Vader and Maul: Sith Lords just wanna have fun

This week we're posting another dress-up we did a while back. For Halloween 2015, our favourite comic book store (Red Claw Comix) decided to host a cosplay event, and of course, we jumped at the chance to portray the Dark Side.

Marius went for the tattooed Zabrak look, going as Darth Maul:

We do not yet have the latex and face paint skills to create our own believable Zabrak faces, so we opted for a mask, but Marius (oops, I meant Darth Maul) built and painted his own lightsaber with parts sourced from hardware stores in our area. We created a basic cape, hood and red sash using cheap fabric we bought at a sewing store, and with some tips from YouTube cape-making tutorials. Rubber gloves and boots from the hardware store finished the look.

Annalene decided to go as a female Darth Vader:

This costume also took some DIY skills to create. Marius made a really cool electronics control panel with real buttons on it, and helped Darth Vader to create her own custom lightsaber as well. We bought one of those Vader masks with the voicechanger for added effect, and also created a cape from black fabric (all you have to do is thread a ribbon through a few holes in a rectangular piece of cloth - no sewing skills required!).

Homemade Vader electronics

Going for the female look

We had a blast hanging out at the comic book store with other like-minded individuals. Here are a few more photos of the event:

Force choke

Check the epic lightsaber

Ready for cosplay events: Maul, Vader, Viking and Valkyrie

We ran into the Joker and Harley Quinn, among others

Vader and mini-Vader

The Geeks Do Rugby

We've posted quite a few weird and cool geeky dress-ups on this blog. We post boardgames, figurines, cosplay, etc. Today, we want to show a different side to our love for dressing up for things we enjoy: watching rugby. Yes - sports. As in actual rugby, not the PlayStation game.

Marius, in addition to loving every possible kind of digital and board game, is also a fan of the game of rugby, and being a born Free Stater, he supports the Cheetahs, and of course the Springboks. Annalene does not always know what's happening in the world of rugby, but she does enjoy going to see live games, and even though she grew up in the Western Cape, her heart has settled in the Free State and she cheers for the men in orange as well.

Of course, we don't enjoy doing anything half-heartedly, so we tend to dress up for the occassion when we watch a game. Today, we'd like to share a few pictures of our rugby adventures, just to prove that Star Wars is not the only thing that can get us away from the PlayStation.

The Springboks also get special treatment, even though we haven't yet been able to go to a live game. This is what we looked like during the last World Cup (please note rugby-themed snacks).

Support shirts

Marius' mom joining us in support of the Boks