Building Jet

It's been a life long goal of mine to create custom cosplay outfits. I began with easy outfits that required no crafting skills such as Aang. Cosplaying Aang was as simple as getting a one piece jumpsuit and a bit of face paint - not much complexity.

So, in February of 2026 I decided to take the plunge and get serious about actually building real cosplay. I naturally gravitate towards bald characters. So, when I was deciding this year's outfit I was choosing between Kratos from God of War and Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop. I was considering Kratos but to correctly create that character I would need to have made his weapons. It is possible to bring fake weapons into a convention but only if the outside is covered in EVA foam. At that time, I had no experience with EVA foam. So, I decided to tackle a character that had no weapons but still had EVA based armor so I could learn about foam-smithing. I landed on Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop.

The Jet Black cosplay began by creating a game plan. The first crucial choice to be made was what materials to use for the leg guards and robot arm. I decided on using EVA foam for the leg guards and 3D printed PLA+ plastic for the robot arm. Plastic leg guards would have been very heavy and likely not fit me well. And likewise a foam arm would have appear flimsy. The actual clothing was very simple and consisted only of a maroon under armour