Spock's Pickled Brain

The holy grail for every Star Wars nerd is the lightsaber. It's the elegant weapon of a more civilized age. It is also an awesome laser sword that cuts through durasteel and deflects blasterfire. If it was an accessible technology, we would all immediately get one. And then accidentally chop of a limb. The next best thing is to own our very own battle-ready lightsaber, complete with movie-accurate light and sound (just not the ability to sever limbs). To get a nice one means spending hundreds of dollars, so it's not really in reach for those of us on a budget. But one day it shall be mine! Many have made their own, but there are also several companies that specialize in building and selling lightsabers. My search wasn't exhaustive, but I did look through several options. If you're interested in a much more in-depth look at buying guides and sources, SaberSourcing has a lot of information on companies, reviews, and profiles on character lightsabers. Ultrasabers is

With the debut of the Disney+ streaming service came an original live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian . When it was announced I did a heckuva a lot of speculating, and I'd say most of my safe assumptions were correct. The Mandalorian follows the adventures of a...er...well a Mandalorian, of course. Some years after the defeat of the Empire, the Mandalorian earns his keep and builds his reputation as a bounty hunter without peer. When hired by a mysterious client for an unusually vague assignment, things begin to shift sideways. The reward is what his people covet most, the rare metal beskar which vital for making traditional armor. But to what lengths will the Mandalorian go to obtain such as a prize? To go more into it would spoil the story, but from what I've seen so far it's all I could have wanted. It keeps itself solidly in the Star Wars universe, but ventures deeper into the realm of a "space western". Star Wars already has flavors of

Sometimes the galaxy needs a little help from an unlikely source. Jedi are great and all, but when the Empire or First Order have all the keys and credits it's time to turn to someone who doesn't operate according to the rules. So in honor of the western-heavy slant of The Mandalorian I put together a shady character that would fit well at the corner booth of a Mos Eisley cantina. The lawless element of Star Wars, from Han Solo to Boba Fett, is heavily influenced by the western genre, so I made sure to include elements like a vest, boots, and a sombrero. Cad Bane is another more recent example of this in The Clone Wars series, and is a major inspiration for this costume. I also pulled some ideas from DJ from The Last Jedi , Han Solo from A New Hope , and a Legacy character Mirax Terrik Horn from Phantom Affair and other comics and novels.  And full costume: Reference Images Concept Drawing 1. Vest I found this in a thrift store for $5 and immediately

For a scoundrel of the Star Wars variety you need some tools to help break through vault doors and Imperial codes. Believe it or not, not everything can be solved with a blaster or lightsaber. So I tinkered around with some items from my box of random stuff to make a datapad, scramble key, and computer spike for the well-traveled slicer/hacker. Kept in a handy belt pouch, basically a cheap work belt pouch from a home improvement store: Datapad Materials -External keypad -Black spray paint -White acrylic paint -Clear coat enamel sealer Scramble Key Materials -White-out tape dispenser -Assorted plastic oddments -Copper spray paint -Black and gold acrylic paints Computer Spike Materials -Nail art pen -Plastic oddments -Screwdriver bit -Silver spray paint -Black acrylic paint -Red self-adhesive "gemstones" Tools -Superglue 1. Make a keypad It seems like every good slicer should have their own keypad to bypass or infiltrate a new system. I had a devil of a time