No, I'm not planning any vigilante behavior. I'm trying to put together a couple costumes for a Halloween party we're having this Saturday. Clearly, it's getting pretty close, and it's surprisingly tough to find something approximating a bulletproof vest. Does anyone here have any ideas?

To spoil the surprise, this is what I'm going for:


For some reason I can't find anything like this, either in costume form or real life form. Are any of you folks crafty or know someone crafty who could tell me how to make one myself? If I can't find something online (which would have to get here by Saturday), I'll have to make it somehow. The letters are pretty easy, it's finding something that looks anything like that vest that's hard.

Sorry, I know this is a little different Still, I figured I'd ask the brilliant folks here!

Oh, and yes, my wife will be Beckett

http://www.bodyarmoroutlet.com/content-p...thorshield.html

$700

More on-budget: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_kw=ballistic&_kw=vest

http://www.bodyarmoroutlet.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=carrier&x=0&y=0

$90: http://www.chiefsupply.com/5990-American-Body-Armor-AJ-Carrier.aspx

What you want to search for (apparently) is "blue ballistic vest carrier" - then if you find high prices that include a kevlar or other insert, search for only the carrier on the same site.

Cool, thanks. Those are definitely a little pricey for me. I did find someone mentioning "ballistic carrier vests," but they also said you could find them for around $20, which is clearly not the case. The best I've been able to do is around $40-50, but that's still a lot for a one-time costume.

I wonder how awful a tank-top would look

Yeah, there's a $39 one in the second link I posted.

Here's something... Searching ebay for "concealable carrier"

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=concealable+carrier

The only blue one I saw:

$25 Buy it Now.

But "carrier vest" finds a lot more matches:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=carrier+vest

Yeah, that $25 one might be an option. Thanks, Bruno. I'll have to think about that.

Given the simplicity of the shape, I'm wondering how hard it would be to make something like this and whether it would look like crap...

It wouldn't be too difficult with some suitable blue fabric, some flexible plastic sheet (or cardboard/card-stock) and possibly some poly batting for padding if you want to puff/thicken it out a bit. You don't even have to sew it if you glue the fabric to the plastic where it will be on the inside against your body. Then you can use some velcro to strap it together like on the real thing.

But for $25 I'd go the eBay route in a heartbeat if there was enough time.

That depends way more on the skill (or lack) of the person wielding the scissors.

But a suitable mock-up "fabric" would be one of those 1/2" thick blue foamy "sleeping pads" for camping. Cost should be under $10, with enough material in one pad for a couple of attempts.

Remember: holt-melt glue is your Friend for projects like this.
And/or duct tape.

Some spray paint afterwards would give the correct dark blue hue.

Cheers

Blue nylon windbreaker, some scissors, and some iron on adhesive like this stuff should make a decent approximation. or depending on your cutting and/or minimal sewing skills, by some cheap nylon fabric and iron it together with the hem tape. a few stitches at the end should keep it together for the day.

Check your local area for a police supply store. These stores are open to the public and you can buy whatever you want there. I think you could just get a shirt & vest and just stick some thick cardboard underneath it so it looks like the trauma plates of a ballistic vest. The modern "vests" are not much thicker than a T-shirt, but those SWAT para-military guys wear big thick metal/kevlar plates over their chests that give them that bulky look.

Thanks for the assistance, guys. Because I let this go down to the wire, I didn't have time to order any of the excellent suggestions or materials you guys mentioned. But, your ideas got my creativity going. I ended up going around looking for yoga mats! I found a couple at Walmart, and I'm going to try cutting them out to make the front and back portions of the vests. I then have velcro that I'll attach to them to finish off the job.

The problem I'm running into now is that I can't think of a place to get a realistic gun. Understandably, it's difficult to find a toy gun that isn't extremely bright and cartoony. Thanks to the wonders of Wikipedia, I've found that Beckett carries a Glock 17, but I'll be happy with anything approximating that...

Get one of those and spray it. Make sure you use a solvent-free paint, or it'll, well, dissolve the plastic.

A local Home Depot or Lowes will have a matte black spray paint which is suitable for use on car bumpers - plastic safe. It will fit the bill perfectly over top of any realistically-shaped toy gun.

Depending on the jurisdiction, that may be illegal.

Again, spray paint is your Friend.

(not in the gun, but on it)

A fake Taser might be a safer choice.