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Starkiller: Dark Lord's Armor (hoth)


Yankee71

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Hello EU,

 

I am making a starkiller (hoth) costume, and I have a few questions, maybe you could help with.  I have been doing about a month's worth of research, and now I am starting to get organized and collecting resources to build parts of the costume.

 

1.  Gauntlet Gloves:  Where oh where do you find those Gauntlet Gloves I see everyone else using?  I have been searching online for the past 2 weeks, and I cannot find anything close to what the rest of you have.  Is there a Gauntlet Gloves maker somewhere I need to talk to?

 

2.  Vest:  I have seen most costumes using a soft leather build, I can do that as well.  My question is, I have seen one costume with hard leather, what if I go with a Hard Leather build (well more accurately Craft foam, covered in Black Worbla, made in strips to match the leather pattern)?  I think the hard leather look, looks better to me, I am just wondering if that would be acceptable or not in the 501st?  Also, as the vest covers 80% of the body, I am wondering how flexible worbla is, would it allow someone to get in and out of it?  I have never used worbla before, just watched days worth of videos on youtube!  The back stitching area of the vest, I have still not worked out how to do, so it looks good with the metal clips and well more realistic.  If anyone has some tips on how they made theirs they want to share, I am all ears.

 

3.  Claws:  I had planned on using Craft Foam covered in Worbla, and then painted metallic.  Is there a better method?  I didn't want to go with metal, as metal points at the ends of most of your fingers could be dangerous to little kids, be considered a real world weapon, and most of all, I would probably hurt myself with them lol.

 

4.  Boots:  I saw in another post about the same costume from about 1.5 years ago there were concerns about the CRL Boots not being accurate.  The same boots are still in the CRL, so I am guessing the boots in the CRL are the way to go?  Steel Plate on the heel, again I was thinking of Worbla painted metallic and glued on, unless someone has some better idea they would like to offer?

 

5.  Saber Hilts:  How close do our sabers have to be to the real thing?  I have looked at the CRL Hilts, and they look very cool, don't get me wrong, but when I google the names of the sabers listed for tier 2, besides Darth Vader and Darth Maul's half saber, the other 4 hilts I find look totally different than the ones in the CRL?  I have 3 Hilts to use atm, I am still searching for a Darth Maul to cut in half (anyone still have half a Maul from their build laying around?), and I was going to fabricate the last 2.  Question is, do I use the CRL models, the internet models, or just make something else believable?

 

I have ordered, paid for, and should be on its way to me sooner or later:

-Helmet Lord Starkiller (hoth)
-Hair Braid
-Upper Armor (Shoulder Armor, Collar Armor, Illuminated Back Armor)
-Undersuit
-Skirt/Belt/Cod Piece (Tattered Skirt, Belt, Buckle with Levers/Switches, Cod Piece) 
 
If there is anyone out there willing to help with information, I'm all ears.  
If there are any costume builders out there who have free time on their hands and would like to offer to commision something like the Gauntlet Gloves or the Vest, I have a little money left in my budget to commision those if need be.
 
Well nice to finally get into this EU section of the 501st, and I hope with any luck, I will be joining your ranks soon.
 
I will post pics of my progress, as I make any lol.
 
Chris...
 
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Glad to see someone else trying to tackle this costume! I sent you a PM with info on the gloves. As far as questions regarding the 501st CRL, that's a tough one, as some of the info & pics aren't correct IMO. Believe me, I have poured years of research into crafting this costume for my son, & I can tell you that there are numerous things in the CRL that aren't accurate, including the boots & saber hilts pictures. I believe the boots pictured in the CRL are actually a black version of Anakin's ROTS boots. I have MANY screen caps from in game that CLEARLY show that the boots being worn in the game are NOT Anakin boots! Black Anakin boots could be used as a base, with the outer covering removed, but there are MANY details that would still need to be added to make them accurate to what appears in game! I am currently working with Gio on coming up with custom leather boots for my son's costume that will be VERY accurate! Gio has been CRZY busy with doing Kylo Ren boots lately, so this little side project is currently on hold. Hopefully it will still happen at some point. They won't be cheap, but nothing on this costume is cheap or easy! You should know that going in. This costume can get close to as expensive as a Vader or a Fett! It's not a costume for the faint of heart or on a shoestring budget if you don't want to compromise quality! If I can be of further assistance, please let me know, & I will do my best to assist as much as I can. Time is in short supply for me, as I work 3rd shift at my job, & have full care of my elderly father who has advanced stage dementia. Please be patient with my return response times. Welcome, and good luck to you on your build!

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Started abdominal armor measurements.  

Working on 4th trophy Hilt.

Boots ordered.

Still looking for a reasonable custom gauntlet glove maker.

1st custom gauntlet glove maker was asking $190 per glove, $380 for a pair + $30 shipping.

I may have to just make my own gauntlet gloves, if all the custom makers are this expensive!

armor 1.jpgarmor 2.jpg

 

 

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I have been looking for something to fill the Vest (abdominal armor) with, to make it stand out more and not be lost in the soft black on soft black of the costume.

I wander through many stores, looking for things, that I could use in the building of my costume.

Today I was at a hardware store, and when I saw the Linoleum, it gave me an idea.

I am thinking of cutting the Linoleum out in the shape of the armor strips, cover it in Faux Leather, and sew it altogether, so the Vest will have a more solid look to it, like it looks in the video games and screenshots.

I still have to ask my local tailor if she is willing to do the sewing, or if I have to find someone else.  I am lacking in the sewing department, so I am waiting to talk to a professional, and get their opinion on what would look best and what would work.

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Measuring out my fingers and thumb claws,

Just waiting on my Worbla to be delivered so I can take them to the next lvl.

Kind of curious about their placement?

The CRL shows them on the 3rd section of finger, but every other picture I have seen of this character, the claws are on the 2nd section of the finger?

CRL is a great source of information, don't get me wrong, but after studying this character over months, I keep finding discrepancies with the CRL?

12715338_10157239783663125_2059481128433

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Taking my materials to the tailor, so she can sew it into a vest.

Taking my materials to a shoe maker, so they can turn normal gloves, into what I need.

Slowly but surely, things are coming together.

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I am following your progress with interest! I am especially curious about how your leather chest piece comes out, as that is something I still want to remake on my son's costume. My biggest concern with using anything overly stiff as a filler inside the leather is that it may limit mobility in the waist & chest while wearing the costume. Hope yours works out. I am also curious how your gloves & boots turn out. If you don't mind me asking, what are you using for your boots & gloves before modification? I am also not completely satisfied with what we currently have on my son's suit. Keep the updates coming!

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I have been really sick the last few days, and having to go to work while sick, has taken its toll on me.  I have been feeling really guilty that I have not made any progress on my costume this week so far, so I am pushing myself to get a bit done on this weekend, because next weekend I have to attend a class for my physical therapy job, so next weekend I will probably get even less done.

 

These are the gloves I am using, before modified:  Luckily I ordered XXL, because they are tight, anything smaller would not have fit my hands.

gloves.jpg

 

http://www.maskworld.com/english/products/costumes/costume-component-parts--250/gloves-bracers-vambraces--2502/leather-gauntlets--MR-200376

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My boots were delivered, still need to make the medal heels:  They fit fine, but as I have rather large calves, they are a bit tight at the top of the boot,

boots.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AH8F7W?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

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The vest is still at the tailors, she was too busy this week so she has not even started it yet.  

I have decided to get the vest made soft.  I am going to get the costume made per the minimum standards so it is finished and I can join the 501st.  

Then I will be working on improving my costume as time goes by.

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Nice little update! Hope you feel better soon, & good luck with your class! Don't feel too bad if you can't work on this thing all the time. Real life has a tendency to get in the way of these kind of things! Believe me I know this all to well! Lol! Do what you can, when you can, & try not to rush too fast through this. Quality parts take time to make. It's better to take it slow, & make sure you do it right the 1st time. It looks like you have acquired pieces that will get you where you want to be. Good luck with your build! Looking forward to continued updates when you can.

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Hey you! Can you post some reference shots of the original costume? I LOVE this costume and its extremely detailed. I have only seen it attempted (heck talked about even) only a handful of times! Each point of your CRL description can then lay out each piece with backup images to show that you got all the points :D Great job thus far!!

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So when I finish an item, you want me to post a picture of it side by side with the pics in the CRL of the same Item?

 

I can do that I guess, once I finish an item 100% lol.

 

Well I have decided to try and make the claws out of plexiglass, and the ring portion out of sheet aluminum, and either use rivets or very small bolts to hold it all together.

 

I have bought the materials, but still very sick, so wont get anything much done till the weekend.

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Prototype plexiglass claws.

I am happy with the finger, I am not 100% happy with the back half of the thumb, I think it is too skinny.

I am probably going to make the back end of the thumb piece bigger.

 

plexiglassclaws.jpg

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Aye sir! You mentioned the crl is wrong on some points. So what I did when I made my interpretation of the costume was i took original images from in game and side by sided them to show proof that the CRL was wrong (and many CRLs are BTW that's just the nature of the beast, as we can all do the same thing but one person's perception of the same thing could be different and CRLs are always updated ) :)

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