The Professor has 2 costumes in the films and I have versions of both plus I am planning on a steam punk version at a later date.
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| Side by side of the film Mad Eye costume and my version. |
Normal Costume Components
The Coat
Professor Moodys look relies on three things, the first being his coat's, primarily his long stockman's coat.
I use a Stock Mans Riding trench coat which I purchased from Amazon although any outdoor shop would also sell them, unfortunately the only ones near me are rather posh and the prices are eye watering!
The coat is only an approximation to Moody's actual coat but I have compared it to the one in the Harry Potter World and its close enough.
It will need extra straps in the future but for the time being I am happy to stick with what I have as I need to search for material that matches the coat.
The Gilet
The Gilet or Bodywarmer is another Amazon purchase and is made of black cloth.
This is, again, only an approximation of the original as that is leather and has 4 extra straps to it but this is actually quite close in looks.
I am hoping to update it to a leather version with the straps added although I will need to take it to a leather worker to get them attached as I have no idea about working with leather.
One good side effect of this and the overcoat is the abundance of pockets, very useful if you dont wish to lug a bag around everywhere.
The Staff
The staff that Moody wields is quite important as he appears to use it as a kind of wand to ward off spells and it has a rather unique look.
The Noble Collection sold an official full size version of the staff but that is very expensive, hard to find and bloody heavy to the point you really would not want to lug it round a convention and thats if they let you take it in anyway.
With this in mind I built my own from a ram skull from E-Bay with the horns cut off, a thick branch from my garden and some electrical cord. The de-horned skll was stuck to the top of the branch with 2 part edhesive and the rear of it was filled in with foam covered in car filler. This was then rubbed down to give the desired finish.
The electrical cord was now fixed in place starting with three pieces of cord that were then reduced to 2 then 1 as I went down the branch. I then covered them in PVA soaked paper to cover them up and the whole thing was then painted.
I am very happy with the branch and the skull but far less so with the cord/vine and I am looking at a better way to do this.
The staff still needs its cloven hoof at it's base and needs final painting however I have used it at 2 events so far and I am pleased with how it has come out.
The Eye
The main piece that identifies Moody is, of course, his Mad Eye and I could not find a pre-made one that I liked, they all looked rather cheap and unconvincing.
Then I looked at the milk bottle top from my plastic milk carton whilst making a cuppa and realised it looked about the right size and had the same texture on the outside as the real one.
The inner top surface was cut back and a ping pong ball offered up and marked where it touched the back of the cap. It was then cut out, an eye painted on it then fixed in place.
A plastic and foam backing was now glued on and then the faux leather strap was added with velcro on its end to fasten it at the back of my head.
A small screw was then added along with a couple of small rivets on the strap next to the eye and my false eye was complete.
I am very happy with the eye although I am toying with a moving version that I hope to have done very soon.
The Wand, Polyjuice Potion Flask and Boots
Every wizard needs a wand and Moody is no different.
My wand is one of the rather good Noble Collection ones.
The Polyjuice Potion Flask is also from the Noble Collection although I purchased mine very cheaply from E-Bay.
I am currently working on the boots as the old ones began to deteriorate badly, they were cheap ones after all. This will be part of the project to create a fake false leg for the cosplay which will be useful with the Yule version of the costume as detailed below.
Yule Ball Costume
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| Side by side comparison of the film and my versions of the costume. |
The Coat
During the Tri-Wizard Tournament in the Goblet of Fire a garnd Yule Ball was held in Hogwarts and Professor Moody attended in his finery. My costume tries to replicate the one in the film
The Coat I use is actually a brown lab coat (Bought from Amazon), mainly because I couldnt find the heavier one that Moody actually wears. I will continue to look for a suitable coat but the light lab coat is much nicer to wear in hot weather so will be retained.
The Waistcoat
The waistcoat that is worn under the coat is one that I have owned for many years. When I was younger I wore it to motorcycle events with a variety of badges on it. This has given it a nice used patina.
The Shirt
Moody wears a very Scottish lace up Ghillie shirt which I purchased off Amazon. It is nice and comfortable but the leather used for the laceup colar is quite stiff so will need replacing or softening somehow.
The Kilt
I have never owned or worn a kilt before so looking around at kilts of the right colour I found them to be very expensive. I then found this Utility Kilt that matched Moody's practical side with its pockets and tough material and it was cheap so I got it.
It fits well and looks almost the same as the film version so I am really happy with it.
The Sporran
One of the most distinctive pieces of the Yule outfit is the sporran.
It has a ferret pelt over the top of it with a fairly plain leather sporran underneath.
My version does not yet have the pelt, that will be added as soon as I work out how to do it!
The Eye, Staff, Wand, Polyjuice Potion Flask and Boots
These are all the same as with the normal Moody Costume. See Mad Eye Moody Costume for details
Future Plans
The pelt for the sporran needs to added and the false leg needs to be created. I need to buy some plain black cycle leggings as well.
Steam Punk Costume
This cosplay is completely my own design as this character has not appeared in an Harry Potter story.
I got the idea from the Steam Punk stands at several Con's I have visited and I though Moody is half way steam punk anyway.
I have got a monacle eye piece which I will convert into Moody's eye, pictures and details as I get on with it!
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| This is an idea of what I am aiming for. |
