What I've been trying to start for years

It has been a long time coming and with all the troubles at work and at home, I now can finally start to look at making my wookiees. I know I have made a little fuss with my discussion on Gungi so I've decided to make a him as well as Chewbacca (or close to it).

I really do want to make these wookiees look very different for as pictured below Gungi has a more brownish look that Chewbacca I'm wanting to have Gungi with the following hair number blends :- 2 parts #12 (Lightish Brown), 1 part #4 (Dark Brown) and 1 part #27 (Strawberry Blonde). And I'm wanting to do my Chewbacca with the following hair blends for most of the body:- 2 parts #27 (Strawberry Blonde), 1 part #6 (Chestnut Brown) and 1 part #4 (Dark Brown). I know there is a pattern forming here of but I do want a good base and I see most people have a strong #27 as their base with blends of #4 and/or #6 so I've decided to go with both, if anyone has any better suggestions I'm all ears.



I've been collecting my supplys for sometime and I'm awaiting on my #12 (x20) and #27 (x20) hairs, a pair of skywalker stilts and am currently shopping around for a foot maker. But this is what I've got so far (all pictured below).

15 Yards of Collin's Cottage Aqua Mesh
40 Packets of #27/4 Kanekalon Jumbo Braid
20 Packets of #280 Kanekalon Jumbo Braid
1 Head made by Dougie Fett
2 Bandoliers made by Mel Mattson



If anyone has any advice for info they would like to give me, I'm more than willing to take it.

Nice!

Crypto and Payne may be able to assist. They're both well into their wookie as well!

Did they order it through Evil Chimp FX? For Wookiee Builders on facebook pointed to someone in Queensland getting a wookiee, I pretty much know that build well for it is an expensive version compared to what I'm making. It uses National Fibers Technolgy which has over 10 different blends of hair for the main body, where most mesh wookiee builders only use 2 blends on the main body. One of the reasons I'm doing a mesh wookiee is because even though the quaility may not be as good as the NFT suits, I can however repair and replace hair, (I speak from expirence there after parading around in a modified Rubies version).

You have alot of work ahead of you. Latch hooking is a long and tedious process. Good luck. I don't have the time or patience to do it myself.

Yes, ours are both from Dave (Dougiefett) in th UK. I have not yet got mine, it should be here in Feb/March. I was under the impression that mesh suits were not being allowed any more... I couldn't see it in the CRL's tho, so I maybe wrong.

How tall are you? Gungi is like 5 feet tall

Have you any plans for a Bowcaster? I am doing some research on scratchbuilding one, as getting a real crossbow into the country will be a bit difficult.

Dougie isn't doing anymore mesh suits and that was mainly due to the fact he couldn't get any #280 hair blends in his area and was expensive to import. But plenty of people are still making mesh suits. berzerker's Snoova is a mesh suit, RIVETHEAD's Tarful is a mesh suit, even Firebird's Chewie and Lumpy is a mesh suit.

As far as Gungi is concerned JediMasterMark (Legion Membership Officer) overwrote what Wookieewannabe (Legion Costume Judge) by posting this:-
"Height: not an issue, moving on.

This particular, unique Wookie will follow face character standards - more exacting detail and reproduction of items/costume are vital for approval. Unless you're doing Gungi, you can't be a 5' tall Wookie. Nor carry a lightsaber"

I may be 186cm but I am doomed by 30cm each way I go, but a minimum height not been a issue, (mainly because there is a legal classification and hundreds of slur names for the type of adult who can be 5ft or under, also note Jawas and Ewoks don't have a minimum height standard), but to ensure that I'm not exploiting this I will be doing a 7ft wookiee. Doing Gungi just adds more variety for people mainly want to do Chewbacca and Tarful, plus been part of a lightsaber duelling club I really want to do a wookiee where I am unhindered by those stilts.

As for the bowcaster, I don't have any plans to make one, for after my expirence in the Rubies suit, most of the time the bowcaster will be in your way when people ask for photos, it will add on more weight for it is nearly impossible to get the original Barnett Commando Crossbow. Plus there is only a few scenes in the film where the bowcaster was in viewed, but there was more time viewed with the converted MG34. Just something to consider.

I'm not paying out on the mesh suit, I know alot of Wookies out there are mesh, as the price of the "real" fur is expensive. I was told that they were changing the rules for future approvals, as the mesh suit can be visible.

Doing a different Wookie is a great idea, and seeing one in a Lightsaber duel would definitley be something to see.

Good luck on your journey.

(This post was last modified: 12-12-2012, 12:49 PM by Payney.)

Thank you.

Just wondering is there a post I can look up to see if there is a proposal to change the current standards?

I have not seen it, I was told by a fairly important friend in the 501st about it. I told him I was doing a Chewie, and he said that it needs to be the fabric stuff and not mesh as they are changing the CRL. He could be wrong tho.

Best if you ask the people in the know in the RL about it, just to be sure. I'm sure you're not the only one working on a Wookie. Usually with BIG changes like that, they will give fair warning and a deadline to get it finished and approved, so people like yourself haven't wasted money.

(This post was last modified: 12-12-2012, 01:23 PM by Payney.)

Hmmm, yeah 501st have some problems with understanding wookiee standards sometimes in the RL, considering that there is only one wookiee in the entire 501st (Snoova) I can see why they would be saying that but that suit was a mesh suit as well. For anyone considering a NFT suit I always recommend they read this first, http://www.rebellegion.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32085 . Also don't forget NFT have their own cleaning products to wash your suit with. Also one thing to consider about NFT suits is repairs, mesh is easier to repair for the materials are readily available, NFT if you don't have any fabric left over it can cost upto $75 per square foot (and you have to order 10 square foot as a minimum).

I'm not saying this to freak you out, just that I have very much weighed my options before starting.

That is a great read, thanks for posting

My Chewie, will only be coming out for special occasions. 2-3 troops a year max, so hopefully he wont get to damaged.