cosplay – Page 7 – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Project: Naboo pilot’s helmet part 2

Hello there! Welcome back to my buildlog for recreating an N1 starfighter helmet – let’s not waste any time and get straight into the process!
In my last post I determined how big the components of the helmet would be, and decided on a method for construction (Pepakura). While I originally wanted to make all parts of the helmet using Pep, I decided that the Y-shaped-part-that-holds-the-earmuff was complicated enough that I should make them out of something more substantial.

I first considered making a mold and casting them in resin, and when I want to feel like a real prototyper, that means carving a positive from amber ‘victory wax’. Well, after a few days I had built up the shape pretty close – I figured I would cast the pieces fairly roughly, and then do the fine shaping on the casts, since resin doesn’t heat up and deform in-hand. However…

Upgrading the Rebel persona – Naboo pilot’s helmet part 1

_{Before we get started, a quick scheduling note: the project that follows was a long and involved process, involving many different skillsets (including—but not limited to—pattern drafting, sculpting, casting, and woodcarving). Instead of trying to cram all that into one mega post, I’ve decided to split it up into three parts, and rather than dole them out separately across most of this month, I’ll be posting all three today (we’ll return to regular programming next week). With all that out of the way, let’s get started!}

With little else to occupy my time while backpacking thousands of miles last year, I spent a large part of my AT thruhike thinking about ways I could improve my various Star Wars reenacting/living history kits when I got back home. Along the lines of adding a Q2 holdout blaster to my Rebel-on-Naboo impression, I wondered if there was anything else I could do to help anchor my kit to that specific planet. While the popular conception of Naboo is of a peaceful, pacifist culture, that’s not exactly the case. While they may not have a proper standing army, the Royal Naboo Security Forces are plenty prominent in the pre-Imperial period and have plenty of hardware to incorporate into a kit. Just as Earth military gear of past generations can trickle down to the civilian market as surplus and family heirlooms lay forgotten in attics, I figured something similar could happen on Naboo as well, especially following their effective demilitarization under the New Order.
While I was never really onboard with the ‘pearl hats’ of the Royal Guards or the Security Guards and Officers’ visored caps, the headgear of one RSF branch felt like it had more Star Wars-y pedigree than the others: the Naboo Starfighter Corps. Their flight helmet is so iconic yet has such a grounded design I thought it might be fun to add one to my kit…and after supper one night in our tent I made a quick doodle of what a Naboo partizan might look like wearing one:

And once I make a character sketch, it’s all over – I *have* to make it a reality!

Once we returned home, I was able to do some research and see what kinds of options I had. Somewhat unsurprisingly (?) it doesn’t seem as if many fan-makers have tackled the N1 helmet…as far as I could tell, only one other (rather exquisite) fanmade example existed, produced by one ‘Godzilla’ (of super-accurate Tusken Raider mask fame). Perhaps one reason for this dearth was because an official N1 helmet replica does exist…they pop up on eBay from time to time but are typical quality for Don Post – they’re basically just a cast plastic shell with a mediocre paintjob – and more than I want to pay for such a thing. After being away from my workshop for so long, I really needed a project to get back in the Maker groove, and thought a scratchbuilt Naboo pilot helmet would do the trick nicely! The obvious question was: HOW?

Attention! Your input is needed!

Hello there, folks! We don’t have a regular post for you this week, but believe me that next week will more than make up for it (a triple-header, in fact)!

As I was reflecting recently, I’ve been a maker of Star Wars clothing, costumes, props, and gear for over 20 years! After building and growing my skills for so long, I’ve been thinking it might be time to try and turn my hobby into a small business. So…

To help identify my market and see what potential products people might be interested in, I’ve created a short, anonymous survey, which you can find HERE. Your participation will be greatly appreciated – thank you!

Galactic Style Guide – Children

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, the monthly series where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! This time we’re looking at a segment of the galactic population which we don’t tend to see much of: ~~children~~ younglings!
As it sounds like a major target market for Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser hotel is families with children—and because I’ve seen many would-be guests express uncertainty about how to dress their children in GFFA style—I thought it would be especially helpful to collect and share some examples of in-universe clothing worn by children. I’ve attempted to present them chronologically and grouped by planet.

We begin in the distant past, on Ruusan during the New Sith Wars c. 1,000 BBY. Here we see the first appearance of a general trend of children wearing shorts and/or short sleeves (or no sleeves!):

It’s worth noting that pretty much every youth we see on Tatooine is a slave, so I’m not sure how much their style of dress is indicative of childhood under the twin suns versus social status (would young Luke have worn something similar as a farmhand?). One thing is for sure, while the garments themselves are simple construction, the cloth they’re constructed from has a lot of texture! However, we know (Dressing a Galaxy, p11) that Anakin’s tunic was made of a silk/linen/hemp blend (presumably the others were something similar), which sounds pretty comfortable (well, except for all the sand).

**the Mos Espa junkyard gang:** Anakin, Amee, Melee, Wald, Seek.

Click here for examples from Naboo, Dantooine, Alderaan, and more!

Doing right by (fictional) History

In historic reenacting circles online, rarely do I see anyone say, ‘Thinking about starting on a Fallschirmjager kit. Show me some FJ impressions for inspiration!’. The best and most authentic ‘inspo’ is not other reenactors’ kits, it’s the primary sources themselves!: wartime photography or film, military manuals, soldiers’ diaries, etc.
Reenacting/living history in the Star Wars setting is no different – if you want to build an authentic impression of x, you don’t look for what others have done (that’s how reenactorisms get spread), you look at the media where that impression comes from – the film, TV, book, video game, or comic book.

If one takes a quick scroll-through of facebook’s largest general reenacting group, Living History~ show your impressions (currently 19,000+ members), a pattern quickly emerges:
“Roman auxiliary, Teutoberg, Germania, Autumn 9 CE”
“Loyalist rat catcher, Philadelphia summer of 1781”
“Confederate widow in mourning, Richmond Virginia, early 1865”
“LIFE Magazine photographer attached to C Troop, 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Armored Division in Autumn 1944.”
“Cpl Bradshaw, Automatic Rifleman of Dog Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, Pusan, Republic of Korea, August 3rd, 1950”

Project: Merino baselayer retool

First off, I want to give a big shout-out to my supporters from January and February: Sam C., Rich F., Tamara A., and Chelsea C.! Your support and kind words mean so much to me – THANK YOU! Now, onto this month’s project!

Always on the lookout for cool military surplus items to use in my various living history kits for outdoor adventuring, I got very excited back in January when Major Surplus started carrying these quarter-zip ‘undershirts’ for $15!
Now, they’re probably fine on their own, but the thruhiker in me got Really excited when I saw they were made of merino wool! Wool by itself is already great for outdoor purposes (it’s durable, insulating (even while wet!), fire-retardant, and water-resistant), but wool from merino sheep is especially soft. It’s just about all I wore on the Trail last year (props to Montana-based Duckworth for their awesome base layer shirts!), and as soon as I saw this garment I immediately thought of Dass Jennir (from the excellent Dark Times comics) who was pretty frequently depicted wearing what look like blue-gray, knit v-neck tops!:

Since I want my Star Wars wardrobe to be three-season adventure-ready—and the reviews said the shirts ran small and only Medium sizes were left in stock—I quickly snagged one up to try and retool it to be a little more GFFA compliant.

Project reveal below!

Galactic Style Guide – Formalwear II

from *By the Emperor’s Hand*: Mara Jade (impersonating a baroness) and casino security

Upgrading the Rebel persona: camouflaged helmet

Ever since completing it back in the summer of 2017, I was never fully satisfied with my Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet. My dissatisfaction wasn’t necessarily with the construction—despite being my first serious foray into Pepakura, I think I pretty closely nailed the shape and paintjob (accurate light gray, not white!)—but rather with its usefulness to a Rebel fighter….

What’s wrong with the classic swoop?

Galactic Style Guide – Formalwear I

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, the monthly series where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! While quality reenacting and living history are geared more towards the ‘common’ experience, Disney’s Galactic Starcruiser hotel experience is billing itself as a luxury cruise, and I’ve seen plenty of folks online asking, ‘What am I supposed to wear???’ With that in mind, I’ve combed my reference library and collected some examples of formal outfits to help get an idea of what ‘fancy dress’ looks like in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Since any discussion of in-universe formalwear is really a discussion of the clothing of the galactic upstrata, and since the Original Trilogy is—aside from Leia—generally not concerned with these kinds of characters, our best examples from top-tier sources come from the Prequel films (which were very much focused on galactic elites). One thing’s for sure: Trisha Biggar’s costume designs reveal a clear preference for robes, cloaks, and coats in late-Republic senators’ clothing:

**Late-Republic senators and aides**: Liana Merian, Agrippa Aldrete, ‘Unidentified Draped Senator’, Sei Taria, Silya Shessaun, Gem Sirrom, Terr Taneel, Chi Eekway, Fang Zar;
Mon Mothma, Bana Breema, Male-Dee, Giddean Danu, Bail Organa, Rep. Binks, Sheltay Retrac

Galactic Style Guide – Comlinks

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! This month, we’re taking a break from ‘soft kit’ to look at a piece of ‘hard kit’ that we would expect to see in the pocket, or on the wrist or belt of most galactic citizens in some form or another: we’re talking COMLINKS!
While comlinks are—like cellular phones—used to send and receive audio signals at long distances, unlike their Earth analogues, comlinks show a remarkable variety in their designs. Ignoring backpack-based comlinks, we’ll break our sample down into handheld and wrist-mounted comlinks.

The first comlink seen onscreen is the C1 model, made by SoroSuub and carried by Imperial stormtroopers (potentially this might also be what Leia uses at the bunker on Endor). If you’re portraying a character in a position to scavenge some Imperial gear, the C1 might be for you! For extra functionality, you can buy a C1-styled Bluetooth-enabled handset at the Galaxy’s Edge park ($60).

As we’ll see next, the propmakers of Episode I made a wide array of prototypes for the Jedi to carry before settling on kitbashing a womens’ razor for the Hush-98 (also made by SoroSuub):