kaabous

I have finally gotten some time to get this finished up. I think it is a keeper. The material is a little stiff since is just off the bolt (especially on the cowl), but I think it will lay better once it is broken in a bit. I'm working on some modifications for keeping the cowl aligned better and returning to "true" after moving around.

Wow, you've been busy! Looks great! I admire you're willingness to take a dremel to it after all of that work. Is the weathering all air brushed? Or did you use other media too? BTW, what 3D smoother do you use? I've use XTC 3D, but I'm always on the lookout for better options.

Nice work! You are making great progress on this kit!

Got some work in on the hood. I think it is getting to a place I'll be happy with it. It is still mostly just pinned, I have only sewn a bit of the structural shaping. I threw the big pieces on the dummy to see how it is coming together: Still a lot more work to do, but it is at least starting to look like the Lord of Hunger

Long time no post! However, I have been working on this costume off and on for the last year and a half. Version 3 is almost complete and I think it will be approval worthy once I get it tightened up and finished. The big issue I'm having right now is the hood, particularly getting the right amount of drape and right proportions. Here is an in progress shot of my current working hood. It is mostly just pinned with a lot of excess still there so I can adjust it before the final sewing. I left the head sock off becusse I think it iis easier to see how everything fits together without black on black on black. The dummy head is a bit smaller than mine and the nose is smashed in a bit, so the mask sits a bit lower in the pic than on my face, but its pretty close. The hood has plenty of extra fabric to poof out at the sides, but the shots of the hood vary and I tend toward the slimmer look because the hood is not a traditional style. I still have a lot of sewing, fit and finishing to do, but I want to get some input on the proportion of the various elements (triangles, face oval, etc.), basic sizing and fit.

Welcome! Looks like you have done a lot of research already and have a great plan for getting this awesome costume done. One thing I'd be sure of is that the leather suit is patterned off of the Starkiller CRL and not Vader (since it sounds like that is what the maker is familiar with). It is similar but there are differences that are important such as the angle of the stitching. I imagine you covered that with them, but I thought I mention it because that is not a cheap suit to make! I do my own electronics, light panels, LEDs and such, so I can give you some help with the box if someone who has actually built it doesn't chime in before you get to it. Can't wait to see your progress on this build!

Welcome to Starkiller costuming! Great to have more people in here! I am looking forward to watching your progress on this build! Nina is very helpful and she will be able to give you great advice as you go through. I can add what my experience was in building this costume as well. Approval will ultimately come down to what your GMLs decide. My advice would be to stick to the wording of the CRL as closely as possible, I think that is what GMLs use as the official guide (the pictures in the CRLs are just extra examples, not official references). However, if there are discrepancies, have the visual references ready to show why something is different from the CRL. From my understanding of the process, the actual references are the ultimate authority, the CRL is just a tool to help GMLs to make a determination of acceptability of a costume because they cannot be experts in every costume in the Legion. Having a build thread like this really helps too, not only for you to check your build progress but also a reference for the GML, when you get to that stage of the process. As to the specifics of the chest plates, I think the angle looks exaggerated because the cape covers some of the top of the plates in most references. The CRL doesn't give specifics about the angle of the top of the plates, so there is some leeway currently.

As far as I could tell when building this, the CRL appeared to be built of off two different concept art iterations, the one you posted and this one: However, the costume that actually made it into the game was slightly different as well. I split the difference on a few things that weren't explicit in the CRL. The shape of the chest plates in pretty much all of the reference material is angled at the top, but the sample within the CRL is flat across the top. I gave mine a less sharp angle initially, but I'm reshaping and resizing the plates for the chest armor. I'm also doing all of them out of 6mm sintra this time, instead of 3mm. The 3mm looks like the reference works, but in person 6mm looks a lot more convincing as armor. I just got done doing a mando and the difference between the look and feel of the 6mm vs 3mm is pretty drastic. I definitely think 6mm is better aesthetically and looks a lot better in pictures so I am switching all of the hard parts of my costume over to that. As to the belt loops, pretty much all of the references have some, except that concept art you posted that lacks the two smaller belts. My loops are positioned exactly according to what is on his belt in the game as it was the best reference I could find for the positioning of them around the entire belt. The other concept art has them positioned more similarly to full costume pic at the beginning of the CRL, but only about half of the belt is visible and it is pretty low res. There are a number of other small differences, like edge seams on the armor and obi, that are present in the CRL samples that are not in the reference materials. I don't think any of them are dire though. I was keeping a list as I went through to help with the next CRL revision. BTW, I have lots more high res screen caps from the game, if you want any other angles I can put them up. They aren't strictly the right costume because of the color differences, but it does show more details on a lot of the pieces that are the same across all of the iterations of concept art, promo art and in-game costume. I have the all black version from the game pretty much ready for submission as a NttL costume (along with a draft CRL). Although at this point, I will probably wait until I get the new hard parts done to actually submit it.

I have made some significant improvements to my costume since approval, both for comfort/wearability and in appearance: I remade the chest, torso and sleeves. I think the chest looks much better now and fits much more similarly to the game files and promo art. I can also put the whole thing on by myself now (in a parking garage, even). I have another iteration of a couple more parts in the works, but overall I am happy with the fit and finish of this kit now. I am still putting together the black version of the whole costume for NttL submission.

Update: I am still actively working on this costume and took it out for a spin last night: By the time the these pictures were taken, the head sock irritated my eyes to the point where I had to take it off, but this is the gist of what it looked like. I am still working on a number of elements and improvements, but it is coming along. I'll get some better pics up as I finish up the pieces.

After working on the mask I got, I don't really like how it is coming out. This one looks like the KotOR version, but I'd like to get confirmation that it would be approvable before I order it: https://www.etsy.com/listing/478213428/darth-nihilus-resin-cast-knights-of-the?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=nihilus mask&ref=sr_gallery-1-27&organic_search_click=1 I like that this one seems go a bit farther back, which I think will be good for securing it to the cowl and cat ear rig. There lots of options for the CotF version but the kotor one seems harder to find a good version.

You can't stop at just one... Now that my Starkiller is approved, of course I have to start a new project. I am partial to a number of TFE characters so I am looking at building a number of them eventually. I had started (and I'm still planning on completing) a Revan, but we seem to have recently sprouted 4-5 active Revans locally, so I decided to move something else up in the queue. Darth Nihilus is a great character from a great game and very iconic, so the Lord of Hunger is up next. Here are the first few pieces, the skirt and a couple of obis (the thin game version and the wider figure version.). I have been messing around with the cowl but it is puzzling med a bit and I want to make sure I get it right. How do people do them? I had planned on modified hood-like construction with two pieces. However, the game renders do not seem to have a seam anywhere that I can see. So, I have been trying to figure out a way to sew it without a visible seam. However, I also noticed a number of pictures of approved costumes have seams, so maybe it isn't a big deal. There also seems to be a lot of variation in the drape of the cowl. The in-game model has a long point going down to the mid chest. A lot of the approved pictures seem to have a more rounded look that up on the collar bone. Is either OK? I like the pointier look, but I know a number of CRLs are in revision, so I want to make sure mine will be in compliance.

Awesome! Thank you for your help along the way, made the approval pretty painless.,

Finally got my SL, requesting Detachment access. Newly approved Starkiller costume added to my Legion profile: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=24902 Thanks much!

Woohoo! My costume was just approved by my GML! I can't wait to troop in it!