IRON MEN IN TIGHTS: We threw down the gauntlet, and this army of Iron Man costumers snatched up their glue guns to win cool swag
By TJ Dietsch
Posted 04/14/08
The rules were simple, the results varied. In honor of the sure-to-be-a-blockbuster Iron Man movie, ToyFare challenged you, the readers, to create your very own Shellhead-inspired armors. Participants were encouraged to submit as many costumes as they liked, as long as it was based on Iron Man and the bulk of the armor was homemade. We expected some creative entries, and
you guys didn't disappoint! We’ll count down from the honorable mentions all the way to our
number-one pick, plus one guy who didn't pay attention to the rules…
Honorable Mentions
MiniMate Iron Man
Danny Hollinger • Caldwell, ID
Using only boxes, Danny provided us with a toy-inspired costume based on the MiniMates line. Good luck trying to swap out torsos with the Invisible Woman costume, though.
Arizona Iron Man
Joe Vitale • Astoria, NY
Not only did Joe take up the challenge of creating an Iron Man costume, he also gave himself the task of creating it mainly from plastic Arizona Iced Tea jugs. Hey, how many jugs do you think Tony Stark was into when he created the Roller Skate armor?
Iron Weenie Mark III
A.J. Roberts and Maddie the Dachshund • Edmonds, WA
For some reason, A.J. here gets a thrill from dressing his bitch up in Iron Man gear (relax, it's the scientific term—Maddie's a lady dog). We can’t wait to see next year's costume—Weenie War Machine!
Hulkbuster Iron Man
Fred Khattak • Astoria, NY
Inspired by John Romita Jr.'s Hulkbuster armor from "World War Hulk," Fred takes the boxy look to a whole new level.
Camera Phone Iron Man
Kel Dietz • Thomasville, PA
Sure it's really a combination of movie and classic Iron Man armors, but Kel, 17, decided to photograph himself with a camera phone. Or an epileptic tripod. Either way, bonus points for including real light-up eyes and repulsor rays.
Intergalactic Ion Iron Man
Edward Young • Chesterfield, VA
Edward didn't just create his own armor, he included his own backstory that features the cryogenically frozen body of Tony Stark from the 22nd Century getting his brain and heart fused to a "Bio-tech bionic armor." (His liver was unsalvageable.)
Awesomely Disqualified
Rocketman
David Russell • Houston, TX
We assumed it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to enter this contest, but apparently being a rocket scientist is a handicap. David, an actual NASA employee, was so excited to enter our IRON MAN COSTUME CONTEST that he took a bunch of pictures of himself dressed as Commando Cody, Sky Marshall of the Universe, star of the 1952 sci-fi serial Radar Men from the Moon…who, by the way, is neither Iron Man nor Iron Man-inspired. While the costume is excellent, and his background Photoshop skills are undeniable, we have to wonder if all NASA staffers are this bad at following instructions.
And the winners are...
THIRD PLACE: “Demon in a Bottle” Iron Man
Chris Stein • Simi Valley, CA
Chris not only nails the classic red-and-gold armor, but he also appeals to our booze-loving nature by recreating the historic "Demon in a Bottle" cover from Iron Man #128. We're not quite sure where he got all the stretchy gold fabric that it took to cover his legs and arms, but it looks damn good on him.
SECOND PLACE: Heroes Reborn Iron Man
Daniel Gingras • Fairfield, CT
Iron Man fans might not look back too fondly on the "Heroes Reborn" days, but there’s no denying that this armor, created by the one and only Jim Lee, kicks some serious robo ass. Daniel did a great job re-creating the details on his suit, earning him the silver medal.
GRAND PRIZE: Movie Mark III Iron Man
Mike Haze • Topeka, KS
Bam! Like an Adi Granov painting come to life, Mike nails this version of the film armor. Not only did he create each and every piece of this 7-foot costume himself, but Mike also persuaded Stan Lee to make a cameo, helping him put his armor on. (Okay, it's really his dad, but that's okay—getting help from Stan the Man would probably have disqualified him.)
