King of the Monsters

Sean Sumagaysay's Godzilla 2002

San Juan, Puerto Rico
Active StatusActive (as of 2024)
Personally, it’s hard to have a favorite Godzilla design; each one has its pros and cons and fit within the films that they’re presented in. After running into a fan-model kit, I decided to pick the KiryuGoji (2002-2003) suit as my long-running character & suit making study because of its balanced silhouette, having traditional qualities while modernized and “cool”.

Over the course of 7 months, it was first completed for the 2016 “Puerto Rico StarCon” convention, and later made appearances in “FirstAttack” and the “PuertoRico Horror Film Fest” to promote a screening of Shin Godzilla that same year.

2017 brought the suit a new set of challenges; after passing the preliminary stage of the World Cosplay Summit, the suit had to be slightly lighter, more accurate and durable for the final showdown in Nagoya. Over the course of June-July a new flexible and lighter tail was made, the suit was also accompanied with more details, and better color-scheme. The hard work paid off, being the first ever Tokusatsu-themed and Puerto Rico Representatives to ever compete in the World Cosplay Summit and make it through the Semi-Finals and onto the 2nd Stage! We didn’t win at the end, but it was definitely a victory for both Juli and I.

The KiryuGoji suit was also presented in last year’s G-Fest XXV (2018), where it (along with many other talented Godzilla/Kaiju cosplayers) got noticed by Mr. Murase and received performance techniques by Satsuma himself! The suit’s journey doesn’t stop there however, as a new head has been sculpted and molded for a later update, and new techniques will be applied in the future to ensure this project is 100%!!

— Sean Sumagaysay

How the Costume Was Built

Within each image gallery you’ll see how the costume was built. Choose a gallery and click the image thumbnail for the larger view. Below the large image you will see the description… we hope you enjoy!

Preparation Head Hands/Feet Body Dorsal Plates Tail Texture
Prep_1
Prep_2
Prep_3
Prep_4
Prep_5
Prep_6
Prep_7
Head Detail
Neck Detail
Sculpting Mouth
Clear Resin Cast
Painted Head
Tongue Detail
Eyes Placed
Painted Eyes
Carving Feet
Designing Feet
Custom Lycra (Stretch) Fabric
Adding Foam to Hands
Sculpey Claws
Pulled from Cast
Hand Painted
Air-Drying
Gluing Foam to Base
Muscle Structure
Accentuate Areas
Thick Back Piece
Blending Joints
Test Fitting
Original 2016 Back
Improved 2018 Suit
By the Numbers
Cutting Out Dorsal Plates
All Laid Out
Latex and Toilet Paper
New Back Piece
Carving Back Scales
Main Dorsal Plates Added
Crumbs Added
Final Paint Job
Old vs New
New Tail Begins
Foam Slab Pattern
Lighten Foam
Securing Tail
Adding Vacuum Hose
Salvage Tip of Old Tail
Prepping Lycra Fabric
Tail_8
Texturing Tail
More Painting
Tail Drying
Comparison
End Result
D-Ring for Future
Sculpted Scale Texture
Latex Skin
Carving Foam
Painting Latex
Dry All Night
Replace with Foam
Adding Skin Detail
Lots of Painting
Painting Detail
Gluing Sections
Glue, Prime, Paint

VIDEO

Godzilla Cosplay: Puerto Rico Horror Film Fest 2016

Here is a quick video showing the team filming a scene in a conference room where he isn’t too impressed with the presentation. Huge thanks to PRHFF Producers Rafael Mediavilla​ & Zoilo Rodriguez​ for the opportunity to be part of this event. And an even bigger thanks to all my friends and family who came to support the event and had my back (or should I say Tail? xD) while wearing the suit.

VIDEO

Godzilla x Mechagodzilla: World Cosplay Summit 2017 - Final Stage

We were given the chance to express our love for Godzilla and Tokusatsu to Japan and to the world, with locals jaw dropping at the sight of these titanic beasts! Before the Championship weekend, we even had the chance to witness the REAL works of art during the “Godzilla At The Museum” Exhibition taking place that same week! As opposed to the fast-paced performances of our fellow cosplayers, we had to rely on our Stage Backdrop VFX & audio mix (done by yours truly using Photoshop, After Effects & Audacity) to complement our slow moving Kaiju Suits in order to pay tribute to the genre.

FINISHED COSTUME

Becoming Godzilla

Links

Contact

Have you already completed your own Godzilla costume and want to feature it here? Then by all means contact me and we’ll work together to add your costuming experience to this site.

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