Re: ALIEN Ellen Ripley Flight Suit: 90% DYE HELP?
THE WATCH
I realised I haven't written about this vital part of the costume yet, and I figured we needed a break from my dyelemma (I'll never tire of that pun).
As you probably know, Ripley's (and Dallas's) watch is probably the hardest part to find or make. It's constructed from two Casio F-100 faces, connected together to form two parts and an underlying orange band that connects the two. (
See Xenopedia’s article). Other than the obvious reason for it being so rare because us costumers/cosplayers and fans have bought twice as many as the average person would just to recreate our own replica props but also because of it's own importance in watch aesthetics. I won't bother to go into detail as it's all written
here by other more knowledgable and eloquent folks. Naturally it’s become incredibly rare and at a price too
(see this previous listing on eBay. Pretty sure it’s even higher now).
Now, first off, I fully appreciate prop making, the process of them and you talented people on this board that are detail eagles and make 100% screen accurate replicas. However, I'm not at a stage of collecting and shelling out vast amounts of money to have one. Nor do I have basic prop-making skills either or knowledge, so there wasn't a chance I could even attempt a fair one (and definitely not in the time bracket I originally set for myself). So I initially thought of just buying the more common (and cheap too, usually only sold for £10 or less on eBay) Casio
F-91W or just omitting it entirely. I was happy enough with the costume.
Back in April/May when I was still researching into the franchise, the costume and pondering as to whether I really wanted to try my hand at a costume,
I found this incredible blog. Other-Worlds had fully documented their process in making the original version, as well as an alternative
Alien Isolation version; and better yet, it was only written a few months ago. The fact that this was written so recently made it even more exciting. Having read that, I felt really inspired but equally lost as to how I could even make an attempt to try something near it. So, on the verge of just admiring from a far and dreaming that I could one day in the far future make one, I hit a stroke of luck.
It turns out they recently started to sell them (
1979 and
AI). The usual few questions came to mind: do I really need it (Yes, if I'm going to make the costume), do I really want it (Yes, regardless of the costume) and obviously, could I afford it. The question of money hit hard because having read through the blog, seen how other prop-makers have shown off their copies and the prices they have charged for them, I was seriously worried it would be heading into the £50-80 price bracket, an amount I really didn't want to spend (as an art student, oil paint tends to away at your wallet). However, when I read more into it, I think my eyes popped out when I saw the price: £25 for the watch itself and with £5 P+P fees it took the total to £30. Never have I made a decision so quickly before.
An affordable, replica prop good enough for cosplay and even every day wear. Perfect.
Having emailed Tom, the incredibly talented individual behind this, a few times back and forth about which one suited me best, I opted for Amanda's version as it was better ergonomically* due to the velcro strap (as a petite female I have rather small wrists at just 6"!). Of course there are differences between the original but very very marginal (all detailed on the blog posts). Plus I may or may not be considering making Amanda’s costume next... In any case, I don’t think I could praise Tom enough for his generosity and help when I was buying and even afterwards, as he really inspired me to go ahead with making Ripley’s flight suit, and even provided me with a lot of help in seeking out the details too. Furthermore, he’s just been so kind in sharing his process, answering some of my other nosey questions and just being an all round star. So a massive shout out to you Tom!
And the part we've all been waiting for: the watch.
I absolutely love the attention to detail, down to an instruction manual being included, for after all, it is a working piece.
And the watch itself, wrapped in delicate tissue paper that teases you with a few glimpses of whats inside.
And here’s some photographs of it alone and sitting on my wrist. I don’t have a macros lens so it’s the best I could get with my Olympus 50mm and digital Fuji lens.
All in all, if you’re looking for an affordable replica, that actually functions as a watch too (that beeps, has an alarm setting, lap timer) and looks the part and is comfortable to wear and completes your costume, I highly recommend Other-Worlds’ Samani E-125 watches.
Tom is still working tirelessly to further improve it and hopes to launch a deluxe Ellen Ripley version for collectors in the near future. So keep an eye out.
For now, he’s just posted this a week ago (at my request lool). He's also got other Alien/Aliens/Alien Isolation products for sale.
Check it all out at their store.
Now I'm just desperate to finish my costume off.
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EDIT:
*the original double Casios did not fit snugly on the casts' wrist. Notice how it's swivelled all the way over on Sigourney's wrist:
You can see this was a common problem due to the large straps they came with.
