In early September 2009, my then 7-year-old son Kian came up to me and announced that he wanted to be Gene Simmons for Halloween. As a longtime KISS fan, I was very proud of him for his excellent taste, and I immediately knew that of all the costumes that Gene has worn over the years, the 1976 Destroyer Tour costume is the most iconic look, and therefore the only choice for an awesome Halloween costume. Unfortunately, with its spiked armor, leather bat wings, studded codpiece and thigh-high scaly dragon-headed platform boots, it is also the most complicated to replicate on the shoestring budget I had at my disposal. Resolving to make as much of it as possible out of materials I had on hand or could find cheap or free, I set out to gather my materials.
First of all, let me apologize up front for the lack of in-process pictures. I totally spaced picture-taking in the mad rush to build this costume, so all of the shots are taken after the fact. I have tried to capture as much detail as possible in the pics, and to be extra desciptive in the text when necessary. I think the finished product is worth presenting anyway, and I promise to take more pics of any future builds I do.
That said, let's build a costume!
Click HERE to get started.
