Howdy, it’s Jordan here again. As part of the launch of the Halo Community section, I’m continuing with the Q&As, which brings me onto the second one of the week. While the first Q&A focused on an Halo page admin, this weeks focuses on a different approach to being a Halo fan. A cosplayer, in fact. For those who aren’t aware of what this is, a cosplayer is pretty much someone who dresses up in costumes made by them or others, to take on the illusion of being that character. Cosplay in fact meaning something similar to costume play.
In this second Q&A I spoke to Jimmy Taggart, who is known in the Facebook page, and cosplay world as J Spartan 115, or more recently, “The Baby Chief”. I asked some questions about how he started as a cosplayer, how he got to where he is now, and where he plans to go next. The following answers are what he had to say. Enjoy.
Q: What is “J Spartan 115”?
A: J Spartan 115 or The Baby Chief is my own Spartan out of Halo. I chose the Name J Spartan 115, because the J represents my name, Jimmy, and 5 is my lucky Number, hence the 5 in 115.
Q: How did you first get into cosplaying?
A: I got into cosplay because I loved making costumes for Halloween! I found out about cons and just literally went straight into it!
Q: Who influenced you into making a page?
A: My Partner Cassandra Lemon gave me the confidence and support I needed. That I should make a page as an outlet for my creativity of cosplay, and to share my knowledge of Halo.
Q: What’s your most memorable moment as a Halo fan?
A: OK, I can’t pick just one I’m sorry.
When I first wore my Gen two armour that my father and I made. It was the best one I had when I was young. Second was meeting Nathan Fillion (AKA BUCK from Halo ODST / Halo 5) and getting a picture with him at Fanexpo in my Mjolnir with Reno Russel Spartan 066 The Last Recon. Third would be winning the Halo 5 Twitter contest by meeting Greenskull. Also meeting him again and hanging with him at X15 Xbox Media Event, along with Ready Up Live. While there I also got to go on stage, and experienced Xbox donning me the THE BABY CHIEF!
Q: What is your proudest achievement as a Halo fan?
A: I think my proudest achievement as a Halo Fan is meeting new people in the Halo Community. Teaching people how to make armour, and inspiring people just being part of the most amazing community I know!
Q: Do you have a favourite Halo game?
A: Halo 2 has to be my favourite Halo Game, just because the story picks up full throttle, and when in combat, actually hijacking a vehicle, well, when I was Young I was like ” YOU CAN DO THAT?! “
Q: If you had to act out a scene from the Halo franchise, what would it be?
A: If I can act out a Halo Scene from the franchise well… I’ve already done that, on stage at Fanexpo. It was for the Masquerade. It was the scene from Halo 3 when John meets up with Cortana in the Flood infested High Charity, and acted the whole scene out everyone. I loved it, and I sorta got teary in my helmet to be honest.
Q: What’s your favourite Halo quote and why?
A: My Favourite Quote is from Halo 2, and is “Don’t make a girl a promise, if you know you can’t keep it.” Why? It’s just a rule I go by in my relationship of 8 years. It’s worked so far it must be good.
Q: Do you have any plans for future armour or props?
A: Yes. I am making new armour. It’s a combination of Halo 4 and 5’s Master Chief, and Halo Forward Unto Dawn’s Master Chief, along with Kat’s Robotic arm from Halo Reach. Halo 4’s helmet, Forward Unto Dawn’s chest, Foward Unto Dawn’s legs (besides the boots), Forward Unto Dawn’s Biceps, Halo 4’s Shoulders and Gauntlet, and finally Kat’s robotic arm. Colour wise it’ll be army green for the base and red accents for the details. 115 on the chest, blue lights, and a gold visor too, for the extra detail.
Q: If you could give advice to future cosplayers what would it be?
A: Believe in yourself. Make friends that believe in you, and most of all believe in you!!! Said it twice but I can’t say it enough!
As a fellow cosplayer, I really enjoyed talking to Jimmy about his journey. Where he started, where he is, and where he’s going. The Halo community is full of passion, kindness, love, and care. Jimmy is an individual that shows all of these to his fellow fans, and he’s honestly one of the nicest guys I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
If you’d like to show your support to him, feel free to go and like his page, “J Spartan 115“, or follow him on Instagram or Twitter.
You can also check out 7S Photography and SMArt Customs by clicking their names below.
For any details on events or community projects, keep to to date with the XBLG Twitter account and our XBLG Community Facebook group to check out if you fancy getting more involved with your fellow hubbers. You can also check out our Facebook page and Youtube channel for extra content. Are you a fan of cosplay and fan art too? If the answer is yes, you can head over to The Worlds First Poncho Chief for additional Halo related goodness.
(Photo Credit: 7S Photography. Figure and photo of figure by SMArt Customs.)
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