kman's TFA Resistance Officer WIP

[kman ()]

I seem to have a thing for officer costumes. LOL (those who know me from other places will get that)

I'm finally getting going on this build. I had the jacket and pants made by the excellent Kevin Soeharli.

This is for Option 1 of the Resistance Officer from TFA: http://newsite.rebellegion.com/tfa-resistance-officers/

(Sleeve size is being tweaked, but the rest looks great!)




I should be able to use my standard RFT belt with this, just keeping the buckle hidden under the coat's front flap.



I already own a pair of brown Po-Zu boots, which should require minimal prep for this.



Apparently the fabric firebird patch is optional, which is good news for approval speed! I really want that patch, so I'll be making one asap, but if everything else is ready to go before I'm done, I won't let it hold me up.

I haven't decided which rank I'm going to go for yet. I really like the look of the Navy Admiral badge (like Admiral Statura wears), but I also like the idea of the somewhat lower ranking Commander and Major badges. I'll bring my own, from gucabe's Shapeways models (listing the army badges here, too, but I'll probably go Navy like Statura, whether I pick that rank or not):
TFA Navy Major
TFA Navy Commander (Korr Sella)
TFA Navy Admiral Badge (Statura/Akbar)
TFA Army Major Badge (Ematt)
TFA Army Commander Badge (Poe)
TFA Army Admiral



That standard lists a shirt, and doesn't mention the shirt being optional/irrelevant for Option 1, since you can't see what they're wearing under it AT ALL. I'm hoping that's an oversight, since that seems pretty obvious, but if any judges are reading this, that would be nice to confirm? I don't want to have to procure a totally pointless shirt. (similarly, the belt buckle is completely hidden and the standard calls for a specific buckle, in contradiction to the jacket-specific text that notes the "buckle/closure" is hidden.)
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[kman ()]

Turning to the accessories while the jacket is being altered.

My 3D printer is limping along, but I was able to get a usable rank badge print. I'm starting with a Navy Commander rank, I decided, although I'll likely print a couple of others.



A little sanding a coat of filler primer, and it's starting to look decent, although more work remains.



Onto the boots! The Finn boots from Po-Zu are great, but need a little work to bring them up to snuff. First up is the rebel firebird on the adjustment strap.



Fortunately, that comes right off. Some rubbing alcohol and a paper towel and here it is literally 5 seconds later. Maybe 5 more seconds and you'll never know it's there.



Next up is the heel logo (gee, thanks, PoZu).



Fortunately, someone figured out that a hot iron, pressed onto a damp cloth onto the shoe, steams that stamp right out in moments. A little damaged leather remains, but that won't be visible at all once a tiny bit of shoe polish / weathering is applied.



Pre-weathering, here's the semi-final product... looks great even without further work!



Aside from finishing up the rank badge and a dab of weathering on the boots, there's not much left to work on, so I should be good to go when the jacket comes back. The firebird on the shoulder is optional, but I definitely want to give that a shot. I'll check reference photos and hit the fabric store this week, I hope!
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[RebelLady (Kristina Gundersen)]

[kman ()]

[RebelLady (Kristina Gundersen)]

Like I stated earlier this standard is currently being revised. The draft will be up later this week.

As far as your belt goes, my point was more that you should not use your RFT belt because of the rivets, that the buckle is larger so may not be completely hidden, and the parts that are incorrect for a Resistance officer on the outer edges where they are more likely to show. We, in fact, have several officers approved with this style of jacket who used no buckle.

Let's table this discussion for a couple of days so we can finish the draft standards and get them posted. I think you'll find most of the things you are bringing up have already been addressed.
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Legion Costuming Judge: Officers, Rebel Supporters
Sunrider Base, BXO
Galactic Strategic Command, DCO
Yavin Command Post, Duty Officer
Sunrider Base Charity Officer 2016-18
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Mon Mothma, OT Pilots, Willrow Hood, Resistance Officer, TLJ Leia, ANH General, Mirax Terrik, Lyra Erso

[kman ()]

[kman ()]

Jacket is back from alterations, should be good to go. Haven't had time to deal with the firebird patch yet... I'll try, but it may have to wait until after Thanksgiving weekend, at least.

Meanwhile, I did work on the rank badge some more.

After the filler primer and sanding parts were done, I added the white layer and the silver.



Then the blue layer.



I'll weather it a bit more and it should be good to go. Magnets are gluing on to the back right now, so it'll be ready to wear!
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[kman ()]

I decided to go ahead and submit, and see what happens. If I need some tweaks, so be it, but it would be great to have this approved by the TROS release!

I did decide to use a different belt (technically, the biggest change was I removed the buckle, easy since it's on a snap). Technically the belt it literally rubber banded together now, to keep the lowest possible profile. (and the rubber helps hold the belt from shifting)

I think I've ticked all the boxes needed for approval. I took some photos tonight, but unfortunately didn't notice that the focus is all strange until after I was pulling together my submission, and the camera equipment was all packed up. I guess they'll let me know if they weren't good enough, and I'll do a reshoot, but I'm burnt for now, so we'll see!

I still need to work on that firebird for the shoulder, but it's not going to happen tonight. Hopefully the new Standards will give some size guidance... I can't quite tell whether they should be 3" across, or more like 3.5". Or perhaps it varies so either works? It would be good to know that, though, so I can make a stencil the proper size.


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