Another A L I E N Nostromo crew jacket- Kane's...finished!

[Bondo Fett]

And here is my finished jacket. I got these pictures taken in natural light on a bright overcast day- good light for seeing all the details, no hot spots or shadows. I'm wearing a Gildan Ultra Cotton T-shirt in color pistachio for reference (that seems to be the most popular choice for the crew T's). I didn't correct the color of the pictures.

The cording for the compression laces is from Paracord Planet, type #95, color foliage: Foliage - 95 Paracord
The laces on Kane's jacket seem sloppier than the laces on Dallas' jacket. They spread out towards the top as they tuck under the crew patch, so I tried to emulate this. Also seem to miss a few loops, so I copied that, too.
The panels were sewn on by hand with a whip stitch. That was a lot of work.
Once I got the laces tied up I put a drop of CA on all the knots to keep 'em in place.

I thought about tucking the lace panels under the velcro at the wrist, but the reference picture showed them ending just above. I sewed the flange of the pink piping of the collar into the seam (not SA, but just looks better), but I left the end sort of ragged and loose.

Well, I very pleased with the whole project. I got a lot of inspiration and resources from the Replica Prop Forum. I hope these pics will be of use to other members. Thanks for looking!

 

[Trebor]

I'm doing a Parker jacket because I can't find a RAF Mk 3 in my size (XXL or prob RAF size 8 or 9).

But, man, looking at yours, I wish I could do that style. You did a great job.

And the info on the patches and the weathering is going to be very helpful to me with mine, so thanks for that.

 

[Bondo Fett]

I'm doing a Parker jacket because I can't find a RAF Mk 3 in my size (XXL or prob RAF size 8 or 9).

But, man, looking at yours, I wish I could do that style. You did a great job.

And the info on the patches and the weathering is going to be very helpful to me with mine, so thanks for that.

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it, I'm happy to share.
I didn't think I could score a mklll either, but I just waited it out on Ebay until I got lucky.
Actually, I made Parker's jacket several years ago, because, at the time, I didn't think I could get my hands on a mklll. I don't have any good pictures, but I have lots of notes. If you like, I'll share my build of that one.

 

[Trebor]

Please do share the notes on Parkers.

 

[Octipig]

Well done.

 

[Octipig]

How did you blacken the buttons?

 

[Bondo Fett]

At the risk of raising up a zombie, and assuming anyone is still interested, I'm goin to share here some notes I gave to member Trebor via PM regarding my Parker leather jacket I made but never photo documented. Here 'tis:

I would have advised you to score and old Cooper A2 to start with so it sounds like you're off to a good start. Mine was built on an Avirex from the 1980's so it had the slimmer WW2 cut (before all the A2's got roomy). I think the Coopers are a better match to the screen used costume, darker and rougher. I have one I wear all the time- I might Parker-ize it some day.

For the stencil I made my own. Worked out the artwork and hand cut the stencil from mylar sheet. Some of the members here sell (or sold) ready-made stencils, I don't remember who. Probably easier than making your own. However I was able to use it again for my Kane jacket.

I had planned to stick the stencil to the jacket back and spray the yellow lettering, but I discovered that any adhesive was pulling the brown dye out of the leather and I freaked out. So I ended up using my stencil as a template to trace the outline of the lettering with a fine tip Sharpie. I then hand painted the yellow with Fiebing's Leather Dye, which is really a thin acrylic. The first coat was terrible, the second coat looked excellent.

As for patches, I would place the crew shoulder patches aprox. 5/8" down from the shoulder seam and with the center under the back of the epaulette. You will have to decide how much tilt to give the bottom of the patch for yourself (is the bottom of the patch parallel to the cuff? I dunno). Tape it on and try the jacket on a few times.

The WY wings on the left breast should be parallel to the top of the pocket and square to the zipper placket. The hight should put it on a line even with the bottom of the shoulder patch. That might seem a little high, but that's what I came up with for both my jackets and I like the placement. I centered it between the placket and the shoulder/arm seam. Again, tape it on and model in front of a mirror a few times.

To attach the patches permanently I found a cheap seamstress who could sew through leather, she even opened the lining of the jacket for me for a nice finish. Ran me about $30.00. Good luck there. I think you could use CA adhesive to carefully glue the patches on. CA works good on leather.

I've seen a great photo of Parker's jacket (after I made mine, natch) somewhere. Maybe search for "Bob Burns Nostromo costumes" or some such. Its probably here on the forum somewhere. I would have found it very helpful. There is a ton of excellent info on the forums here, you should do a deep dive.

Hope this is helpful, and good luck! Looking forward to some pictures of your work.

And for Octipig:
I did not color the buttons on my MkIII, that is their original dark green color. The dye did not affect them at all, or the ribbon they are attached to, it stayed bright green.

I have an itch to make another Parker jacket, darker and more used than my first one. I have all the goodies and if I do I will definitely take lots of gory picture this time.