Cosplaying Hawkingbird (aka Kate Bishop's Hawkeye)

I'm going to try and be better about some of my cosplay / costuming diaries. For the upcoming con, I decided to go as Kate Bishop from the Young Avengers comic book series (2005-2006)

She has several outfits, but I plan on making her very first outfit that she kludged together. She was attending a wedding (presumably as a maid of honor) before joining with the other Young Avengers to help defeat Kang. In order to join the fight, Kate puts on gear that she finds in the Avenger's mansion, including:

• Mockingbird's Battle Staves and mask
• Swordsman's Sword
• Black Widow's utility belt
• Hawkeye's bow and arrows.

The other Sidekicks nickname her "Hawkingbird" when she appears as in the above frame.  (Later, Captain America gives her Hawkeye's bow and calls her "Hawkeye", thus dubbing her the "new Hawkeye" ---- that is until Clint Baront seemingly comes back from being "dead". After that, there are two Hawkeyes, which does cause some confusion.)

I intend on making nearly all of her costumes, starting with her very first one --- the "Hawkingbird" version. I want to make this for Convolution 2015 as my friend, Baronlaw, will be the Clint Barton version of Hawkeye.

Now, in this particular costume, she carries a LOT. She grabs whatever she can find to go into battle. She straps the battle staves to her leg, but I'm not wholly sure how she carries both the sword and the bow effectively. In the actual comic book, she is conveniently shown using one or the other but not necessarily carrying both. And at one point, she does lose the sword during a fight. So, for my purposes, the sword is a lower priority for the outfit. (Also, I think she'll be recognizable without the sword and it'll be easier to wander the convention halls without it.)

I have a plan of attack for her outfit and have already started construction on some pieces of it. Everything is pretty straight forward and "easy". My biggest concern is finding or making that belt. It looks vaguely from the 80s. It's supposed to be Black Widow's utility belt, but it doesn't quite look it.

 

Or this one

I'll definitely be making it "screen accurate" to the comic book, but I'm not convinced that it is Black Widow's belt. I'll be posting in-progress photos of her costume as I work on it.

The Making of....

• Overview
• Kate's Dress
• Battle Staves
• Belt
• Mask
• Bow & Arrows