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Post by Jauhzmynn Enz on Feb 16, 2004 20:10:19 GMT -5
hey Zhi-Don,
My belt is finally made and loosk good. I'm only missing the larger belt keeper for snap hidding.:-) (I didn't have enough leather.)
ONE thing I do need to say, thise blasted flat rivets are a PAIN to get in. I bent up 7 sets of those things. It's a good thing I bought a bag of 100. :-)
Well, I'll nab some more leather and tackle another one for kicks.
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Post by Nova Darklighter on Feb 16, 2004 22:24:52 GMT -5
Hey Zhi-Don, I just noticed your B Banzai quote. Been a member of the Banzai Academy since before the film was released. Monkey Boy!
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Post by Syn-Kai-Jinn on Feb 17, 2004 18:55:40 GMT -5
Well for those who asked for me to keep em informed I talked to Master Parks he told me to return the belt with a note of what i needed for a size and it would be taken care of well the box is away today so just waiting to hear back now
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Post by LoreenShadowchaser on Feb 18, 2004 15:48:10 GMT -5
I've never had any problems keeping my belt up either, and I've made 3, so far, including a Sith (*gasp!* ) belt. Maybe that's not a problem as prevalent with women, since we have wider hips.
I use the 2 1/2" straps from Tandy which are prett stiff when new. Then I put industrial Velcro on the back, so it's adjustable, and put a pouch over the spot to hide the "seam". That industrial Velcro is pretty strong, I usually carry several pounds of equipment (3 pouches with wallet, keys, lip balm, eye drops, emergency light, spare 9V batteries, camera, business cards; food caps, lightsaber, and sometimes lightdagger) on it with no trouble.
I think a fairly stiff belt cinched tightly should stay up, unless you have absolutely no hips at all.
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Post by Nova Darklighter on Feb 19, 2004 0:31:47 GMT -5
Yeah, it's the hips, that keep the belt from slipping. There are no belt loops on Jedi robes to keep the belt up either. Greetings Loreen, welcome to the costume threads.
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Post by Syn-Kai-Jinn on Mar 12, 2004 18:56:47 GMT -5
Just saw that sith belt there Loreen i must say thats is a very nice belt i wouldnt mind having one like that in brown
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Post by Laan Kro on Apr 6, 2004 8:49:46 GMT -5
I've worn a Parks belt for a couple of years now, but I'm working on a new one from scratch. I picked up all of my leather from Tandy this weekend (had to drive two hours to Atlanta so I could see what I was getting in person) and I just received my accent belt buckle from Saberbelt yesterday. I'm waiting on my pouches from MP productions. I'm going to go with the velcro idea in the back, too. I'm also going to add a sam browne post stud in the back, just for good measure. It's hard to be patient, but it's fun to work on a costume a little at a time.
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Post by Jauhzmynn Enz on Apr 6, 2004 13:07:17 GMT -5
I've a Parks Belt too.:-) Nice work.
LonMark had picked up a latigo belt blank from TheLeather facotry stor ein town. it was long enough to make two belts for myself. I made one and LonMark made one too just for kicks. He's been making these for a while.
I used the Same Brown rivits but I used snaps at the back. Velcro would eventually come apart and could catch on my clothing. Snaps won't.:-)
LonMark's Jedi belt used tension to keep it closed. The leather wound around a certain way to hold itself on.Once on, it isn't coming off or loosening up unless I do so. It's a good idea if velcro, snaps or hooks aren't working.
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Post by Nova Darklighter on Apr 6, 2004 21:31:10 GMT -5
the belt that I had made, I designed for fluctuations in weight, so it has a buckle that is on the narrow belt, and that is hidden under the piece that holds my lightsaber clip and my large pouch. I am planning on getting my beltmaker to narrow the width of my belt, the wider one is just a bit to wide, maybe 1/2 inch or a little more.
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Post by Laan Kro on Apr 7, 2004 9:19:58 GMT -5
My Parks belt (although fantastic quality for the price) uses snaps to close in the back, and I could see the potential for the snaps to come undone, especially if the belt end snagged on my robe, a chair, etc. That's why I'm going with the velcro and Sam Browne stud on this latest belt. I think it's a good plan and it's coming together nicely so far. It's hard to be patient and take my time. I'm working on different parts of my latest costume in small blocks of time. Last night, when I got home from work, I put the clips back on eight new food capsules I just finished. I enjoyed looking at them for a few minutes, then went outside to till a new 400 sq. foot garden. I worked until after dark, then ate, showered, and worked on my new belt. I dyed one side of my accent belt, then cut one of the small keepers (the ones on either side of the accent buckle), then wet it, folded it into the final shape, punched the holes in it, and placed it in a clamp to dry over night. By then I was exhausted and went to bed. I can't wait to get home tonight and see some more progress!
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Post by zhidon on Apr 7, 2004 17:19:13 GMT -5
congrats mynn on your belt. i agree with you about the snaps if you use 4 then it wont come loose no matter what. the keeper that covers it also keeps them from unsnaping. i guess thats why they used it in the film. the keeper in EP1 had four snaps on rivets on the corners. i'm going to make a new belt using the buckle from saberbelt. its mighty good looking and he sells it with the studs and rivets. you only need the leather to make one then. i love the pouches you had me order from paul, i would like a small one ala EP2, but have not been able to reach him. i know you wanted a big one for your camera, did you get hold of him. i have not talke to anyone who got the resin pouches from MP. if anyone has them i would be interested in how strong they are. both myself and jahzmynn were worried about falling on them and have them break. our leather ones are practically indistructable. i have my leather shop owner make my keepers. he flenses [sp?] the leather making it thinner and then staples it on the back. it only takes him about 5 minutes to make the 2 small ones for the inner belt and the 1 large one to cover the snaps in back. i use a covertech clip for my lightsaber as this pretty much goes with the belt. when we needed jedi belts in a hurry, one of us figured a way to make EP4 belts quickly. they dont need too much to look good. i still prefer the EP 1 and 2 belts. i made my food caps and sent a set to Jahzmynn because the pens are hard to find where she lives. apparently saberbelt makes the food caps now and they look pretty good, if a bit expensive. i got my pens from the 99 cent store, so thats why i was so generous in giving them to fellow jedi. i also found some 2 piece yin/yang silver buckles one of which i gave to my friend donna of the grey jedi....that being part of their symbol for balance. there appear to be more than one color for the belts. obi-wans and qui-gons are dark chocolate brown. even the unleashed figure of obiwan shows that to be the color used. anakins belt seems to be of a lighter reddish brown, similar to obi-wans boots and the jedi pouches. no one anywhere has been able to find the buckles for qui-gon and obi-wan from EP1. i tried everywhere. the best i could come up with was a resin one from MP. i figured i would break it in about 5 minutes. finally i asked jeff parks if i could use the buckle he uses on his saber belt. he told he it wasnt a buckle, but he would sell me the parts anyway. end result...it looks like obi-wans. i used a different configuration than he does and riveted the belt ends around the rings on the sides and used belt keepers to cover the rivets. note: i really love our discussion threads and have learned so much since joining....LONG LIVE THE JEDI ASSEMBLY!
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Post by Nova Darklighter on Apr 7, 2004 21:20:02 GMT -5
Zhidon the learning is what we're all here for. I often pick up bits of info from posts that enhance my Jedi experience, and just having a place where it isn't weird to talk about it is good.
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Post by Laan Kro on Apr 8, 2004 8:33:43 GMT -5
Zhi-Don, I just heard from Matt at MP that he'll be making my pouches next week, so I should get them pretty soon. If you haven't heard a testimonial from anyone by then I'll let you know what I think when I get them. I pretty much just walk around in my costume, so I'll have to give you my best guess at how they would stand up to the rigors you want them to withstand. I'm very discriminating when it comes to quality and durability so my opinion should help. I think I've made about 15 food capsules so far, using combinations of instructions I've read from several sites/boards. I have it down to a science now, and it's pretty economical, now that I have all the paints. I just picked up a pewter paint so I picked up four more pens at Staples and glued the hemi's on them last night. I've already made several gold, copper, and silver so pewter is the last color I need.
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Post by zhidon on Apr 8, 2004 14:34:33 GMT -5
Thanks for letting me know how the pouches are when they come in. They would need to be sturdy for me to use them. i wouldnt want a lightsaber hit to break them. i have made about 24 food caps in all the colors per set of 4. i foudn that the round pearl buttons will fit in the end and can be glued down more securely than the 1/2 moon ones. my only problem is the paint rubbing off. anyone got any ideas for that?
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Post by Laan Kro on Apr 8, 2004 14:59:34 GMT -5
Zhidon, I think I've "cracked the code" on the food pellets. I sand mine with 400 grit sandpaper, then clean the dust off. I then put two coats of automotive primer on them and let them dry for a day. A guy at a model shop told me that it's the best primer to use. I then put three coats of metallic spraypaint on them and let them dry for two days. I found a great Krylon paint in copper, burnished brass, and silver. I then coat them with two coats of matte finish clearcoat. I've made several, more than I actually need, all in the name of experimenting. I've thrown away three, but I've successfully made around 15, plus the four that I started last night, after I found the pewter colored paint. Using this process the finish comes out flawless and very durable. My biggest discovery was the Plastix glue I mentioned my post in the props thread earlier this week. My test for all the glues I tried was to throw the pellets into the air and see if they broke when they hit the ground. I couldn't find a glue that would pass that test, because the Staedtler caps are made of polyurethane and even Plastruct had no idea what would work. I hit upon the Loctite glue, Plastix, and it's guaranteed to work on all plastics, and believe me it does. I have not been able to break one, yet. I still have 5-6 hemispheres left over so I guess I'll have some extra pellets. I told you I was a stickler for quality and durability! I'll keep you posted on the pouches. Laan
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