Imperial Knights Legacy comic

In the new Dark Horse comic Legacy (set 150 years after ROTJ, if you aren't familiar) the Empire has its own version of the Jedi, called Imperial Knights. They wear what appears to be modified red colored storm trooper breast plates/shoulder armor and gauntlets, over some sort of body suit (not the typical black trooper body suit.) It looks like its some sort of padded brown material (leather? Quilted fabric?) with brown capes attached under the armor. It appears to have texture to it, stripes or strips of material sewn together vertically. Very high neck. Wide brown belts, with large square silver buckle. No helmets or face masks. Sabers, of course.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Imperial_Knights

I never wanted to costume as an Imperial until I saw them.

So, has anyone heard about making one of these costumes? Any ideas about what the body suit is supposed to be made out of? The body suits are troubling me more than the armor, especially since all I have is the artwork in the comics to go by.

 

You know, it's funny you started this thread, 'cuz I was just at the comic book store and the manager said he couldn't wait for someone to make an Imperial Knight costume.

Sorry I wasn't any help, I just wanted to mention that.

 

They are awesome, arent they?

I was very tempted as well, because they are different and they would be great to do as a group. But I decided against it for now. Too many other things I would rather do first. lol Some of my friends are going to do them though

Looks like they will be really popular

 

From what I've seen, the undersuit looks a lot like Vader's.

I'll be very interested in getting the armor when it becomes available. I believe a few folks here and there are experimenting with different ways to make the armor. Time will tell.

 

(hehe I'm one of Starfire's friends who are doing the armour!)

Yup undersuit is like Vader's. I always throught it was black though, but that just could be the pics I have.

There's a group of us here in Queensland (Aust) who are doing this armour. For the hard parts, we're doing the sculpt and cast with fibreglass trick. We shall be starting work on that very soon. I believe I will be doing the soft parts (being the resident seamstress), so I'm looking for lots of references of that.

I agree, I've always loved armour, but I've concentrated on Leia costumes, until I saw the cover picture. I fell in love as soon as I saw it, and asked around to find out who else was interested, and how we could go about making it! We're planning to have a small group of us all in armour at a convention next Oct, which should be a fantastic sight!!

Oh, and we're doing both male and female armour (though I think currently, I'm the only chick interested in doing the armour).

 

I have something exciting to share on this topic. ¿Does this character look familiar?
[image=http://www.paralada.org/Estonia_self/Estonia_htm/others/GannerKrieg02.jpg]
Imperial Knight Ganner Krieg, SW: Legacy VI

I was elated when artist Jan Duursema first let me know that she'd be using my likeness for a character in a new Star Wars story arc. I patiently awaited the day for the zero issue to be released and then made my way to local comic shop. It took my friend Matt, the comic store guy, and I a moment to discern which character Jan meant. When I considered that Jan had only seen me with red hair, I realized the mystery character was the Imperial Knight Ganner Krieg.

Ganner's character has been in the background in the series until this issue, number VI. I feel the above image is a readily identifiable likeness and I called Jan share my joy. Appearently, the character will be around for a while, as Jan has asked for more portrait shots.

It is so very exciting to be part of something you love.


Be well,
Thomas

 

Thomas - you know this mean's you'll HAVE to have a Knight costume when they become available!

 

[color=06699]I know I have to do this costume, but I don't think I'd feel right to wear someone else's work.

So of course I am making my own;[/color]
[image=http://www.paralada.org/Estonia_self/Estonia_htm/SWgeekhtm/IK_Ganner_Krieg/ikgk01_127.jpg]

 

Hey, looks like you're off to a great start. I'm interested in fabricating armor based on this design too. Do you interpret the bevel of the shoulder openings to be round or square (as in your photo)?

 

Question: has the comic shown the helmet to this costume thus far?

 

That looks excellent Thomas!!

CSMacLaren, I don't think there is a helmet. I've not seen one yet. Of course, I don't have the comics, so I'm not the most reliable source I honestly think they looks fine without helmets. They're basically the Imperial version of a jedi, so I don't think they'd really need them.

 

Yeah, they don't wear helmets.

 

Thanks guys. Is it possible that they simply haven't been drawn wearing helmets yet?

You see, the armor is very reminescent of the Red Guard, and in "Crimson Empire" you see Kir Kanos wearing something very similar. Of course, the Red Guard had their helmets. But usually when one wears armor to protect themselves (vital organs, that kind of thing) it stands to reason to also wear a helmet.

After all, these guys are imperials, right? They seem to have a fixation on helmets! Also, since the Red Guard are an evolution of the original Blue Guard in the prequels, it might be interesting to extrapolate from the evolution. I have a theoretical design in mind.

I've not built a costume from the ground up, ever. But after reading various "how to" articles on making Stormtrooper and Fett armor, it seems that the same principles apply.

 

Yeah, just like Han and Luke haven't been shown with baseball caps yet.

The Imperial Knights serve the Emperor and the Empire, but they are, first and foremost, JEDI. The rest of the Jedi order feel they walk a fine line between the light and dark sides of the Force, but they are still fully trained JEDI. Emperor Fel in Legacy is not the evil dictator Palpatine is in episodes IV-VI. He is, in fact, a Jedi.

Point is, in Legacy (so far), the Imperials are the good guys, and the Sith are the bad guys.

 

Thanks for the explanation, but do you really think that reading the comic and knowing who's a Jedi and who's not diminishes one's ability to make a costume? Consider also that the comic art is different from the cover art's rendition of the same armor. The differences are subtle but the cover art's rendition is far more elegant. At any rate there is enough visual information for any costumer to confidently proceed in an attempt to make this a reality.

 

I dunno, I tend to agree with VillieGee, if you're going to attempt a costume, you should at least know a little bit about the character you're portraying. Even if it's just the basic history (like knowing that they're not imperial guards, but Imperial Knights - they're jedi knights, but imperial). You are inevitably going to be asked who you are dressed as, so it is good to be able to give accurate information. "I dunno, I just thought the armour looked cool" is not exactly going to cut it. At least look up the wookiepedia entry on them.

 

What she said.

 

It's certainly possible that for ceremonial occasions there may be a helmet, formal outift, etc. Similarly, if they were sent into battle, a hemlet might be added (like Obi-wan's armor in the "Clone Wars" series.) But their "duty uniform" doesn't have one.

 

Guys,

I appreciate the desire to know about a character's history and all that, but bear in mind that concept artists often have perhaps only a few lines in a script to go by, and then they do a few takes on something and hopefully the art director will like at least one of them (in this case, it's George Lucas). In some cases, the script isn't fully finished, or the film's director/producer may make edits on shooting day. And, if there is a continuity editor, a backstory for the character may be developed after the editing process (read: after the prop has already been made, and after all the filming has already been done).

The cover art with the three Knights look like the artist might have had some real life people help with some reference posing. There are a lot of good, sharp lines and clear definition. Conversely, I don't like how the shoulder bells are done within the in-comic art, nor do I like the stomach area's padding. The penciler has a different interpretation that is inconsistent with the cover art which to me is more elegant. At any rate, who's to say which came first as in the proverbial chicken or the egg?

That being said, if you're saying that reading the comic will give me greater appreciation for what I might be making (later on down the road) then I completely agree with you. But if it is a pre-requisite to making a two dimensional concept into three dimensions, then I entirely disagree. I probably have just as much information a prop maker might be given in terms of a 2D illustration on a piece of paper.

 

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CSMacLaren, of course you have a right to make the costume just because you find it aesthetically pleasing, and not because you identify with the character. But VillieGee is trying to help you understand something about costuming, not about making it, but about wearing it. When you are trooping, you will inevitably be asked about your character. How would you react if you approached someone who was trooping as Jango Fett, and asked them about their character, only to receive a response of, "Yeah, I guess I'm some sort of bounty hunter. I don't really know, I haven't seen the movie." Same thing goes with the Imperial Knight. Someone asks you who you are. If you've read the comics, you can at least give an accurate response such as, "I'm Antares Draco, leader of the Imperial Knights from the Legacy era comics which take place over a century after the movies end." I would just assume that if you are interested in a costume, you would be interested in that character and want to find out more about them, which you can easily do by picking up a few issues of Legacy.

 

I'm grateful for the kind tone you've expressed here. How would I feel? I would feel nothing because I'm not a costumer, nor a convention-goer, nor a trooper, nor a roleplayer. I'm a prop collector, period. I love their aesthetics and artistry. I can appreciate Boba Fett without knowing the entire history of the Maldorians. Everyone loved Boba without ever knowing about Jango.

isten everyeone, not everyone wants to go the whole route playing dress up and attend conventions wearing costumes. Some of us actually have a massive appreciation for the films and shows and collect memorabilia who do NOT play dress up. Please do not presume that people participating on this forum automatically means that their interests are trooping or roleplaying. This by no means takes away from my respect towards the potent mythology of Star Wars, but honestly: people like Villie should cut a guy some slack if he doesn't want to delive into the ethnographical or anthropological backgrounds of a comic book. Perhaps the newcomer has no interest in playing dress-up but loves the aesthetic qualities. I have friends who love the movies and do not go into the comics or the cartoons (i.e. the "Expanded Universe"). Some I know only collect movie-centric action figures. Figures like Kyle Katarn and Kir Kanos are of no interest to them.

Conversely, one person added Kir Kanos to his collection but never read "Crimson Empire". Why? "It looks so d**m cool. So this is what the armor looked like under those red robes that you never got to see in the movies!"

Now I'm like that person but I'm more interested in props and less in action figures.

 

Not necessary