RETRO TOY FLASHBACK # 58: Costumes!

Okay, so, if I wanted to humiliate myself more than usual, I'd be showing some really embarrassing photographs in this post. Let's see, there's the photo of me as a nine year-old kid dressed as a Cylon Centurion from Battlestar Galactica (back in 1978, before Cylons were sexy women with glowing spines). And there's the photo of me from my senior year of high school where I'm dressed up as Mr. Spock, replete with pointed ears, black wig, and phaser. And then there's the photo of me as the evil Michael Myers my sophomore year in college.

Now there's a story there, in that last picture. It was Halloween 1990, and Kathryn couldn't come out to play. So, left to my own devices, I decided at midnight to dress up in my Michael Myers, aka "The Shape" overalls and mask and make my tender way over to the girl's dorm on the other side of the campus, across the lake. Well, I did that, and stood in front of the girl's dorm - immobile - just breathing heavy - for like an hour. It scared a few young nubile co-eds, and then I decided it was time to go home.

So I was walking home, across the bridge separating the girl's side of campus from the boy's side of campus. By this time, I wasn't even trying to be frightening. I felt kind of deflated. My face smelled like sweat and spittle, thanks to that damn William Shatner mask, and I was hot and uncomfortable. So I was totally taken by surprise when I bumped into a young freshman girl jogging on the bridge by light of the full moon.

Let me just say, I scared the absolute crap out of this poor girl. From her perspective, she jogged right into Michael Myers. But you see, it wasn't so much fun after all. She fell down in terror, and almost fell off the bridge. I had to rip my mask off and apologize. I tried to tell her that on Halloween everyone deserves "one good scare," but she wasn't having it. She ran away, into the dark, and I felt like a heel. This almost rivals the time I was stopped by the police carrying a machine gun, but that's a story for another post...

*Sigh.* The good old days.

Anyway, after that long and mostly irrelevant introduction, I'm now focusing on another favorite sci-fi collectible today: the costume!!! Hanging in my closet, I not only have a blue Mr. Spock uniform, but a first season Captain Picard uniform, and - yes - an Admiral Kirk uniform from The Wrath of Khan, replete with blood stain. I keep measuring Joel to see when he'll fit into any one of these...

I don't know what it is about dressing up like your heroes (or nightmares...), but I suppose it has something to do with delving deeper into your favorite fictional world. I will say this: Kathryn looks great in a beehive, Spock uniform and go-go boots...

Whenever I visit conventions, I really dig seeing all the folks in costume: the Klingons, the stormtroopers, the Jedi and so on..

So you don't get to see any of the fun photos, I mentioned above, just a shot of the Simplicity pattern from 1992 (from the 2 hour express collection...) of the Star Trek uniforms; and this book from the era of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, called "Make-Your Own-Costume Book."

If I could have any sci-fi costume in the universe, I'd want either a Commander Koenig outfit from Space:1999, or, perhaps even more so, a Sandman uniform from the movie Logan's Run. And it would have to come complete with one of those "flare" guns to take out runners. Of course at my age, my life clock would be black.

So, how about you? What's your dream sci-fi costume?