Construction Details:

The wig is two wigs combined. (Tutorial: http://rufflebuttcosplay.deviantart.com/art/How-to-thicken-a-wig-by-combining-two-wigs-339883359 ) Alita's hair is rather ridiculous and I wanted mine to be that way. I think it still needs a little more molding though.

All of the armor is craft foam coated with contact cement and covered with spandex. (Tutorials: http://rufflebuttcosplay.deviantart.com/art/How-to-make-Armor-with-Foam-Sheets-and-Fabric-359304061

http://rufflebuttcosplay.deviantart.com/art/How-to-make-Finger-Armor-with-Foam-Sheets-359322170 )

I found a few tutorials on craft foam armor and ended up making a hybrid solution that worked for me. I paid a very large attention to detail. At this point, I know her arms like the back of my hands. Both top and bottom pieces attach by snaps. Elbow and knee pieces attach via velcro.

Catsuit is made by me with wet look spandex. Undershirt is made of the same spandex that coats the armor.

Not really sure what else to say. Very VERY labor intense. It pays off if you take the time to do it well though.

Personal Thoughts:

Battle Angel Alita was the first manga I ever read. I was into anime at a really young age, but didn't get into manga until the 90s. I was really into Star Wars expanded universe novels and manga was right next to it. It was only natural that I eventually wandered over.

Back when I read it, it was really expensive compared to today's manga. It was $18-$20 a book, American format and they weren't numbered. They fell apart fairly easily. I definitely read them out of order since there wasn't really a way to check the order I was supposed to read them in.

I fell in love with Alita from the first book. To this day, she is my favorite character in anything ever. I have been saying for about ten years that I was going to make this costume. Tried many times. Finally, this year, I said fuck it, its going to happen. A friend joked that I would spend years planning and make it in a week. They were close. I made it in two.

There are a couple of things I was to fix, but for the most part, I am really happy with this costume.

My gorgeous butterfly knife was made by Lionboogy!

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