Soul Calibur IV, Siegfried Schtauffen cosplay

Siegfried spam continues!! >_< I LOVE how cinematic *fiathriel made this shot. The backlighting in the shoot, then desaturation in the edit really show off the icy effects on all his goddamned crystals that I put in so much effort into making (see below for details)!! So PLEASE view full size and look at my crystals!
AND look! You can see all the freaking rain that was bucketing onto us during the entire afternoon (also see below for details).
I think all I wanted to say was, I'm pretty damn fond of this picture!
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I made and wore this costume as a Wildcard Finalist to the Grand Final of Madman National Cosplay Championship in Brisbane 2010 and won the championship~!!!

My performance, stage setup, and interview can be viewed here: [link]

Costume was made and modelled by:

Photography and edit by:

Lighting and Umbrella assistant:


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About the Shoot
This was the most AMAZING/patience-testing shoots I have ever done, and incredibly the most precise.

The shoot was done at a really magical looking fountain just across the road from my beloved St Mary's Cathedral where Noctis was shot, on a day with very inconsistent weather.

The day was looking good, but Siegfried somehow summons storms... from past experiences, and this time was no different and a rainstorm poured down on us.

Thanks to *fiathriel and ~Luthien-Ikari's skill and diligence, and also the downpouring rain, we got some really cinematic and dramatic shots that resembled my stage set up for the Madman finals.

I also got squirted in the face by those fountain streams alot...

I have never been this satisfied!
All the images in my head were turned into reality. This is why I love cosplay.

Much thanks to all involved!

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About the costume:

Base armour: The chest plate and leg armour were first modeled out of cardboard, covered with alunimium foil, then covered with a few layers of fibre glass once the shape was right. After the fibreglass set, imperfections were covered with putty and sanded until smooth.
All other parts of base armour were made from sheets semi-expanded PVC plastic, which were cut to size by hand with a scalpel, then heated into shape.

The paint job was done by preparing the surface with Slate Grey spray paint, then followed by one layer of cheap silver spray paint, and finally one layer of Super Chrome.

The silver is then weathered by dry brushing and scratching black acrylic paint onto desired areas to give an extra realistic touch.

Crystal Armour: This part caused me so much death... All transparent parts were patterned out of cardboard before the shaped were transferred onto sheets and sheets of 3mm perspex. All parts were then cut out by a rotary tool equipped with a cutting disc.
All edges are polished by hand with fine sand paper and a blow torch.

The crystal effect was done by applying individual strands of ripped up fibreglass fibres onto the surface of the perspex with clear casting resin.
The strands were placed onto the armour one by one for a desired pattern and finish and they were soaked with resin at different levels in each part of the armour to make sure the behaviour of light is consistent throughout the costume.

This armour changes colour!
First I add a blue tinge to the crystal by lightly spraying Tamiya Translucent Blue spray paint onto all the transparent surfaces, varying the spray distance depending on the part.

To achieve the changing colour, I add an extra layer of Tamiya Translucent Chrome spray paint, which reflects all oncoming light and makes the crystal lose all transparency in certain settings.

It is finished off with another layer of clear resin to seal in the colour and give extra gloss.

Weapon: This crystal sword is made from one giant piece of 20mm perspex, and several pieces of 10mm perspex. The main 20mm piece was painstakingly cut out with a metal cutting blade, while the little shards were done with a laser cutter by

For more info about the perspex suppliers, visit www.blazze.com.au

Desired edges were taken off by a power router, and then sanded and polished by hand once again with a blow torch and some sand paper.

Crystal patterns were then added, again, with fibreglass strands and clear resin.

The orb is a christmas ball lol~ Inside it is a motion activated blue light that is suspended by a thin silver thread. The sword will light up when I move the sword~!! It is so fun to play with!

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Many many special thanks go out to: