The Clone Emperor

Your journery toward the Darkside is now complete! The captain has turned off your the seatbelt sign and you are free to move about the shuttle. Please strech out with the Force and check around your seat for any personal belongings. Use caution when opening the overhead storage bins as lightsabres may have activated during flight. We here in the Empire realize you have a choice of Force powers, and we thank you for allowing the Darkside to forever dominate your destiny. Be well, Thomas

Well, there's goes my pitch for a special SW fan film. I'll do my best to represent proper Flagship style come D*C. ?Darksiiiiiiide! Peace.

Get a room you two. ?Congratulations Demon! Infact, congratulations to the entire Flagship Eclipse are in order. We have a new SL in the Legion. And a bar setting example at that. ?Huzzah! Membership images to follow. Let's elevate the Darth Traya research room to "approved 501st costumes" section. Then place a Darth Talon research room in its place. Be well, Thomas

Good afternoon, I think this discussion has become mired in the three reference rule technicality. With discussion in the Legion Council, the three reference requirement has been waived for certain exceptions. But a few other things must happen; 1. There must be an accurate and complete costume for consideration first. In the case of the Imperial Knight, I have not seen a costume that accurately reflects the armour, dress and appearence of the Imperial Knight to a level consistant with the growing resources for the character to be considered for the 501st. Understand that I visit this board, the RPF, and the TDH, etc. several tymes a day. And I don't make this call alone. That is all I can say on the topic. One of the reasons we are hesistant to accept comic characters into the Legion, is differing representations a character may be represented with, especially new characters. Some leeway is granted for soft items like clothing and glove colour. However, characters with hard armour whose appearence should not change may need tyme for their appearence to be fully established. Imperial Knights are only now reaching the point. where their armour can be codified. 2. A way to shoehorn an obviously non-villain character into the 501st's historically bad guy only character will need to be considered. I won't support an exception that will undo previous policy rulings or require the entire Legion to be reformatted. This one decision could potentially effect hundreds. It would need to be regarded as such and approached from many angles. If this post concerns you, I ask to please consider making a reply as a PM first. Be well, Thomas

AR6555 noted that upon close inspection of the Visas Marr texture, the pattern on the bodice is actually based on a "pinwheel." This is just the sort of glyph I am keen to illustrate; Notice that the pattern is reflected across the centre--as in all KOTOR models. Previously this pattern has been taken to be some sort of organic reptile scale. Once pointed out however, the "pinwheel" is undeniable. I would not penalize anyone for having a more organic intrepretation, but I feel AR6555's discovery is an important point to share. Be well, Thomas EDIT: Correcting image URLs. ~MH

Gracious me, thank you for the support. This is the beautiful part of our community. I finished this image this weekend; Ganner Krieg visits the Adega system I've found that drawing the object of my obsession over and over again helps to solidify its appearance. This image represents my understanding of the IK armour based on all the illustrations and input I have collected to date. I will be modifying my armour sculpt accordingly, right after CIV. I do hope to meet with all Eclipse members in attendence. Be well, Thomas

All the while I am working on a costume project, I like to draw the character over and over. This hopes me to solidify what the final costume should look like. I just finished this sketch this morning; My free tyme has been diverted from Darth Bane by other projects, and preparations for the upcoming Star Wars Celebration IV convention in Los Angles. I actually feel a slight guilt for putting the project in stasis. Sketching him on my commute to work gives "us" a few precious moments together. The process of creating a costume is an intimate one for me. I look forward to freeing up after the convention and jumping back into form. Be well, Thomas

I would like to share a little progress on my Imperial Knight armour sculpt. The posts in the left shoulder are there to allow me to take the shoulder "underbell" on and off. It will be a while before the suit is complete. But I am in no hurry. Be well, Thomas ps As per the details of the IK armour, I don't feel I am in a position to comment. It has to made and made well before we can decide what works.

As defined by their actions the Imperial Knights of SW Legacy are more closely aligned with the Alliance than Sith. Infact, the IK's were kept from battle with Alliance forces by order of Emperor Fel. The Free thinking Imperial Knights cannot not be compared to the Clonetroopers under the command of Darth Sidious. Those Clones were little more than organic battledroids, maneveured under the guise of being allies into position to shoot their Jedi targets in the back. Infact the only actions we have visual reference for of Imperial Knights are those in which they are intentionally helping Alliance characters with no appearent hidden agenda. Perhaps in future stories these brave acts may be revealed to be an elaborate and diabolic ruse, but not yet. This presents an issue with approving the Imperial Knights as SW Villains. It could be argued that they are Imperial and aligned with the 501st, but I still need to fit their good guy roles together with the policies defining membership requirement in the 501st costuming organization. (SW Villains.) In addition to this, there is talk of requiring 3 visual references from three separate sources to demostrate that a character has become "established" in the SW Universe. To date their is but one source for Legacy introduced characters, the Legacy comic series. I personally have an interest in seeing the Imperial Knights approved for 501st membership, but I need to keep the approval fair and unbiased. I know of at least one very official additional reference source to come in the future for these popular characters. Others are sure to follow. In the meanwhile, I recommend to continue making wonderful costumes. Be well, Thomas

This is a sketch I made to help visualize what my Imperial Knight might look like beneath the cloak. I sent the image to Jan and spoke to her about the armour on Monday. To help unify the appearence, Jan sent along some sketches of her own which I will now upload to The Flagship Eclipse's Gallery. Based on Jan's notes and sketches, I will be modifying my own work in progress. Be well, Thomas

No update needed yet. My comment stemmed from the idea that this discussion appears to be related. As I understand fourm etiquette frowns starting new threads for previously created ones. No harm. I'd like to shoehorn Imperial Knights into the Legion, but in a tymeline where the Empire is more or less aligned with the Good guys, it is hard to make the fit. I am very interested in ways to make this work. I spoke to Jan Duursema about this months ago. Her response was "They are Imperials." Maybe that is enough, but I'd like a more defensible platform--if possible.

The argument for Episode II, Republic Clonetroopers in the 501st goes like this; Episode II CLones are the same Clones as Episode III Clones. Had they been directed to kill the Jedi on the day of their discovery, they would have. (Or at least they would have died trying to.) The fact that they were ordered to delay their fight with the Jedi until the Jedi were sufficiently weakened is strategy and deceit--not evidence of changing from Heros to Villains. Clonetroopers were bred without conscious. They are little more than highly effective organic robots in service of Darth Sidious.

Unfortunately the eligiblity notice thread has been locked. I would love to justify Imperial Knights in the Legion. However the definition of qualifying characters seems to challenge their inclusion; The working definition to qualify characters for the 501st has been LFL referencible Villains--characters that would mean harm onto heros--from the SW Universe. It is important to note that Imperial Knights have never been shown to raise arms against the heros of the Star Wars Universe. In Legacy Issue 8, Lady Maladi reveals that Emperor Fel kept the Imperial Knights out the war between the Empire and the Alliance, a war that he was never trully in support of. Imperial Knights are neutral down to their lightsabre blade colour. If they had to choose an allegiance, their actions demonstrated to date demostrate those of heros. Legacy Sith are still bad guys. ?Is there a way to logically extend the umbrella of the 501st to allow for neutral-leaning towards-good guys? I'd love to hear some good arguments. Be well, Thomas

Good evening, I have a few pages about the process of casting my Darth Bane's helmet on my gallery, under the banner in my signature. In short, the helmet was sculpted in oil-based clay, molded in rubber, and cast in metalic resin. These images represent my latest progress on this project--the casting and sculptiing of the Parent Orbalisks that attach themselves to Darth Bane's chest. Orbalisk Production; Extra Large The Mother of all Orbalisks Currently I am courting solutions to attach these castings to body suit or other. One promising possiblity would be to attach each Orbalisk to a metal button and sew each individually. I would be interested in any other suggestions this board might offer. (Darth Bane's toroso arms and neck is covered by an entire brood of these creatures. It is his living armour.) Be well, Thomas Good night, sleep tight, Don't let the Orbalisks bite--unless you are true Sith Lord with a full comprehesion of the Darkside of the Force and physical attributes powerful enough to withstand their venom.

Indeed the rectangles I take to be the "coin slots" do appear to be consistantly on the left in the illustrations for Lumiya. I thought I saw something else. Very well. But I do still feel that you can borrow details from Vader's Chest Box in constructing Lumiya's. And I do not mean the vertical turned aluminum cylinders. Rather elements like lables, coin slots, and sliver switches, such as those found between the bottom row of switches on Vader. Please take my suggestion as just that, a suggestion. Perhaps it is not of use to you. That is fine too. I have had an interest in this as a costume for over a year. I am rather excited to see it being attempted. I don't mean to put too high of an expectation out there, but I feel confident in your skills based on what you have already shared. I am glad to see you working on Dark Lady Lumiya. Be well, Thomas

I'd like to thank Pam for providing us with the reference Decipher must have used in making its image. It is like a bit of gold to me, as some folk challenged my approval of the costume for the Legion based on the single reference. Finding a reference to predate the first helps to validate the decision in this instance. Costume well, Thomas

Dark Lady Lumiya is sometymes billed as Lady Vader. It is obvious the appearence of the character is meant to be a female counterpart to the Dark Lord. As such I'd look and all similaries between her design and Vader as something greater than coincidence. The orientation of the details on Lumiya's chest box is understandably inconsistant from pannel to pannel in these early comics. I maintain that the "coin slots" and illuminated buttons should remain in the same position as on Vader's chest box; Let's assume that the standard Imperial cybernetic technology is built such that the coin slots are on the right side of the wearer. I'd also borrow a detail or two from Vader's Chest Box to provide more detail were Lumiya's is lacking. I think it would be a great excercise to photo edit a nice Vader Chest Box into the proportions and design of your purposed Lumiya Chest Box. I like the way you are proceeding on this costume, Leanne. For what it is worth, I am impressed. Be well, Thomas

I believe the above was rendered by Joe Corroney. This image was rendered by Joe Corroney and links back to his gallery. This image was one I used to validate the EU presence of red armoured Stormtroopers in the 501st. I believe the they are meant to be special armoured Imperial Guardsmen assigned to Dark Lady Lumiya. I have the comic from which the very first scans in this thread are from. I would very much like to see more of issue concerning the red Stormtroopers. Maia, I was pleasantly surprised the day that your Vader was presented for approval. Surprized because it was so easy to approve. You have done an excellent job with one of the Legion toughest costumes. It is good to see your interest in this unappreciated but fascinating character. Lumiya has perhaps the longest running story and most transformations of any SW EU character, and yet she is relatively unknown. I look forward to seeing this executed well. Be well, Thomas

I don't usually go after characters that are popular. It is strange, but it seems to be the case. This will be the exception. I have to do this. This is an early progress image. I will be changing the form quite a bit before I go to make even the first mold. I like Jan. I respect her as an artist. I felt this way about her work even before we met. Being the reference for a new SW comic charater is an honour for me. It means all the more coming from Jan. Now I need to get back to work on Bane. Be well, Thomas[/img]

Imperial Knight Ganner Krieg, SW: Legacy VI Back in March of 2006 I was elated when artist Jan Duursema let me know that she'd be using my likeness for a character in a new Star Wars story arc. I patiently awaited the day for the zero issue to be released and then made my way to local comic shop. It took my friend Matt, the comic store guy, and I a moment to discern which character Jan meant. When I considered that Jan had only seen me with red hair, I realized the mystery character was the Imperial Knight Ganner Krieg. Ganner's character has been in the background in the series until this issue, number VI. I feel the above image is a readily identifiable likeness and I called Jan share my joy. Appearently, the character will be around for a while, as Jan has asked for more portrait shots. It is so very exciting to be part of something you love. Be well, Thomas

Frankie noooo... Your reply crushed me. I do hope you reconsider your endeavour. It would be a great loss if you were to abandon your project now. I am looking forward to your 501st SL submission for Darth Nihilus. He is coming along so handsomely, I think you will be raising the bar for the character. Be well my friend, Thomas

After the fateful events of The Battle of Ruusan, Darth Bane traveled to Dxun and entered the ancient tomb of the Sith Lord Freedon Nadd. Sequestered within the tomb, Darth Bane was further guided by Freedon Nadd's own apparition. Darth Bane emerged from the tomb a changed man. Fortified by the Arcane Knowledge of the True SIth, Bane fortified his Rule of the Two, declaring no more than two Sith--a Master and an apprentice--should exist at one tyme. Only in this way would the Sith become strong enough to defeat the Jedi and assume their true roles as Masters of the Galaxy. Darth Bane is creditted as being The Architect of the Sith. Darth Bane Costume Concept sketch When I first set out to create this helm, I envisioned welding sheets of brass together to make the form. This approach was deemed too dangerous as the process of fusing brass produces deadly gasses. Darth Bane Costume Concept sketch 2 By the tyme I had finished my second concept I was well into realizing the helm as a sculpture. Casting this piece was a trial. I almost lost three months' work in a 24hr period. And while my goal of making a professional quality rubber mold was dashed, I was able to salvage the casting. I photographed it at this point to demonstrate the difference between the polished and rough surface. Orbalisk Production Hundreds of these will make up Darth Bane's body armour. Helm and make-up test I Helm and make-up test II Because, this is The Flag Flagship Eclipse I wanted to officially share the first sighting of my costume here first--I am very excited to announce Jan Duursema has used my WIP to render Darth Bane in an upcoming comic. The image below lnks to a preview, spoiler warnings apply; Be well, Thomas