Figuring out how to create an eight-foot-tall costume while also maintaining mobility and staying movie-accurate was a bit of a challenge with all of our transformer costumes. This early version of our Optimus Prime was really bulky and hard to move around in, and wasn't very true to the source material.
We went went with a few different versions before we landed on something we really liked. This video is a mobility test for one of the earlier versions.
We were hardly the first people to ever try to make a transformer costume like this. we continued to perfect our craft and take advice from cosplay community veterans, like Israel Magante, to make our costumes better. After tweaking the design, we finally ended up with something we liked.
When it's finished, this Optimus Prime comes with LED lights in the helmet as well as a voice changer, moveable articulated fingers, and stilts. At it's full height, it stands at about 8.2 feet tall (2.5 meters).
