Rebel Mara (NOT 501st approved)

[Guest BrieWings]

Hi all!

 

My name is Brianna and I'm a costume designer and Rebel Legion member in South Florida. I troop with the 501st Everglades Squad as there isn't much RL activity down here. I've been quietly looking around on the flagship boards for a long while now with hopes of doing a Mara Jade for official admission to the 501st. Unfortunately, I've fallen in love with the version from Swarm War (below). It's after Mara is good, so it won't be eligible for 501st approval. There's only one shot of it, so even in the Rebel Legion it will probably only classify as informal. I decided to worry about a 501st approved costume after I make this one, which I am really excited about. I've been talking to Pam and she said I should post up on here.

 

So far I've made the shirt and put a nice collar and pendant together for the necklace. My vintage leather gloves arrived and they are awesome. The black leather look vinyl from Spandex House is on back order right now. I'm still searching for boots. My hair is naturally red so I'm not doing a wig. It's not crazy, blazing red like the picture, but I think natural will still look better. I also have a custom, all silver tone light saber with a purple blade. It's not exactly like the one in the picture, but I'm really happy with it. I just picked up a DL-44 this weekend at Disney.

 

This version of Mara has some odd hardware on the belt. Please let me know if you have any ideas for parts and/or sources!

 

[Twi'lek Pam]

The belt buckle you can get as a buckle blank from Tandy Leather. It's pretty easy to reshape them a bit to get the shape you need. A bit of sanding with a very fine grit wet-dry sandpaper (600-800) will give the metal the bright finish that you need.

 

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-u ... 87-00.aspx

 

 

For the metallic dots to each side of the buckle, you can use screw-on or hammer-on rivets or posts, also available from Tandy in their hardware section. Just look through the options to see what would work the best. (Or get a few different ones and experiment!)

 

For the plates to each side of the buckle, the easiest thing to do would be to cut them from some thin sheet metal, which you can get at the hardware store. Cut it with some tin snips, sand the edges well because they'll be lethal sharp at first, and sand the top surface to give it some shine. The metal can be held in place with the rivets seen in the references... though I recommend scuffing up the back surface and bonding it to the leather with some epoxy or contact cement to keep it in place well.

 

An example of sheet metal pieces: these were traced onto the sheet, cut out with tin snips, and sanded smooth.

 

 

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

You know i was wondering about a couple of things...

 

1. does the black part of mara's outfit have to made out of vinyl why not cotton as long as its tight forming/fitting?

 

2. how much would it cost to make mara's belt including the gun hoslter?

 

3. what kind of pendant does she have?

[Twi'lek Pam]

1. I don't think it needs to be a vinyl material, because it definitely doesn't look glossy. A cotton lycra blend would work well for the fit, but it would need to be a good, sturdy material or it would end up looking flimsy, and you'd need a good interfacing for the collar. Fabric with a bit of sheen would be preferable, because it would really bring out the details of the outfit.

 

2. The cost really depends on what materials you use, and what prices you can get. I'm on Tandy's mailing list, so I always wait for a good sale before I buy things there. They regularly have great sales on buckle blanks, belt blanks, etc. Same thing goes for supplies that can be purchased at Michaels or JoAnne.... get on their mailing lists, because sales fliers and coupons go out every month, and they're a handy thing to have!

 

Brianna and I were discussing the holster... and we can't see any signs that she's wearing one! The saber is hanging on her belt, but there's no indication of a holster for that blaster she's carrying, unless it's on the left side and worn to the back where it would be out of sight at that particular angle. With her other jumpsuit, the holster is on the right side.

 

3. Not a clue! (It's really difficult to pick out details in that tiny picture.)

 

Pam

[Guest Anonymous]

thank you for answering some of my questions ^-^ im just asking them becuase im on a tight budjet and i looked at how much a person waned mara's jump suit costume she wanted 400$ im all like thats a bit insane >

[Guest BrieWings]

I just realized I didn't have my preferences set to notify me when there were replies to my post! What a nice surprise to find some responses.

 

Fabric: Well, I thought about using something other than the vinyl, especially since there is no CRL for this version. Ultimately I decided that I really want my costume to be recognizable as Mara, so I went with the vinyl because that's what most people expect. It just arrived and, boy, is it different than I any varieties that I've worked with previously! It is sooo thin! It's a light weight Lycra coated with a very thin layer of vinyl. Imagine if the vinyl were painted on and you have an idea of what it's like. I'm not complaining. It will definitely be easier to sew and more comfortable to wear. It does need a lining though. It looks really great!

(Black Leather Look Matte Finish Vinyl from Spandex House)

 

Pendant: You really can't make it out. It could definitely just be a plain circle medallion, but I thought it would be cool if it was the symbol for the Rebel Alliance. I've tried it on with the shirt and I like it. I'll have to start posting pictures.

 

Belt: Pam, thank you for all the tips on the belt! I've looked at the Tandy belt blanks online and it looks like some of them have visible rivets. Have you experienced this? If so, I guess I could just cover it with more of the sheet metal. Ugh. I cringe at the though of sheet metal. I did a project with it a long time ago and have sworn it off ever since. I've come a long way since then, so I guess it's time to give it another try. *cringe* Any particular brand of contact cement you would recommend?

[Guest BrieWings]

thank you for answering some of my questions ^-^ im just asking them becuase im on a tight budjet and i looked at how much a person waned mara's jump suit costume she wanted 400$ im all like thats a bit insane ><

 

$400 is actually decent if it comes with everything. I've seen them for more. If you can sew and make accessories yourself, it's definitely worth it to do so. Before I started focusing on teaching, I used to run a website business making custom (soft ) costumes. Let me tell you, when you have to account for getting paid for every hour of work, plus materials, it adds up.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm on a really tight budjet i can't go over 100$ >_

[Guest Aysel]

it kinda resembles the belt from the black jumpsuit Mara so I would guess that you could do the same type of holster in the back

 

 

Katie

[Guest BrieWings]

I'm on a really tight budjet i can't go over 100$ >_<

 

Oh, I totally understand, that's why I said it's worth it if you can do it yourself.

[Guest Anonymous]

when ever the standards are made i'll start on the costume

[Guest BrieWings]

Okay I finally got around to taking some pictures of what I have so far!

 

The gloves are vintage, showing a little dirt and wear, but I like it. They don't look brand spankin' new. They look like gloves that have seen some use!

 

Here is my DL-44 in it's original state.

 

Below are pictures of the vinyl. You can see how a super thin sheet of it is laminated on to spandex.

 

Here is a lame picture of me just so you can see some of the pieces together. The lighting is terrible, it was the end of a very long day and my hair is a mess, but whatever. Also, I didn't have my contacts in, so I couldn't see what kind of face I was making. When I wear the finished costume I will do my hair and wear make up more like Mara's in the picture. I made the shirt, but neglected to take any process pictures. It's a basic shirt, so no big mysteries on the construction.

 

Here are some close ups of my hair and eyes in better light. My eyes are kind of blue-green, but they seem more blue or green depending on lighting and what I'm wearing. It's really weird how much they seem to change. They are looking more green in these shots, which is good.

[Guest Aysel]

it looks like your well on your way to having this done, as for your hair being a mess, it matched the reference pics

 

Katie

[Guest Anonymous]

i got a shirt like that but it's more of a brighter white ^^; this costume might not cost a whole light aside from the saber hilt X-X. what kind of how much a yard was your fabric? do the gloves have to be actual leather like can they be cotton like white costume gloves?

[Guest Aysel]

I would say as long as the gloves look like the art they can be any material you want them to be.

[Guest BrieWings]

Leather Looking Vinyl

Style: Black

Width: 60''

Stretch: 4 Way St

Color: Black

Per yard Price: $10.00

Description: Four Way Stretch Matte Finish Vinyl

http://www.spandexhouse.com/products.ph ... %20Stretch

[Guest BrieWings]

Look at what came in the mail today! Thank you Pam!

 

[Mira_Darkstar]

I have always loved this version of Mara. Love your progress so far.

[Guest Anonymous]

I was wondering if this catsuit of mine,that would work for this outfit of mara's instead of me having to make it from scratch!

are they any actual standards for this costume yet?

http://www.cosplay.com/photo/3267266/

[Guest stinkape]

Hey Brie.. Looking great...

[Guest FallenJedisLady]

Sweet!!! A full body image of her! Don't mind me! I'm just going to lurk here and watch your build.

[Guest BrieWings]

Sorry it took so long for me to finally post pics of my completed costume! I finished it in time for CVI and I had a blast! Thank you so much for all of the help, suggestions and support!

 

Comparison

I need to shorten the sleeves just a bit, and zip up my jumpsuit a touch, but I'm really happy with it. (Darkening my eyebrows and overall makeup will help too.) The belt, harness and holster are all dark brown, but the lighting in these pictures makes them look black.

 

My eyes are blue-green, but I went ahead and bought green contact lenses.

 

I have pics with out the belt pouch and holster, but I like them, so here are the front, sides and back including them.

 

Timothy Zahn came up to ME to compliment my Mara!!! I was completely caught off guard and so surprised and flattered! Can you tell by my ridiculous expression? I was trying so hard to do a "Mara" pose, but I just couldn't get rid of my goofy smile. I don't care if it's not 501st approved. Timothy Zahn approves!!!