Aragorn Ranger costume WIP

I started working on this costume a couple of days ago. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I may have an opportunity to wear it to a LOTR event in April, and since I don't see those coming around too often, I definitely want to get it ready in time. I'm working on a very low budget, so I will be cutting some corners but I do want it to look fairly authentic.

This is the configuration I want to do:



My first undertaking is the bracers. I had some left over leather lying around from my Will Turner baldric, so I decided to make them myself. This is my first attempt at trying anything even close to this complicated with leather and it is my first attempt tooling.












There are some blemishes on the leather but I will just consider it weathering. My cutting/tooling is far from perfect, but oh well, I'm learning and I'm pretty pleased so far. I'm probably just going to buy the inner bracers (not sure what they are called) since they aren't that expensive and it would probably be more trouble than it is worth to try to make.

I went to JoAnn's today and was checking out some fabric for the jerkin. I was looking at the micro-suede. It would work I suppose, but it is just so thin. I would have to line it or double it up, and at that point, it would kind of defeat the purpose. I might have to venture up to Tandy someday soon and see if they have any scrap suede that would meet my needs. Would be easier if I didn't need so much.

As far as boots go, for the time being, I will make due with my Will Turner boots. If I adjust them so the cuff at the top is only about half the length, and lace it down, they don't look too bad.

I obviously can't afford the authentic Fellowship cloak at this time and the fabric for this is concerning me. Does anybody have any suggestions? The closest thing I have found so far is the following:



Screen fabric:


I think that could be manageable if it was weathered a bit and put in a grey dye bath.

For now, I'm going to be going with the Rubies Evenstar. I'll scrape the paint off like I have seen people do and that should work for now.

For the Ring of Barahir, I'm probably going to have to get a knockoff for now. Same thing with the Ranger sword since I can't find a UC scabbard at a decent price. Probably do the same with the elven hunting knife.

I'll probably be doing the belt myself with supplies from Tandy. Luckily, the version I'm doing doesn't require the duster.


I know there are a couple of Aragorn/LOTR experts here and if any of you have any tips or advice, I would certainly appreciate it! I'm on a budget but I'm also realistic and I know I'm not going to get screen accuracy, but I definitely want to have the right look.

It looks like you're off to a great start. Keep posting more

Dude, I love that costume idea and want to do one myself. Leather work looks good. I know the cloak is a big part of Aragorn's kit, but I would focus getting his pre Galadrial kit together. Lots of elements to that that will take time and energy.

Keep us posted and where is the LOTR event you are talking about?

Cheers

Sebastian

Beautiful! :thumbsup

Very cool, I've been working on this costume myself for a little while. Great start :thumbsup

sebastian said:

Dude, I love that costume idea and want to do one myself. Leather work looks good. I know the cloak is a big part of Aragorn's kit, but I would focus getting his pre Galadrial kit together. Lots of elements to that that will take time and energy.

Keep us posted and where is the LOTR event you are talking about?

Cheers

Sebastian

Click to expand...

Charlie Ross is bringing his One Man LOTR show to the area. Since we did the One Man SW show, the playhouse wanted to know if we had any LOTR costumes.

As for the pre Galadrial version, two things. First off is the duster. Either complicated and made out pleather by me, or way to expensive. I dont like pleather, and Im poor right now. The other problem is that he wouldnt be wearing the bracers, which i love and already have half completed. I eventually plan on getting all of his gear, but the version I have pictured seems to be the cheapest i could find and still be very recognizable.

Bracers look good! I use thrift stores to find leather at a very low cost. A lot of times, you can find coats, pants, skirts etc that have large enough areas to piece costumes together. I've bought long leather skirts for just a few bucks.. Just make sure that the leather is soft and in good condition. You can always recolor it too if it's the wrong shade.

That is a good point. I have a couple around here i will have to check.

Your tooling is amazing, must have been alot of work but it looks great!

Thanks everyone!

Done with the majority of the tooling. Waiting for the glue to dry and I'll drill holes and start stitching tonight.

Holes drilled and dye coat number one applied. I mainly just wanted to get the bottom layer covered so I could stitch it down and not worry about not being able to get in the corners. I only had a couple ounces of dye left so I decided to throw it all on there. I need to get some more in the next day or so to put a few more coats on and get a uniformed look. I'll be stitching it tonight or tomorrow.

If there is anyone out there that has a set of the bracers and wouldn't mind posting a pic of the straps on the back unbuckled, I would very much appreciate it!

I can't really offer much advice, yet Great job so far, keep it up :thumbsup

looking good so far. I did one of these awhile back though it wasn't screen accurate since I cobbled together the most recognizable portions of it so the group I was around would get it more quickly. The bracers look great.

I would contact kropserkel
he made these replicas & might have some insight.

Stitched and ready for the rest of the dye. I'm going to pick it and the buckles up tomorrow. I will then be able to cut the straps, finish the dying, slick the sides, and paint the silver accents.

This was my first time stitching leather and it wasn't bad at all. Only stabbed myself twice!

Those bracers look amazing! any chance for measurments or templates?

I assume you've looked here:
http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/


Best of luck to you!!
The biggest piece of advice I can offer when creating an Aragorn outfit is MAKE IT DIRTY!!!!

The one time people fail is when they turn up at a show/con/expo as Aragorn, looking like he just stepped off the production line all shiny and new.
This guy has spent many years wandering the lands of Middle Earth, sleeping in ditches and dells. He doesn't even wash his hair unless he stays over at Rivendell!!

I will post a template later. Although I cant guarantee its accuracy.

As for dirty, don't worry, it will be plenty dirty. Maybe i will sleep in a ditch in it myself.

Looking fantastic!

Fantastic work sir.

This really makes me want to bust out the leatherworking tools.