MECHANICAL TITAN OF TERROR!
Mohamed Saleh Akoo's Kiryu
Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Active (as of 2026)
Godzilla is one of my favorite franchises and Godzilla and Mechagodzilla are two of my favorite characters of all time. The 2002 version of Mechagodzilla is my favorite iteration of the character because it portrays him as more than just a mech unlike the older versions and design wise I like that he looks a lot more like Godzilla. The idea of him containing the soul of Godzilla and it occasionally coming out during the movie just adds a new level to the character. So when it came to decide on a costume to make for the competition it felt right to try and bring one of my favorite characters to life.
Comic Con Africa 2025
Awards Ceremony
I decided to compete in my first cosplay competition at Comic Con Africa 2025 and I wanted to do something that not many people would have seen and would be memorable for all those attending. I wanted to challenge myself to do a costume that requires a lot more time and skill to complete.
Head
1 – Here is the head of kiryu with some of his templates, at the time I considered leaving his mouth closed.
2 – I had to make sure the scale of the neck matched the scale of the head to make sure they fitted together.
3 – I planned to keep the mouth closed but I felt it would look better and more menacing with it open and his teeth visible.
4 – I used rubber tubes on the neck to try and hide the visor and to add extra detail.
5 – Each tooth was made from modeling clay and I wanted each to be different to look more like Godzilla’s teeth.
Chest and Torso
1 – The chest piece was quite a big build with a lot of small pieces, several detail pieces were added after painting.
2 – I moved the side dorsal plates in further to allow for the backpack to attach otherwise they would have been in the way.
3 – I used a stencil to make the “MFS-3” logo on the chest plate.
4 – The waist had to altered so I can actually put it on and wear it, all the openings into the piece are covered by the back plate so cannot be seen.
5 – The waist has attachments for the tail.
6 – This backplate covers the opening to put on the waist section.
Arms and Hands
1 – The gauntlets were originally too small for me so I had to scale them up to fit better.
2 – The gauntlets were made to fit but padding was added inside to hold them in place.
3 – I used pictures of the figure to design and make the gauntlet guns as accurately as I could.
4 – This is how it looks with the hands in place.
5 – I have never done hands like this before so it was quite fun doing each individual segment and seeing it come together in the end.
Legs
1 – The shin pieces were interesting to make because it was the first of the larger pieces that I made that made realize how big of a costume kiryu actually is.
2 – Here is the thigh pieces with some of the templates.
3 – After making the feet I felt they were too big but when put with the other leg pieces, they looked proportionate.
4 – The shin pieces are connected to the thigh pieces and then that is connected to the waist section to hold them in place.
5 – I had to learn how to walk in the costume to make sure the feet stayed in line with the legs.
Tail
1 – There are around 21 individual tail pieces.
2 – I used material between each tail piece to make the tail articulate.
3 – With the tail being articulated, it made it much easier to move in especially at the convention because it does take up a lot of floor space.
Backpack
1 – The backpack details were fun to add because the more details I added the more complete the piece looked.
2 – I used screenshots from the movie and the figure to accurately design and make the backpack.
3 – It was difficult to attach the backpack to the suit but the dorsal plates help keep it in place to make attaching it easier.
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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.