Makeshift Unorthodox Costume (In Progress)

[mrg149]

Thought I'd share the current look of my MKI version of the Starkiller belt buckle. I need another coat on the red "button". This is all pre-weathering. I went with a hammered black look (oddly it dries quite glossy...wtf).

[SirLiftaLot]

Thought I'd share the current look of my MKI version of the Starkiller belt buckle. I need another coat on the red "button". This is all pre-weathering. I went with a hammered black look (oddly it dries quite glossy...wtf).

Looks like it's coming along nicely!

[TheDutchman]

Got the grey canvas arm-wraps in. They're a little darker than I expected, but that may be good in retrospect, as they're enough darker than the cardigan to still look good IMO. I think that them being substantially darker is better than them being just a hair darker but not quite the same color. And they match the pants pretty well I'd say, so all good.










So now just waiting on a grey obi, and contemplating what type of pouche(s) to get. And of course waiting on the actual saberstaff!

Got the belt pouch in. It's pretty big, but that means it can fit my phone and/or wallet, so it's functional. It ended up fitting/feeling more natural further to the side than the front, so I think that's how it'll be, and I see no need for another pouch. I suppose I could go with 2 smaller pouches, perhaps one on each side as opposed to this one larger one, but this one does work, so I don't really see a need to change it for now.

Awesome ensemble, Sir!  I like the surcoat (was thinking of supplementing my own tunics with one).  Yeah, I was considering the merits of one large pouch vs. two smaller...haven't decided yet  

Point!

Thought I'd share the current look of my MKI version of the Starkiller belt buckle. I need another coat on the red "button". This is all pre-weathering. I went with a hammered black look (oddly it dries quite glossy...wtf).

Nice job, Mrg!  I can't wait to see this with your full costume 

Point!

[mrg149]

Here it is with the weathering. I still have to hit the whole thing with a coat of clear flat to finish the buckle. It's just too shiny. The picture's pretty crappy too...lol

[SirLiftaLot]

Here it is with the weathering. I still have to hit the whole thing with a coat of clear flat to finish the buckle. It's just too shiny. The picture's pretty crappy too...lol

Looking pretty nice I'd say. I couldn't tell it's glossy from the photo, so if it ends up looking like it does in the photo in person once you hit it again, that should be nice.

[SirLiftaLot]

Replaced the batteries in the chucks. They're a little bit brighter now, which is appreciated. Recorded a little practice while I was at it.

Practice Part 1:
https://i.imgur.com/g9pZ9Yj.mp4

Practice Part 2:
https://i.imgur.com/07l7CpE.mp4

[mrg149]

thanks for the encouragement Sir!  Your kit continues to look good…take away a "chuck" and we can call it a lightwhip :-D

[SirLiftaLot]

thanks for the encouragement Sir!  Your kit continues to look good…take away a "chuck" and we can call it a lightwhip :-D

Thanks haha. I have no idea how to actually use a whip well, but lightwhips are pretty cool in their own right. If I had to make some sort of headcanon to how they'd actually function in-universe, I think electrostaff type tech would work, like what Grievous' Magnaguards used. Since a lightsaber blade retracts when not "on," this would be an issue with saber-chucks, as you don't want to grab the saber part of a lightsaber, but if you turned it off, there'd be nothing to grab, which would make many nunchuck hand-switches impossible. But it seems to me that whatever powers electrostaffs, however they work, the "blade" portion never retracts, it just has the charge turn on or off. So, in theory, a skilled force user would probably be able to turn off one handle/side of the electro-chucks whenever it touches their hand/body, and then turn it back on when it leaves their hand, so 1 of the 2 sides would be on when striking, and either side that is held in the hand would be off. I think this also works with the visual design of the chucks in that the "blade" light-up part doesn't extend all the way to the end, but only in the central portion of the chucks.



I don't have the ability to turn on and off one side of the lights while using them, but I'm visualizing in-universe, or with special effects, right before a handle comes in contact with a hand or the body, that side would turn off, and then as soon as the other side leaves the other hand, it would turn on, so any side touching the body would be off, to protect the user, but the side that is spinning/moving not in contact with the body would turn on. See below electrostaffs for the general idea, where the "charged" part that would turn on and off is represented by the lit-up part of the chucks, which has the actual "hilt/body/staff/etc." on either side of it.





In short, I'm thinking it would function almost like if someone cut the ends off an electrostaff, and then connected them with a chain to form electro-chucks. I know red isn't the right color for electro-weapons, but whatever, there have been purple and yellow beams/sparks, so stretching it a bit for red isn't terribly outlandish I suppose.

[mrg149]

Ouch! my head....Just give me the lightsaber....

[SirLiftaLot]

Ouch! my head....Just give me the lightsaber....

Lol. Luckily I got shipping confirmation for my saberstaff, so that will be a lot simpler to explain!

But I was basically saying take this electrostaff:


Cut it so you just have the two end pieces, and put a chain the middle, making electro-chucks:



And any time you were about to grab one of the handles, you'd be able to de-activate the charge on that side so you don't injure yourself, and then re-activate it when that end starts to swing at an opponent.

But as I said, a double bladed lightsaber will be MUCH easier to explain! Coming soon!

[mrg149]

most excellent! can't wait to see the saberstaff!!

[SirLiftaLot]

Look what arrived today:




Shown with the quick release coupler, which brings the total length to about an inch short of my height or so, which is perfect. It does make the exact center a bit thicker than the main hilt, but it hasn't been an issue yet in the very limited time I've used it so far, but we will see. If it does become an issue for more intensive demonstrations, I can always put the standard coupler back on. The light is very bright in a darker room, as you can see, but still bright enough to be be discerned as clearly blue blades in full daylight outdoors. Weight seems solid but not horribly heavy. Definitely heavier than competition thin "toothpick" bo staffs, but I'll have to compare it to the weight of the thicker 6' non-tapered hardwood staff I have. Overall, I am VERY pleased so far. Hopefully I'll get up a quick demo testing video later when it's darker out, since I'm VERY hesitant to use these much indoors coupled, since I know I've hit the ceiling more than once or twice with my 6' wooden staff.

Update: my 6' hardwood staff weighs 2.4 lbs, and the saberstaff with the quick release coupler weighs 3.0 lbs. the length is about 5 finger widths shorter than the 6' staff, so about 3.5-4" or so, which means it's likely somewhere between 5'-8" and 5'-9", which is a good height for me. The weight is a bit heaver than I'm used to, as were the light-chucks, but I'm sure I will adapt in time with practice, and it will only make the normal wooden ones I use seem even lighter and move even faster in comparison.

Also, there is an ever so slight movement of the batteries in the hilts. I don’t anticipate it being an issue, but it is something I did notice. Perhaps just a little bit of something to go around the battery pack would easily remedy this issue, although it’s not a dealbreaker by any stretch of the imagination.

[Illyiss]

Also, there is an ever so slight movement of the batteries in the hilts. I don’t anticipate it being an issue, but it is something I did notice. Perhaps just a little bit of something to go around the battery pack would easily remedy this issue, although it’s not a dealbreaker by any stretch of the imagination.

Ms. Malice makes chassis for the stunt sabers that takes care of that, and protects the sometimes fragile battery packs.  IIRC they can be found on Etsy, and there is a thread for them someplace on the forums.

[SirLiftaLot]

Ms. Malice makes chassis for the stunt sabers that takes care of that, and protects the sometimes fragile battery packs.  IIRC they can be found on Etsy, and there is a thread for them someplace on the forums.

Awesome, I will look into that for sure. Thank you!

[SirLiftaLot]

Some quick photos with the more minimalist outfit, since I didn't feel like putting everything on. Excuse one of the forearm wraps falling down at one point.








And a quick video of some admittedly slow and clumsy spins and whatnot. I had to take the quick release coupler off, as it being wider and exactly in the center of the staff sometimes interfered with hand placement, particularly with anything one-handed where I wanted to grab the staff in the very center. Still, I am VERY happy and impressed with this saberstaff.

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