DisposablHero

Personally I like cheek bones. Makes the mask look that little bit more menacing. But as I said that's my personal opinion. Also my opinion is that I like that mask you've made. Looking forward to seeing one finished up. Great work!

Wish I knew more about the costume, but to be honest as a man it's not one I've researched. At a quick glance at the reference library and her pics it looks good to me though. The only thing I'd fix would be the belt. The way it kind of twists out on the lower piece would bug me personally. Even with that I don't see any reason it shouldn't be approved...again as a far from expert. Looks good and hopefully you'll get your approval and number soon!

I wouldn't worry too much about that. I don't think it will shrink at all. It is silk. It is washable, you just have to hand wash it and air dry I believe. If you are intent on washing make sure you find out exactly what the washing instructions are. I have not washed mine yet as it hasn't gotten dirty...or to be more precise it hasn't gotten dirty somewhere it shouldn't. Quick tip: In case anyone here doesn't know this I'll give a way to keep your kit "fresh" if it's not washable. If you do have parts of your costume that are not washable (washing would damage, or remove weathering or whatever the reason) all you have to do to get rid of the stink of sweat from trooping is put the costume piece in a ziplock bag or whatever you have on hand and put it in the freezer. Leave it in overnight (what I do). The cold kills the bacteria which are the source of the smell and you're good to go. The bag is to stop the smell being transferred to anything else in your freezer that's why I'd recommend ziplock since it seals. Hope this helps, -Jason

Oooh I like that ridged cheekbone. Very distinct and unique look. Well done!

As long as the dimensions are correct (small overbelt vs larger under one) and you have the correct number of black posts it should be fine. The back of my belt has industrial velcro riveted onto the leather to keep it from coming off. No one would ever see it since there are 2 cloaks over top of it.

Cool! It's a very odd fabric...at least to me. Word of warning: DO NOT machine wash the fabric. My wife got some plaster of paris on a couple pieces of my costume and decided to throw them in the washing machine without checking with me first. Now 2 pieces of my costume are faded/patchy. Luckily they are both underneath pieces (the inner skirt and the under cape) so it's not noticeable usually. Still need to redye them and hope it fixes it.

I just bought a zentai hood off ebay. Not sure what the seller was, doesn't really matter. I seem to recall the key thing to look for though being a 3 seam hood. that way the front is one large panel and you don't have a seam running down your nose which would be quite uncomfortable.

Much as I hate to stir this up it seems a little counter productive. I understood the need to add the new designator in, and the unfortunate chaos it caused. But if I'm correct in understanding that the point of this move was to add some clarity to the designations and have them be a little more accurate in the divisions then have 2 different meanings for SL would seem to negate all that. Much as I would hate to have my designation changed...if I'm not a Sith Lord anymore (as Darth Nihilus) then the designator should be 2 different letters not the same 2 with a different meaning. On the same note is seems incredible bizarre to me to have the Sith Lords in two different detachments. I have no particular interest one way or the other in switching detachments but if the goal is streamlining then shouldn't all SL's (be they Sith Lord or Sith Legend) be in teh same place? Much like the recent, and admittedly somewhat unpopular, combining of all arctic troops under the Blizzard Force banner. Please bear in mind I'm a fairly new member, and proud to be a member of TFE, just looking for maybe some clarity as to the logic.

For my Nihilus I just followed Scott and Pam's tutorial pretty much to the letter: http://chucrew.com/Nihilus/robes.html The one thing I believe we did differently with the skirt was that we made mine one long continuous piece rather than 3 panels sewn together. With this much fabric you don't have to do anything fancy with it, it drapes and flows just fine. I did use the same raw silk as Scott so if you're using a different fabric it may end up looking a little different. Hope this helps. -Jason

Well said Krista!

Yeah what Nef said. The more the better. I'm 5'11" and unfortunately a little bit on the wrong side of 200lbs. I also used Scott and Pam's guide as my build and I'm quite certain I used the full 20 yards...there was very, very little left over.

That's amazing! Love the retro.

Pretty sure it's this area you need to watch. http://www.501st.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35 Looks like they're getting ready to wrap up series 10, but if you check you might be able to find out when to get in on series 11. I should keep an eye on this too.

Sorry for replying so late but.....Congrats!

I agree with when it comes to the merchandising point, but much as I'm loathe to I'd have to disagree with the grandfathering. It would really have to be an all or nothing (I think most of us would side with nothing) otherwise it would be incredibly confusing to have a costume with 2 separate designations depending on when you joined.

I'm not entirely sure how to reply to this as a Darth Nihilus. It's a fairly confusing subject for a number of reasons: 1) It's seems unconscionable to not consult with the members that are affected by this decision (eg. TFE members) let alone our DL. 2) I understand the ID change as regards to 501st merchandise is not really a concern to those making the decision (they didn't make us buy anything with the designations) it's more than a little rude not to acknowledge the financial impact this has on the membership. 3) How does this affect the boards? Does this mean all the costuming info and board membership for "Darths" like myself move over to the SL detachment? To be honest I found it odd that the "Darths" weren't over there already but this has become my home, even if I'm not the most outspoken. Basically in the end it comes down to the sheer rudeness of it I guess. For no one involved to make sure that Thomas had been made aware of the discussion is bizarre. Oh well, as usual we cogs just have to wait and see what happens.

Yeah the placement looks right to me. The crown is supposed to be right above the "medallions" on the mask. I'll try and take some pics of my mask and crown for you tomorrow.

I have the same mask and crown as you. I also did my mask the same way, with the elastic straps. While I'm not 100% happy with the way the crown is mounted I'll share my way. I have a piece of velcro at the front of the center strap right up against teh mask as well as velcro on the side straps. I know there are much better ways but I can't use Scott's method as my head is just too large. If I permanently fastened them together I'd never get it on or off my head. The only idea I've had so far for a better system is to maybe mount a hinge at the front, that way the mask can pivot out and maybe magnets on the side to hold it in place. Hope this helps.

Good Nihilus choice, and welcome! I assume you know you don't need the saber to apply with your costume?

Here's the link to Scott's piece (it's referred to as the crown). http://chucrew.com/Nihilus/hood.html I would highly recommend reading through the entirety of his build. It was an invaluable resource for making my Nihilus, I don't think I could have done it without the pics/tutorials that he and Pam posted there.

Never hear of Gesso, but I'll look into. The only reason I need to touch up my paint is since I used acrylic art paint, it's not the most durable, and normally I'd throw a clearcoat on to protect it but I was dreading it ruining the probably 4th time I had painted the mask. To be honest more than anything it was likely just an environmental issue that caused the paint problems (too damp/cold maybe). Assuming the mask gets no worse it will be repainted once con season is done.

I'll give that a try. To date I've pretty much always followed Krylon's rule of multiple light coats before it starts to cure. Didn't have a problem with any of my pieces so far (my Fett helmet is fiberglass, guantlets are resin, armour is sintra so I've got most materials done.) Once con season is done I'll try a repaint.

Not sure what my issue was. I normally just use Krylon paints for everything, but for some reason I just couldn't get this mask to take paint. Every time I tried teh paint ended up cracking. Eventually I switched over to a latex craft paint so the paint would stretch rather than crack. Eventually I need to repaint it and I'll try sprays again....it's getting a little weathered now

Looks great! Got Scott's mask too, have to say it's the best looking one I've seen to date. Can I ask what you painted it with? I had no end of problems painting mine.

Yes those are the right type of studs for the belt. Depending on the size of them anyway. Hard to tell what size they are from the pic. I don't think anyone makes them in black, we all just have to buy whatever colour then spray paint them black.