I decided a little while ago that I wanted to make a bunny splicer mask, and by extension, a whole costume. I would like to be able to say it was because I was invited to a Halloween party.

It wasn’t. I just wanted one.

For reference, Splicers are the things that scare the living shit out of you in the video game Bioshock. They wear Venetian style masquerade masks to cover up increasingly severe facial deformities. They creep about muttering and cackling to themselves, and you tend to hear them before you see them.

This is not a tutorial by the way, simply a demonstration of how I like to waste my time. I decided to start with the hale bale/meat hooks. I was very tempted to buy some off eBay but having thought through the ramifications of wandering about with actual weapons, I decided against that.

I had to use a different coat hanger in the end, because the first one I tried wasn’t flexible enough to use on the handle. As it turned out, I had to Evo-Stick the damn thing together anyway.

While I waited for the hardcore glue to dry on the hooks, I got my sister to come around and help me with the mask. I started with a tinfoil base – I wanted to use mesh, but decided too late to go out and get any.

For the fluid mix, I used simple plain flour and water. I did add in some salt, because I read somewhere that it would decrease the chances of it going moldy, or something.

The paper maché took quite a while to dry, and in the end, I put it in the oven on a low temperature because BORED. While that was cooking, I attached the top section to the now dry handles of the hooks.

Once I had the paper maché base dried (successfully avoiding burning it) I had the basic shape of the top half of my head, which since I am not a rabbit, was lacking in some of the significant features of the mask that I wanted to end out with.

I added a section of cardboard to form the cheeks of the rabbit, first soaking it in the flour/water mix, and then shaping it to fit the mask. I added more layers of newspaper to smooth out the surface, and then back to the oven it went.

I used the exact same process to add ears, after trimming the outside edge of the mask to form the face shape I wanted.

I cut out some eye holes and added a cute wee nose.

I ummed and ahhed over how to do the piping around the edge, but settled on modelling clay.

I had bound the main body of the hooks with parcel twine, and then used paper maché to smooth it all out. I also used the clay to make some points on the hooks.

I painted it all up with acrylic paint left over from other projects, and later glued on a head strap from an old eye mask that I sacrificed to the cause.

Next, I needed some fake blood; I used corn flour, red and blue food colouring, and a couple of dashes of soy sauce.

It absolutely stank, but it looked good. I took the mask out into the garden so that I could aggressively flick the fake blood at it – I was thinking arterial splatter. I am fairly confident that is not a sentence I have ever used before, or ever will again.

With the blood on and drying out, it was time to shred up the dress I had bought……and then take it outside and clean my car with it.

I was going for hand-prints and smears in addition to the drips and splatters.

While I later found out that the blood didn’t really work as intended once it had dried out, I was really pleased with how it looked when it was wet.

Especially on the handles of the hooks, after I had bound them with more parcel twine.

This all took place over the course of 5 weeks. I would say that a good 5 hours work went into it in total. Anyway, learned some lessons, had a lot of fun…and actually found a party to go to!