Materials: whats ok and whats not - Help please

[Reapwind]

Hi,

 

I'm looking for a list of acceptable materials I can use to build armour and soft parts

 

can anyone help?

 

regards

 

Reapwind

[Heavy1973]

Hi there and welcome

 

Well, it depends a lot on what kind of costume, that you want to make ?

[Reapwind]

Hi there and welcome

 

Well, it depends a lot on what kind of costume, that you want to make ?

 

Hmmm, ok.

as a merc there are lists of don't use and try not to use as they produce substandard costumes, but ok.

 

What I'm hoping to do is Exar Kun after her gets Sith Amulet and walks into the senate to rescue Ulric

 

 

 

Also if I do this costume, will I have to get a custom saber built like his or can I get an approximation?

Cos and approximation at this time would make making this costume more likely to happen any time soon

 

[Heavy1973]

HI

 

I´ll take your post and get some advices from the other mentors, because I am not familiar with this costume - hopefully one or more of them can help out.

[Nefthys]

Weapons are not needed for 501st approval. Just the costume. But it is always nice to get an accurate weapon to accompany the costume if you desire. I don't have a 100% accurate Nihilus lightsaber, but I can still troop with it. It will depend on the rules of your local garrison on what they will and will not allow.

 

As for materials, with something from a comic book you are open to a fair bit of interpretation. It is best to do research on the types of materials used in the movies, or any real life reference you can get to match to the feel of the Star Wars universe. Also an understanding of symbolism in history can come into play. For example, purple dye was the colour of royalty and used on only the best fabrics. For his purple robes I would go with something more luxurious, like silk. There are also nicer synthetics if you are on a budget. Looking at the images you want a fabric with nice drape, not stiff, that will fold and hang nicely.

 

For the armour pieces, it is up to you what you want to go with. In the end you want it to look as accurate as possible to the reference images. Keep in mind the longevity and durability you want in your costume. Going with materials that are sturdier means it will last longer and be less likely to break. I like to use Sintra a fair bit in my costumes because it is cheap, durable, and fairly easy to work with.

 

For more detailed pieces, like the gold medallion I would use something like Worbla, or even Sculpy. Worbla can be molded into more detailed shapes over foam and is fairly durable. Sculpy is much easier to work with, but is heavier and rather fragile. You can use a thermoplast as well, but they can be quite pricey, but are great to work with. You can also sculpt smaller more detailed pieces out of clay and then make a mold. From there you can cast them in resin. This is much more costly, but it means you can make multiple pieces.

 

It also looks like he is wearing some sort of scale mail skirting in this image:

http://www.theflagshipeclipse.com/galle ... omic01.jpg

 

For that you can use metal, or a plastic painted to look like metal. You could even use leather dyed purple, as long as it is a consistent look throughout the costume, such as matching it to what is on his knees.

 

In the end use what you are comfortable with that can achieve the most accurate look.

 

Cheers,

Nef

[Reapwind]

thank you, this has helped allot.

Especially the saber part, was really worried that I'd have to get a replica and a new mortgage to pay for it