Jedi Food/Energy Pellets

Hey did anyone else notice the Food/Energy Pellets on Obi-Wan's belt on the cover of a previous month's Star Wars Insider. If I saw it right, they were Silver, Gold, Bronze, and Gunmetal. Interesting. I wonder what the different colors mean. Also, has anyone noticed the similarity between Jedi Utility Belt items and Batman's Utility belt items?

Jedi Ubo

 

Yeah, Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy has info on the exact number and color of all of Obi-Wan's food pellets for Episode I, don't know if they have changed for Episode II.
Batman doesn't a have a lightsabre or kewl Jedi pouches.

For those who don't know, Jedi food pellets are made from the caps of Staedler Liquid Point Roller Pens with some 7/16" diameter plastic hemispheres available from Plastruct. Some people have also capped the ends with buttons.

 

Silver: Milk
Gold: Veggies
Bronze: Bread
Gunmetal: Toilet Paper (Jedi have to go, too, you know)

 

Phew! Gone through 24 pages of the threads and finally found this Thread for the sake of too-lazy-to-create-new-thread!

Okay back to business.


Just want to hear all your recommandations on the types of Pen Caps and bottoms (buttons or plastic hemispheres) we can use for the Jedi Food/Energy Capsules, especially for those who DON'T live in USA.

I can't find STAEDTLER Liquid Point 415 or 5/7 in Singapore so far so I'm using Staedtler Gel Roller Point 0.4 which cost SGD1.44 (~US$0.75) each here. The difference is that this cap is transparent but anything else is the same. Bottom using Buttons I gotten for SGD0.30 each.

I also see that for fancier and Longer Food Capsules, Uni-Ball Signo Broad can also be used but its clip is Plastic. So is Pilot V Ball Extra Fine.

So what's your recommandation?

 

Where is the best place to get these pens? (here in the states) I've looked at Office Depot and Office Max and I havent been able to find them.

 

Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, Target, any place like that that sells writing materials. If you can't find those exact style pens, look for something that has a cap like some of the fancier gel roller pens. The Parts of Star Wars (partsofsw.com) has a section on the Prequel movies, which includes pictures of the exact pen you should be looking for: http://www.partsofsw.com/Ep_1/index.htm.

 

I'm in the same boat you are, DarthBkane, and I kinda' would like to get them for my Anakin costume. I noticed you can order them from their website, but none of the major office places have them. Oh well, one can always improvise in the absence of the real deal, or I could just not use them at all, either way it doesn't matter all that much.

 

Get someone trusted to get those pens for you if you really desperate for it. As what StormtrooperPrincess said, improvise with other pen caps of similar design & size if you don't mind it but try to avoid hard plastic clip as they tend to break off easily. Even for me who had found the STAEDTLER Liquid Point 415 in Singapore, I can only get it from this particular Bookstore Chain (Popular) at selected branches (currently 2 out of >20++), not all of them. I understand some people had used other types of Pen caps to make those capsules.

 

UPDATE: I was able to order the pens at a local art supply store in my area and they should arrive in late July to early August. They list for $2.29 retail and I bought twelve of them. I will also purchase the caps, but I will wait on those for a bit.

The pens are fast dissappearing in the US! If you want them don't wait and order them while you can. They may stick around for a while, but there are no guarantees of that. I thought about it and figured if I am making a costume and am putting a lot of work and money into authenticity to just go ahead and not give in on the pellets and get something direct from the film.

It's like the covertec, get it it while you can or you may pay dearly for it later. Is your costume worth it? To me, it is, so pay a little more and do it the way you know is best.


P.S> I am not some salesman for Staedtler, just picky about my costumes.. I guess I've seen too many ugly ones to know how nice it is to see a good one.

 

Okay, correction on my part: Staedtler Gel Roller Point 0.4 top is less tilt than Staedtler Liquid Point 415 (See OB1 Jedi Academy) and its cap longer. Think 415 (yellow cover and Liquid Point)is the newer version while 413 (red cover and Liquid Ball) is the old type and being phased out (only found 4 old pcs at one of the 2 branches out of >20++)


Ouch, Jar Jar! It's that ex? Both my Liquid Point and Ball cost SGD1.85 (US$1+/-) while the Parts of StarWars quote it as US$8/pack of 6 (US$1.34 each).

As for the Covertec, thanks to someone, I'm not paying more than US$7-8 per piece. Can't believe some of them are going for US$20+ each when someone else was offering it at much lower fixed price and cheaper shipping.

 

Concerning the painting for the caps (with the button glued to the end with UHU Glue), after I put the 1-2 layers of Primer and allow it to dry for an hour or more, I seems to almost sand off the layer when I sand it with 220 Sandpaper. Is that what it suppose to be like? Or is it I didn't sand the plastic surface properly before?

For info, I used Krylon Sandable Primer-White for all the priming, Nippon Paint for dull silver coloring, and gonna get Krylon 18K Gold & Chrome and Krylon Finisher for the other pellets.

And which Krylon finisher does everyone recommanded: Matte or Satin and which type. And can I replace the Finisher with Laquer instead?

I just need to get my painting technics polished up before I move on to painting my IRG helmet.

 

I found teh caps I am gonna use, 2 for a buck at a dollar store, yay me!

 

Question,
What's AHA glue and where can i get it?
If I can't find it, will hot glue work to affix the hemispheres to the cap end?

Mynn

 

I just used 5-minute epoxy. It's clear and comes in two seperate tubes which u mix togethor. Once mixed the epoxy will cure.

JB Weld is probably the granddaddy of all adhesives, but its grey, thick, and harder to work with on something small. If you make a mistake it can take allot of work to get your items seperated again without damaging or destroying part of them in the process.

 

Jedi TOren,
Thanks. I'd just ordered a bunch of the hemispheres, is anyone needing a few of them? I'll have extras just incase anyone here's been searching for 'em and can't snag any. PM me if you want a few of the 7/16" hemipshere thingies for those insanly hard to find Steatlder pens. You guys have given me a LOT of help, advice and tips to make a good costume. Thanks again
Jedi Toren, can the 5 minute epoxy be found ina Home Depote or lowes? Any particular brand or will any 5 minute one will do?

Thanks agian
Padawan Mynn

 

I think you can find it there. Basically there are two cylinders in the dispenser and they are both joined togethor. The whole thing is clear.

I don't think it really matters which 5-minute epoxy you use, but I'm not an expert on epoxies. If it doesn't work then try something else.

 

Alright. Thanks. I'll be in that vacinity tomorrow. I scope it out.
Where;sa chat room so all of us can talk in realtime? Like to meet you guys an girls.

Mynn

 

My IM (Instant Messenger) info is listed in my profile.

 

What's AHA glue

Jauhzmynn, are you refering to me using UHU Glue? Well, it's just a cheap "All Purpose Adhesive" from Germany and readily available here, we like to use to glue anything but styrofoam. It's a bit rubbery but quite strong if used on the correct surfaces.


I'll try to get the "5-minute epoxy" at the local Fix-It or DIY shops here. It can be used to glue Aluminium/Metal too, right? We don't have Home Depote or Walmart anyway.

But what about my painting problem? ?

 

Humm.

I wasn't going to sand them at all. Will the paint adhere to them if I don't? have you painted one you've sanded and one you haven't and compared how they both look to a pic of them? Can you post a pic of what you have? I'll be able to tell if I see it. Thye oens on the padawan site look like they've been sanded, but it could be the resolution. <shrugs>

Mynn

 

I did paint part of my IRG Forcepike without first sanding it and some of the paint came off between working on each layer (when I laid them against the ladder for support) and later when rubbed against other surfaces. But I didn't use Finisher at that time (didn't locate Krylon Finisher at that time) so that could be a one of the reasons.

But the best, you at least sand up the raw plastic surface to make sure the Primer (use 220 Grit Sandpaper) and Paint stick completely to the surface. I think the sanding between layers is optional althought best to do it too. Ya, and the Finisher is a must!

As for the metal clip, can I paint it in the same way as I did to the plastic (Sand-Primer-Sand-Primer-Sand-Color-Sand-Color-Finisher)? ?

 

Double post . . .

 

A question that still haven't been answered.

Which finisher will look better for the Food/Energy Pellets: Krylon's Glossy Acrylic or Matte Satin?

And I wonder, can we have the Pellets in other colors cause I'm not sure if the Nippon Paint Metallic Silver I used is like Krylon Silver/Chrome or Gun Metal? So far I got Metallic Silver, Krylon's 18K Gold & Copper.

 

I would say that, unless you are trying to do an exact replica of a specific characters costume, any color you prefer would be OK for the pellets.

 

Hmm, how about Metallic Green for veggies?