Star Forge Studios

04/04/2019

I was hoping this would finally be the year I do this at Celebration, but I think there's gonna be schedule/costume conflicts again. 😕 Which is a bummer especially because I don't have anything else that would fulfill my tradition of debuting a new costume at every Celebration I attend!

27/03/2019

Oh boy, it's costume panic time! I need to clean off my workspace in the next couple days so that I can try and get some last-minute improvements done this weekend before Celebration!

28/08/2018

Sneak preview of the other new costume I want to debut this weekend! It's not all that steampunky yet (I've decided against wearing the satchel and the actual Air Force medals that I've earned - gonna keep an eye out for cool steampunk ones or make some later), but the character should be recognizable.

28/08/2018

Alright SFS followers! I don't post often, but there ARE occasional benefits to following my page, such as influencing my costume choices at DragonCon! Normally I wear steampunk one day, Stargate SG-1 or Atlantis one day, Amnesiac Revan (KotOR Jedi) one day, and something else the fourth day, but this year I have two brand new steampunk costumes that I want to debut, and a third that I've only worn Monday of last DragonCon so it hasn't really been seen much!

Changing costumes mid-day means missing stuff, so if I have to choose between these two, which should I wear? The airship pirate (brand new, but with some elements multipurposed from other costumes), or the steampunk Texas ranger (seen briefly last year)?

30/08/2017

I NEED A STEAMPUNK JETPACK!! Or mechanical wings! I guess this would be more dieselpunk than steampunk with that jacket, but still.

29/08/2017

15/04/2017

Find me as Elan Sleazebaggano at the 501st Bash tonight and say "Star Forge Studios" to get a free "death stick" (honey stick)! Everyone else will have to entertain me or pay me to get them. :-D

11/04/2017

Antennae!! I would have liked to find something to paint these with to better match my skin colour and make them less translucent, but this will have to do.

10/04/2017

Not finished yet, but here's a sneak preview of the new Star Wars costume I will be debuting on Saturday!

05/04/2017

25/03/2017

A proper Celebration *does* need ice cream...

26/02/2017

My seamstress reports that all the fabric was cut out today except for the collar! I need to get busy on trying to track down the other things I'll need for Project Sleazebag.

20/02/2017

Per tradition, I debut a new Star Wars costume at each Celebration I attend. There's a character I've had in mind for awhile, but I wasn't sure it would be possible this year since my seamstress friend now lives in another state. However, we've been discussing it, and this past weekend we each went to our local Jo-Ann Fabrics and were able to agree on which fabric she should purchase. PROJECT SLEAZEBAG IS A GO!

08/07/2016

Soldering and installation of the electronics in both sides is complete! There's still some cosmetic detailing to be done, but that is something I can do this weekend even though I'm leaving home tomorrow. Now, for my final trick - making them stick to my head!

07/07/2016

So now for the real trick in this project... are my soldering skills up to s***f? I haven't done this since my electronics classes in high school!

05/07/2016

While waiting for the 3D printing to be ready for pick-up, preparation of the electronics can begin!

04/07/2016

My entire weekend has been very much like this squirrel attempting to defeat the obstacle course. Every time I solved a problem and thought it was going to be easy from then on, I encountered another major obstacle! But at last, I HAVE DONE IT! After MUCH trial and error, I have successfully extracted a file from KotOR, converted it into a .obj, found a suitable modeling program with which to modify it, fixed open mesh problems with the model, converted it again into a .stl, modified the model so that I'll be able to insert electronics, and finally sent it off to be 3D printed!!

https://youtu.be/KUDOTefoVAA

Many years ago my father tried and failed to feed birds but not squirrels. His attempts were pretty clever (he was a designer) but he always fell short and t...

03/07/2016

I am excited to have finally returned to a project that I've had on a back burner for years! This is something that I've always intended to eventually add to my KotOR Jedi robes, ever since I first started working on the original version of the costume. I don't know if I can get this done in time for Celebration London, but I've sure spent a lot of time and frustration on it since getting off work yesterday! Here's a sneak preview of what I'm making. :-D

28/06/2016

Earlier this year at one of the Dallas comic cons, I finally decided it was time for some professional photography of my Amnesiac Revan costume! Sure, I'm still planning a couple more upgrades to the costume, and it's a pity I only had a week's worth of facial hair instead of being cleanshaven or having my full mustache and goatee, but these turned out great! There's actually a third picture, but it'll get posted at a later date because reasons.

24/01/2016

I stayed up all night before the first day of Star Wars Celebration V in order to finally construct this belt (having made a special stop at a Tandy Leather on the roadtrip out to Orlando) and it was SO WORTH IT.

Here, at last, I have posted the pictures I took that night (along with subsequent pictures and my reference screenshots) so that others can see how I made it. The belt stock, all the leather scraps, the belt buckle, and the rivets were purchased from Tandy Leather.

24/01/2016

My muse refuses to acknowledge that I never have or make the time anymore to actually create video projects, and occasionally lobs yet another idea at me. (This usually results in sudden laughter at the song on the radio as I picture what I'd do with it.)

Normally I keep these ideas to myself, but for you 120 special people who have liked my page, I'll give you a sneak peek inside my head: The latest one is a music video about Kylo Ren set to "Confident" by Demi Lovato. Does anybody besides me think that would be funny and fitting?

31/10/2015

THE HELMET IS COMPLETE! :D And now I must hightail it up to Dallas for its debut appearance!

29/10/2015

Alright, finally got the curved bits all masked off and then spraypainted the trim out on the balcony. Yes, it's midnight, and I'm spraypainting. Nothing to see here, move along...

29/10/2015

This Saturday is the ideal event at which to debut my X-Wing pilot helmet, so I'm finally trying to do the part I've been balking at and hopefully I'll get the thing finished in time. http://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgc4jNcxE1qarpjj.gif

21/10/2015

Well, nuts. I wanted to try and crank out a quick bit of machinima specifically for today, but KotOR doesn't seem to want to run on my computer anymore despite experimenting with compatibility settings. I guess I'll try reinstalling it later, but meanwhile I'm going to go familiarize myself with everything that's changed in SWTOR.

26/09/2015

So, while I was at Dragon Con earlier this month, this page reached 100 likes! Thank you to everyone who has liked my page. Admittedly, I still spend too much time playing SWTOR to actually make any machinima, but one of these days I'll get back to it. Meanwhile, there's lots of costuming-related stuff I could post, including my selfie photoshoot at Fort Pickens. I'll also finally be completing my X-Wing pilot helmet soon in preparation for Fan Days in a few weeks. So watch for lots of pictures in late October (after Epic Story Boost ends in SWTOR)!

08/09/2015

I am here across the bay from Pensacola, Florida at Battery Langdon, a.k.a. that place that totally resembles the Jedi Enclave from KotOR! Unfortunately there is not much I can do without a tripod or a photographer. However, I shall suit up and attempt some epic selfies.

06/09/2015

I did not win anything at the costume contest, which was unsurprising as I knew there would be lots of costumers who deserved a win more than me. However, Courtenay Taylor (who was the voice of Juhani and served as one of the judges) paused the contest after I came onstage to give me a shout-out and to let everyone know she voiced a character in the game my costume was from. She later told me that she definitely remembers me from last year and still has the picture of the two of us.

05/09/2015

Wearing the KotOR Jedi robes again today. Pre-judging for the video game costume contest begins in half an hour!

04/09/2015

Headed out for the first day of DragonCon 2015! Watch for me in my new and improved KotOR Jedi robes!

12/04/2015

I may have left home, but here's a list of the items that I am still hoping to complete on each costume before wearing it at Star Wars Celebration:

KotOR Jedi / Amnesiac Revan
- dye epaulets (critical)
- attach epaulets to robes (critical but easy)
- modify belt
- repair boot cuffs
- repair spare saber (which will be loaned to a friend once I pick up my sabers from Vader's Vault)

Padawan Zayne Carrick
- mount clips to back of kneepads
- properly finish belt
- replace Velcro on shoulder leather with new attachment method
- make pouches (low priority, as I have temporary ones)
- make/attach shoulder trim (low priority)

Rebel X-Wing Pilot
- assemble helmet (critical)
- paint helmet & apply decals (would be ok with partially complete)

12/04/2015

There's been lots of stuff I could report on over the past three days, but in the rush to get ready to leave for Celebration, there wasn't time to post updates. I am continuing to take pictures of any actual assembly, fabrication, or painting I do, but they might not get posted until after Celebration. Meanwhile, here's a summary:

Wednesday was one of my most productive costuming days ever! I got several costume-related errands done, and I stayed up extremely late molding the new leather epaulets for the KotOR Jedi robes. I also hit upon a brilliant new idea for attaching the epaulets, which I will also use for the leather on Zayne's costume. Thursday I was able to go pick up the elusive light grey spraypaint that I'd been waiting on for the Rebel pilot's helmet, but between car troubles and too little sleep the night before, I didn't get much else done beyond using the new spraypaint.

Friday was Departure Day. I made a bit more progress on the helmet that morning and finally started attaching pieces together! I also did a few more last-minute costuming-related errands before packing up all my costumes, tools, and materials in two large mailing boxes and a big plastic tub. I very nearly left a piece of the helmet and the blade for one of my Vader's Vault sabers behind, but I'm fairly certain that for once I actually didn't forget to pack anything. We'll find out within the next few days if I'm wrong! :)

06/04/2015

Being left to my own devices this Easter (as friends and family were too far away), I had no dealings with eggs or bunnies. Instead, I unboxed my new Dremel tool over the weekend and put it to good use sanding, drilling, cutting, and grinding parts of the kneepads for my Padawan Zayne Carrick costume! I guess the kneepads are vaguely egg-shaped...

06/04/2015

The helmet halves aren't white anymore! :D Unfortunately, once it dried I realized that this grey is darker than I wanted. After considerable effort I was unable to locate the desired lighter grey at any local store, though I did find someone who could order it. The helmet project is unfortunately on hold until the new paint gets here.