Alien / Nostromo Uniforms

[tlr 1172]

...And now the pants...

So, having completed the jacket (which was a very detailed process, to say the least; see post #510) and the shirt, I made the 3rd vital component. What I based them on is actually some type of military cook/medical pants (see image of label attached) which was a semi-thick poly/cotton that worked out great. Only catch was that the pants had the pockets in the completely wrong place, so I had to seal and cover kinda thing. If you look closely at the inside detail, you can see where the back pockets were cut and sewn shut. I had exactly ONE reference image, a pile of special edition DVDs, and a lot of head-bashing about exactly which way the damn velcro straps on the ankles ran. Oh...yes, there is one glaring mistake on the kneepad where I forgot to seal up a break in the outer edge. But considering that the actual movie costumes are damaged and dirty, I might just leave it there...turn a bug into an extra feature, as it were. If anyone uses these same pants as a base for their own project, one word of warning...they are snug in the hips...even for me who has no actual, uh, contours to speak of. I bought 2 pair and sacrificed one for the other. Oh...the blue Weyland-Yutani logo is just me playing around with my embroidery machine, but it gives a note of authenticity, type thing. Anyone needing advice on making a pair can ask for whatever details they wish, of course. Hope they do the originals justice...enjoy the images.

 

[Banzai88]

Again--excellent work! Nice detail on the WY label too.

 

[tlr 1172]

Cotton pants idea

It occurred to me just after my last post that if white cotton pants are needed, a person could use one of the many types of military snow camo pants. Most of them are cotton, baggy (for extra fabric)...and, perhaps appropriately, usually slightly dingy and yellowed from being in storage since the early cold war era But, sadly, the Canadian military uses nylon (a sad stain on my patriotism)...

 

[tlr 1172]

Belt buckle greeblie solution

Having not identified the white plastic greeblies on Kane and Ash's belts, I showed a picture of the original buckle to my girl. She came back 20 seconds later with some plastic thing that looks like a very acceptable (and very similiar) alternative. I would NEVER have guessed this...what she came back with was a small plastic piece that slides over the prong openings on an extension cord. I just turned it backwards! :confused I will post a picture of this asap. Anyone reading this...go and look at one. Is it as close as I think it is? If so, I can take no credit for the discovery :angry

 

[Deimoz]

Purely awesome work, especially the Wey-Yu label - I love it

 

[tlr 1172]

Thank you for the kind words regarding my project. The label was an afterthought, but the color matches the wings on the shirt, I noticed after. My next project is a belt (not sure what color the buckle is). I will try to post images of the buckle as it is under construction. What a pity that there is no close location that holds events to display all this at (other than Winnipeg, not sure about that.) I will keep everyone posted.

 

[tlr 1172]

Jacket construction followup

It amazes me how very detailed the members of this forum can get with their obsess...sorry, uh, hobby :lol...so I will give some additional details regarding the jacket that started this whole process. I have to date not included any more images of the jacket completed, so a few words on the detailing are in order. The base garment I actually used is a fairly rare Canadian military (land force) jacket designed for tank crews in cold weather. For those people that want to use one, and do not like wool...BEWARE! The entire insulation layer (kinda like fiberglass and itchy to handle) had to be almost forensically removed, and a new lining constructed. The detailing could not have been done without the nylon inner lining removed. The lacing panels were constructed using canvas from a military shelter half, some cotton tape (1/2" I believe) and a soft OD cord that apparently only us Canadians use ( have never found it available anywhere). They were sewn separately and attaced once completed. The original jacket had a sewn-in hood and no collar. I did not use a traditional pointed collar but instead used a variant. The blue was chosen to match the flight wings. The original jacket also lacked the velcro wrist closures, so I made them from more canvas. The back lettering was the step that began it all. Having read multiple posts regarding silk-screening, die-cut printing, etc, I did not want to risk damaging a vintage 1966 item by screwing up. What I actually did was generate the text on computer using pump demibold and used the hardcopy to...get this...cut the letters out of 2-inch black velcro loop tape with tiny scissors. Then the letters were sewn into the shell. I could not find ANY source of the RAF MK3 originals. This base jacket was perfect (once all the inside stuff was out.) The label on the lacket reads "Jacket, Mans, Cold Weather AFV Crew". It has double epaulets (one pair sewn in to pull your ass out of a burning tank with) and a grab handle on the back. The original penloops were simply moved. It is a heavy cotton material, which is why I used cotton for the lacing and panel details. But one burning question...how would you eat anything wearing a jacket like this without the wrist laces dipping into your food? :unsure

 

[SKIN JOB 66]

The label was an afterthought, but the color matches the wings on the shirt, I noticed after.

The original costumes were (from what I know) also labelled, stamped should I say, by Ron Cobb among others... I believe this stamp looked a lot like the tiny red WY wings you can see on Kane's "medical gown" (located on the chest).

GREAT work on the trousers BTW !!!!!

:love

Fred

 

[tlr 1172]

Wow...I had no idea that those gowns were stamped. Although I like the white color of them, and the pink piping--is that correct? So now my girlfriend will want to watch Alien again (for research :lol) and grab screenshots. I just KNEW that there was a reason for watching it over and over. Thanks for the info on that. And thanks for the compliment as well. I just love this stuff!

 

[SKIN JOB 66]

You're very welcome tjr !
(and if you want to learn more about A L I E N, please don't hesitate to visit us at Propsummit.com a Blade Runner Prop Community Forum BladeRunnerProps.comIndex where we have grown an interesting area devoted to sir Scott's masterpiece these last years)

Oh, BTW, I think what we consider the medical gown is instead was the crew's "spacesuit underwear"...

:love

 

[tlr 1172]

Belt buckle greeblie images

Here are the images of the plastic piece my girlfriend thought would work on a nostromo belt buckle (see post #804). The dimensions are 5/16" x 3/4". These are white, although it is not all that bright in the image. How close are these? Would they work well?

 

[SSGT Kitten]

Re: Belt buckle greeblie images

Here are the images of the plastic piece my girlfriend thought would work on a nostromo belt buckle (see post #804). The dimensions are 5/16" x 3/4". These are white, although it is not all that bright in the image. How close are these? Would they work well?

I used something similar when I made my Nostromo costume, except I used caps from a 9V battery (originally black, spray painted white). I still have not discovered what the greeblies actually are, but I think I saw a post where Richie (of Riche's Armor and the awesome Mobeius suit fame) had found out what it was.

Charlie

 

[yojimbo13]

New to this wonderfull site i am having trouble locating the laure wreath on bretts hat any help would be great.

 

[SSGT Kitten]

New to this wonderfull site i am having trouble locating the laure wreath on bretts hat any help would be great.

Any Army/Navy surplus will have them. Just tell them you are looking for "scrambled eggs" patches for an officer's hat. (No kidding, it's the slang for them in the military.) It should be sold as two pieces in a set.

Charlie

 

[YuriGagarin61]

The original costumes were (from what I know) also labelled, stamped should I say, by Ron Cobb among others... I believe this stamp looked a lot like the tiny red WY wings you can see on Kane's "medical gown" (located on the chest).

GREAT work on the trousers BTW !!!!!

:love

Fred

Fred--you ROCK. I was wondering about the red Weylan-Yutani sundisc thingers on the boxers, and the Medical gown...

 

[YuriGagarin61]

Any Army/Navy surplus will have them. Just tell them you are looking for "scrambled eggs" patches for an officer's hat. (No kidding, it's the slang for them in the military.) It should be sold as two pieces in a set.

Charlie

Check ebay--search "scrambled eggs Navy cap"; I recently scored faux-gold metallic scrambled eggs pair on ebay. An art supplier oddly enough was the vendor.

 

[tlr 1172]

Re: Belt buckle greeblie images

I used something similar when I made my Nostromo costume, except I used caps from a 9V battery (originally black, spray painted white). I still have not discovered what the greeblies actually are, but I think I saw a post where Richie (of Riche's Armor and the awesome Mobeius suit fame) had found out what it was.

Charlie

Yes, I read your posts regarding the costumes you made. The battery cover is a great idea, and I enjoyed seeing the stages of your work in progress. And very nicely done, too. I particularly enjoyed the design sketches. I do not have the materials for a pair of Nostromo shoes, but I would like to say that I sympathize with you about the fumes from nylon lacing. I avoid the contamination by using a punch (the rotating multi-size type) and sealing the edges with a lighter. Well, I minimize the exposure. I look forward to any additional project posts you may submit. Nice work!

 

[SSGT Kitten]

Re: Belt buckle greeblie images

Yes, I read your posts regarding the costumes you made. The battery cover is a great idea, and I enjoyed seeing the stages of your work in progress. And very nicely done, too. I particularly enjoyed the design sketches. I do not have the materials for a pair of Nostromo shoes, but I would like to say that I sympathize with you about the fumes from nylon lacing. I avoid the contamination by using a punch (the rotating multi-size type) and sealing the edges with a lighter. Well, I minimize the exposure. I look forward to any additional project posts you may submit. Nice work!

Thank you for the compliments! The PF flyers are an awesome base, even if you don't do the mods. I've been given a source for some smaller D-rings; I may be able to update that in a month or two but I am NOT looking forward to redoing the lacing. I never thought of using a punch; I will have to look into that.

Next project in the works is a Colonial Marine from Aliens. I've been given the green light by the wife, so some parts are already on order. I'm doing another sketch book now and I hope to start a thread soon.

Charlie

 

[tlr 1172]

Re: Belt buckle greeblie images

Next project in the works is a Colonial Marine from Aliens. I've been given the green light by the wife, so some parts are already on order. I'm doing another sketch book now and I hope to start a thread soon.

Charlie

My girl has also given me the green light to do a Colonial Marine outfit (I just love a sci-fi chick :love) She wants to do (of course) Vasquez. Not sure if this thread is the correct one, so until I know for sure, I will not get in depth about it. However, I do have some ideas...

 

[tlr 1172]

Nostromo shoe question

Hi Charlie...I forgot to ask...are the screws you used for the Nostromo shoes (holy cr*p it rhymes)...where was I? I found something called "chicago screws". Is that what you used for the lacing mod? My immediate thought was bicycle parts (hazard of the profession I guess). Just a little mind-bubble. Let me know if I'm on the right track.