Research questions...

[Guest Anonymous]

Hi all, I'm new to the forums! My husband is working on joining the ranks of the Storm Troopers and we've been trying to figure out costume I would want to do to join him... After much debate, I'm tentatively leaning toward Darth Talon right now, assuming I can get my butt in gear and tone up enough to have the nerve for it... But I figure if anything's gonna get me motivated it's going to be a kick ass costume like hers! I had some questions about her though that I was hoping folks here would be able to answer. Let me preface this with the disclaimer that I do not know anything about life casting and molds, but I'm reading up a storm to learn and it sounds fun

 

1. Ear buds - How's the hearing through them? I'm assuming this is dependent on the material used to make them, which sorta leads me to some subquestions... Whats the best material to use for it? Do people usually include them in their lekku?

 

2. Body Paint - Around how much body paint does it usually take per time you wear the costume? I know this varies per person, but unlike most costumes this will have an ongoing cost that I want to factor into my final decision of whether I go for Darth Talon or something else.

(Added) Does the body paint provide any UV protection, or can I wear sunscreen underneath?

 

3. Temperature regulation - I've seen Darth Talon wearing a cape on the Sideshow Collectibles statuette... Would it be allowed to include that in the costume for those times when the weather is on the colder side? Or would it be okay to use a body suit (obviously a well made and as hidden as possible one) at such events (or for ones where the outfit is too racy) after gaining approval using body paints?

 

4. Cost - Obviously this varies widely, but around what ballpark estimate do you think is reasonable for the total costume budget of creating it? $1000 or so? Possibly higher since I'll probably have to make several attempts at getting the lekku and paint stencils just right? Just trying to get an idea before I start of how much I'd need to save up for it. I figure I have time to save while getting my butt in shape so I have the self-confidence to parade around in a bikini in attention grabbing red and black body paints

 

5. Erm... "Support" and "flash prevention" - I am a total noob when it comes to non-standard bras and such and how to prevent accidents when wearing skimpy outfits. Heck, the only time I've ever worn anything strapless was my wedding dress, and that was while wearing the typical wedding corset bra thingys! Are there any suggestions folks have on how to keep yourself "supported" and firmly inside the bikini top ? Making sure I feel firmly secured in the top is going to be a major deal for keeping me from losing my nerve!

Answered!: Wonderbra Ultimate Strapless Bra or a bra with invisible straps should do the trick. (Thanks Sakara & Brit!)

 

 

6. Approval - I see a lot of forum posts from folks that started the costume but never quite got 501st approval or that dropped the project before finishing. Has anyone actually been 501st approved yet for her? If so, I'd love to look at pics of their finished costume and talk to them as I start working on my own costume so I can get some tips

 

(Added) 7. Long Hair - I've seen in the lifecast tutorials how to account for long hair, but how does that work inside the lekku? Are the brain tails hollow enough for me to stuff my hair in them?

 

Thanks in advance for any answers or advice you can send my way ! Sorry for the long post!

 

Edit: Updated answered question and added a couple of my new ones so they're all in one easy to find spot

[Twi'lek Pam]

::waves:: Hi! Answering your post is next on my to-do list (you've got some really good questions), but it's way past my bedtime, so I'll have to try again tomorrow. If I forget, please poke me with a stick.

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

Yay, thank you! I've been going over all your Darth Talon posts and reading your lekku tutorial on your website, so I was hoping you might see this

 

I had one other question to add to the list too actually now that I've seen my husband get all nice and crispy burned while spotting at a 501st event this weekend... Does the body paint give any UV protection, or do you need to wear sunscreen underneath for summer events? I'm so pale that I have to be very careful (yay for irish skin) otherwise I wont even need any red base paint

[Guest Sakara]

Something id suggest for the bra top would be one of Wonderbra's newest design. They advertise you can bounce on a trampoline and not expose your self whilst wearing it.

could work as a base to build on.

http://www.wonderbra.co.uk/bras/details ... apless-bra

[Guest Anonymous]

Oh nice, that would be perfect! I wasn't sure if I'd be able to pull off wearing an actual bra or not given the style of her bikini with the cutouts in back, but I just double checked the standard and it looks like the standard calls for the cutouts to be backed, and not just complete cutouts. Woo hoo ! I saw a couple pics in the comic where its actual cutouts, so I wasn't sure. Thanks for the tip!

[Guest Brit]

I was planning on using a bra with invisible straps. I don't trust strapless bras. I constantly have to pull them up.

[Guest Anonymous]

Invisible straps? I've never heard of those... Hehe, I'm such a bra noob... Even my husband knew about invisible straps apparently The reviews of the Wonderbra Sakara linked sound really good, so hopefully it shouldn't need any pulling up. I'd be worried that the invisible straps might mess with the body paint or still be faintly noticeable, so I think I'll try the Wonderbra first. If it's as good as they say that's one less thing that I have to worry about keep movie-costume level accurate

[Guest Brit]

Yeah I looked at it too. If it'd stay up then heck yeah, but it doesn't come in my size. :/ I usually have a limited selection. So invisible straps it is. I may try body tape or dress tape, whatever it's called, too.

[Guest Anonymous]

Updated main post with one new question plus the one I asked in the later responses so they're all in one easy to find place for Pam when she has time to answer Also updated the answered question with the input you folks have given me so I have it in an easy to find place in case my half-dead goldfish memory somehow forgets

[Twi'lek Pam]

Okay, lessee if I can work my way down the questions list without missing too much.

 

First, it's great that you want to make a Talon costume. I chickened out about making that one, but I enjoy seeing others be braver than I am. I wish you good luck with the project. That said, however, if your goal is to join the 501st and troop with your husband, I highly recommend that you make another costume as well. Talon is a very high-effort costume to wear, and unlike most other costumes, it costs more money every time you wear it because of the body paint. There will be times when you'd like to troop an afternoon event, such as a Relay for Life walk, when spending hours on the makeup isn't really practical. Even Aayla often requires more time getting into and out of the paint than I want to deal with, and I've loved costuming as Twi'leks for years now. You also need to keep in mind that while Talon would be a great convention costume, or for certain events... but like Slave Leia, it isn't appropriate for many of the family friendly troops that are very meaningful to participate in. If you have a second costume that is faster and easier to wear, and a bit less revealing, you won't have to sit out on that next hospital visit, school assembly, or Autism Speaks walk while your husband troops it alone!

 

1. Ear Buds. The layers of headpiece and ear buds and wraps over your ears, no matter what they're made of, do tend to make it harder to hear. I've found that especially in noisy areas the sounds will bounce around under the coverings and create a bit of an echo that messes with my hearing. But, overall, it isn't anything terrible. You can still carry on conversations with people, no problem.

 

This is how I make my ear buds:

 

http://chucrew.com/TwilekCelebration/vi ... f=16&t=189

 

 

Okay, I'm having trouble with the screen bouncing with each keystroke again... I've got to start a new post. BRB...

[Twi'lek Pam]

2. Body Paint. It's really difficult to judge how much body paint is needed, since each person is a different size, and will use different thicknesses of paint in their application, and will lose different amounts to overspray or evaporation, etc. To take a wild guess, I would say that about 3-4 ounces would be needed for the red paint. I can do a full body paint job with around 4-6 ounces, but I'm pretty efficient with my paint by now. I honestly don't know about UV protection of the paint. I would absolutely not recommend putting anything on your skin before painting. Dirty or oily skin makes the paint rub off easily. Even the best of the best, Reel Creations will be damaged by it.

 

3. To get a costume approved, you MUST wear the body paint. After approval, and providing that it's okay with your local CO (if you're attending an official event), then wearing a high quality, nonshiny, minimal seams bodysuit should be okay. The same goes for the cape; if there's a reaference for it, it should be okay for events. You should not wear one in your profile photo, though.

 

4. Cost.... no clue. I never finished mine. I won't mention how many hundreds I spent learning how to make lekku. My husband might read this, afterall. ;-D

 

5. Bras. The number one challenge for this is the peekaboo issue. Talon's top is quite narrow. Most bras, especially strapless bras, are surprisingly "tall" and you would have problems with them peeking over the top or under the bottom of the bikini top. Even my Astraal top was a huge pain to find a bra that didn't peek out, and even after finding what I thought was a great one, I still spotted some photos where it was peeking. The trick, I found, was to get a too-small bra. The larger the torso size and cup size, the "taller" the bra gets. So I got smaller sizes, and then added an extender to the back. My intention for the Talon costume was to wear a pair of "stick on" adhesive supports (you can typically find them in the lingere section) for the peace of mind, and then sew my own tube style bra with some heavyweight spandex to wear under the leather piece, both for security and comfort.

 

 

6. Approval. No, at this time nobody has an approved Talon costume. One girl did apply, but her costume was not approved because it was not sufficiently accurate. She was happy with "close enough" for her own personal use, so she never made the required adjustments and it was never approved.

 

7. Hair. I've put my hair inside my headpieces at lengths from shoulder long to belt long... though I must admit that I usually get a hair cut before the year's biggest convention every year, specifically so that my lekku will be more comfortable. I've heard that some girls put their hair up into the lekku themselves, but I put mine around my head. I fill the lekku curve with soft foam, so there's no space there for hair! Anyway, this is how I put my hair up:

 

http://chucrew.com/TwilekCelebration/vi ... f=17&t=248

 

There are always whispy hairs at the back of my neck that escape and try to holler out "look at me!" while I'm wearing the headpiece, but I just get used to tucking them back up out of sight.

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

That's a really good point about the kid-friendly events costume. Somehow I was thinking that "Oh, I can still go if I'm in a body-suit" until my husband pointed out that the whole point of the body suit is to still look like I'm not wearing it, which comes back to the problem of looking half-naked in front of kids Shae Vizla, the female bounty hunter from the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, was my first choice for a costume, but sadly she's not an approvable character until the game is released so the LMOs can see her final render and back story. I still love her design, so I think I'll probably end up trying to have her as my second costume for those events where we either don't have the time/energy to paint me up, or where it's not appropriate for Darth Talon. She has a statuette and novel released though, and is in the game trailers (mostly in the Deceived one), so I probably could start on her costume and hope the game is released soon and doesn't change her much if all. But then I'd have no soft-costume I could spot for my husband in... Hmmm... Dilemmas...

 

Darn it, why do I always fall for the complicated costumes

 

1. Awesome, I'm notoriously bad at understanding people in high noise situations, so its good to know that hearing isn't horribly impaired, or at least it sounds like its no worse than it would be if I did a helmet costume of sorts. That tutorial is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

 

2. Sounds like I'll have to do some testing with the paint before I actually start on the costume on the UV side of things... My family has a history of skin cancer, so that combined with how easily I burn might be an instant kill on this idea if sunscreen isn't an option and if the paint doesn't help protect me. The hot summer days are the prime time to wear a costume like this, so if I'm relegated to only wearing it indoors I'm afraid the costume cost just couldn't be justified for how often I'd be able to actually wear it. That's also significantly more paint than I expected, and judging from the cost of the Reel Creations paint it may simply end up being out of my budget... I'll have to crunch some numbers and see. If my CO is supportive of a bodysuit for times other than the initial approval I should be able to swing that cost.

 

3. The northwest is definitely not a toasty climate like say Arizona or something, so if the bodysuit is a no-go on official events I may end up freezing too much, even with the cloak now that I think of it. Again, I'll check with our garrison for their word on it.

 

4. Hehe, yeah, I had a feeling the lekku could easily end up being the priciest part of the costume after going through your tutorial/experience with it

 

5. I definitely am not handy enough with sewing to trust any bra creation of my own, so I'd have to see if the Wonderbra that Sakara mentioned would be short enough or not. From what I've read about the stick-on adhesive cups I think I'd feel very unsupported since I'm typically used to anywhere from standard bras to sports bras... If the bodysuit idea ends up being allowed after approval with the paints then I can handle it long enough for the approval shots at least

 

6. Disappointing, but understandable. I guess it's sort of exciting being held to the "first to do x costume" scrutiny though, and there's enough folks that have tried the costume to get advice from on where they ran into problems.

 

7. My hair is about mid-chest length and usually not horrendously wispy, so I think your style for putting it up should work perfectly

 

Thanks so much for the detailed answers, they really help a lot! I guess it will be dependent on what my garrison folks say and how the UV testing goes on if I'll go forward with this costume or not I'll keep you posted!

[Guest mdb]

That's a really good point about the kid-friendly events costume. Somehow I was thinking that "Oh, I can still go if I'm in a body-suit" until my husband pointed out that the whole point of the body suit is to still look like I'm not wearing it, which comes back to the problem of looking half-naked in front of kids Shae Vizla, the female bounty hunter from the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, was my first choice for a costume, but sadly she's not an approvable character until the game is released so the LMOs can see her final render and back story. I still love her design, so I think I'll probably end up trying to have her as my second costume for those events where we either don't have the time/energy to paint me up, or where it's not appropriate for Darth Talon. She has a statuette and novel released though, and is in the game trailers (mostly in the Deceived one), so I probably could start on her costume and hope the game is released soon and doesn't change her much if all. But then I'd have no soft-costume I could spot for my husband in... Hmmm... Dilemmas...

 

I am currently making that costume It is actually exeedingly complicated. I self sulpted molded and cast an uber accurate Slave Leia (I counted bubbles even.. those tiny pin head bubbles....) and it was infinitely easier than this project. But that has a lot to do with how very unrealistic Shae has been portrayed in terms of proportions.

 

Lets put it like this. I wish I had chosen Zam instead of Shae because Zam is easier. So that is saying a heck of a lot!

http://swnz.dr-maul.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=133

My progress since June last year.

Oh yeah, the mini bust blurb indicates she is a really important part of the backstory, but I'm not sure when the vital incident takes place.

 

Talon and Shae will both be very uncomfortable to wear, which is fine but making sure you have something that is not going to drain energy wearing and putting on is really important. I love my Imperial Officer uniform. Love it. And have my pattern scanned for anyone wanting a really accurate pattern (right seams in the right places and all the darts!)

http://imperialofficer.com/forum/viewto ... f=25&t=306

I gotta say, the effect in person of a well made uniform is pretty awesome. I would have gone for Visas toohad I not waited Mara is pretty comfy and really fun too

 

1. Awesome, I'm notoriously bad at understanding people in high noise situations, so its good to know that hearing isn't horribly impaired, or at least it sounds like its no worse than it would be if I did a helmet costume of sorts. That tutorial is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

I think Talon will be rather more difficult to hear in than a regular Twilek. This is because her head piece only wraps around the back and sides which means everything needs to be glued to the head. I have worn my Shaak Ti/Sith Togrutaand had pretty good hearing but my Samara from Mass Effect left me nearly deaf due to needing to glue the headpiece to my hairline and over my ears:

http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1253295.html

That is the process I used to get the same effect Talon needs.

Get cabosil and pros aide. It is going to be your best friend for this blending thing I didn't have any for Samara but I did use it for my Shaak Ti. Using a goat hair brush, PA and cabosil I managed a really nice textured blend of the edges that matched my texture on my montrals.

 

 

 

2. Sounds like I'll have to do some testing with the paint before I actually start on the costume on the UV side of things... My family has a history of skin cancer, so that combined with how easily I burn might be an instant kill on this idea if sunscreen isn't an option and if the paint doesn't help protect me. The hot summer days are the prime time to wear a costume like this, so if I'm relegated to only wearing it indoors I'm afraid the costume cost just couldn't be justified for how often I'd be able to actually wear it. That's also significantly more paint than I expected, and judging from the cost of the Reel Creations paint it may simply end up being out of my budget... I'll have to crunch some numbers and see. If my CO is supportive of a bodysuit for times other than the initial approval I should be able to swing that cost.

 

I used PAX for Shaak Ti, It's a cheaper alternative but much harder to get right- the glue also leaves crinkles. It did also react to some cortisone cream I had (major "allergy" issues to the sun and epoxy here). So I would recommend getting all your regular skin routine products and test them with whatever paint you wind up using. I know while filming Jack of All Trades we were sprayed with an alcohol based sunscreen so as to not interfere with our make up. You may be able to use the same.

UV protection is one aspect of an opaque paint, but I would not rely on it.

 

 

4. Hehe, yeah, I had a feeling the lekku could easily end up being the priciest part of the costume after going through your tutorial/experience with it

 

I did four sculpts of my Samara headpiece. Not because my sculpts were bad but my molding needed that much practice. By the time I did my Shaak Ti I only needed to do one mold Each time it pushed my budget that little bit more...

Something to consider with Talon again is that you will need to have the front edge at least feathered to blend into the skin. This means molding is much harder as you can't slip cast you need to slush cast and then work the front edge with a paint brush.

 

 

5. I definitely am not handy enough with sewing to trust any bra creation of my own, so I'd have to see if the Wonderbra that Sakara mentioned would be short enough or not. From what I've read about the stick-on adhesive cups I think I'd feel very unsupported since I'm typically used to anywhere from standard bras to sports bras...

I am very very small in the bust so use chicken fillets all the time. They are fabulous but offer zero support. Well one brand does offer some as they are a bit more rigid than the good quality ones but that is more for shape than lift.

What I do with my Slave Leia (or did, had enough horrible comments to never want to wear it again) was to use prosthetic aide to glue myself in to the costume. I stepped on my skirt a few times but it was no issue as the skirt plates were stuck very very very firmly in place. I did that for the bra too- in case I fell and cracked the bikini. It was glued in place so even if broken it wasn't going to go anywhere!

With my Sith Togruta I found my PAX helped hold the bikini in place too. And the gloves and tights. Again things to think about for Talon

 

 

7. My hair is about mid-chest length and usually not horrendously wispy, so I think your style for putting it up should work perfectly

I like to put my hair into two small buns at the top of my head. This is something I learnt from wearing historic costume actually. This offers a support to hold the headpiece right on top of the head so it doesn't put too much strain on your neck. By having the weight sit just in front of the centre line of the head you void that entirely.

My Shaak Ti headpiece is about 6 pounds but I can wear her all day and not feel it because of this

Just as an example:

http://glittersweet.deviantart.com/art/ ... -121715752

That cloak is one layer of fulled wool and a layer of heavy linen. It pins to the headdress underneath with is in turn pinned to a fitted cap. Only pinned. And it is about 10pounds of fabric. All of it relies on the two tiny buns on my head that hold everything in front of the centre line of the head. If they aren't there the cloak does not work.

And yes, that is a truly ridiculous but absolutely real historic style. Yay whackadoodle women from Cleves and Cologne!

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/MWEB ... 164_1n.jpg

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/MWEB ... 164_1o.jpg

[Guest Sakara]

Due to having been cursed or blessed (depends) with large boobs, when it comes to bras for costumes i often have to cut back some of the cups at the top so they dont show. You can get 'half cup' bras, but the bigger your cup size gets the harder they are to find.

 

Ive yet to find 'invisible straps' that actually look invisible sadly. As they are made of a silicone plastic i believe the plastic still shows as a shiny strip on skin and will eventually rub off any paint it sits over.

An option would be to use strong toupee or body tape and tape the bra to your skin( across the top of each breast mainly). A friend of mine who does a anime character with a strapless bodysuit uses this technique successfully.

 

I own one of the those new Wonderbra strapless bras...they are weird at first as they have a solid molded section to the cups, but being a UK 36F i can run around without feeling that the bra is falling down or im likely to expose myself! Again though for certain costumes, if i needed too, there is enough fabric at the top of the cups to trim back to hide the bra completly. Same could be done with the back straps, although i find they are more needed as wide as they can be to counterbalance the front weight!

 

Talon of course does not have big jubblies....she is what i'd called an athletic physique with small waist, hips, bust ratio.

[Guest Anonymous]

Looking at the Wonderbra, it looks like its feasible that it could fit within the bikini top, as long as I follow the reference pics where the bikini doesn't look like a teeny line that she's liable to fall out of. The top has a tendency to be reasonably sized in some shots and teeny in others. All the close ups show it going fairly high up the curve of the jubblies, so I think it should be acceptable and high enough to hide the bra. If not, I'll try the top trimming. I sort of want to have some way to attach the bra to the costume once they're both on so that when the bra moves to stay with me, the costume will too so it minimizes the chances of the bra peeking out if they're close to the same size... Is there a way to do that? Maybe the dress tape/body tape/toupee tape I keep hearing about?

 

Thankfully I only vary between 36B or 36C US and have an athletic build myself (competitive soccer goal keeper for 21 years and running), so I think finding a bra my size shouldn't be too hard. Also body structure-wise she's a good match for me. I've gotten a little softer around the midsection and bum since I haven't had my college soccer team to keep me exercising like crazy for several years, but that's what my current diet/exercise plan is for

[Guest Sakara]

Id construct the bra top directly onto the bra, so it becomes one piece.

 

I did my Callisto leather costume this way, the only part i left loose was the back of the bra itself, so that it kept the stretch and thus hold. As long as the Talon top's back is sized when you are wearing the bra, when you fit the two pieces together, the talon back should sit flush over the bra back.

 

As there is minimal stretch on the cups, by attaching the Talon top directly to the bra front and sides, you wont have any problems with the bra showing. Of course you will need a black bra for this.

 

toupee tape could be used as an extra safety where you put tape between the bra itself and your skin on your bust. But it is no good for sticking fabric together.

[Guest Anonymous]

Oh wow, I'm blind this morning. Completely missed your response when I looked this morning mdb! I'm not awake in the first 2 hours I'm out of bed, I swear

 

I am currently making that costume It is actually exeedingly complicated. I self sulpted molded and cast an uber accurate Slave Leia (I counted bubbles even.. those tiny pin head bubbles....) and it was infinitely easier than this project. But that has a lot to do with how very unrealistic Shae has been portrayed in terms of proportions.

 

Lets put it like this. I wish I had chosen Zam instead of Shae because Zam is easier. So that is saying a heck of a lot!

http://swnz.dr-maul.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=133

My progress since June last year.

Oh yeah, the mini bust blurb indicates she is a really important part of the backstory, but I'm not sure when the vital incident takes place.

 

Talon and Shae will both be very uncomfortable to wear, which is fine but making sure you have something that is not going to drain energy wearing and putting on is really important. I love my Imperial Officer uniform. Love it. And have my pattern scanned for anyone wanting a really accurate pattern (right seams in the right places and all the darts!)

http://imperialofficer.com/forum/viewto ... f=25&t=306

I gotta say, the effect in person of a well made uniform is pretty awesome. I would have gone for Visas toohad I not waited Mara is pretty comfy and really fun too

Yeah, Shae is a lot more initial work than Talon, which was part of why I ended up choosing Talon instead, but wow it seems like it would be so amazing looking once finished I've bookmarked your progress thread on your costume of her, it's very educational and I can't wait to see it finished! I'll have to pick your brains on it later when I end up making my own.

 

I'll have to put some thought into what to do when I don't want a demanding costume for events... The imperial officer outfit has no draw for me at all sadly, I don't tend to get excited about outfits that "blend in". Aysel is in my garrison with her near complete and awesome Visas Marr costume, which was another one I liked of the soft-costumes, and having two Visas at small events probably wouldn't work out. Mara Jade is an option, but the kiddies would never recognize her and I tend to avoid costumes that non-fans don't recognize at least as being a certain type of Star Wars character (Twi'leks are well known, even if Darth Talon isn't, and Shae is very clearly a bounty hunter, even if they don't know her particular character). I guess the light saber would tip them off though. Hmmm... I guess I'll have to see how much stamina I have for demanding costumes before I make a decision. I used to run around for three days straight at Anime conventions in fiberglass armor carrying a 6 foot boomerang made out of surf board foam and fiberglass as Sango from Inu Yasha, so I might be ok.

 

I think Talon will be rather more difficult to hear in than a regular Twilek. This is because her head piece only wraps around the back and sides which means everything needs to be glued to the head. I have worn my Shaak Ti/Sith Togrutaand had pretty good hearing but my Samara from Mass Effect left me nearly deaf due to needing to glue the headpiece to my hairline and over my ears:

http://pinkdiamond.livejournal.com/1253295.html

That is the process I used to get the same effect Talon needs.

Get cabosil and pros aide. It is going to be your best friend for this blending thing I didn't have any for Samara but I did use it for my Shaak Ti. Using a goat hair brush, PA and cabosil I managed a really nice textured blend of the edges that matched my texture on my montrals.

 

Ahhh, good point, I didn't even think of that. Well, I guess if I end up near deaf I can just pretend that I'm ignoring everyone who's not Darth Krayt and pass it off as being in character My husband will just have to poke me when someone's trying to get my attention. Thanks for the tip on the blending, I was a little worried about how to make sure everything was as seamless as possible

 

I used PAX for Shaak Ti, It's a cheaper alternative but much harder to get right- the glue also leaves crinkles. It did also react to some cortisone cream I had (major "allergy" issues to the sun and epoxy here). So I would recommend getting all your regular skin routine products and test them with whatever paint you wind up using. I know while filming Jack of All Trades we were sprayed with an alcohol based sunscreen so as to not interfere with our make up. You may be able to use the same.

UV protection is one aspect of an opaque paint, but I would not rely on it.

 

Eheheheh.... Skin routine products? You mean the soap and water I use ? Yeah... I'm a failure at being girly usually... I was a massive tom boy growing up and was never taught to use make-up or skin care products... This is why my husband is the one doing the face makeup since he got lots of practice back when he was in drama in high school I'll have to check out the alcohol based sunscreen and see if it interferes with the paint. Never heard of PAX as makeup, only as the convention, so I'll have to check that out too. So much research to do

 

 

I did four sculpts of my Samara headpiece. Not because my sculpts were bad but my molding needed that much practice. By the time I did my Shaak Ti I only needed to do one mold Each time it pushed my budget that little bit more...

Something to consider with Talon again is that you will need to have the front edge at least feathered to blend into the skin. This means molding is much harder as you can't slip cast you need to slush cast and then work the front edge with a paint brush.

 

My husband was thinking of doing something like how they do fake injuries and such in makeup, where you apply some putty at the seam and sorta feather the putty onto the lekku and blend it in from there with the makeup/paint (sorry if I'm totally butchering the process, he knows it not me ). Would the lekku mold still need feathering on the front end then?

 

I am very very small in the bust so use chicken fillets all the time. They are fabulous but offer zero support. Well one brand does offer some as they are a bit more rigid than the good quality ones but that is more for shape than lift.

What I do with my Slave Leia (or did, had enough horrible comments to never want to wear it again) was to use prosthetic aide to glue myself in to the costume. I stepped on my skirt a few times but it was no issue as the skirt plates were stuck very very very firmly in place. I did that for the bra too- in case I fell and cracked the bikini. It was glued in place so even if broken it wasn't going to go anywhere!

With my Sith Togruta I found my PAX helped hold the bikini in place too. And the gloves and tights. Again things to think about for Talon

 

This PAX stuff sounds very very multi-purpose and handy I like the prosthetic glue idea too. How hard is it to get all this stuff off when you're done?

 

I like to put my hair into two small buns at the top of my head. This is something I learnt from wearing historic costume actually. This offers a support to hold the headpiece right on top of the head so it doesn't put too much strain on your neck. By having the weight sit just in front of the centre line of the head you void that entirely.

My Shaak Ti headpiece is about 6 pounds but I can wear her all day and not feel it because of this

Just as an example:

http://glittersweet.deviantart.com/art/ ... -121715752

That cloak is one layer of fulled wool and a layer of heavy linen. It pins to the headdress underneath with is in turn pinned to a fitted cap. Only pinned. And it is about 10pounds of fabric. All of it relies on the two tiny buns on my head that hold everything in front of the centre line of the head. If they aren't there the cloak does not work.

And yes, that is a truly ridiculous but absolutely real historic style. Yay whackadoodle women from Cleves and Cologne!

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/MWEB ... 164_1n.jpg

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/MWEB ... 164_1o.jpg

 

Holy moly ! Thats a lot of stuff to keep up! I like not having headaches and neck pains so I'll give that a try Thanks for all the great advice!

[Guest Anonymous]

Id construct the bra top directly onto the bra, so it becomes one piece.

 

I did my Callisto leather costume this way, the only part i left loose was the back of the bra itself, so that it kept the stretch and thus hold. As long as the Talon top's back is sized when you are wearing the bra, when you fit the two pieces together, the talon back should sit flush over the bra back.

 

As there is minimal stretch on the cups, by attaching the Talon top directly to the bra front and sides, you wont have any problems with the bra showing. Of course you will need a black bra for this.

 

toupee tape could be used as an extra safety where you put tape between the bra itself and your skin on your bust. But it is no good for sticking fabric together.

 

Alright, that's good to know. So if the bra has to stay loose in the back, but the bikini top has to pull down over my head (since I don't see any places I could hide a clasp, unless maybe in the front, in which case it wont stay attached to the bra very well), won't there be some slack between the bikini and the bra in back? Or am I confusing myself now ...

[Twi'lek Pam]

My plan had been to put the clasps under one arm, at the dividing line where the front and back sections connect. I was planning to put some elastic at the connections point, so the top would be snug but I could still do silly things like breathe and move. (I was going to use a couple bra extenders to provide the elastic and hook/eye connections.)

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

My plan had been to put the clasps under one arm, at the dividing line where the front and back sections connect. I was planning to put some elastic at the connections point, so the top would be snug but I could still do silly things like breathe and move. (I was going to use a couple bra extenders to provide the elastic and hook/eye connections.)

 

Pam

 

Oooohh, that makes way more sense! Now that I look at the pictures again I can see how you can hide those there. Breathing and moving is definitely a good thing So it sounds like my worries about accidents can be put to rest, I'll be strapped in nice and snug without passing out

[Guest Sakara]

Looking at the back of Talons costumes...a back section could carefully overlap with some high strength magnets sewn on each section to act as very strong clasps. The overlap could be built into the design of the segments on her top.

 

Ive used Prosaide too for my Asari character and i use the Pros-off stuff to remove it. Its basically an oil/alcohol/ water mix that softens the prosaide enough to remove.

[Guest Aysel]

That's a really good point about the kid-friendly events costume. Somehow I was thinking that "Oh, I can still go if I'm in a body-suit" until my husband pointed out that the whole point of the body suit is to still look like I'm not wearing it, which comes back to the problem of looking half-naked in front of kids Shae Vizla, the female bounty hunter from the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, was my first choice for a costume, but sadly she's not an approvable character until the game is released so the LMOs can see her final render and back story. I still love her design, so I think I'll probably end up trying to have her as my second costume for those events where we either don't have the time/energy to paint me up, or where it's not appropriate for Darth Talon. She has a statuette and novel released though, and is in the game trailers (mostly in the Deceived one), so I probably could start on her costume and hope the game is released soon and doesn't change her much if all. But then I'd have no soft-costume I could spot for my husband in... Hmmm... Dilemmas...

 

Darn it, why do I always fall for the complicated costumes

 

1. Awesome, I'm notoriously bad at understanding people in high noise situations, so its good to know that hearing isn't horribly impaired, or at least it sounds like its no worse than it would be if I did a helmet costume of sorts. That tutorial is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

 

2. Sounds like I'll have to do some testing with the paint before I actually start on the costume on the UV side of things... My family has a history of skin cancer, so that combined with how easily I burn might be an instant kill on this idea if sunscreen isn't an option and if the paint doesn't help protect me. The hot summer days are the prime time to wear a costume like this, so if I'm relegated to only wearing it indoors I'm afraid the costume cost just couldn't be justified for how often I'd be able to actually wear it. That's also significantly more paint than I expected, and judging from the cost of the Reel Creations paint it may simply end up being out of my budget... I'll have to crunch some numbers and see. If my CO is supportive of a bodysuit for times other than the initial approval I should be able to swing that cost.

 

3. The northwest is definitely not a toasty climate like say Arizona or something, so if the bodysuit is a no-go on official events I may end up freezing too much, even with the cloak now that I think of it. Again, I'll check with our garrison for their word on it.

 

4. Hehe, yeah, I had a feeling the lekku could easily end up being the priciest part of the costume after going through your tutorial/experience with it

 

5. I definitely am not handy enough with sewing to trust any bra creation of my own, so I'd have to see if the Wonderbra that Sakara mentioned would be short enough or not. From what I've read about the stick-on adhesive cups I think I'd feel very unsupported since I'm typically used to anywhere from standard bras to sports bras... If the bodysuit idea ends up being allowed after approval with the paints then I can handle it long enough for the approval shots at least

 

6. Disappointing, but understandable. I guess it's sort of exciting being held to the "first to do x costume" scrutiny though, and there's enough folks that have tried the costume to get advice from on where they ran into problems.

 

7. My hair is about mid-chest length and usually not horrendously wispy, so I think your style for putting it up should work perfectly

 

Thanks so much for the detailed answers, they really help a lot! I guess it will be dependent on what my garrison folks say and how the UV testing goes on if I'll go forward with this costume or not I'll keep you posted!

 

CCG? HI! I can speak directly to costumes that have been asked to not attend certain events, Kashyyyk Base up here has a Slave Leia and she was asked to please not come back to certain events as the costume isn't "Family Friendly" [grumbles] even though you probably let your kids watch RoTJ and didn't have a problem with it [/grumbles] and for the warm/cold factor you want to pick a costume that you can either layer up under it for the almost snowing troops or be mostly comfortable in 100+ weather, our Sci/fi night at the baseball stadium was 112 the first year we did it >.< We have a purple twi'lek here and shows about as much skin as Ayla and it takes her forever to get her paint on and that's not including the touch-ups she has to do. I don't want to deter you for going for Talon (she's really cool!) but the things that Pam brought up are very important considerations. If you need help building it, there are some great folks here and are really talented artistically that can help you.

[Guest Anonymous]

*waves* Hi! I've been seeing your Visas Marr costume on the CCG forums and in here but haven't actually formally said hi yet I'm Ronime's wife, I think he's talked to you before over on the CCG boards. I was thinking that the Shae Vizla costume would be my colder weather and family friendly costume, while Darth Talon could be my warmer weather less-conservative one once I eventually make both. Also, I think Darth Talon actually is a bit more conservative than Slave Leia, since she has more coverage in the bikini part, plus the long gloves and boots so hopefully I won't get turned away quite so often. Still pie-in-the-sky plans at this point since have to save up and tone up, but its fun to plan things so when I'm ready I can charge ahead

[Guest Aysel]

hey, I know you've put this build on the back burner for something else but I just ran across that might help everyone who's trying this immensely

 

first guess what that is made out of, come on you know you wanna.....

 

 

 

 

....

 

 

 

 

give up?

 

check out this tutorial http://www.jedielfqueen.com/index.htm I'm sure this technique could be used for making this costume and since it's foam it would be WAY more comfy than a lot of others things next to the girls

[Guest Anonymous]

Craft foam, really? That's pretty darn impressive! I shall have to keep this in mind, thanks!