I like to stay away from trendy Halloween costumes. What's worse than showing up to a party dressed the same as someone else? I also like to make or build as much of the costume as possible. If you are reading this Instructable, you probably agree that's the best part!

This year I decided to become a deep-sea diver.

Materials in the helmet:
- 12" cardboard Earth globe
- 3pcs 4" rubber taillight grommets (found at Princess Auto)
- 2 stove trim rings (small)
- medium-duty hinge
- pill bottles, random knobs
- spray paint (copper and leather colors)
- optional: iPod, 9V battery, white & blue LEDs, on/off switch

Materials in the rest:
- white painters suit
- white gloves
- carpeting knee-pads
- black boots
- 2 leather belts
- 2" wide elastic
- styrofoam sheet (large enough for chest piece plus some extra)
- Great Stuff expanding foam (1 can was enough)
- carpet tacks
- duct tape!

Step 1: The Helmet (building)

The 12" globe was one of the few parts I knew I would need. The rest was mostly scrounged from my scrap bins or found by chance wandering through surplus stores.

Once I had the taillight grommets and stove trim ring taped in place where I wanted them, I traced with a marker so I would know where to cut. I happen to have a set of large hole saws and one fit the grommets pretty good. The face and neck holes had to be enlarged with a jigsaw.

The grommets and inner ring were then Gorilla Glued in place. I highly recommend this glue. It bubbles and expands to fill gaps, but dries super hard. I sprayed some Great Stuff expanding foam (a new favorite building tool) to smooth the gap in the trim ring. A sharp knife cuts the cured foam like butter. It was a dream to work with.

I found a good looking gate hinge at the hardware store. I cut it to fit the trim rings then drilled holes and mounted to the inner ring with rivets, and the outer ring with screws and nuts.

I also added a cardboard collar that would slide into the hole I would make in the chest piece.

Step 2: The Helmet (finishing)

I found a couple pill bottles to use as air vents and added a knob (not pictured) as an airflow control.

If you can find a globe that does not have raised terrain features, use that instead! I tried to sand down the mountains but they were still a little noticeable in the final product (luckily the party was dark enough). Next year I may repaint this but will use a primer coat first.

Once the paint was dry I traced and cut out some thin clear plastic for the windows. I had planned to cover each hole but my girlfriend pointed out that I wouldn't be able to hear anything, so in the end I only used the outer face piece.

The duct tape flap you see is for holding an iPod touch, into which I had downloaded a looping audio clip of a scuba diver breathing.

For an extra (optional) fun effect, I installed some blue and white LEDs in the bottom of the helmet pointing upwards. They gave a neat under-lighting effect. The 9V battery was hidden inside the front pill bottle and a switch was installed just behind it.

Step 3: Chest Piece

I cut the styrofoam sheet and duct taped some heavy wire around the inside edges to help it keep shape. I then had a super fun time adding layer after layer of expanding foam and cutting it back with a long sharp knife.

I added a cardboard collar to match the one on the helmet then built up more foam to smooth it in.

I tried painting the foam and styrofoam but the edges were too noticeable, so I first covered the entire part in duct tape. I added carpet tacks for a little texture then painted the top with a copper paint and the bottom with a leather-colored paint.

Step 4: Remaining Costume Parts

I cut some styrofoam into rectangles and duct taped them up to form some weight blocks that I then attached to the belts.

The belts were joined together simply by using the buckles and some cable ties. Cable ties also attached the elastic suspenders (now painted brown) to the belt.

I took an old pair of winter boots and taped some of the styrofoam sheet around the toe to act as the weighted boots that divers wear. The silver duct tape looks god enough that it doesn't need to be painted.