question about mid section

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey guys. just a question about the mid piece (lower/upper cuirass). i have the armor bought on ebay and id like to get a silver section where the black fabric is connecting it, but im tall (pain in the butt) and finding something thats wide enough has been difficult to place there. Is it 501st acceptable to keep the black fabric, i know less accurate but its been difficult finding a way to make it work. And also the small greebles (prolly wrong on spelling) on the main O ring straps, how would you go about that? im thinking just paint it silver then some gray to give it contrast, but any suggestions on that? thanks all

[Guest Anonymous]

I used wide webbing, and there is webbing wider than what I used out there, up to 2" wide. I'd think that you could find something like that. Now, note, that the webbing I bought was black. I then painted it and detailed it.

 

You could even do the same with black fabric, perhaps with some kind of backing to stiffen it a bit, also painted and detailed. That's not much more difficult than just using black fabric, after all.

 

As for if the black is 501st acceptable, I leave the answer to that to thecloneemperor. I wrote the costuming standards, but they're not yet official, as far as I know. And as there are some Revans in the 501st with the black midsection...I just can't say for sure.

 

However, if you want to be more accurate, you'll do something to the midsection to keep it from being purely black. Another member pointed out from the texture files that the midsection also, in some ways, looks a bit like detailed leather, not silver or grey metal. I think she has a point. I think I have a point. Because we're looking at a computer graphic, it's hard to say for certain. But it's definitely other than flat black.

 

Anyway, long answer to a short question. The real answer is: I don't know if using black only will cause you trouble for qualifying your costume. I do know that it's less accurate than detailing the midsection in some way or another.

 

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing your costume!

 

- Carolyn

[Guest Anonymous]

Ooops, I missed your second question, about the belt greeblies, sorry about that.

 

 

For the greeblies, I used Sintra (PVC foamboard). I cut the rectangular pieces out of the Sintra, shaped them in hot water by bending them slightly lengthwise, so they weren't just flat but had a slightly curved appearance as they fit over the belt. I added the detailing of the ribbing at the ends of the pieces using Magic Sculpt, which is a polymer that handles like clay and then dries to plastic, but there are likely many other ways of doing it.

 

 

Once it was dry, I sanded them lightly, then painted them with a mixture of metallic spraypaints to give them a metallic gray (but not bright silver) appearance. I used hammered silver and an overspray of black. I also added more black to the grooves to make them stand out more.

 

 

Then I glued them to the surface of the belt. However, that might not stand the test of time. I might need to find another way to handle the belt attachments.

 

Pic below shows how the greeblies look on the belt itself. Pardon the goatee, was having fun with makeup.

 

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[The Clone Emperor]

I have been meaning to contact Carolyn about the Revan specifications.

 

As wtih any 501st costume, film canon or Expanded Universe canon, the more reference we have obtain for a character, the more solidified the standard for that character becomes.

 

In the case of Darth Revan I have been defering new approvals that are missing key details that our friend on ebay does not happen to include in his "product." (I have a great respect for the artist and I would love to speak with him in person.)

 

These details are nothing new. They are simply elements of the costume that make the suit accurate.

 

One would not expect to see a Darth Vader approved for the 501st whose undersuit was flat black without the ribbing.

 

Similarily, a Mara Jade would not be complete without the diagonal ribbing on the thighs of her catsuit.

 

Looking at the images my contact at Activision drafted for us, the textured pattern on Darth Revan's midsection is clear. This is now required.

 

I agree with Kristen's take on the strip as being a horizontal ribbed strip of grey leather with quilting. I'll pass most any reasonable and well made attempt to match this component.

 

The vambraces sold on ebay only go half way. These are meant to continue fully arround the arm. Consider this required.

 

The backplate is stil in question.

 

While the armour sets sold on ebay are well made, to my knowledge the artist has not updated his product to match the details and research that are available for the character today. If he did, I'm sure the armour would be even more impressive. As it is, individuals looking to join the 501st ranks as Darth Revan using his armour as a base will have a little more work to do for membership approval.

 

I do believe this effort is worth it.

 

Be well,

Thomas

[Guest Anonymous]

Thomas, I agree with all of the above, but I urge you to take another look at the midsection. While I agree that a valid interpretation could be leather or quilted leather when looking only at the texture map, I'd argue strongly that it doesn't appear so "cut and dried" in most screencaps and other shots of Revan. In those, one could just as strongly argue that the midsection appears more metallic, with the texturing being metallic reflections and highlights, rather than ribbing or quilting on dark leather.

 

I'd say that capturing either look should be acceptable, based off the game graphics and resources.

 

However, I applaud Kristen for her interpretation of leather...it's not one I'd noticed before on the texture maps and certainly bears mention and should look awesome if someone goes that route.

 

Just my two cents. The only image from the game that, for me, looks more strongly "leather" than "metallic gray" is the texture map. All others look like you could go one direction or the other, depending on which image you see at any given time.

 

- Carolyn

[The Clone Emperor]

I agree with Kristen's take on the strip as being a horizontal ribbed strip of grey leather with quilting. I'll pass most any reasonable and well made attempt to match this component.

 

 

Carolyn dearest,

 

I am accepting the metalic interpretation. As rendered in game, the strip does look as a metal band. But I am not convinced that was the orginal intent based on the texture map and practical armour deisign. All KOTOR texures are mirror maps, (except for Darth Sion who would look awkard with reflected scarring.)

 

I believe that on analysis of the texture of Dartth Revan, that the midsection strip looks to be leather. This would seem a practical consideration for movement in fantasy armour.

 

In the game render I feel the reflected texture map appears more like a pattern. I believe that the entire torso section of his model has a reflective property enabled making the this detail appear metaiic. That to isolate the midsection in the 3-D model and selectively remove this property was not considered an essential detail.

 

Again I offer this only as my reasoning behind my preference. As arguments for both Metalic and Leather treatments can be supported with LFL comission reference material, I accept both.

 

Really it is crazy to become concerned in such minutiae, but that's part of the fun too.

 

Be well,

Thomas

[Guest Anonymous]

What? Are you calling me CRAZY? *foams at the mouth and runs around gibbering* What gave you THAT idea??????

 

LOL!

 

Fair enough. I think you make a good argument both for the two interpretations and, conceivably, what the folks who made the render in the first place might have been going for. We'll never know unless we ask them. And if we did, I suspect the answer would be: "Gosh, that was years ago. Beats me what I was going for. Isn't it a little crazy to get so wrapped up in all these pointless details?"

 

But really, if we can't be OCD here, where CAN we be OCD?

 

Thanks for the clarification. I'm going to run around baying at the moon, now. Wait, it's daylight. Curses!

 

- Carolyn

[Guest Anonymous]

lol well now i know what to work on. Im using webbing for the mid section now, going for the look on the pic on here. spray painted it grey and going to finish off with freehanding the design. The only problem i have now would be the fully enclosed vambraces. ive spent plenty of money already on materials and getting together most of the fixes i needed to add in (ie Custom made boots, pleated cape and hakama...thank god im in Korea now for the boots) so it may be some time before i can get to making them fully enclosed. would this hold me back from trooping even if i dont have fully enclosed? i know the Japanese group is doing a troop soon and it would be my first troop with them and i would only be missing fully enclosed vambraces. Thoughts?

[Guest Anonymous]

I find myself requiring to source a ribbed leather material to replace my existing waist section, which was not close enough to the required standard. I hear people mention webbing, but try as I might I cannot associate the webbing material that I am accustomed to with the referenced pictures. Can anyone show me a picture of acceptable fabric that I can use to fashion this most elusive aspect of Revan's garb?

 

I was thinking that a woven leather kidney belt might closely match the pattern I am aiming for, but then maybe not. This got me excited for a while, before I realised it wouldn't work:

 

 

If anyone can assist me on my quest for "horizontally ribbed strips of grey leather" I would be most grateful.

[Twi'lek Pam]

If anyone can assist me on my quest for "horizontally ribbed strips of grey leather" I would be most grateful.

 

Hello,

 

I'm glad to see that you're nearly finished with your costume. We've seen it go through a lot of improvements since you first started!

 

The piece between the armor sections is most likely something that you would need to make a custom piece for. It shouldn't be too difficult to sew two pieces of thin leather or pleather together with lengths of batting or cords between them to make the horizontal ridges.

 

To explain what the piece should be, here is the game's texture map. You can see the leather with piping or ribbing located along with the armor on the middle left:

 

 

And, here's how it looks in the game. Granted, it looks a lot like a solid piece with silver patterns in it, but if you look closely you will see that it is actually ribbed sections with highlights in them making the silver pattern. The two sides are a mirror image of each other, creating the pattern look:

 

 

Both examples are approved in the 501st. While the ribbed leather (or leatherette) would be the most accurate, a solid piece with the patterns is also accepted.

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow! Thanks for the lightning fast reply Pam, I wasn't expecting anyone to even notice I'd posted for at least a week

 

I'm not a fan of the 'solid piece with the patterns' so it will have to be the 'ribbed leather(ette)' route for me. I have a friend who is a demon with leather, so I shall have to see if he can help me out.

 

Thanks for listing my options like that, I think I know what I have to do now, and that texture map certainly shows the belt well enough.

 

Cheers!

[Guest Anonymous]

I use the ribbed leather myself.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey SL-5766 where did you get yours from? - my source is tied up building a life sized Bantha right now.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hey SL-5766 where did you get yours from? - my source is tied up building a life sized Bantha right now.

A fellow 501st member made mine. I will post pictures of it.

[Guest Anonymous]

That would be great, thank you.

[Guest Anonymous]

I would like ti hijack this topic a bit as I wonder how many rings there should be on the greeblies, I know that there should be one at the bottom but I can't figure out if there should be 2 or 3 at the top.

As to how I plan to make the greeblies I will be using acryllic plastic that I have bent with a heat pistol and I had a metal pipe as a template that I bent it over and now I just need to know how many rings there should be so I can go ahead and apply Green Stuff, it's like clay that is used for Warhammer, to make the rings.

[Guest Anonymous]

Are you talking about the 'nipple' rings? The ones that connect the cloak and capelet to the chest?

 

If so, then there should be two each side.

 

I wouldn't have thought greenstuff would have provided the strength necessary to support the cloak. You can get steel 'o' rings on ebay for a few pennies each, that's what I use for mine - gives the armour that extra metal look too, rather than relying on painting techniques to simulate the look.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Guest Anonymous]

I mean the rings that are on the greeblies.

[Guest Anonymous]

Then I can only presume you mean the rings hanging from (in my case) the belt under the armour.

 

I have eleven in total - one in each 'clock' position except for at the rear where the belt fastener is.

 

Again I used steel 'o' rings for these.

[Guest Anonymous]

To clarify this since I don't think I can explain it that good so I stole a picture and doodled on it.

 

 

These are the ring that I'm reffeering to.

 

I know that there should be one ring there.

[Guest Anonymous]

Ahh, I see - my apologies.

 

I know some people have used handles from kitchen utensils (ice cream scoop handles?) for this. I went a simpler route and used metal belt stays that I bought from Tandy Leather Factory - one at the front and two at the rear of each.

[Guest Anonymous]

Here is a WIP for my Reven...including the ring part

 

[Guest Daritha]

It's astonishing how mind-disturbing costume parts are looking when out of context of the specific context. Or is it just my perverted mind (or maybe this S&M-themed episode of Castle I watched recently ^^').

 

However, the rings are looking really good. I can judge from some Revans I met during conventions. I'm curious about the whole costume and how the rings gonna look in it.