Kylo Ren builds (TFA and TLJ)

[bdh1138]

So in addition to my Krennic, I've got a second WIP that I'd hopefully like to apply with once it's done: Last Jedi Kylo. I have a decent start from the version of TFA I did, and I recently started in on the tunic. To Kick things off I'll recap what I've already made.

First up the sleeves. I already did the pleating for my TFA build, so those should be good to go.





I patterned and sewed my gloves from scratch, starting with a plastic bag and masking tap wrapped around my hands, then transferring to cardstock, and finally assembling in lightweight stretch vinyl.









I patterned (but have not completed) boots using foil and duct tape





For my helmet, I tweaked a pepakura model



















And finally, I've done my quilting for the new tunic and begun a rough assembly and test fitting before I trim and sew my edges to their final lengths













Looking forward to sharing more as I continue this project!

[IcyTrooper]

Looks great! Keep us up to date as you progress. Pretty good seam skills.

[bdh1138]

Thanks! I've done some more work on the tunic, including hemming up the bottom and adding a collar. I still need to find a decent fabric for the sleeve caps though. In the mean time, I've also started on my cape. I began by laying out a basic pattern for the vertical strips and transferring those to a bedsheet. The front panels on my mockup are left a bit wide here, so I need to trim them back and add the edge strip, but I'm generally very happy with my shape and fit. I think the next step will be drawing out my diagonals, then cutting apart the mockup to pattern the real deal.

[bdh1138]

And progress continues! Since I last posted, I sketched out my diagonals, cut apart the bedsheet mockup for pattern pieces, and cut the panels out of some crackled texture suedecloth. I then pieced them together with the proper seams, sewn down to faux leather strips with a slight gap between each panel. As of posting, I just need to add the front trim/collar and to hem up the bottom ant the cape will be finished. I threw on my tunic for these photos, and as you can see, I'll have to fix up the closure to avoid a gap at the neck. Overall though, and given the number of pieces I'll be able to port over from my TFA version, I'm really happy with the way this is coming together.

[bdh1138]

It's a bit tough to get nice clear pictures, but I've been working on the boots and I'm pretty pleased with them so far. Unfortunately it's hard to get a good picture without the soles, but the sewing, including the zipper, is complete. now I just need to contact cement them to the base shoe I've chosen and hopefully they'll be good to go.





Once the boots are done, I'll actually be pretty close to finishing this costume (and hopefully to a degree of quality where it's approvable). The remaining bits are

1. Shoulder caps for the tunic

2. New saber belt clip

3. Cape trim/collar and hem

4. darts and knee seam in the pants

My goal is to get this guy finished up in the next couple of weeks. The CRL is supposed to be live now according to the SLD forums, so once apps start going though, ideally I'll be ready to send mine. I intend to wear this on Sunday of Planet Comicon in KC this year, so hopefully I'll meet some folks from the 70th, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to do it as a fellow member of the legion!

[bdh1138]

I'm continuing to chug away at this, and I'm pretty excited about how close I'm getting. Yesterday, I found an upholstery chenille in the red tag fabrics at Joann with a nice chunky weave that I think looks good for shoulder caps. I got that sewn on, so the tunic is just about done. I managed to mangle a couple zipper teeth somehow though, so I'll have to pick up a replacement.



It was warm enough today that I was able to contact cement my boot tops to the soles, so now it's just the straps left before those are done too.

I have pants ready to put darts into and then coat with wax for extra shine.

I think I'm pretty close to sending an app, so is there anything I need to know about that process? Since I haven't had a lot of feedback on my WIP threads here or on the SLD forum, is there any sort of pre-screening to weed out any issues that haven't been caught in my build thread, or do I just go for it once I think I'm ready and make corrections as needed?

[bdh1138]

Decided to slip on the aforementioned boots to check the fir and snap a couple quick pictures

[bdh1138]

I took some more pictures tonight after replacing the tunic zipper and I think my big picture to-do list is down to the following

-Trim the bottom of the boots and add the 4 straps to each

-Add darts and seams to the pants, then wax them

-Finish the new saber clip and attach to the belt

-Replace or fix the gorget so it lies flat

-Hem up the bottom of the cape

[IcyTrooper]

Nice! Looks like you've been hard at work.

[bdh1138]

Thanks!

It's been a bit, but I've still been tinkering away and I've made most of the fixes I needed too. The boots have been trimmed, the seams and darts have been sewn into the pants and the pants are waxed, I painted up my new saber clip, and fixed up the gorget. I also began a new helmet, because as proud as I am of the current pepakura bucket, it always struck me as the weak link in the costume when (IMO) the helmet is the most important thing to have spot on if you really want to look like a character. Also, while the original is no Vader in terms of scale, my V1 seemed a bit too small even for a snug helmet like Kylo's. With that in mind I recently printed Ben Cobb's awesome 3D model which is ripped from Battlefront II and very close to the original in terms of size and shape. It's only a little bit bigger than my pepakura one, but it's amazing what a world of difference the improvements to the size and shape make to the overall look. I'm near the end of the sanding and filling stage, so soon I'll start adding the appropriate scratches and dents, then hopefully get a few days warm enough to paint!

[IcyTrooper]

Yep, I think bigger was the way to go with that one.

Good luck!

[bdh1138]

Thanks. I'm glad I decided to go ahead and go for it. I'm continuing to work on smoothing and chasing in details on the chrome section and faceplate, but I got the dome nice and smooth and proceeded to beat it up with a dremel and heat gun, adding the most noticeable scratches and dents from the original. I'll admit to being utterly terrified before I got to work, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! 

[bdh1138]

And the helmet continues! The main dome is ready for the spattered paint finish and some silver scratches, and the faceplate is ready for some chrome and silver paints.

[IcyTrooper]

Keep up the good work!

[bdh1138]

Thanks! I'm really happy with the weathering now that I've got some paint down. I glued the eye section in place, filled the gaps with epoxy, and got to work on the actual paintjob since my last post. I started with a gloss black, then put a matte clear over the dome but not the chrome sections. Then I misted the dome with gloss black again for the textured surface. My most recent work was basking off the back and hitting the front with a few light layers of chrome. If the weather stays nice for a few more days, hopefully I can darken the cheeks, put some silver on my scratches, finish up the faceplate, and the new helmet will be good to go!