Led Light Mortal Kombat Ninjas

I have always wanted to build a Mortal Kombat group costume. A few characters are pretty easy (Johnny Cage, etc) but others are very difficult (GORO). Then I had the idea to do ninjas from Mortal Kombat 3 ultimate. Their designs are simple clean lines and are just color swaps.

Im starting with the Klassics like Scorpion, Sub Zero, reptile and Ermac. I took a couple of liberties with the mask and hood. I know thats not completely accurate. I just like the look for my “Party Ninjas.” I wanted to experiment with lights in my costumes this year and thought adding LED’s underneath the suit would be the best way to give the Ninjas their “powers”. The Foam and fabric I found did a perfect job of diffusing the light and adding to the effect (more on that Later). The LED lights I used Had a built in control and Microphone activation. The suits reacted to the sound around them. They would dance to the music, react to voices or could be controlled with a smartphone via Bluetooth. If you are new to cosplay or just want a simple build don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The fabric and foam Patterns work just as well with all EVA foam and can be Plastidipped and painted…You just loose the LED glowing effect.

Basics

Basic cosplay tools:

Utility knife, scissors, sewing machine etc, Hot glue Spray adhesive Contact cement wood glue spray paint

Joann fabric ripstop fabric

Vest:

Fabric

https://www.joann.com/rip-stop-nylon/xprd560961.ht...

Thin flex foam

https://www.joann.com/pellon-flex-foam--2-sided-fu...

EVA foam

https://www.amazon.com/Foam-Cosplay-Black-Sheet-De...

DreamColor LED Strip Lights with APP, Govee 6.56FT LED KIT

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D1NC7FS/ref=p...

Black Plastidip

USB power bank

Thin Elastic straps

Under clothes:

Running waist pack

Water shoes

Thin Black hoodie

Black compression pants

Mask:

Worbla

https://www.amazon.com/Worblas-Finest-Thermoplasti...

airsoft Mask

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OL3NWSE/ref=p...

sculpy

https://www.amazon.com/Original-Sculpey-Sculpting-...

wood glue

Ninja color of choice mask spray paint

Velcro

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Yards-Black-Fasteners-...

Strapping ¾ inch strapping

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KTVC4ZS/ref=p...

2 inch strapping

https://www.amazon.com/Strapworks-Heavyweight-Poly...

The LED lights I used Had a built in control and Microphone activation. The suits reacted to the sound around them. They would dance to the music, react to voices or could be controlled with a smartphone via Bluetooth.

If you are new to cosplay or just want a simple build don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The fabric and foam Patterns work just as well with all EVA foam and can be Plastidipped and painted…You just loose the LED glowing effect.

Use EVA foam to trace and cut (T&C from here on out) “Black underside pattern”

T&C belt, flap Rear belt as well and set aside Use HD foam to T&C “color top pattern” T&C colored fabric slightly bigger than HD foam leaving enough foam to wrap around the back side about ¼ inch. EZ option: use Eva Foam for the “color to pattern”

Lightly spray adhesive HD foam and colored fabric together. Wrap the edge around the back

Sew The horizontal and parallel black lines into foam/fabric Follow the parallel line and sew on the ½ inch Velcro Use a Heat gun to mold the “vest shape” of the suit. Try and turn down the edges of the vest. I added a center concave to give the LED lights more roam to glow. Cover “belt foam” with colored fabric. Glue the front and back Belt foam onto the “vest” foam

Use contact cement to glue Velcro to Underside vest. The Velcro step is worth the extra time. It allows you to make adjustments to the LED at any time.

Cut a small hole near the belt to feed the LED strip light through. Remove the backing and stick the lights down. Cover the exposed lights in the back with electrical tape to hide the naked lights. Glue extra rib straps to help the vest fit snug. Velcro the Underside vest to the colored top vest. Add a 2 inch strapping belt with buckle and the vest is done.

The focus of the project is the LED lights representing the “powers” each ninja posses. So I added Two LED lights to the palm of the hand and hid the wiring (poorly perhaps) under the gauntlets.

Pattern construction Print the pattern provided in a few different sizes. Make sure it fits your forearm properly. T&C foam, and fabric. Plastidip the foam. Tape off the triangles. Use spray adhesive to mount the fabric to the foam. Then use a blade to cut the taped off sections out. It’s easier to do it this way. Cutting and lining it up first is almost impossible. Next attach strapping to the fore arms so the piece is wearable. Put the piece on and add a section of strapping around the palm. You want it snug but not tight.

The palm lights I made the simplest two LED rig powered by a nine volt better and a simple on off switch. This was my first time soldering so please find a way to do it better and let me know. Mount the battery in the upper forearm using a piece of elastic. Run the cords along the top of armor down to the palm. Simply hot glue and electrical tape the lights to the Palm strap. Then Put the whole unit back on and glue the switch a spot you can click with one finger.

Step three: Shin Pads

The shin pads repeat the same construction process as the forearms Minus the LED rig. T&C patterns. Plastidip, Tape off exposed black, Spray mount the fabric to foam, and add the strapping and Velcro

The Ninjas you are creating have some flexibility of style. Much like the game. I encourage customizing your Sub Zero or Scorpion to match your personal style. A simple mask that will look great would be to buy an Airsoft half mask cover it in fabric and call it a day. There are also lots of good free patterns out there for the more modern MK masks. If you like how mine turned out I will explain the process

I really like how these masked turned out because they were comfy, light, and we could breathe easy. I will say that it is not the most technically sound way to make a mask but in this very specific instance it worked quite well

You are going to create a mask “Positive.” You will have a Jig that Worbla can be shaped and pressed against to create the mask or masks. Use and Airsoft half mask as the base. Use Sculpy to shape the mask to your liking. I really like the “Grill” mouth. Bake the mask to Sculpy instructions. Cover the mask in tape and create a pattern. T&C pattern on Worbla. Cover your sculpt in Press and seal as your release agent. Heat the Worbla and press it against your sculpt. Make sure to heat and press all the details. Let the mask cool and cut the excess off around the edges. Pull the mask off the positive and carefully cut out the grill using a utility blade. Add Black mesh to the back side of the grill. Tie two strips of elastic to the back side of mask as head straps. In my case it didn’t matter if you could see the straps because the hood hid the back of the mask