Hello All -

As a new member - I thought that I would take a moment to introduce
myself. My name is Darren Blum - and I've been costuming as Darth
Maul at various events since just before the release of Episode I in
the theaters.

A while ago I decided that I wanted to create a 2nd Star Wars
costume for myself, something that wouldn't take quite so much
preparation time to put on. (Between the contacts and the makeup -
it takes me about 90 minutes to "Maul up"). After much
deliberation - I set my heart on doing a Chewbacca costume. I'm
probably getting myself in a bit over my head - but my goal is to
have the costume ready by Celebration III.

Once I made up my mind on what costume, I started to do some
research on how to create (or purchase) a "realistic" looking
wookiee. I was a bit surprized to learn that there wasn't a
realistic mask out there. The more research I did, I started to
realize why wookiee costumes are as rare as they are.

As I've started to move forward with planning my costume - I've
found the resources at Rebel Legion's "Chewie Costuming Resources"
to be invaluable - so I offer a big THANKS to all of you that had
contributed to it.

Before I ask questions - I should spend some time going over the
archive here to see what has been covered already. At a high level,
I think the Mask is the part that is scaring me the most.
Other than that - I have still been debating on the best way to make
the suit itself. I was leaning toward making a pair of pants for
the bottom - and then something similar to a long sleeve "babies
onesie" for my torso/arms. How are most people structuring their
suit?

Thanks in advance for any advice that people have to offer.
I look forward to getting to know my fellow wookiees!

-Darren