King of the Monsters

Sean Sumagaysay's Godzilla 2002

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

Custom Lycra (Stretch) Fabric

Cutting Out Dorsal Plates

All Laid Out

Latex and Toilet Paper

New Back Piece

Carving Back Scales

Main Dorsal Plates Added

Salvage Tip of Old Tail

Prepping Lycra Fabric

Sculpted Scale Texture

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.

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

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.