Pam's Darth Talon Project

[Twi'lek Pam]

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Designing a new costume is always a long-term goal for me. I start out by spending a month or two collecting reference images, drawing sketches to help me understand the costume from every angle, and figuring out how to convert flat images into a three dimensional creation. Then it's time to start shopping. I try to search out the best materials I can find, and that usually takes another month or two of hunting local stores and the internet. Once I have all of the supplies, it's time to really get to work! I am nearly finished with the shopping phase of my Darth Talon endeavour, so I thought I'd share what I've collected so far. Like I said, this is a long term goal. It'll take me a while, but if everything goes as planned I will (hopefully) have an accurate Darth Talon costume ready to share by summer of 2008. My goal is to wear the costume at Dragon*Con, to go with the Shado Vao costume that we're making for Scott. (I loved Cade's "Finish her or marry her!" line. Scott and I went for option B. )

 

 

For the costume, here are the supplies I have so far:

 

- Lekku headpiece with the thinnest latex I could manage on the forehead. I plan to make a new mold and better lekku in the spring, but if I don't manage, this headpiece should do the trick.

- Incubus style contacts (The yellow-red coloring is backwards, but they have that wonderful black outline that is so prominant in the eyes of Legacy's Sith characters.)

- Black High Tech Performance Spandex from Sew Sassy Fabrics. This stuff is really thick, and has a nice gloss to give the impression of tight fitting leather while still letting me bend my knees and elbows.

- Kwik Sew Bikini Pattern 2968 (For the bottoms. The top will have to be made from scratch.)

- Black Lambskin (For the bikini)

- Black cow hide (For the straps on the belt)

- Black low-heel boots

- Black leather gloves

- 2" leather belt strap from Tandy, dyed black

- Buckle blank that will be integrated into the larger belt design

- Fiberglass and styrene supplies for the armor, headpiece, and belt sections

- Red and black Reel Creations Body Ink

 

 

The Darth Talon costume is bringing a brand new element into the costuming process for me. I am going to make a lightsaber from scratch with Talon's distinctive saber handle and a red LED. My intention is to sculpt the saber handle in oil clay and make a mold, then cast the handle in resin over the top of a 1.25" pipe. I'm also going to experiment with sculpting a handle with Apoxy Sculpt to see how that comes out in comparison. It's amazingly hard when cured, and has a couple hours of working time. Since I don't want to use a kit, it has taken quite a bit of time to learn how the electronics work and to figure out which supplies to track down... but I'm finding it to be quite an adventure. I love having an excuse to learn something new!

 

Here are the supplies I have so far:

 

- Luxeon III Star Red Lambertian LED

- Luxeon 10 degree Collimator Lens

- 1400ma driver (regulated circuit board normally used for LED flashlights)

- Low profile push button switch

- Battery recharge port and charger (the port will be hidden in the handle design... I hope)

- Corbin style 34" saber blade (the film inside gives the impression of a lighter core)

- Assorted wiring, heatshrink tubing, solder, etc.

- UltraFire Li-Ion 18650 rechargeable batteries

- Two lengths of 1.25" pipe. (One for the sculpt, one for the casting)

 

 

 

I still need to acquire a few more important things.... such as a machined aluminum blade holder that won't be available until January, a body casting that I can use for creating tattoo design stencils, and enough self confidence to wear this outfit in public!

 

 

Pam

[Guest Sakara]

good work with this..im looking forward to seeing the progress. Have a friend in the Uk who wants to do it and were looking into latex base ( leggings etc)with heavy rubber or leather ( armour thickness) for the armour parts

[Twi'lek Pam]

good work with this..im looking forward to seeing the progress. Have a friend in the Uk who wants to do it and were looking into latex base ( leggings etc)with heavy rubber or leather ( armour thickness) for the armour parts

 

Thanks! Be sure to invite your friend to share her progress here on the boards... I'd love to see how things work out for her!

 

Pam

[Twi'lek Pam]

Here's how my new lekku sculpt is coming out so far. I'm still in the roughing-in phase, which is frustratingly slow for me. (I spent three years running photo developing machines, and brought home a nice case of tendonitis in both hands as a souvenir.) I'm pleased with how the sculpt is coming out so far. Once I have the overall shape looking the way I want it to, I'll be starting the smoothing process.

 

This is a foam casting of my head, which was poured around a welded frame that will be able to handle the weight of the 50 pound mold later on. A length of rebar goes down each lekku, which is then covered with aluminum foil to bulk out the shape of the lekku. On top of that is a thick layer of oil clay.

 

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

WOW!!!

That looks great!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

Can't wait to see how this progresses!

[Twi'lek Pam]

I should probably admit to everyone that Scott and I decided a while back that we're NOT going to try to finish our Talon and Shado costumes in time for Dragon Con.

 

Could we have finished them in time if we'd really pushed ourselves?

Yup.

 

Could we have finished them to the standards that we set for ourselves?

Nope.

 

We decided that we'd prefer to take our time and make costumes that we'd be happy with. We've spent months on them already, but they're quite a big job that has involved a lot of experimentation with new materials, and this year we just haven't had a lot of free time for working on them. We live on a farm that needs upkeep, we've been doing a lot of construction, and I always seem to give up hours of costuming time every week so that I can answer emails and PM's from folks who ask for advice about EU and Twi'lek costumes. Quite frankly, though, I'm okay with it. I enjoy the other things that I do when I'm not making costumes, and there's no point in taking the fun out of our Shado and Talon costumes by rushing ourselves!

 

 

But, now that I've said all that... I'll balance out the bad news with a handful of Talon progress pictures. I've been taking dozens of photos as we work on our costumes, so eventually we'll be able to post tutorials on everything from making male and female lekku, to dyeing massive quantities of Shado fabric, to wiring up the electronics in a saber.

 

 

These pics are a bit old, but they're what I have on hand at the moment!

 

 

I'm only half evil....

 

 

 

Saber without the camera flash. This blade has corbin film in it. I also made a blade with clear cellophane, which I Iike better because it lights more evenly. It's funny how the camera picks up so much yellow from a red LED...

 

 

 

The saber, still in the sculpting phase...

 

 

 

Making casts of my arms, for sculpting the bicep and forearm armor...

 

 

 

 

Putting the lines in the belt prior to applying black dye. Yes, I did use a nail setter to etch the lines...

 

 

 

The finished lekku sculpt...

 

 

 

Torso cast we made for creating the tattoo stencils. (Sorry, guys. This thread has a PG rating!) I used ultracal, so the torso can be reused for sculpting projects later on...

 

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

hmm - Male Lekku's - that sounds tempting maybe I'll do a Bib Fortuna down the line .... I'm such a ROTJ kid at heart

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow - just saw this thread... you two are hardcore I love it!

 

The work is coming along nicely, and I like the contact lenses too...

 

"Finish her or marry her.." HAHA

[Twi'lek Pam]

I spent a few evenings working on my Talon saber, and finally finished sculpting and painting it. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out, though I may still tinker a bit.....

 

I like the way it looks so different from each angle. On the left image you can see the screw used to hold in the blade, the power switch, and the recharge port. I'm playing with ideas for disguising the recharge port via a sculpted plug, though the other two I'm pretty much stuck with as far as their visibility goes.

 

 

This picture was taken in a dim hallway with no flash. That's a white wall behind it... the red LED has some kick!

 

 

 

 

Pam

[The Clone Emperor]

Congratulations Pam,

 

The sculpt alone is impressive.

 

The built-in rechargeable power source is innovative, and quite possibly the first I have seen in my six years of this hobby.

 

That you worked your own electronics is masterful.

 

I like the term "Vong Stuff" you applied to the form of the sabre. While I am not familiar with the term being of a canon source I feel it should be. It explains the organic form of many of the Legacy Sith sabres eloquently.

 

Thank you my friend for the continued inspiration.

 

Be well,

Thomas

[Guest Sakara]

A saber smith in my garrison uses rechargable power ports and they are so handy! My Asajj sabers have them and one full charge will last all day. I have absolutly NO idea what theyre called make wise...but the sabersmith does love to play with all the latest saber gadgets, like new soundboards and light sources etc etc

[Guest Anonymous]

Good god, Pam - the saber looks completely awesome!!! Nice work.

[Guest Anonymous]

Excellent job on the saber Pam, you should be very proud of it!

[Guest Anonymous]

Just beautiful!!!

[Guest Anonymous]

Saber handle looks awesome Pam!

 

I was thinking of making a sort of lightweight model clay casing to fit over my Vader saber, as I do not yet have the skillz or wherewithal to build my own.

[Guest mdb]

Sorry for replying so late.

 

So very inspiring! I can't wait to see more progress and the final result

[Twi'lek Pam]

Thanks, the saber was a lot of fun to make.

 

As for the rest of the costume, I'm stalled out at the 50/50 point.

 

It's about 50% complete, and I'm about 50% certain that I will actually finish it. I realized a while back that once I finished doing the parts that I really enjoy (scultping, casting, leather, electronics) , I completely stalled out and haven't touched the costume since. One part of me wants to finish it and wear it at least once, just to prove to myself that I can. But the other part of me... well, the folks who have met me in person know that while I'm pretty confident about MAKING costumes, I'm not very confident at all when it comes to actually WEARING them. I'm the shy artistic type, through and through. As much as I'd like to meet the challenge, the thought of putting this 30-something body into such a revealing 20-something outfit has me rather terrified! I keep fluctuating back and forth between finishing the costume, and repurposing the supplies for other costumes. Since I really want to do a Legacy costume, I've considered doing Deliah or Astraal, but for now I'm holding off on the decision while I think about it some more. I know that I can finish the Talon costume, I just don't know if I can wear it. I've been changing my mind back and forth for weeks now!

 

Pam

[Drago Lordist]

about your "confidence" I honestly hadn't noticed that when we met at C4.

 

Like you said a bit ago - we're two of a kind, dropping a project and comming back to it later. I have confidence you can finish it - just save the stuff aside and come back to it.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow...I am honestly shocked...

 

Pam, I would like to encourage you to complete this costume and by all means, WEAR it.

 

You are certainly one of, it not the most knowledge craftsperson I have seen in my experience with costuming and as far as the whole 30 something in a 20 something costume thing goes, I think I speak for everyone when I say, you have NOTHING to worry about in that department!

 

Pam, I say go for it! You only live once, you know! Get out there and make splash!

[ladyb]

The sabre is amazing, such attention to deal.

[Twi'lek Pam]

Thanks for the support and confidence... now we'll just have to wait and see if I have as much confidence as the rest of you! I'll change my mind back and forth a few dozen more times over the next few months, most likely. I'm half stubbornly determined, and half timidly shy... and I never know which half is going to win in the end!

 

(I need to add some small print: "Anyone who encourages me to wear this costume must also be willing to let me hide behind them when I'm wearing it!")

 

 

Pam

[Guest mdb]

Well I'm here in Kiwiland but I'd be there cheering you on

 

I know what you mean, though I have reason to hide I have forced myself to wear costumes due to all the work I put in them despite being totally terrified of actually being seen in them.

 

So even with all the vacilating between yes and no just remember how many people are going to be thrilled with seeing you and your work.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm the shy artistic type, through and through. As much as I'd like to meet the challenge, the thought of putting this 30-something body into such a revealing 20-something outfit has me rather terrified!

 

Pam, I was in my 30s when I wore it at CIV, and will continue to wear it. And I have nowhere near as great a body as you! DO EET! I think you'll look so awesome, especially since you're really perfecting every detail!

[Guest Anonymous]

(I need to add some small print: "Anyone who encourages me to wear this costume must also be willing to let me hide behind them when I'm wearing it!")

 

You finish it and I will personally bring the Vader out to whereever and you can hide behind me all you want! I'm a good screen.