This weekend marks 17 years that Matt and I have been together as a couple. 17 years of adventures, travels, costuming, collecting, and all around geek fun.

When I first met Matt, he costumed as a Stormtrooper with the 501st Legion, and I costumed as a Jedi Knight with the Rebel Legion – and ever since then we have been dressing up in all sorts of fun costumes together. From local troops and conventions, to international events like Star Wars Celebration and DragonCon, we have so much fun together as a couple.

I am so blessed to have a best friend and husband to share Star Wars and costuming with. Our home is full of Star Wars collectibles, and our days are full of Star Wars fun. The last 17 years have been filled with love and adventure, and I can’t wait for what tomorrow will bring with Matt by my side.

Happy Anniversary Matt!

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Armageddon Expo Auckland is held every year during Labour weekend in October – while Armageddon Expo is held in cities around the country, the Auckland event is the largest geek convention in NZ. Due to current pandemic restrictions, large events can’t take place, so the Auckland expo has been postponed to later this year. As Star Wars fans and costumers, Armageddon Auckland has been a staple in our calendar for over 15 years – so to celebrate this weekend, we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite memories and highlights from Armageddon Auckland over the years.

Armageddon Auckland 2005

This was the first time Armageddon Auckland was held on Labour weekend in October (it was previously held in April). We built a Death Star set to use at the 501st Legion booth – this was my first troop as an official 501st member (Imperial Officer ID 947). This was also the first time we wore our screen-used Necromonger costumes from The Chronicles Of Riddick.

Armageddon Auckland 2006

I had made Padme’ Amidala’s lake retreat gown for our trip to Italy earlier in the year (where we got engaged), so I decided to enter into the Cosplay Competition for fun (I came in the ‘top 10’). We once again wore our 501st costumes together – TK 944 and ID 947 – I wore my engagement ring while trooping.

Armageddon Auckland 2007

Bruce Timm, co-creator of Harley Quinn was a guest in 2007. As a big Harley Quinn fan, I knew I had to make her costume – plus a Joker costume for Matt. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Bruce Timm while I was dressed as Harley Quinn, and as an added bonus, our Mad Love duo won Best In Show in the Cosplay Competition!

Armageddon Auckland 2008

This was the year I debuted several new costumes – femtrooper, twi’lek jedi, and Princess Leia’s metal bikini. A lot of last minute costume work to get these all done in time (I didn’t expect my twi’lek lekku to arrive from the US in time), and I was able to achieve my confidence goal of finally wearing Chainbreaker Leia at a convention.

Armageddon Auckland 2009

This was the first year Armageddon Auckland was held at the Auckland Showgrounds, which is much larger than the previous venue at the Aotea Centre. Lots of space to wear costumes, pose for photos, and enjoy browsing around the huge halls without the fuss of stairs and elevators. Juliet debuted her new Batgirl costume and also wore her Elizabeth Bennet costume with us.

Armageddon Expo 2010

We had our very own Star Wars New Zealand booth this year – a lot of work, with help from friends, but it was great to really showcase the Star Wars fan community. We had props, costumes, and collectibles on display and it kept us busy all weekend. I also attended a celebrity lunch with Michael Shanks from Stargate SG-1 – he shared great stories from his film career.

Armageddon Expo 2011

The weekend before, I had traveled to Melbourne, Australia to visit friends and attend Armageddon Melbourne. I had wanted a comfortable Star Wars costume to wear, something that would be easy to travel internationally with, so I quickly sewed up a Jedi Historian costume, inspired by Jocasta Nu and Atris. I wore my new jedi costume all weekend long at Armageddon Expo, while Matt wore his classic Stormtrooper.

Armageddon Auckland 2012

This was only weeks after all three of us traveled to the US to attend DragonCon. A quieter year for us in terms of costuming, as it’s hard for local events to compare to the size and scale of US conventions, but we had fun with local friends. Juliet wore her new Disney Belle costume and her Queen Amidala costume.

Armageddon Auckland 2013

This year Matt and I were part of the hosting team for a 501st Legion panel, where we talked about all things Imperial costuming. I once again wore my Jedi Historian, which had since become my go-to trooping costume – Juliet was now the same height as me, and borrowed my classic Jedi Knight costume to troop together.

Armageddon Auckland 2014

In 2014 Armageddon Auckland hosted Richard Dean Anderson – one of the biggest celebrity guests to ever attend Armageddon at that time, so many of our friends traveled from around the country to attend. We didn’t costume as much this year, as we hosted a big Star Wars costuming group dinner that weekend (so that took a bit of time away from the convention to prep for), but we still took heaps of photos and had fun.

Armageddon Auckland 2015

Juliet debuted her new Star Wars costume – Darth Nihilus from Knights Of The Old Republic II. This was also one of the last times Matt wore his classic Stormtrooper armour at Armageddon – bought back in 2001, the plastic armour is starting to show its age, so it’s been semi-retired from regular trooping for now.

Armageddon Auckland 2016

Juliet once again wore her Darth Nihilus costume, while Matt wore his X-Wing Pilot. Our biggest highlight from the weekend was getting to see Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek – we saw her panel and got her autograph, she was absolutely lovely.

Armageddon Auckland 2017

We debuted some cool new Star Wars costumes this year. Juliet wore her Jedi Knight Jylari Renzell costume – the first costume she made all by herself. Matt debuted his Darktrooper costume from Battlefront, made by local costume maker Oota Goota. Celebrity guest Nathan Fillion actually snapped a quick Instagram pic of Matt in his costume, which was a fun way to kick off the convention!

Armageddon Auckland 2018

This year we really focused on taking photos, but Matt still found the time to wear his Darktrooper armour again. Juliet had fun coming up with a full themed outfit for each day of the convention, and we saw as many panels as we could – including Christina Ricci, and many actors from Supernatural.

Armageddon Auckland 2019

2019 was a great year for Star Wars guests – we had four Star Wars voice actors in attendance! We attended the panels for Sam Witwer (Starkiller/Darth Maul), Jason Isaacs (Grand Inquisitor), Steve Blum (Zeb), and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Arihnda Pryce), and got all their autographs – they were all amazing to meet in person.

Armageddon Auckland 2020

We were very fortunate that Armageddon Auckland was able to be held in 2020 – we had no covid community cases at the time, so large events were safe. Of course international guests couldn’t attend, so almost all the guests attended via virtual panels, video calling in from around the world. My personal highlight was Ashley Eckstein’s panel – the voice of Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars and Rebels.

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As big fans of The Chronicles of Riddick, Matt and I had dreamed of owning costumes of the main characters since we first saw the film. We were able to purchase screen used Necromonger Captain and Necromonger Convert costumes in 2005, but we missed out on any Riddick or Dame Vaako costumes.

In early 2011, The Prop Store of London listed the black/gold Dame Vaako dress, worn by Thandie Newton. It was expensive, but it had been years since I had seen one of her outfits come up for sale. I knew I was a similar height to Thandie Newton, so we decided to take the leap and buy it. Took a few months to pay the installments, and a frustrating delay at customs, but it arrived in time for DragonCon 2011.

The sleeveless dress is made from black mesh fabric, covered in gold latex scales, with an invisible zip up the back. As fate would have it, I actually had a swatch of the fabric used for other Dame Vaako gold dress (thanks to a wonderful friend), so I was able to compare the fabrics and colours between this black/gold dress and Dame Vaako’s classic gold dress. It’s interesting to see the difference in colour and texture.

As with buying any screen-used main character costume, it can be a big risk buying an expensive costume that you hope to wear without knowing if it will fit. The mesh fabric has a little bit of stretch, but it fits me like a glove! I was so excited when it finally arrived, I tried it on straight away for a few quick photos.

It was such an amazing experience, trying it on for the first time and finding that it fit me perfectly. Even with heels on, the hem of the dress is a little long on me – but it appears to be quite long on Thandie Newton in the film too, as you can’t see her shoes/feet when she walks in it. All of Dame Vaako’s dresses seem to be designed to ‘pool’ on the floor a little – very glamorous and dramatic.

Unlike the other Dame Vaako costumes, this outfit doesn’t have any accessories – no jewelry, spine/back decorations, belt, or even shoes. It appears Dame Vaako does not wear shoes with this dress – her bare feet are seen very briefly when she falls on the floor in one scene. So, this dress is a complete screen-used outfit by itself. To complete the look to wear at DragonCon, I wore nude colour underwear with this dress (as it is visible through the mesh fabric), and a pair of black heels.

As I don’t wish to wear this costume barefoot at conventions, I decided to find out more information about the footwear used for the classic Dame Vaako long-sleeved gold dress which was also sold through The Prop Store. The website listing for that costume pictured a pair of high heel shoes, with the brand name ‘Peter Fox’ visible on the inner sole, and described as US size 7. Doing some research on the brand, the shoes are the style ‘Dorothea’, which were then covered with the same gold scale mesh fabric as the dress.

After a lot of hunting, I finally found a pair in my size, which also happens to be the same size Thandie Newton wore. My original plan was to have the shoes dyed black to match the dress (as they are dye-able white Italian silk bridal shoes), but it appears Peter Fox no long produce shoes, so I am keeping them in their original state for now.

For this outfit, Dame Vaako wears her hair in a long fishtail-style braid down her back. For DragonCon, I made a long braid from a synthetic wig, but it proved too heavy to wear for long periods of time and it never clipped in as well as I had hoped. When photographed from the front, the braid is not seen so I took it out for comfort and wore my hair tied back in a short ponytail. I plan to source a better braid for the next time I wear the costume.

This outfit was a very exciting addition to our collection of The Chronicles Of Riddick costumes. The dress feels amazing to wear, and I love the train. I am so happy I took the chance and bought it! Now that Thandie Newton has appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story, I own a costume worn by a Star Wars actress!

Worn at – DragonCon 2011.

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Our first joint Star Wars collectible was this jedi comlink prop replica, that we made together in mid 2004 (as an accessory for Anaria’s jedi costume). It is made from a resin cast of the razor, with added greeblies, to resemble the one used by Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace.

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