98% Finished! - Star Trek II Engineering Radiation Suit

Dude, Seriously, is there anything you can't put together and make it look easy (I did say make it LOOK easy lol)

Great job man!!!

Thanks, guys!

Cadeian said:

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Someday I wanna learn to sew this well.

It's doable- grab a sewing machine (an old thrift store find, for example) and go for it. It's just a matter of getting in the practice. My stuff is still pretty rough up close- I've got a ways further to go-


So, this week I got some mostly small stuff done. I did the shoulder boards:





And hand stitched on a lot of other stuff- such as the rank pin 'pillow'

I then convinced myself that the front panel was not wide enough. It just didn't look right, proportionally. So made a new one, and replaced it. (Making a new one is pretty easy- undoing and redoing all the hand stitching to replace it is not... D'oh!)

So here's where we are now- the jumpsuit is pretty much done:



I'm thinking all that padding at the hips is making me look fat. The solution to that is usually to pose with a phaser...



Next I'll need to get going on the big rubbery neck part. I'm getting the neoprene early next week, and I should have time to make the pattern this weekend.

I'll also need to make the boots- here's the target:



It seems like the best approach would be to do what I (believe) they did for the films- find some early '80s moon boots and cover them with material, piping and those circles. But I have not had any luck on ebay or etsy finding any in my size yet- any clever ideas here are welcome!

I'd say go with the slippers, It gives it a casual Friday look...

AWESOME work so far!

Absolutely fantastic work. Seriously I love your work. Please for the love of god start selling!

STpropguy76 said:

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I'd say go with the slippers, It gives it a casual Friday look...

(That's it, next time I'm posing wearing the BSG Sidi Fullbores...)

Thanks Amp & Peter!

While waiting for my neoprene I got a little bit more done. I made the pattern for the neck part-





And then used it to make a Foamy mockup to test how it lays on the costume.



I also convinced myself that my climbing harness loops were not convincing enough looking, so I did a second version of them.









The new shown with the old:





This is how things stand now.



I can't wait to start making the real neck part...

Wow. Amazing!

Perhaps a little OT, but how do you clean your costumes? Spot clean surface stains only? Dry clean? If I were wearing a white costume, it wouldn't stay white for long.

tim said:

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Wow. Amazing!

Perhaps a little OT, but how do you clean your costumes? Spot clean surface stains only? Dry clean? If I were wearing a white costume, it wouldn't stay white for long.

That is an excellent question. Normally, since I don't do much besides walk around and pose in these outfits, it isn't much of an issue. I just make a point to wear underclothes that can be easily washed, and spot clean the rest.

But this one has me worried, since it is white... Since it's all cotton, I could probably machine wash it if I had to, although I might have to remove most of the hand-stitched details first- (and I really would not like to do that. On the other hand, I think they did do that every time with the actual screen used outfits...)

My starting plan is to try to stay clean, spot wash anything I can, and hope for the best!

I am always blown away by the level of detail and craftsmanship that you are able to achieve.

Felgacarb said:

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That is an excellent question. Normally, since I don't do much besides walk around and pose in these outfits, it isn't much of an issue. I just make a point to wear underclothes that can be easily washed, and spot clean the rest.

But this one has me worried, since it is white... Since it's all cotton, I could probably machine wash it if I had to, although I might have to remove most of the hand-stitched details first- (and I really would not like to do that. On the other hand, I think they did do that every time with the actual screen used outfits...)

My starting plan is to try to stay clean, spot wash anything I can, and hope for the best!

Cool. Thanks for sharing a bit about how you handle these practical concerns. I wonder if the radiation suit could be hand washed without having to remove the adornments?

Might want to add a pocket for a Bleach Pen.

great work... the black collar helps alot it just doesn't look right without it...

As for cleaning I would try the home drycleaning kits that they sell, I use one for my Kilt and it works pretty good, it is a wool/ploy blend..I also use it for my RevWar regimental coat that is 100% wool and has white facings on it. They come out pretty clean, although I do a lot more than walking around in it so it does get pretty beat up over a campaigning season.

My Neoprene arrived!

So, I've been working on the neck part.





It took a couple of tries to start to get things scaled in right. Pretty much, it's just a big hunk of neoprene, with a whole lot of neoprene stringers glued on, and a velcro closure on the left side.







You spend a lot of time gluing when you do this. I use contact cement, which works really well. (But don't put it in the wrong place, the neoprene comes apart if you try to un-glue it... ) Make a point to keep the windows open with this stuff- (Special Lady hates the smell...)



And that was it for the TMP version. For TWOK, they added a cloth neck roll at the top, and a plastic clasp of some sort.



I haven't figured out what they used- so far I'm going with a piece of plexiglass and some Chicago screws....



So we end up looking like this:



Next up will be the boots. I've ordered an inexpensive modern pair that I can take apart and modify.

You never fail to impress!



Kevin

My cheapo moon boots arrived!



They are not bad. I put them on and wore them for an evening- they fit decently and should work well for costume boots.

So I immediately took them apart!





They are clearly very cheaply made- but that's perfect for this project, as I don't feel at all bad completely dismembering them.

Now I'm making patterns for the white coverings- that will be followed by making the poofy fake trapunto details- and it will all end with tons of hand sewing, to re-attach the uppers to sole...

It good that you found the boots.

The only ones I could find that halfway fit the bill were these:
White Sorels



And these at Sears online for Men:



And the Womans look almost dead on with the soles:



....................Jeremiah (STPropGuy76)

Felgacarb said:

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As someone whose job it was to cut rubber gaskets, I gotto tell you this: You should've used a utility knife with a nice new, fresh blade! Put a metal straightedge on the line you want to cut, DON'T put pressure on the blade (because rubber will pull), and go over the line a few times while letting the blade do the cutting. That will give you a nice straight, clean line.

Friendly advice brought to you by wage-slave.

Very cool!

Awesome! Now you just need to take a pic with a burned and bloodied guy in your arms.

"He stayed at his post...while the trainees ran!"

Just wow. Next I will start the I hate you thread. Well done

wow!! That looks awesome!!!

Thanks guys!

I intend to put up a couple more pictures once I get the rank pins on and a couple more tweaks done. ('cause this thread just isn't picture heavy enough yet....)

tim said:

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Awesome! Now you just need to take a pic with a burned and bloodied guy in your arms.

"He stayed at his post...while the trainees ran!"

I must be tired, I read that as 'trannies'

Great build, as usual.

Tempus said:

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I must be tired, I read that as 'trannies' ....

Nice work on the suit! You have amazing talent.