Yeah yeah yeah... its 2015.. I know.. zip it. I just never got around to posting these builds until now.

Backstory: In late 2013 I was contemplating Cosplay ideas. I had just done Magneto from Xmen First Class and I had already tackled Lando Calrissian (right). I wanted to do another Star Wars character.

steam producing, wing expanding, jetpack

It crossed my mind that a Jawa or Ewok might be cool but I didn't want it to be like everything else. Both are small, half the size of an adult. I didn't want to be on my knees or be an unauthentic large Jawa or a tall Ewok. I started playing around with the idea of stacking two Jawas on top of each other, resembling one Jawa riding on another's shoulders. Or an Jawa riding an Ewok... basically all sorts of combinations. Drawings weren't coming out to my liking (left) so I tried to fabricate some things to get a better idea of their size, and if they would even look authentic in a "shoulder riding" scenario. What transpired was an idea that snowballed and turned into what I can only describe as my homemade "Star Wars Collection" collection.

I scoured Home Depots and craft stores for simple supplies that I could turn into something resembling what I needed. Hot Glue, PVC piping, styrofoam, fabric, LEDs, wire, more hot glue, more fabric, foam board, faux leather, more glue, brads, buttons, more hot glue, connectors, paint, clay, Modge Podge, trinkets . What came next was simply "ART" Most of the things I used for these builds were things i spotted while walking around somewhere. Id notice shapes of things and determine, "that'll work. When all was said and done i had some cool pieces. I ultimately didn't do another Star Wars Cosplay, I ended up going in a different direction and doing an extremely elaborate and functional Steampunk Kid Icarus (right) instead. I was my first attempt at anything Steampunk and id say it was 500% more fabrication than the Star Wars builds combined....gotta admit I was more than impressed with the outcome..3 out of the 3 contests agreed.

Below are the 4 build progessions

Ewok #1

This was my 2nd build. I planned on building a scale Ewok to get an idea of its head size. I ended when I realized that the bust of this build was simply a great piece to showcase rather than just use for size comparisons. As you can see its more of a generic Ewok. I didn't really have any vision when fabricating this other than "I want it to look Ewok-ish".. this is what I got. .....

Beginning of an Ewok.. not looking good

Foam block head, shaped by hand, pvc stem, .. this fabric was later removed

ouch... all face pieces are made of hardened hot glue. originally made out of clay, then molded out of plaster. poured hot glue in and let in cool cuz I'm a hack

eye balls are clear plastic domes cut down to thin lenses then colored with markers on the back side. Teeth are foam

Molded face. Coated in clay around molded eyes nose and mouthpieces

Clay let to semi-dry before it started to crack, then coated in Modge Podge to seal. Clay gave the head a decent weight.

Faux fur glued on in strips. angled out in certain areas to better appear authentic

initial ear test and cowl. ears are faux fur and a multicolored fabric stuffed with cotton fill

teeth reshaped

Cowl redesigned to resemble ROTJ

new ears

Ewok #2: Wicket

Wicket was my 3rd build. I was so Impressed with Ewok #1 , I wanted to see if I could make one that more resembled the most well known Ewok; Wicket. Having an easily distinguishable Ewok seemed like a more difficult task to accomplish, so I dove head first into it to see what would happen ...

this is NOT the Wicket build, I dont have pictures pre faux fut but it was basically identical to the 1st Ewok

Initial faux fur hot glued into place

Fur coloring begins to resemble Wicket's facial fur

Original ewok cowl

New nose molded. Painted lighter brown, more smooth than the original

Tusken Raider #1 and #2

the Tusken Raiders came about a few months after the Wicket build. I had decided I was going to give Ewok #1 as a gift to my niece, and thought it would be a good idea to make something for my brother too. What better gift to give to a Star Wars nerd than a homemade Tusken Raider bust. The things you can do with a pile of craft store junk!.. I made one and I liked it so much I wanted one to keep for myself....

Raider #1 build. Base (PVC, fabric glue), foam head, more PVC, shaped wood posts, funnel tips

beer added for excitement

Similar to Ewok builds, used clay for shape and added weight, coated in modge podge to seal

fabric wrapped, nose area wrapped in faux leather, nose carved out of wooden broom handle end, mouth is hotglued fabric warped into shape. PVC piping painted chrome

fabric wrapped stuffed with cotton filler to shape, head wrap weathered with extremely watered down acrylic paint mixtures.

shoulder area added, stuffed and weathered. Neck tank fabricated with PVC, chrome paint, metal tubing, faux leather

Raider #2

...Larger mouth area. I wanted a tighter fabric packed into this one.

initial fabric wrap. mouth area packed and glued

Nose was made with hot glue inside a mold I fabricated. painted chrome

#1 left ....#2 right

weathering complete

Wicket/ Raider #1

Jawa

the Jawa was my first build. I simply wanted to build two in order to get a feel of the size of 'two Jawas on top of each other' and if I'd even be able to fit inside any such costume and make it look believable. Once I started I decided it was looking so good, I'll just keep making it look life like. It would be a great piece to showcase rather than a generic Jawa I was going to tear apart once It was no longer 'doable' as a costume....