DangerAspect
Last updated: 2024-07-08
Changelog
2024-07-08: Moved to my website with accompanying edits and updates2022-02-05: Slight edit to the part about references2021-11-22: Added section on best practices in public/gun safety - thanks Lornes!
Maintained by Joey (@DangerAspect)
with contributions from: @LorneChrones
Have a suggestion? Poke me on the R6 Round Table Discord.
- Cost, effort, and availability
- Planning and budgeting is key
- Accuracy, references, and research
- Getting help and sharing your progress
- Cosplaying etiquette in public
- Footnotes
Cost, effort, and availability
Siege cosplays (as well as other ‘tactical’ franchises like The Division) tend to cost quite a bit, and for most outfits, you won’t be able to easily purchase a full costume from an online cosplay retailer.
Unless you’re purchasing a full costume from another cosplayer, you’ll usually be purchasing individual parts from online, military surplus/Airsoft stores, or crafting your own. Some gear might not exist in real-life and may need to be custom-made.
Exceptions include more casual outfits such as some Elite sets or cinematics (Dokkaebi in the Hammer and Scalpel cinematic, for example), or collaboration cosmetics like Iana’s NieR Automata Elite set. These may be easier to put together or even be available off-the-shelf, but some may still contain custom gear.
There are members of the community which accept commissions for things like prop-making. The R6 Round Table is a good resource1 to ask around if you need anything!
Planning and budgeting is key
Because of the above, planning and budgeting is quite important - make sure you put together a list of stuff to buy, calculate the total cost, and then double the cost to get your budget, because you will go over budget! Many of us learnt this the hard way.
Side note about accuracy vs. cost
As a side note, one of the constraints I had when starting to cosplay was balancing cost and accuracy. Whether you’re going for accuracy or opting for more cost-effective alternatives, both are equally valid! It’s just worth bearing in mind that if something sounds prohibitively costly, it might be worth looking for alternatives or even crafting your own.
Accuracy, references, and research
Some cosplayers might be open to sharing with you their list/notes - just be aware that those may take a lot of effort to put together, so make sure to credit and to ask for permission before sharing those onwards.
If you’re trying to do your own research, a few tips:
Accuracy and inconsistencies
In Siege, character models are quite inconsistent. In-game models can be slightly different from the fankit assets, which can be different from in cinematics, and so on. Patches may be different, their eye colour may change (even between seasons) .etc. If accuracy is a top priority to you, consider choosing a single “canon” source and sticking to it.
Cosplay guides
Ubisoft used to release Cosplay Guides, which are PDFs with details and close-ups of various operators.
They were released from Y3S4 Wind Bastion (Kaid/Nomad) to Y5S1 Void Edge (Oryx/Iana), which can be found on the R6 website’s Seasons page: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/rainbow-six/siege/game-info/seasons. There are also guides for Ela and Capitao’s Elite sets.
Getting help and sharing your progress
I’m part of a community of R6 cosplayers known as the R6 Round Table of Operators, which includes a Discord server 1. If you’ve read the above and are up for the challenge, why not join the Discord, introduce yourself, and ask away?
Apart from that, consider reaching out to other cosplayers on social media, such as Twitter or Instagram!
Cosplaying etiquette in public
As a cosplayer of franchises such as Siege, you need to be very mindful about the image you are portraying while in public. To someone unfamiliar, you may be confused for military, law enforcement or worse, possibly a terrorist. There has been incidents of cosplayers getting into serious situations and trouble. Even with more casual cosplays like Rainbow is Magic Tachanka or Dokkaebi Elite, the presence of equipment like holsters and weapons can still be an issue.
We cannot emphasize enough that this is a very serious issue - it can result in a lot of trouble or even harm. You are representing the cosplay community - your actions affect not only yourself, but also the safety and image of other members of the cosplay community.
Best practices
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Change into your costume on-venue. Avoid travelling in cosplay and do not openly carry your props, especially if you’re using public transit. Carry your costume and props in a fully enclosed bag.
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While in cosplay, stay within the venue. Be mindful of how you appear, even if you’re leaving just to the unticketed public areas or the streets outside a convention or event. You could still appear as a threat to the general public.
Event guidelines
Check each event or convention’s guidelines for restrictions on what you may not be allowed to bring. For example, some events disallow anything that might remotely resemble a weapon, even if non-functional or brightly-coloured.
Restrictions can even vary even between events by the same organiser, so always double check. You may be subject to security checks, your props may need to be tagged, and you may need to inform staff beforehand.
For Ubisoft/R6 events, guidelines are usually released a few weeks before as part of the event guide.
About weapons and props
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If it looks like a weapon, treat it like one. Keep it pointed at the ground or the sky, away from people, and keep your finger away from the trigger. Apart from it being basic firearms safety, it also makes you look way more professional and tacticool. 😎
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While it’s generally not advisable, if you do want photos where you pretend to shoot/stab/interrogate someone, make sure you have their full explicit permission beforehand.