Poe Dameron / Resistance Pilot Harness DONE! (Found parts, webbing, etc.)

Re: Poe Dameron / Resistance Pilot Harness (Found parts, webbing, etc.)

After what seemed like weeks of waiting on materials from the UK, experimenting with 4 different rivet sizes, and honing in on the color and construction of this belt, I'm happy to say I've made some stellar progress!

Thanks to the latest "Empire" magazine featuring Poe in all his hi-res glory, I was able to match up my construction of the main PLCE roll-pin belt, and that sucker is on point!

After going through a few color choices, I've finally found the fabric paint I'm happy with. Not only did it replicate the colors I wanted: it completely replicated the tonal differences seen on Poe's screen-used belt. The belt loop darkened up more than the rest of the belt, and the side straps (which will be looped through the paddles) did not take a perfect color shift into the gray I used, and instead kept a hint of "tan", as seen on numerous photos of Poe's rig. You'll also note the "problem areas" of the paint rubbing off in similar spots, showing the original color of the belt:



Obviously, mine has yet to be weathered. From what I've seen on a collector's production-used harness, there were varying tones of black, gray, and what looked to be an almost "purple" in some areas. A few spots looked like they had "straw" sprayed in certain spots, but it was most likely from the original belt color rubbing through.




One of the more perplexing pieces is what I call "the paddles". They're clearly metal, about 2mm thick, and to me look like a found item. I've spent MONTHS trying to figure out what these things were, but I'm not even in the ballpark with some of my findings (ejection harness/buckles/clasp/etc). In the mean time, I'm making "blanks" of these out of sintra, which will be cut, heated and formed, painted, and then finally riveted to the side straps. Once I'm happy with a final shape, I intend on having these made out of metal.



When I'm finally caught up from Turkey Day, I'll be tackling the side straps and rivets, hopefully completing the rest of the rig.


After that....it's blaster and holster time.

Re: Poe Dameron / Resistance Pilot Harness (Found parts, webbing, etc.)

AND IT'S DONE!

After months of research, trial and error with vendors, and waiting for UK shipping to the US, I can finally state that my Poe Dameron/Resistance Pilot ejection harness is 100% done. Every found item on this belt (minus the paddles) were sourced directly from the vendors that supplied The Force Awakens. Having said that: please excuse the ugly, cheap jumpsuit I'm wearing; it was purchased to showcase the contrast of the belt.





Here's a full view of the rig. The side straps are made of 100% cotton webbing, and were purchased from the same vendor that supplied the film. I was extra anal about the width of these straps, especially with how small the weave was. You can actually count how many "dots" there are on the strap, and they match to Poe's actual rig.



One of the downfalls with making the belts screen-accurate is picking up the flaws associated with it...namely the fabric paint. Yes, the belts were painted, and with that comes the inevitable wear and tear of the painted surface. After a few troops, the wear areas could easily be touched up, but I'm also looking at using more permanent solutions (such as a light base dye, followed by the fabric paint) to help with visual longevity.



One of the most challenging aspects of this build was coming up with the "paddles" on the front of the belt. The ones used in production are made of metal, while these were hand carved and formed from sintra. The shape varied depending on the angle of the photo, but I was able to snag a fantastic shot of a screen-used belt to come up with the proportions. It also helps when you have the webbing in hand that loops through it. The only part missing from these are the "teeth" that can be found in the top , which will be featured when I machine the paddles out of real metal in the next few weeks. The overall shape will definitely be fine-tuned as well to be as screen-accurate as possible.



Here's another wonderful example of "fix as you go" by the props department. Originally, this rear piece of webbing that held the side straps up was a LONG piece, almost past the back of his knees, that was looped on both ends. Once they realized how cumbersome it was, or was constantly getting tangled on Oscar or an X-wing ladder, they folded it in certain spots as seen in the comparison photos (my belt is of course center).





I'm beyond satisfied with how this turned out. I'm absolutely CRAZY about found items, and to construct this belt from the very components used for Poe's hero belt is really satisfying. I'll be studying his scenes closely in the film, and will make any changes to it that aren't reflected on screen.

And as with screen-accuracy comes screen-accurate hair. Look at this mop:

Are going to be doing the blaster and holster?



QUOTE=Ponte;3785097]UPDATE 13 Dec 2015: Ejection harness is completely finished!

View attachment 565748

I wanted to start a new build thread for a screen accurate, found parts harness system for the Resistance Pilots in the upcoming "The Force Awakens" film, specifically using Poe's as the template. A few people have been asking me to come up with some, and from what I've seen so far, everyone (including our dapper new hero) has nearly identical rigs.

Instead of tacking on a bunch of new info and cluttering up the other Poe thread that's working on flight suits, gloves, boots, etc, I wanted to dedicate this thread to nailing the exact components and construction for the harness. Luckily, we know that these parts (along with almost everything else in this film) were mostly UK/EU militaria that's been modified and dyed to create the amazing harness we see on these pilots. There's a few components to the rig that are cotton webbing most likely taken from a giant spool of various sizes, but we'll go into that later on in the thread.

There's something that needs clarification: The roll-pin buckle. Like any surplus manufacturer, there are different sizes/shapes/patterns of hardware offered on the market. While I assumed that the buckle was initially the brassy color most of the base-belts use, the real one is in fact from a completely different source.

On the left is the "bare metal" buckle that's compared to images of Poe's harness. On the right is the incorrect, yet more plentiful buckle that we see on a lot of the belts being offered. There are some pretty distinct differences in the construction of the buckle, namely the size (bare is bigger), the lip (again, bigger), and how tightly they were stamped (bare has more of a gap)
View attachment 541359

Hooray for conveniently orange wall stripe! This shows the exact buckle when compared to the real deal. You'll notice both Poe's and mine have the open "lips", and the crease is much softer than the brass version.
View attachment 541360

Here's what I mean (left is brass, right is bare)
View attachment 541361

You'll notice how tight the crease on the brass is compared to the correct bare buckle.
View attachment 541365

Well...had to get three; both side straps and center buckle.
View attachment 541366

I'm still awaiting more materials from the UK (shipping stinks). Hopefully by tomorrow, I'll receive some base belts to play with, as well as the other webbing to make up the rest of the rig.

Oh, and to further complicate things, the base belts were totally ripped apart, cut, and sewn back together to accommodate the wearer's waist since it's flipped inside out. You can tell by the additional webbing found near his center buckle, and the fact that there's NO WAY the stock belt fits tiny-waist Oscar Isaac in this configuration. That'll come next post...

View attachment 541378[/QUOTE]

Jeff Angel said:

Are going to be doing the blaster and holster?

Click to expand...

Absolutely. I've got a good idea of how to pattern the holster, it's just a matter of materials and execution. The blaster, I was able to locate the exact airsoft model they used for the base gun, so it'll just take me building the "shroud" that completes it. They'll come fully painted and weathered as well.

Fantastic work my friend!
You are really nailing the intricacies of this piece.

Davy Jones said:

Fantastic work my friend!
You are really nailing the intricacies of this piece.

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Thanks! While it was a pain in the ass researching/figuring out how to assemble this from only photo references, I've finally got the swing of putting these together. Really looking forward to getting the metal paddles for these!

can it be tailored for a guy with a bigger than average build?

woodman said:

can it be tailored for a guy with a bigger than average build?

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Absolutely. The belt with an accurate length of inner-strapping can fit up to about a 46" waist, and if I wanted to , I could sew an even longer inner-strap to accommodate larger sizes.

Thx dude PM sent

woodman said:

Thx dude PM sent

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Roger that, received!

Thanks for sharing all the work you've put into this. It's been a big help. Cheers!

Mad respect Ponte for sharing this. I might try my hand in DIY, but if not I'll definitely reach out to you.

Thanks Again!

Amazing!!

Want!

B@t™

Ponte, Excellent work! I am building a harness (with your help) but I don't get how the webbing pieces fit/interact with each other in the paddles. Can you show a side view of how the web straps fasten?

Hi Ponte,

I'm totally new to this forum. I'm starting to put together my Resistance costume. Are you selling these finished harnesses? If not, can you list where you ordered the materials?

Thanks a bunch and GREAT WORK!!!

dpablo1 said:

Hi Ponte,

I'm totally new to this forum. I'm starting to put together my Resistance costume. Are you selling these finished harnesses? If not, can you list where you ordered the materials?

Thanks a bunch and GREAT WORK!!!

Click to expand...

The rebel legion forum has both tutorials and people selling finished harnesses :thumbsup