Han Solo costume for my Son....... Trousers 1.0

Was in my local Tesco's store the other week and decided to have a quick look for suitable trousers for Jacob. They had some Chinos, which were soft and would be comfortable to be worn all day, result! 

The only problem was that they are 'twisted' seamed and this could of been a problem. The turn-ups aren't stitched and the actual length of them will be possibly shortened to suit his leg length.

So a few days later I went in with him so he could try them on. Thankfully the 'twist' part doesn't start till way past his knee and below the top of where his boots would reach.

They will need to have the fake rear pocket buttons removed, but these are on stitched on the outside of the pockets, no holes.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Boots 1.0

When I first started looking at this costume for my Son, years ago, one of the really off putting thoughts was the cost of the boots! But gradually as you search the internet, I found that long riding boots could be an option and second hand ones, even better [price wise].

For those who don't have kids [lol] they grow! My Son is one of these 'growers'. School shoes, out of school shoes, sports shoes for astro [football] & then football boots, sizes vary with make, then the thickness of the socks..... It's a nightmare! So the cost of buying him boot's that he might's only get to wear a few times in one year was a bit off-putting!

Thankfully, second hand boot's are available on eBay. As I've said before, this costume is more for the look than it being 100% 'screen accurate'. So only go this route if your doing the same. For the right boot's check out the Forums etc.

These were a bargin & at this price, won't break the bank if I need to ever get a larger size in the future.

This label will need removing

Just hope they work lol, they should be here Thursday this week.

Corsham Sci-Fi 2016.....????

One event, local to me, that I look forward to attending, is Corsham's Sci-Fi day in April.
This event & the group, raise lots of money for local charities.

But it looks like this year the event will be taking a break.

~~~

I first attended the event back in 2010 with my family and it was a big hit with them all!
Plenty to see and do, even the non-sci-fi wife was 'happy' lol.

2013 was R5's first time at the event, headless and motionless lol.
Tho Ian, brought and lent me his R3 clear dome.

2014 was R5's second year attending and this year he was fully assembled.
Another great event.

2015 was R5's third time an this time he was fully operational!

I look forward to the event returning soon.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Vest 1.8

Front pockets complete......

....................almost

Last night's work consisted of adding lining to the two pocket flaps and stitching them on and the two pockets themselves.

I wasn't going to do this, but Karen suggested it and it does look better with the lining on.

This all took about three hours, which seem's a long time :D but there is a lot involved and am still learning. Also the thread kept breaking, which meant having to re-do some of the stitching.

Lower pocket & flap sewn into position

Side on view of pockets

Next will be the rear loops and large rear pocket.......

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Vest 1.7

Pocket Flaps

My 'assistant' Karen suggested the other day about using fabric stiffener for the pocket flaps. To help keep there shape.

She had some already, so I cut it to size, hem material was folded over and ironed to help it stay flat & then sewn inside of hem flap edges.

Second of the three flaps I made

Front three done, Sunday night.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Vest 1.6 'Pockets'

Karen brought over her sewing machine last night As I wanted to see if my notching of the pocket templates would work in real life lol.

Hemmed all the edges of the pockets, folded crease lines and ironed them. Then started to sew them on. First I drew on a chalk line for where the stitch lines are to go, as a guide for the top pockets. Then I pinned into position and started to sew. Another four hours work, but now I have something to show for it lol.

Looking at the bottom pocket, I was thinking it was a bit low.....?? But I do still have the pocket flap to sew on yet. Also the corners of the pockets need to have an extra stitch or two. But still a work in progress.

** Celebration Europe 2016 - Jedi News**

Jedi News tweeted an announcement about

the R2 Builders Club attending Celebration Europe. Read the full post here.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Vest 1.5 'Pockets'

So I finished up the test pieces for the pockets.

Sized them to fit the smaller size Vest.

Front layout

Rear layout

I then got on with making templates of the pockets with folds for material to give them the full/expandable look. I gave each fold a half inch around the pockets.

Note: that these are just guides and extra material around the edges is needed to hem the pockets to prevent fraying!

I then got on with cutting out the material for the pockets.

Still have the large rear pocket, pocket flaps & loops still to cut out of material.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... Vest 1.4 'Pockets'

Got around to measuring up and scaling the pockets etc, to fit onto the Vest.

Started scaling the pockets to suit Vest size.

Next will be to add extra for the folds to make them actual pockets.

~~~~~~~~~

Just for ref. purposes:
There's a lot of Fan Made, stuff out there, and some of it is top notch stuff, other stuff is Halloween/just for fun/one night only, stuff. By this I mean only that it's not 'screen accurate' enough to be of use in making your own outfit. If your going down the 'authentic looking route'. So if you want your outfit to be 'right', you need to look out the forums that really count!

Being on Forum's helps you to find the correct info from people who know there stuff!
One such forum is the Rebel Legion. Here you will find all the info on all the  'Rebel' characters from the Star Wars films.

Han Solo costume for my Son....... E-11 Blaster 1.9

Weekend work:

Scope Rail
Found a scrap piece of aluminium angle, just the right length. Marked & cut it to width. Then notched and bent into shape the end. This then sloted into the small hole made in the tube.

Scope rail taking shape

I then measured the length to suit the barrel and bent the end. This fill be fixed in place by the rear sight, yet to be made.

I marked out the scope's position on the rail and drilled clearance holes in the rail and the scope mounting feet, and then a smaller hole in the wood part of the scope. This was so the screw bit into the wood to hold it and not the Milliput. I also then trimmed down the scope feet to fit the width of the rail.

Rear Sight
I found an angle bracket piece that was just right for the rear sight insert. So this will be used. Marked and clearance holes drilled in the rear area of the scope rail and screwed into place.

Front Sight
Next I dug out the dremel, mini hacksaw & coping saw and started to work on the front sight. This, for me, is a test of the Milliput's strength and durability, as the front sight will see a lot of abuse whilst in use (holstering & generally getting knocked etc).

 front sight, starting to cut out detail

 Side cut out detail

I used the tip of the grinding bit to carve out the 'U' section of the sight

The ejection chamber shield came off, so need to look at fixing it back on.
(Can be seen missing in above pic of scope rail).