Sculpting Rahm Kota Armor

[Koda Vonnor]

I lined up all the hard parts and took a photo for posterity. After tweaking the shoulder bell anchor system and adding strategic Velcro to the BP, almost nine months to the day after I began this project, I am officially finished with the Rahm Kota armor version 1.0

 

Many thanks to Flagship Eclipse for being such a fantastic source of crafting info.

 

Special thanks to Pam, for the excellent detailed visual tutorials on body casting, mold making, resin casting, and all that other stuff I read and already forgot.

 

Thanks also to the Maestro, Thomas. For the most part I copied from his Ganner Krieg progress pix and process description for the fiberglass work (all but the blood sacrifice - I wimped out on that).

 

 

I will post one last picture to this thread, one with the full costume. I hope that all this can be useful to others who want to create something cool.

 

Thanks again! See y'all at DragonCon!

 

~ Vonnor

[The Clone Emperor]

Ah man. The Blood is the most important part.*

 

It is long over due; this is a work of beauty.

I love the solutions you have come to and the craftsmanship along the way.

Your documentation has been superb and is/will be a great asset to the costuming community at large.

 

When you first showed your work in progress, cropping your head, I wondered if you physical appearance would compliment your efforts. When you finally did show images with your face made up I was relieved. You have the handsome and nobel features to bring your costume to life.

 

I look forward to seeing this in person. And then raising my blade. My first red blade.

 

 

Be well,

 

*?Think I am kidding? You know what I am working on now. I am very close to the blood stage, right bicep to be precise. This will take weeks to heal.

[Koda Vonnor]

Ah man. The Blood is the most important part.*

I have given blood to this project, but not by choice. The knife never seems to differentiate the model from the fingers.

 

It is long over due; this is a work of beauty.

I love the solutions you have come to and the craftsmanship along the way.

Your documentation has been superb and is/will be a great asset to the costuming community at large.

 

When you first showed your work in progress, cropping your head, I wondered if you physical appearance would compliment your efforts. When you finally did show images with your face made up I was relieved. You have the handsome and nobel features to bring your costume to life.

Your words mean a great deal to me, sir. I am honored.

 

I look forward to seeing this in person. And then raising my blade. My first red blade.

hmmmm...... I thought Vader was sending a 'boy.'

 

*?Think I am kidding? You know what I am working on now. I am very close to the blood stage, right bicep to be precise. This will take weeks to heal.

...and I thought it had to be an unbaptized male child...

[Koda Vonnor]

I present General Rahm Kota, Jedi Master.

 

 

 

So the project thread ends the way it began, with the first reference picture.

 

I owe a debt of gratitude to a great many people. To all the forum members of the Rebel Legion, The Jedi Assembly, Flagship Eclipse, and the Replica Props Forum (RPF) who gave advice, input, and opinion; to my sister and her family, who endured countless days of bugging to help me make plaster body casts; to my brother, who helped me brainstorm the armor mounting system; and especially to Thomas Spanos and Pam Simpson for their excellent crafting tutorials, without which this costume would not have been built.

 

To my outsources, Mel Mattson, leathercrafter extraordinaire; to Carlos Diaz, who is still willing to build a pair of boots from a napkin sketch, and to Don Close of Do-Clo Custom Sabers, who gets up at 5AM every day 'cause it's "time to make the lightsabers."

 

I am grateful to you all.

 

~ Koda "HairColorByAdobe" Vonnor

[DARTH CRANE]

Koda Vonnor CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Felicitaciones en verdad un trabajo imprecionante, la calidad del detalle es excelsa!!

[Koda Vonnor]

Muchas gracias!

[Guest Anonymous]

great job on the Kota - now If i could just be happy with my shadow guard - Thomas you are an inspiration for detail. Costuming is never a complete science it is always progressing.

[Guest Anonymous]

This is a superb thread which I will be revisiting often. Thank you.

[Guest Anonymous]

That is soooooooo freakin' incredible!!!

Superb work, Sir!!!

[Koda Vonnor]

Thanks you guys!

[Koda Vonnor]

Posted with the permission of the artist Brian Rood, this image appears in a much smaller version on pg 122 of The Essential Reader's Companion: Star Wars, which was released by Del Rey in Oct 2012.

 

It appears I am now an official Rahm Kota reference.

 

 

~ Vonnor