Alien / Nostromo Uniforms

[CaptainSmek]

Hi all. I'm new here. I found the RPF from watching Adam Savage's Tested. I've been reading so many threads and I'm inspired to start way too many projects. Here's my current one.

I've been wanting a Nostromo jacket, but the base jacket (RAF MK3) is too baggy for my taste. I want something that looks like its from the movie, but also something I'd wear every day. So I started with this one that I found on Amazon:

WenVen Men's Casual Cotton Military Jacket

Amazon.com

$51.99

It has stripes down the arms that are reminiscent of the one from the movie. I knew I probably wasn't going to attempt the paracord laces, so this would suffice for me.

I took off all of the existing patches and tags, and ordered Nostromo patches and pins that I found on eBay:

5 pcs Set - Alien Movie Weyland Corporation Nostromo Crew Wings Costume Patches

Crafts Alien Iron - On Sewing Patches for sale | eBay

Get the best deals on Crafts Alien Iron - On Sewing Patches and find everything you'll need to make your crafting ideas come to life with eBay.com. Fast & Free shipping on many items!

www.ebay.com

$13.50 + $3.20 shipping

Original Alien Movie Nostromo Uniform Divisional Pins- Set of 4 or Individually

Original Alien Movie Nostromo Uniform Divisional Pins- Set of 4 or Individually | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Original Alien Movie Nostromo Uniform Divisional Pins- Set of 4 or Individually at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

$7.99 each + $3 shipping

I aged the patches by soaking them in tea and drying them in the oven. That barely made any difference. Then I tried again with coffee and they came out great. Then I roughed them up with some 150 grit sandpaper.

Then I sewed them on to the jacket. I included the Weyland-Yutani Corp one even though it wasn't on the original because I liked the way it looked. I roughed up the jacket with sandpaper as well. This is what I have so far:

So far it has cost me $79.68 and about 6 hours of work.

I'm considering what to do next. Here's my list:
1. Writing Nostromo on the back. I only want to do this if I can come up with a way to make it very faded and worn.
2. Aging the pin. I was thinking perhaps scratching it with sandpaper, applying some dark enamel paint to the crevices, and wiping the rest off.
3. Adding a Weyland manufacturers tag. I found some on eBay but they're too small for the space. I could try hand embroidering one, but I'm sure it would look handmade, which feels like the opposite of what it should be.
4. The snaps and zippers all say WENVEN. It's so close to Weyland that I was wondering if there was some way I could modify them. Even the logo is tempting me for modification. No idea how I might do that though.

In the meantime, I've already started working on a shirt using some of the left over aged patches, plus I ordered the wings from Magnoli Clothiers.

 

[Trebor]

I don't know if anyone ever posted this link to a production made Brett death scene hat

Alien - Brett's Death Scene Hat with Nostromo Patch (Harry Dean Stanton)

Alien - Brett's Death Scene Hat with Nostromo Patch (Harry Dean Stanton) - ScreenUsed

www.icollector.com

 

[ArtooThreepio12]

Nicely done! You’ve got the vibe down really well.

 

[CaptainSmek]

I've been working on a Nostromo shirt too. I started with this shirt from Amazon:

Foxfire Thunder River Gear Mens Long Sleeve Cotton Travel Safari Passport Shirt
$45.98

The first thing I did was remove all of the tags, including that annoying one sticking out from under the left breast pocket. The shirt is plenty long, so I cut off a few inches of fabric from the bottom of the front, and then repaired the hem.

I used the fabric I had cut off to make the loops that go over the right breast pocket and the name-tag holder that goes over the left pocket. The pin on the collar was left over from the pack of 4 that I bought on eBay for my jacket, and the patch on the shoulder was also left over from that project.

Then I sewed on the silver wings from Magnoli Clothiers, which look amazing, even more so in person.

Nostromo Rank Wing Patches
$20

I chose the silver wings. So I guess it's a combination of Kane and Ash’s shirts, since I used the science officer pin.

Then I tried it out with some accessories. I put a pair of sunglasses in the shoulder pocket, and I thought I had a tiny black flashlight to clip on the loops but it was too big, so I just put on a pen cap for now until I can find a tiny clip-on flashlight that fits.

This shirt is super comfortable. The fabric feels both soft and strong, and I love having all of these pockets.

I figure it cost about $76 in total, plus about 4 hours of work.

 

[joberg]

Great work on that shirt!!

 

[nailuj]

Yes, love the shirt.

 

[Octipig]

It was a couple of years ago that I made my Nostromo jacket. I planned on full kit, but stalled. Recently got fired up, finished my shirt, started on the PF Flyers. Pants and switching insignia for the Magnoli versions.

The shirt was a pain, but it's done.

.

 

[Banzai88]

Very nice work Octipig !

 

[Octipig]

Thanks for the kudos.

I probably posted previously how I found the shirt. Go to the famous online auction site and search for a "snap front" shirt. Snap buttons? Narrow the search criteria as much as you can and you'll get some good options that will save you a bunch of work.

The problem with this one is that the seems were difficult to open, even with a seem tearing tool. The flight jacket was a piece of cake compared to this.

 

[Octipig]

Finally finished my shoes today. These are PF Flyers. The good news is that they're entirely white, no stripes to paint over. The bad news is that the
logo is an iron-on or decal. Looks like I'll cover with Krylon unless someone on these pages knows how to remove those.

I was on the fence regarding whether or not to make the shoes, really glad I did. Photo does no justice in showing how the d-rings transform the hi-tops to look like some sort of space boot. I started laughing as soon as I tried them on.

 

[Banzai88]

Octipig I finished a pair as well, though I didn't need to since my jacket is Kane's version. But they do look cool.

 

[joberg]

The Flyers are looking good (too good...kinda like the worn look) Are you going to add the third vent hole at the side?

 

[Octipig]

I don't think I'm going to bother with third vent hole. It's a good reason to buy a grommet tool however, so maybe.

What I think I will do is sew a folded wash cloth or something under the tongue of each shoe to increase the appearance of bulk. These shoes are pretty loose fitting, and added bulk might add to the boot effect, making them look less like a sneaker. I'll try it without sewing them in first.

It's past time I start thinking about a sewing device. If anybody has suggestions for a sewing machine particularly well suited to the needs of a hobbyist I'd like to hear them.

 

[Octipig]

Banzai88
I did the Kane jacket as well, and I have suitable boots. I couldn't resist the sneaker either. I'm more interested in having a Nostromo uniform, rather than duplicate a given character. It's a subtle difference I guess.

 

[Octipig]

Saw these and couldn't help posting an image here. They'd be a good match, but at $255, more than I spent on all materials for full Nostromo kit.

 

[Banzai88]

They do look good, but yeah that price...

 

[Draco Wolfsbane]

255!? That is steep. You can def get PF Flyers for a lot less than that, even here in UK which is harder.

 

[NostromoCrew]

Hello everyone!

I was a “silent observer and reader” on this forum for years now, delving into the wealth of knowledge and obsession over detail that many of the members were have. A truly great place for hardcore sci-fi fans. Above all others 1979's 'Alien' steadily has moved up my list of all time favourite movie. I’ve made myself and some friends a few Nostromo jackets, and wanted to share with you a little detail I custom made and added to my jackets that made them feel a little more real, to give it the “company/military issue” feel. Im talking about clothing labels.

Ive made this one thinking about how the great Ron Cobb would have designed a Weyland-Yutani standard issue uniform clothing label and I have came up with this final design:

I couldn't be happier with the final result:

And on the finished jacket it looks so good:

And the jacket itself:

Anyways, I wanted to share some of the results of this passion, and to thank so many of the long time members of this forum for their inspiration

 

[Indy Magnoli]

Great idea! I love in-world creations like this. Well done!

 

[stephen210]

Most awesome.