Mandalorian Beskar Steel

Back in the 1980s, no one, not even George Lucas, would have imagined that the character of Boba Fett, let alone the Mandalorians whose armor he wore, would become as popular as he is now 40 years later. Actor and direct Jon Favreau have produced for Disney, whom George Lucas sold his company to has developed a new popular series that only can be seen on Disney's streaming channel.  That series is "The Mandalorian."  Consider the lone gunman traveling from town to town in the United State's old west, and you have the basis for the show. Think of Clint Eastwood in any of Sergio Leone's Italian westerns where Eastwood's character has no name and neither addressed nor introduce. Only speaking when necessary and who is intelligent and quick with his revolver.

eLike the "Man with no name," "The Mandalorian" is a reluctant hero. He doesn't go looking for people to help. No, he is just looking for the next bounty.  As he like other Mandalorians, he is a bounty hunter. Not necessarily the most honorable of professions, but it's a living. Not to spoil the show if you have not seen it yet, I will just say that Favreau creates a mysterious character, but it is also a character that one can actually get to know and understand.

Now on to the "Beskar" or Mandalorian Steel. Supposedly Beskar has a high tolerance to extreme forms of damage. Like the Man of Steel, Bskar can withstand a direct blaster shot and can deflect a lightsaber hit, or in other words, it is the most durable material that exists.  It was so strong, that it is used to make their recognizable armor.

When I decided that I wanted something from "The Mandalorian" series, I tend to start small and work my way up to more elaborate and more expensive props or costumes. My search for Beskar Steel gave me over 135,000 results. I initially purchased a resin Beskar ingot, which is an excellent looking prop. But after that, I also decided that I wanted something a bit more substantive.


I found prices for ingots ranging from $12 to 110 dollars.  I eventually found an artisan on Etsy that had ingots that seem to be around the correct size and thickness.  Now in comparison to the resin ingot that I had purchased, I did notice that there was a difference in on the back.  Whereas the resin version has two cutouts on the back top portion.

 

As far as the Mandalorian Disney Plus series goes: I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Not a superhero character in the least, he is the character that we can relate with. Although his character arc is not new.  A mercenary loner who decides to fight for what is right. I'm thinking Pale Rider, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly motif. I am looking forward to the second season.


Thanks for taking a look at this article and please subscribe to my YouTube channels and most importantly, please take care of yourself.

Han Solo Vest Unboxing - Todd's Costumes

As a young teen in 1977, I saw "Star Wars" (now called "Episode IV: A New Hope"), and as I have written before, it changed the way I saw my life. As a kid,  my passions gravitated towards the filmmaking process.  I loved the characters and could understand the archetypes that they represented.

Much later in life, I decided I wanted to revisit my youth and my passion for film.  I wrote reviews of movies that I saw, and as always, life happens. The Star Wars Costumes that I desired were usually quite bulky and hot.  I live in the desert, and when we do have comic cons or film fests, I decided I did not want to sweat for hours and not really enjoy the convention.  So I decided I want to wear something a bit more comfortable.

So recently, I decided it was time to start creating or assembly costumes that are more comfortable but yet very recognizable to everyone attending.

I have chosen the Han Solo "look," and I was able to get a sharp-looking vest (shirt is on its way). I looked around the internet and was looking at the cheap Halloween costumes that are usually made very cheaply and fall apart after time.


Instead, I decided to go with Todd's Costumes. I was lucky, as, at the time, the vest and shirt were available as a set.  At this time, you can preorder if you so desire.  The cost was $199.00 without tax and shipping.

One thing to note about the vest is that there many pockets and loops on the screen vest. Both on the back (above) and on the front below.

The vest I purchased (shirt coming in a future video and blog post has the requisite pockets based on 1977's "A New Hope."

On the front right side of the vest, the configuration of the pocket shows the upper right pocket with an angular side pocket

The vest has a nice silky inside material that a quality vest should have. And the outside is the thickness of a coat.

While the pockets are real they do have that stitch that doesn't allow for the to open unless you cut the thread.

I ordered the vest and shirt in 2XL and I think it fits just fine.

I am not an affiliate of Todd's, however, I am supplying a link to the shirt vest combo

https://www.toddscostumes.com/costumes/han-solo-costume/han-solo-vest-shirt-combo/

Let me know what you think. 

And thanks for taking a view.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The Circle Is Now Complete

The summer of 1977 holds a very special place in my memories. I was 13 years old and delivered the Santa Barbara News Press after school, life was good. My best friend Mike was convinced that we could make movies together. We were saving up our paper route money to buy a Super 8 movie camera so we could film our epic adventure. We did not realize the wonder we were about to experience. What the both of us witnessed that summer still has a hold on me to this day. If you ask my children, they will tell you it was the year their daddy saw "Star Wars."

"Star Wars" has been a part of my life in subtle and not so subtle ways. On that summer day, Mike and I walked into the theater not sure of what to expect, and we left with our heads full of a new worlds of wonder and excitement. We wanted to be Luke Skywalker or Han Solo, of course, because they were the heroes. On the other hand, Darth Vader was a symbol of the evil tyranny that our parents represented.  All summer long my friends and I talked about "Star Wars;" about Luke, about Han Solo and of course about Princess Leia. When you are a thirteen year old boy Carrie Fisher looked pretty darn good!

During that summer we saw "Star Wars" at least ten times at the theater. Now, I suppose you are thinking that this was just a phase I was going through and by fall when school started I was cured. Actually Mike and I just redoubled our efforts to learn everything about how George Lucas made "Star Wars;" from the lighting, sound, visual effects, and directing.

The next school year we both signed up in Drama class so we could learn how to act in our film production. By the way, I haven’t mentioned “the movie” since the beginning of this essay so I am thinking that you may have thought that I had forgotten about it; not so. In fact the whole purpose behind learning film production was so we could produce a film that was better than Star Wars. We tried very hard to learn everything about making movies that our little minds could hold. However, little did we know that the end was near!

Want To Finally Master Your Camera?

As the summer of ‘78 quickly approached Mike and I had scripts prepared and we started to cast our movie. We even built up enough courage to ask a couple of girls at school to take the female lead characters in our movie. Our thoughts of a perfect summer were of the beach, the babes and making our movie. Life couldn’t get much better. Unfortunately, my dad announced that he had accepted a job at a community college in the not so booming town of Ridgecrest CA. Looking back to that day so many years ago, I can still remember the sinking feeling in my stomach as I had to tell Mike that I was going to be moving. All of our hopes and dreams of making a movie were washed away. The following weeks my brother and I kept our minds busy packing for our trip to the dry and dusty Mojave Desert. 

Upon arriving in the desert, my dad went through some extra effort to borrow from the college a ¾” video tape machine, and a bootlegged copy of "Star Wars" for my own private use. However, when whoever made the copy, they didn't use the anamorphic lens and the characters were squished a bit. That didn't matter, I watched the tape over and over. I was too old for the toys, but not too old to build the models. I wore the tape out that summer and I learned every line of every character in the film.

The new decade came pretty quickly and I read every different Science Fiction book I could get my hands on. My love for "Star Wars" was renewed in 1980 when "The Empire Strikes Back" was released and its creator, George Lucas had revealed some important clues about Darth Vader; and the mystery deepened. I spent many hours writing and talking with my friends speculating what Darth Vader meant when he says “I am your father!” Was he a clone? Is it true? Who was Luke’s mom? Is Han dead? I thought Luke and Leia was an item, how was I to know that they were brother and sister? And life goes on.

I graduated from high school in the summer of 1981 and promptly moved myself back to the coast. By May of 1983 I was nineteen years old , ready, willing and able to stand in line at the theater for eight hours prior to the midnight opening of “Star Wars – Return of the Jedi”  My friends and I were older but not wiser.

As the years pass, I worked, I had fun, and I got married. My wife and I moved to Arizona in the fall of 1994 a year after my daughter was born. Times change, people change, kids grow up and I get older everyday. However, the impression that the film made upon me those many years ago has remained. When my daughter was four going on five, Lucas re-released Star Wars once more. Now the title of the film is "Star Wars: Episode Four - A New Hope." I took my five year old daughter Debbie to witness one of the greatest events of my life. Watching the movie on the big screen as an adult was a totally different experience for me. I am not sure I actually watched the whole movie that day but I know spent more time watching my daughter’s reaction to the images. I think I cried in the theater that day watching the same awestruck look in my daughter’s eyes and wondered if I had that same look in my eyes twenty years ago.

My son was born later that year in 1997, and two years later my wife and I decided to go our separate ways. That same year "Star Wars – The Phantom Menace" was released. I promised myself that I was not going to learn every line each character said. I was wrong, my kids watched the DVD day in and day out. I would fall asleep on the couch with the movie playing. I was having nightmares of Darth Mall coming after me.

"Attack of the Clones" was released in 2002, and to my excitement my kids were old enough to watch this new episode at the theater. Once again my eyes would wander over to their little faces just to see the twinkle in their eyes.

Debbie, my daughter started wanting to be "Star Wars" characters for Halloween. As that year's Halloween approached, I would wait till my children were asleep and I would go out and work on my costume. I worked many nights in the garage in complete secrecy. Who did I dress up as? I made a complete Darth Vader costume; Light Saber and all. When the time came for me to take the kids on their Trick or Treat quest, I came home from work and donned my costume in the garage. I made an entrance into the house and watched the eyes of my seven year old son pop right out of his head. Tony backed himself into a corner and I could tell that he was a little frightened and very confused. I reached out to him with my gloved fist and said to him “Anthony, I am your father!” My daughter dressed up as Princess Leia and for my son Tony, I built a custom made R2- D2 costume out of a plastic trash can, many plumbing parts and lots of paint. So as Halloween 2004 was approaching I made my mind up to do something I have never done before as an adult. I decided to go in costume to take my kids Trick or Treating. My new bride handed out candy dressed as Master Yoda.

I watched in total admiration as Tony pretends to either Obi-Wan, Anakin or just as I wanted to be Luke Skywalker. For many years I have held the original excitement and wonder of these movies in my heart. As I see my children enjoying so much of the "Star Wars" universe that has kept me young these many years, I pray that they will be able to share that same experience with their children and look into their eyes and regain the childhood that this world forces them to leave behind so soon.

The circle is now complete.
"Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" soon. People ask me, did you buy your tickets yet? Tickets went on sale after the showing of a preview of the film during the Superbowl. No, I did not buy tickets. Am I going to go see the film? Of course I am. Silly question. Am I excited, of course I am, but now after thirty some years later, I know that I will watch the film in the theater several times. I will buy the Blu-ray, watch it many times and I will discuss the film and do many comparisons to the original. Because, that is what I do. Will I be dissapointed if J.J. Abrams fails to reinvigorate the franchise? I highly doubt it. 

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens: First Teaser Trailer

A long time ago, when I was but a child, The Force was present. It changed the way special effects were made, and had a huge social and cultural impact on the world. Then, not too long ago, when my children were young and impressionable, they too felt the force. Now the force has awoken and producer, director, writer, and all-around bad-ass  J.J. Abrams have released the first teaser trailer for the recently named seventh installment of George Lucas' epic mythology that captured the minds and hearts of audiences back in 1977. 

When  George Lucas wrote and directed "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." he drew on all the archetypes basic pattern is found in many narratives from around the world called the "Hero's Journey." Episodes 4 - 6 were, in mind the best of the six. However, say what you will about the prequels, my kids love them.

There isn't an official synopsis yet, as Abrams is a pretty secretive guy. However, you can glean what you can from the trailer. 

In the trailer below, the scene fades from black to the arid desert of what we all presume to be Tatooine. A voice says, "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" Actor John Boyega pops up wearing a Stormtrooper's uniform sans helmet. He is looking panicked and confused. Boyega turns his back to the camera. Still in the desert, but I guess closer to 

civilization, a droid that looks like a ball with an R2-D2 like semi-spherical top comes rolling past the camera. A platoon of Stormtroopers prepares to disembark into the night. Actress Daisy Ridley mounts a box-like speeder and dashes away. Cut to an X-Wing pilot sitting in the cockpit as several X-Wings skim over a lake. A robed person, presumably a Jedi or a Sith, walks away into a dark forest. He draws his lightsaber -- it is red, but with a handle guard. The voice once again speaks, "The dark side, and the light." John Williams' classic Star Wars theme blasts as the Millenium Falcon screams through the sky banking and rolling as it comes to skim the desert floor as two TIE fighters scream by blasting away. Then the familiar logo that launched a franchise appears on the screen. 

I find the whole clip both interesting and disturbing at the same time. Interesting in that like in "Star Trek" we saw some pretty interesting places that he placed the Enterprise. Here we some X-Wings doing more within the atmosphere. We see some new speeders and droid designs. I find it disturbing in that the Empire still exists or was the Republic was never restored after "Return of the Jedi?"  Lawrence Kasdan, who contributed his writing skills to "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" and "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" is listed along with Abrams as writers for this installment.

Overall, I am happy to return to that galaxy far, far away and a long time ago.

December 18, 2015 is a long time to wait.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Year:  2015

Staring:  Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Domhnall Gleeson, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley

Director: J.J. Abrams

Producer(s): J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Kathleen Kennedy

Writer: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas (characters)
Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 

Release Date: 12/18/2015

Taking Move Fandom to the Next Level, Create Your Own Costumes

A Look at How Movie Fans Shows their Love for their Favorite Films.

Did you know that the word fan comes from the word fanatic and is defined as, "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics.” Movie fans are a different breed of people all together, like me, for example. In my years of being a fan of a certain films, I have found myself inspired to manifest my passion for the film outwardly. Some people, however, in my opinion adopt film fandom as part of their lifestyle. The lifestyle movie fans never leave their favorite movie characters personas, going to work as that character every day, their bosses accept their quirkiness, and they do respectable work. I will leave those types of fans for another article. This article is about a fan's passion for how Star Wars, drove this author to want to instill that love of film and creativity in the next generation. Here, is how to do it.

A fan of the Star Wars franchise for many years, I would stand in line, waiting hours for tickets, just to get into the theater for the midnight showing of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi. In trying to inspire my children to enjoy films, as much as I do, I decided to dress up for the first time several years ago to show my kids, who were young at the time, that with a little imagination, they too can create any movie costume for themselves. The month before Halloween, I set my garage into my private fortress of solitude, where every night I would cover my work with a sheet, keeping my family in the dark what I was building. I actually had two projects going on at the same time.

The Light Saber

"Not clumsy like a blaster, an elegant weapon for a more civilized time, before the emperor, before the dark times," says Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars IV, A New Hope. Building your own blaster takes some effort and a tiny bit of skill and a lot of patience. Light Saber parts are all available at your local hardware store, and auto parts shop. The main body for my light saber is a sink tailpiece, purchased at my local Home Depot. Next short length PVC, and a pack of “ELCO” 1" D-rings (picture hanging equipment), a metal hole plug for the back end of the light saber, thumbscrew also in the small parts section at the hardware store. Also, needed are a plastic Fujifilm 35mm film canister, some small rubber slip joint washer,    Rubber beveled faucet washer, and a brass-knurled nut. I cut the wiper refills into four equal sections and after drilling eight sets of small holes around the metal tube, and drilled two equal distant holes in the wiper pieces themselves, using a rivet gun, I bolted them onto the handle. Next, I cut off the opposite end about 3.5 inches. The PVC pipe servers as an emitter and I cut that into a 5 ¼-inch piece, and then cut off a forty-degree angle off the other end. After I had bolted the pieces together, I ended up with an elegant looking Light Saber, for just under $25.00.

The mostly homemade Darth Vader suit. 

You can buy a cheap Vader costume on line for around $30.00 dollars, or you can buy an expensive one for $600 dollars: or more, however, you can also use your imagination and make your own. Movie props and costumes are usually not terribly impressive under scrutiny: however, most folks are too impressed with the fact that suit is homemade to nit-pick. Most movie fans generally show a certain amount of latitude for the do-it-yourselfers to quibble about the exactness of a costume. However, if purchased, then the critics do come out and it is a free for all. For the Darth Vader's costume, I started with the shoulder armor, by creating it out of strips of vinyl place mats, cut into strips and hot-glued together, placing black stripes over the grey. At one point, I thought about using some hockey or football shoulder pads, but they didn't look right. I created the chest piece out of a sturdy gift box, antenna parts, star-shaped cookie cutters, some I/O ports from an old computer, and two Scrabble pieces, one painted red, and the other blue. My next-door neighbor hemmed and sewed Darth Vader's cape, and a piece off black faux-leather material for the 'inner shirt.’ Over that I used an old black graduation gown with sleeves cut off to simulate the robe that Vader wears under his armor. Black pants, tall black boots, and a nylon belt from the craft store finish the main outfit. To accessorize, I purchased off eBay, the belt buckle, and the Darth Vader helmet. Taking too project boxes form Radio Shack, I inserted a few red and green LEDs into them, found a circuit board pattern and a switch. A few touches of the soldering iron and I had a two boxes I could mount on the belt that would light up. The price of this costume was more expensive due to the price of the helmet and the belt buckle. The fun of finding the parts around the store and the satisfaction outweighed the cost for parts, and the time to assemble them. However, the look on my kid's face when Darth Vader strode in from the garage was... Priceless.

Trick-or-treating with R2-D2 

My son who was six at the time, wanted to be R2-D2 for Halloween, and as far as I could see at the time, none were available. Going out to Wal-Mart and grabbing a dome covered white plastic trashcan, I created a costume for my son. By drilling out the bottom, and using a hole-drilling die, I cut arms into the sides of the can. I used balsa wood for the eyepiece and a piece of plastic piping for the actual camera "eye."

Film Premakes

Other forms of extreme fandom manifests in other ways too. For example, Ivan Guerrero, of the whoiseyevan website on YouTube creates entertaining movie trailers from favorite movies. A sort of,’ what if,’ take on some popular films. Ivan has a unique take on films like Raider's of the Lost Ark, doing a 1950's look by taking old film footage and adapting it to the theme of the movie. Called Premakes, Ivan sometimes takes various genres and mashes them together, creating a "mash-ups.” Check out the whoiseyevan website to see Ivan's premake of Star Wars 1947 and other amazing premakes.

Whether you create a costume as intricate as Darth Vader’s, or something more simple, let these examples of film fandom inspire your creativity and this summer, take a risk show your love for your favorite movie.

Orginally published on Associated Content by Robert Barbere on 5/26/2010

Revisiting A Classic: Star Wars - 33 Years Later.

Tuesday, May 25^th, 2010 is the 33 anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope

W hat were you doing on May 25, 1977?  I know where I was; I was getting off my paper route and rushing to the theaters to see a movie my best friend from Junior High told me about the day before.  I waited in the lobby for a few minutes, and then I walked down into the dark rows of seats.  On the screen, a cartoon was playing while I tried to find my friend.  I was wearing my news press delivery bag over my shoulders as I took my seat.  The cartoon ended, and then the Fox Pictures fanfare played, and then for a moment, silence...  An orchestral crescendo and the solid blue words appear on the screen, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away."  The next two hours went by in such a blur, that all I know is that I didn't move from my seat, perhaps not even a muscle as the spectacle that is now titled Star Wars: A New Hope unfolded before my eyes.  Well after all this time, I can still remember just about every line, every nuance of every character.  In the decades that followed the release of Star Wars, we have seen two sequels, and three prequels, an animated series, a universe of licensed books and merchandise.  The phenomena that are Star Wars has infected new generations of loyal fans.

The story is classic, a teenage farm boy, on the desert world of Tatooine, wanting a find a life of adventure and excitement waits for the day that he can escape from his life of boredom.  A young princess, captured by a wicked dark-lord, tortures her into revealing the base of rebels against the evil empire.  The swashbuckling pirate, who seeks to make a quick buck, ends up as a hero.  Throw in an old wizard, two Laurel and Hardy like robots for comic relief, and you have the makings of what American mythologist, Joseph Campbell would call the archetypal hero.  Starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa, and Harrison Ford as Han Solo, George Lucas has not only reinvented the modern myth, but also reinvented how we create visual effects in films are done today.  The visual effects of the original team, led by John Dykstra, developed the techniques and systems that have now become Industrial Light and Magic, a name recognized around the world for the high quality and leading edge technology.  As a young man, I studied the works of illustrator Ralph McQuarrie and the storyboards and conceptual designs.  A technique I later put to excellent use as a designer as a project manager for the marketing departments of some of the world's leading technology companies.  What is a film director but the manager of a highly complicated project?  One of the many legacies that /Star Wars gave to us is the grand musical scores by Academy Award Winner, composer and conductor, John Williams.  From the opening theme of all the Star Wars pictures, to the haunting melodies that serve as the themes for each of the characters, Williams weaves a musical tale that almost rivals the film itself.

The many mythological comparisons that writers like Mary Henderson, in her book "Star Wars the Magic of Myth," she matches each character with each of the various archetypes from myth, legend.  Drawing chiefly from Joseph Campbell's book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," and giving full credit to Campbell, Henderson illustrates concepts such as when Han and Luke running around the Death Star in search of detention block AA23, where Vader is holding Leia, and comparing the scene to Theseus and the Labyrinth of the Minotaur.  Or one can compare Darth Vader as the Dragon guarding over a treasure.  Luke, like Prince Charming, finds and awakens Leia sleeping in her prison cell, like Sleeping Beauty, for example.  Another comparison to the Star Wars plot line is from Lloyd Alexander's 1964 publication of "The Book of Three.'" Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" series that feature Taran, a young farm boy, orphaned at birth, raised by, and cared for by an old, wise wizard.  After chasing after the farm's prize possession out into the dark forest, an oracular pig, Taran returns to find his farm set on fire by the evil Horned King, his forever covered with a skeletal mask of a human with the antlers of a deer or elk.  Taran, in "The Book of Three," journeys to the center of the land, saves a princess along the way, finds a glowing sword of immense power, and meets archetypal and memorable characters along the way.  Some these characters may remind one of C-3PO, R2-D2, and Han Solo.  Lloyd Alexander is also the author of Disney's 1985 release, '"The Black Cauldron."

With the 33rd anniversary of what the America Film Institute ranks as the second best Science Fiction film ("2001: A Space Odyssey" is the number one) of all time, perhaps it might be time to dust of that Blu-ray, DVD or VHS and re-watch or introduce members of a newer generation to a film

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Year:  1977

Staring:  Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker

Director: George Lucas

Producer(s): Gary Kurtz

Writer: George Lucas

Rating: PG

Running Time: 121 minutes

Release Date: 5/25/1977

Originally published on Associated Content by Robert Barbere on 5/19/2010