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How to: Revan's Mid-Section by NS


NightShine

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Hey everyone!         

 

(I apologize if this should go into the Tutorials section but since this is specifically for Revan I thought I should post it here!)

 

 

My name is Rachel but I go by my artist name, NightShine!! I am a shameless nerd whose favorite thing to obsess over is – you guessed it – Star Wars! But even better than that is STAR WARS COSTUMES *whaaaaat*!! I’ve been cosplaying for a little over two years now and as of January 2016 joined the 501st ranks with my Darth Revan.

 

 

The concept for Revan’s outfit has always been a particular favorite of mine and, being the artist-nut I am, decided to make my own Revan entirely from scratch! Upon my researching and building I, for some reason, couldn’t find information on how to make Revan’s mid-section armor to save my life. I had made a temporary one out of an Allergan air filter (lol) which didn’t look half bad but I knew that I would need to replace it sooner or later. Thankfully, I had made some amazing Mando Mercs friends, one of who was an excellent seamstress. She shared her knowledge with me on how I could go about making Revan’s mid-section armor and I set out to accomplish the task!

 

 

This brings me to my post – I want to share my mid-section armor build knowledge in hopes that someone out there, who is having as hard of a time figuring this out as I did, could find it useful. There is also, obviously, more than one right way about making this – this was just how I made mine. I also just like making tutorials.

 

 

Here we go!!!

 

 

1 - To start, I had purchased a black vinyl fabric from Joann's and cut it to *roughly* the size I knew I'd want it to be (PLZ PLZ PLZ always cut MORE fabric for stuff like this - unless you're working directly from a pattern - because it's easier to cut off excess fabric than to put fabric back on!!).

 

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2 - Folding the fabric in half, I lined up, pinned, and sewed (one at a time) tiny foam noodles (Caulksav'r Poly-Foam Backer Rod 5/8 in (D) x 20 ft (L) brand name Dennis). You will need to use a zipper foot for this part (reference in picture 8, left side). I just sewed a simple straight line - nothing fancy for this part!

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3 - The ridges are starting to come together!

NOTE* I am using the zipper foot here - this particular sewing foot comes in handy when you want to sew directly up against an edge without going over it -- just make sure your needle has been moved ALL THE WAY over to the left or right (depending on which way you're sewing) or that needle will snap right off on your presser foot lol is scary

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4 - Cut the excess fabric from the edges and started pinning the bottom (well, shown at the top here) excess to cleanly seal it off.

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5 - Bottom is sewn to perfection and is ready to go! I used a combo of zig-zag stitching (to first seal off the visible, cut edges) and straight-line stitching (to hold down the fabric when it was folded over for a cleaner look).

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6. Cut out excess foam lining (about 1 inch in my case) on each end to make room to sew the attachment parts onto, or you could just make sure in step 2 to have plenty of extra fabric on the end – your choice!

RB6_zps4twsnbwk.jpg

 

Edited by NightShine
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7 - Attachment pieces going on! This is where the Velcro will be added onto. I just took some extra vinyl, folded it over the visible ends, and sewed a straight line down.

RB7_zpsqiwe5i75.jpg

8 - Here's a closer look at my zipper foot (left #4) and whatever-it's-called (right #20) that has a wider gap in the middle so that I can use zig-zag stitches without worrying that my needle will hit the edges of the foot and break off. For this project, I had to continuously switch between the two for its various purposes. 

TIP* Double check your sewing machine accessories first before going out and buying a zipper foot – mine apparently came with one so yours might too!! If not, they can get a little pricey (at least the foot attachments for my Bernina machine are – zipper foot alone was roughly $22) but are WELL worth the purchase since it will make certain projects go by waaaaay quicker and more easily.

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9 - Adding the Velcro – normal straight line stitch around all sides.

NOTE* this wasn't actually Velcro here ... I forgot the name but it's a single piece that attaches to itself - people use this for rolling up sleeping bags and stuff? idk it's magic though – found it at Joann’s. If memory serves me correct, they come in long rolls and are found by the elastics and snaps. The stores in my area did not carry a Velcro that was wide enough so I had to opt for this option!

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10 - Looking good, new mid-section! Almost there!!

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11 – My last step was adding the weathering. Revan’s mid-section is darker in the ridge crevices and lighter on the ridge rises. For this, all I did was take some metallic paint (specifically, Rust-Oleum Metallic Accents at Menards – I’m in lurve with this stuff) and dry brush it on.

 

 

NOTE* if you didn’t know already, the painting technique of ‘dry brushing’ is super simple: take a brush (preferably one that you don’t mind getting ruined as the bristles on the end will get all weird after a few uses with this technique) and slightly dab some paint onto the end – like we’re talking super minimal paint here. You then dab your brush onto your desired surface, rinse and repeat (which, with required minimal paint, will take a while to accomplish but well worth the end result). Dry brushing can give a very similar look to air brushing without the air brushing tools – and also takes a butt load longer, but hey, painting is the fun part (at least to me!). Try dry brushing a few times on a spare piece of vinyl for practice and you’ll get it in no time! 

 

 

NOTE* also, keep in mind that once the paint is on it will be really, really hard to take off (if at all) so make sure you’re committed to your painting! Your vinyl might react differently than mine though so always be safe and paint a test piece before your real project.

 

 

NOTE* you do not need to spray fix this paint job (some people will use a matte spray finish to seal the paint job so that it does not chip or rub off), but with mine, several troops after finishing this and I have yet to see any paint rubbing off. It is perfection.

 

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**** That concludes my tutorial so congrats! You’ve made a Revan mid-section!! No go out and celebrate by buying tacos. ****

 

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Edited by NightShine
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Looks amazing....I cant sew.

 

If you are a Revan fanatic, maybe you can answer a question I have about Revan?

 

Revan was my 2nch choice when trying to pick a costume to make, but I ended up going with Starkiller Dark Lord (hoth), which was my 1st choice.

 

Anyway, my question.  When I was researching Revan, he either had his 1 or 2 lightsabers in his hand(s), or his hands were empty.

 

The question is, where are his lightsabers carried when they are not in his hands?

 

You never see them hanging on his belt from a D-ring or covertec wheel, so where is he storing them when they are not in his hands?

 

Only guess I could make was they were on his back, since that is covered.

 

But i'm still curious, 

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Thanks for this, showed it to my gf who's helping me out. I've restarted my Revan armor from scratch due to some seriously incorrect measurements. Once I'm done with a little more experimenting I may go ahead and toss up the pattern I used on here.

 

I'm not pleased I have to use EVA foam but toss some bondo on it and it should be okay.

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@Yankee71 -- Thanks! And hey, I couldn't sew either when I first started but I learned by trial and error :D one can never stop learning! To your question, since Revan is from the video game KOTOR trying to translate a fantasy video game into reality doesn't always work the best. From how I see it, Revan stores his lightsaber hilt at his side/hip area because in the video game animation he draws out his lightsaber from the side (so I'd just assume he stores it there). The reason why the lightsaber hilt might not show up in the graphics (when he's not using it) is because the video game people just didn't want to program it there lol Just my thoughts on it :) 

 

@ASCI Blue -- I'm glad you liked it! I'm also glad you're making a Revan from scratch too -- making scratch builds can be very frustrating but also VERY worth it once it's done! If you go the foam route for armor look up Punished Props (if you haven't heard of them already, of course!). They are masters at turning foam armor into real looking armor. I personally used Worbla (a thermoplastic) as my armor material of choice. If you ever need any help/tips on any part of Revan (armor, cloth, or otherwise) let me know and I'd be happy to help in any way I can :) 

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I met Bill Doran when he was here in Boise a couple years back for Tree City ComicCon, I have his Foamsmith books. They're a necessity for working with EVA.

 

About Worbla, after doing a small bucketload of research I found the formula to make it from scratch and know a couple people who can hook me up with half of the materials needed to make it. :D

 

On cloth, my beloved gf is a master level costumer per International Costumers Guild rules. My soft parts are lovely although in need of some work atm. My hakama for example are made to resemble traditional hakama including being made of 4.5 yards (yes you read that correctly) of fabric. My shirt was also made from scratch and if my idea, mask purchase, and her measurements are correct I won't need a balaclava.

 

I will however bug you when it comes to worbla stuff. Here in Idaho the scene as a whole is poor and people using exotic materials..or making armor for that matter is next to nil. Most folks here just can't afford Worbla.

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Ooooh you've got a super cool gf if she's a master seamstress :) that will cover and help with sooo much in cosplaying!! I hear yah on the hakama pants - I made mine traditional as well ... The amount of fabric and money made me cry but they are super fab! I've seen how to videos on making your own worbla and where, yes it works, you have to decide if you want to save some money in replacement of losing time vs spending the money but having the extra time :) and good that you're familiar with Bill!! Totes hit me up with worbla questions if you have any!!

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