Star Wars Han Solo Belt Gun Holster

Here is a cheap and easy way to make an awesome Han Solo Gun Holster. My fiance and I are going to be Leia and Han for Halloween and his costume would not be complete without the signature Han Solo Gun Holster. I am a big Star Wars fan but this belt is not exactly to spec, I made some "creative" changes.

Materials:

2 Sheets of Craft Foam
Low/Variable Heat Glue Gun
Silver and Black Acrylic Paint
Metal Snaps
Two Metal Coat Hangers
Overall Buckles (2)
Brown Thread and Needle
Scissors
Paper and Pen
Someone to make it for (you'll want correct measurements)

First you need to determine how large the front and rear buckles need to be. I made this holster for an adult male so the buckles were:
Front: 2.75" tall 4.25" wide (at points)
Rear: 2.5" tall and a little more than 3" wide for the rear
I first created a paper template to judge size and for easy cut out on the craft foam.
Both buckles were made out of the brown foam.

Next you need to size up your model. Han's belt sits at the hips below the belt line. I began by cutting strips of foam to piece together to make the belt. I cut 3, 2" wide strips. The first strip was sewn directly onto the front buckle. An important note about this, the attached portion of the belt to the buckle is on the right side (when you are wearing it). After the first strip was attached I added the other two strips (taking into account the fact that belts are not perfectly straight but become angled due to wear). In order to make this process more attractive I attached the strips by butting the two strip up next to each other and hot glueing a small piece of foam being them and then stitching "X"s to give it a custom look.

Now the belt has to be made the proper size so you'll need your model again. In order to keep this item cheap I used a buckle like what is found on a pair of overalls. I attached the "button holder" end to the end of the belt strip and attached a button to the back of the buckle. This belt will not be constantly taken on and off so I think it should hold up alright.

Now that the main portion of the belt is complete you will need your model once again to make the first portion of the gun holster. Have your model wear the belt and use a few sheets of paper to sketch out where the top of the holster portion should be. After the rough sketch I made a measured template for 2 curved strips of craft foam that made the top curved portion of the gun holster. I again butted the two pieces together and used a third small piece and sewn "X"s to attach them together. (this is on the top curved piece on the picture featured on this step) This curved portion should extend from the front buckle around to the back of the belt (this determines where your back buckle goes) and if you want to be more realistic to the movie I believe the back buckle is offset.

Once the curved portion is cut out I added another "overall buckle" but this time I cut off the portion that holds the "button". To accessorize the belt some I used metal snaps to make the belt look like the gun holster portion could be detached. Caution: In the process of attaching the snaps (which involved a hammer) the majority of the foam surrounding the snap was cut so the snaps are not functional and the foam is actually glued together. Once the front portion of the gun holster portion is attached I then attached the back. I could have repeated the same method as the front but I chose to just sew the two pieces together.

Now that the curved piece is attached it is time to add the actual gun holster. This step will varie as to what kind of plastic gun you have. Sadly I could not find a blaster so I improvised with a toy handgun that I used last year for Halloween as a Gangster. This step simply consists of laying your toy gun and tracing out a template. I used some spot hot gluing to hold down the edges as I stiched around the edges to give it more of a custom feel.

A major gadget that Han carries is his droid caller. I know I know Han doesn't own and droids in Star Wars so I'm not sure why he has one but it looks pretty cool! To make the droid caller I simply took a rectangle piece of craft foam and rolled it into a cylinder. I started with the large cylinder and then added a circular piece to cover both ends. Then I made a smaller cylinder for the silver portion on top, also including a circle piece to cover the top. I then added small strips to create the silver edging and a small circle for the "button" on the top (the picture explains this way better than I can). The back is not as nice, but hey, no one is going to see that (well except for my cat who thought it was food)

The caller is then painted black and silver for the finished look.

The belt looked pretty plain with nothing on it so I added some of the pockets and gadgets that are featured on Han's belt.

I am not sure what the small silver cylinder on the front left of the belt is, but I know it was on his belt during New Hope so I included it. I just made a cylinder and added another rectangle to attach it to the belt (Note: Paint before attaching!) I also added what looks like a pocket but is not functional and just a square that protrudes from the belt.

I also noticed that during New Hope Han likes to rest his left hand on top of a large pocket on the left side of his belt so I included that pocket for anyone who might have seen the movie.

I also did not want to permanently attach the droid caller (in case it was hit and ripped off). I took 2 metal coat hangers and cut off the hanger loop portion. I then hot glued small strips of foam around them and stiched them up and attached them to the belt. This might be way off if you are looking for movie accuracy but it gets the job done.

To finish off the belt I cut out another set of the front and rear buckles so that they would stand out more. I painted this second set with several coats of silver paint and attached them right on top of the original buckles. I also added a few more snaps around the back buckle, to be accurate with the movie I would need to get some more but I ran out.

Well that is the Han Solo Gun Holster, I just wish Leia had such a cool accessory but it was fun making Han's signature belt!