Gallery: Fan's $4,000 War Machine Costume Comes to Comic-Con
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Iron Man fan Anthony Le pressed the pedal to the metal when he decided to make his own War Machine outfit. The Colorado geek spent $4,000 over the course of a month to assemble his version of the weaponized armor worn by Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2. Working with pieces of high-impact urethane attached with about 1,500 rivets, [serious cosplayer Le](http://www.masterle.org/) made the helmet from clay and a liquid resin. He embedded tiny servo motors to operate the helmet's faceplate and crafted the rotary gun from pipes. It's just one of several custom costumes Le has assembled. A 25-year-old who makes appearances dressed as Iron Man at children's hospitals, homeless shelters and fund-raisers, Le is taking his [cosplay](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosplay) show on the road this week when he travels to Comic-Con International in San Diego. "The impact I have on people at these conventions is always: 'Wow, OMG, you made that?!' I barely get to move two steps before I'm mobbed by photographers," he said in an e-mail to Wired.com. Le has several new costumes in the works, including Hulkbuster armor, a Liger Zero Jager unit and a *Crysis* Nanosuit 1.0. Get a peek at his best costumes and some works in progress in Wired.com's image gallery. \[via [Geek Tyrant](http://networkedblogs.com/5wVOX)\]
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Iron Man armor by Le includes a variety of enhancements to the basic polyurethane shell. "I work from home and create these cosplay all by hand, adding electronics, servos and linear actuators," Le says.
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Anthony Le takes off the mask. "I love setting the bar for friendly cosplayers," he says of his meticulously designed superhero suits.
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Another version of Iron Man armor produced by Le. He builds all of his costumes from polyurethane because, he says, the material is "dent-resistant, very light and flexible."
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[Hulkbuster](http://www.ironmanarmory.com/hulkbusterarmor.html) Iron Man armor is in the works for Li, who has a day job working as a physical consultant. His [P90X infomercial videos](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ByBMtDljME) offer advice on exercise and nutrition.
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Le designed this "rescue armor" for Tony Stark's leading lady, Pepper Potts (portrayed in the Iron Man movies by Gwyneth Paltrow). __See Also:__ - [Cylons, Watchmen and Zombies Take Comic-Con 2009](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2009/07/cylons-the-wactmen-and-zombies-take-comic-con/) - [Gallery: Comic-Con's Costumed Crusaders](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/multimedia/2008/07/gallery_comiccon_faces%3Fslide%3D7) - [Remains of the Day: 9 Comic-Con Photos You Didn't See](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/rawfile/2009/07/comic-con-2009/)
