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| Marcus Sinclair as Emperor Palpatine, Star Wars Exhibition at the County Hall, Westminster, London in 2007 |
I'm showing off (again) but am not apologising, as this has been rather an exciting week....
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Me in 2007 with the most diabolical hair colour
- I do NOT suit blonde... but we all have try sometime, right?
No wonder Emperor Palpatine is laughing, and Darth Vader wants to chop my head off! |
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Back in 2007, I was commissioned to make a cloak clasp for Emperor Palpatine for the Star Wars Exhibition - and had to watch through the film several times, then freeze the DVD so that I could sketch the clasp.
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| My original sketch for Emperor Palpatine's Cloak Clasp, 2007 - plus the first brooch, cast in clay |
From my sketch, I made a model in plasticine then cast a mould (silicon rubber). From this, I made the clasp in Polymer Clay.
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| Darth Vader loves us, really... |
The first brooch: Marcus (the actor who was playing the Emperor in the exhibition) managed to pull off the brooch fastening (twice) so next we tried magnets, which worked really well. Then he dropped it. Guess what - polymer clay does break!
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| Darth Maul - played by Seb Morgan |
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| Me and Darth Maul in 2007 |
The second cloak clasp - luckily, I'd kept the original mould - was made using magnets again - and this one lasted up until last year, when the exhibition travelled to Brussels, then Belgium. Things get broken, lost in transit, wear out, generally don't look as spiffy or pristine... whatever, this year they wanted a new one and I was extremely happy to be asked to oblige!
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| Version 1 - I made this one in 2007. As you can see, it's pretty big (actual dimensions checked from the film, so they are accurate) |
So here is Version 3. |
| 2011 version - the third one I've made for the Star Wars event |
This time, I've tried to make it indestructible - again, cast in polymer clay, and then I've soldered on the fixings: two large brooch fastenings to one side (so if one fails, the other one is there to reinforce it: actors are none to gentle when changing costume in a hurry) and on the other side two really strong magnets. I've used ones that are so strong, they'll work through thick fabric.
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| 2011 version - with copper tape antiqued and soldered, plus soldered brooch fastenings - the magnets are on the right. |
I got this gig via my hugely talented friend
Stephen Du Toit, who is the Wardrobe Master yet again this season. He actually sewed the costumes for all the Jedi Knights, Emperor Palpatine etc (so I know he's sewing the 2nd magnet invisibly INTO the cloak). Not only does he make all these wonderful costumes: he also acts as an extra - and you may have seen him street and courtroom scenes in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
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| As you can see, it's pretty solid! I've tried to make it indestructible |
I delivered the clasp to Stephen on Wednesday; the new Palapatine (Rob Maloney) came for his wardrobe fitting yesterday and really likes it, so I am a very happy bunny.
This was quite a flurry of excitement this week, and I just thought I'd share.
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