I’m relatively new to cosplay and the world of thermoplastics. Thus far, I have dabbled a little with
Worbla, and have successfully used
Wonderflex to make crowns for Zelda, Wonder Woman, and Queen Elinor from Brave. It was easy to work with and mold with the use of a heat gun, and the finished product looked nice. Since it was easy to use, I went to a local store to buy more for our next project; claws for X-23 and a bionic arm for Cable. The tutorials I found on YouTube for X-23 claws mostly used metal or balsa wood. This was a problem since the rules at Denver Comic Con had changed for weapons, disallowing wood or metal knives/swords. That, and I don’t have a jigsaw or a belt sander. The claws I planned to make were also for a bouncy five year old, so I needed to make sure they were sturdy, yet not dangerous. I also needed something new to attempt making Cable’s arm, as I had already botched one attempt with foam. Thermoplastic seemed to fit the bill for both projects.
Enter: Cosplayflex.
Life of the Party, a super fun store in Fort Collins, Colorado, has been a great resource for Cosplay, and I find myself there quite often for wigs, contacts, face paint and (more recently) thermoplastics. They are happy to show you how to use their products, which has been helpful on more than one occasion, as we are still pretty new to some aspects of crafting. On my most recent trip, they were out of my tried-and-true Wonderflex, but they had a new product called Cosplayflex. They are the first store in Colorado to carry it, and I was excited to try something new. (They even had some of the clear Cosplayflex that I bought to experiment with, in addition to the regular tan color.)
Here is my take on Cosplay Flex:
Cosplayflex is great. It was just as easy to use as Wonderflex and didn’t have the sanding issues or the finicky gluing problems that have kept me from playing with Worbla. It sticks to itself, and the website says it doesn’t have toxic fumes so it is safe to work with inside. It also seemed to be really easy to stretch and mold, and to hold paint very well.
After a little trial and error, I created an awesome set of X-23 claws for my daughter to wear, they met Denver Comic Con’s strict weapons policy and ended up being more durable than I imagined they could have been. And my husband and I also created a bionic arm for Cable, which I was quite proud of. It was lightweight and comfortable, gave a near full range of motion, and gave the arm a very ‘metal’ look.
The clear Cosplayflex was really cool. I made some fire for my Lilith cosplay from Borderlands and a psychic dagger for Psylocke. The best (and worst) part of the clear thermoplastic was that it was really pliable. It bends and shapes really easily, which made the effect of the flame really cool. But also meant that if I made the dagger very long it would look, well….limp. The clear plastic worked similarly to any thermoplastic, except it seemed to require more heat to stick to itself and to mold. (I probably should have used gloves because I did end up with a few heat gun burns.)
Painting the clear Cosplayflex was a tricky part for this because I wanted it to still be clear. (Yes, there is irony in wanting to paint something clear, but I wanted translucent color.) I bought glass paint at first, but it needed to be cooked in the oven for 30 minutes, which is a no-go for thermoplastic. I ended up just using a red and a yellow Sharpie for Lillith’s flame, which actually worked great. Next time, I would spray it with some clear Plasti Dip after because some of it definitely came off on my hands. For the Psychic dagger, I used a translucent red spray paint (Tint It – Strawberry) which worked great.
So, I finished a number of projects with Cosplayflex, and I’d have to say I highly recommend it. It very easy to shape and mold. It sticks to itself with heat. It has a shiny side and a matte side to help you achieve different looks. It holds paint well. It has no toxic fumes. And it made it possible to create some fun cosplay pieces for comic con.
If you live in Colorado, you can take a trip to Life of the Party and check it out or hit up Cosplayflex.com…I know I’m excited to work with it some more!