Atavistic's COTF Darth Nihilus

[Atavistic]

As I said I would in my other thread, this new thread will contain a number of photographs of my COTF Darth Nihilus costume. Let's begin.

 

 

 

 

 

A good view of the sleeve quilting.

 

A nice shot of the split skirts.

 

 

 

I'm surprised that the weathering on the skirts isn't very obvious. Especially considering the hours I put into it. My next post will show the individual parts of the costume, though, and will reveal greater detail.

 

I didn't bother putting the lightsaber blade in as there wouldn't be much to see out in the full daylight.

 

I welcome any and all thoughts, observations, and concerns with my costume and I look forward to your response.

[Atavistic]

Alright, let's see the components of this costume.

 

The skirts and pants with weathering.

 

Vintage WWII German jack boots.

 

Inner tunic with quilted sleeves.

 

Outer tunic.

 

Dickey and obi.

 

Belt.

 

Gloves.

 

Close up of the skirt attachments.

 

I haven't included photos of the mask/crown or the lightsaber because they can be seen in detail in my original thread.

 

The core of this costume came from a seller on eBay. I've utilized the included inner tunic, obi, outer tunic, and cloak/hood.

The hood was modified to get it to work for my mask and crown. The outer tunic got severely trimmed to a more appropriate length. The skirts are new (the skirts that came with the costume had far too little fabric and I cut one up to complete the hood). The pants are black BDU pants. The gloves came from Leather Mystic and the belt came from Corellian Exports. The mask came from Big_water99 on eBay and the fiberglass crown came from Scottrooper. The lightsaber came from an eBay seller named tattoosby5 (who I have learned has a bad reputation as a seller but I did receive my order).

 

The costume is constructed of black gabardine. This adds some warmth since my costume is mostly synthetic but the warmth hasn't bothered me yet.

 

I added a black dickey between the inner and outer tunics because I didn't like the look of the costume without an inner layer (or at least the appearance of one). For ease of dressing, the dickey is held in position by two snaps between it and the inner tunic.

 

The cloak is held to my shoulders with hook and eye connections atop my shoulders. The balaclave is held in position by snaps connecting it to the inner tunic.

[Scottrooper]

For the most part, it's looking good!

 

Here's the few things that're jumping out at me as problems.

 

1. The skirts and tunics, in the pictures, are clearly different fabrics. They photograph differently enough to cause an issue when it comes time for approvals at the legion level.

 

2. The obi is too big by about 1/3. You should have about an inch or so of material above the belt and the same below. (right now it looks like you could fit your belt on there 3 times and just barely cover the obi.) Might be able to just fold it under to fix that look.

 

3. Belt and obi are riding too high on your torso, pull them down to your waist.

 

4. Weathering, you're gonna need more. The existing weathering, especially on the skirts and cape is too minimal. That tattered look is one of the defining characteristics of the COTF Nihilus, so it needs to be much more apparent. (get it damp, then hit it with a cheese grater, or a wire brush (like you'd use to clean a grill) to get some more wear into it. you can cut irregular shapes out in spaces and then hit the edges with the wire brush to get the look in there some more as well.

 

Sleeves look great, and I dig the dickie you put together

[Atavistic]

I really appreciate the response.

 

Yes, the skirts and tunics are different fabrics, as in they come from different bolts, but they are all black gabardine. I made sure that I bought the same type of fabric as what the costume was originally made of. The costume's original skirts had minimal fabric to them and there was no way for them to gather. And so I was forced to buy nine additional yards of black gabardine to remake the skirts. So I don't see how that can be changed.

 

The obi is an easy fix. It needs to sit lower? I had it resting right at my natural waistline but I can pull it lower, easily enough.

 

Additional weathering is easy enough to do. I'll spend a few more hours on it.

[DARTH CRANE]

Muy Buen trabajo !!!

very nice work!

[Atavistic]

Muchas gracias!

 

I spent a couple of hours out back weathering everything some more. Fortunately, it was easier to add weathering than it was to start it all in the first place. I ran the rips, tears, holes, and abrasions an additional four inches or so up from the bottoms of everything. Now it should be readily apparent once everything is on.

 

My sister in-law will come over on Thursday morning to craft a new obi. That should be easy. Since Scott is concerned with the color difference between my black gabardine and my black gabardine we'll cannibalize one of the ill-fitting original skirts for the obi. It will better match the tunics that way (since the fabric comes from the same bolt). And I'll remember to fit the belt and obi lower on my body.

 

 

Further weathered outer tunic.

 

Further weathered cloak.

 

Further weathered skirts.

[Atavistic]

I just received word from my GML that my costume is getting put on the Legion boards for review.

 

Despite that, I am redoing the obi and I have added additional weathering to everything. Once the new obi is crafted in a few days I will add new photos to this thread. This will include sitting the obi and belt lower on my torso.

[Twi'lek Pam]

Big improvement on the weathering! (Somehow it just feels wrong to say, "You did a great job of destroying your costume!")

 

Pam

[Scottrooper]

You may wanna tell your GML not to submit the pics until you've finished making the changes.... and then to have him submit the updated shots. (you'll get the same answer on the pics if he posts them up as is.)

 

Making the obi smaller may take care of the placement issues on the belt/obi really. In the existing pics it looks to be really high on you, but it may just be an artifact of the obi being so big.

 

Weathering looks much better

[Atavistic]

Thanks, Pam In the case of Nihilus, I think it's appropriate to say that someone did a great job of destroying their costume. This is one of the few costumes where a bit of destruction is a good thing.

 

Scott, at your suggestion, I have e-mailed my GML and asked him to postpone posting my original pictures. I've explained the costume's improvements to him and have asked him to wait a few days for my new obi to be crafted and for new photos to be taken.

 

Hopefully the re-sized obi will solve the issue of it looking as if it's sitting too high. I'll pay attention when we're making it, though, and I'll make sure that it sits in an appropriate position (at least visually).

[Atavistic]

Alright. I've got a few hastily taken photographs from this afternoon. These pictures show the increased weathering and the remade obi. I stress that these were taken in haste as my wife had to leave. We'll take new photos soon but I wanted our efforts seen, at least.

 

The obi is smaller and everything was positioned lower on my body.

 

 

 

 

Increased weathering

 

 

My wife was in a hurry to leave and didn't notice the light glare that she was getting. I'm not entirely thrilled with this set of photos but they do reveal the updates we have made to the costume.

[Twi'lek Pam]

Bravo! I think you've got it now!

 

Well done.

 

Pam

[Atavistic]

Thank you, Pam.

[berzerker]

As I expected, getting out of the sun eliminated the disparity in shade between your upper and lower garments.

 

My local fabric store has no windows and I have frequently had to ask them to take a bolt of fabric outside to check it against a sample.

 

Looks great.

[Atavistic]

I really wasn't thrilled with that last set of photographs and so my wife and I took new pictures today. This time we managed to avoid that light glare and to try out a new outer tunic. This one has been styled to mimic the COTF artwork by including the gathered fabric in the front of the outer tunic. Let's see how things turned out...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To better replicate the outer tunic seen in the COTF artwork my sister in-law made the arm holes larger and added a lot of fabric to the front panels of the tunic. The front panels are pleated at the top seams, which creates the gathers throughout the front of the tunic. The pleats are also sewn into place beneath the obi so that they remain constant all the way towards the bottom of the outer tunic.

 

Like my original outer tunic, this tunic has eyes sewn into the shoulders that accept hooks from the cloak. This keeps the cloak locked securely in position on my shoulders. For these photographs I also used a couple of rare earth magnets to hold the cloak's knot firmly in place. That helped the hood to drape like I wanted it to.

[Scottrooper]

Looks great! Now you're ready to have your GML submit pics

[Atavistic]

Thank you, Scott That's a reassuring statement, coming from you.

 

I have e-mailed my GML and pictures from this recent set will be the ones used in his submission. With that taken care of, I now wait to see if I'll earn my numbers.

[Atavistic]

I am now an official member of the Terror Australis Garrison!

SL-6764

http://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=13208&costumeID=106

 

 

My sincere thanks to Scottrooper and Twi'lek Pam for their help in getting my costume up to par with their suggestions and observations. Thanks!

[berzerker]

Welcome and congrats. You Nihilus looks exceptional.

 

Be warned though, this costume thing can be addictive.

[Atavistic]

Long before I ever started working on my Nihilus, I started a stormtrooper. It's now nearing completion.

 

Its parts are fully assembled and we're finishing up the strapping at the moment. Next is a bit of painting and that should wrap it up.

[Guest J2H]

For boots, when the CRL states no visible buckles/straps, is that while in costume or at all?

[Atavistic]

Ideally, it means no visible straps, buckles, or other decorations at all. I can't imagine someone temporarily removing straps or buckles from a pair of boots for the sake of Legion acceptance. And if someone did, why put them back on?

 

It seems quite possible to pick up a pair of boots without the straps and buckles. Including the ones you linked in your thread.

 

I went a bit further and fortunately found real German jackboots. But I'm a stickler for detail at he worst of times and the investment was worth it to me.

 

I don't imagine that Darth Nihilus would have slipped straps and buckles onto his boots when he was all alone and so I'm going to go with the idea that the boots should lack those elements at all times. If you've got a pair of black boots with straps and buckles, if those elements can be removed and replaced at will, and if you want to wear them as Nihilus... feel free to do so. But don't wear them with the straps and buckles in place. Not while in costume, in the photos you put up on these forums, or in your 501st Legion application photos.

[Guest J2H]

I heard the black boots may or may not hold up well (the black coloring, but I may order a set anyway). Ideally I'd like surplus jackboots but the ones I found are all size 9 to 10s I wear 11s. The OTHER boots like them have small buckle straps near the very top of the boot, but the rest of the boots are plain.

[Atavistic]

So those are costume boots. I suspected as much by their price. In that case, they won't hold up to even regular use. I have a similar pair in brown. They lasted one wearing before ripping. They aren't terribly comfortable for extended walking. Definitely no ankle support to them.

 

The other pair you've mentioned would work, I suspect. The upper strap and buckle would be hidden by your skirts. Or it could be cut off completely. Riding or true jackboots are an ideal solution but they cost a bit more. And finding jackboots may be difficult. I found mine by sheer chance on eBay and I paid a hefty price for them.

 

Costume boots will do the job, though. They only have to look right. And when in costume people generally only get glimpses of your toes. We'll want to see a bit more of your boots here at the Flagship Eclipse, though. We're sticklers for detail.

 

I'm happy to keep talking about boots if you like. Let's shift the conversation over to your thread, though. Once my costume was completed and accepted this thread lost its steam. Unless you want to bask in the glory of my Nihilus costume.

 

Just kidding.

[Volund Starfire]

I wear my army boots. They are tie-up, but I pull my sweat pants down over them to hide the laces.