Lieutenant Commander Data Costume

I am wearing the costume--after much cutting, sewing, hemming, learning how to work with special effects makeup, and figuring out how to attach real lights to the side of my face while still having them look natural. This costume is a cosplay of Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 16, "Thine Own Self." In this episode, Data has been sent to retrieve accidentally-dropped radioactive material from a plant populated by a pre-industrial civilization. Once he lands and recovers the material, he gets injured, loses his memory, and forgets that he is an android. Later in the episode, he is attacked by one of the planet's inhabitants, and the weapon rips off part of his skin--revealing his circuits. I'm cosplaying that scene specifically.

Pulling this costume together was SO much fun--especially learning how to use the SFX makeup and getting the lights to work. (They even changed color and faded on and off in a wave pattern.)

For a "how-to" I would say that, if you ever want to stick lights somewhere on a costume, the best way is to use USB-powered lights and wear a rechargeable USB battery pack around your waist in a microphone belt--like the mic belts stage performers use. That way, all the wires--except for the ones you want people to see--will be safely hidden away under the costume.