Rebel alliance – Page 4 – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Event debrief: 14 July 2017

When I wasn’t working at the zipline, getting merchandise and materials ready for an earthskills festival, and taking a three-day Middle-earth trek in Wisconsin, every spare minute of the first half of July 2017 was spent finishing gear for a second survival presentation at the Frazier Museum’s summer camp—after the first session, I had told my facilitator that I had a Rebel militia persona in the works, and couldn’t go back on my word!
Therefore, I spent the entire two full days (July 12&13) before the camp finishing my Pepakura RFT helmet (which, as discussed earlier, came out looking surprisingly decent considering it was my first attempt with fiberglass), converting the last of my green army dress shirts to bib-front RFT-style, and getting my DH-17 retool in mostly-presentable condition.

After staying up til 0100 for multiple nights in a row, I managed to get everything done and was finally ready to debut my Rebel partisan impression, ‘Citizen Olis’, to a group of 10-13 younglings in grades 3 through 6!
reb assemble DSC05059 Continue reading “Event debrief: 14 July 2017”

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”

Snagging a Speeder Bike (with Math!)

In Guerilla Warfare, that wonderful time capsule of 1940s partisanship, Burt ‘Yank’ Levy describes an excellent way of ambushing a rapidly-moving, mounted fascist:

“A good way to stop a motor-cyclist is by stretching a quarter-inch cable or wire across a roadway. If you are sure a motor-cyclist is coming, put it up beforehand. Otherwise, have a brick tied to one end of it and be ready to sling it across the road, where others will secure it, while the Nazi is a mile away. Attach the wire to trees or fence-posts at a height of from three to three and a half feet from the ground…preferably, string your line diagonally across the road, at an angle of about 30 degrees. The effect of this will be to make the motor-cyclist, when he hits it, slide along it and into the ditch…right near where you and your companions are waiting” (72).

Reading this the other night, I started to wonder: if I was a member of a Rebel cell needing to ambush a pursuing scout trooper, how much time would I have in which to throw my cable across the path before he appeared?

Ewoks apparently prefer the first, pre-set system, as above.

Continue reading “Snagging a Speeder Bike (with Math!)”

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_fin And 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’”

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 buttons The 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 ‘Outer Persona’: Backpack

If you want to get some authentic ‘woods time’ in your GFFA pursuits, you’re eventually going to need something to haul your gear around. I’ve had this trusty 1950 pack (made, as far as I can tell, by Bergan’s of Norway?) for seven years now, and I’ve been tweaking it here and there almost since I bought it.I thought it would be a good idea to share all the various mods and justifications I’ve made over the years to make it roughly fit the GFFA commoner’s ‘aesthetic’. Continue reading “Building the ‘Outer Persona’: Backpack”

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”

Building the Rebel Persona – 5: Hard Kit

#1 Helmet:
This is my take on a standard Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet as featured in Episode IV, but which has been commonly depicted in various planetside conflicts in plenty of secondary materials. It is made using the Pepakura technique (cardstock hardened with fiberglass resin and Bondo putty).
(Full, detailed account of construction found here).
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Naturally, we have zero hard references to specific gear that local Rebel cells received from Alliance Ordnance and Supply, so I don’t know how appropriate the swoop helmet is for my context—versus something like the ‘Endor donut’ helmet. My main issue with the swoop helmet is that the light color clearly stands out in outdoor settings (although it’s still frequently shown worn in such settings), but I’m hesitant about painting it a light brown or something, which might deviate a bit too much from the accepted visual norm of what we’re used to seeing. Continue reading “Building the Rebel Persona – 5: Hard Kit”