New ROTJ Honor Sash Version 1.0

The Honor Sash is made from a English style Mohair horse Girth. It is another one of those found parts that were used for the original costume. Nylon black webbing was added to the buckle at one end allowing it to be belted around the waist. It was originally designed to go on the underside of a horse and attach to each side of a saddle. So the girth has the buckles and the saddle has the straps.

I bought the white 36" girth and dyed it with scarlet and wine Rit dyes. First I did just the wine. Which made it more of a purple/pink color. Just horrible. Then I got the scarlet and had it in the dye bath for 90 minutes to get the color it's now. The ties that held the girth together had to go as they where more a peach color and not on the original costume. So I removed them. However this caused another problem. Now I had two halves of the girth. So I grabbed some extra gray fabric, laid it behind the girth and stitched the two halves together. Worked great, now it's finished.

New ESB & ROTJ Rocket Pack Connector

Here is a found item that is seen on the backside of the Rocket pack. By backside, I do not mean the side you see when looking at my back, but the inside of the rocket pack that faces my back that no one sees. That's right, I got a detail that literally no one will know about or see, but it's there on the original pack so it will be on mine. It is a female 5-pin XLR Connector. On a strip of masking tape under it written in sharpie "+4- feeds & switch returns for wrist units". It was most likely used to supply power to the LED's and switches on the gauntlets.

New ROTJ Hip Utility Pouches Version 2.0

Well I guess I am never happy. I went back and revisited the Hip pouches for both ESB and ROTJ. I bought a cotton twill fabric this time, and edited by pattern a smiggin. Just enough for that slight difference. I then dyed it a dark Coca Brown. Totally the wrong color. I used three packets of color removal to get this color of a lighter tan. I think I like these pouches enough for them to be the final version.

On a related note of 'revisiting', I again have removed the sleeves from the vests. I am just not happy how they look and plan to redo them yet again.

New ROTJ Rocket Dart Launcher Version 1.0

"What?" you ask, "even the Dart launchers are different between the two costumes?" They most certainly are. To the naked eye they are identical, but looking closer they do look just a little different, don't they?

I had these made the same way I made the ESB launchers. I traced a photo scaled to 1:1 and made blueprints of them. I sent them off to Russel Brown and he machined them for me.

New ESB Rocket Dart Launchers Version 3.0

Well obviously my first set were resin that came with my M. Bradly Knee Armor. The were O.K. for what they were, but they were resin, and home made. I later upgraded to a new set, machined from Aluminum, made by Russel Brown. I bought them off eBay, but when they arrived, I could not help but notice how tiny they were. Nice, but small. So not quite what I was looking for. I then took it upon myself to design the Dart Launchers they way I wanted them to be.

I imported the reference photos of the real costume into MicroStaion, and was able to trace over the photo and scale it to what I believe to be a 1:1. I then made workable blueprints and sent the plans off to Russel Brown to make me a pair of dart launchers that I was hopping for. So he did. May I introduce to you, Dart Launchers 3.0

New ESB & ROTJ Shin Tools Version 2.0

The first set that I bought came from the same source where I bought all my armor. This time around I am making them from the original found parts, a paterson print squeegee, and a Paterson stirring rod. The squeegee was used to make two of the three identified shin tools. I will have to cut each of them to make them a little shorter and mold them in RTV silicone to make resin castings.

New ESB & ROTJ Rocketpack Harness Buckle

This buckle comes from a U.S Divers Aqua Lung KAM EZ suba pack. The straps and pack pak that holds the air tank were discarded as the buckle was the only thing used in the original costume. It is a detail that is not supposed to be seen, but can be in some production shots sticking out from under the vest. It was used for both versions of the costume. I will need to pick up a second one.

New ROTJ EE-3 Blaster Stock Plate

This details goes on both sides of the ROTJ stock. It come from a 1970 Revell V8 Visible Engine model.
Other parts from this same model were used for the ESB blaster as well.

Another identified model part that is on the ROTJ blaster is from a Revell F-4E Phantom II jet plane. I do have this kit, but I am going to have to get another, 'cause the part I need has already been glued to the model and I cannot separate it.

New ESB Concusion Grenade Launcher Holster

Here is another found item that I happened to come across scouting many online auctions. This holster is for a Nemrod spear gun. It is a strong plastic that came with a knife and spear gun. I didn't need the spear gun or the knife, so I resold them to help cover the original costs. This holster sits on Fett's right side and can barely be seen in ESB. He does not have a side arm in ROTJ. The blaster that goes inside this holster has not yet been identified. I will need to cut the end of it off so the blaster will stick out, and will need a new safety strap to help keep the blaster from falling out.

ESB Chest Lights Version 2.0

The first set of chest lights I bought from Richie's Armor. They were a fun set of LEDs, but they were not as screen accurate as I would like. The current set of chest lights I have was actually made by my Father-in-law. He designed the circuit, had the board professionally made, and soldered up all the components. He made around 10 of them, that I helped him sell. Currently I am in the works of creating a new display for the chest lights that I hope to get made in the future. It will have different LED lights, and have a 8 digit sequence.

New ESB & ROTJ Left Gauntlet Key Pad

What is a greebly? I would have hoped you would remember from earlier posts what it is. It simply is a term George Lucas coined as detail on a prop or costume that has no specific name. It's like calling it a what-cha-ma-call-it. This particular greeblie is a MQ1 Casio Calculator that was used on both the ESB and ROTJ costumes. Two parts from this calculator have been positively identified as being used on the original costume. The first part is the calculator button pad that is the detail on the left gauntlet.

The second is the circuit board of the calculator, which is seen in the key hole vents in the back of the helmet. This calculator is very rare and very collectible to Fett fans, as well as Casio collectors.

Loses and Gains

Over much thought and consideration, I decided to limit myself on my Fett stuff. I weighed what I spent, what I had, what my priorities are, and what I should do. I came to the conclusion that getting out from under our credit card debt was priority number one. That said, I sold my Aluminum helmet, armor, my bronze Webley & Scott Mk I Flare gun casting, the aluminum knee dart launchers, an extra set of utility pouches, an extra pair of boot spats, both jumpsuits, my Zam Wesell fabric, KYD-21 blaster kit, and finally my R2-D2 dome. All and all raising enough money to go towards our dept. Sad, but good.

New ROTJ Gloves Version 1.0

My second pair finally arrived and I am equally impressed with how they turned out. This is Galactic Bounty Hunter's ROTJ gloves. They fit me better than my ESB pair. They also have a Velvro closure and a small button right at the base of the wrist just like the original costume. Notice that in this version, the shade of the glove is much lighter. A very noticeable difference between the two costumes.

Halloween 2007

At this time Halloween is coming up pretty quick, so Boba Fett is going to take a backseat till after the 'Holiday'.

I am going to be spending the this month and next working on Mary's and My costumes and holiday decor.

What are we going to be this year you ask? I am going to be the Shoveler, and Mary is going to be the Bowler from Mystery-Men

New ESB Gloves Version 4.0

Well I must be too picky or something. I ended up selling my Version 3.0 gloves and bought these instead from Galactic Bounty Hunter. I am much more impressed with the color, stitching and the size of the padding. But most of all, what sold me on these gloves, was its closure around the wrist. On the original costume, there is a Velvro closure and a small button right at the base of the wrist and these gloves do the same (while my V2.0 did not). I am going to get a second pair shortly.

New ESB Storage Pouches Version 2.0

I made these myself. Similar to the ROTJ pouches, I traced original photographs at full scale and used AutoCad to draft up a pattern. I made the left pouch identical to the ROTJ pouches, while the right one is more squared in shape. The flaps on these both go the same direction. I am slightly disappointed with the shine of the flap, but I hope it will go away with some weathering. I had to dye these to match as closely to my jumpsuit as I could. Not as easy when the material takes the dye differently. I made a second pair of pouches that I will end up selling.

New ROTJ Padded Vest Version 1.0

Yes it is actually different from my other Vest. They look almost identical, 'cause they were both made from the same pattern. However, This vest is slightly larger in size, and the Velcro goes from top to bottom along the back, where the ESB does stop four inches from the bottom.

I had a dickens of a time with the sleeves. I have had to remove them two or three times to get the right angle, look and make sure it was centered right. The neck is a little snug, but it does not choke me.

For Fun at Celebration IV in LA

Mary-Frances, Jeremy Bulloch, and I at Celebration IV, right after I got his autograph. For those whom do not know who Jeremy Bulloch is, he is the body actor whom played Boba Fett in several scenes in ESB and ROTJ. Jason Wingreen was the Voice in ESB and John Morton was a stand in for Bulloch when he could not be on set, and another guy did the stunts though they were all uncredited for their role.

This is THE ROTJ costume, with preproduction knee armor, and the ESB helmet.

New ROTJ Boot Spats Version 2.0

The Boot spats are another blunder from my first costume. As a reminder, my first costume was based off the ESB version, and in the ESB version Boba Fett does not have spats. This is a ROTJ specific item only.

To make the spats for Version 1.0, I used a seam ripper and took off the collar of the jumpsuits and stitched some Velcro to them and bam! They were boot spats.

For Version 2.0, I did like I did for the utility pouches. I found an old preproduction photograph of the costume laid out on the floor. I traced over the photo with AutoCAD, printed a pattern, cut it out of Tackle Twill, stitched it, and bam! Boot kickin' spats!

New ESB Vest Version 2.0

My first Vest was made by my sister, Rebecca, from a darker gray cord-like-material. It had the same texture as the original but wasn't the correct fabric. I had the most trouble trying to twist this way and that to get it on or off. So I had to retire the vest.

Now for Vest 2.0! It is made from Tackle Twill which is the exact same material used in the original costume. It is around $9 a yard and is seasonal. I was able to obtain 5 yards of it to create my vests. I found an old shirt of mine that was big enough to wear over the jumpsuit. I then cut it up to make it into a pattern for the vest. I used the pattern to cut out the fabric and sewed it together with some batting in it. It has a Velcro Closure in back which is to much easier to get on and off plus it is just like the original costume. I am very impressed with how it came out and hope the second vest comes out just as nice.