The Brigadier General Skeleton: 2024 Halloween Costume Contest entry by Clem Scholes
For Stan Winston School’s 2024 Halloween costume contest, I’m submitting my latest Halloween costume. Let's have a wonderful hand for The Brigadier General Skeleton!
The idea for the costume was conceived in summer 2023, where I wanted to get a head start on building my best Halloween costume yet, and by Halloween that year, it was finished.
In the clothes, I wanted to go for a formal, Victorian vibe with distinct military influence, all tied up in a steampunk package punctuated by small details such as the tie and epaulets. The cylinder and dome were made to look purely functional, but with a certain elegance that only comes with that sort of design, while slightly macabre details such as the spine and the screws in the skull also added to it.
The construction of the large brass cylinder part of the costume is mostly cardboard, with the top half of a giant easter egg serving as the transparent dome, the skull is simply a store-bought plastic decorative skull, while the spine and flange connecting it to the cylinder is 3D printed. Green Christmas lights light the dome, giving it a foggy, misty glow. Extra 3D printed parts help direct the light towards the skull, while some are placed inside the skull to make it glow more. Additional 3D printed parts include the brass decorations on the sides and top of the dome, and the large, tall grill that obscures the face of the wearer, while also providing visibility. A rubber band is attached to the jaw, in addition to a pair of strings that run down the cylinder to allow the wearer’s jaw to move the jaw of the skeleton. An old hat is placed inside the cylinder along with padding and cardboard struts in the cylinder to allow the weight to be equally distributed along the wearer’s head and shoulders. Fully upright with me wearing it, the costume stands about 7’ 1’’, with the glowing green dome and the skull that far up looking particularly menacing in the dark of Halloween night.
The coat is a plain Victorian style coat from a Halloween store with little modification, the gray striped undershirt is an XXL dress shirt bought from a goodwill that was cut to match the jacket’s coattails. The tie and epaulets are 3D printed with special skull and mechanical steampunk details.
The costume was shown at the 2024 Waltham steampunk festival in Waltham, Massachusetts, where it delighted visitors of the local event.
I’m only throwing one picture here, but you can view an expanded google drive photo album with many more photos (shot in a spooky graveyard here in Boston): HERE
