I've recently done a new helmet for myself and have asome spare shells lying aroundThey're in either 2 or 3mm HIPS depending on what I had.
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And if you're interested here's the rest of my pics on how I made it
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...wing%20helmet/
Great work! Very fantastic helmet! Great paint job, the red helmet is one of the coolest in the SW universe.
I like that you have got the details right. Molded-in edge trim. Rivets in the correct places. Mohawk not too high. Great work!
Did you do the visor also?
I hope that you will be offering these. There is always demand for X-wing pilot helmets. There might be TIE pilots interested also.
Last edited by Darth Lars; Jan 7, 2008 at 1:06 PM.
i just got a costumebase x wing suit myself. like the review a few pages back, i was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the suit.
the lower leg pockets being missing don't bother me... i'm only 5'9" - the lower pockets end up in my boots anyway
the vest isn't particularly accurate, but i think it can be modified to be decent with much less effort than making one from scratch.
to start, i shortened the shoulder and chest straps to fit it better to me.
i'm going to get the proper insertion locks and straps and add them in to clean up that part of things. i'll probably stitch in some detailing on the shoulder straps as well.
adding some tubing or rope to the vest to bulk it up will be easy enough. the pockets stitched in look to be about the right size, and unlike the 2 vests i've made myself, they are all consistent widths
i'll probably use rope, since the tubing always makes the vest stick out at strange angles.
i did the "best offer" purchase and got the suit for a lot less than the normal buy it now. i offered $50 and it was accepted, so my total shipped cost was $78.
for $78 i think it's an EXCELLENT base to work from.
Cheaper than I paid for mine, but then again mine was all custom. But glad you're happy, because in the end that's all that matters!
flak vest aside, what did you think of the quality of the suit? I've heard something about it being rather thin.
If I got the costumebase I'd switch out the flak vest entirely, so do you think the coveralls themselves are worth the $78?
I don't know about the costumebase quality, but considering I got my flighsuit for about $20 and they're the real deal, I'd say no.
you got a fully modified suit for $20? or are you saying you got an off the shelf orange flightsuit for $20? if you got a pre-made x wing suit that cheap i'm going to
i spent a LONG time on my first one. i bought 2 coveralls (one for the base, one for fabric to make the pockets and such). ripped open all of the seams, made new pockets, remade the collar, etc... i'd say i spent 12 hours or so sewing on it.
the coveralls were $25 each, so there's 50. i bill out at around $50 an hour for normal work, so that's $600
considering that i paid $50 just for materials to make it myself, i'd say yeah, the suit's worth the $78.
the costumebase one looks like cotton twill to me. it's very similar to the workingclassclothes.com coveralls i bought a few years ago when i did the first one.
i'm not 100% sold on the vest. i don't troop with the rebel legion often, so i'm not super picky like i am with my fett. i think that the costumebase vest is fine if x wing pilots aren't your true love, but if you really want to nail the suit, it should go, if for no other reason than the fabric being cotton and not nylon.
No no no, not modified. I bought a suit off... sportsmans guide for the $20-ish price range, and then with some help from some seamstress friends, modified it on my own. I thought it was easy to do a one-suit mod, I've never tried it with two.
Ah, I feel better now
So how did you make the pockets and stuff without a spare suit for fabric? Were you able to find stuff that matched?
My first suit was an adventure. I'm hoping this one is easier.
And I REALLY want to replace that picture on the Echo Base tutorial! I've lost 50 pounds since then![]()
We used most of the pockets that were ripped off for the pockets I needed, and also ripped off the bottoms of the legs just below the top of the bootline for extra. Sewed in some elastic to hold them in place, and I'm good to go.
i took some photos of the suit. these are in the house and i didn't bother with manual white balance on the camera. the color is a bit off... it looks more reddish in the photos, vs the true prison inmate orange it really is.
also the hips look sorta bunchy... i've got huge pajama pants on under it. obviously 1am is not my best time to be taking photos!
i modified the vest slightly - shortened shoulder and side straps. when i get my hardware from mansugi i'm going to really fix the chest strap. for now i just shortened it and left the velcro as-is.
i've got more pics of the suit here:
http://stormtrooperguy.com/gallery/t....php?album=279
so really... not as nice as a custom tailored suit, but worth the $$ they ask for it.
and wow... this outfit looks RIDICULOUS without the chest box, belts, etc...
I used a hole puncher and put a keyring on the end of the hose. Most people just pin it to the inside of their Flak Vest at first. My hose goes into a pocket seam and clips to a zipper under my vest.
Brian, that suit doesn't look bad at all, what happened to your old suit?
Around here we've just about got the one flightsuit mod down to a science! Most of the material for the mods is taken from unused pockets, and after a few hours ripping seams you have enough of the same color orange material to do the mods.
Next project is a coverall mod using 2 suits...
Last edited by Gil_JediXXL; Jan 11, 2008 at 1:01 AM. Reason: Spellink
Over the Christmas holidays, I did all of the sewing on my jumpsuit. I got into a group order with some people on jumpsuits, so I had mine then 1/4 of another for all of the pockets and goodies. I removed the small breast pockets and used one as my right arm pocket to sew on.
These things aren't the most flattering for women, so with my mom's help, we tailored it down to fit me better. I hope no guy ever needs to borrow it; we sewed in darts for better comfort in the chestal section and also gave me more of a waist, so it'd look mighty funny on them.![]()
Also got my belt, ejection harness, and leg flare holder done.
Pretty much all I have left is the flak vest (mom's working on that), the helmet, paint my comm pad, and attaching that stupid hose, then I'm good to go.
I used the echo base suggestion for ejection harness length at first, but I must be a lot shorter than whoever made it.
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Nice stuff everyone!
I bought some of Kenny's machined "mini flares" to go on my belt, but I'm not sure how to make those small loop sections that attach to the main belt.
My gray material is seat belt fabric, and I guess I'd have to cut a strip of the leftover material lengthwise or something to make it narrower? I just don't think the edges will look right if I do that.
If I use a different gray fabric, it won't match. . . so I've been holding off on doing that part of the belt. Any tips?
Instead of seat belt material, buy the material from Strapworks. 2-inch width for the belt and leg straps, and get a couple of feet of 1-inch width for the mini-flares.
That way you have consistent material/colour and don't have to worry about the smaller strap fraying.
Besides the stuff from Strapworks is more screen accurate than seat belt material.
Thanks! Sounds like a good way to go. I'll check out the strapworks stuff.
Guess I'll have to re-sew my harness. I'm such a klutz with a needle and thread though! *sigh*
EDIT: I should get the "silver gray" color flat nylon webbing, right? That's the only color that sounds remotely close.
EDIT EDIT: Nevermind, that's what I ordered. LOL. Hopefully it's the right stuff.![]()
Last edited by superjedi; Jan 12, 2008 at 4:35 PM.
Good luck. I got a call from strapworks two days ago and that stuff is on terminal backorder. I had to give an alternate choice.
David
Hmm. . . that doesn't sound too promising.
I received an order confirmation thru email, but I guess that doesn't really mean anything's set in stone. Hopefully they'll get some. If not, I'll find an alternate source someplace.