Knights of the Old Replay: The Cosplay Interlude

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Bria

So listen. There was a plan. There was a great plan when I started this series that I was going to play the first game in January and casually work on my Visas Marr costume for Celebration at the same time. That? That went out the window around the time when I decided, “Hey what if I made the costume in time for Katsucon in February and got it 501^st approved by then too?”

We’ll just consider this an interlude. All the cool writing projects have them now, right?

I’ve loved Visas ever since I first played the second KOTOR game over a decade ago because 1) Rule of Cool and 2) I just really liked her character and backstory. I think I played favorites with her, Atton, Mandalore, and HK-47 once I got the latter two. Visas has been on cosplay wish list for at least five years now and when I discovered during Dragon Con that some of my friends were still as into the KOTOR games as me… honestly, it was meant to be. (If only you could have seen the aggressive high fives that kept occurring that weekend once we decided to do this group for Celebration and Dragon Con next year…)

One of the best things about making a costume with the intent of submitting it to the 501^st is that breakdown your research is done for you. You just have to look up the CRL, study the breakdown intensely, and then go from there. It’s just a matter of finding everything and making it. That’s the real struggle. Thankfully, I lucked out with finding my fabrics. For the leather, I already knew from a previous project that JoAnn’s carried one that would work and for the red, my magical fabric warehouse place came through and gave me what I needed for a good price. Continue reading →

Celebration Anaheim Cosplay Roundup

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Nanci

Conventions are the best places to see amazing cosplay, and Celebration Anaheim was no exception! You could see cosplay everywhere you went, from outside the convention center to the exhibit halls to walking down the street. And since (most of) the cosplay was Star Wars oriented, I actually knew most of the costumes! It was great seeing obscure EU characters right alongside dozens of stormtroopers.

Shoshana spotted Barriss and Luminara.

There were mash-ups galore, including muppet stormtroopers.

Steampunk Lady Boba Fett.

Sharp-dressed stormtroopers.

Evil Queen Sith.

And World War II era Luke Skywalker.

We saw people dressed as planets, like this duo as a landspeeder flying alongside the twin suns of Tatooine.

Kay from Fangirl Blog put together a secret Rey costume.

The Tosche Station crew got in on the fun, too. Bria dressed as Revan.

And friend of the show/House Organa co-founder Nic joined our Punk Legends photo shoot.

Rebels characters were everywhere, and the children were especially adorable.

We saw one of my favorite villains from the Legends universe, Ysanne Isard.

And finally, this older Han and Leia shows that cosplay is for everyone!

You can see more of my cosplay photos below!

Geek Girl Con 2014 Convention Report

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Shoshana

Geek Girl Con is not a very large convention, only taking up the atrium of the Seattle Conference Center, and this year it happened to fall on the same weekend as New York Comic Con. Understandably, there were not a lot of big names present at Geek Girl Con 2014. But GGCs fourth year (and my third year attending) was, once again, a very fun time.

What makes Geek Girl Con stand out is its focus. It doesn’t specifically emphasize comics or anime or games or any particular medium or fandom like that. Instead, it is focused on celebrating geeky women and creating a safe, inclusive space for people of all types to enjoy the things they love and you could really tell, both from the make-up of the attendees and from the panel topics. Not only were a very large portion of the attendees women, but throughout the conventions various forms of non-traditional gender presentation were on display, even beyond the cosplay. The whole convention just has an open and friendly atmosphere and there really does seem to be a sense of community. Continue reading →

Katsucon 2014 Report and Cosplay Roundup

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Bria

Another February means another Katsucon. It’s one of the largest anime conventions on the East Coast and makes its home at the Gaylord Hotel and Resort in National Harbor, MD, just outside of Washington DC. This year, it was quite the frozen convention to say the least (you’ll get that pun in a minute) with a massive snow storm bringing the East Coast to a standstill. Hundreds of eager con-goers found their travel plans suddenly thrown into chaos as flights, trains, and buses were cancelled right and left. While there are undoubtedly plenty of attendees who weren’t able to make it, the convention was still rather filled with more and more people trickling in over Friday and Saturday. Friday was, however, a good day for costumers who wanted to get pictures in the famed gazebo.

Continue reading →

A Cry for Practicality in Star Wars Fashion

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Nanci

It’s no secret that we at Tosche Station dislike Mara Jade’s catsuit. The reasons are many: it’s a symbol of sexism and objectification of female characters; it’s not what she’s described as wearing in the Thrawn Trilogy; we hate seeing her in the same outfit all the damn time. My dislike–even hatred–of the catsuit comes down to one simple matter.

It’s not practical.

Continue reading →

Bria’s ‘Razor’s Edge’ cosplay featured on Suvudu

Posted on September 10, 2013 by admin

Our own Bria was featured in an interview over at Suvudu to discuss cosplay and one of her latest costumes: Leia from the cover of Razor’s Edge.

What inspired you to create this costume?

From the minute I saw the cover for Razor’s Edge, I knew that I wanted to do the costume. I’ve said to my friends in the past that so many of the book covers with Leia bore me because they almost all show her in her film costumes. This was absolutely not something she wore in the films but it works so well for not only her character but also for the role she’s filling within the book as a leader of the Rebel Alliance on a vital mission. She gets to wear an outfit that shouts ‘this is meant for action!’ without automatically having to wear a catsuit. I had an idea for how I wanted to make the costume and one day, I challenged myself to complete the costume in 12 hours because I loved the look of it that much.

For the rest of the interview and for more photos, head over to Suvudu.

Awesome Con Costume Round Up

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Bria

One of the best things about conventions is undoubtedly the variety of costumes you see throughout the weekend. Last weekend’s Awesome Con was no different. Downtown Washington DC was quickly filled with costumers representing a variety of fandoms, undoubtedly leaving many a metro rider very confused as to why these people in catsuits and Jedi robes were sitting beside them. (Superheroes are people too!)

Even though this was Awesome Con’s first year, the costumers definitely brought their a-game. It was also wonderful to see how many children (and sometimes even their parents) decided to embrace their (for many) first convention experience and throw themselves into it headfirst and come in costume. Everywhere I looked, I saw yet another person looking great in costume and definitely looking like they were having the time of their life. I only wish that this Round Up post could highlight all of them.

As always, we’ll start off with the Star Wars costumes. There’s nothing better nor more adorable than costuming children check out this tiny Ashoka and Captain Rex, this pair of Jawas, and a tiny Boba Fett with a more experienced Mandalorian warrior alongside.

Mandalorian Warriors were the most popular Star Wars costumes spotted that weekend followed closely by Jedi Knights. There was, however, a Princess Leia too! (Look out, Leia! That’s Boba Fett behind you!)

Continue reading →

Once More With Feeling… Cosplay=/=Consent

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Bria

Warning: There will be strong language in this post. Read no further if some f-bombs are not to your taste.

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people on the Internet can take a positive project and stomp all over it.

Two days ago, Sushi Killer over at 16-Bit Sirens started a new photo project. Inspired by the #INeedFeminismBecause project, it is titled “CONsent: The Importance of Treating Cosplayers with Respect.” The premise is simple: costumers take pictures holding a sign that says ‘Cosplay=/= Consent’ and their own additional message if they are so inclined. I, like many other people, thought it was a great campaign that spread a very positive message.

Guess how long it took some people to ruin it and make it all about them. Let’s start with an example. Think it was limited to just that shared Facebook thread? Look at some of the comments on the article that cosplayer Ana Aesthetic wrote.

Disgusted yet? Me too. Continue reading →

Katsucon Cosplay Round Up

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Bria

This past weekend was Katsucon, an anime convention held just outside of Washington DC in National Harbor, MD. In addition to being a great anime convention in general, Katsucon also has the distinction of making its home in the Gaylord, one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing which makes for some wonderful photos. It’s also a nice sized convention that feels neither small nor overcrowded. (Yes, walking is totally possible here!) From the panels to the maid cafe to the artist alley and dealer room to simply people watching, there was something for everyone last weekend. If you live in the area or simply want to check out a fun convention at the most gorgeous hotel of all time, I absolutely recommend checking it out next February.

One of the wonderful things about conventions is the variety of costumes that convention goers (and the innocent people who wander into the hotel) get to see. Despite being an anime convention, Katsucon boasts a wide variety of costumes from every anime and manga imaginable to western television shows and comics. Obviously, anime and manga costumes ruled here but there are some fandoms that will always have a presence such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Disney, Homestuck, and both Marvel and DC comics. This year, I also noticed a solidly large gathering of costumes from last fall’s Rise of the Guardians film and Adventure Time along with a ton of Kid Loki and Korra cosplayers. And, of course, Sailor Moon continued to have a solid presence, something that is likely to only increase with the anime’s return this year.

(Just as a note, please let me know if you recognize yourself or others in any of these pictures. Unfortunately, my plan of trying to get cosplayer names mostly backfired due to being in costume myself for much of the convention and touchscreen phones do not work with gloves. Please feel free to comment though and I’ll be more than happy to edit credit into this post!)

Because we are primarily a Star Wars blog, I’m going to start with some of the great Star Wars costumes I spotted this weekend. (I did my best to sprint down the corridor after most of the ones I saw but undoubtedly missed a few.) Check out these Star Wars costumers (and many more!) after the jump! Continue reading →

Tosche Station’s Gratuitous 2012 in Review Linkdump

Posted on December 31, 2012 by admin

In January, Nanci and I started a podcast. In April, we spun that podcast off into a blog. All sorts of crazy things have happened since. Welcome to our gratuitous 2012 in Review Linkdump. As a note, thanks for bearing with us over the holidays as we took time to visit our friends and family. We’ll be back Wednesday with regular coverage and posts. Be sure to also check out Club Jade’s 2012 retrospective.

For our year-in-review, to the jump!

Continue reading →