Local’s Big Daddy win at Armageddon
Conor Brown has had his share of personal disaster this year but still managed to triumph at Armageddon.
For the past year, Brown has spent his time after work putting together a costume for the Cosplay Contest at Armageddon in Auckland and his BioShock Big Daddy won the novice section.
Having been to Armageddon many times before, Brown thought this was the year to finally enter into the competition.
His inspiration came from the game, BioShock, as this year is the 10th anniversary since the game first came out.
The concept design started in January and in February Brown finally started the actual production of the costume. To construct his costume, Brown used a lot fibreglass, PVC piping and EVA foam and also some fabric and LEDs.
During the year, Brown dislocated his left shoulder three times - two from rollerblade falls at the skate park and in town and one from reaching up for something in a shop - which he said made things a little difficult.
‘‘Just simple things like turning the costume over was hard,’’ he said.
‘‘I worked out a rigging system in my garage with a pulley and used that to turn over the costume and to paint the boots.’’
And despite the hurdles Brown got the Big Daddy costume finished and then walked away winner of the novice section - something he didn’t expect.
‘‘It was a big shock,’’ he said. ‘‘I one hundred per cent didn’t expect to win.’’
Brown said he couldn’t hear that well in his costume so it took him a while to figure out that it had been chosen as the winner.
‘‘My partner was pushing me up and I didn’t know why until she said I’d won,’’ he said.
After the judging, Brown said it was real surreal. Out the back, he and the other two costumed winners of the three big categories, all hugged it out with a few tears in the eyes.
‘‘It was all very much worth it,’’ he said.
Brown was up against 17 other contestants in the Novice section.