Tarfful & Chewie - Fur Fabric builds

[Dougie Fett]

I recently went to National Fiber Technologys website looking for a small piece of chimpanzee fur and discovered their clearance section. Went a bit crazy as I do, and bought enough fur to make Chewie and Tarfful (it was a really good deal)!!!

The furs are not 100% screen accurate but that doesn't worry me too much, they are very close to the real deal.

Tarfful fur colours comparison below!! Have approx 60 SQ Ft of fabric.

More pics to follow.

 

[Dougie Fett]

First up, duct tape mannequin! Obviously not something you can do yourself, get a friend to help out!

The mannequin was stuffed with duvet foam and taped back up. Polysterene head was added just for show.

A rough pattern cut from cheap polyester fabric, it was cut to fit the mannequin form snugly!

The fur fabric was then cut, very nervously I might add, Robs tutorial was extremely helpful for this! Care was taken to keep offcuts to a bare minimum, have come up with a solution to using up small offcuts, will explain later.

The pattern is pinned together temporarily, ready for stitching. My suit will be in 3 parts - top ,cargo pant style trousers and the calves will be attached to the stilts (removable for cleaning etc).

No trimming or thinning out required, the fabric hangs beautifully and fits my form perfectly.

To be continued..........

 

[Kormier]

Thats a great start! Subscribing to this thread.

 

[Dougie Fett]

Chewie complete, Tarfful still in the works!

NFT loose hair requires a bit more punching work because it's finer than kanekalon but there is no comparison in quality.

Duct tape mannequin is struggling to support the costume, needs to be reinforced!

 

[trooper1m]

damn thats a nice Chewy, can i ask how tall you are Dougie?

 

[Dougie Fett]

I'm 5'10" normally and about 7' 2" in the costume, dont have any pics of it on yet!

 

[Kormier]

That is awesome! A work of art!

 

[Darth Serberus]

You have totally nailed that Chewie, the NFT fur does help but it really just comes down to your awesome Wookie making abilities!!
The Tarfful build is going to be really interesting, can't wait.

 

[Dougie Fett]

Couple of work in progres pics of Tarf!!

These are made from pipe lagging rolled in NFT loose hair, the spray adhesive holds the hair in place (not applied on the outside). I then applied some heat with a heatgun to get the hair to shrink and wrap itself around the lagging.

Fibreglass casting of the lower tier of the shoulder armour.
Painted with a brown undercost, lightly misted with metallic gold for a bronze effect.....then weathered with brown, black and green acrylic to add the patina.

Bandolier complete...made from a 7 to 9 oz hide from Tandys, cut down and dyed with Tandys Gel Antique DK brown.

Feet complete!
The same reinforced drum/dowel method that I've always used...14" of lift.
No need to try conceal the foot width this time since Tarfful is built like a tank.

 

[FudgeMando]

that bandolier is looking good,real good

 

[bleyd]

Been watching your Tarfull on FB great progress! LOVE that Chewie mask. Did you do it from scratch or did you get the skull elsewhere?

 

[Dougie Fett]

Been watching your Tarfull on FB great progress! LOVE that Chewie mask. Did you do it from scratch or did you get the skull elsewhere?

All from scratch!

 

[Mrcosmo]

Fantastic work!! I am working with Kankellon and latch hooking. Takes loads of time but much more reasonably priced than the NFT hair. Love the mask.

 

[Dougie Fett]

Fantastic work!! I am working with Kankellon and latch hooking. Takes loads of time but much more reasonably priced than the NFT hair. Love the mask.

Yes, kanekalon is definitely the more affordable labour intensive option. The end result is much the same, very little difference. But the fur makes it far easier.

 

[Darth Serberus]

Looking stunning Dave, the NFT just has the edge on the kanekalon. Even when blending multiple kanekalon hair colours it will never quite match how the NFT hair gradates in colour along the length of the hair.
Killer leather work mate!

 

[Dougie Fett]

Tarf complete!!

 

[frosty]

stunning work, never used NFT hair before, bet shipping was pricey on that much fur

 

[Powerhouse70]

awesome work

 

[welshwarrior123]

Dougie mate, as usual another fantastic wookie build. I don't know how but you always manage to capture the character of the face which is difficult to do with these costumes. And that new type of fur looks fantastic, I take it it's a lot less laborious than the latch hook method?

Welsh

 

[Dougie Fett]

Dougie mate, as usual another fantastic wookie build. I don't know how but you always manage to capture the character of the face which is difficult to do with these costumes. And that new type of fur looks fantastic, I take it it's a lot less laborious than the latch hook method?

Welsh

It sure is...takes a lot less weathering too, it hangs really well.

In the process of reworking some details...longer dreads, darker lip colour.