Category: Personas

Building the Rebel persona: 5.1a – ‘Endor Donut’ Helmet

After finishing construction of my Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet last July, I started to feel that it might not be the best fit for a Rebel militiaman on Sulon, or more specifically, that it wasn’t the most practical choice.

Although there are a few other designs from EU sources, the Rebels’ only other proper helmet we know from the films is that worn by the Rebel strike team as seen in Episode VI, so by September I had begun weighing the pros and cons.
EDHs Continue reading “Building the Rebel persona: 5.1a – ‘Endor Donut’ Helmet”

Differentiating the Jedi persona

This post is a follow up to my earlier musings on the trade-off between public recognizability and authenticity. After some careful consideration, I finally made some decisions that allow me to have my cake and eat it too, while also helping to better distinguish my Jedi persona as being based in the Imperial era.
darktimesjedi_plain Continue reading “Differentiating the Jedi persona”

Downsides to Research: Accuracy vs Recognition

As part of the research that yielded my Service Corps insignia patch, I came upon a detail that has led me to a dilemma.
In Part 2 of Daniel Wallace’s The Jedi Path, the various paths that a Jedi initiate may take are outlined: whether to go on to become a Padawan apprentice, to ‘wash out’ and join the Service Corps, or to leave the Order entirely and rejoin the ‘civilian’ galactic community.
In addition to the text, this is illustrated visually:
initiate_paths
From this depiction, it appears that the Service Corps (center bottom) is differentiated by use of less layers of clothing (forgoing the tabards in favor of a tunic only?). My question is: How representative or stylized is this image?.…The token AgriCorps guy with the Mohawk also looks to be going with a simple tunic-only outfit.
The Jedi Path, as an in-universe textbook, is supposedly dated to 115 BBY… BUT, the comic series Act on Instinct—set during the Clone Wars—depicts a young AgriCorps member, Sanya, who does appear to wear tabards:
Sanya
In fact, her outfit looks like a regular Prequel Jedi, just in navy blue, and with wrapped forearms. Additionally, this character would be about the same age as Silo, and so might be seen as the closest analogue to my persona?
However… Continue reading “Downsides to Research: Accuracy vs Recognition”

Rebel propaganda project: ‘Liberty for All’

Back about the time last year when I started entertaining the idea of starting a dedicated Rebel persona, I was also thinking about potential outlets and activities I could do. The one that I kept coming back to— inspired by a childhood spent surrounded by living history types at Civil War battlefields—was a public ‘recruitment drive’ for the Rebel Alliance. In brainstorming such an event, I thought that having some propaganda to display would be a good way to add atmosphere.
liberty_finAnd so, I started looking to see what was out there. Unsurprisingly, there is a metric ton of Star Wars-themed propaganda on the internet, but not much of it is ‘official’. I wanted something I could talk about in-universe if questioned, and I sure didn’t want to have to tell people that the artwork came from DeviantArt user ‘L314_Forever’ or something.

Luckily, I came across reference to a book recently published, containing a multitude of in-universe artwork: Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy. While some of the pieces seemed a little lackluster or Photoshop-y, I really liked this one (by ‘Tavris Bahzel’): Continue reading “Rebel propaganda project: ‘Liberty for All’”

Building the Jedi Persona: 4.1 – Canteens

As promised earlier, I’ll begin with a quick writeup on the mysterious canteen which DK has put to triple use as a GFFA prop-base.
canteen-plasticDimensions: approximately 6 x 8 x 2 inches.
Capacity: approximately 1250 milliliters, which is about 250 more than most of my other canteens (my WW2 Russians, US, and UK are all just a hair over or under a liter), which is pretty nice. However, getting this maximum capacity involves getting any air out of the top section next to the spout. I wonder if–based on the similar shape of my vintage icepack–this canteen was meant for cold weather use?, as the top section might allow for extra expansion during freezing?
My canteens are both clearly marked ‘US’ in a recessed area (on the other side of the props), and ‘1 US 1993 H.T.P.’ on the bottom. Continue reading “Building the Jedi Persona: 4.1 – Canteens”

Research Pays Off: Jedi Service Corps Embroidery

Back last spring when I was first putting my AgriCorps Jedi persona together, I wanted some way to help indicate (besides the bucket hat, folding trowel, and complete lack of lightsaber) that Silo wasn’t another run-of-the-mill Knight that most people picture when they think ‘Jedi’. What I really wanted was some kind of patch that I could sew onto my outfit or field gear to help designate my membership in the Agricultural Corps.
Since I didn’t know of any existing symbols used by the various branches of the Service Corps (what’s the plural of corps? It can’t be corpses?), I opted to use a mid-90s Girl Scout ‘Plant Culture’ merit badge, since—to my eyes—it looked like a pair of non-human hands growing a plant with the Jedi consitor sato technique.
plant culture GS
However, recent subsequent research has yielded a great development—the various branches of the Service Corps did, in fact, have their own insignia after all!: Continue reading “Research Pays Off: Jedi Service Corps Embroidery”

Research Pays Off: the Sulon-style Henley

As I continue to refine my personas, further recent research has turned up what I believe represents true Sulon local style for my Rebel impression. Per the live-action cutscenes in Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight, we know that a Henley style shirt was worn by both Kyle and Morgan Katarn!:
MorganKKatarn henley buttonsThe hologram in question commemorates Kyle’s departure for the Imperial Academy, c. 4 BBY, and he also wears a roughly similar style nine years later in 5 ABY, possibly as a throwback or in recognition of his Sulon upbringing? Continue reading “Research Pays Off: the Sulon-style Henley”

Experimental Archeology: Rebel style!

After finishing the retool of my DH-17, I realized that I needed a way to carry the blaster on my person during workshops or presentations (because it’s part of a kit instead of a costume prop, I need be able to do more than stand around, look pretty, and get photographed—I need my hands when I’m teaching!) Continue reading “Experimental Archeology: Rebel style!”

Building the Rebel Persona: 5.2 – Blaster rifle

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Once I had made enough progress on the research front to begin crafting the ‘outer persona’ for a Rebel impression, and had made plans to debut ‘Citizen Olis’ at a summer camp presentation on wilderness survival, I knew I’d need some kind of blaster. While I talk with my hands and demonstrate a fair amount during workshops, it’s still nice to have a blaster at your hip or on a sling, etc., as it underlines the always-armed attitude of a partisan guerilla: Continue reading “Building the Rebel Persona: 5.2 – Blaster rifle”

Building the Rebel Persona: 5.1 – Helmet

As I said in the previous Hard Kit overview, I opted to give ‘Citizen Olis’ a little armor in the form of a Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet.
“Rebel soldiers wear very little protective armor, typically a helmet at most, though some soldiers wear chest and abdomen plates. Alliance tacticians believe that complete freedom of movement is more useful than the dubious protection provided by armor—which rarely stops a blaster bolt anyway.” West End Games: Rebel Alliance Sourcebook p.99)

As my first serious foray into the world of Pepakura (cardstock + resin), while it’s not perfect, I am extremely pleased with how it turned out! (While researching construction techniques, I came across one fan’s attempt at making the helmet using the same files as I did…I was determined to have the final product come out better than his—a rather low bar—but I am still quite surprised how nice mine looks in the end).
olishelm DSC05064
The road from computer file to three-dimensional helmet, however, was long and winding. Continue reading “Building the Rebel Persona: 5.1 – Helmet”