kman
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Posts posted by kman
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7 hours ago, nocternus said:
For me personally the push button rank bar is the only way to go
An excellent option, if you're handy enough to make them yourself. I don't think anyone is currently selling the pushbutton rank bars.
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2 hours ago, Ikas Ando said:
Awesome, thanks for the information. I am in need of the code cylinders and rank bar, maybe the hat? I'll post some pictures of the Magnoli uniform if anyone is interested.
Best code cylinders are from Philo, sold here in the forums. Excellent replica dosimeters. I think TiggWolf is the only one currently selling rank bars, but I'd email to see what the current delivery time is, because Tiggie has been running a little behind lately.
The Disney Store hat is great, if you're the right hat size. (Somewhere between 7 1/8 and 7 1/4 is my guess) Otherwise you'll need to find another vendor. Sewing Jenny is one of the most popular, but again, she has a lot of customers so there will be a delay before yours can be custom made. (Look for ASU_Marine's thread in the sales forum)
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On 8/28/2016 at 3:24 AM, AdmiralOzzel said:
Hi there! I bought 501st Sovietboots and i am still waiting on them. Has anybody experience with them and the shipping procedure?
I bought this one: SOVIET OFFICER RIDING LEATHER BOOTS 501ST and the shipping status is now "Dispatching abroad from Ukrainian exchange office" since 22.08.16.
Greetings Rene
I ordered from their eBay store, but same company, as I understand it. I ordered May 27 and they arrived in California on June 13, from the Ukraine. If that helps.
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17 hours ago, Ikas Ando said:
After a long delay I'm trying to finally put together an Imperial Officer costume. There are two sites I've found that might fit the bill, one is Magnolia Clothiers, and the other is Anovos. Is anyone familiar with either? Can anyone give me an average on how much they spent on the tunic, pants, belt, hat? (If they bought them that is?). I tried another site in the past, Historical Clothing Realm, and it was a disaster. I have a belt, gloves, and boots, I might need new code cylinders.
Anyways, If anyone has advice on putting together a quality costume, finding all the pieces and whatnot, that would be great.
Thanks.
Magnoli is a custom clothing shop which hand-tailors fine clothing. They do everything from bespoke suits to detailed wardrobe recreations. They're highly respected in the industry. Based in New Zealand. Their customer service is top notch, and they bend over backwards to get every last detail right, and make the customer very happy. That said, they're also pretty stupendously expensive, compared to other sources. Somewhat a case of "you get what you pay for." You'd have to contact them to see how long their current delivery estimate for a uniform might be. I can nearly guarantee you'll be thrilled with the end product, IF you can afford it.
The Anovos uniform looks very good, in photos, and they tend to make pretty high quality pieces, so it's entirely possible their kit will be excellent. But no one has ever seen a finished, non-prototype uniform in person, because they don't exist yet. Further, they have a TERRIBLE track record for delivering items on the timeline they promise on their website. (There are people who have ordered armor from them a YEAR ago who still have not received theirs.) And their customer service is, let's just say, "spotty". At best. So you might do well with them (eventually...) or you might have an on-going nightmare. No real way to know which way things will go with these particular uniforms until they actually start shipping the pieces people have paid for.
The other option that's quite popular in my area (SoCal) is Cosplay Sky. They are NOT PERFECT. Even with their added-cost "custom size" option, you are almost certain to need to take it to a local tailor for alterations. That said, the starting point is SO inexpensive that this usually works out quite well. My wife's total cost is looking to be well under $200 (not including hat and accessories, but including the post-purchase tailoring), since she got hers on sale, and mine wasn't much over that. If you go that route, be sure to select the "New" Officer's uniform, as the others are not constructed to 501st standards. They generally deliver to SoCal in 11-12 days, based on the two I've ordered (and a couple others I know who had similar delivery timeframes). (Note: Their hat is NOT approvable... if you go with the green Line Officer you'll need to buy some extra fabric from them so it matches, and have it made elsewhere. For the black officer hats, there are a number of more easily-obtained options that match just fine.)
As for obtaining all the other various pieces, boots tend to be the most difficult to get right, depending on your budget. If you can smile while buying $500 equestrian boots, there should be no problem. If you're going to wince at finding $100 used boots, it's going to take some searching.
All the rest of the parts (belt, code cylinders, belt boxes) can easily be purchased here, from people selling the parts in the sales forums.
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2 hours ago, RynoHawk said:
As long as they are comfortable and "look the part", they should be good for basic approval (that is the purpose of the tier system, isn't it?
). However, I would be genuinely curious to see how they (and your feet/legs) hold up after a long troop though as rubber doesn't breathe or stretch like leather. Being a big guy with big feet/calves and on a modest budget, I'm always looking for alternatives.
It's been decades, but I had rubber riding boots that I wore for horseback riding, in my youth. They looked good, actually... similar to the ones in the OP. But you're right, they don't breathe at all, and they don't move like leather, either, in terms of bending your ankles, etc. Leather is a huge improvement.
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1 hour ago, TK5759 said:
I think some further clarification on the definition of rubber boots would be simple enough.
Something like:
"Rubber boots that do not emulate the look and style of equestrian boots will not be allowed."
That makes sense to me. I was recently reading that when the CRLs were first developed, the state of "rubber boots" in the equestrian sense was a LOT uglier than the nicer ones are today.
Not that I have a horse in this race (ha!), since I'm all about the leather...
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I'd say it can be done, but you'll need to start with some things right away.
There's time to get the belt and rank bars. The belts are cut to size (by you, the end user) so that won't be affected by any weight loss, just wait until the last minute. That gives plenty of time to get them in... and since there CAN be delays on those (mine have been taking a kind of crazy amount of time to get to me, from TiggWolf), I'd move sooner rather than later on them.
Boots tend to be the hardest part to dial in. I'd start hunting those down right away, as well. If you think you'll lose a large amount of weight in your calves, that could be an issue, but otherwise, your show size won't likely change, so that's something you can start on right away as well.
CosplaySky tends to get you your custom sized Officer order in just under 2 weeks, based on the two I've ordered from them this year (me and my wife, both exactly 12 days to my doorstep in Los Angeles). It will almost certainly need some tweaking, however, to fit right (despite what "custom" would lead you to believe), so that part depends on your tailor. Most alterations are only a few hours of work for a good tailor, but if they're busy, getting those few hours of work done, especially getting close to Halloween, can be an problem. As I said, depends entirely on your tailor. If you have a good one who is available, knocking that out in a day is no issue.
Finally, the hat. The hat is a lot tougher to get fast, OR really easy. If you get lucky, and have the right size head, Museum Replica hats pop up on eBay periodically. Or, better yet, the Disney Store hats available online are approvable and inexpensive. (They used to only be sold in the launch bay but they sell them online now as well) BUT they only make them in one size, and not adjustable. If you happen to fit that size (I'm guessing 7 1/2 but can't swear to it since it's not marked), you're golden. If not, you'll need to go custom, and that takes time. Definitely something to jump on right away.
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Figures, since I just finally decided to put in an order with Sewing Jenny. I wonder whether their hats will launch before hers is completed?
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35 minutes ago, TheScorpion said:
If I want the olive green do I order the deluxe black uniform and request for them to use the olive green or do I just order the Star Wars Imperial Officer Olive Green Costume Uniform? I read somewhere on here that the new deluxe black is the most accurate?
Note that I inquired about the olive uniforms and they are NOT part of the sale. They will probably raise the price to the normal price for the olive version. (Which frankly is still pretty reasonable IMO)
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You didn't mention budget. It's going to be VERY difficult to buy new boots from a retail establishment that are inexpensive (or even semi-reasonable). That pretty much requires buying online and taking a gamble on size.
If budget is no issue, however, it really should not be hard to find a new good pair of equestrian boots in any shop that caters to the equestrian community, dressage riding in particular. You're just looking for plain black leather riding boots. Should be pretty simple, if you can afford to buy new equestrian boots retail.
If you're willing to gamble a little on sizing, Hessen Antiques or Todd's Costumes (Han Solo boots) are the most reasonable I've seen, for people who fit in their size ranges. Otherwise, it's the usual gamble on used boots from eBay, etc.
Boots are definitely the most difficult (and most expensive!) part of the imperial costume!
EDIT: I am, of course, referring to Officer's boots, here. Sorry I didn't make that more clear. For Jackboots, availability of look-alikes should be considerably simpler.
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Great info, thanks!
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I would imagine a ponytail would be the way to go, at a minimum, for those with longer hair. See, for instance, Admiral Daala: http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_daala_officer
For shorter hair, not much needs to be done, I'd think. See, for instance Juno Eclipse: http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_juno_eclipse_dress_uniform
Otherwise, yes, the classic military bun or braid seems like a solid choice. The one thing I probably would avoid is long loose and free-flowing. (Even if Isard managed to get away with it!) http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_isard
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Yes, I know the Spanish tops are canon, and in the CRL, I just don't happen to care for them quite as much, personally. I like the flatter top look better, is all.
I agree the second boots seem the most promising. As soon as I can confirm some measurements, I'll run them by my wife and pick them up. Thanks!
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Also good tip, thanks!
I've actually found a few boots on Etsy that might be better (I'm not a huge fan of the higher peak on the outside, if it can be avoided):
https://www.etsy.com/listing/238732851/vintage-80s-black-leather-riding-boots
https://www.etsy.com/listing/220071036/vintage-black-leather-riding-boots-tall
https://www.etsy.com/listing/217504074/sale-cavallo-leather-dressage-boots
I'll be sure to check the various measurements with the sellers before buying anything.
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That's a good point. Thanks!
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Setting up my wife for Staff Officer. Would these equestrian boots work for her? I'd like to be level 3 capable.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=252483517665&globalID=EBAY-US
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Thank you for clarifying, Danielle! I've used interfacing, but not heat n bond, so was not aware there was a notable difference.
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1 hour ago, Mnt33r said:
Thanks for posting this--I'm getting ready to try it out.
Question: When you place the adhesive on both the front and back of a flap inside the pant leg, are the two sides then glued together or do they remain separate?
Cheers,
Chappie
Adhesive interfacing is generally "adhesive" on only one side, and smooth (non-sticky) on the other. I think it's a normal practice to put a towel or something under the interfacing, regardless. (do one side at a time)
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4 hours ago, fil5117 said:
I managed to find a supplier of the old discontinued blue push buttons I used for my original rank bars, I managed to purchase some more at roughly £8 a button. Accuracy comes at a cost :/
Very true.
Although I hope you weren't trying to make four 6-button rank bars and one 12-button bar at the time!
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Wow, you were actually handed a camera and asked to be the photographer for everyone ELSE? That's messed up, and I would have some words with the rest of the group over that.
To be clear, the incidents I had referred to above where at an outdoor event and we were spread out. There WERE dedicated handlers, but they were helping others at the moment. When a couple comes up and wants to take a photo with the stormtrooper, and asks the Officer standing there to take it, that's not the same as the Officer being put on the spot for the entire run. Whether the officer chooses to be gracious is sort of in the officer's court, at that point. I would hope MOST people would not be rude should they choose to decline, after all, we're all there to have fun and interact, and a rude, mouthy officer refusing to help a couple of excited fans isn't going to promote the 501st best image.
My point was mostly observing that it happens from time to time. And happens more to characters without a helmet than those with (for obvious reasons), which is a category officers certainly fall into. Our Rey was asked to take a photo or two, at the event I was thinking of where this happened most often, and it wasn't a problem, either... she certainly got her fair share of photos with little girls.
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The rabbit hole continues...
I just added up my "ultimate rank bar wish list" to create rank bars for my wife and I. Two different rank bars, plus a third for her Daala, and I was looking at over $90 in push buttons! Whoops! Time to scale back the dream list, I think, and not try to do it all at once... LOL
Posting this to bring the topic back up, and add to my list of monitored threads.
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I don't have my ID finished yet (soon!), but I can share my thinking on the matter.
I mostly prefer my TK. It just gets a much more noticeable reaction. And nearly every troop when I've been trooping as a TK with some officers nearby, there's been times that the officer has been handed a camera and asked to take pictures of me with the person! Clearly there is a fan favorite.
OTOH, I do feel officers contribute to the feel of the event (obviously, else I wouldn't be bothering to put one together!). And some days you just don't want to put on that stifling armor, especially on high heat days!
And finally, for longer, extended events, it's nice to have something to change into, where you can continue trooping in more comfort. Particularly Cons: Troop for a few hours as a TK, and then switch to the ID for the duration, so you can actually SEE the Con, and interact a bit more, while still in a legit costume.
- Mac and WhiteWalker
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6 minutes ago, nocternus said:
It also depends what type pexiglass or push button
Is anyone selling the push button ones anymore? I thought the main vendor (in the merch forum, at least) closed up shop.
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Honestly it looks too big for you, to my eyes. And the front bill looks a little too large, although that's harder to say for sure.
If you fit the Disney Store hats (they're one size), approvable ones can be ordered online, inexpensively. If not, you may get lucky and find an eBay listing for Museum Replicas. Otherwise, one of the vendors selling here on this board can sell one to you, custom made to your measurements, but they take quite a while to make them.
2 questions Imperial Officer
in The Officer's Lounge
Posted · Edited by kman
1. Different officers wear different gloves. For the black Staff Officer, it's the gauntlet style. For the olive Line Officer (for ESB and ROTJ, at least), it's short black gloves with no extended cuff, which may be what you're seeing. Ditto some of the face characters.
2. Spanish style is the the kind where the outside edge of the top extends higher than the inside edge, to give the knee more coverage, in equestrian boots. As opposed to the flat boots that are the same height all the way around.