AbbyShot's Captain Jack Harkness Coat

Ull Dar Borealis

Well-Known Member
hi

ok my AbbyShot Captain Jack Harkness Coat arrived today uploading pics as I type

over all I'm impressed with the look, feels smooth and soft, warm as hell was taking some pics in bathroom mirror and started to get hot, was like less then 5 mins did not upload those pics need to clean the mirror :lol

nice tight stitching did not see any picks or missed stitches as for size I ordered a xxl, now thinking maybe a xl will take it to a tailor and get some resizing done. The sleeves hang down to the end of my thumb which should be to first knuckle maybe 1 1/2 to long. Chest room I have allot can wear a sweater and still have allot of room left my chest size is 48 inch

here is what i gave them for measurements

chest 48
waist 46
shoulder 21
sleeve 25

will take measurements of sleeves, armpit to armpit later and post them 2

armpit to armpit 28 inch
sleeves 27 inch
shoulder 22
finished length 50 inch
waist humm trying to decide which seem to use

the buttons feel cheap will search ebay for real KC buttons also with the high button on the shoulder I'm thinking they missed a button hole on the collar took 2 pics so you can see what I mean. Will also track down RAF greatcoat group caption rank slides

I like the color you can see in some pics the true color with flash

will try and get some pics of me wearing it on Sat and post those also
 
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hi

ok my AbbyShot Captain Jack Harkness Coat arrived today uploading pics as I type

over all I'm impressed with the look, feels smooth and soft, warm as hell was taking some pics in bathroom mirror and started to get hot, was like less then 5 mins did not upload those pics need to clean the mirror :lol

nice tight stitching did not see any picks or missed stitches as for size I ordered a xxl, now thinking maybe a xl will take it to a tailor and get some resizing done. The sleeves hang down to the end of my thumb which should be to first knuckle maybe 1 1/2 to long. Chest room I have allot can wear a sweater and still have allot of room left my chest size is 48 inch

here is what i gave them for measurements

chest 49
waist 46
shoulder 21
sleeve 25

will take measurements of sleeves, armpit to armpit later and post them 2

armpit to armpit 28 inch
sleeves 27 inch
shoulder 22
finished length 50 inch
waist humm trying to decide which seem to use

the buttons feel cheap will search ebay for real KC buttons also with the high button on the shoulder I'm thinking they missed a button hole on the collar took 2 pics so you can see what I mean. Will also track down RAF greatcoat group caption rank slides

I like the color you can see in some pics the true color with flash

will try and get some pics of me wearing it on Sat and post those also

ImageShack Album - 20 images

Thanks for the info Ull Dar!!

Here are my thoughts on the pics, and what I see (I've posted some of this before in other threads, and has only been confirmed with pics of an actual coat)...

I agree, the buttons look cheap. Definitely replace them with original King's Crown buttons. I've found they are pricey (£1.00 per button at a minimum), and hard to come by. Keep your eyes on ebay.co.uk, they are more common there. Ian Kelley Militaria in the UK is out of the small buttons at present, I don't know his stock on the large buttons, so I believe eBay is the only option right now.

The button spacing is off, especially at the top. It looks like the V angle is too big, and the base too narrow. When replacing the buttons, I'd move the bottom ones out, and the top ones in to be more screen accurate.

Rank braid...EPIC FAIL! Go to eBay and get the correct braid (search for Flying Officer as opposed to Pilot Officer). The screen used coat has 4 individual braids sewn on, not a rank slide, based on screen caps. I don't know how they could do such a shoddy job on that. :sick

The buckle on the belt is marginal. The wartime buckles were stamped or cast brass, not brass wire as on the Abbyshot. But, originals are about as scarce as hen's teeth, so it would be something I'd live with until an original popped up. Certainly better than the completely incorrect buckles on some of the cosplay coats.

I'm not a huge fan of the color...seems more Miracle Day than anything. I'd prefer if it was a bit more greyish. It's a heck of a lot better than some of the other coats out there, though...so that opinion is purely personal (and subject to revision/retraction based on photos in daylight).

Quality...without handling one, I'll trust Ull Dar's opinion. I'll also assume that the quality is much better than a cosplay, and is designed to be a daily coat as opposed to an occasional coat.

All in all, I'll probably order one after seeing more pics from Ull Dar with the coat in natural sunlight.

YMMV. :confused
 
Ull Dar emailed me these pics he took today because he wasn't able to upload as his account was full. Posting them here for him, and with his permission.

And my opinion (as if it matters)? I'm loving this color now.

DSC_0886-1.jpg

DSC_0887-1.jpg

DSC_0888-1.jpg

DSC_0889-1.jpg
 
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Wow. Kinda surprised no one else has commented on this coat yet. I'd love to hear other opinions on a "production" coat as opposed to the website pics.
 
Mine arrived today - had a couple of minutes to look at it over lunchtime.
Thoughts:

  • Weird, after years of Who costuming collecting, to see an official "Doctor Who" label in the coat.
  • Material isn't quite as thick as I'd expected. Maybe I'm used to handling military-issue greatcoats, and it isn't thin, but it's different.
  • Colour is good.

  • Curse you, Abbeyshot sizing. If I wanted to design a coat that didn't fit, I'd do a 36 chest and miss out 38 entirely.


So does anyone know if the 36 is a "true" 36? Because this thing is pretty big, but if their sizing is accurate, I wouldn't be able to fit into the small.
 
Curse you, Abbeyshot sizing. If I wanted to design a coat that didn't fit, I'd do a 36 chest and miss out 38 entirely.

So does anyone know if the 36 is a "true" 36? Because this thing is pretty big, but if their sizing is accurate, I wouldn't be able to fit into the small.

The sizing question is the only reason I haven't ordered one yet. I typically wear a 46R. My FD Class A jacket (wore today for a funeral) is a 48R. I've worn a WWII GI Class A that was a 44L. Debating the Large and XL sizes. :confused

Probably wind up going with the XL. :confused
 
I've held off buying this coat, trying to decide whether to get this, an 11th Jacket, or a new 10th coat. The button placement has put me off a bit, but aside from that it all looks really nice (well... besides the minor issues that have been pointed out).
A while back there was a relativley unkown company on eCrater producing a really accurate (and I mean REALLY accurate) Harkness coat, under the name "WW2 RAF Coat - Jack" for £130 (about $210). I was planning on getting one of those but as soon as the Abbyshot Coat was released their listing, and account disappeared, perhaps they were scared off by heavy competition lol? Shame either way.
 
My Harkness coat is waiting for me on the porch. Can't wait to get off work!

So, what's everyone doing to fix their rank? Or are you?
With the AbbyShot rank sewn in, is removal/replacing even possible?
I'd like to stay away from the slides, and my sewing skills are nonexistent so I'll have to find a knowledgeable person to attempt any corrections.
 
My Harkness coat is waiting for me on the porch. Can't wait to get off work!

So, what's everyone doing to fix their rank? Or are you?
With the AbbyShot rank sewn in, is removal/replacing even possible?
I'd like to stay away from the slides, and my sewing skills are nonexistent so I'll have to find a knowledgeable person to attempt any corrections.

I went with rank braid from eBay (see Ull Dar's link), and real KC buttons. I found that the epaulets are too short, and should be longer by about an inch and a half to be closer to screen accurate. That's the main drawback that I can see. The material is wonderful. I've been meaning to get pics for Ull Dar of my rank braid, and keep forgetting. When I do remember, I'm usually at work, away from the coat. :rolleyes

As far as the "ribbon" on the coat already (and really, that's all it is), yes it can be removed. Actually, I destroyed all of it while removing it with a seam ripper. It was the easiest way to work around the stitching holding the epaulet together and not do any damage to the epaulet itself.

Also, I'm far too busy being Rose Tyler!

Saw the pic of Rose in one of the links in Matt's "Birfday" thread...looks fantastic! :love

hi

to fix the rank issue went with these

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

I got real KC RAF buttons 27mm for the front and 17mm for the sleeves and rank braid

once I get mine sewed on should have a full set 10 27mm and 8 17mm left over which I will offer up in the junkyard

once all done up will post photos again

Ull Dar...I take it you decided which buttons you were using? Send me pics and the asking price of the ones you're selling, I need 6 for the cuffs (as you know). I'm off tomorrow, so after getting the kids off to school in the morning I'll definitely get those pics up.
 
Awesome. Thanks for the rank fixes everyone.
Can't wait to install some better buttons too.

On size, since I'm seeing a question on a few forums, I'm 5'6", 140 lbs, >40" chest.
Large fit like a glove.
 
Ok...here's the pic with the replaced rank braid from my coat. FYI...The flash has washed out the light blue and made it gray.

100_0899-1.jpg


And here's a screen cap showing the length of the epaulet. You can use the width of the braid to see how short the Abbyshot is compared to screen used. Lengthening the epaulet will help, but on my coat I can only go about 1.5" and still have the button and tip of the epaulet in a reasonable position. Finding the material is posing a problem, though.

tw204_0788-1.jpg


As for the buttons on the front, I repositioned and replaced them. Abbyshot has funky positioning, where they flare out. I replaced the bottom ones, and then took a tape measure to help me make a straight line from there to the top and replaced the rest. The buttons should be in a straight line using the bottom button as the start, and the position where epaulet button should be if the epaulet were the "correct" length. Some moved in, some moved out. Hope that makes sense.
 
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ok here are some photos of the jacket and button location

my question if we ware the jacket buttoned to the top here is where the buttons would have to go to line up with the button holes

you can see how off the top 2 buttons are

IMG_0114.JPG



or if you are never going to button to the top in this photo you would still need to move to be inline with the button holds

IMG_0115.JPG



ideas you cant have it both ways:behave
 
Ull Dar...I see what you're saying. My button placement is based off of what is able to be accomplished with the Abbyshot, and the fact that Jack is seen most often with the coat open. Buttoning it all the way up was never a consideration for me. :confused
 
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