It’s a Best in Show for his stunning original character cosplay. Let’s check out The Nameless Knight Cosplay!
It’s not every day that a cosplayer wins awards for an original character at a convention. Many times it is the popular, well-known characters that take the day. But today we’re featuring an artist with a cosplay SO POWERFUL, it shook up the competition and earned the coveted top spot- Best in Show. We’re here with Battle Damage Props to take a look at his award-winning construction – The Nameless Knight cosplay!
The “Nameless Knight” is an original character that draws inspiration from World of Warcraft, Norse, Celtic and Scottish iconography. I wanted to create something that was shaped in the style of those large bulky, hugely impractical in real life armors that you see in Blizzard games. I say those shoulders I came up with are hugely impractical.
There are several parts of this build that pay homage to the Logan clan of Scottland. The crest on the chest piece is a passion heart with 3 nails piercing it (which is seen on the Logan coat of arms), the shoulders have the words Hoc Majorum Virtus (“This is the valour of my ancestors”. The Logan clans Latin motto). The sword is named Druim-nan-deur (Scottish Gaelic for “the ridge of tears”) and engraved on the large belt is the Clan heraldic crest of a single. The making of this piece was an huge undertaking and I learnt some valuable lessons.
I had no idea what this was going to look like when I first started. I just had the idea “Large, impractical, lots of details”. The chest and back piece were the second things I ever crafted out of foam. The shapes were started after I came back from my 6th Deployment (this time to Iraq) with the Canadian Armed Forces, around May 2020. Then they sat unfinished for probably a year as I was dealing with my Military career and life.
I found time to work on other projects and developed more skills in crafting props out of foam. In 2021 I was inspired to start working on this piece again. Luckily all the practice and failing upward had paid off and with each new piece of the armor, I was getting better and better. Some portions I got rid of completely because they no longer matched the aesthetic.
Eventually, I bought a very large enclosed CNC CO2 laser which completely changed the time it takes to craft pieces. Instead of 30 minutes or an hour spent tracing designs, cutting them out, engraving details, etc, it now takes minutes. There’s a piece on the back that took me hours to cut by hand. I can make that same portion in 2 minutes now after designing it via Lightburn. The chest, helmet, shoulders, forearm pieces gauntlets, and portions of the belt took months to put together. Utilizing the laser to cut my shapes and some of the finer details, I crafted the Shins, boots, Quad protectors, portions of the belt, AND sword in less than a week. It was long days, and late nights but I wanted it ready to wear to the Deep River Geekfest.
Battle Damage Props Nameless Night Cosplay at Convention
Walking around that convention helped to identify some things. 1) I needed to close off some exposed areas and hide my elastic straps better. 2) If you can attach things with buckles, always go buckles, Velcro may not be the best option. 3) I should have cosplayed as a fridge with AC because this costume does not breathe. I have a newfound respect for fully enclosed costumes.
One thing I haven’t touched on is how this was painted. Once the shapes are formed I used Plastidip (outdoors and wearing a respirator) to prime the pieces to ensure the paint would stick to the surface. I then used a base layer of Rustoleum Antique Pewter. Some areas were lighter, some areas heavier depending if I wanted to chemical effect of the paint to take place. All the parts in gold were first given a base layer of black acrylic to help the gold shine. I tried using an iridescent gold at first directly on the pewter color but it wasn’t really coming through. This costume was very much a trial and error build. If I could go back and change one thing, I would have incorporated graphite powder into the painting process. Graphite powder gives an outstanding metallic sheen when applied and buffed onto surfaces. There was no clear coat applied as I didn’t want to risk changing the look of what I had painted.
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About 3 weeks prior to Fanatic-Con Ottawa, I had decided I was going to enter this build into the Judged competition. Something I have never done before. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’ve deployed to Afghanistan four times, Libya and Iraq, but getting dressed prior to entering the build I could feel my nerves twitching. My friend, Matt tower must have heard me say “what time is it” at least 6 times in 20 minutes. Yes, another drawback to these large outfits is that they are impossible to get on by yourself. Luckily Matt and his girlfriend agreed to show up and hang out and assist me. Someone who will squire for you for the day and wipe the sweat off your brow is a friend for life.
During the wait time, I met several other cosplayers that I follow online and it’s always fun to talk shop with people and share ideas. Cosplayers/makers are such friendly people and always have a willingness to share. There are no trade secrets. It’s very much a craft that is shared openly and that was on full display at Fanatic-con Ottawa. I was pretty impressed with the other builds that were present and people’s willingness to talk about it.
I wear hearing aids as my hearing was damaged during my first deployment in 2006. And that helmet is stifling. Once my name was called Matt assured me I wasn’t hearing things and I managed to side step through people in the crow “sorry, excuse me, large shoulders coming through” and got on stage and right into character”. I gave a “are you not entertained” yell and was asked what the name of my build was. That stunned me, because I never thought to name it. So that’s how the Name of the Nameless Knight came to be in that moment. My mind going “uhhhhhhhhhh”. The sword has a name and I forgot to name my costume.
After all the contestants went up and showed off their delightful outfits, we waited for the judges to go and make their decisions. They came back with several judges’ choices, best make-up, third, second, and then finally first place. I was pretty floored when they called my name “Tanner Logan of Battle Damage Props”. I was even more excited when I was finally able to get out of costume, it was HOT.
All in all, I’m glad I went out for the competition. Not because of the win, it’s nice, but what’s more exciting is taking part in the community I’ve come to love and admire so much for its creativity, openness, and compassion. I was able to make some new friends and even though I’ll be retiring this cosplay, I’m excited for my next competition and big build. Which will absolutely have AC.
More from Battle Damage Props
Check out the Facebook info for this amazing cosplayer. You can see more about The Nameless Knight Cosplay there! And stay tuned- we’ll be back with an interview for Battle Damage Props soon. You don’t want to miss it!
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~Join us next week for more Cosplay Coverage~
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Jennifer aka "Mayhem's Muse" is the Cosplay Editor for BoLS and manages Ad Sales and Communications. Her cosplay awards include the RTX Judge's Choice Award and Dragon's Lair Austin's Cosplay Symposium.
Jennifer has been a Cosplay Guest Judge at RTX, Tacticon and Genghis Con in Colorado. She regularly attends conventions to cover cosplay for BoLS. Her cosplay work has been featured in publications such as Girls Who Love Monsters, Geek Fuel, and Renaissance Magazine. Jennifer has modeled in the Her Universe Fashion Show, Precision Camera's yearly Precision Camera University, and has taught several workshops for photographers about partnering with cosplayers and creative muses/models.
Jennifer is a lifelong enthusiast of retro video games and loves Dungeons & Dragons, urban fantasy, tabletop games, VR technology, and historical archery. She has set National Records through USA Archery’s Traditional Division for Asiatic Bows and earned 4th Place in the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan in 2018 for Women’s Korean Archery. Jennifer is currently studying for her Masters's Degree in Organizational Leadership.
