Diamonds in the Rough – ‘Kryos’

Welcome back to our monthly spotlight series! In this feature, I interview Star Wars costumers who have ‘gone the distance’ and put in the effort to create solid, in-universe outfits or personas. This month, we’re learning from T.H., who has taken skills he honed as a historic reenactor and applied them to the GFFA setting, to great success with his excellent Mandalorian kit, ‘Kryos’:

When asked about his initial inspiration for this character design, TH says he was born in winter and has always felt a connection to snow, so creating a snow-based kit was only logical! As we would expect, the snowtroopers of Episode V were a big influence.
TH began the creation of this outfit by looking to “many influences”, not only the aforementioned snowtroopers, but also Echo Base rebels, other ‘arctic Mandalorian’ fan costumes, and real-world cultures from harsh climates, like historic Scandinavians. While he admitted that many of these inspirations didn’t end up in the final costume, as he says, “the research helps in getting on the right path.”

I applaud this method, as it’s one I’ve used for all of my various kits as well. Whether it’s an armed Rebel, Jedi ‘gardener’, or New Republic archeologist, I find it supremely important when beginning an impression to inspect the sources to establish ‘guardrails’ and get an idea for what the end-product should probably look like. If you operate purely on your own ideas and ‘what seems cool’ while neglecting the research process, this will be apparent, and, as Doug Chiang recognizes, “visually, the result will be disappointing for many people.””

TH said that as he’s not much of a roleplayer, this kit does not come with a character backstory, but he did keep elements from the current lore in mind while creating it:
“Mandalorians in the post-Imperial era seems to be shattered and many live hidden. I feel like my character lives on a cold planet in the Outer Rim, not really hidden but kind of exiled since Mandalore has fallen. He’s not a bad guy but he does what he must to survive and spread his religion.” He imagines this impression is based on the time period “shortly after the fall of the Empire.”

Aside from his flightsuit (just a reworked overall), TH says made all this kit’s soft parts himself, and I really want to shine a spotlight on these. As TH explained, the soft goods for this kit were made from a combination of high-quality cotton, leather, fur and wool, which is exactly what we would expect from actual functional historic clothing: knit synthetic Underarmor or plain cotton scrubs are nowhere in sight. The use of rugged materials in appropriate weights really allows the kit’s weathering to shine through. I especially want to give kudos for the use of a dark blue for the undersuit. So many Mandalorian cosplayers want to be ‘badass’, intimidating, armored warriors and default to black for all of their fabric goods. In addition to being difficult to weather and photograph, not only is black a ‘bad guy’ color in the GFFA’s visual language, but it also automatically increases the contrast with almost any color armor pieces laid on top of it. By using navy blue instead of black for the undersuit, the same general look (light armor over dark clothing) is created, but in a manner authentic to the SW setting.

This kit’s cold-weather purpose is further underlined through the kama (battle skirt), gloves, and flak vest, which are made from quilted fabric (see the outfits of Rebel personnel on Hoth, most of whose clothing includes quilted details). I especially like the kama‘s construction, as the use of edging (in addition to quilting!) really shows this item is appropriately thick and robustly constructed—I’ve seen far too many kama that appear to have all the weight of a handkerchief.
Around the waist is worn a woolen “kidney warmer”—an inclusion which further reinforces the idea of a functional winter warrior—and a textured sash that adds a splash of deep color.

At first glance, I was skeptical of the twin thermal detonator holster/belt pouch combo – I thought it looked like a convention lanyard around the neck, and that the pouch was only hanging from the neck strap and liable to swing around. Upon closer inspection, however, I realize that this setup is well thought out and pretty functional: the belt pouch is not free-hanging, but is attached to the outer belt, which keeps it from moving side-to-side; meanwhile, connecting the thermal sling to the pouch helps hold the belt up and keeps it from shifting downwards. (For what it’s worth, were this my kit, I would probably shift the thermal-holster to an over-the-shoulder sling, connecting to the belt and giving support at front and back, and adding a bit of early-20th century military style).
While I generally advise against them, the beads and jewels/crystals hanging from the belt are pretty innocuous as ‘trophies’ – a far cry from the oft-seen trinket jumble of bones, claws, broken lightsabers, macrame kyber crystals, perforated Imp and Reb rank plaques, etc.

Some other things that work:
-no mythosaur needed! (T-visor, iron heart, and Boba-style gauntlets already read ‘Mando’ very effectively!)
-While the immediate color impression of the armor is ‘white’, close inspection shows that it’s in fact a very light cream color (much like the snowtroopers). Like the undersuit, this is a small detail that makes a difference in the larger outfit by reducing contrast.
-Mando’a and Aurebesh text: both are present, but don’t feel like they’re vying for the viewer’s attention.
-Were this my kit, I probably wouldn’t include the tech greeblies on the belt pouch and thermal holster, but the inclusion of a downward-mounted ‘neck knife’ on the lanyard portion is a great bit of believable functionality.
-While I don’t know where it is normally carried, the shape of Kryos’ sword easily recalls vibroswords seen in KOTOR, while the general lines (grip especially) feel like a less-edgy version of the xiphos seen in Zach Snyder’s 300 film (appropriate, as Mandalorians are essentially space-Spartans):

As one might imagine, assembling an outfit of this caliber can take some time, and in his case, TH worked on this kit for “about 12 months”.

One of the things that makes this kit look so good is the weathering and aging to the various pieces. This was accomplished by multiple methods—including airbrush, black/brown washes, sandpaper, knives, and chipping. TH finds weathering a kit is incredibly important (and also his favorite part). As he says, “It’s a dirty and harsh galaxy, and your costume should show that!”

When I asked him about any real-world functionality to this impression, I was impressed to learn that the helmet includes hearing aid, a voice amplification system, and ventilation. TH confessed that while at a convention, it can often be more comfortable  to wear the helmet, which he rightly recognizes “really supports the immersion”. Looking forward to future upgrades, TH says intends to make his kit “even more specific for cold environments”. To find out just what those upgrades will entail, you’ll have to follow along on his Instagram, Kryos Props.

As with last month’s interview, for whatever reason, I can’t help but feel that on the whole, Europeans like TH seem to take the Costumed Arts more seriously, and their end products–especially when it comes to ‘custom characters’–are consistently of a higher standard than those in the ‘States. Why is this? I’d love to hear your ideas! Leave a comment below, or come discuss with us at the Star Wars Living History facebook community. I’m always looking for future interviewees, so if you know a high-quality costumer you would like to nominate for this series, please get in touch!

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