasons.

So, to comply with the rules, I simply zip-tied them in. The prop check security personnel appreciated that I had done this proactively as it reduced the time they had to spend going through my gear.

The pistols that I use are the BladesUSA Rubber Training Gun Black With Orange Tip. They are realistic when unholstered, but it doesn’t really matter to me since they are always secured.

The Sword And Scabbard Should Be Able To Be Adjusted At The Con

The sword is something you really need to understand if you want to be comfortable at the con. For both Deathstroke and Snake Eyes, I used a single sword to keep things simple. Yes…I understand that there are times when both characters use two swords.

However, try navigating a crowded con with two swords sticking out to your sides. You’ll spend a lot of time apologizing to people for bumping into them with a blunt, yet pokey object. {AWKWARD}

So, for convenience, I went with a single sword in a scabbard that is easily adjusted. The adjustment part is important because you might want to sit down at some point. Maybe it’s lunch, or a con panel, or just to rest. With a sword that extends lower than your tailbone, you can’t comfortably sit down.

For this reason, I suggest you get a scabbard that goes OVER your tactical vest (rather than inside of the back of the vest) AND can be locked in place. The scabbard I chose is the Katana Bokken Shinai Foam Sword Mini Nylon Carrying Case.

It’s universal, it’s adjustable, it has clips to latch, unlatch…and it’s inexpensive. Even better, it worked perfectly with the tactical vest to lock it into place.

This is the sword and scabbard combo that I chose. It worked well and allowed me to take it off so I could sit at the con. My cat really wanted to be part of the photo.

The sword is the BladesUSA 1802PP Martial Art Polypropylene Training Equipment 39.25-Inch Overall. It was just the right length and worked perfectly with the scabbard.

One other note, rather than permanently attaching it to the tactical vest, I attached the sword to the scabbard. The prop inspectors at the con said that was okay since the sword couldn’t be removed from the scabbard.

I just passed the zip tie through the Tsuba (the hand guard right above your thumb when holding it) and through the carry strap and it locked it into place.

The Grenades

Snake Eyes is known for carrying grenades, so I wanted to incorporate them into the costume. Again, I had some from Deathstroke, so I zip tied them to the tactical vest and they worked well. Yes…even grenades have to be secured.

The grenades I ordered are the Lot of 4 Kids Toy B/o Grenades. They are plastic and make an annoying tick, tick, tick, boom sound when the lever is pressed, so that had to go. I simply removed the batteries and all was good.

NOTE: Many Cons do not allow props that flash lights or make noise. The prop check officer asked me whether the grenades made noise and I confirmed with him that I had removed the batteries. Be sure to do this prior to going to the con, so you get through prop check quickly.

Be sure to understand the rules regarding weapons at your con. In this case, the grenades could not make any sound and had to be attached to an article of clothing.

The Bullets

The bullets are a minor part of the cosplay costume, but sometimes it’s the details that make the difference. The tactical vest has a spot on the right shoulder for ammunition, so I figured why not fill it up.

The cartridges that I chose are the UHC Revolver 131, 132, 133 BB Shell Set. They are plastic, lightweight, and fit perfectly in the tactical vest holders.

These plastic bullets fit perfectly in the ammunition holder on the tactical vest.

Are they 9mm or .45ACP, which would fit the pistols if they were real? No.

Do I (or anyone else) care? No.

The Clan Insignia

One other important detail for Snake Eyes is his clan insignia. Snake Eyes is a member of the Arashikage clan, along with his brother and nemesis Storm Shadow. The clan has a distinct insignia that is present on each of the version of Snake Eyes.

Sometimes it’s on his shoulder and sometimes it’s on his sword. It just needed to be present.

I added the insignia to the front of the tactical vest where it was prominent. Honestly, I did this with black and red duct tape. I will be redoing this for the next rendition, making it a little nicer looking…maybe a custom patch. For now, this worked great.

This version of the Arashikage clan for Snake Eyes was made with duct tape. I’ll be getting a custom patch for the next round.

The Visor

Okay…if you’re like me, this is the part you really geek out about. All of the previous gear could be bought, but I wanted to make the visor myself. Again, did it turn out perfectly? NO.

Did it work well? Pretty much (more below).

Did people want photos? Yes.

Is there room for improvement. A LOT.

This was the first round and this is the biggest area that I’m going to spend my time improving for the next round. In fact, I loved the concept of the visor so much that I’m going to create a fiberglass version of it so I can re-use it without worrying about the craft foam breaking.

Which it did. Right as I got to the con. GRRRRRR!

So, if you are wondering what the zip ties are in the top of the visor, they are because the screws pulled out of the foam and the visor detached from the headband. Luckily, the fine folks at prop check gave me two zip ties to fix it.

Here we go…steps for creating a Snake Eyes Cosplay visor.

Step 1 – Gather Your Materials

These are the things that I needed to create the visor:

Craft foam

Paper to draw the template

A flexible measuring tape

Sharpie marker

Pen/pencil

Good set of scissors or shears

A sharp utility knife

Mod Podge

Small craft paint brushes

Grey spray paint or primer

Step 2 – Measure Your Head And Create A Template

The first step is to use the flexible measuring tape to measure your head. The goal is to get an idea as to how big you want the visor to be. It’ll help to have another person because you need three hands.

With two fingers resting on your nose, measure the distance from ear-to-ear. The two fingers are going to give you an idea of how far the insider of the visor will be from your face. Don’t worry…nothing is set in concrete yet. This will just give you measurements for your template.

Next, draw out the template and cut it out. After looking at photos online, this is what my template ended up looking like.

This is what my visor template looked like to start.

Tip: When you are cutting out your template, mark which pieces you are going keep and which you are going to remove. The first time I created the template, I cut out the center piece of the visor because I wasn’t paying attention. Ooops!

Step 3 – Use The Template To Cut The Foam

Using the paper template, trace it out on a piece of thick craft foam. The foam I like is from Harbor Freight and it is marketed as Anti-Fatigue Mat Set.

I use this craft foam from Harbor Freight because it is nice and dense and inexpensive. It is marketed as “Anti-Fatigue Mat Set”

This stuff is really easy to cut. For the outer edges, use your scissors, but for the inside pieces, use a good, sharp utility knife. If you place the foam on a thick piece of cardboard, it makes it easy for you to cut all the way through the foam.

Once you have the visor cut out, you should have some thing that looks like this. 

NOTE: These photos were taken during my mockup, so the cuts aren’t as clean as the final output. If you aren’t working through a mockup, be sure to make your cuts as clean as possible.

The top is the paper template, the bottom is the visor cut from craft foam

Cut The Center For The Angle

Now that you have the size of the visor set up and the foam cutout, you need to cut it in half. Yes…cut it in half. The reason is because Snake Eyes’ visor is pointed at the front. So, you need to cut it in half and then slightly cut the angles of the edges to they fit together at an angle.

Once you have it cut in half, you should be able to stand it up like this.

Cutting the visor down the middle allows you create the front angle

Next you need to do some cutting to make the pieces come back together. Just go slowly and cut small angles and you’ll do fine. Again, this is why I planned on doing it twice, a rough mockup and then the final. The final angles were easy once I had done it on the rough mockup.

Glue The Front Of The Visor Back Together And Set The Bends

Now that you have the angles cut, just use a hot glue gun to glue the front angles back together. REMEMBER that a little hot glue goes a long way. Don’t glob up the front of your visor with excess hot glue. Later, when you put Mod Podge on the visor, it will help strength the spot that you glued together.

Once the front of the visor is glued back together, the round pieces that go next to your ears are going to be sticking way out. You need to carefully bend them to where they should be and then secure them so they stay there.

TIP: BE PATIENT and let you hot glue fully cool. If you try to bend the visor too soon, you’ll cause the hot glue to release, undoing all your hard work.

To set the bends, I used a small bucket that was just about the same diameter of my head at the ears. I just taped the round parts of the visor to the sides of the bucket. Sounds weird, but it worked. Use a kickball, a watermelon…whatever has the same diameter as your head.

Apologies that I didn’t take a photo of this step. It seemed kinda silly when I was doing it, but it worked great and “set the bends” of the visor.

TIP: If you have issues bending your craft foam, just heat it with a heat gun or a hair dryer on high. Heating up the foam will make it flex easier. Just DON’T overheat it.

Paint On The Mod Podge To Hold It In Place

With the front of the visor glued together and the bends set, it’s time to paint on the Mod Podge so the bends stay there all by themselves and the front visor angle is strengthened

If you are a crafter or hobby cosplayer, you probably already have Mod Podge. This stuff is basically like white glue, but it hardens and keeps craft foam in place. It can be sanded and painted. I cover all my craft foam creations in it.

Tip: It’s called “Mod Podge” not “Modge Podge” or “Hodge Podge”. You can get this stuff at Wal-Mart or any big box craft store.

Mod Podge is great for making sure your craft foam stays where you want it.

As you can see in the background of the photo above, I set the angle of the front of the visor and then started painting it with three layers of Mod Podge, spaced 30 minutes apart. After the third layer, the visor stayed where I wanted it and I un-taped the back circles from the bucket and gave them three layers of Mod Podge, as well.

Paint It To Color

Once the Mod Podge has fully cured and the visor stays where you want it, it’s time to start painting. Since my craft foam was grey and I wanted to visor to be grey, I just hit it with a coating of grey primer to knock down the shine of the Mod Podge. One coat did exactly what I wanted.

This grey paint+primer took the shine off the visor after applying the Mod Podge.

Add Household Screen To Hide Your Eyes

Once you have let the visor dry, you should have a pretty cool looking visor that fits the shape of your head. Take some photos in the mirror…you’ll look bad ass!

One thing I noticed when I was looking in the mirror is that you could see my eyes. Since I wanted my Snake Eyes cosplay to be mysterious, I decided to pickup some window tint and glue it behind the visor.

Bad idea.

The window tint was waaay to dark and would have made it tough to navigate the con.

Instead, I just used a piece of household screen that I had used on another project. I cut it to size and used hot glue to secure it to the back of the visor. I know, the hot glue looks kind of crappy in the photo below, but no one else ever saw it but me.

The cool thing is this totally worked. I could see just fine, but people couldn’t see my eyes.

Attach It To The Headband

Now that you have a cool, mysterious visor the next step is to secure it to a headband. I picked up this Magnifier with headstrap and lights from Harbor Freight. It was on sale for $2.99 so I figured it was worth a try.

It worked….well…kinda.

After cutting it down and securing it to the headband with screws, all seemed to be good. That was until I got to the con. I made a couple of adjustments and the screws pulled through the foam. GRRRRR.

So, I had to use a couple of zip ties at the con to hold everything in place, which worked fine.

Did anyone point out the zip ties? Nope.

Did people still want photos? Yep.

Did it work good enough? Yep.

Will I be figuring out another option? Definitely.

The Outcome

Nice job getting this far. If you have read through all this (or at least scrolled through it), here’s what you were probably hunting for.

Perfect? No.

Am I proud enough of it to spend 3 hours putting together these instructions? You betcha.

And I hope they help inspire some potentially bad-ass Snake Eyes cosplays.

My Next Steps

These are the things I’m going to work on for the next evolution:

Incorporate knee and elbow pads and maybe some armor made from craft foam

Re-build the visor using a fiberglass mold process to create a REALLY amazing visor. This visor was also a little big, so I’m going to size it down just a little bit.

Create a derivative that uses goggles and a mask like this one

View this post on Instagram

"Rock and Roll told me later that he saw Snake-Eyes carry me out of the wreckage with his head still in flames." #gijoe #snakeeyes #ninja #yojoe #arah #gijoethemovie #usa #marvelcomics #militarytoys #army #toy #toycommunity #toyartistry #toyphotography #actionfigure #hasbro #hasbrogijoe #plasticaddict #winter #snow #riseofcobra #snakeeyestoy #mask #maskedman #goggles #arctictrooper #toyartistry

A post shared by Scott Pembrook (@scottpembrook) on Apr 3, 2019 at 11:32am PDT

Final Thoughts

This was a fun one to put together and I will definitely be evolving it. Better visor, a few tweaks and tunes, and Snake Eyes will be back at the cons!

If you found this helpful, let me know with a comment. If you created a Snake Eyes cosplay or Halloween costume based on these instructions, shoot me a note with a link to a photo, I’d love to see it and add it to the post.

I will also be working on instructions for Deathstroke, Joel and Ellie from the Last of Us, and maybe even some Harley Quinn (including a full bazooka) instructions.

Just for a tease, here’s a little sneak preview of the bazooka work in progress.

      View this post on Instagram

          Who says you can’t build a #bazooka in your #garage over the weekend? My latest #geek #craft in preparation for the upcoming #planetcomicon in #KansasCity #dc #HarleyQuinn #Batman #missmepuddin #geekcraft #geekcrafts #instageek

A post shared by Sean R. Nicholson (@socmedsean) on Mar 1, 2015 at 2:08pm PST

Cheers!

–Sean

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Step-By-Step G.I. Joe Snake Eyes DIY Cosplay Instructions Sean R. Nicholson.

This post originally posted at SocMedSean.com - SocMedSean – Social.Media.Sean http://bit.ly/2UWrBGP