Volund Starfire

The cat hair brush really works on the edges as repeated brushing pulls and frays as high up as you need it to. Cut small flaps in the material before brushing to add wear holes, too.

It sounds like you have a good plan there. Glad I could help.

Can't wait to see a pic of you and Tom Spanos together at CVI!!

Have you thought at looking for Conehead makeup?

The combat boot idea is a good one. I use mine for my Nihilus with a piece of leather covering the laces. However, with the armor, that would provide even more cover. Good idea. Though, with regards to the Cinematic Trailers, I think the Havok Trooper armor will be more comfortable (they are black running shoes).

I am currently doing research for a special project. This project will be revealed in a couple of weeks, but I need to ask you a couple of questions regarding your lightsabers: What kind of lightsaber do you have (Vader, Maul, custom)? How long is your lightsaber from the base of the hilt to the tip of the blade? If you have a Maul/double lightsaber, are one or both of the blades removable, and if so, what is the length of the hilt? If the blade is removable from your saber, how long is the blade? Finally… How interested would you be in a locking, padded, TSA acceptable, hardcase for carrying and traveling with your saber?

Thank you. I will definitely be doing that rather than the spirit gum. Thanks! Also, I think you both should get gold stars for reading through all that without your eyes bleeding.

One of the things that I am fairly well known for are my costume dissections. To that end, here is my dissection v2.0 of the Darth Malgus costume based on the Cinematic Trailer Model created by Alessandro Baldasseroni. I will begin with the soft parts of the armor, then move on to the firm parts (I’ll explain), and end with the hard parts. SOFT PARTS These parts are entirely cloth of one form or another. UNDERSHIRT The undershirt is primarily used for the neck and sleeves and appears to be based on a black loose-fitting underarmor shirt. It is made of a black shiny fabric such as underarmor, not leather, and appears to be loose but form fitting. Detail lines are sewn into the neck to appear like layered pillow-tucks. The arms have ½-inch quilting lines down from the shoulder to the wrist. It does not appear to be actual quilting, just the lines. It will include stirrups for the hands. There is a snap on the back of the hands to keep the gloves on and velcro sewn along the forearm to secure the gauntlets. VEST The vest is gray vinyl and has an accordion-fold detail up the front between the chest armor and the torso padding. The front has a false seam that looks like a hidden zipper, but is not. It will zip up the back to close. The accordion detail is made with a series of pockets that are glued under the front that have stiff sheets of sintra or plastic canvas that are slid in and it is backed with a piece of elastic to keep the folds from flattening. The upper part of the chest, as well as most of the back, will be made with mesh similar to Vader bodysuits. The back of the vest, from the side seam to the mesh, has a black 1/2-inch hexagonal pattern painted onto it. It has very short sleeves which have grommets to connect to the bicep armor. It will include strips of Velcro around the body to secure the torso padding as well as to secure the armor. CAPE The cape appears to have the same texture as monks cloth and connects to the armor under the shoulder plates. It hangs onto the floor by a few inches. It has a hood built into the neck that can be pulled over the head without disturbing the rest of the cape. The edges of the hood are free of the cape, suggesting that it is sewn to the back of the neck only. The cape includes a set of grommets to Chicago screw/bolt to the back of the armor under the shoulders. GLOVES The gloves are wrist-length leather gloves with small leather patches located over the knuckles. The gloves are only pull-on, having no means of securing them around the wrist. They have side seams that are typical of driving gloves. Three grommets on the back of each hand will be used to secure the hand armor’s Chicago screws. A snap will be sewn under the top of the wrist to secure it to the undershirt. TROUSERS The trousers are gray denim and have a 1-inch quilting down the leg from the waist to the knee, similar to the Darth Vader trousers. The shin has elastic across the forward quarter to keep it tight across the calf, as only the calf is visible. Velcro is sewn around the waist to hold the torso padding in place, along the front of the crotch and top of the butt to hold the cod and butt padding in place, on the thighs to hold the thigh padding, on the knees to secure the knee armor in place, and down the inside and outside of the calf to hold the calf padding. A set of suspenders will keep the trousers up and a set of stirrups will keep them tucked into the boots. BOOTS The boots are made from black leather and come up to the mid-calf. There is a black detail strip that rises from the toe of the boot half way up to top of the foot. There is a black heavy locking zipper on either side of the boot to secure them. The sole is a low boot sole with detail lines carved into it. The boot has a piece of elastic on the back to ensure a good fit (much in the same way as the sides of the Boba Fett or stormtrooper boots). The top of the boot fits over the calf padding. It will also have grommets for the armor connection. FIRM PARTS These parts are primarily flexible, but are not entirely considered soft parts nor hard parts as they are neither cloth nor armor. They will be primarily made of craft foam and will generally be painted with a flat finish. BICEP PADDING The biceps appear to be made of 3/8-inch firmed foam (a 1/4-inch thick base with a 1/8-inch façade). It has detail lines cut into the façade on the front and back and is formed around the biceps. The black padding appears to be 1/4-inch thick foam strips that have a pair of detail lines cut down them vertically. The entire set connects to the vest with a pair of grommets and Chicago screws. The main part is gray with a gloss finish (similar to the vest) and the pads are black with a semi-gloss finish. TORSO PADDING The torso padding appears to be 1/2-inch thick foam. The base will be a 1/4-inch piece that is uncut with a façade of a 1/4-inch pieces glued to the top. The strips look to be 1½-inches wide. The three top strips have rounded ends and velcro to the vest and back armor. The two pieces under those are solid and wrap around the body, connecting in the rear. Below that is a strip that is 4.5-inches wide with a Velcro strip along it for the belt. The middle of the back is connected together with side release buckles (including straps that are glued under the entire center piece) to secure it and has a piece in the center to cover the buckles. The cod armor has cut-through layers to give it the inset details over the base. It is also shaped to curve around the edges and contour along the crotch. The butt armor connects to the center piece used to secure the belt around the waist. The belt piece, cod, and butt armor have velcro under them to secure them to the trousers. There are carved detail lines in the façade of all the padding. It is painted black with a semi-gloss finish. THIGH PADDING The thigh padding is 3/8-inch thick foam. The base is 1/4-inch with a 1/8-inch thick façade. It is designed in faux strips and has vertical detail lines cut into the top. The base in the rear has two holes cut into it. The front of the thigh padding has a pair of holes cut down through the façade in the top and bottom. It secures to the trousers with Velcro. It is painted black with a semi-gloss finish. CALF PADDING The calf padding appears to be 1/2-inch thick foam; two layers of 1/4-inch foam. The façade has faux strips with vertical details lines and holes cut into it. The back has a hole through it to show the calf of the trousers. It has elastic on the front to hold it closed with Velcro and Velcro to secure the shin armor. The bottom tucks into the boots. It is painted black with a semi-gloss finish. HARD PARTS These parts are actual hard armor. I mostly be building them out of sintra (PVC foam board), but some of the pieces will use foam. SHOULDER ARMOR The shoulder armor is 1/2-inch thick and made of four layers of 1/8-inch sintra. The center two layers are solid. The top and under layers are separated as shown in the illustration, have their face edges rounded slightly, and glued onto the base with detail lines cut appropriately into the sides.. The two detail blocks on the top of the shoulder is made from four more layers of 1/8-inch sintra with a detail line cut into the sides and separate pieces across the top of the detail line. The top piece of the flap has a hole drilled into it on the front and back of the shoulder. The shoulders connect to the chest armor with Chicago screws. It is painted black with metallic aluminum weathering and given a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. CHEST & BACK ARMOR The chest armor is made of four layers of 1/8-inch sintra. The top piece will be cut into sections based on the images above, have the face corners rounded, and glued back into place. There is a hole in the face that is specifically for the lights. With another next to it that has a pattern etched onto it before it is reinserted. The two pieces of red acrylic will be back lit by LEDs. The shoulders will have nylon strapping under the armor with a set of grommets for the cape to Chicago screw to. Additionally, the shoulder armor will Chicago screw into these same holes. The back is made similar to the front, but will be made with a 3/8-inch piece of foam with a 1/8-inch foam façade. There are several detail pieces with holes cut through them as appropriate. The center hole reveals a set of holes cut through the next 1/8-inch piece under it with a 1/8-inch piece glued on top of it. There is a 1/4-inch piece near the top with a pair of screws or caps under it. There are three 1/8-inch pad pieces on either side that Velcro to the sides of the vest. There are holes through the 1/8-inch top layer for the torso padding to Velcro into. There is a Y-piece that is 1/4-inch thick and made with layers of 1/16-inch foam sheets. Finally, there is a 1/2-inch thick box on the lower right side. The bottom of the back armor also velcros under the torso padding. Around the neck is a ring made of 1/2-inch thick foam. It has a raise on the front and back with detail boxes cut into them. The front and back have small rectangular depressions on either side of the raised piece, but the front has red LED backlit acrylic on either side. There is a sintra overlay on the central part. The main part is made from two 16-inch sheets. There is a 1/8-inch circle on the center and another (with a 1/16-inch topper) on the other side of the bottom. The central top ring is made from a 1/8-inch piece with a 1/16-inch topper set in a hole. The central top circle is made with two 1/8-inch pieces with a 1/16-inch topper. The sintra will have a piece of foam under it to pad it against the body. The battery pack for the LEDs would be housed in the black box on the back of the costume. It will be painted gray and black with a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to the main chest and back to show further weathering details. GAUNTLETS The gauntlets will be made in four pieces. The two side pieces will be made of 1/8-inch sintra that is bent at angles to form around the arm. A piece of 1/16-inch sintra will go over this as a façade with appropriate cut-outs to mimic the details in the picture. Additionally, the sintra base will have details etched into it. A pair of white acrylic will be on either side and back-lit with LEDs. Opposite the LEDs will be a set of magnets under the sides to secure the bottom part of the gauntlet. The top piece will be made from 1/8-inch sintra with a raised detail, also made of 1/8-inch sintra. It will also include the 1/16-inch façade that will have various cut-outs for the details. The back will include several pieces of white and red acrylic that are lit with LEDs. Most of these pieces will have various characters on them as appropriate. It will be permanently attached to the side pieces with Chicago screws, but it will be loose enough to allow them to spread to allow the arm in. The bottom piece will be made in a similar fashion to the top, but will not include the lights. Also, it will have a set of four magnets built into it under the front and back corners to secure the gauntlet together. Velcro will be lined on the sides to secure the gauntlet to the sleeve in such a way that the paddles of the top and bottom piece are lined up on either side of the elbow. The battery pack will be stream-line and under the top face of the gauntlet. It will be painted black and given a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. HAND ARMOR The hand armor is made of layers of 1/8- and 1/16-inch sintra. It is fairly simple in its construction with detail work built up on it. It secures to the glove with Chicago screws. It will have a small flap of Velcro under it to protect the glove. It is painted black with metallic aluminum weathering and given a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. BELT The belt is made of both foam and sintra. The main part of the belt is made of a 1/4-inch piece of foam. On top of that is a 1/8-inch piece of foam detailing with another that has the buckle detail cut out of it. The buckle and details directly next to the buckle are made with 1/16-inch sintra, layered in some cases, and attached into the foam with Chicago screws. The “pouch” pieces are made with both 1/8-inch and 1/16-inch pieces of sintra and attached similarly. The belt connects in the rear with a pair of side-release buckles. There is also a 1/4-inch thick flap that velcroes onto the rear of the belt to hide the buckles. The flap has a 1/8-inch façade with detail lines drawn in it that covers the top of the butt armor. It includes a detail made of sintra that Chicago screws into the flap to cover it. The belt is held to the torso padding with velcro under it. The belt is painted black and given metallic aluminum weathering. The details are painted silver. It is all given a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. KNEE ARMOR The knee armor is made with pieces of 1/8-inch sintra built around a piece of 1/2-inch foam (for comfort). The top and detail face includes a 1/16-inch façade with detail lines. The sintra only extends to the side seams. The piece of foam comes out from under the sintra to wrap around the leg. It includes a 1/8-inch foam façade with detail lines on it. The foam is anchored to the knee armor with Chicago screws and velcroes under the inside-leg part of the armor. The knee piece has Velcro on it to secure it to the trousers. It is painted black and weathered metallic aluminum with a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. SHIN ARMOR The mail part of the shin armor is made using a 1/8-inch plate of sintra bent slightly around the front of the leg. It has a 1/8-inch façade over this with detail lines cut in it. There is another piece on the top of it, as well as a couple of pieces going down the front as further details. There is a piece of ¼-inch foam that wraps around the back of the leg. It is connected to the sintra with Velcro on the outside of the leg and a nylon strap on the inside of the leg. The shin armor secures to the calf padding with two strips of velcro down either side. It is painted black with a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. ACHILLES ARMOR The shin armor is made using layers of 1/8-inch sintra that is shaped and glued together. There is a façade over the base later with holes in it, but those holes are the actual location of the Chicago screws that attach the Achilles armor to the boot. It is painted black with a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. BOOT ARMOR The boot armor is three separate pieces. The top two pieces are made of 1/8-inch sintra layers with a foam base (to protect the boot). They have a layered 1/16-inch detail with detail lines cut into the façade. They attach to the boot with Chicago screws. The wrap-around piece on the back of the boot will be made of two pieces of 1/16-inch form with a detail line cut into the façade. It will attach to the boot with Velcro. They are painted black with a semi-gloss finish. Small lines of flat finish will be painted on to show further weathering details. MISC PARTS These parts aren’t part of the actual costume, but I’ll post them here anyway. They mostly include the FX of the makeup, the lightsaber which I am custom ordering, and the mask that I still have no idea how I am going to do it exactly. MASK The main part of the mask will be made with 1/16-inch sintra as a medium for a pepakura model. For most of the details it will be layered. The silver screens will be aluminum and backed with a light black cloth to help with air circulation. The sections between the horizontal bars on the front of the mouth will likewise be backed with cloth for air circulation. The lights will be red acrylic with LEDs behind them. The LEDs will be cushioned so no light bleeds inside the mask. A fan will be located in front of the mouth for both air circulation and to add a chopped mechanical tone to the voice when I speak. LIGHTSABER The lightsaber will be custom made. It will probably be thicker than it appears in the above picture, but will include all of the details. It will include a MR Force FX batter pack/speaker in the pommel and a red blade. The button on the side will be used for activation/deactivation with the red button used only for decoration. The blades on either side of the emitter will have rounded edges for safety, but still painted as they are shown. MAKEUP The main part of the makeup will be a pair of Sith contacts (yellow in the center and red on the edges). The scars on the cheeks will be accomplished with collodion and some shadowing using makeup. The eyesockets will be darkened with makeup. The baldness and veins will be accomplished using a bald wig. It will extend over the eyebrows and down the sideburns where it will be spirit gummed on. It will have blue yarn glued onto the underside of it in points as well as blue coloring painted lightly onto the underside in points. The back will include a snap to connect to the mask.

Might I suggest doing the spikes out of latex or foam for safety reasons? Or, at least, rounding the tips a little more or dulling them. I know a couple of custom Mandos with spikes who have accidentally moved an arm and caught someone. If you had better visibility, it wouldn't be a problem, but helmeted/masked costumes do suffer from lack of sight.

His armor looked really good, but it was still off enough for me to shake my head. Now that I have played the game, I have a better idea of the way the armor is supposed to look and move (seeing the in-game character helped a great deal). I have been working on a dissection 2.0 for this and it will be posted soon after the New Year. If things go well for Aysel and I with our helmet bag sales, then the actual build will be starting soon after.

Okay, I'm back from beta testing now that the servers are down until launch... [twitch, twitch] I would like to point you down to Darth Malgus. It is my build thread and I will be uploading a new dissection by the end of the week. This dissection will include pictures and helpful hints for building your Malgus. One of the good things about my in-game time is that I was able to see the in-game Darth Malgus as well as the various Mangus-like costume parts. I saw some details that may not be as detailed as the cinematic, but show me a little better view of the items.

That is beautiful! I love the detailing you did on it.

Someone was offering the ripped sound files from the game which are creepy as all get out. He is the only character that has no translations provided for his words, but EVERYONE understands him.

Good question. I plan to use the EVA foam interconnecting mats as well as craft foam in 1/2-inch, 1/4-inch, 1/8-inch, and 1/16-inch. The 1/2-inch mats can be purchased in groups of six 2'x2' squares from most stores that stock sporting gear. The rest can be found in craft stores. The thing about EVA foam is that it holds hot glue like a sponge, literally. I am looking at making it in a couple of layers. The lower layer will be one solid piece of 1/4-inch foam. The top layer will be individual strips of 1/4-inch foam that is rounded on the top edges to give it that appearance you can see in the shots. The tools that I plan to use I found over at the 405th (Halo costume site). Pretty much, you use normal sintra/PVC foam board tools, but add a hot knife to cut it. EVA foam is easy to paint if you know what you are doing. The first this is to use a heat gun to seal the top. You just run the heat gun over it and you can visibly see the material change slightly. After that, you are going to want to paint it with spray plastidip. That will seal it and give it some strength so it won't warp under extreme heat. After that, all you need to do is use Krylon fusion. The fusion will hold to the plastidip. You could primer it first, but use two or more layers of primer and start sanding it after the second layer. Finally, give it the appropriate finish and call it good. Velcro. Plain and simple. Use adhesive velcro on the EVA foam and sew-on velcro on the costume. I was thinking of this, but I'm not good enough with this kind of work to look at it, personally. I can do sliced weapons, but not quite up to slicing gauntlets yet. I looked into this, myself. The only problem is weight distribution and connection. Most respirators use a two-point connection and don't fit well if they are only held on around the base. What my friend is looking at is a system to hold it on around the base in such a way as to hold it tightly to the nose, as well. Basically, levering it on the nose to hold it on. Oh, just wait. I'm in the middle of a more in-depth dissection that I will be starting to build (as in actually putting pieces together) soon.

There are actually three Malgus Pep files running around. I have all three and am not too impressed with them. One of the files is actually a low detail Clone Airborne (beehive) helmet that is skinned with the Darth Malgus head. The second is based on the original Malgus game breath mask and is very low detail. The third is based on the most recent Malgus in-game trailer breath mask and is higher detail but still is a little lacking. I am including a cope of the third one below. At the moment, I am in discussions with someone who does with pepakura what I do with dissections. I'm scratching his back with some costume pictures from the trailers and he is returning the favor with the Malgus breath mask and gauntlets. As for the Halo techniques, it is from the 405th that I learned the use of foam for armoring. However, because of the increased detail of the breath mask and gauntlets, I am planning on pepping them both in sintra. Not the 1/8-inch sintra, but the thin "Beware of Womprat" signs that most hardware stores carry. Reinforce them with bondo on the inside, sand it down, and boom. If that works for the breath mask, I might try it for a Halo helmet and more.

Welcome, welcome. I post my WIP threads so that others can share in my dissections of how to do what to make a costume. Please feel free to ask questions and such in my thread as I am always willing to answer. I am good with the dissecting, it is just the skills (and money) that I lack. Though, I pick up "book-learned" skills fairly quickly and am pretty certain that I can do this costume. Well, baring a couple of parts. Pretty soon, there will be a little more detailed dissection of the Malgus costume as I have had far too much free time on my hands and my writing muse hasn't been biting. It will include details on each individual piece with pictures to go along with them. Did I mention my massive amounts of free time? The two hardest parts for the build are going to be the gauntlets and the breath mask. The rest will be fairly simple with the materials I am using. Mostly, the costume will be made of sintra and EVA foam, as both are easily accessible, cheap, and take to costuming like a moth to a flame. If you are good with the small parts molding, then this is definitely a good costume for you. The smallest parts will be the chest detailing, the mask, and the gauntlets. As for the wiring, it wouldn't be that difficult, all things considered. There are two LED-backed pieces on the chest, two on the neck, and two on the mask. Each gauntlet has a few lit pieces, also. I've even figured out how to do the voice modification... a fan. Just have a fan behind the breath mask and talk through it. That will give it the digitized sound as well as the slight raspiness. At the moment, I have a couple of friends working on pepakura models of the gauntlets and the breath mask, the two most difficult pieces. Once they get done, I will probably be making them of sintra and reinforcing them like an Imperial Garrison. Otherwise, I look forward to the input. Say tuned troopies, I'll be back soon enough and will even be posting some potential build pics in the near future, too!

If you need any help, do not be afraid to ask. I am currently in the dissection process for this costume, but am also planning to make this one. I'm using craft foam (EVA foam) as a base with some sintra as a base for the hard armor. Which variation are you shooting for? Deceived, Hope, or Return? If you'd like some help, here are a "couple" of screen captures from all three. Deceived Hope Return

And it is done… hopefully. Here is a breakdown of what I have accomplished, with a little bit of what I hope to accomplish later in the end. This project is comprised of 22 yards of black raw silk, a nylon belt with side release buckle, a leather tool belt, a leather dress belt, a balaclava, some workout clothing, an old pair of combat boots, a pair of leather fencing gloves, a batting helmet, a piece of scrap sintra that began its life as a Mandalorian ab plate, and an online purchased Nihilus mask. UNDERSUIT The undersuit is a simple pair of black elastic waist/cuff yoga pants, a black t-shirt, and a pair of my old combat boots from Basic Training. I chose those because the laces are easily concealed and they are tore the frak up/appropriately weathered (I went to Basic in 2001). LAYER 1 The first layer includes the inner skirting and the dickey. The inner skirt is three yards long and gathered around a simple 2-inch nylon belt that is secures with a side-release buckle. It is made to floor length when I am in my stocking feet. I weathered the opening edge about three inches in and weathered it up about half a foot. On Halloween, I discovered that I can actually pull all of the bunching to the front for a more flowing look, since the cape covers the back. Oh, and yes, I have walked off about an inch of the material in the front. The dickey is from an old “not-Star Wars” pattern that Simplicity released. You will notice a little discolored area on the front of it. That is where the knot attached from the cowl. The edge is finished with a piece of the same material. It is tied with a piece of folded and sewn raw silk and fits rather well, if I do say so myself. Though, I might try to make it a simple vest in the future, just for comfort’s sake, as I loathe the look and feel of the (as one of my Garrison-mates put it) Sith Bikini top. LAYER 2 The second layer includes the inner tunic and outer skirt as well as the gloves. The inner tunic is made from the same pattern set as the dickey. It is a simple doublet made of the raw silk that ties shut with some type of material (I’m not quite sure what it is). It is sleeved with a cotton arm that includes hand stirrups and is filled with a cotton batting. The sleeve actually starts inside the arm hole, to give it the layered look. As with the dickie, the inner shirt is self-edged. The outer skirt is two yards long and the same length as the inner skirt (to the floor in my stocking feet). It is sewn under the inner tunic. The open edge is weathered about six inches in and the bottom is weathered about a foot up. The gloves are a pair of fencing gloves from my SCA days (they’re older than my boots). Those things have seen battle in tourney, and have been both cut and blooded with my own and some of my opponents. I’ve had to sew up a couple of tears on them, which adds to their weathered look a little more than normal. You’ll have to excuse the crease, they have been sitting under a thirty pound chain shirt for the past half decade, so it will take a little bit of time to work it out. LAYER 3 The third layer is the over tunic and ascot. This tunic is made with the same pattern as the inner tunic, but this one is longer and not finished along the edges. It has a bit of a cap sleeve built into it to cover the sides of the inner tunic, but not by much. It ties along the waist, so that the tie is hidden by the obi, which gives it the look of coming together in the middle rather than overlapping. The sleeves and inner edge are not weathered, allowing natural weathering rather than man-made. However, the lowered edge is weathered up about nine inches. As with the underskirt, the over tunic will be pulled and gathered forward under the belt to give it more of a flowing look when the cape is worn. The ascot is a simple strip of raw silk. I use it to cover my neck since the balaclava does not conceal all of the skin at the bottom. The ascot is tucked under the dickey. It doesn’t tie or anything, just folds over itself similarly to a neck seal. LAYER 4 The fourth layer includes the obi and belt. The obi is from the same Simplicity pattern set as most of the rest of the outfit. It has an interfacing to give it a little stiffness and wraps around the body to tie in the front. Except for the interfacing, it is made entirely of raw silk. The belt is made from a black leather three-inch tool belt, a black leather 1-inch dress belt, and ten black Chicago screws. From the back, you can see how the work belt closes, but that is hidden by my cape when in the full costume. LAYER 5 The fifth and final layer includes the mask and cowl. The mask is an internet purchase and rates a 9.8 on the creepiness factor. I have found that I can freak people out by staring at them then tilt my head to the side a little. It is a great deal of fun! The cowl is another story entirely. The top of the head keeps it shape thanks to a cut-down batting helmet and a piece of PVC foam board (sintra) that was a TCW Death Watch abdominal plate in a previous life. As per Pam’s tutorial, the cape is made of three lengths of material. The inner layer is two yards long and sewn in the center. Each side comes around to tie in the knot in the front. The main part of the hood is a third piece that hands down and blends into the rest of the material. Overall, it is floor length with the boots on (plus an inch or three). All of the pieces are weathered up about a foot, with extra holes and danglies. Oh, and the lower edge is also cut rather raggedy and craggy for more of a weathered look. So, what do you think? Ready for submission? PROJECTS TO COME Sound System The first project is going to be a sound system. I have a pair of JBL on-tour speakers that I was planning to use with my Vader, but had to sell it before I got them ready. I will be making a suspender system to hold them under the inner tunic with the Nihilus voice recordings set up to a PTT button. That should increase my creepiness factor enough to get a solid Magnitude 10. Lightsaber Since I can’t find anyone even willing to attempt the double-helix cuts or bulbous look of the lightsaber that I have found, I will be making it myself out of PVC, epoxy sculpt, and rub-and-buff. Depending on costs, I might cannibalize a pair of the new Hasbro Vader sabers to combine into one blade that will be properly bright enough and have the appropriate flash and sound. It’s either that or I’ll get the appropriate items from TCSS. Upgrades As we all know, no costume is ever completely finished. I have a few things that I would like to upgrade on my suit. The dickey will be replaced with a vest, the batting helmet will be replaced with something a little cooler, some of the ties will be replaced to make them look/fit a little better. The usual. The only cool thing is that I won’t have to really modify it as I lose more weight… it will just look baggier, as it should.

Belts are here! I will be building them this weekend and should have some entrance pics for review posted by Monday!

That looks awesome! However, I have a question. Since Savage is g-cannon from TCW, would it be here or Sith Lord Detachment?

I would actually suggest a pair of Biker Boots. I use a pair of Mens Advanced Classic Engineer Motorcycle Boots by Xelement Footwear for my RFT and my Vader when I had it. They are only $69.95 and fit rather well with a good insole. All you have to do is cut off the ankle strap and, maybe, use some metal paint on the top buckle. Boom, a pair of Imperial-style boots. Oh, and they are Imperial-style. I found the buckles on the tops of the Death Star scanning crew boots, the TIE and X-wing pilot's boots, the crewmen/off-duty pilots boots, and the RFT boots. Yes, I am THAT guy...

Both belts (3" and 1") have shipped along with the chicago screws. It will be soon for me to take my in-depth pics and my pre-entrance pics to know if there is something I need to change.

I wear my army boots. They are tie-up, but I pull my sweat pants down over them to hide the laces.

It's been a while since my last update, but I am nearer to the completion. I just ordered the belts, the last part I need for the costume. They should all be here by the 1st of October. I am also going to whether it a great deal more than it already is. This guy is going to look scary by the time I am done. The harness for the sound system is still in progress and will actually double for suspenders for the skirt (which are needed a little). I am just using a basic mp3 player with all of the in-game voice sounds on it and a pair of JBL On-Tour speakers. Turned up, along with the mp3 player, and it adds a sufficient creepy value to my costume. Unfortunately, my mp3 player is on my belt and needs to be pushed to play (need to buy one with a PTT feature). If anyone can suggest a good PTT mp3 player with a cord I could snake under my glove, no need for a microphone, I would be grateful. Finally, I have decided to make my own lightsaber. I'll be using a PVC pipe as a base for it with a couple of good fittings to make it as close to what you see below as possible. Including indenting it with a Dremel all the way up with the round marks. The activation button will actually be in the hilt (the red button). The bulbous part will be made with apoxy sculpt. I'll form it as well as possible and then sand it down the rest of the way. After that, I will use rub and buff to silver it. The internals will actually be made from a couple of the new Hasbro saber toys. I'll combine the two into one for a brighter blade and just wire both up to one button. I'll also deactivate the sound from one so it doesn't flicker the blade when the other does. If it is cheaper, I might just ask a friend to see about building me a good set of internals from TCSS for it.

It is now official, right out of the Ronto's mouth! The date for the release is now the date I have to finish this project by... Now to contact Gamestop and set up a troop at the release, possible a midnight release.