ALIENS - CAT DIESEL POWER patch and hat - Caterpillar Power Loader

AaronHorrocks

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RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
I've been collecting ALIENS stuff for over 20 years, and one of the things I've always wanted was the CAT DIESEL POWER hat that Spunkmeyer had. So I've also been collecting CAT hats and patches for two decades. In the last year, I really doubled down, and spent top dollar buying more hats and more patches. There's lots of variations and colors. But one thing that's clear about the hat in the movie that's not on any of the patches, is that the 'C' is wider, and more rectangular than the 'C' in all of the Caterpillar stuff that I have found. (Sometimes the 'C' is square, sometimes it's taller). This, and the fact that the 'R' in a circle (Registered Trademark) isn't on the patch, has led me, and several others to believe that the patch used in the movie was custom made on set for the movie.

Working with a local embroidery shop, we hammered out the details between some vintage CAT DIESEL POWER patches, and the one used in the movie, tweaking the font and the spacing to have it match the best we can, to reproduce the patch made in the movie. To also help collectors match patches to any existing hats that they already have, we decided to offer two colors. The "Caterpillar Yellow" and "Gold". Since I don't think there's going to be much demand for these, as it's a niche of a niche market, we're making 200 patches, 100 in yellow, and 100 in gold. I'll also be selling a few custom made hats that I've matched the patches to and sewn myself in my Etsy shop when I can.

I've paid up for the project, and expect delivery of the patches within two weeks. I've already listed them in my Etsy shop getting ready for them, and trying to build up orders.

Price is $5 each patch, plus shipping.

Photos: Digital rendering of the proof from the patch shop, screengrab of Spunkmeyer's hat, two of the patches I have in hand.
 

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Patches have arrived!
I'm very happy with the pattern and spacing.
But I think I'm going to have some more made in a more yellow color.
 

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Love this! I too have been hunting US ebay for just the right patch for some time now.

To my eye, the Spunkmeyer CAT text looks to be more of the thickness/dimensions of the black logo on the yellow patches.
Thoughts?
 
Love this! I too have been hunting US ebay for just the right patch for some time now.

To my eye, the Spunkmeyer CAT text looks to be more of the thickness/dimensions of the black logo on the yellow patches.
Thoughts?

I think that's a bit an an illusion. The font of 'CAT' on Spunkmeyer's hat looks thinner. Like almost as thin as the border outline. But of course, patches have a standard border size, and the font can't be that thin as it would be very noticeable. Which means that the border on the patch in the movie needs to be thicker than a normal patch, which is what is throwing people off - which is another point leading us to believe that the CAT patch was made just for the movie.

All of the patches for the patches for the Colonial Marines's uniforms were custom made for the film, so it's not much of a stretch to think the CAT DIESEL POWER patch in the movie was made just for the movie, and then *changed slightly* so they couldn't be sued by Caterpillar.
 
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I had the embroidery company make 100 patches in "bright yellow" to help match more vintage hats from the 1980s. I'll be restoring some older hats with new made mesh-backed foam, and sewing the new reproduction patches on them. Custom hats will be available in my Etsy shop.
 

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Here's 4 of the hats that I've recently converted into Spunkmeyer's CAT DIESEL POWER hat.
They're all 1980s and 1990s era hats, of various conditions and screen accuracy.
 

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2022 Update!

I found a small selection of brand new, never sold, original Caterpillar Licensed hats from the 90s, which are perfect for this project: They're all black, full fabric, have foam on all inside panels! These hats make up the first 2 rows of hats in this video.
I am keeping one for myself, and one for Daniel Kash, and the other 5 are for sale on Etsy.

 
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