Topic: Being a real-life Fett

So who out there has actually got themselves a full Fett costume? How often do you wear it or is it just for display? Did you make it from scratch, or buy it all?

I might as well start the ball rolling. I have a full suit apart from jetpack. Mine isn't for wearing (wouldn't fit me anyway damn that skinny Bulloch) and is on a full size mannequin. I have to thank ebay for all the parts which I bought individually... An expensive hobby, but a life size Fett in the room just looks absolutely fantastic...

That would look awesome. I have a friend who has a full stormtrooper outfit on a dummy which they named Graham.

But I don't have a full Fett costume, nor a part one.

That's cool, do you have pictures of it?

Funny you ask... As I said he doesn't have a jetpack yet and I'm waiting on his belt pouches and wookiee braids, but otherwise complete :)

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~welcomestranger/

That looks cool!!

I don't have a Boba costume. I was once in a thrift store and saw some blue-grey matereal, and I immediately imagined a flight suit like Boba's. So I bought it. I never did make it into a flight suit, but maybe someday I'll get around to it. And then I'd need to find a helmet, armor, boots, belt, and other stuff....

Nice, it looks good. :D

Wow, how much did it cost you to make that?
Damn, I'd love to have a Fett costume. I do have the money for it, but I don't think my parents would want me spending my hard earned money on a silly costume, especially since I'll be having to attend college in less than two years.
We have a costume day at our school every year around Halloween. It would be so awesome if on my senior year I came to school on costume day dressed as Boba Fett!! I'd seriously consider doing it if the cost was less than $250, but I highly doubt that... heh.

Ooh, how gorgeous!  But somehow, very creepy.

Sharpy, your friend has a cool costume!

As close as I come is a helmet.  I put it on once, and our cat freaked. She's pushing 17 lbs, and has all the grace of a bull elephant in full rage, so we try NOT to freak her out too often.  The resulting destruction to the house is more than the laughs are worth.  The helmet came from an old comic store my husband managed. I think it was for a haloween costume, or something.  Can't see a damn thing with it on, but it looks kewl on my shelf.  Makes a statement.

Not being able to "see a thing" seems to be a running trait with SW helmets. ;)

Yeah... it's certainly cost a bit of money to put together... but whenever I think about the money I look at him and say damn, he looks so cool... :D

Really nice suit! I also have a full suit. (bought complete) I also have a EPII Clone trooper suit, and I'm working on a custom all metal mandelorian helmet. (Almost done, just having trouble making the top part.)

I used to make armor when I was in the SCA. Dishing cold steel sucks, but it was the way we did our helms  by pounding out quarters. Mine is referred to as the brain bucket. I hate hate hate working metal. The top part was the hardest for me, and it looks like something you'd expect a Star Trek villian to wear.

However, there's a cool bit of techonology to make it much easier:  spun metal tops.
You can get these from a few armorers on the web, they come in a few sizes, and form a much nicer, cohesive top that doesn't require a weld, or, joining via a band and rivets.

We actually got a few at one event, then I told my DH my metal banging was limited to listening to Judas Priest, no more armor making for dainty old me. 

If you run a search on SCA armorers, you may be able to find someone who sells the domes (they are very cost effective, and they're an easy way to top a metal helm without making yourself insane, or, beating your arm bones and sholder to death).

thats realy cool. i would love to buy one but i dont have the cash. and even if i had it mom would not let mne have it .

Thanks for that info Ursula. I'm googling it up now.

Hopefully save my right shoulder buy bying it already completed. (I've been hammering the top on an anvil trying to get an even roundness for the top.) Unfortunately I suck at making completley rounded tops. =\

Take care.

Thats cool, I've seen some places on the internet selling them, i wish i had one

Good luck!
Weh you need a rounder shape it's easier to dish (We did ours in a tree stump that had a round gouge in it, made by a chain saw), then we pulled by beating it over first a trailer hitch, and then a round metal ball  thing (we made the stuff at this guy's house, I think he got the ball from another armorer). I only used the anvil for my knees, and the articulated pieces of the leg, as they didn't require that much curve. Still scwered it up anyway.  I'd go to bed at night and my arm felt like a wet noodle, and I'm no light weight either.  You're hard core, doing it the old fashioned way, but it does feel neat when you get a product and can use it.

That's why I had my second set of armor pre-made , tfrom his guy named Ice Falcon.  I think he was IceFalconArmorie?  He had sweet shoulders, did good work.

My husband got an anvil a few years back as a gift from my grandfather, and a stump from a friend, and keeps talking about more metal work.  I just cringe and pretend I don't hear.

The first time I put on armor, I felt ten feet tall. The first time I fought in armor to qualify for the SCA fights, I felt like Luke Skywalker. I came late to the battle, and there was this one Marshall willing to vet me in so I could join the fray. He was very well reputed and I figured he'd hand my ass to me on a platter.  So I jammed on my helm, and the moment they yelled "Lay On"  the helm fell down over my eyes, and the foam padding blocked my view. I thought, great, I'm screwed, I can't even see this guy!  But I heard him rattling around, and I was a viking, so I had a huge round shield which made it easy to block anything coming from his general direction. Everyone was screaming to strike, but I couldn't see a damn thing. I figured, hell, if Luke Skywalker can pull it off, so could I, right?  Somehow I figured a likely shot and nailed him dead on in the head , to the amazement of the crowd, and myself.  So maybe there is something to this force thing?

Good luck!  The first time you put on the completed suit, you'll feel invincible.
Post the pictures once your finished!

That's cool!! :D

Hehe, youre correct in your doubts. A decent Fett costume would cost quite a bit more than $250.

I'm only half-way done with my TIE Pilot costume...which really (aside from other small things and helmet gadgetry, as well as my homemade A/C system to keep me cool during long troops in the Florida sun) is a helmet, a flightsuit, armor chest and back, a box, and some tubing.

At the moment I have my helmet (a Classic Action), which Ive modified a bit...I ordered a flightsuit...and have my tubing...and fiberglass to make the armor. Thats run me over $100. The gloves and boots I already had. By all means, though, what I have so far should have cost more in the area of...$400-550.

Boba Fett...a lot more armor. The helmets also suck, so they need to be heavily modified (painting, new visor, maybe even a little re-shaping). The cheapest way to make a good Fett suit would be to learn how to vaccuform ABS plastic (not too hard, really). Even then, youre looking at a nifty price tag.

'Course, Im talking about 501st quality costumes. You could make a below-par costume for under $200, that would look good to the average person.

Id love to make my own armor,of course after I got ahold of the money for it.Yeah,that would take a few years of finding penneys from under the couch.When you're a senior we nerds/geeks/goths/freaks&weirdos  have our own kind of prom/sleep-over-at -da-school thing.Dude,showing up at that thing as Fett or Ryu Hayabusa(sp?) would rock.Course,how much would something like Ryu cost?
The only thing ive got closeto something of that nature would be a black marble(lif-size.JOYNESS) bust of a commando's helmet that my best friend Kara made for me!!!!!

Ursula -- What years were you in the SCA, just out of curiosity?  I noticed on the old boards that you're in upstate, which was where I lived when I was in the SCA.  Heck, we might even know each other, although probably not.  I moved away and got out of it quite a while ago.

But I fought, too.  I still have my armor around somewhere.  Nice 14th c. brigandine, with great helm AND gauntlets (Our group had a professional armoror).  But my body armor got busted right around the time I left, so I never fixed it.

I have to admit, I look at the Mandalorian armor, and think that it's so wrong in so many ways.  Too many open areas, for instance.  And where's Boba's leg armor, dammit?

We were in it maybe 6 - 9 years ago.  Bjorn was king of the East, and Lucan on either side of Bjorn. I can't remember the others, because I think Bjorn and Lucan kept trading every six months. Ice Falcon kept trying to beat them, but was always the 'next to last man standing', and not the 'last'. (though I heard he finally beat them all to make King a few years back.)

We first hooked up with a group called Snowhawk out of Saratoga. The head of household was bounced out of Pensic (Guy Rolandson), and had to invent a new persona, so they went viking, and Gunnar was born. We have two groups that kind of cover one another: Anglespur east of the Hudson, and Concordia, west of the Hudson. We were considering joining one or the other at one point, but Anglespur was mostly college age kids from RPI, and Concordia was later period and Samuri.  They were both VERY cool groups, though. We ultimately split off from Snowhawk due to some lifestyle differences, and had a group called "Dravargr" for a few years. We usually made the Warrensburg events (Royal Progress) and did 2 Pensics.  Nothing like going to war for three weeks.

I qualified in Ithica at this event where we fought in a gorge in water up to our knees.  The marshall was Wolfstan the Unshod, known the realms over for creasing helms and fighting without shoes.  I think he was with Ithica and later moved to our neck of the woods. I still can't believe I tagged him hard enough to get him to scream "Good head!".

We got out of it when I was working full time, and was running a metaphysical shop in town. Just didn't have the time. 

My first suit was a combination of steel, and an upper body leather lorica segmantata (dyed oxeblood red) The lorica is a nice design, but not for a curvey lass, which I didn't discover until I put it on. I later switched to a Cherbourg harness, which had a bit less mobility in the waist, but protected what the lorica didn't.  That suit was stainless, mounted on black leather, man was it sweet!
Since I've taken up the life of a beaurocrat, as opposed to a floor RN, I've sized well out of that rig.  Our armor is in the basement of our house, and my husband keeps talking about cleaning it, and 'doing something with it'. Yikes!  I'm old and ready for kids now, and do my fighting in board rooms.

I hear what you're saying about the armor.  If you check out some of the other Mandalorian suits, they're not too far off the mark for good protection (though they lack articulation in key areas). I assume Fett wanted more mobility. Remember what it's like lugging around a set of steel legs, holy god, I couldn't bend down to get to my boots sometimes! Mandmetal is supposedly denser than most, the reason it can absorb saber strikes and blaster bolts.  As a hunter, I think he covers select spots, and leaves the rest to his skill.  Either that, or he willingly suffers for fashion.

Ooh, two SCA-ers!  Sadly, I've never fought in SCA.  I just stick with dancing, costumes, and developing my persona--10th century Russian with Arab/Viking influences.  What has me confused right now is why the name Guy Rolandson sounds so familiar, considering that I'm in a different kingdom.

I would love to make my own Fett suit someday (or better yet, a female Mandalorian suit) but I figure that's best left to when I'm out of school and have more time (not to mention money).

I never got the EXACT story about what Guy Rolandson did, but it was enough to earn COMPLETE cross-kingdom banishment from the SCA.  At the time, I do believe he was a knight.  I imaging the truth is lost to time, which is probably a good thing.  I do know if you mention the name, a fair amount of people cringe, and others say as you did "where have I heard that name?"  10 C Rusion with Arab/Viking influence sounds way cool.  I bet you get to do some serious costuming for that.  The Rus had fab tunics and such, much more decorative than the average viking, and the average viking was the early period King of Bling.

Definately leave yourself time to make a Fett suit of armor. It would be awesome, because you'd get to completely customize your suit and paint it and all. The sky is the limit and that's when costuming gets real interesting.

I would love to do something like that, with the costuming and acting stuff. But I'm too lazy, I think, and I don't have a lot of money. I've had brown cloth laying around waiting to be sewn into a tunic for over a year now. I think it's somewhere in a corner on the floor. So I doubt I'd be able to make myself make anything like that, though I do intend to make some Mandalorian Armor sometime. I was curious how people made armor and lightsabers and stuff, cause it seems a lot of people do it, but you can't just walk down to Wal-Mart and pick up an Armor Making Kit. So you bang metal and stuff? That'd be fun! My house is also very, very small so I wouldn't have room for it. The biggest costuming achievment I've made was making moccasin type boots for my mom for Christmas, without a pattarn or anything. I would love to learn more about sewing/costuming type stuff, but I don't know where to go, I don't know if the community college would have something like that or if there's anyone around here who would know. And I seriously doubt my small town would have any cool costuming group. There were two Sith in line for ROTS who had pretty cool costumes but I have no idea what their names are much less if they bought their costumes off the internet or made them. But I've always been interested in costuming.

The Jedi Costumes actually have very simple lines and are good projects to start learning on: there are a few actual patterns out there, but a tunic is great because all you need to know is how to draw the letter T.  No lie.  The simple T tunic is a great project.  I learned to sew from my grandmother and then taught a few friends, but mostly picked patterns and learned as I went.  You don't even need a machine:  there's stuff called stitch witchery, it's this glue that is in a paper form, and when you iron it between fabric it chemically alters and bonds with the fabric, joining the pieces together.  You can get tons of the stuff for a few bucks at jo-anne's fabrics.  They also have the Jedi Costume patters, but wait until they do the 99 cents pattern days.  I'm cheap so that's when I buy them. You can cut and tape a pattern down, or, outline it in chalk on your fabric so you can use it again and again (vs. using pins).  A T tunic at it's barest sews only the sides. You fold and cut in the shape of a T.

Run a web search on costuming, T tunics, and the SCA.  All the different kingdoms and shires and such posthresources out there on how to make any number of things, including the  T Tunic, which would be perfect for your fabric.  You can also email me backchannel, I can dig out some old instructions and send them your way.  I may even have spare Jedi-esque haloween patterns I can send you:  I used to pick them up just to read the directions to see how they were constructed, (because I'm a detail freak), with no real intent to make them. Sort of like reading a modeling magazine.

Also, check your local college:  check and see if you have an SCA group or a Sci Fi or Star Wars group there, or even an animae club.  They all do costuming, and you can usually find someone who does it who'll teach you. When you're into sewing, you like to pass along your addiction to others.  Many of the local SCA events have classes where they teach the techniques.  I learned how to make 14th century cloth buttons at one, from a guy who looked like Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings.

The metal stuff is hard.  We learned from a guy we met who wanted to build a war band. We worked with him , and then when the war came, in exchange for the teaching, we fought in his war band as mercenaries in a deal he brokered with the king at that time. Yes, it sounds insane, but that's kind of how the SCA works. 

A lot of fantasy and sci fi armor is either vacuformed, or sculpted from polymer resins.  That takes an artistic hand, one I don't have, but I'm always impressed.  Those guys who posted on the old board had great costumes, and would be worth contacting to see how they made thiers.  Also, the guys who participate in the 501st are high and tight, and I bet they know TONS about costuming.

Send me an email, and I'll send you what I have.

UrsulaofDravargr@aol.com

Vacuforming is incredibly easy...assuming you have a mold. Other then that, its as simple as heating some ABS on a rack in your oven, putting it on  a specialized table (which you can make our of scrap wood), and flipping the switch on a vaccuum. I'm planning to buy a bunch of clay and plaster, and asking a local 501st member to make molds of his armor.

Another way, again assuming you have the mold, would be fiberglass. This is a method almost anyone can do without even reading instructions on how to do it! Its that easy! Just go to a local hardware store and ask for fiberglass mat and resin+hardening solution.

Though, most household ones wont do. You need something more powerful...personally, I use a 6hp wet/dry vac.

But ya, like said above, check out the 501st. Go to http://www.501st.com/members/dsp_garrisons.cfm

Find the garrison closest to your location, and visit their website. Sign-up on the forums, and just...well, do whatever. Ask questions...

The best question to ask would be "When will you guys be having your next armor party?"

Then ask them if you may come along to see what its all about. Once in a while members will hold armor parties, where they basically hang out and help each other work on various aspects of their costumes.

These guys are really nice, and always willing to help.

Danny, thanks for the links and the info on the armor.
You make it sound so easy (vacuforming).  Knowing me, I'd wind up sucking my 17 lb cat into the form somehow ;)

The armor parties sound like fun!

:) Thanks, both of you!! I'll deffinately look into those!

Edit: I forgot to say it in the email, and I didn't want to send another one just for a one-liner, so I'll say it here: Thanks for the tunic and other links you sent me. :)

I'll tell you what, guys...I'll talk to Aaron about letting me write up an entire explanatory process on vaccuforming, and other aspects of Star Wars costuming.

Though Im yet to join the 501st myself (you need a complete costume...I only have several partially completed ones), I have spent an extensive amount of time researching and working on armor. Unforunately the only things I know as far as cloth or other sewn items, are on Royal Guard robes.

But I swear...with some pictures and a step-by-step explaination, you'll soon realize how easy (in theory) it is. Its mostly a matter of money.

That would be cool! :) I'd like an article like that.

I went to the 501st site and found that the nearest garrison is the Alpine Garrison which covers Montana, Utah, and Idaho. I'm still looking around the site right now, but so far it looks great!

That would be sweet!  I've always wondered how it's done.

that would be preety awesome

http://www.starfortressproductions.com/swbountyhunters.html

here is a place that you can get armour

Yeah, the armor looks good, but the helmet looks like crap.

yeah it dose look like crap

i would join but im not old enough...yet

lie

its not a big deal for something like that.

well i still havent gotten my armor yet im getting it from over seas