Borderlands Cosplay Contest Winners

Winners of the Borderlands Cosplay Contest at the Museum of Mayhemshare their secrets. Can you guess which of the finalists’ outfits incorporated a toothbrush?

Last weekend, at the Borderlands Museum of Mayhem not far from San Diego Comic-Con, cosplayers competed for one of three Borderlands 3 Collector’s Editions and a one-of-a-kind cosplay weapon designed by HendoArt and Nerdist. The competition was every bit as intense as the San Diego sunshine, with the cosplayers being judged on their creativity, their craftsmanship, and of course, their resemblance to the characters they came as.

In the running were cosplayers dressed as Amara, Maya, Moxxi, Tina, Salvador, Psychos, and even an Ammo Dump vending machine. But in the end, it was a Tyreen Calypso who beat out a Moze and a FL4K in the final. We grabbed a few minutes with the finalists to ask about their character choices, their outfits, and their most unusual crafting materials. Some of their answers were definitely unexpected.

@SamSkylerArt as Moze

SamSkylerArt put her Moze cosplay together in about a week after she heard about the cosplay contest at the Museum of Mayhem. “I chose Moze because she’s really adorable and short, and I’m short too, so I thought that I’d be a good fit for the character,” she explained. “Also, she has this tough exterior but she seems really sweet, so I was really drawn to that.”

One of the most ingenious features of SamSkylerArt’s Moze cosplay is how she made the spare bullets on her helmet. “The weirdest material I had to use to make Moze is actually on my helmet; I have Crayola markers to make the bullets. It was a last-minute addition, but it was a perfect fit. I painted them gold and it kinda works.”

Despite her love of Moze, SamSkylerArt plans to play as FL4K for her first Borderlands 3 playthrough, unlike our other runner-up, who cosplayed as FL4K.

@SithInTheNorth as FL4K

Having had an opportunity to play as her at E3, SithInTheNorth plans to jump into Borderlands 3 as Moze. “She’s totally awesome. Iron Bear rules; I love that you can customize him,” he said, before going on to explain that he chose to cosplay as FL4K because they have “a ton of puppies, which is a bonus first of all—everyone loves puppies!”

His more pragmatic answer was that “cel shading on your skin in this kind of heat welcomes disaster, so having it all on the costume is a lot easier for sure.” Perhaps, but the repurposed Clone Trooper mask that he used as the foundation for his FL4K mask (not to mention the balaclava underneath) certainly wasn’t helping him to keep cool in the San Diego sun.

SithInTheNorth spent about a week and a half assembling his FL4K cosplay, which he plans to add more details to in the future.

@AstroBulletProps as Tyreen

AstroBullet spent a solid four or five weeks on her Tyreen cosplay. “There are a lot of little details in here; lots of love and lots of dedication in here. But man, it was worth it! I love this character and I love this outfit,” she enthused. “I chose to cosplay Tyreen because I just love the villains in Borderlands. They’re kooky, wacky, and Tyreen has got the energy of like 10 of them.”

Not only did AstroBullet emerge as the winner of the Borderlands Cosplay Contest, she also incorporated one of the most unusual crafting materials into her costume. “If you look at my little device here, it’s glowing blue,” she said, pointing to the gadget on her hip. “I forgot to bring my blue filter, but I just happened to have a clear blue toothbrush with me in the hotel, so it’s jammed in there right now.” Genius.

When Borderlands 3 launches on September 13, AstroBullet is excited to play as FL4K, largely because of their “badass pets.”

Thanks to everyone who visited the Museum of Mayhem and took part in the Borderlands Cosplay Contest, and congratulations to our finalists. If you’re interested in cosplaying as a Borderlands 3 character, be sure to check out our official cosplay guides.