This is my scarran costume, when I dressed up as Minister Ahkna to advertise a sci-fi society at my university. Unfortunately I can't get to any conventions, otherwise I'd wear it there too :)

The basic materials I used are wire mesh, old fabric scraps, a black top, black gloves, black paper, white makeup, papier mache and acrylic paints.

From bottom to top, the basic parts of the costume are as follows. I wore knee length boots and a black skirt, with the black polo neck top and gloves. For claws, I cut wire mesh to the shape shown in one of the diagrams, (Sorry about the crude MS-Paint drawings!) and then stuck black paper onto it. Then I painted a pattern on it in silver acrylic paint to make it stand out a little. I also painted a similar pattern onto the gloves.

The arm spikes were also made of wire mesh, this time with old skirt fabric glued onto it (I used bostik all purpose glue). Again I went round the edges with silver paint for definition. The spikes have velcro sewn onto the part that goes round the arm, so I just wrapped them round my arms and fastened the two ends together so they stayed put. The shoulder spikes were made using more wire and fabric. I cut out two long strips of mesh, and soldered them together into a triangular shape, as seen in the diagram. Then I folded them into a curved shape, so they fit over my
shoulders. The part where they joined was at the front of my chest, and the other parts went over my shoulders. There was velcro at intervals along the strips and the top to keep them in place. I then made more spikes in the same way, and attached them to the strips.

The face was actually made of papier mache! I was going to use latex, but didn't have enough of it. I made the shape using a very embarassing procedure where I put cling film over the areas of my face, and then stuck the newspaper together. I then had to sit around and watch tv while the paper dried. After the basic shape was present, I then cut it more precisely, and built up the right areas to make the 3D shapes on the forehead and cheeks. I then glued cardboard spikes along the sides, and painted the whole thing, again with acrylics. They were stuck to my face with liquid latex, which was easy to find in a joke shop. The areas of the face that were not covered I simply put white makeup on, and the area around the eyes was simply grey eyeshadow and a bit of black eyeliner.

The hat was by far the hardest part to make. I wanted it to be far more rigid and detailed, but in the end it was just black paper rolled up and cut into shape. I had to wear a bald cap underneath so it could be stuck to me with the liquid latex. Otherwise it just fell off. The whole thing took quite a while to make, because I spread out the process over a whole summer. I can't say exactly how many hours went into it, but it was a very substantial number! I think the overall effect is rather good, and I did get lots of compliments from people who knew who I was supposed to
be! :)

Please send any requests for more detailed information, or of course feedback, to marauderpilot@yahoo.com. A page with photos and patterns to copy will be up eventually at http://www.farscape-trivia.co.uk/projects.htm.