LittleBlondeGoth

Costume :	Fran
Source :	Final Fantasy XII
Progress :	Complete
Worn At :	London MCM Expo May 2012

Photos
Information
Comments (35)
Journal (1)

Costume Photos

Fran

Fran (In Progress)

Costume Information

General
Cost :	Not that much, actually. Probably something in the region of £50 for most of it, and another £30 for the wig.
Time Taken :	About 30 hours, majority of which was spent sealing craft foam...

Description
So in defiance of my ever advancing age, I decided to attempt Fran from Final Fantasy XII. I always liked the viera back when they were in Tactics, and when I saw Fran in XII I just thought she was awesome. Not to mention the sheer coolness of her outfit. So I thought I'd have a go. In retrospect, I could have chosen a slightly easier costume to start making armour on, but if you're going to do something, you might as well jump in at the deep end... All the armour is made from craft foam, which is cut, heated to shape and sealed with PVA / water mix. The pieces are then spray painted in black acrylic, and finished off with a coat of ebony Rub'n'Buff to make them look more like leather. Her top is a modified corset and marvel of structural engineering; I found something roughly the right shape and structure on eBay, then replaced the front panel with white organza. I made chainmail to go round the sides and added more craft foam armour to finish off. It's a lot of fun to wear (and certainly attention grabbing), though the killer shoes do get to you after a while... Thanks to all the lovely people that have commented on this, it's much appreciated! EDIT 3rd September 2012 I am stunned to see my Fran has made it as the Showcase costume this week. I really am at a loss for words. I don't know who put it forward / voted for it, but whoever you are, thank you SO much. It means a lot to a noob like me.

Description

So in defiance of my ever advancing age, I decided to attempt Fran from Final Fantasy XII. I always liked the viera back when they were in Tactics, and when I saw Fran in XII I just thought she was awesome. Not to mention the sheer coolness of her outfit.

So I thought I'd have a go.

In retrospect, I could have chosen a slightly easier costume to start making armour on, but if you're going to do something, you might as well jump in at the deep end...

All the armour is made from craft foam, which is cut, heated to shape and sealed with PVA / water mix. The pieces are then spray painted in black acrylic, and finished off with a coat of ebony Rub'n'Buff to make them look more like leather. Her top is a modified corset and marvel of structural engineering; I found something roughly the right shape and structure on eBay, then replaced the front panel with white organza. I made chainmail to go round the sides and added more craft foam armour to finish off.

It's a lot of fun to wear (and certainly attention grabbing), though the killer shoes do get to you after a while...

Thanks to all the lovely people that have commented on this, it's much appreciated!

** EDIT 3rd September 2012 **
I am stunned to see my Fran has made it as the Showcase costume this week. I really am at a loss for words. I don't know who put it forward / voted for it, but whoever you are, thank you SO much. It means a lot to a noob like me.

Comments

I can't wait to see! ^^

by KawaiiKira on Tuesday, 31 January, 2012 - 18:53

Should be awesome to see.

by TheSnake on Friday, 23 March, 2012 - 14:59

Wow! The progress on the leg armour looks amazing.

by Sephirayne on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 20:40

Great progress :D

by Manjou on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 20:46

Looks great so far :)

by TealSky on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 20:53

progress looks amazing! you gonna make a great Fran ^^

by KawaiiKira on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 20:56

Oooh!!! this looks Brilliant so far!!!

I would LOVE to see this at Expo!!! ^0^

by Karakulz on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 21:05

The detailing on your leg armour is beautifully intricate! - well done.

by Ranma1-2 on Sunday, 25 March, 2012 - 22:54

This is so nice!
That leg armour is soo pretty and accurate!

by SachikoYumi on Monday, 26 March, 2012 - 00:59

Jyhgfvf those leg pieces look amazing!
I'm actually blown away - this is your first attempt at armour?
It's brilliant - I can't wait to see the rest *_*

by Emzone on Monday, 26 March, 2012 - 02:08

Oh my gosh, I'm speechless! That leg armour is just fabulous, and for a first attempt! Can't wait to see everything else.

by tripletriad on Tuesday, 27 March, 2012 - 19:40

i cant wait to see this! you are going to look amazing

by Leolarua on Friday, 30 March, 2012 - 14:16

holy. crap. mad skills. I can't wait to see more of this! *watches*

by Yuka on Friday, 30 March, 2012 - 16:33

The detailing on the armour is incredible, I can't wait to see it all come together! :D

by Eloraborealis on Monday, 14 May, 2012 - 18:50

Beautiful! <3

by Yes-My-Lord on Saturday, 26 May, 2012 - 21:40

Yes! is all i need to say :)

by Fishyfins on Sunday, 27 May, 2012 - 00:13

That armour is incredible!

by Nomes on Sunday, 27 May, 2012 - 07:36

So happy to see it all together! You look fabulous, well done!

by tripletriad on Monday, 28 May, 2012 - 13:54

Really impressive :O

by SilentDragonfly on Monday, 28 May, 2012 - 16:08

you look AMAZING, the cosplay is top notch. Wish I could have seen this in person

by nanahara on Monday, 28 May, 2012 - 17:10

awesome Fran =]

by Numta on Tuesday, 29 May, 2012 - 16:39

Amazing Fran! Really great work. I'm glad I got to see it in person.

by Kata-san on Thursday, 14 June, 2012 - 00:20

Ahh! Congratz on the showcase!

Very well deserved, You look Amazing! ;3

by Karakulz on Sunday, 2 September, 2012 - 17:53

Well deserved showcase! The armour is gorgeously detailed, you really suit Fran!

by Freyarule on Sunday, 2 September, 2012 - 20:24

Congratulations on the showcase! I adore your fran cosplay

by Kitticus on Sunday, 2 September, 2012 - 21:27

Oh well done my dear Well done! Congratulations again!

by Manticore on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 00:33

This is amazing and had so much detail...congrats on the showcase

by SamanthaKaiba on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 01:34

This is gorgeous<3 Well done on the showcase too!

by XxSylentiumxX on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 10:27

Love this! Congrats on the showcase!

by alytheluvly on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 11:00

WOW I love the work you've done one those arms pieces, leg pieces and helmet :D gratz on the SC!!

by Afireinsidegirl on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 12:47

congratulations on the showcase! well deserved!

by Leolarua on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 12:57

Ahh I'm so pleased this got the showcase! Well done!

by tripletriad on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 14:43

I adore the detailing in the armour, looks perfect! Congrats on the showcase!

by CrystalNeko on Monday, 3 September, 2012 - 15:55

Fantastic Fran costume. The detail is amazing. Well done on the showcase.

by Sephirayne on Tuesday, 4 September, 2012 - 16:36

The detail in this costume makes it absolutely stunning! You look fantastic!

by MiniPlum on Monday, 15 April, 2013 - 14:10

Journal

How Hard Can It Be? (Posted 25th March 2012)

Turns out, very.

So far, I've made the leg armour pieces for my Fran costume, and invented a couple of colourful new swear words along the way. Deconstructing the design to make a workable pattern has proved... interesting. And let's not even mention cutting out all the fiddly little pieces this thing requires. The thigh sections might have taken a year or so off my life.

But they're starting to look halfway decent now, so I'm pretty pleased. Next job is the arm pieces, and figuring out how to do that bell shape at the end...