If you've got the right perks... (Hoxton - Day Three)

So, thinking of what weapons props to get my outfit I immediately thought of just something simple so that ways it's not cost effective and difficult to find. Whilst toy guns would seem the first choice, it was actually more difficult to find a toy gun that I could decorate to look somewhat more realistic.
So then I thought about maybe a BB Gun. Looking around Birmingham I could only find about two places that sold BB guns but they were a little out of my price range. It was about £50 per handgun, £75 per uzi and about £80 per shotgun. Obviously, I didn't shop there. It wasn't until I found a small model/collectables shop in Worcestershire that sold decent looking BB guns for a reasonable price. One handgun for £5 is nothing to be sniffed at and I took the offer right away. I figured just a little spray paint and some varnish and it would look pretty good as a prop for my Hoxton outift and could maybe go onto working with other outfits if I cosplay any more characters in the future.

(I am aware of the laws surrounding BB guns and altering/spraying them to look realistic and being out in public with them. I also know that you are not allowed to take any kind of firearm that is or has once been capable of projectiles to any kind of events such as comic-con for example. You can only take what you have made yourself from scratch and to handle it in a way you would a real firearm. I do not plan to take it outside, my garden perhaps would be the furthest away from my house, purely for photographs of the outfit. :) )

I also figured that I have the akimbo perk in my deck, why not take advantage? ;)

Beginning with the small things (Hoxton - Day Two)

So, I've decided that on my small budget that I'm going to try start with the small things. But the good thing about trying to cosplay a character who is in a realistic universe is that they are not wearing anything out of this world which is complex or hard to make. So everything I need is relatively easy to buy in shops in any town which is lucky that I happened to be in Birmingham on Saturday, easily able to search for things I needed. Whilst I couldn't find any reasonable prices for a prop gun I did manage to find one small, but very important, piece of apparel which is invaluable for all heisters. Blue latex gloves which can prevent DNA evidence being left at the scenes.
Took me about two hours to find them before I had the idea of actually looking in a chemist to my joy were there in the bulkload. Just to be safe I bought two boxes of ten gloves for whenever I need them. One thing down, a bunch more to go. :)

The Desire to adopt a Persona (Hoxton - Day One)

A couple days ago I was looking at different characters, hero's and villians, and looking at what makes them unique and standout. Alex DeLarge and his gang of Droogs dress up in white boilers suits and fancy hats, The Joker has his outlandish purple and green suits with wild, green hair and a devilish smile, Cloud has massive spikes in his hair and carries a sword that seems would be impossible to carry if you were not Thor. So many characters with so many personalities and styles.
You begin wonder what kind of person you are in this crazy world of difference.
One game that I enjoy playing so much as Overkills Payday 2, a co-op game of heisting and robbery. The four main characters wear unique masks. Dallas, a clown with an American Flag pattern, Chains, a sneering clown, Wolf, a split faced demon and Hoxton, a masquerade clown.
In a personal preference, I like Hoxton the best because of his taking no shit attitude, his English, Yorkshire accent and most notably his mask.

I decided that I would add these two interests together and start a new hobby, cosplaying. I see so many people doing it and looking at all their homemade costumes just amazes me at the effort and ingenuity that they have. I figured that I have a creative side to me and I want to boost my confidence in my life and socialise with other likeminded people. I'm not sure at this stage if I will ever feel comfortable in going to any conventions as of yet but who knows, hopefully I will change my views on anxiety.

As you may have guessed, my first cosplay choice is to portray Hoxton. I don't have a lot of money to work with right now so I thought I would start with a simple character that I like which is thankfully in budget. The most expensive thing I would need is the mask.
I hope to put a lot of effort and time into this so I can expand my skills and experience in this creative field.
Here's to starting a new persona. :)