The General.
General Saesee Tiin. One of my favourite characters in the Star Wars universe. Aside from the characters I made up of course. Why him? When I like a certain IP, though I might root for the proverbial main characters, I'm more drawn in to the secondary ones, characters that you don't normally see or notice, but they're just there, adding flavour to the scene. Anyhow, this is one of my first self made costumes since 2002, and though it's not like my current Predator project, where everything is being made from scratch, some of the stuff I just customized to my needs.
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I've never dabbled in sewing. I can sew something together, like, closing a ripped seam, or putting the pocket back, but not make full, wearable clothing. So the tunic, or the 'Jedi' robes, I had a friend made them for me. If you're not too familiar with the character Saesee Tiin, He's an alien, in the Star Wars world whose prominent features are his bull-like horns growing downwards. I thought of making the whole mask from scratch, same thing I'm doing for the Predator, but time was short, and a little search on the internet provided me with the knowledge that there's already a Saesee Tiin mask being sold out there. The Lightsaber? Warehouse. The whole armour, I made, from foam..but..The template for it I got off the internet. You know Pepakura? Well, it's basically papercraft, was the name of a software where you could open soft copies of templates for just about anything. Wikipedia defines it: The art of combining paper model types to build complex creations such as wearable suits of armor, life size characters, and accurate weapon models. But I customized it heavily and added 'wear and tear'. I wanted to make my Tiin look battle-hardened, like he's been in a hell of a war. A Clone War. ;P Short, this project may not have had the time or detail as some of my other projects, but I sure had such a blast making it and so proud of it!
Suit Up! I was really bad at taking pictures of my progress during this project, but to be honest, I think it’s better having all the pieces together in one shot anyway. Foam I used was black, I knew that normal paint, even spray paint wouldn’t stick to foam easily and you had to put Plasti-dip or atleast put a layer of polymer (like Elmer’s glue) before you can properly paint it up. Black because it was the only thing para rubber had, cheapest option too I believe. Worked out fine because I really wanted the inside to be black, so saved me from painting it twice ;) Managed to add the dirt/grime/battle scars effect by brushing on some black acrylic paint, then wiping it off. Sure made a whole lot of mess >.< But love how it all came out!
Domed! Remember I mentioned I just got the mask off the internet? So I got one and when it arrived, it was way too big for me(small head).There was no way I could wear it without heavily modifying it. After a few hours (okay, days..kept trying and trying..) I was left with a mess. At first I wanted Tiin to be able to take off his helmet, and underneath that, show me wearing the mask. Kind of a ‘cool’ reveal. But again, time constraints and having failed to make the mask fit, I cut off the two horns, and stuck them to the helmet. Which I realised, was the way better option. Even with the ample breathing space inside the helmet you see below, at times, it could feel a bit claustrophobic and a bit hard to breath. If I had the mask on beneath this helmet, I could see myself passing out. Definitely. Bless! The helmet itself had a recycled children’s soldier helmet for a base, then I added the foam parts. The material for the visor proved a bit harder to acquire as there aren’t really a lot of places willing to sell in the small volume I wanted. Fortunately, a company who specialises in cells/gels gave me a few of their samples, for free! Very, very grateful!!!
Strike a pose. Of course I would wear it to the premiere ;P Clockwise from top left: The obligatory pose with the movie stand; Not too shabby, General Tiin! Was a little hot, but otherwise, comfy and enjoyed the movie!
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<This is what it's ultimately all about, wearing the costume and putting smiles on kids faces, receiving (and giving) high fives. Best reason for doing projects like these...Priceless. Absolutely priceless.
Overall, one of a kind experience, would love to do a better trooper armour maybe in the future, something sturdier than foam, but for now, while waiting for the next Episode of Star Wars, the General will be sitting at home, kicking back and relaxing with his 2nd favourite droid. Cheers!