Despicable Me Mega Minion Mel Kid's Costume

After my daughter was born, I found I had less time to build big elaborate costumes. Last year I returned to building with a Waluigi costume while my daughter was a Fire Flower coming out of a question box. This year we spent some time discussing our options because we wanted to build another set of costumes that complemented each other. Minion costumes have been done a gazillion times, so we decided to draw inspiration from the latest movie and create a costume for one of the MEGA MINIONS. We both agreed that Mel was the way to go because we liked the laser! Now Dr. Nefario only makes a small cameo in the latest movie, but I knew it would make a nice companion piece to my daughter's costume. Check out my other instructable to see How I built Dr. Nefario.

The obvious starting point for the costume was finding a tube to work with since minions are basically pill shaped. I took my daughter to Home Depot and put her in a sono-tube to see how well it fit her. When we got into the shop, I cut some arm holes in the side and had to think about what would be easier for her to wear. The arm holes at the top made more sense for balance, but I wanted her to be able to look out of the mouth of the character. I also wanted to light of the laser eyeball of the minion, so having her head behind that was going to be an issue for visibility. So, I proceeded with the build as planned and went with the arm holes toward the bottom of the tube.

I found a bowl that almost matched the diameter of the tube. I ended of slicing the tube on the table saw and taping it back together with TUCK TAPE. I choose to use Tuck Tape because it is super sticky and gives you a nice hold. To give the tube a little more size and body I found some 1/2" foam to wrap around. This is the type of thing that comes in shipping boxes. I always save it because it comes in handy for costume builds. I used some spray adhesive and some more tuck tape to attach it to the sono-tube. I got my daughter to test fit the tube so I could cut out where the mouth would go.

Before I even finished the last step, I was rummaging around the shop to find stuff for the laser, and I happened upon this old speaker. It was the perfect diameter and I cut away the middle to make a base. I was also able to shape it a little to fit the curved surface of the sono-tube. I was looking for a cardboard tube for the cylinder of the laser, but ended up using some sheet metal that I riveted together to form the exact size that I needed. I was then able to cut some circles out of MDF to support the light that I bought. To give the light a red look, I simply bought a dollar store bowl and cut out the bottom. The light I bought is motion sensor so it actually comes on by itself in the dark, or if you cover over it for a second. so no need for switches. The ridges in the bottom of the red bowl and the arrangement of LEDs in the light gave the perfect laser look on the front of the eye. It worked out even better than I had planned.

I had some yellow material that I wanted to use for the costume but it was way too orange and fuzzy, so I took a quick trip to the thrift store and found some old curtains that were the right colour. I also ordered a yellow long sleeve shirt from amazon to use for the arms and the mouth of the costume. I cut of the arms and hot glued them into the arm holes. I then cut out the mouth shape in some more foam and wrapped it with the same yellow material. I was able to wrap the entire tube in one piece of yellow material. I made cuts in the foam down each side of the tube and tucked the material into the cut. If you look closely at the reference pictures of the minion, there are seams running down each side of the character.

I used some white styrene sheet to fashion some teeth. This was quick and easy. I glued them to the inside of the tube with some hot glue. Wrapping the top of the head with the material was a little trickier, but I knew that the belt and the laser would hide the seam in the material. I used some cabinet hinges and an old belt to make up the strap. I used some nuts and bolts through the speaker plate mounting holes to fasten the laser to tube so it would hold up. It's not shown in this step, but I later added some red sticker vinyl to the side of the laser tube.

When I was planning this stage of the project in my head, I was envisioning using an actual pair of overalls. When I did the math, I figured I needed a 44 waist to fit the 12" sono-tube. When I started cutting my old jeans apart, I decided that it would be easiest to just cut the shapes I needed and add the details after. In the interest of time, I neglected to get out my sewing machine and opted instead for my roll of trusty double-sided tape. It's super quick and holds up well. To make up for the lack of stitches, I used a gold paint pen to draw on the stitches. Again, I was super pleased with how this detail worked out. All the jean material was carefully hot glued to the tube.

Considering the proportions of the character, I new that my daughter was far too tall for the minion to look right, and I couldn't find any black boots that she was willing to wear. That's when I decided to by smaller boots and have her dress in black pants. I first masked and painted the bottom of the boots yellow instead of green. This isn't accurate to the character, but I want to give the boots some contrast against the dark background. I think cut some of my daughter's old jeans and stuffed them with pool noodles. This was basically the last step.

She was a champ at putting on the costume. We tried to make some sort of shoulder harness for her on the inside, but she insisted it was easier to wear with the arm holes resting on her arms. It wasn't the most comfortable thing for her to wear, but she zipped around the neighbourhood with ease and adrenaline, collecting as much candy as she could. I was a little concerned with how she would fare, but watched her sprint from house to house. Her arms were a little tired at the end of the night, but it was worth it!!