The original Motorola brick cellphone costume

If you often feel nostalgic about the 1990s-era cellphone that you may have used and loved, check out the picture to the right. Yes, that's a Halloween costume featuring the original Motorola 'Brick' cellphone from the early 90s. Having worked in that industry during that exact time, I can tell you that the brickphone had one of the longest product lives in cellphone history. It was still being used (by construction employees, field engineers, etc.) by the time I left the industry in 1996. Yes, I'll bet you're guessing my age now, right?

Anyway, this costume can be made with outside insulation sheathing sheets, like those you'd commonly find at the construction site of a new home. You can also buy 8'x10' sheets of this featherweight insulating material at a local Lowe's or Home Depot. Remember to bring a truck or large-cavity SUV with you, however.

I'd suggest about three sheets of the material. A quick look at a local Lowe's yesterday came in at $8 a sheet (for the 5/8" kind). Add some industrial-strength epoxy (maybe even hot glue from that craft gun), some elbow grease to fit in those internal braces, and some paint (spray paint would work great), and you'll have a Halloween costume that will make older folks chuckle and younger kids wonder how anyone used a cellphone like this.

You may or may not want to add colored buttons (numeric keypad and the send/end keys), so you can get creative with that or omit it altogether. I love this costume and may just have to build it next week for the upcoming pumpkin day.

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