Ready For MY Close-Up!

I have been photographing a lot of Star Wars themed costumes lately for members of the 501st Legion. I have, of late, been shooting with a somewhat dark & mysterious style that I am kind of partial to.  I wanted to somehow try and capture that same style with my costume. So, I set-up and metered my lights, put up my black backdrop, and got my wife to compose the shots and press the shutter button.

I think she did a great job composing the photos. We took about 30 shots altogether, but the photo on the left was my absolute favorite.  I’m actually thinking of making it into a trading card to hand out to kids at 501st events, as well as make it into a 16″ x 20″ for my home office.

The photos below were runner-up’s. The guitar shot was a whimsical, spur of the moment thing, which is something I would eventually like to incorporate more into my costume photography. Sometimes those are the most enjoyable, and make for a great conversational piece.

 

Becoming A Member Of The 501st – Part 2

... Continued from part 1.

The difference between looking like a walking action figure, or looking like a movie prop that just walked off of a Star Wars movie set, is indeed, the weathering. It has always been instrumental in the creation of the Star Wars films. George Lucas wanted that “real-world,” used look in the details.

For me, this was the most fun of the armor build. Once again, I referenced photo stills of the actual movie prop, and film footage, to best replicate the color of the weathering, and decide how much weathering to apply to my armor. I noticed in the costuming world that there is always the danger of applying either too much, or too little filth. I wanted to avoid both of these instances, and nail it somewhere in between. So, what would a battle hardened Snowtrooper look like? Here are my results:

The color I chose for the weathering, was "Raw Umber." It seemed to best match the color they used for the actual prop.

It's important to NOT just slop on paint, but have a plan and a thought process of where weathering would actually be in the real world. It makes a world of difference in the end.

Paint isn't the only thing that brings weathering alive, but also scratches. Getting that dirty, they must have banged into things, or had to dive for cover from time to time. You think?

A little crud around the eyes, and even on the shroud. Gotta get that new "white-look" outta here!

... and the ab plate, complete with weathered nylon webbing.

Completed!

Voilà! The completed suit. The duster coat was assembled by my wife, with help from a relative. The weathering for that was a little different from the armor. I bathed the entire coat in tea, which is how the originals are believed to have been weathered. I also added a few spots of diluted paint to create some “oil spots” on the coat. The boots actually came weathered, since they had already seen action. They did, however, need to be modded by adding straps and removing the laces.

My wife, Judy, deserves a ton of credit for helping with this build. She did ALL of the sewing; wether it was the coat, or the countless pieces of Velcro, or the nylon webbing that needed to be attached. The suit would have never come together if it wasn’t for her.

Judy also made the pouches from scratch. The gloves were basic gardening gloves (as was the film prop,) and the pants were “Dickies” painters pants.

The E-11 blaster, is made of rubber. There were a number of choices for this including, but not limited to plastic, metal, and resin. I chose rubber because I drop a lot of things. I’ve already dropped my blaster four or five times.

All in all, the project was a blast. I look forward to my next build, which will be coming shortly.

Giving my best effort with the action pose.

 

Becoming A Member Of The 501st – Part 1

I remember when I first met my wife. I can’t really remember where in the relationship we were, but Star Wars came up. I looked my wife in the eyes, and said: “I’m a Star Wars fan.” She looked at me, as if I just made the silliest statement one could ever deliver to another human being. She was probably thinking, ” Ummm okay… that’s interesting.” Her reply: “I’m okay with that.” Then without hesitation, I said: “No. I mean… I am REALLY a BIG Star Wars fan.” I think I might have frightened her that day.

What is the 501st Legion? In a nutshell, the 501st is a large costuming group of Star Wars fans, that spans worldwide, and donates it’s time and efforts for charity. Basically, we dress up in handmade Star Wars based costumes, that either rival, or surpass the actual movie props, and “troop” events where our presence is requested. In return, donations are made to many different charitable organizations. The man himself, George Lucas, became an honorary member back in 2005. This year, Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) became a member with his Boba Fett costume.

I have been a member of the New England Garrison (NEG) community since this past spring, but have only been a full member (having a costume to troop in,) for a little over a month. In that short time of trooping (four events,) I have to say that the experience is surreal. You are transformed into a superstar. You bring smiles and a look of awe to every child you walk by, or give a high five to. I trooped the “Star Wars: in Concert” event at the Boston Garden last weekend, and I signed autographs! Even the adults were sent back to their childhood, and you could see it on their faces. I must have been in at least 100 photographs with individuals spanning from infancy, to early 80’s… they all looked like children again. For me, I think that this is the appeal… innocents, kids, and smiles.

So, what character did I choose for my first costume? Well, the 501st is “The Darkside.” None of this good stuff – we are the Empire… Vaders Fist! So, the choice had to be evil. One of my favorite bad guys has always been the Snowtroopers, from the battle of Hoth, in The Empire Strikes Back. There is just something about them that is mysterious, and menacing… and that always appealed to me. So that was my choice. Here are some progress photos I shot during the construction of the armor:

It starts like this... Nice white shinny ABS plastic.

The details start to bring the suit to life. The research that goes into these things is mind boggling! I studied original props from the films, and countless movie stills to replicate the color, detail, weathering and fabric as true to the original as possible. The boots, that were used in the film were actually Canadian Military Mukluks. I actually found a pair that fit me at an army surplus store (they still have the soldiers name written in them.) You don’t just buy these costumes off of the shelf, you have to work long hard hours to complete them… but it’s a labor of love for the Star Wars fan.

The chest plate: painted details, and hardware added.

More paint details, and the bracket installed for the nylon webbing.

Paint details on the back pack. Still needs more paint.

The ab plate and thermal detonator.

The "bucket" with the shroud trimmed and installed, as well as the lenses.

In part two I will discuss the weathering, and completion of the suit… Stay tuned!

 

Indiana Jones: Premium Format Statue

I have been waiting a long time for this one to arrive… finally it did (Exclusive #453/1000) Probably the best collectible piece that I have ever owned. The sculpt is dead on, the paint job is perfect, and the details are amazing. These pieces are quite expensive, but I got a pretty good deal on him (30% off of retail.) This one is the exclusive version, which came with a second changeable head, without his fedora hat. The statue was created by Sideshow Collectibles.

There have been some complaints about the jacket being too short. Yes… it is a tad short, but nothing to bother me. The jacket hangs fine, and although it’s not 100% accurate in length, it’s ok with me.

Another common nit-pick has been the color of the jacket. The jacket is criticized for being green. Mine actually looks gray… I’m really not seeing the green in it. I’m not exactly sure of the “actual” color of the original prop, but have read from people who have claimed to have seen the original jacket in person, that it does in-fact have a tiny bit of green in it. Once again, whether accurate, or not, it does not phase me in the least. I never really expect 100% accuracy with any collectible… none of us are perfect. However, this one screams Harrison Ford and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that is all I need to really enjoy this piece.

Yet another issue that I have heard about, is that his flesh color is too dark. Honestly, I just don’t see it with mine. The flesh color is just right. Since these are all individually hand painted, perhaps they vary in shade… I don’t know, I guess I got a good one.

The statue is an amazing likeness of Ford as Indiana Jones, and has some of the finest detail work that I have ever seen on ANY collectible. The Idol is unbelievably realistic looking and has a very antiquated look to it. The jacket is weathered nicely, his shirt has some sweat stains, and the base is a piece of art in it’s own right.

If your a collector of Indiana Jones, there is absolutely no doubt that you MUST own this piece!

EDIT: After looking at my own photos I realized that I should have put the pouch strap over Indy’s right shoulder. This has been corrected, and he is now safe and sound in my display case… and I just can’t stop looking at him. I also put some crumbled up paper in his pouch to give it some weight, and have it look like there is something in it.

 

First Impression: Gentle Giant Yoda Statue

Well, I got my much anticipated Gentle Giant Yoda statue today. The piece was actually due out this past April or May, but, as is the way with most Gentle Giant collectibles, he was delayed… until December.

Yoda retails for approximately $140.00 through Gentle Giants official website; however, he can be found for around $110.00 + shipping at most etailers. I was fortunate enough to grab him for about $93.00 shipped. If I wasn’t a big Yoda fan, I might actually be a little disappointed with the “bang for your buck” factor. He is basically the same dimensions of any basic bust sold by Gentle Giant that typically averages approximately $35.00 – $45.00, and even as low as $15.00 – $25.00 if you hunt around ebay and collectible forum “for sale” sections. In a lot of cases, the amount of resin material used on the Yoda statue happens to be less than most busts.

But with that out of the way, he is a very nice piece! It seems that Gentle Giant used the exact same colors, and paint application techniques as they did with their EII Yoda mini bust masterpiece. The cloak has less of a yellow tinge to it than the EII bust, but 100% accurate, in my opinion, to the original ESB Yoda costume. The pink at the bottom of his eyes really is not as obvious as the photos may imply. however, I personally would have left the pink off of the sculpt… after all, they were trying to emulate the ESB puppet, which didn’t have the “pink…” but I’m starting to show my “anal-dorkiness,” so on with the blog.

I’m ok with his expression; not too happy, not to sad (although he does seem to be starting a slight crack of a smile.) I would have gone 100% serious, but it’s really not that big of a deal (just a personal preference.) The hair, which always seems to be a car wreck on most Yoda collectibles, seems to have turned out perfect. It works well, and doesn’t stand out. The paint applications on my piece are not sloppy at all, which always seemed to me to be a curse with Gentle Giant products since 2005.

The statue is glued to the base, which might bother some. Personally, I would certainly prefer him to be detachable, but no matter… it really doesn’t bother me. As for the sculpt, I think that it is one of the better Yoda sculpts out there, but it still isn’t dead on, (which really surprises me with Gentle Giants scanning ability.) I figured that they could nail this one on the nose. Perhaps they didn’t have the aid of the scanning this time around and molded him from scratch. Non-the-less it is certainly a “close enough” sculpt that should please any Yoda fanatic.

The only downside that I can see to this piece is really the price. It really is quite unreasonable, and one really has to question what Gentle Giant was thinking when they priced this bad boy. Still, if you can find him for a bargain, or you just love the piece and don’t mind spending an average of $110.00 for less than a mini bust, go for it. It really is a nice piece when you eliminate the price factor from the equation.

 

Cyber Painting

I was surfing around the internet and came across some pretty cool “Speed Painting” videos on You Tube. The one I chose to showcase is a rendition of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. These cyber paintings are created entirely with Adobe Photoshop; an extremely popular image editing program used by professional graphic designers and photographers. You have to watch this video to believe just how far technology has come in the graphic arts department. There were many videos on the topic to be found on You Tube, but for some reason I enjoyed this one the most of all the ones I viewed.  Credit for this digital painting goes to Steven Maquire. Enjoy!