Sailsim Satir VERSION 01 I always figured that the Peacekeepers (more specifically the Star Rats) would be a popular cosplay choice from Felsic Current (much like the military in FMA) and it was always clear which character I'd created for myself. I imagine that Kefto will be a popular choice, as well as Veneiz and Frogh, but Satir is obviously the one made for me. He's perhaps the single characer who's most like me in the whole book. And I was excited about the challenge of this uniform from the moment I designed it, during a meeting at my old work. I knew it'd be a difficult pioneering design, but what better for an daring experimental book? So I had prior experience with ponchos because of Kuzco but this was still new. It was easy to cut the basic shapes of the poncho but then where exactly to make the incisions for the sleeve slits? I think I came up with a good place. I then had to make the skirt part as a separate piece. The capelet was a struggle. At the time I still hadn't perfected the capelet technique. That came two weeks later. I struggled to give the capelet those nice folds, make it long enough in the back, get rid of that boxy shape over the shoulders, and still I only marginally succeeded. Next one will be much better. Cutting wasn't the only thing: I still have to put all these fully-lined pieces together, and since it was meant to be reversible I couldn't just sew them the normal way. I decided to zigzag everything together. Perhaps not the best choice but it worked out. The least successful zigzag stitch was, ironically, the top of the shoulders. I say ironically because I now know that a proper capelet isn't even *supposed* to have those stitches! Gha. So frustrating to know in hindsight. Well, I still had a bunch of hand-sewing to do for the frogs down the front and the buttons all over. Particularly challenging was making sure I sewed the large buttons on the very edge itself and not on any one particular side, so they'd be equally usable by either. I even had to redo the whole job a second time when I decided to invert the button/slits situation. For the slits I reverted back to my good old method of no-fray glue. The frogs are of course the only cop-out of the entire costume because they contain wires of you-know-what inside, but you never actually see those wires and it's easy to pretend it's actually a kind of rubbery material in the world of Felsic Current. I also had no shortage of that gray cord to make those loops for around the arms. I also had the biast tape to add along the edges of the main area and the capelet. That still left the hood. An epiphany made me realize I didn't need two hoods as my original design called for if I just left an open crack between the capelet and the collar to slip the hood through. Then the same hood could be slipped on the appropriate side of the capelet and turned inside out like the rest of the outfit whenever it was switched. I also decided partially on-the-fly to design a front piece to act as weather shield and mask, something I'd always thought of but never fully realized in my design. I'm glad it finally made it in. I used a couple of leftover small white buttons to keep it shut. Also, on both sides of the hood, near the nape of the neck, I added a very stylish large button onto which to hook the helmet when it wasn't worn. The pants were simple and nice and poofy. I didn't use any special techniques to make them poofy, I knew that just tucking the boots would create that effect. I added a button and length of fabric as kind of built-in belt that closed with a black plastic (of course) clasp. Oh and I almost forgot the two butt pockets in addition to the regular side pockets. A similar clasp was used on the actual belt, made out of simple gray strap. I toyed with much more complex designs at first, with the belt somehow part of the poncho itself, weaving in and out of it through holes so it would work no matter which side was worn but then it hit me that the best and more stylish design remained to have it as a separate piece. I added little loops for the blades and pouch. That pouch was made of light gray thick fabric. Actually much nicer than the broadcloth of the uniform itself. A pair of pretty plastic buttons finished it. The same fabric was used for the gloves. I (once again) made the mistake to make the wrist part too narrow but the addition of an extra piece gave it a very interesting look. I still included an elastic on the back of the wrist. And this time I knew to add those depth layers between the fingers. And since I didn't have to draw anything on the palms, I could afford to make the thumbs nice and complex separate pieces that come out of the palms. That's always my least favourite aspect of making gloves but it pays off. Then there was the undershirt. On the cover of the book you can see a piece of beige sleeve under the poncho but I can now say this was actually skin. Indeed the undershirt is now officially gray and short-sleeved. Actually it's not even quite a sleeve at all. I was inspired by Stallone's black top in Demolition Man. Goes far past the shoulders but is essentially wide open all the way to the flank. And a slight dip at the throat to help slip it on. At first I wanted to lace it up there (I still think that'd look very sexy) but the fabric was so nice and stiff I realized it stood closed by itself. That's it for the outfit. I was done with that after several days of intense sewing. But I still have SO much prop work to do, all of it with Wonderflex. And that also meant a lot of smoothening of edges like my recent Quent rifle, only this time I didn't have the luxury of laying the piece flat while the resin on one side cured. Too many rounded shapes. Plus, a helmet was involved so I didn't want any lingering resin fumes near my head. Again, the solution came to me in a dream: Elmer's glue thickened with flour. I had to try many times to get just the right consistency, and obviously that stuff takes forever to dry as opposed to resin but with the right thickness you really can pour some on an area needing smootherning and lay it there to dry for hours, with just the occasional touch-up. And it doesn't SMELL! And the brushes used are cleanable. So, Satir's medium-sized pistol was a fun challenge but still difficult, especially the rounded section. I wished I had a mold to shape it over. I also had to come up with an idea for the trigger. I couldn't use a spring obviously, and I always knew I wanted a kind of hand-operated cocking mechanism but I had to figure out exactly how to do it. It turned out fairly simple. I used plenty of that Elmer's glue trick along the cannon where the Wonderflex pieces met and crumpled into the curve. Then brown, green and black paint to match the outfit. I entertained the idea of throwing purple in there to add that extra clashing colour as a stylistic statement, but thought better of it. The helmet was made very tight on my head, with the same Mega Man-like shapes I always imagined. I still feel that not having any sort of visor doesn't make sense, but who's to say Cavendic military has to make sense? I also stuck a length of that same gray cord onto the base of the helmet so it would hook onto the button inside the hood. When it was all done I applied many and many patches of Elmer's glue to make it nice and even. Then used the last of my charcoal gray paint on it. I added the Star Rats symbol but the version I settled with in the end is too dark. The rat snout and tail stands out but the star is lost unless you're right up against it. A lighter green or brown/orange will probably be better when I fix it in the future. The dagger was fairly simple, with a grip custom-made to fit my right hand's three fingers and thumb. I gave it an extra length going down the side of the blade so it could hook onto the belt. Elmer's glue smoothened this, too. The sword was a challenge because I didn't think three-dimensionally enough. The end result was uneven and jagged, but what better for something intended to be stone? If I wanted something super-straight and even I might have used balsa coated in resin like Kanda's Muugens. This sword is perfect. I also molded the handle to my left hand, like the dagger. I was never sure what kind of guard I wanted on that, and in the end I went for something rather flashy and pointy. I still relied on Elmer's glue to even it out a bit. Both the sword and dagger were painted jet black. In retrospect, perhaps a coat of resin would've been good considering how shiny obsidian is supposed to be. Well, I might do that in the future. I forgot to talk about the boots, but that's because this is the one big cheat. It's not really a cheat, it's just that I made the perfect find at a thrift store. Something that was all cloth and plastic knobs, all black with white thread, about knee-length, pretty much all I'd ever imagined Peacekeeper boots to be, AND the perfect fit. And now all future Peacekeeper cosplayers will have to go through hoops to re-create what was for me a cheap fortuitous thrifting find. I feel crass. Very crass. I also forgot the hairpiece. Long auburn wig just the colour I'd imagined. I trimmed and styled the bangs so they'd split just like I imagined. Unfortunately the wig was layered with variable lengths, which makes braiding extremely difficult. Sure enough strands of hair kept coming out of the braid and annoy the sides of my face. I need to cut more of the strands closer to the front down to size, and the ones farther back need to be held by barrettes if they won't hold in the braid. This whole piece is an area for improvement. - J-F Bibeau