Danakin's Fenn Shysa

Hey everybody! It's been a long while since I've had something to post here, having made my last custom Mando way back in 2004, but I just completed my latest project: Fenn Shysa.

I plan on debuting this suit at Comic-Con this week so I don't want to show off too much, but here's a teaser image.



After the Con I'll have plenty of images to share and more details on the build-up.

That turned out great. The helmet looks perfect!

Nicely done! Very traditional Fett color scheme on the costume. I like the paint job on the helmet. I wonder what it would look like if you dyed the jumpsuit green?

Originally Posted by Rich D.

I wonder what it would look like if you dyed the jumpsuit green?

I was thinking the same thing! Looks really awesome, and a green jumpsuit would look just like the figure.

Ha! Looks cool dude!

Nicely Done Danakin.
I look forward to trooping with you at Con.
I'll be wearing the Boba Thursday only.

Very awesome!

Thanks, guys!

Early on I considered dying the soft parts green but decided against it as it would make the whole suit too monotonous. Besides, Boba and Fenn (and Tobbi, for that matter) shared the same color scheme in the comic, it makes sense that a realistic interpretation of Fenn would be colored like Boba. I made an exception for the white cheeks as I think they make Fenn unique and more recognizable.

Looks Great!!! Congrats... And with a few mods you could be Boba...

Very nice!!! I'm also diggin the way the helmet looks!!! Look forward to seeing more pics!!
D

Thats freakin awesome!

The set looked great in person! My son got a pic of you with one of the Boba's on Thursday!

Thanks A'den! I had a blast wearing it this weekend. It actually held up much better than I imagined, having been my first troop without a test run and all. Here's some of my favorite pics from the con.

Loving that build man, really good job. I wonder how many of the unenlightened masses would (or has) confused your suit with Boba Fett. Seriously though, fantastic work my friend.

Can you post a close-up picture of your chest logo? What was the inspiration for that? It looks cool. Is that from a reference somewhere or did you make it up?

Man, I saw you on cosplay.com looks great brother!

El1te

Originally Posted by Mereel

Loving that build man, really good job. I wonder how many of the unenlightened masses would (or has) confused your suit with Boba Fett. Seriously though, fantastic work my friend.

I was called Boba by every single person wanting a photo during the con. Only one guy had his doubts because I "didn't look like Boba". That's okay though, I don't mind the comparison.

Originally Posted by Rich D.

Can you post a close-up picture of your chest logo? What was the inspiration for that? It looks cool. Is that from a reference somewhere or did you make it up?

The emblem is my own design, filled with personal meaning and symbolism. I don't believe there is any reference for Fenn's emblem.

Originally Posted by DanakinSkywalker

Out of the ones you posted, I like that one the best.

But....
This one is better;

Oh, yes, much better lol

Outstanding costume. I'm missing some photos using the rangefinder... does it have electronics inside?

Nope, I was trying to do the costume as inexpensively as possible and electronics just weren't in the budget.

here's the pic i got of you with my son on thursday at sdcc. not sure which of the guys was in the boba. we went thursday out of costume and suited up on friday.



i think you did an absolutely amazingjob on the build and as great as it looks in pix, it's even better in person. however, if i may offer some constructive critism?

my son in the pic, 9, is very well versed. at 9yrs old, he's better than most true fanboy adults. he knows the difference between esb, rotj, pp's and se boba's as well as kamino and geonosis jango's!

when he saw the two of you with your backs to us, he said "dad, can i get a pic with the empire and jedi boba fett's?" when i looked, that was my impression as well. it was only when you turned and i saw the white cheeks and jag eyes that i thought "oh, that's fenn shysa not esb boba." then it occurred to me that danakin was going to be at sdcc in his fenn and that must be you.

all that explained, i know that you wanted a more real looking shysa than was portrayed in the comics. i totally respect and appreciate that. however, i just feel like something about your kit needs to "pop" it apart from boba a little more. at first glance the only difference is the helmet. obviously, costumers and hard core fans will notice other differences such as the gloves, the sigil etc. but to the lay person you're boba fett.

even back in the marvel 70's disco era comics, fenn and boba had alot of similarities but, boba always (well almost) had the grey flightsuit and fenn had a green flightsuit. i really like that you used the fett muted real life green on the armor and not the ridiculous green from the comics. also, they had different style jetpcks and fenn that i can recall was never seen with an ee-3.

all that said, i'm not saying ditch that beautiful ee-3 and jetpack, unless you want to send them to me for proper disposal?, or to even change the flightsuit (especially if it's serving double duty with a boba set). but, i think that dying the flightsuit and vest to an olive drab would really pop your set off and aprat from boba. if you got the wild hair to change the weapon and pack that would really do it to. but, if only 1 change were made, i'd say the flightsuit color change would be it.

again, none of that was meant to diss your set. i think it's great! just a suggestion to really make it stand out on it's own!

again, awesome job and thanks for posing with my boy. that was his first pic with or as a character of the con and it made his day and set the tone for his weekend!

Originally Posted by A'den Skirata

here's the pic i got of you with my son on thursday at sdcc. not sure which of the guys was in the boba. we went thursday out of costume and suited up on friday.

The Boba is me
And the EE-3 is mine, not Danakin's

Oh ok, my bad! Well, as always, your kit looked superb. A thanks to you as well for helping start my son's Con off with a bang!

Thanks for the criticism A'den. Like I explained before, this is how I interpret the 'realistic' colors and designs based on Marvel's rendition of Fenn. Take for instance these pages from Fenn's first appearance:



Front and center is Boba Fett (well, Spar according to the retcon, but play along here), he's colored in mostly greens with a few other colors to make the different costume parts stick out. Since Fenn is colored exactly the same way, it only makes sense that a realistically colored/detailed Fenn would look like one of the film Bobas. Story wise, it's been my impression that Fenn and Tobbi were a part of the same military unit along with Boba (again, before the retcon) and as such should be wearing the same "uniform" - colors, cut and accessories. Personally, I prefer that type of Mando, along with those pictured in Open Seasons, as opposed to everyone having their own color scheme.

I've done Photoshop tests on some of my photos to see what green soft parts would look like and in my opinion it would be atrocious. I would look like a big green blob walking around with some silver bits here and there. Also, as slave1pilot pointed out, the EE-3 is his. I noticed that Fenn isn't pictured with a blaster of any kind in any of the reference I have, so I didn't make a rifle. I did make a small sidearm to have just in case I felt awkward without a gun, but most of the time it stays holstered.

Even if I was colored exactly like the Marvel comic I would still be called Boba because no one knows who Fenn is. For the veeeeeeeeeery few who do know, the helmet would be enough of a hint for them to recognize the character. I've put a great deal of thought into this costume and no matter what I do, those are the facts.

it rox dan!

I finally got around to adding this costume to my website, including some new "studio"-style pics and more info on the build.

Looking good there vod

I've been looking at your Fenn pics a lot and visited your site (and I highly admire your outstanding work)
and I love your helmet it is perfect,infact your magnificent outfit inspired me to make my own suit of Shysa armor.
about the emblem,its awesome,but your right,there is no emblem reference of Fenn,I seriously doubt he has one.
The shoulder bells,good choice making them prepro-style,since it seems no one could ever decide about Fenns emblems.
Again,I realy think highly of your work and hope to see more of your coming cosplays/costumes.

Question. How did you do the "eyes" on the helmet? Were they hand painted? Decals? I would eventually like to make a Shysa myself, and I have been trying to figure that bit out.

I know this is about the Fenn Shysa armor, but I'm completely at a loss for words on the awesome Anakin resemblance you're sporting! Awesome to see that you've put that image to use!

Wow, it's been forever and a day since I've checked in here. Thanks again everyone for the comments!

Originally Posted by Bri-Gon Jinn

Question. How did you do the "eyes" on the helmet? Were they hand painted? Decals? I would eventually like to make a Shysa myself, and I have been trying to figure that bit out.

I know I'm WAY late in replying, but here's my answer anyway...

During my first attempt back in 2006/2007 I tried to use decals but it was very difficult to place them evenly on each side and make them symmetrical to each other. I screwed it up so badly, along with the original paint job, that I shelved the project for a couple years. I ended up masking them off and spraying them on the final helmet. Doing it that way allowed me to use precise measurements to insure that they were placed properly. It also feels much more "real" having them painted on the helmet as opposed to decals.


I've been having a blast wearing this costume here and there for the past year. One thing that I didn't have time to do before SDCC last year was a black wash to all the armor pieces, I was able to do that before last Halloween. There's a few more changes/upgrades I'll be making as time and (more importantly) money allow. Here's some more recent pictures of my costume from local events I've attended.

That is amazing!Excellent craftsmanship,the whole outfit looks amazing but that helmet's detailing is incredible!Plus,it doesn't hurt to have a resemblance to Shysa lol!Awesome outfit!

Dude, I know how hot it is here in the summer, and you wore that?
You're crazy. Plain and simple, hahah.

Crazy like a fox...but in a good way.

Honestly, a Jedi costume (Anakin, in my case) is WAY hotter to wear than a Fett.



I don't deny being crazy, though.

I've worn a Jedi costume at the 4th July parade a few years back, and I had to wear multiple pairs of socks for comfort. It felt like my feet were in an oven dude.

beautifuil suit man. I bet you get called boba fett more than my Jango though

Oh dude, I totally do. Every single time. Doesn't bother me though, I'm actually glad that I can masquerade as Boba to the general public. Although I do plan on picking up a few extra pieces so I can swap them out and actually BE Boba sometime down the road.

Sweet! I still have the Star Wars issue where he made his debut sooooo long ago. Great job!

Great build! Shysa's such a pivotal but often overlooked character.

Nice job and excellent pics!