10. The Clockwork Doctor The steampunk costuming movement is about taking Victorian fashion and reimagining what technology might have looked like had it existed back then. This usually makes for a very creative and cool concept and this clockwork doctor is no exception. The mask starts with Friday the 13th's Jason mask, adds goggles and a floral cone attached by insulation foam and it's all covered with papier-mâché and wrapped in plaster of Paris. The clothing started with a standard men’s suit with a costume hat that was converted. As the costume maker is a collector of old military items, the holster was created from slings of old Russian rifles, while the rest is made up of German magazine pouches. Tip: probably not the doctor you want to go to when you get a cough. [Credit: Nuchtchas]

9. Hermes Video game characters are no strangers to costuming aficionados. This character, Hermes from Japanese cult hit Persona 3, started with a black body suit with vinyl shorts and bodice, according to the maker, who goes by Syagria. Those cool wings that go all the way to the shoes were made from foam core board carved to shape, while the gauntlets and greaves were made out of plastic. This costume also features wooden toy wheels and a lot of heavy duty bolts. What is most impressive, though? That she managed to walk in this thing!

9. Hermes Another view, from the back. [Credit: Syagria]

8. Alex Mercer from Prototype Prototype is a video game about a guy named Alex Mercer who can shapeshift into pretty much whatever form he needs in order to survive a world being taken over by zombies. This includes turning his hand into a large zombie-killing blade, as seen above. This Alex Mercer was created by using lots of foam and hot glue. The helmet, however, was created from fiberglass and was made to be seen through. Zombies beware! [Credit: Zabuz]

6. Lady Lich King from World of Warcraft If MMORPG’s are your thing, this costume is for you! This re-imagined version of Warcraft's famous Lich King, Arthas, converts the character from male to female. The armor itself was constructed out of plaster bandage, foam rubber and modeling clay. For the other parts (the leg and arm armor, for example), costume-maker "Minus10GradCelsius" used foam rubber covered with plaster bandages, which was secured to her body with Velcro tape. This Lich Queen may be ice cold, but the execution is red hot.

5. Silurian from Doctor Who It’s a good thing War of the Worlds wasn’t real. Otherwise, terrified kids seeing this reptilian humanoid might be caught running down the street screaming something about martians. According to costume creators Brian and Mette, the head was sculpted from a clay mold taken of the costume-wearer’s head (Mette). After giving it some texture, both silicone and fiberglass was brushed on, followed by the final colors. The rest of the costume was constructed from a modified shirt pattern, using both fabric and fishing net. The armor, including the armbands and gauntlets, as well as the gun, was hand-sculpted out of foam. A dremel tool was used for the engravings. [Photo: Richard Man]

4. Justicar Kell from Warhammer: 40k So what if you decide to go with your favorite miniature table top game character like Lathe "Hellblade87" Larsen did here? Lathe started off with his old football shoulder pads for the chest piece with yoga mats, all of that covered in a fiberglass resin. The legs and boots, which originated from old snow boots, were made of vinyl fencing and five-gallon buckets. That heavy-duty looking sword was created with PVC pipe and more vinyl fencing with blue LED lights. So if you happen to have some hardware store items laying around, you, too, can look this awesome.

3. Dalek from Doctor Who One of my favorite things at the Gallifrey One convention is seeing the Daleks. Because, let’s face it, Daleks are just cool. These particular Daleks are actual life-sized working versions with humans inside operating them. In fact, Dalek-making has become so popular, that there is an actual online community called Project Dalek devoted to putting one together. The black Dalek in this photo was created by Dave Duca, with the Ironsides Dalek (far left) by Steve Roberts. Rather than attempt to go into details about how these are created in this little box, check out the videos here on on the complex process. And if, at any time, you hear a funny computerized sounding voice say "Exterminate," just run. (Bonus points if you know the dog there.) [Photo: Dave Duca]

2. Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect Let’s say you want to dress up as one of your favorite video game characters. That’s exactly what Chris Myles did at this year’s WonderCon. This costume starts with a homemade mask made from an unfinished bust of Garrus, which was then hacked and cut apart to make an articulated jaw. The armor is a combination of wire, mesh, upholstery foam, plaster and fiber glass resin. And yes, those are LED lights in the armor. The gun? An easy buy at any toy shop: it's a Nerf Raider that has been converted and modified. Check out a video on how this costume came to be by clicking here.

2. Garrus Vakarian from Mass Effect Another view showing off Garrus's lit head-mounted display. [Photo: Chris Myles]

1. Big Daddy from Bioshock For anyone who has played Bioshock, you will immediately recognize this iconic figure. Created by Harrison Krix, this massive creation started out with some blueprints done up in Adobe Illustrator. As the scale of this costume is so large (as is the costume itself), check out Harrison’s blog for a step-by-step process on how he built it. With this big guy running around, the Little Sisters of Rapture will certainly be safe. [Photo: Matthew Nicholson/Dim Horizon Studios]

7. Beauty and the Beast It’s not just kids who love Disney movies. Adults like them, too! And sure, you could go buy one of those low-quality outfits available at the Disney store, but Mandy and Lee Nader decided to make better costumes by doing it themselves. The dress was made from three separate patterns with both glitter Casa satin and stretch satin. The beast body was created from a bodysuit with carved upholstery foam. The fur on the head, also made with upholstery foam, was painstakingly put in place with hot glue and then painted. A tale as old as time indeed — and a popular cosplay option.