Retro Gaming Culture

I have said this numerous times, but I will say it again, you meet great people on social media, and Chris Wolfe is no exception. Recently, we were chatting to Chris on our Facebook page and learned that he was into cosplay and was also going to attend PAX Aus 2014! After we saw a few of Chris’ jaw-dropping creations, we knew we would have to corner the creator extraordinaire and put him in the interview hotseat. So here we go!

AUSRETROGAMER [ARG]: Hey Chris, please introduce yourself to our readers.
Chris Wolfe [CW]: My name is Chris Wolfe and I am from Combustible Props. I work full time in IT and spend my free time in the workshop building props. As you can imagine, I don’t get out very often. I have worked on a heap of theatre productions and a few low budget movies (‘Theatre of the dead‘ was the stand-out) and do a few custom commissions as time permits.

ARG: So how did you get into cosplay?
CW: Believe it or not I haven’t officially cosplayed at a convention as yet! Some small things around the place but I am mostly kitted out for making things for cosplayers who want to commission small to medium scale items. I should start at how I started prop building: A long time ago… I came across a guy named Harrison Krix (you may know him as Volpin Props) making a portal gun and was pretty stunned at what he was able to achieve with his own skill set. I figured I would give it a go as I felt I had the same skills; I grew up in a house with a carpenter and sculptor. The real reason? I wanted an Aliens Pulse rifle (laughs)! At that point you couldn’t import them due to Australian Customs restrictions. Long story short, I have continued to build items and have branched out to a small number of commissions, and as an extension of this, found that I would love to showcase things I make but doing it in person at the conventions.

ARG: What is it about cosplay that draws you to it?
CW: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. For me, I think if I have been moved personally by a movie/game/TV show and I kind of want to be able to continue that feeling. Or maybe it’s even paying respect to a certain character I like. It’s hard to say for sure, but as so many people love it, it’s not surprising I’m getting into it.

ARG: What inspires you when making a new cosplay/costume?
CW: It has to be something that made a big impression on me personally and it has to have a large mechanical aspect. For example, I’ve come to the conclusion that I like power armour of all sorts so if I were to make something like an Iron Man costume, I would sit down and watch the movies and add anything with stomping robots, Pacific Rim, certain anime, you name it. I have to add Edge of Tomorrow to this list as well. People either love or hate Tom Cruise, but those who refuse to watch the movie due to him, are losing out on something amazing! Power armour, guns, aliens!

ARG: Do you make your costumes or buy them or a combination of both?
CW: I can and do make pretty much everything for a costume except the sewing part. Well I can join material together but it’s generally not sewing when you use hot glue (chuckles). I can machine sew ‘almost straight’ lines but making a pattern and sewing it together neatly is beyond me unfortunately. So if there is a good pre-made base to buy, I will go with that option. Alternatively, I know a few good seamstresses that I can commission to make something custom.

ARG: How much effort goes into creating cosplay costumes? Could you walk us through the process?
CW: With props and costumes I start by collecting as many reference images as I can. These can be in-game screenshots, artwork, film grabs or anything that shows the detail of the build. Once I have an idea of the detail level, I can gauge the build from there. For example, If it’s for a commission, the effort and quality stem from the client’s budget. If the item is for myself then I generally work on it to a point I am almost happy with it. If it’s a base for a cast, then I spend countless hours preparing it to be cast as the mold picks up *every* detail, like scratches and dings you may have missed.

ARG: Do you have a favourite theme, style, or characters when creating cosplay(s) costumes?
CW: I have always liked the post apocalyptic themes along the lines of Fallout 3. I guess after I played the game I fell in love with the 50s retro post apocalyptic environment. It might be in the same way as you imagine/plan what you would do when the zombies arrive.

ARG: What costumes are you working on at the moment and for which event?
CW: I am actively working on a fully 3D printed Star Citizen civilian space suit, helmet and main weapon. For later, I have a Fallout 3 Vault Dweller (hopefully with a working pipboy) and a Hardsuit from the old anime Bubblegum Crisis 2032 (this one is going to be interesting!).

ARG: You mentioned to us that you will be at PAX Aus 2014 – are you attending as an exhibitor or as general cosplay?
CW: Hell yeah! However I will only be there on the Friday wandering around in cosplay, so come say hi to the guy in the red space suit! Maybe next time I’ll be there for the full 3 days or with a vendor/exhibitor stall. CIG, the designers of Star Citizen will be around the entire convention, and they are releasing the FPS module on the Saturday at an external event to PAX Aus – so I will be there as well (hopefully in full costume again). I would love to get the Star Citizen rifle signed by Chris Roberts and the crew!

ARG: Finally, where can our readers go to see more of your work?
CW: I post most of my updates to my Facebook page and I can also be reached on Twitter. I also have my blog for entire build projects, but that is seldom updated. Oh yeah, I also post images of my work on Flickr.

ARG: Thank you very much for taking time out of your day and answering our interview questions. 
CW: Thank you too. I’m always happy to answer questions.

As we turn down the heat on the interview hotseat, we allow Chris to disembark and get on with his awesome creations. As you will agree, Chris has an amazing talent and we look forward to seeing many more of his great creations!