A cosplayer took on the unenviable task of creating a towering seven-foot Mordekaiser costume, and the end product is nothing short of extraordinary.
The detailed rendering of Mordekaiser’s outfit comes from cosplayer Harry McAdam, who “began envisioning” the costume in April 2021, according to the creator’s Instagram. The idea of designing such a cosplay seemed daunting at first. He wanted to build all of Mordekaiser’s signature pieces, from the champion’s signature ghostly green glow to the Nightfall mace that has become synonymous with the Metalmaster. Soon after, he began building the seven-foot giant piece by piece, all starting with the hull.
McAdam scaled the helmet using a 3D model of his head. He then printed 2D cut-out templates of the helmet, which included special clear LEDs to create glowing green eyes.
With the costume head complete, McAdam went ahead with creating Mordekaiser’s body, which he wanted to be as accurate as possible. Before his seven-foot Mordekaiser costume, McAdams dressed up as his favorite League Champion, Darius. And although he was happy with the outcome of the three-month project, he wanted to dethrone his first costume.
“The chest was one of the parts of my first cosplay that I wasn’t happy with as it was too flat for a thick armor piece,” McAdam wrote in his Instagram post.
This desire led McAdam to create a model of the chest in Blender and Pepakura, tracing and assembling every detail before adding the glowing LED lights. After six grueling weeks of effort, McAdam was ready to move on with the project.
His next steps would hit an even bigger obstacle: his shoulders. “Darius’ huge shoulder pads were hard to make and cumbersome to put on, and Morde’s are even bigger and more cumbersome in shape,” McAdam said.
Still, even with the continued struggles, he finally created the strong, stable shoulders he was looking for.
Despite a battle with the chest and shoulders, McAdam had an easier time when it came to other parts of the armor. “The legs were a simple case of create, model, scale model to my size, print model, trim and shape.” McAdams wrote briefly. The arms followed the same principle used to create the legs, but with a bit more LEDs.
As for the arms, the same principles were used to create the legs. Just with a few more LEDs around the biceps to further enhance that ghostly aura of the costume. Various pieces were created, tweaks were made, and months later, McAdams was near the finish line of a grueling project.
However, instead of saving the best for last, he ended up pushing his most grueling task last: Mordekaiser’s mace.
“The mace was the part that I feared the most, even more than the shoulder pads,” McAdam explained.
Nightfall, Mordekaiser’s signature mace, was made to be a six foot mass of bulk and power without restraint. Complicated shapes proved to be McAdam’s biggest challenge, and the worst part of the process was that he had no real-life references to build on.
But instead of giving up the mace, he spent five weeks working on the remaining accessory.
After seven grueling months of near-nonstop construction and several LED light sticks, the 7-foot-plus Mordekaiser costume, complete with Nightfall’s signature mace, was finally a finished project.
McAdam took his creation for a test and raced through MCM London in October 2021, showing off all his hard work at the famous ExCeL London.
Although MCM London concluded on October 24, McAdam only shared his cosplay widely in January 2022, when he posted his creation on the League subreddit, where it received even more praise.
The seven and a half foot display was extremely impressive, from the six foot mace at dusk to the bright green LED accent lights. Even with such a colossal cosplay, McAdam found himself with an unexpected “deadly enemy”: doors.
You can follow Harry McAdam through his Instagram account, Juggernautscosplay, for future cosplays.
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