Twi'lek Pam

You know that you're in a true costuming geek family when you happily call your husband in to show him the picture of a hand that you found, and he nods appreciatively. Ignore the red highlights, I suspect that's a lightsaber reflection. Pam

Hi! (Katie, we're answering at the same time again! I love it! ) I hate to say it, but at this point there aren't enough visual references for Vestara. Most of the card and cover art images are just her face, and the one larger reference I've seen doesn't show the entire front, much less the back side of the costume. If you have access to Lucasfilm references that show the rest of the costume, then you have a good chance.... but from what I know of so far, there just isn't enough. I'm afraid fan art such as most deviantART sources will not count, because they're not commissioned by Lucasfilm. But, as we always say... if you really want to make a costume, make it, whether it'll be accepted into a legion or not! Pam

You can get tooling leather in many different thicknesses... you just have to find the one that is right for your project whenever you try something new! Pam

More proof that even great looking costumes are still considered a never-finished project. There's always room for upgrades! Will you be bringing Lumiya back to Orlando this summer? Pam

Hi, My plan when I was working on the Talon costume was to make the bikini front out of one piece of shaped leather. I was going to wet-form a piece of vegetable tanned leather into the shape I needed, and then I would etch the lines into the leather once it was in the correct shape. It's easy to etch lines by wetting the leather and then pressing the line into the leather with a sharp point. Here you can see the lines I was etching into the belt: Pam

Hmmm.... I don't think that look would be approved. The bikini top is supposed to be made of leather sections that have been pieced together. (Like the patterns on a quilt.) We can fake that look by etching lines INTO the leather, but I don't think making the lines stick OUT would give the right effect. As you can see from the references, the lines are not bumps: Pam

I believe there was a period in which Malak was Revan's apprentice, uninjured.... but in order to get such a costume approved for the legion, you would need to provide reference images of the full costume, front and back. You'd also need to show that the pictures represent a costume worn after he fell to the darkside, rather than from when he was a Jedi. Pam

Welcome! Pam

Hi, I seriously doubt that would happen. Obi Wan is firmly entrenched in the Rebel Legion, and in our lore as a good guy. I don't think anyone would ever consider him a villian character. A stretcher of the truth, perhaps, but not a villian. Pam

Looking good! Congratulations on finishing the pants... it's amazing what we manage to learn in this crazy hobby, isn't it? Pam

Those boots would work just fine. Pam

Yup, that's what I do, too. Good advice. I always take a printout with me to buy fabric or costume greeblies. It also helps for the print to be made on quality photo paper, rather than regular copy paper, because then the colors and details come out bright and clear. I definitely would not use a shiny fabric... and a heavier fabric would be better because it would have a solid drape. You don't want it to look flimsy! Pam

I highly recommend that you use a higher quality adhesive for applying the bald cap, such as pros-aide, rather than spirit gum. Spirit gum's at the very low end of the quality spectrum, and it tends to get dry and begin flaking off after an hour or so. When you see somebody with a bald cap that is peeling upward at the edges, that's often spirit gum reaching the end of its lifespan! After all the time that it takes to apply the bald cap, you'll want it to last and look good throughout a day's trooping! Pam

That would be determined by your garrison leadership. I've found that most don't mind... they know that some parts are very difficult to come by, and similar is usually close enough. There are the occasional leaders who ask for approved-only accessories, however, so it's always best to check with the folks who organize and run the events, rather than making assumptions. Pam

Oooooo... very nice. (Many girls like footwear with deadly heels, I'm more of a practical boots girl myself! ) Those boots would work, provided that you cut off the strap that goes over the ankle. I hate to see you chop up a brand new pair of boots, though, so I'd recommend looking for something that doesn't have a decorative buckle like that. Pam

Hi, That's part of the reason why we don't require lightsabers for costume approval. Not only are weapons frowned upon in some regions, the EU sabers are also really, really difficult to find sometimes! These sabers are similar to the Revan design, but not a match. I'm sure you would be welcome to carry one at events, but you would not be able to use it in your legion membership pictures, since it isn't accurate. But, since you don't have to have a lightsaber in your membership pictures, or for approval, that isn't a big problem. I know that folks have found more accurate sabers, but in general they have to be custom made to match the references. It tends to be a much slower and more expensive prospect, but you can get better accuracy if you hire a talented (and reliable) sabersmith. Pam

The folks in the flash mob were hired professionals, so I'm guessing that the costumes were made and owned by the game company. Those particular costumes probably won't be making their way into the legion, but I'm betting that they helped more than a few people really, REALLy want a costume of their own! Pam

LOL! I'm not sure which is cuter... the itty bitty mold, or the dice. (The resin kicking was fun to watch, too.) Thanks for the laugh, and Happy Holidays back atcha! Pam P.S. I feel your pain on laying up fiberglass in the rounded mold.... I'm convinced that my Mara shin guard molds came into existence for the sole purpose of driving me insane when I try to cast in them!

Hi, everyone. I just received the annual reminder that our web host account is set to expire next month. I'll cover the renewal up front, and then let you know when it's time to start fundraising. The fee will be $131 for the next year of web hosting and domain registration. Pam

I thought the same thing when you posted about it on the legion board! Not to mention that intimidating gaze.... Welcome to Flagship! Pam

I doubt that a flightsuit would work. First, they tend to be quite baggy and covered with extra seams and pocksts, while Revan's shirt is fairly form-fitting and plain aside from the one line of piping across the chest. There is also the fact that most flight suits have a zipper up the front, which Revan doesn't have, and few of them have the correct collar. The lower half of the suit wouldn't matter, since it would be covered by the hakama. Pam

I will most certainly give my approval for those clips. I know that it's impossible to get a perfect match without custom designing the clips, but you've done a fine job of getting really close! I'm very pleased with the results. I spoke to the legion membership officer about the shoulder clips recently because it's continuing to be an area of concern. We are trying to balance the requirement for proper costume pieces with the knowledge that it's dififcult to find some of those pieces. The 501st is all about striving to make the most accurate costumes possible, but the EU has costume pieces that just don't always exist in real life. It's a tough thing to balance, so this is what we settled on: Darth Revan costumes will be approved with the thin, inaccurate rings, but the approval will come with the caveat of "replace the rings with more accurate clips as soon as you can locate them." In other words, don't just throw your money at the costume maker and decide that the costume is done when it arrives. Keep working to make it more accurate, as we all do with 501st costumes. We don't want to hold up people's approvals because of some small rings, but we don't want people to stop working on making their costumes more accurate, either. Pam

There aren't any sources that I know of.... just get a black shirt with a high collar, and add in a line of piping. Most knit fabrics will have enough stretch to let you add the piping without having to alter the rest of the shirt. Pam

He he... Aysel, we're typing at the same time again, with the same answer! I used to have a really hard time with the bust seams, too. They'd come out with puckers every time, no matter how hard I tried to sew them smoothly. Then, I had a "duh" moment when I finally understood what the pattern instrucstions were telling me to do, and ever since then they're not a problem at all! The problem is that one side of the fabric seam has a LOT of curve (usually the center front of the dress), while you have to sew that curve to the outer (armpit) side of the front, which usually curves only slightly, and often in the opposite direction! First, you MUST sew a line of "stay stitching" along the side that has the least amount of curve. It's usually the side panels, but not always. It depends on the pattern you are using. The pattern tells you where to sew that line. Stay stitching is just a sewn line that keeps the fabric from stretching out of shape, and it usually goes about 1/2 inch from the edge of the fabric. Sew that line! Then, use scissors to clip the edges of the fabric almost to that sewn line, but definitely not all the way. I usually cut the lines about one inch apart on the areas where there is less curve to match up, and a half inch apart on the areas that have a lot of curve to match. Next, lay down the piece of fabric that doesn't have the stay stitching and clipped spots, vinyl side up. Lay the stay-stitched and clipped piece of fabric vinyl side down over it, and line up the guide notches. Pin there. (By the way, it's MUCH easier to pin perpendicular to the fabric edge, rather than making the pins run parallel along the seam line. It lets you sew much closer to the pin before you have to pull out the pin, and it's much easier to pull out the pin because you don't have to worry so much about the pin getting stuck under the press foot.) Pin all along the curve, and you'll find that the places where you snipped the fabric will fan out, allowing the less-curved fabric to perfectly match the more-curved fabric. Stitch on the seam line, with the clipped edge still on top. Be sure to sew outside of the stay stitching, or else that line will show up when you press the seam open. After sewing the seam, cut out wedge shaped notches in the seam allowance of the outer curve to help it lay flat... but be sure not to cut too close to your stitches! Try a search for "sewing princess seams" to find a better explanation of what I was trying to describe. Princess seams are hard to figure out at first, but once you get the hang of it, they're no problem at all! Here's a couple examples I found with a quick search, but I'm sure there are more out there: http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010 ... seams.html Pam

Look at how far this costume has come! With every update, it gets better and better. I'm really pleased with your progress! Pam