L Kamino

Awesome! One thing I didn't consider was the texture of the leather. After I picked up my straps, I was concerned that the leather might be too soft and stretch out with the weight of the new rings. My new rings are a bit heavy. But they haven't stretched. And I had mine made with Velcro stitched to the back where I needed it. And you can get a test swatch and get your mix right on the paint.

I went to a saddle maker for the leather. He had tons of different textured leathers and I had him make my straps. I haven't painted pleather, but my straps were sponge-painted with a mixture of Folk Art Metallic Sequin Black and Decoart Dazzling Metallics Shimmering Silver. This link for my thread shows the paints I used: http://www.theflagshipeclipse.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1756-becoming-darth-revan-a-womans-perspective-part-ii-the-belt-straps/ Since I was working on the belt straps anyway, I replaced the rings with nickel finish O rings that have an open gate, easy to remove to put the rings through the leather.

Thanks, Rejean. It is a bit of work to make the change, but will save tons of time and effort dressing at troops. One thing about using the D rings-the ones I bought are a smidgen too big, so the strap can slip a bit when feeding through. I will be changing those to a smaller size, but what I have will work for now.

Myself, I want to get away from just using the pins so I can protect the fabric. I plan to sew some small black snaps in place where the fabric meets in the center and on the sides. I will also attach short straps to the spot where you have yours pinned and have suspender clips on the end that can hold the snapped fabric in place where it needs to tuck. Rejean also has a good method for his pinning and tucking.

I posted an earlier thread regarding my modification to how the capelet straps attach to the front armor of my Darth Revan. I described changing the attachment so the capelet straps reach up out of the armor to feed through D rings attached to the capelet. This made it a lot easier to put on the capelet without help. I wanted to share additional images but was unable to add them in a reply to this earlier post: I tried this out on a troop and it was much easier. One could use snaps to hold the straps after they feed through the D rings, but I wanted the option of adjusting the height of the capelet when needed in case of wet pavement, grass, etc. or if I change boots or change armor fit. I wanted to add a stopper to prevent the capelet from loosening and lowering, but would still allow for me to easily raise the capelet. I put on the armor and attached the capelet. With help, I measured how much strap length was fed through. I then checked that measurement with the armor and capelet off to determine my stitch point for the stopper. Like in this belt example, I wanted to feed the straps so they were hidden and so the stoppers were against my body instead of facing out. I chose mushroom domed buttons that were small enough to fit through the D rings on the first feed-through, but would act as a stopper after the strap was fed through in place. I will black the chrome finish out on these: When I put the armor on, I make sure the straps are hanging outside of the front armor. I can reach up and grab the D rings to feed the straps. After feeding the straps through, I pull them forward to be hidden under the hood tuck. The mushroom buttons prevent the straps from loosening. I can also periodically check my fit without a mirror by feeling how close the buttons are to the D rings. I can also make quick adjustments to raise the capelet when needed without a mirror by measuring a finger width or two by feel.

I'm implementing a system with the hood so I don't have to sew anything. I bought two of these fabric clips, one with black elastic instead of white. They're designed to gather a shirt at the back. The clasps are rubber and won't tear the fabric. I'm going to use the black one to hold where I want the hood to gather at mid-chest under the armor. I'm going to remove the elastic on the other one so I can just use the clips, one on each shoulder side where I want the outside edges of the hood to stay in place under the armor. I can pre-clip them where I want them and reach under the armor to hook them where I want them clipped in place on the other part of the fabric. Hope that makes sense. No sewing or gluing. The hooks can easily be readjusted and additional elastic can be added for length, though I don't need this myself.

I bought the Deluxe Darth Revan from My Wicked Armor. The red vertical drape or sash is designed to fold over and pin in place at the proper length. I store my black and red sashes hanging with my other soft cloths, so I wanted a method to attach the fold to the back of the sash that didn't need to be re-pinned and that was still adjustable, and not have to pin the edge of the black sash each time. RED SASH I attached sew-on Velcro to two narrow strips of pre-shrunk cotton, a bit narrower than the width of the red sash. I stitched a small square of cotton to the inside and outside of the foam, as I was able to reach my hand inside the opening. This gave me a mid-point for support and I tacked one strip across the underside of the sash where the top of the fabric would fold over to meet the Velcro. I tacked it at this midpoint and at the edges, stitching to the folded hem of the red fabric and not to the foam. The foam would not be strong enough (as I learned from an earlier method of a button and loop elastic that failed.) I tacked the other strip along the top of the red sash, tucking the open ends of the fabric over. Tacking the fabric pieces on instead of sewing the Velcro directly helps protect the fabric when it comes time to replace the Velcro. I'm then removing the tack and not the entire stitch from my red fabric. BLACK SASH After finding my measurement, I folded the end of the black sash inward towards the seam to achieve the tapering of the other end. I stitched the point in place, and tacked the folds in place. I then stitched sew-on Velcro in place to match the other end of the sash. No more pins. I kept dropping them at troops anyway! I use a garment bag and a multi-level hanger and just loop the sashes over one of the levels for transport and storage. http://mywickedarmor.com/

I have the Deluxe Revan from Rob at My Wicked Armor. I didn't experience any delays when I ordered but that was in the winter. Keep trying. He does a great job on the paint!.

I just posted them on a new topic. I don't have a pic yet of my armor on with the new cape system, but the rings are hidden.

I purchased the Deluxe Revan from My Wicked Armor. The cape has long straps attached that are designed to tie to loops that are attached to the inside of the front armor. I made a modification to allow me to dress without help and connect the straps more easily. I wanted to have straps connected to the inside of the armor that reach up to attach to the cape instead. I wanted to utilize D rings, such as with this fabric belt, with the D rings attached to short straps on the top of the cape. I have another thread which covers putting the cape on here: I found I had this bag stashed in the closet with a strap the same width and similar look as the cape straps. It also had swivel hooks attached to the ends, which saved me some sewing. The strap had 43" of length, which was plenty for my two new straps. I cut it in half, giving me two straps, each one having a swivel hook. NOTE: webbed straps need to either be cut with a hot knife or sealed with a flame across the cut to protect the strap from fraying. A moment near the flame is enough, and too much can pull the strap out of shape. I connected the swivels to the loops inside the front armor piece. If I didn't use swivels, the strap would have been attached to an O ring and stitched in place. I purchased Dritz 3/4" D rings to attach to the cape. (I forgot to get a photo with the D rings still in the package.) I attached the D rings to the cape straps and prepared to measure length and sew. I measured 1" away from the edge of the cape and pinned the straps in place, then hand-stitched to secure them. I did not trim them, in case I need to adjust the length. After stitching, here's the inside view. The length can be hidden inside the cape, trimmed or pinned to obscure. Here's the outside view: I leave the long straps connecting to the loops inside the front armor draped over the front armor when I put it on. That way, the straps are easy to lift up and feed through the D rings. I can put my cape on without help now, and could connect it without looking. I can easily adjust the length as needed if I get different boots. http://mywickedarmor.com/

I actually just did a change to my cape a few days ago. I attached straps with swivel hooks to the canvas loops on the inside of the front armor. I inserted two D rings to the straps that are on the cape at about an inch away from the hem. Now, I can pull the straps from the inside up to feed through D rings and not have to reach inside to tie. i leave the straps hanging out of the front of the armor so they're ready to go. I have pics that I'll post. Makes it much easier to connect the cape and I can do it without help-and without looking now. Will post the pics on another thread.

Hope it works well for you. It's a pretty quick application, whether you put in the parachute buckles or the D rings. I like that I got the buckles with the contour. The shape is comfortable.

Another purchase forthcoming then!

Well, I love the photo! And thank you...still making adjustments. That never ends, right?

I purchased the Deluxe Revan from My Wicked Armor. The mask has two elastic straps coming out from each side that tie onto or slip through a third elastic strap with a loop that comes off of the top/forehead of the mask. I attached a Dritz 1/2" parachute buckle onto the side straps to keep my fit adjustment in place and to make it easier to put on and take off the mask. http://www.mywickedarmor.com/ I also wanted to add strap adjustors, such as these on this tank top below: I had another top like this one that was getting worn out, and the adjustor was the width I needed. It was used for parts. I only used one of the strap adjustors. Incorporating the circular adjustor was not necessary, as I had plenty of elastic strap to feed through. Before attaching the buckle, I tied the mask straps on to get an approximate measurement. I then made adjustments considering the width of the buckle and allowing one strap to feed through the looped elastic further than the other so my buckle would sit to one side of the loop and not directly inside of it. I fed the end of one strap through the female end of the buckle, folding over the fabric and pinning it in place. I later hand-stitched a seam across the elastic strap. In the photo below, I fed blue thread through the strap to show placement. I fed the other strap first through one opening in the strap adjustor, through one opening in the male end of the buckle, looped it back through the other opening in the buckle and then through the other opening in the adjustor. The buckle is designed to grab and hold the fabric, so there's a double-hold on the elastic from both the buckle and the adjustor. Here's a side view of the buckle and adjustor: Here's the attached buckle disconnected: Here you can see how the connected buckle straps feed through the looped elastic piece. With my straps adjusted and the buckle connected, I can pull the mask on carefully. I opted to add a stitch into the strap with the adjustor to keep the elastic in place. I still have a little room to tighten or loosen the strap, but now I don't have to worry about the strap moving out of the adjustor and my mask coming off. I do have to remember to be careful when removing the mask and to either disconnect the buckle or hold the buckle if I lift it off to prevent the buckle from hitting my visor. I have not glued any padding inside of my mask. I purchased the under mask, and this alleviates any need for padding. It is comfortable, moves air and steam away from my lens and supports the weight of the mask. All I need now are two cosmetic wedges slid under my balaclava at the hairline of my forehead where the top of the mask rests. I can toss them after use, or wash them out. I keep a bag of them on hand and they work great. They absorb moisture too. Here's my under mask. (I came a little untucked at this troop but it's a good one to see the mask.)

I don't have a little button nose either! I only found relief by pushing it away from my forehead, causing the mask to til inward toward my chin. Looking at Rejean's link, I might look into getting one of those as well, though I will probably still use the forehead pad to keep the angle and clear my nose.

I wanted a way to disconnect it if I needed to to fit into the bin I have for it. I just reconnect the buckles and lift it on. In hindsight, connecting two D rings on each strap would have been better and I might change it to them later. Slipping the strap through D rings is really easy to adjust the fit.

First of all, Darth Fred-that's such an amazing photo! I have the MWA Deluxe Revan. My Hakama fits fine, but I do notice that with my body movement it slips on my belt and the gap can open. I'm considering either adding black snaps, clasps (such as the kind inside slacks to hide where they button) or more likely attaching fabric ties, such as in traditional Hakama. In regards to the belt, I didn't make my own new straps but I had some made out of leather and sponge painted a mixture of black and silver metallic paints to get a match to the darker grey. Be careful to measure how much length you're adding, as the angle of the suspension needs to be considered so you don't drop too far. Darth Brute's Revan build thread has a lot of detailed information on mods to the MWA Revan, and he included images a couple of pages in with photos of the remake of the belt straps, so take a look at that and see what you think. I also found en-zozallow's threads regarding the mods and remake of the cloths very helpful. I added parachute buckles to connect the front and back armor pieces more easily. I also plan to change how the cape ties to the armor by having the straps reach up from the inside of the front plate to connect with D rings instead of tying inside the front armor plate.

I bought the Deluxe Revan from My Wicked Armor. I wanted the back armor as described in "optional accessories" in the costume standard. The commissioned armor pieces have straps attached on the front and back armor that are designed to tie together over the shoulders. I added Dritz 3/4" parachute buckles with contour shape to the straps to hold my armor adjustment and to make dressing easier. http://www.mywickedarmor.com/ After determining my placement, I pinned the straps in place. I placed two clothing clips on the straps to hold them and then placed two more to mark approximately where I wanted to connect the buckles so that they would be hidden from view. The two higher clips sit where I wanted the buckles to connect. (Note-shirt in photos is not my costume shirt.) With the armor not secured at the sides, I lifted the armor off, keeping the clips in place. I then determined the length I needed for the straps, considering the added 2" length of the buckles. I ended up increasing the front length to 7" instead of 5" of strap length. I kept the back lengths at 2". Before sewing, I made sure the contour of the buckles faced the correct way. I put in some stitches by hand to keep the buckles in place, then used the sewing machine. I won't need to pull the fabric of the straps through to make adjustments since I measured where I want them. I can now easily clip the buckles to hold the armor together and slip both front and back armor pieces on over my head.

I have the MWA mask as well. Without padding, the weight of the mask crushes against my nose and it is quite painful. I didn't want to glue padding inside of my mask, and I also wanted something I could wash periodically or replace easily. I insert a triangular cosmetic wedge inside my balaclava upright over my chin where the bottom of my mask rests. They're inexpensive, absorb moisture and I can toss them after wearing. I then set an oval-shaped clothing pad inside the forehead of the mask and that stays in place when the mask is on. I can wash that easily and I avoided having to glue anything. I may insert a square of Velcro inside the forehead of the mask and stitch another square on the padding to make it easier to put in place, but it really doesn't move once the mask is on. The pad is thick enough to push the forehead of the mask away from my face so as to not crush my nose. The tilt of it puts the weight instead against my chin, which is cushioned by the cosmetic wedge.

Yes! There's a few of us now!

You know, I didn't think of that. How do you secure the top part of the armor pieces together if the belt is unattached?

Thanks! I still have to glue it back onto the armor. Learning lots!

I ordered the Deluxe Revan from My Wicked Armor. I replaced the belt straps with longer leather pieces as a preference, and at the same time, replaced the original chrome key chain rings with 1" nickel plated brass rings from Buckle Guy. I found versions with an open gate, which made painting the new straps easy and will help with future repair, repainting or replacement of the leather straps. I must mention that they have some weight to them, and time will tell whether they are too heavy and will stretch the belt leather prematurely. http://www.mywickedarmor.com/ http://www.buckleguy.com/ors16-1-nickel-plate-o-ring-opens-with-screws-solid-brass-ll/?page_context=category&faceted_search=0 Below is a comparison of the four replacement rings and the original ring attached to the belt piece. What's nice about these is they have a small opening that can be removed to place on the straps. The screws are pretty tiny and I needed my electronics tools to work with them. I dropped them several times and nearly lost one to my heat vent! Here's the open gate. The gate is small enough to hide inside the fold of the strap, but just in case it moved, I made sure to put the screw side to the inside. It was a bit snug getting them inserted. Screws reattached: Here's the side facing out with the gate hidden: Here's all four inserted. (The short strap looks wavy in this photo due to the curve of the cushion.) Here's my new belt:

I ordered the Deluxe Darth Revan from My Wicked Armor. The suspended bands holding the large O ring were made out of painted vinyl. I tore one of the edges while taking the armor on and off trying to adjust the fit. Not a fault of the the quality, but rather due to my not being as careful as I should. I was interested in adding some length anyhow to give myself more flexibility with the fit and suspension of the large O ring. With that, I asked a saddle maker to make some new strap pieces for me out of leather with Velcro attached to the backside of the long pieces. I only replaced the suspension straps and left the original dark pieces that are adjacent to the adornment lighter silver pieces. I kept the 6" length on the long pieces and increased the short pieces to 3 3/4". He tried to give me a sprayed color match to the original dark grey, but they came out too light. This meant painting the pieces. Lucky for me, my mom is an artist and has loads of metallic paints. She made a mixture of Folk Art Metallic Sequin Black and Decoart Dazzling Metallic Shimmering Silver to get the right shade. http://www.mywickedarmor.com/ http://www.plaidonline.com/folkart-metallics-2-oz/58/product.htm?keyword=sequin%20black%20paint https://decoart.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Session_ID=75b4e90e3a6be765d9ccda1914c1671c& To make painting and drying easy, I used wire coat hangers, untwisting the wires away from the hanger hooks. Both ends of the short straps and one end of the long straps were folded under to create a gap to attach to the small rings on the belt (attached later and described in Part III.) I slid the straps onto the wire through the gaps in the folds and reattached the end of the hanger wire to the hanger hook. I bent the hanger wires to make small dips to prevent the straps from sliding. The straps were sponge-painted while they were hanging on the wires and the hangers were hung up to let them dry. (This photo was from the first attempt of paint mix which was too black, but just showing the drying method.) After the right mix, here's how they looked after they dried. (Lighting better on comparison photo below.) In comparison to the original pieces, these are a fairly good match. (The original vinyl piece is on the bottom right with small ring attached. An original piece is also connected to the large O ring.) Due to the saddle maker's attempts as well as my own attempts to get a good color match, I do have more paint on these new straps than what is needed. I realize this may cause some stretching or stiffness in the leather, and time will tell me how they hold up. I did need to be careful how they lay when stored to avoid misshaping.