Makeshift Unorthodox Costume (In Progress)

[DarthProdigal]

How do you get the deep blue of the blade to show up so well in these pics?  When I take photos of a blue/purple blade, it shows up as either dim and deep, or bright and washed-out.

I was almost tempted to reply "Using the Force" or harmonizing with his crystal, or some such obvious joking. But I was more tempted to hear the legit response first. So, low batteries for more interesting color capture from the lightsaber blade... interesting, I mean it makes sense that less "glare" produced from the blade could let the richness of color be captured more vividly. Very cool discovery possibly. Might have to keep some of the old half dead batteries around for some photo shoots to test the theory myself now, under various conditions and blade colors. Nice one.

[SirLiftaLot]

Took some photos with the standard robe setup, and also the same outfit with the torso armor. Still waiting on the shin/knee guards to complete the sparring setup for now:





I am happy with it! Also nice that I have multiple options for the undershirt (hooded long-sleeve black compression shirt, turtleneck long-sleeve compression shirt, and hooded dark grey sleeveless shirt), pants (two variations of Thai fisherman pants), forearms (canvas wraps and Century forearm/elbow pads), and gloves (fingerless lifting gloves and padded motorcycle gloves).

[mrg149]

love all of it. This has been fun to watch the evolution and I look forward to the next layers. You have chosen wisely (no melting of face!)

[SirLiftaLot]

Excuse the non-arm parts of today’s outfit. Decided to cover the “CENTURY” text on the forearm/elbow pads with some gaffer tape and write “BALANCE” in Galactic Basic with silver Sharpie on the tape. I decided to have the text face opposite directions from one forearm to the other, that way one is always legible and facing the proper direction. If my arms are at my side, one has the text aligned properly. If I raise my arms in a combat stance, then the other arm is now in balance. I think it’s fairly symbolic.


And gaffer tape is easily removable, so I can always take it off and replace it if I want to wash it, or make it look cleaner.

[DarthProdigal]

Too awesome, even from a distance they're visible and noticeable to someone who is familiar. I feel it's pretty clever still as a concept, and good added reinforcement of ideology with the orientation of each section mirroring the other.

[mrg149]

really nice touch! I love a simple and well thought out detail like that

[SirLiftaLot]

Thanks guys!

[SirLiftaLot]

Got the shin/knee guards. They seem to fit well, and I am more limited by my flexibility than by them so far for moving and kicking (hip flexibility is there, but not the hamstring flexibility). I will have to test them out with more extended moving and footwork, but so far so good. So the sparring outfit is read, with the possible exception of something to cover the delts.











And I didn't have enough space to practice with the saberstaff indoors, but I did get a chance to use the nunchucks in the full outfit. Nothing too much, just some nice easy practice. Still able to move and have full range of motion with all the pads/armor/mask, etc:

https://i.imgur.com/c89RukT.mp4

[DarthProdigal]

Got the shin/knee guards. They seem to fit well, and I am more limited by my flexibility than by them so far for moving and kicking (hip flexibility is there, but not the hamstring flexibility). I will have to test them out with more extended moving and footwork, but so far so good. So the sparring outfit is ready, with the possible exception of something to cover the delts.

I do like how those shin guards finish the overall look as far as being lightly armored, they compliment the other pieces of armor well and streamline the look. These are my 2 favorite shots, they captured the look I'd think of when wandering through a game and running across a battle that's about to happen or like an event trigger. Just that "yep, s***'s about to go down" vibe. Some pieces of it all reminded me of some Revan fan art I'd seen too, which is always a good thing.

[mrg149]

Bah du bup bup bahhh.....I'm lovin' it!

You need to now go and find a dramatic location for a sweet "on-set" photo!

The only thing that "I" would consider is maybe a set of pauldrons for over the shoulder joints....but that's just me.

[SirLiftaLot]

I do like how those shin guards finish the overall look as far as being lightly armored, they compliment the other pieces of armor well and streamline the look. These are my 2 favorite shots, they captured the look I'd think of when wandering through a game and running across a battle that's about to happen or like an event trigger. Just that "yep, s***'s about to go down" vibe. Some pieces of it all reminded me of some Revan fan art I'd seen too, which is always a good thing.

Thanks. Those are my two favorite photos too I think. Agreed on Revan as well; can't go wrong with Revan.

Bah du bup bup bahhh.....I'm lovin' it!

You need to now go and find a dramatic location for a sweet "on-set" photo!

The only thing that "I" would consider is maybe a set of pauldrons for over the shoulder joints....but that's just me.

Thanks! My community has a small beach and a pier, so if the weather is good and I don't mind walking there in costume, I think that would work well.

As for pauldrons or whatever you call deltoid armor, agreed, although they would have to be fairly non-bulky, as to not interfere with the top-of-shoulder armor I already have, since mobility is important. I suppose the fencing arms that cover all the way from the delts to the forearms would be ideal, considering they look great and are slim, but $70, plus shipping perhaps, is more than I'd like to spend for something that should really just be a "finishing touch."

If you, or anyone, has ideas for delt armor that would be functional and not super pricey, it would be greatly appreciated.

[mrg149]

honestly if you got a pattern from evil ted or kamui cosplay, Eva foam would work just fine. I know you'd like combaat friendly armor but even a quick cosmetic item like that would do the trick and still have some protective function

[SirLiftaLot]

honestly if you got a pattern from evil ted or kamui cosplay, Eva foam would work just fine. I know you'd like combaat friendly armor but even a quick cosmetic item like that would do the trick and still have some protective function

Thanks for the idea. I know basically nothing about EVA foam. Any protection is better than none, but how does it handle repeated impacts? Is it likely to distort after being hit? I was almost thinking of just getting sufficiently large PVC pipe and cutting it to a proper shape, attaching some straps, and painting the whole thing the same silver as the armor and then adding the Grey Jedi symbol to it. But I'd definitely have to experiment a good bit to see if that would look halfway decent and not inhibit mobility.

[DarthProdigal]

Thanks for the idea. I know basically nothing about EVA foam. Any protection is better than none, but how does it handle repeated impacts? Is it likely to distort after being hit? I was almost thinking of just getting sufficiently large PVC pipe and cutting it to a proper shape, attaching some straps, and painting the whole thing the same silver as the armor and then adding the Grey Jedi symbol to it. But I'd definitely have to experiment a good bit to see if that would look halfway decent and not inhibit mobility.

I'd looked at some Samurai shoulder armor and leather options a bit for your problem, but they were either expensive or impractical. Your idea sounds like a good starting point potentially. If only life came with a Halo Spartan armor customization engine you can just engage...

[SirLiftaLot]

I'd looked at some Samurai shoulder armor and leather options a bit for your problem, but they were either expensive or impractical. Your idea sounds like a good starting point potentially. If only life came with a Halo Spartan armor customization engine you can just engage...

Thanks. Yeah, I saw some like that, but they all seemed to either be too much/bulky to work with the torso armor I have, or were pretty close to the $70 the other arm armor would be, at which point I’d just get those. An option to test out armor visually like in a video game would be sweet. I’m sure VR will be there one day.