Sunday, January 4, 2009

Rebel Pilot - Introducing Womp Rat 5!

Yes, Grampy-Wan is now a Rebel Pilot! And he looks damn good, too.

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I started with an orange jumpsuit, and scraps from another. I added thigh pockets, arm pockets, and changed the collar and wrist cuffs.

The collar needs to be a stand up version, closed with velcro. The cuffs on the wrists also close with velcro.

The vest was a NIGHTMARE! I think I ripped out as many stitches as I put in! The first time he wore it I spent all day pushing the tubing back into the channels, so I stitched across the ends.

The arm tools came from Kenny the Elvis Trooper, and they look fantastic.

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Also fantastic is the chest box, from Mr. Bojangles of the RL.

The helmet was Grampy-Wan's own personal nightmare, as the spray paint bubbled up and the whole thing had to be sanded. But eventually it smoothed out, and we decorated it by printing logos out on clear stickers and trimming them to fit.

Grampy made his own leg flares by sanding the edges of 4" pieces of dowling and I spray painted them... always wear gloves when spray painting things that roll, because the force of the spray will send them skittering...

The leg flare holder was simple. I used green canvas-like material, one piece 7 inches wide and one piece 4 inches wide. After turning the edges under 1/2" on each side, they were 6" and 3". I the sewed the narrow piece onto the wide piece, fitting the flares in as I went along.

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On the backside, I glued popsicle sticks which extend beyond the edge to tuck into the boots to keep the whole thing from sliding. I also secured the dowels with thumbtacks.

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The chest box hose is attached to the side of the jumpsuit by magnets. The elbow, (a 'street elbow' in hardware store language) has a washer epoxied into it, and inside the jumpsuit is another washer with three neomydium magnets epoxied to it. Fits tight,but will slide if bumped instead of tearing the fabric!

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Most of my thanks go to Alpha Base of the Rebel Legion for their great tutorials!

More pictures to follow!

And stay tuned for "The Luminara Chronicals"!!!

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