I'm glad you did. I've been slow to assemble my jacket(s) because of this detail. Now that it has been sorted, I don't have much left for excuses.
Jason1428
New Member
Hi everyone, I wanted to give something back to a community I have learned so much from.
My journey to the perfect nostromo wings replica.
So while I was working on my own Nostromo jacket, I never was happy with any of the wings that were out there – mostly off eBay which are machine sewn standard patch. Also available is Magnoli’s wings which are the best looking so far but not quite exactly like the on-screen ones.
At first, I thought they used metallic gold and silver embroidery thread such as this DMC metallic embroidery thread
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I am embarrassed to share this picture, this is my first ever attempt at replicating the Nostromo wings, but I will share it nonetheless:
View attachment 1343451
Needless to say, very bad, I know.
Then I went back to school researching the original wings from the movie:
First some background, John Mollo designed the original concept art for the wings inspired by ancient Egyptian iconography namely the winged sun:
View attachment 1343452
The ceiling of king Ramses VI tomb in the Vally of kings in Luxor:
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Other versions of the winged sun:
It is a symbol associated with divinity, royalty and power in the Ancient Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Persia).
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So I was after a version based on this design by John Mollo:
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Turns out there are 2 types of wing designs used by Dallas and Kane's costumes. One for the shirts and one for the jackets.
Shirt design, with somewhat of an "angular" wing:
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In this shape:
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( I'm not sure where this picture is from but my best guess is the original shirt worn by Parker/Dallas in several scenes?)
Jacket version of the wings, which is truer to Mollo's original sketch of a straighter 'boxed' shape:
View attachment 1343506View attachment 1343503View attachment 1343504View attachment 1343505View attachment 1343502View attachment 1343507
Thanks to a few members of the RPF, namely SG-RB and Funky, [EDIT Sept 3rd: Correction. It was stephen210 and funky]I have been able to get pictures of Kane's original jacket, which is a part of Bob Burns’s collection. These pictures are valuable in order to fully understand the design of the original screen used wings:
Kane jacket original:
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Dallas shirt:
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These pictures gave me a proper understanding of the making process that went in to these wings, namely the specific threading technique, placement, use of gold or yellow thread in combination with the metallic coil and dimensions of the piece as a whole.
Goldwork embroidery is an old embroidery technique considered very luxurious and once available only to the very wealthy. Used in religious, royal and nobility class textiles and military uniforms.
The threads used in goldwork are made from real metal. With some types of goldwork threads, the metal is wrapped around a fiber core, while with other types of metal threads, the whole “thread” is all metal. Therefore due to the intricate work involved, it is exclusively handmade. Thus the price is high compared to machine sewn patches.
Then, after spending hours reading through this very thread, I learned that almost a decade ago merliner made a run of 25 goldwork embroidered wings:
Merliner's wings:
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And as they are stunningly beautiful, I couldn’t help but notice that his wings were made from one type of shiny finish metallic thread. Whereas the on screen wings used a combination of shiny and matte finish.
As illustrated here:
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And can clearly be seen here, here and here:
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I then went to work, perfecting and improving my goldwork skills and working with a professional artist. I ended up with these samples:
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First proper attempt, but still not quite there:
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Further attempts: (with this one I was very happy, as it was very true to the original John Mollo design)
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But, alas, it is not the version that ended up in the movie, so I had to remove the wavy inner part of the wings. I eventually ended up with these two designs. I feel like these are the most true-to-screen and true-to-the-original-patches in both design and production process:
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In conclusion, I have spent a tremendous amount of time and effort trying to perfect these wings. it also adds to my appreciation of the creative process that went in to the production design of this film, it is truly mind blowing! It also just goes to show how far Ridley Scott's layer upon layer approach to movie making went. I am a bit biased, but I couldn't be happier with the end result. Hope you like them
Some comparison pictures:
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Notable attempts (I do not know by who, if anyone knows please let me know):
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[EDIT Sept 3rd: SG-RB, has brought to my attention that this is also merliner 's work. Thank you]
(I designed this post to be specifically and exclusively Nostromo wing patch oriented, so that all of the info is a little more concentrated instead of scattered across an 80 page thread..)
View attachment 1343739View attachment 1343740View attachment 1343742View attachment 1343742View attachment 1343743 Marvelous work you have done on these,, they look just brilliant fella.
Draco Wolfsbane
Active Member
What a great post, your dedication and work here is excellent. I love your finished wings!
I am lucky to have Merliner prototype wings on my Dallas jacket (the ones you listed as noble attempt) which I really like as well but would be more than happy to wear your wings if I was doing another jacket.
Hats off to you sir!!
I am lucky to have Merliner prototype wings on my Dallas jacket (the ones you listed as noble attempt) which I really like as well but would be more than happy to wear your wings if I was doing another jacket.
Hats off to you sir!!
Thank you sir!
Did you buy the wings from him over the forum? During my research I was trying to gather more details about his work but pictures from a decade ago, which were probably stored off site, are lost. He was last seen on the forum in Feb 2017, I would love to know more about that run...
Draco Wolfsbane
Active Member
Let me look back and I will PM you so as not to clog up the thread, if that's ok?
Octipig
Active Member
I've been working on a second Nostromo jacket, just for the heck of it. (I'll probably try to sell one of them somewhere down the line).
It's all done except for the ship's name. I'd previously cut a stencil by hand out of adhesive paper, which worked ok. I know there were some printed stencils used by some in these threads. Is anybody selling them?
Thanks-
It's all done except for the ship's name. I'd previously cut a stencil by hand out of adhesive paper, which worked ok. I know there were some printed stencils used by some in these threads. Is anybody selling them?
Thanks-
Pm'ed you.
stephen210
Sr Member
Excellent!!
JrnymanProtectr
Well-Known Member
[mention]winf [/mention] These look FANTASTIC!
Very well done aging and distressing. Very in tune with the theme of the film, used, greasy,... and as Ridley once slayed: "truck drivers in space."
Who needs PF with results like this? If I ever need to make another pair I'll definitely go this route. Can you post a pic of the rivets you used? I used white plastic rivets which work/look good, but the bottom part presses on top of the foot.
Draco Wolfsbane
Active Member
I used Chicago Screws painted white, worked well and are flat so are comfy. Photos are somewhere back in the thread.
Chicago screws here as well. I've been happy with the effect and feel.
Hi everyone,
I'm trying to get an interest run going - These will be super accurate copies of the Nostromo crew button down shirts.
One element that I know for sure was never before replicated is the spring snap button, designed by John Mollo and made by Bermans & Nathans costume house in London in 1978. If you would like to read more about this project, and perhaps even be interested in participating:
www.therpf.com
Original Dallas shirt:
Closeup on the button:
This has John Mollo's fingerprints all over it! the hexagonal shape that is all over the design of this film:
Vectorization of the pattern with the help of retrogarde, Thank you! :
First proof sample in Silver:
Next in the correct yellow Gold:
Video:
I couldn't help but notice that the design bore a striking resemblance to the Nostromo's engine nozzles:
I tried to dig, but couldn't get a lead on what was designed first, the costumes or the ships nozzles
Thank you!
I'm trying to get an interest run going - These will be super accurate copies of the Nostromo crew button down shirts.
One element that I know for sure was never before replicated is the spring snap button, designed by John Mollo and made by Bermans & Nathans costume house in London in 1978. If you would like to read more about this project, and perhaps even be interested in participating:
Limited Run - 1979 ALIEN - NOSTROMO CREW UNIFORM
ALIEN Nostromo Crew Shirt - Very Accurate Replica I am in the process of making myself and a few friends some very accurate copies of the buttoned down shirts the crew of the Nostromo wear. It would be a shame not to offer this out and see if anyone else would be interested. Some details that...
www.therpf.com
Original Dallas shirt:
Closeup on the button:
This has John Mollo's fingerprints all over it! the hexagonal shape that is all over the design of this film:
Vectorization of the pattern with the help of retrogarde, Thank you! :
First proof sample in Silver:
Next in the correct yellow Gold:
Video:
I couldn't help but notice that the design bore a striking resemblance to the Nostromo's engine nozzles:
I tried to dig, but couldn't get a lead on what was designed first, the costumes or the ships nozzles
Thank you!
retrogarde
Well-Known Member
The buttons turned out great! I am so excited by your progress on these uniforms!
