Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE, now holster mods)

Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source

Fly4v said:
Is one pass sleeve construction easier for those of use that really don't know how to sew and are using a simple home machine?
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Most definitely (as long as the sleeve cap & arm scye are properly sized to be sewn without any easing). Although a set-in sleeve isn't really hard to machine sew either, as long as there's not a lot of ease to deal with.

Fly4v said:
IIt is amazing that after you make a proper ESB you'll be making a leather assume it will be a TFA.
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Oh, definitely not a TFA jacket - that's an entirely different design. I'd just like to make a leather jacket in this style.
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source

Well, I think it's done.

Except for the minor tweaking (I guess a costume's never really done, you just stop tweaking it eventually). The elastic stirrups needs a minor adjustment, and I should take in the sides of the shirt a bit, since the body of it is too big for me, really.

But other than that, it's done. Except for eventually fixing the belt greeblies to be ESB.

And getting an ESB blaster.

But other than that it's done. Really.

Except for getting an accurate belt....

PA291724.jpg PA291734.jpg

The Todd's Costumes gun belt is great. Although the knee strap is still actually a bit too loose on me at its tightest setting. And it's held onto the holster by two rivets - and with only a half dozen wearings, one of those rivets has already broken. Hopefully the other one holds, or I'll have no knee strap at all.

As you can tell from these photos, the Todd's boots aren't really that accurate - they're equestrian boots that are close, but the tops are wrong, and they're too tall. I'd say the toes is also more pointed than they should be. But they're certainly serviceable. I'm still looking for the perfect boot, and will sell the Todd's boots when I find it.

PA291741.jpg
PA291705.jpg PA291756.jpg

Here's a rundown:


  • Converted ASOS jacket
  • Goodwill + pillowcase shirt
  • Converted Dickies pants with eBay embroidered bloodstripes (taper the legs, sew the pockets shut & remove pocket bags, add bloodstripes, pin-tuck, and elastic stirrups)
  • Todd's gunbelt and boots
  • Solo's Hold aluminum power cells
  • Anovos droid caller
  • Armorer Works DL-44 from Evike
  • Random 8g CO2 cartridge

Ready for the office halloween party on Monday, at any rate. Where I'm going to try my best to only speak quotes from ESB all day long.

We'll see how that goes.
 
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Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Wow, that looks great. That's my favorite Han Solo costume! Excellent work.
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Thanks, everyone!

Of course, I'm already cataloging what to improve for the next iteration (Dickies are cheap and easy to modify, but something with a softer fabric and bit of stretch would be sooo much nicer; the shirt front looks TOO nice and clean, etc....).

I picked up a pair of black pants to go with the green jacket too, so a non-canonical variant will be coming up next.
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Naturally, I couldn't stop with the alterations -- I didn't post any photos of the shirt without the jacket, because it's bloused out a ridiculous amount in the back. Not only did I have to take in the sides substantially, I still had to add significant back darts as well! Pretty typical of mass produced dress shirts - they fit like the mainsail of a tiny sailboat. I'm looking forward to getting the chance to learn to make these from scratch - a slightly rougher fabric, like a cotton linen blend, would definitely work better. It's almost too dressy looking as it is. (and this style of casual collar is really easy to make - no collar stand, no complex shaping).
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Todd's boots look pretty accurate to me - its hard to tell from a lot of the stills, but these production photos show the shape of the tops (for ANH at least) are correct.

Have todd's holster as well and haven't had any issues with the leg strap rivets - I have a lot of hours of wear in them too. 8904fecd71d6f3df97decd1db5ea838e.png

Looks GREAT all together. Any plans on adding the riding seam around the back?
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Funny, two other pictures from (I think) the same photo session make it look to me like the boot tops are close to straight across.

(sidebar: does anyone else find it just hilarious how many different haircuts Harrison Ford was sporting in those promotional/reference photos? Like Han got his hair cut in a different barber all the time because he didn't pay his debts or something...)

tumblr_my4k2puoEo1rck6sjo2_1280.jpgHanSolo.jpeg


They definitely feel like they're proportionately too tall on me -- that's probably due to the fact that I am (sadly) a few inches shorter than Harrison Ford.

Egon said:
Have todd's holster as well and haven't had any issues with the leg strap rivets - I have a lot of hours of wear in them too.

Looks GREAT all together. Any plans on adding the riding seam around the back?
Click to expand...

I’m not at all worried about the rest of the holster - I may have just gotten a slightly poorly set rivet in that spot - it happens, and they’re in an awkward spot (and subject to a fair bit of strain with an all metal blaster). I just put some Barge cement on it to make sure that strap isn’t going *anywhere*.


I’m not planning to add the riding seam - since my pants are converted Dickies, they have the remnants of rear pockets, which would be very awkward. And I don’t want to mess up the fit by effectively removing some material from the butt :)
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Ah HA! There's a high res promo photo I'd never seen before over on the Anovos thread that makes it clear that the boots tops (at least the promo shot boots) are, in fact, higher on the outside of the leg. Jives with the photo that Egon posted.
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Alas, the Barge cement didn't hold, and neither did the second rivet, now that it was on its own. The leg strap came completely off my holster within an hour of putting it on today.
 
Re: Budget Han Solo ESB from an Unexpected Source (DONE)

Now I'm thinking of possible ways to fix the holster permanently. All I did was sit down with a metal blaster in it and the stress was enough to pop the rivets (I'm sure my thighs flexing contributed to that). Todd's said they've never seen that happen, and of course they'll take care of it if I can't get it fixed here (no worries there!). My local cobbler isn't sure - he needs it for a few days to figure out if it's possible to set rivets inside the holster.

Meanwhile - are rivets really the best way? Is there a canonical way of attaching the leg strap? It's not screen visible, and I've never seen a photo of that side of the original prop holsters.

I was thinking that perhaps cutting 2 slits in the back of the holster and threading the leg strap through them would be a better long-term solution (after all, new rivets could fail in the same way - I want a bulletproof (so to speak) solution)). The extra thickness of leather inside the holster runs the risk of blocking the passage of the flash hider (it's a close fit), but it could always be re-formed so that the pass-through leg strap remains outside the holster -- i.e. stretch the material inbetween the slits, possibly via wet-forming.

Annotated photos would help to convey the idea, I'm sure.
 
Man, the whole ensemble came out great.
I think your idea of threading the strap is a good one, though I feel like rivets should work, though. It sounds like maybe they weren't quite set all the way. I suppose you could do pop rivets on the inside with washers if the other kind is unaccessible down there. You could also stitch it for extra reinforcement.
 
Awesome! Regarding rivets, stirching wih a waxed thread is always the best for leather parts that have to deal wih oulling or pushing. Rivets usually tend to bend out if they do not simply pop, if there isnt a washer underneath. maybe your cobbler can do the sewing for you.
 
Yes - my preference would be stitching if that were possible, but there's no way to stitch the leg strap back to an already made holster. I should have put washers on both the rivets - I didn't think about that until I'd already set the first, but if my repair fails I can re-do it with one.
 
Thanks again on the jacket recommendation.

At 6'2" 200 lbs large just fits, without modification, little tight in the shoulders so I hope XL or larger is restocked..... but at least I got one.

I saw an ESB jacket on display at Disney a while ago and this really is a great off the shelf analog.
 
Wow! Hey Monsterpartyhat this is amazing! It definitely gives me some ideas. I am actually wanting make my own esb solo costume too!


www.therpf.com

ESB Han Solo

Alright! As you may know from the title I am wanting to put together an esb Han solo costume! But here's the thing I'm not wanting to sew anything except possibly a leather holster! But I also only have like a $50 budget so I need help cause I can't find anything that works for me! Now it...
www.therpf.com www.therpf.com
 
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