2017 Rogue One Moroff build

Ever since I saw the first images of Moroff from Rogue One I was fascinated by him. Even more so because I am a 5'4" woman. There was a special appeal in building a costume that would so fool the onlooker. . I have finally decided to push him toward the top of my to-do list!

As more and more images emerged I began to put together a reference guide. I started doing research into various costumes that might give some good insight and started sourcing things I needed in tools, materials, supplies, tutorials, etc.

I can't add images from my phone, but I will soon! This will be the first time I document a build on RFP.

A little about me:

I've been costuming for 17 years. Started with LARPing and then moved to the SCA and 16th cent. costume and became a Laurel. I've had experience with wigmaking and all things soft good and textile. I started doing Star Wars costuming and joined the 501st 2 years ago and have 4 approved costumes. I loved the challenge and wanted to up the anty. I'm especially excited that I get to do something new and forge my own path.

A side note:

I love feedback and if you honestly feel a path I'm taking could be done more efficiently feel free to let me know (you might even change my mind), but I ask that you read my reasoning for doing something before simply interjecting an opinion. We all have different experiences and skills. I will be leaning heavily on mine for this and asking questions and researching when I don't know. Allow me the chance for that exploration. . I love it!

I'm still pretty early in my research phase and I'm currently building BB-8 and need to finish before the premier so this will be slow going, but I'll share whenever I have something new.

Where I'm at:

Head and feet

I figured I would tackle the two critical parts first.

As I mentioned before I'm 5'4" (although my doctor claims I'm shrinking now). Lifts are going to be a critical element to this costume. I did a lot of research and asked questions of wookie builders to find out what is used and I also looked up old threads in this forum and read them. Lots of good info.

I landed on using these:
http://www.steppinupinc.com/

"But wait!" I hear you say. "There are better drywall stilts with better support that most wookie builders use." The answer is I know. I read about those too. In the end I wanted more of a lift than a stilt, the lift acting more like a good platform shoe. I also preferred the cost....a lot. And to be honest just looking at the other type scared the crap out of me. 2 things I won't do: swim in the ocean and walk on those stilts.

They are going to take some work to make them safer and to put them at the size I need, but can do that and still come in under the cost of the more spendy drywall stilts.
I'm also clutzy and aging and don't need a hip break just yet. I'm more comfortable with the larger surface area at the bottom of the bucket lift option.

So here is what I'm going to do to them:
- Add mdf pieces inside to reinforce the hollow bottom and to help extend the life of the lift so the plastic doesn't just split from all the weight on it (still may happen eventually, but hopefully not for a long time).
-add supports to the sides so I can strap around the lower leg and not just at the foot
- cut down from 14" to between 8-10" (I'm still debating how tall to make the final costume, but I know for sure I don't want to end up looking distorted with t-Rex arms.)
- add some kind of rubber to the bottom surface for better traction

I'll be doing this part first.

Second the head.

From images I've seen of the movie costume the eyes sit above the actors head. I'm still figuring out sightline, but have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to do it.

I'm planning to build the head on a hard hat so I can keep it stable on my own head and to add some more height to the costume.

Still debating the materials to use to cast the face and whether or not to punch or glue hair so I'll do some experimenting to see what visual I prefer and share the results. I'm also still considering what to cast with, but had a great chat with Smooth-On reps this weekend and have a plan of attack for trying a couple of options.

I'm so excited to get to work on this! Won't get too involved until after Celebration, but I'll try to keep it interesting (and will add some pictures soon!)

Christina

Weight is obviously going to be an issue. Would it be an idea to cut the head shape from cell foam?

Friendly flyer said:

Weight is obviously going to be an issue. Would it be an idea to cut the head shape from cell foam?

Click to expand...

Weight is a concern, but there has to be detail in the face and especially around the eyes. The actual costume had animatronics. Mine won't, but I love the detail and deep dark eyes of the character so I'm casting but will probably use a type of foam to lighten the weight. I will be testing materials in the coming months. How they take the hair will also be important. I'm going to sample some materials for punching hair around the eyes and for gluing down with silicone.

This is something I've gone around and around about in my head and the Smooth-on folks helped quite a bit. It was suggested I stear away from things like their Dragonskin if I could help it as that would be heavier and showed me a great line of expandable "squishy" foams to try. We did discuss the possibility of doing most of it in foam and then adding a silicone "mask" just around the eyes, but I think modeling and molding would be more tricky than just doing one part, so I'm trying that first.

This is an interesting project. Good luck. Reading the two layer foam/silicone option makes me think of having a lifecast of an actor and then building a silicone prostheses on top. In term of modeling, the base surface would not need to be very detailed and thus perhaps not very time consuming - just consistent as a base to sculpt upon.(And foam alone might not be supportive enough requiring a rough cast or other stand-in and to provide the back side of your ultimate two-part prostheses mold.). Then the real detail effort would be limited to just the mask portion. This could allow the mask portion to be more easily changed if necessary with new knowledge without a major re-work of the whole head.

Having 2 parts was my initial thought too. I was convinced to try it another way, but it's still on the list. . The smooth on rep seemed pretty convinced I could do it without the mask so I'll try it both ways. Without the mask I only have to mold once.

After doing some more research I found that the actor that plays Moroff (Ian Whyte) is 7'1. Don't know if they gave him lifts or not, but for now I'll assume not.

This isn't a deterrent, but I will not being shooting for that height for a couple of reasons:

1- proportionally it would make me look a bit silly if I stretched my legs out that much
2- no one is going to follow me around with a measuring tape

I'm going to shoot for a finished height of 6'8. It will still make my arms look a little short, but Moroff has an exaggerated longer torso so I'm hoping it will be okay.

I would like to offer a bit of advice. So you know where I'm coming from I've built a Wookie costume and I've tried both buckets and drywall stilts (I eventually decided on stilts for the costume).

If you've never walked in either you NEED to go and try one or both before you get too far into this. I can't emphasize this enough. Both are ...uhhmmm... uncomfortable to terrifying the first time you climb on them. You really need to find out for yourself if you can spend an extended amount of time in them without freaking out. It's better to find out now before you've sunk +1000 hours worth of work into fur.

Most home improvement stores rent stilts. I highly recommend renting a pair for a weekend and trying them out several times. After trying them 3 or 4 times you'll either be comfortable(ish) (this gets exponentially better over time) or you'll know they're not for you.

If you can afford them, just buy the buckets to try them out. If not try and find a wookie that will let you demo them.


Pro's/Con's of buckets:

+Great stability when you are standing still
+Cheap
=ok for limited movement for short periods of time.
-Cumbersome for longer walks as you can't take proper heel/toe steps
-They do not handle stairs, uneven ground or slopped floors well.
-They put ALOT of stress on your ankles.

Pro's/Con's of stilts

+Great mobility especially once you are practiced
+Depending on the model you can do stairs
+comfortable for long periods of time
=expensive new/cheap second hand (but not as cheap as buckets)
-heavier
-Don't do well on uneven ground or slopped floors (but do better than the buckets)
-a much steeper learning curve

Which ever direction you decide is right for you, keep your stilts/buckets as light as possible. It's pretty easy to get the weight up to +15lbs per foot. This kind of weight is becomes a real burden.

With regards to the mask, do everything you can to keep your vision free and clear.

Good luck! This sounds like a fun project.

Thanks for the breakdown. . I should have been more clear. I'm not afraid of the height. . I was afraid of the stilts themselves.

Cost is still a big factor, and so is the height. I'm only looking to add 10-12". Is there an option I can adjust down?

Thanks!

sitpadeshu said:

Thanks for the breakdown. . I should have been more clear. I'm not afraid of the height. . I was afraid of the stilts themselves.

Cost is still a big factor, and so is the height. I'm only looking to add 10-12". Is there an option I can adjust down?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You aren't doing much of a lift. That will definitely help with mobility/weight but it does put you in an odd spot for finding something off the shelf. I don't think there is much of a market for 10" stilts.

Both buckets and stilts can be made to work, but the stilts would be way more challenging to shorten.

If cost is a factory, have you considered building your own? I've seen several Wookie builds done out of wood/pvc/metal. A 2x4 prototype would be cheap and easy.

Another thought; why do stilts at all? The torso is long enough you could walk on the ground and gain the height by extending the torso above you. You could look thru something on the chest box or get sight via a camera. (Edit - this would put your shoulders in the wrong spot, so that won't work. )

Ducati748 said:

Both buckets and stilts can be made to work, but the stilts would be way more challenging to shorten.

If cost is a factory, have you considered building your own? I've seen several Wookie builds done out of wood/pvc/metal. A 2x4 prototype would be cheap and easy.

Click to expand...

That's good food for thought. One of our local Wookies made his own because he was too heavy for commercial ones. I'll look into that option too and do some more research there. . Exciting! Thanks!

Have you decided how you are going to do the fur? as a Wookiee builder we(my wife and I) were thinking of maybe doing a Moroff and thought we would probably be doing it the same way we did our wook, Kanekalon hair latch-hooked to a mesh suit..

Any updates on this build? I hope you made some progress..