Han Solo Holster - Screen Accurate Pattern

Hello Everyone,

For some time now I have wanted to create a close to screen accurate as possible Han Solo costume. I figured a good a place as any to start would be the holster.

The problem is that while there are some options out there, and some tutorials, none of them really seem to be as screen accurate as I would like. Or, if they are, they are way more pricy than I would like to pay. Either way, I could purchase one and be done with it, but as a former make-up FX / prop artist, I just can't justify buying what I am pretty sure I can make...and well, making it is the funnest part in my opinion.

For a while now I have been looking for a place to start. Naturally the best place would be a pattern. Unfortunately patterns seem to be very rare, and those that are out there seem to be based off of already inaccurate holsters.

My goal, is to create the most accurate holster pattern possible, and then go on to create the actual holster. This thread will focus only on the pattern, and I will link to another thread when I start building the real thing. So, that said, lets get started.

Goals:

To create the most accurate ESB Holster possible.
To end up with a printable pattern that I can make available to everyone.
Expand the pattern at a later date to include ANH and RotJ.

Expectations/Desires:

I am here to create the most accurate holster pattern possible, not stroke my ego, or feel warm and fuzzy. When I ask for feedback, I want it as honest as possible. Don't worry at all about hurting my feelings. The only way something is going to get done right, is if we can all agree that you don't have to hold back, or spare my feelings.

I want every and all thoughts, evidence, and feelings you can come up with.I come from a well known Indiana Jones forum, and so I am used to people presenting every little bit of info they think is right. I am willing to entertain any idea supported by evidence.

I don't want to abandon this project. To many half finished links are floating around out there, and it is super frustrating for someone who thinks they've hit the right trail, only to find a dead link, or abandoned post.

Timeline:

I am really hoping to go as Han Solo for the Calgary Comic Expo at the end of April. So, my timeline for this project is quite quick. I would like to have the pattern done in no more than a month and a half.

Version 1.0:

Ok, so after that super long intro, here is where I am at. Most of the layers are hidden to avoid confusion, but what I am concentrating on right now is getting the "Y" piece and the holster accurate. I have added in a 1:1 scale ESP DL-44 for reference.

The main problems I'm having are that I can't seem to figure out the proper shape for the holster, and the "Y" piece. Having started with a 2" belt, I have built everything around that idea. This is the best measurement I can guess based on the many photos.




So, what do you guys think?

looks good! excited about this!

Egon said:

looks good! excited about this!

Click to expand...

Thanks. I was working on it today, and something feels wrong. The distance between the top curve and the bottom of the gun feels way too long. I think my "Y" piece may be completely wrong.

Buckles:

These have been a bit of a pain. The reason is that I'm not entirely convinced that the way things have been done up to this point, is totally correct. Let me explain.

If you look at any ESB holster you will notice that almost all people tend to mount the belt horizontal to the front buckle (opposed to angled like the ANH version). However, after carefully looking thought all of Empire, and taking screen grabs, it appears that the belt sits at an angle as well. However, this doesn't happen in every scene and sometimes it appears to be straight.

This says to me that the belts are able to pivot under the buckle. The question then is, are they, and if so...how?

My girlfriend an I spent a good hour or so going through various screen grabs, and she has a good point. If the belt is able to pivot, perhaps it is built in a way that allows for all three belts (hip and "Y") to move. This also makes me wonder about the ANH version as well, and whether it was built with fixed angles, or allowed to pivot as well.

I have been working, and reworking the patterns in an attempt to come up with something that is screen accurate as far as possible, but also practical for wearing all day. I have borrowed some ideas from around the web, and altered them in a way that I think works better. Lets take a look.



So what I have done is.

On the left are the raw patterns. As I work though these and make sure the measurements are correct, I am pulling them over to the right, and "building" them. This is allowing me to check proportions and sizes against everything else to assure they are as close as possible to the reference photos I have. If you look at the right, you'll see I have been taking some creative liberties as there is really no way I can know exactly what things look like under the buckles.

I do know that on the screen used one, they just welded bars to the inside on the back buckle and looped the leather around. I will add this as an option, but I personally think the more "modern" attachment method allows for more comfort (see top right)

The questions I am trying to answer are:

1. Did the ESB front buckle allow the belts to pivot
2. If so, how was it designed?
3. Is there a more practical way of designing the buckle attachments, while staying as visually accurate as possible?

Screen Cap from ESB, as evidence for a "v" front.



What I have done is attach the "Y" belt, and the right hip belt via a middle "pin". Then, I have attached another pivoting part with a loop for the left hip belt to attach. This keeps the original look from the outside, but still allows the belts to move, to allow for that "v" shape in the front. It also creates a nice flat part on the back of the buckle, to avoid rips, pinches, or any other annoyances.

Thoughts?

Interesting. I am pretty new to solo, but it seems that most people mount them straight because of the reversed buckles vs ANH. I am not sure, but I think the weight of the blaster pulls the belt down a bit to make the "v" shape when the belt is up on your hip.

The templates are coming along really well though. I'm really excited to see them!

Hey Egon,

First, I wanted to say thanks for participating in this thread. Strangely, I'm not getting a lot of interest it seems, which makes this a lot harder, but it is encouraging and nice to know someone out there is getting something out of this.

I was reading a lot of threads on this, and other forums about the weight pulling on the belt. While I am sure this contributes to the "V" to some degree, when I look at the photo of Han above, something really says to me that the angle of the clasp couldn't be achieved if it were just straight.

In my brain, the explanation is one of the following:

1. There is a pivoting clasp allowing the belt to move
2. The clasps were welded at an angle
3. The belt is being pulled down, which is causing the clasp to not sit flush. This is a bit hard to explain.

I have seen about four methods online for creating this. I'm not sure which one is closest. I'll have to think on it.

Just a quick update.

I have been working on the pouches. I think I have got them mostly correct. I decided to do a paper mockup of one of them to test how it might feel for size, shape, and construction. I think it worked out well, but I am concerned that the corners on the front flap aren't exactly the right shape.

I'm also not sure what effect the thickness of the leather will have on some of the pattern pieces. For example, I'm not sure you could actually put this together in the same way as the paper version due to the thickness of the leather getting in the way. I will have to test it and see. It would be a fairly minor adjustment, as I would just have to add in the thickness on the pattern.

What do you guys think?

So I am coming around. Looking at this picture, I think you might be right. http://www.masterskywalker.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/bespincorridor.jpg

Perhaps the buckle had a pivot point that the straps connected to, rather than a fixed position. That would allow for better movement

Hi ... have you seen the belt buckles, which just been sold in the Junkyard?

Check out those pictures of the back of the ANH buckles :

http://www.therpf.com/f13/f-s-han-solo-anh-belt-hardware-232334/

The same V-pattern could be applied for the ESB front buckle configuration

Chaim

Sym-Cha said:

Hi ... have you seen the belt buckles, which just been sold in the Junkyard?

Check out those pictures of the back of the ANH buckles :

http://www.therpf.com/f13/f-s-han-solo-anh-belt-hardware-232334/

The same V-pattern could be applied for the ESB front buckle configuration

Chaim

Click to expand...

I didn't see those specific ones, but I have seen a similar design through an online vendor.

It does solve the issue of the "V" but I have a few concerns with that design. Now, I'm not saying that this wasn't the way it was done on the original, but to me, this fixed position system doesn't seem to allow for the range of movement I think I might be seeing in the movies as Han walks around.

It is a viable option though, and I can see this simple solution being used by a costume designer.

Are there any new useful pictures in the new book about STAR WARS Costumes that so many members received for Christmas? If so perhaps they can shed some lights on the design pattern?

Chaim

Sym-Cha said:

Are there any new useful pictures in the new book about STAR WARS Costumes that so many members received for Christmas? If so perhaps they can shed some lights on the design pattern?

Chaim

Click to expand...

I was thinking of picking it up simply because it looks awesome. On the review page of Amazon, there was someone who did a video flip through, and it happen to land on this page.

Crazylegsmurphy said:

I was thinking of picking it up simply because it looks awesome. On the review page of Amazon, there was someone who did a video flip through, and it happen to land on this page.

View attachment 428234

Click to expand...

The book is really beautiful. If you can swing the cash, definitely pick it up.

I won't post photos of the that page, because they aren't mine to post - but - looking at the photos, it appears that perhaps both buckles have the angled "v" to them as they are both the "same" design. Front and back, they both look to have an angle to them.

Thanks for taking a look, Egon.

I'm going to upload a photo with the three design options shortly. I will most likely leave all three in the pattern, but I'll weigh in on what I think was actually done in my next post.

Ok, update time.

....

Pouches

It took me a bit to get these correct, due to the fact that most of it was guess work. That is, until I found a great high quality scan of the "Greeblie" which allowed me to then go back and adjust all the pouches to the correct size. I think that I pretty much have them as accurate as they can be, even down to the stitching.

That said, there are a few things that I think could use confirmation. Lets take a look.



The only thing that I would like to get confirmed is what the round "Greeblie" is, and what it's radius is. That would allow me to put it into the plans so that we could find a pipe or round object of equal size to form the pouch around.

The only other thing that I need to confirm is the affect the leather thickness has on these patterns. For example, on the left I did another version of the pouch because as you can see in my paper version, I'm not sure it would actually work if the thickness of the leather was in the way.

Of course....I invite you guys to tear it apart. If you think something is wrong, let me know.

Buckles

Ok, this is probably the most difficult part of this project.

After staring at photo after photo, I have determined that the most screen accurate version is simply two bars welded horizontally and a grooved "Y" piece. The reason is that I just don't see a prop/costume designer spending more time than needed. In the one image I have, the back buckle shows these bars, and so I have to conclude it must have been done the same way.

I have also concluded that the left and right "hooks" are not the same in shape, or size. There are too many images where the left hook is angled, and the right is straight.

...

Patterns



Here are the raw patterns.

I have basically added in three/four options. As I said, I think the screen accurate version is the two vertical bars, with the grooved "Y" connector. One thing to note, most people seem to agree that the buckle for the front is 2 inches (same as the belt). I'm not convinced at all. After building these, the buckle looked too small. It also looked larger than the belts on almost every single photo I looked at.

I eventually concluded it is basically the same height as the back buckle. Once I adjusted the size, it felt way more accurate, but please let me know your thoughts.

Front



The image on the far left is what I think is most accurate.

The middle allows for all three connections to pivot around the centre. Other than the issue that this might cause the buckle to spin, I really like this solution for comfort. The right version uses a combination of fixed and the loops. I have seen this in a few versions online and I have to say I don't like it for the reason that it doesn't allow the "Y" connector to sit in front of the belts.

Back



Again, I think the left is the most accurate. The middle is the more common, and probably more comfortable solution.

The right image is a fixed angle for the ANH version. This again has the issue that the belt and "Y" connection are in the wrong places, which I personally don't like.

Thoughts

I have basically taken a few known solutions I've been able to find on the net (and just cleaned up the patterns, and made sure they were accurate for size/shape). The one solution I didn't do was the one where two tabs are bent up. This is basically an updated version of the two vertical bars. I'm not sure what I think about that version yet. I may add it though.

I personally think I'm getting close, but I have also be looking at this thing for hours. I look forward to a fresh set of eyes.

One last thing. It turns out that the Museum in Seattle is currently setting up for the Star Wars costume exhibit. I sent off an email today to them asking very, very politely if they could either take a photo of the back of the buckle, or at least let me know which of the designs above most closely represent how it is built. If I hear anything back, I'll be sure to post it.

And with that, I open it to you guys to pick these apart.

Your attachments are not working ... please adjust

Chaim

Sym-Cha said:

Your attachments are not working ... please adjust

Chaim

Click to expand...

Sorry about that. This forums logout time is a tad too short.

What do you mean by that? I'm logged in permanently ... even when I sleep and my mac is in snooze mode Pictures seem to work fine now Great patterns! All to easy now for those following in your footsteps :wacko

Chaim

Looking good! Really exciting to watch this develop!