Jedi Knight Revan WIP

[RKorr13 ()]

Statement: HK-47 is ready to serve, master.

After quite a while of reading previous forum posts, especially the amazing work done by Jabari and Coryphefish and planning my own costume, I'm finally making some progress on my Jedi Knight Revan! Revan is my all time favorite character, Star Wars and beyond. I remember sitting down to play KOTOR for the first time ever, back in December 2003. I was blown away by the story and the fact that you could choose so much of the story line and make the main character your own! Star Wars video games are what really gave me a great love for the franchise, from Rogue Squadron to the Jedi Knight Series, to the Obi-Wan game. So, because of that, I obviously had to pick my actual favorite to make a costume out of! I always made my 'main Revan' Light Side, whenever I played her, and I'm so happy there is the option to create the 'Star Forge Robes' for the Rebel Legion!

(I'm hoping my photos come through, I've never used image sharing via public sites.)

Here is my character plan with a quick in game screenshot:
[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jvn9b3]

I plan to have two lightsabers, RH purple, and LH green. That's always been my go to lightsaber color, because purple is my favorite color, and green in honor of Master Chief from the Halo series, another favorite franchise.

Boots, I'll look around for. I don't have any that work, though some of the natural weathering on my personal boots probably would be really convincing...

Now clearly, the most important part of the costume is the part that isn't actually In the stated requirements, so naturally I started with those first. Mostly because 3D Modeling is fun!

My favorite head gear in the game was the Vacuum Mask, but in order to show my face, I am planning on my second favorite: the Verpine Headband (Yay +5 Awareness and +2 Charisma!)



So I made this!



I did a few test prints for sizing, and still have to model the LED area/batteries, but that's on hold for now while my printer is busy.

I also really wanted to have Revan's mask as an option too! In order to size it to my head, I made a headform:



Not going to lie, I wasn't 100% sure I could get it off...



Success!! I used an old Go - Karting head covering (I randomly have had for probably 5 years) to protect my hair from the blue tape. With this, I was able to have a great starting point for my mask!



I had decided to model the sides of the cheeks as well - I plan to paint them in Black 2.0 to potentially make them harder to see, vs just having the balaclava fabric showing. I did a test print on half of the model, and it fit quite well! I plan to pad the top, and use a couple straps on the side and top to secure it to my head under my hood. Again, that will probably be on hold for awhile, while i finish some rather long multi-day prints for other projects.

Now the actual costume part! I did a lot of fabric swatch ordering, and I settled on an outer fabric for my tunic, after getting a chance to go to Joann in person. It has a nice weave, feels like it will drape well (though not 100% easy to tell) and matches quite well to the references. I may do some color bleach or dye tests to see if i can get the detailed color changes that seem to be apparent in references, as well.

Fabric! On sale!


In order to get more of a female fitted tunic, I took an old pattern i had made for an Emperor Palpatine dress with front and back princess seams. The seams will be covered by the leather armor, and will allow the fabric to fit more closely to my shape. I also decided I wanted to be able to fight in said tunic dress, as well as have a few of the gathers that I can see on the reference. My first attempt at sizing for gathers was wayyyyyy too many... I cut them in half, and that worked much better. The skirt isn't straight A Line, so that I can move more easily. Now, I have a nice muslin tunic base. I may add a small amount of room to the arms still, since I plan to line the fabric with some linen.

Here is the cut out pieces! Minus skirt section:


Princess Seams:


Skirt gathers with fake 'Vest':


And sleeve! Ignore the Really bad sewing job. I changed the sleeve pattern a bit since i made it larger and didn't really do that great of a job matching the curve at 11 pm...



I haven't started the mantle, though I have some basic hood patterns I've made over the years, and will probably modify one of those. For now though, I am also looking into sketching out/planning out the armor, and getting that leather ordered. I have some experience with leather working, but nothing of this size or complexity before, so I will learn as I go!

Thanks for reading!

[Dangams (David)]

That's a fantastic start, can't wait to have another member of Team Revan!

I'm really excited to see how the mask with the Black 2.0 bits turns out. And that's a nice choice of fabric too.

If you need additional references, I compiled all mine here, including the texture file which helped greatly with the armour: https://flic.kr/s/aHskv2dp6E

For the mantle(s) and hood, I went for a two piece approach, but I know some of our other Jedi Revans have done it all as one.

Good luck with the next bits!
_________________
"Overzealously attentive."



Cleared Costumes:
Generic Jedi
Jedi Knight/Star Forge Revan
X-Wing Pilot
Jedi General

[RKorr13 ()]

Thank you very much for the references!! That's so much better than I would ever be able to get with my phone to tv or ipad screen!! I definitely want to see how the natural fall of the full tunic compares for the shadow/highlight parts, and I do see a color change for the mantle/hood.

I'm also so glad to hear positive feedback on the fabric choice! I definitely agonized over that decision...

My current mantle and hood plan is that 2 piece approach, but I'll have to dive more in depth there planning wise, and make a decision on that.

Even if Black 2.0 doesn't work the way I'm envisioning (I expect it would work best with shadowy lighting, and I'm not sure how it will contrast in normal light with the light fabric) I'm just really excited to try using it!

[Dangams (David)]

You're very welcome, happy to be of help!

I went back and forth several times on whether the tunic/mantle/hood were the same fabric or not, and eventually decided to use the same. That being said, I lined/backed the lower mantle with a much heavier fabric than the rest of the soft parts so that it fell more in line with the references.

Getting the hood shape right was the trickiest bit of the soft parts for me, so if you want some photos of how mine is shaped, send me a PM.

My mask looks amazing with just ordinary black paint on the cheeks, so I can't wait to see what Black 2.0 would look like on one.
_________________
"Overzealously attentive."



Cleared Costumes:
Generic Jedi
Jedi Knight/Star Forge Revan
X-Wing Pilot
Jedi General

[RKorr13 ()]

That's a good idea. I ordered lining fabric, in a darker color than for the rest of the tunic, and the mantle and hood will be 3 layers instead of two - outer, lining, facing, where the facing is the same fabric as the outer so it matches. I am unsure that the darker fabric will make much difference, given the weave of the main fabric. It does let light through, but may be too tight for a slightly darker cast. Guess I'll find out!

Thanks for the hood photo offer! I'm definitely curious how you did that. the front and sides of it look different than the Jedi cloaks I am used to.

------------------------------------------------

Quick update to my costume, since I will be busy on other projects for a few weeks! (Will be nice to get rid of all that stuff hanging over my head...)

- Real fabric is here!! I love it so much.
- Lining fabric on the way!
- Black 2.0 ordered!
- Mold/Casting supplies ordered for the red transparent sections of the verpine headband! It's nice to sometimes work in a materials lab and have already used some of these supplies!
- Arm sleeve curve fixed!
- Plan started for the leather armor! I am someone who needs to plan out EVERY STEP so I can do things correctly, so I'm working on sketches and techniques and will post those when I have them!
- Verpine Headband LED areas are fully modeled and ready to be printed! LEDs ordered! Lights are always fun.

Be back with more in a few weeks!

[Lora Skywalker ()]

[themarko60 ()]

I'm researching this costume to, can you tell me more about the fabric. Did you get from JoAnne's? I know they have a linen looking fabric that looks similar.

Thanks.
Mark

[RKorr13 ()]

Back with another update!

[Dangams (David)]

That tunic looks fantastic! Very nicely done, and it fits fantastically. I'm happy my ramblings proved useful to you!

That's a nice trick with the wood for pressing synthetic fabrics - I seem to have an unconscious bias for natural fabrics, so I've never really worked with synthetic, but I'll definitely remember it if I do.

Looking forward to the next update!
_________________
"Overzealously attentive."



Cleared Costumes:
Generic Jedi
Jedi Knight/Star Forge Revan
X-Wing Pilot
Jedi General

[JediDWH (Lisa Curtis Saunders)]

Yessssssssss, I love that you're doing this costume! It's on my long term wishlist and so far it looks great. Love the fabric choice for the dress!
_________________


Sew Corellian
KJO DCO
Celestia Delegation Leader
Sunrider Base Webmaster

Retired LWM, BCO, BMO

[Pixeldust (Lucy Paulina Sears)]

Wow that looks awesome!
_________________
Lucy
Wretched Hive Commanding Officer
Legion Costume Judge

The Mother of Jawas

[Lora Skywalker ()]

Uh, that looks really sharp. Very nice!
_________________


Nordic Base BMO | DL of Aurora Delegation | CRC | She/Her They/Them

RLGS Detachment website: http://www.senate.rebellegion.com/

[RKorr13 ()]

Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words!! I very much appreciate the feedback!

[RKorr13 ()]

Back with some more updates on Jedi Knight Revan!

The main thing I've been working on for this is the mantle/hood pieces, and my goodness, I have come up with pattern ideas then decided against them over and over again. But now I've found something I personally am pretty happy with, since I Thiiiiiink it matches both the CRL and the references in game. So any input and feedback is appreciated!

First is the lower mantle. Pretty straightforward. I made it way more complicated and stupidly the first time I was trying to drape, so had to get rid of that.

NOTE: All of these fabrics are Not the real fabrics, and are general ball park size estimates to be fixed for the final pattern.

So here is the general LM (with tank top armor). Real will be several layers, and fall properly/have a few tacking stitches:



It does poof out in front, but it's kindof hard to get that properly with the shape of my 'tank top armor'. But when I'm not taking selfies, it falls right where it should, and I was pretty happy with the test piece!

Now, in my ridiculous overcomplications of things, I thought that I would need a whole other dickey sort of piece for the outer collar that I am adding to match my in game reference. I'm very confident it will not be bulky at all while ironed out of the real fabric, so next is what that will look like. However I will be attaching it to the LM with a small opening in the front that will be hidden by the Upper Mantle.

Second Collar:



And now for the main questions! I made two different variations of the Upper Mantle. For the hood, I added a cowl piece to the front, because while looking at the references, I see that the hood seems to be attached to some outside part of the UM, which physically really only makes sense with there being some sort of cowl piece on the front of the hood

Reference:



The pointy section where the hood merges to the rest of the piece definitely is on the outside.

So my two options are as follows:

1. Use the hood + cowl piece to give the appearance of the UM due to how the cowl neck lays while the hood is down, and because the hood sides cover far enough while the hood is up. Personally I don't like this as much as method two. The Hood/Cowl would be attached to the LM Neckline.

For the real one for method 1, the cowl would not have those folds. I didn't feel like cutting, so I pinned excess down.

(Excuse the nose strip I'm wearing, it's helpful for my breathing!)

Hood up:



Hood down:



2. Attach the Hood/Cowl to the UM that will lay over the LM. I think this way is best, because it matches both the in-game reference and the CRL. As an added bonus, it also matches the hood up version of Rev from the game Galaxy of Heroes, since KOTOR doesn't have a hood up reference.

Hood up, with the bonus of me being able to tuck the cowl part into my 'tank top armor' a la GOH game reference. It's hard to tell, but the hood edges do go under the tanktop. No LM in this photo because I was lazy:



Hood down, again no LM. The cowl front is also weirdly sticking up in this photo due to the fabric used and it would lay flatter in real life:



So, my best plan right now is Option 2. I think it matches the ingame KOTOR reference and the CRL. There would be 1 extra seam as I'd have to join one side of the cowl by stitching, but I personally think the rest of it matches really really well to the references. Any issues with my plan?

And one more question about the hood - Is it long enough????
It does reach mid back on me, but still I'm not sure... (excuse the mess):



And now for a bit of non-necessary fun! I made and cast my red pieces for the Verpine Headband!! Sadly my 3d printer is STILL down (waiting on a part right now) so I haven't gotten to the Mask yet, but hopefully next week that part will arrive and actually fix it.

So! Making transparent parts fit perfectly into your models! I couldve done the whole buying red transparent sheets and cutting things to the correct size, but that's not nearly as fun to me. I also hate cutting transparent plastic. So I made molds of my 3d parts!

First I had to use XTC-3d to get rid of the lines:



It gets all glossy on the part. Unfortunately for me, I still had to sand it. Sanding tiny parts is really not my favorite thing. But I was determined. I sanded til the parts were smooth with 120 grit, and there was no shiny left. Then I primed the parts, and wet sanded 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000. I definitely didn't do the absolute best with these, since I still need to polish the final pieces, but it wasn't really until I cast the parts that I realized that.

So thinking they were perfectly smooth, I made mold boxes and mounted the parts. Boy did I make a dumb mistake! In my defense, it has been years since I made any molds. Sadly, you can't just hot glue parts to the box, You need to be careful about making sure the whole surface is attached well, otherwise silicone WILL creep in, and make the openings of your mold really wavy. So lessons I learned for next time! I used Moldstar 15 from Smooth-On, since I needed that slow cure.

Here are the nice 'smooth' parts and their molds!





I cast a set of the parts, but I did not like the color, or the edges, so before casting 2 sets of real parts, I clipped the upper edges on the molds as best as I could, as well as fixed the color.

For casting the parts, I used Epoxacast 690 - a crystal clear resin! I have used this a lot at work, to mount cross sections of batteries for people to look at. So that was pretty helpful when it came to knowing what to do with this stuff. I used a plastic stirrer, since I find that wood introduces too many bubbles. Since this has a pot life of 5 hours, I worked Reallllllllly slowly with it. After stirring for 5 mins, I let it sit, to help the bubbles to go away. I also made sure to coat the molds with Ease Release, and, while the molds don't stick, I find that it helps lessen bubbles that I can't see. Then I pour really carefully. For the visors, I poured half, and let it sit awhile, to also let bubbles escape. Over the next few hours, I made sure that the molds were as filled to the surface as possible. The resin can settle, leaving gaps. These take about 48 hours of being in a warm place to really cure. Even longer for me to be confident messing with the visors.

And we have parts!! There are 2 sets of small pieces, but only one shown:



I need to get rid of the flashing, polish, and clean up some edges, since my molds weren't great, but I'm super happy with these! And no bubbles!

And my favorite thing, is when the parts actually fit where they should



So satisfying.

Stilllll need to order leather. It's in my cart. But, finishing the mantles/hood, and the Verpine Headband are still probably what I'll be working on next. Then mask, armor, and the rest!

Thanks for reading!

[naberrie ()]

lookin good! this is a beautiful build thread and an awesome costume... can't wait to watch the rest of it come together best of luck!
_________________
Beth Mitchell (Naberrie)
RLGS XO - www.senate.rebellegion.com
Esk Besh Union DCO
Member; RAID, UCGR, KJO, RLGS.
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