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Starkiller Training Gear TIE Factory Build


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Hello there! So, for New York Comic Con this year I figured I would try to cosplay as Starkiller from Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and document the build process for the costume. For this build I tried to follow the Starkiller: TIE Training Gear CRL here https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:SL_starkiller_tie_training

 

I'll try to go in the same order as the CRL to be as thorough as possible. I only gave myself 30 days to complete the costume so some items might be incomplete, but I'll try to update this in the future and provide some suggestions to get it closer to the CRL.

 

Safety Precautions: When doing any sanding, gluing, spray painting, or  dremeling In this project you should always wear some protective eye equipment, a respirator, and gloves. The chemicals used in this build can be very toxic so it's best to not touch or inhale any of them.

 

Short Hair: This one is pretty straightforward simply go to the barber and ask for a buzz cut with a #2 guard. If you are feeling adventurous you can get yourself a pair of clippers and do it yourself. See the pair of clippers I use regularly below.

 

Shoulder Armor: For the armor I used a great EVA foam template I found on etsy which you can see below. The template is a little large compared to the one in the CRL but I found it looks mostly like it, and it comes with a stl file for the restraining bolt which is really cool. Also keep in mind you may want to build the gauntlet at the same time as the armor since they follow a very similar process.

 

To start off you need to print out the template, cut it out, and trace it onto your EVA foam (I used 8mm Cosplay Pros High Density Black) using a white paint marker. Then you cut out the shapes using a craft knife with a fresh blade (make sure to follow the instructions that came with the template). Next you take a heat gun and shape the eva foam so the armor bends around the shoulders. It would help if you had a mannequin or partner you can use to shape the foam to.

After that you glue the parts together using Weldwood contact cement. This stuff is really awesome and bonds instantly, you just need to know how to use it right. Apply the contact cement to both sides you want to glue together and let them dry for around 10 minutes. I noticed that the thin guard that extends around the neck and over the shoulders did not exactly reach so I cut out two small pieces of foam and extended them after gluing. Lastly you can heat up some large metal ball bearings and push them into the sides of the armor to get that rivet hole affect mentioned in the CRL.

 

After shaping and gluing your eva foam you probably want to remove some of the rough edges and get rid of the seam lines. To do this, I first used a dremel with a medium grit sandpaper head on any really sharp edges or uneven surfaces. I also leveled out the two small pieces of foam I added to extend the neck guards. Lastly I used some DAS air dry modelling clay to fill in the seam lines. Simply use a very tiny bit of clay to make tiny worms by rubbing your hands together and shove them into the seam lines. Then wet your fingertips with some water and rub the clay into the seam lines. Do this a couple of times and it should look pretty level and clean.

 

The next step is to 3D print the restraining bolt using the given stl file. I combined all three of the stl files into a single component using Cura so I didnt have to glue the PLA parts together (This is usually a massive pain). I was even able to print it without any supports and it still seemed pretty sturdy (The 3D printer I use Is the monoprice mini 3d v2). I also used a glass bed and if anyone is interested I could provide the print settings I used. 3D printing is pretty difficult to get the hang of so you may want to look for 3d printing services or see if your local makerspace can help you out. After 3d printing the restraining bolt you need to sand it down using some sandpaper then prime it using a filler primer (this type of primer will help make the print lines less noticeable). Lastly you want to glue the restraining bolt onto the armor using the Weldwood Contact Cement. Same process as before, just apply the cement to both sides, let dry for about 10 minutes, and push the pieces together.

 

At this point it's probably a good Idea to glue the leather straps onto the armor (see the leather belts section below on how to create them). In total you should have six straps, two to hold the armor together in the back (I used two more for the back) and 4 for the front that wrap under your arms. To glue the straps on I would just recommend using hot glue. I did this by scoring the eva foam in the spots where you need to add the belts, then applying some hot glue, placing the strap on the hot glue, and letting them dry. After This you can then apply some more hot glue over the tops and edges of the piece of the strap you just glued to form a better seal. Lastly you should tape up these straps with some painters tape.

 

The final step for the armor is to prime, paint and seal it. Since you used the heat gun on pretty much every portion of the foam already you shouldn't have to heat seal it. The first step is to prime or seal the foam itself using plastidip (you could also just cover it in white Elmer’s glue mixed with water). You will probably need at least two cans of each spray paint to do both the armor and the gauntlet. Start by spraying a thin layer of plastidip on the armor keeping the can about 10 inches away from it and moving the can back and forth. After this you can probably do about three more slightly thicker coats (waiting 30 mins between coats). After the armor dries for about a day you should be ready to paint. For this I used Silver metallic Krylon fusion spray paint, but you may want to look for the nickel finish one since that is what is recommended in the CRL. I would do at least 2 coats or until there is even coverage and let dry for another day. Next I took some black acrylic paint and created the grease stains on the restraining bolt. I rubbed it on using some newspaper to get the uneven fading effect. after this I put a single coat of matte varnish on the armor to seal it. Lastly I created a wash using black acrylic paint and isopropyl alcohol which I covered the armor in using a paint brush.

 

 

Inner Shirt: This one is pretty simple I just bought one of the below muscle shirts

Fruit of the Loom Muscle shirt: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1T736VK

 

Tunic: Since I spent a lot of time on the armor/belts and I don't know how to sew or have a sewing machine, I decided to just buy something that most closely resembled the CRL. For the Tunic I chose a shaolin monk robe. I usually wear a medium (5’’10’ 140 lbs) but the small one fit me fine. I then cut one sleeve to elbow length and the other I cut holes matching the CRL. When wearing the costume I just tuck the remaining portion of the robe into my pants. You can also weather the robe using some fake blood, but I did not have enough time.

 

 

Special Effects Makeup: I didnt do this part due to some time constraints but I think this is a pretty cool tutorial that should do the trick

 

Fabric Wraps: The fabric wraps are not too difficult to pull off. I bought these really great tube bandages that look and feel pretty good. You will probably need about four of these three dyed the grayish tan color (boots and gauntlet) and one dyed blackish brown color (hand wraps). You can dye them using the below Rit dyes. I used Taupe for the grayish tan and Chocolate for the blackish brown. When dying the wraps make sure to unravel and straighten them otherwise you will end up with a tie dye effect. After you dye the brown wraps you can measure out how much you will need for your hands and cut them accordingly. You will need pretty much an entire roll for each boot so those you can leave those as is. To secure the wraps you could use those metal latches that come with ace bandages but even better would be to sew on some velcro strips so they look more seamless. You could also just tie them off but they might come loose while you are walking around.

 

Gauntlet: I don't think I got the gauntlet to look perfectly like the CRL but I believe it is pretty close. Hopefully from my version you could refine it to make it a little closer. For this I used the remaining 8mm eva foam from the shoulder armor. 

 

For the template I used a free gauntlet template from The Foam Cave (I would choose a slightly larger one than your wrists since you will wear bandages underneath) and my own custom template for the upper portion of the gauntlet and the side portion that juts out. Basically this “custom template” is just two rectangular boxes that run the forearm length of the gauntlet. The first box that acts as the housing for the display is made up of 2 (14.5cm x 2.5cm) long edges and 2 (6.5cm x 2.5cm) short edges that will sit on top of the second box. The second box is made up of 2 (16.5cm x 3.5cm) long edges, 2 (9.5cm x 3.5cm) short edges, and a (16.5 x 9.5cm) lid that acts as the base for the previous box. On both sides of the smaller enclosure on top there are two small slide shapes that you will also need to template. For the portion that juts out of the side of the gauntlet the dimensions were (13cm x 5cm) see the pictures for the odd looking shape. I made 3 of these shapes and glued them together to make the piece thicker. It's not clear to me whether or not there were one or two of these pieces on either side of the gauntlet so I just went with the one.

 

After you have the templates for the gauntlet trace them onto the EVA foam with your white pen and cut them out with a craft knife. Next you can glue the box pieces together using the contact cement which shouldn't be too difficult. Once these pieces are glued separately you can stack them and glue them together forming the enclosure for the display. After this you want to heat shape the foam you cut out for the gauntlet template around your wrist. This will create the base for the entire enclosure to sit on. The gauntlet portion should now slide into the large bottom open end of the box display enclosure you glued previously. Once you have tested this out, glue the two portions together. Lastly you can glue together the 3 pieces that jut out from the side of the gauntlet and then glue the whole thing onto the side of the gauntlet.

 

Now that you have the basic shape of the gauntlet it's time to do some aggressive dremeling. Draw two half circles on the front and back of the display enclosure boxes making sure to follow the curvature of the gauntlet trapped inside. The idea here is to make this portion less boxy and look more rounded. Once you have this outline, shave out the portion underneath the curve you just drew using a dremel with heavy grit sandpaper head. While you're at it you should level out any uneven portions on the gauntlet and remove any sharp edges (like the ones on the display enclosure boxes). Lastly it's probably a good idea to shave down that little portion that juts out on the side (for my build I think I made that portion a little too big).

 

Once you are done dremeling the gauntlet follow the exact same process used for removing seam lines and painting as the armor above.

 

The next portion of the gauntlet is actually building the display. I didn't quite finish the lighting for this portion due to some time constraints but I have a pretty good idea how it can be accomplished. To do this first cut out some clear plastic (I used some blister pack plastic packaging) to the dimensions of the display enclosure. Next you can cover the plastic in some red brake light tape. This should give the display that red filter. Next I designed a template for the "Order 67, Search, Destroy, Kota" wording which you can find below. You may need to mess with the scaling a little but you should be able to print this out onto some sticker paper. Then using an exacto knife I cut out all the white portions in the Arubesh lettering. Alternatively you could use a Cricut cutting machine for this portion if you have one. After this simply peel back the sticker and apply it to the red tinted plastic. You can probably then buy a short usb powered red led strip (using a small power bank to power it) and throw it into the open enclosure to make the gauntlet light up. Lastly I just secured the display to the enclosure using some clear packing tape. The entire gauntlet is covered in brown wraps so none of your mistakes should really be all that visible.

 

 

Belts: To make the belts I used some faux leather I found on amazon along with some cheaper 2mm eva foam and a variety of belt buckles. To do this I started by measuring out the belts on the eva foam following the specs in the CRL. I now realize the belts are a little too big after adding the leather, so I recommend subtracting 1 mm from the widths mentioned in the CRL. Be careful with some of these belts, as you will have to do most in two parts in order to satisfy the buckle requirements (ensure you provide enough extra length for each portion to wrap around your body). I then applied these measurements to the leather, increasing the width by about 1.5x. Next I cut out the foam and leather strips using a scissor and heat sealed the foam using a heat gun. 

 

To apply the leather to the foam I used a spray adhesive. I tried various different adhesives and the one I found that worked best was the guerrilla spray adhesive in the small bottle that sprays on clear. Even though this worked the best I still had to apply some hot glue later on (belts are hard). Next I attached the belt buckles to the belts using super glue, clamping them down for about 30 mins. The Slide release buckles can be attached by hammer so those don't need super glue. 

 

As for the larger belt I actually designed the buckle in free cad and printed 2 of them (I will provide the stl file below). For this belt I used velcro strips as the buckling mechanism. One thing that wasn't clear immediately from the CRL was that the swivel clips mentioned for the larger belt are actually lightsaber swivel clips. I only figured this out by looking at the action figure for Starkiller which allows you to attach various lightsabers to this portion of the belt.

 

I did not manage to add any tails or miscellaneous hardware to the belts, even if I did the belts are so large I'm not sure they would have been visible. I will probably add them on in the future but I was pretty satisfied with what I had done so far.

 

The straps for the armor were made in the same exact way as the above belts just using smaller side release buckles.

 



 

Pants: For the pants I just bought this pair of hollister mens straight pull on pants. These were super comfortable and have really deep pockets so you can hold pretty much a whole water bottle in each. It also looks pretty close to the pants in the CRL and matches the tunic I bought. I ordered a medium which was a little large but after tucking the tunic into it felt fine.

 

Loincloth: The loincloths are also not very difficult to pull off. For these I used this brown cotton fabric I found on amazon. First you have to cut it to the specifications mentioned in the CRL (You may want to cut it slightly longer since you want to tuck them into your pants). I then used that same wash that I used on both the gauntlet and armor to stain the fabric and let it dry. 

 

Wrapped Boots: Depending on your shoe size this might be a tough one. I am size 10.5-11 mens but I have found womens riding boots to be the best option for affordable tall cosplay boots. I found the first pair below (size 12) which fit pretty comfortably and really gave me no issues walking around for a couple of hours. Make sure to wrap them tightly and be careful not to get sucked into any escalators. If you're lucky enough to fit into a womens size 11 you might wanna go with the second pair as they look a little closer to the CRL.

 

Lightsaber: This is probably the single most expensive component for the cosplay, but it is optional. For the lightsaber I went with the Starkiller1 Weathered Ver Neopixel Saber from CC sabers (36 inch blade, SN-Pixel V4 Pro). I believe this is just a TXQ saber that is drop shipped from china, but after reading through the buyers guide in the lightsabers reddit, CC sabers seem to be a pretty reputable seller. You could also probably find the same exact saber cheaper on AliExpress.

 


 

Closing Remarks: This build was a lot of fun to work on but also kind of difficult and my first time working with eva foam. I think what some people might underestimate is the amount of tools you either need to have on hand, buy, or rent in order to actually do something like this. My dad had a lot of these tools already so I was able to get away with not having to buy a whole lot. Overall I think it was a good experience and I learned a lot about making costumes from doing this. If you do decide to attempt this build or any other costume I highly recommend you document the process so others can learn from and attempt them. It was not perfect but I hope to improve on the costume in the future, and I’ll make sure to update this document as I do. Thanks for reading!


 

EVA Foam Materials

 

3D Printing:

 

Misc Links I Received Inspiration From:

 

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Edited by chicken_finger
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