Rocket Raccoon - 7.5ft

7.5 foot Rocket Raccoon Fro mGuardians of the Galaxy. He has an over 5ft space gun and a movable mouth.

Really wanted to create a Rocket that had a slightly oversized head in proportion to his body as well as an oversized gun and tail to make him appear larger than life. Drew out a design of his head and put it next to a person to get an idea of his size. Also, used a pepakura 3D image for the gun design that I would print out and then trace onto the foam (more on the gun in another step).

The head was originally molded with WED clay. Designing the shape to fit dimensions of roughly 28in x 28in. It was modeled after Rocket toys and pictures of him from the Guardian movies (with that said it was rather difficult as he looks slightly different in many versions of media.)

After the outline of the head was formed in clay, a strong heavy-duty cardboard frame was made to support the head. The clay was wrapped with Siran wrap and strips of paper were used with tightbond wood glue to create a shell shape around the clay. This process was repeated multiple times so that the shell shape of his head was rigid and still lightweight to wear.

The eyes were created from tape-wrapped whiffle balls. The shapes of the eyes were drawn on paper to match the right size proportions, then tight bond blue and paper for rigidity. The inner eye was painted with acrylic and fur was applied at the end.

In order to create depth in Rocket's facial features, foam pieces were cut out to create density for his face.

The fur was found at a fabric store (which took many trips to find something that looked like a raccoon). We bought raccoon styles fur, and black and white faux fur.

The fur was applied with a hot glue gun by delicately layering the fabric on his frame "skull". The white fur around his snout was trimmed down as low as possible to show off the fur depth contrast. This technique was also applied to the black fur around his eyes.

The teeth were actually made from fake fingernails and trimmed to give a more realistic look.

The mouth was enhanced with movement, by placing lightweight balsa wood on the top and bottom rim of the mouth and attaching it with zip-ties. A small spring was placed inside to allow mouth the to open and close at a resting point.

The gun took the longest of the entire process. It was printed from a 3d Pepakura file. After the 82 pages were printed, each shape of the gun was cut out of paper and then traced onto foam. The foam shape was then cut out. Each piece was hot glued over a grueling (but satisfying) time period. Nothing glamorous about this part, but seeing it slowly come together was rewarding.

The gun was sprayed with black spray paint.

Once the gun was completed, LED lights were added as well as a portable smoke machine with red light and green scope.

The backpack was a crucial part as it supports the head and is tied to my waist. PVC was added to the backpack to securely hold on the head frame and move with relative ease.

The backpack was given an LED light and constructed with EVA foam. The gray fabric was layered on top to make it all come together.

The tail was constructed by wrapping the fabric around EVA foam and batting. It was then attached to the backpack with zip ties.

With the head, backpack, and gun completed. I put on GoG outfit and attached a red fabric "scarf" to conceal my face. The head is able to move through a pull cord.

Loved making Rocket and excited to share it with you! Let me know if you have any questions. :)