Brett's cap from Alien...

[MacGyverSG10]

I was thinking about The Thinking Cap Company the other day and I wondered if anyone knew who the people who ran it, where they are now and/or what became of them. Googling about I can't find much more to references to the hats, but nothing about them.

I used to have the Nostromo hat until a girlfriend's toy dog got a hold of it. The patch survives and I have one of the Outland patches too. These may be the very first 'props' I collected as a teenager in the 70's. It would great to tell the makers how much I enjoyed them.

The Thinking Cap Co. was started by Ron Cobb and some of his buddies -- they had some really nice stuff way back in the 80's. I got a Bret's hat and a few Nostromo patches. Wish I had bought an Outland hat too

I've never really found a ball cap that matches the one the TCC sold, the brims were bigger then most hats, but if you can find a blue BB cap with scrabled egs on the brim you can attach a patch and you are good to go.

-Mac

 

[YuriGagarin61]

The main difference between the very good Cap replicas on ebay, and the screen-used one is that Harry Dean Stanton's costume cap used scrambled eggs with gold-wire bullion embroidery; NOT yellow thread. The ones that are from the quality seller on ebay have a really accurate "Nostromo" patch on them though. Carson Dyle if you know or have relatives currently serving in the U.S, Navy, such caps with gold bullion thread would be obtainable. I found a source online a little while ago, but they only sell in bulk ie: to ships' crews, and I do not presently have the hefty capital, nor the space, to own that many caps!

 

[fletchzz]

this guy sells replica hats from the first Alien movie, his dad worked on the movie and Ridley Scott gave him an original hat
http://www.luckysevencaps.com/#T3-RB_NOSTROMO-01_VC-BY

 

[sliuman]

Hopefully, this will not derail the thread but I thought it fitted the subject matter as we're all cap fans here.

After not having seen my Alien cap for at least 28 years, I finally came across it after rummaging through some storage at my mum's house.

I had previously accused her of throwing it away as she seemed to think she had done that. Luckily it is`still in pretty good condition. I bought it in 1979/1980 from the sole Forbidden Planet store in the UK at the time. As I recall it was about 6.00 GBP...

The cap appears to have been washed sometime in the past 20-odd years because it's quite clean and the peak has been flattened due to the way it was stored. My mum denies washing it, but she denies everything when asked!

Sadly, the remnants of a sticker can be seen on the cap, but as far as I know this is an original so that label may have said Thinking Cap Co, but to be honest I don't remember. There is a label saying it was made in Taiwan, but I doubt anyone would have been faking items of this kind 33/34 years ago...

I've enclosed some pictures for your edification.









Enjoy!

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[parkseiii]

Here's a comparison between a 1980s Thinking Cap cap and a more screen-accurate version that I recently attempted.

 

[Bondo Fett]

Nice. What did you use for the hat?

 

[CessnaDriver]

Licensed offering, some issues but maybe it's not the production model...
http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=DMC12279&mode=retail

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Thanks for the post CessnaDriver.

The hat they are producing is no where near screen-accurate!

Wrong Fabric
Wrong Eyelets
Wrong Patch colors
Wrong Stitching
Wrong Oak Leaves
Just to name a few.

IMHO, the thinking Cap Company had a better hat than that.

 

[CessnaDriver]

Thanks for the post CessnaDriver.

The hat they are producing is no where near screen-accurate!

Wrong Fabric
Wrong Eyelets
Wrong Patch colors
Wrong Stitching
Wrong Oak Leaves
Just to name a few.

IMHO, the thinking Cap Company had a better hat than that.

Even worse than I thought then.
I have my thinking cap over at my brothers some place bought back in the day.
I need to retrieve it!

I'm glad to see a product out there again though.

 

[Tiberius Kirk]

Yes, it is good to have a product out there rather than none at all.

 

[JW Foust]

I hate to wake up a dormant thread, but has anybody got one of the Brett Caps Entertainment Earth is selling now? They are currently sold out,but I was wondering if they were any better than older offerings?

 

[dbuck]

It's the same hat that was mentioned above.

 

[Apollo]

I would think Anovos could do this fairly easily

 

[joberg]

The scrambled eggs on the visor is from an officer rank; that's why they seem better detailed. I hope Anovos would do it also (and accurately at that)!

 

[sliuman]

Well, I decided to get the Diamond Select hat (on the left) from Amazon. Here are my personal thoughts on the cap.

Quality of the material used is top notch, and it has a good weight to it. To me, colour and shape look good.

Strangely, the patch is at least 15 per cent smaller than most of the replicas out there. It looks tiny. I might replace it. Anyone still making good replicas?

It measures 85mm across the base. The Thinking Cap comes in at 100mm across. Which one is right? Who knows?

The scrambled eggs even include the black backing that can be seen on some on set photos. The thread is gloss yellow not gold. Probably a cost issue.

Snaps on the DS back a little loose if you have a large head but it's serviceable. Brett's cap seems to ride high in some shots making it look fuller, but I prefer it pushed down firmer.

When compared to pix with Harry Dean Stanton wearing it, I thinks it's pretty close.

I love my TC version (right), but it appears many of the details do not match images of screen-used. It's very floppy, but I'm sure many who have the hat know that. It was obviously a product of its time and what was available to the manufacturer back then. The peak looks huge in the photo below because it has flattened over the years and is resisting mild shaping.

Middle cap is from Intergalactic Trading and is my daily wearer as can be seen from the fading. I dislike that it's a trucker's cap -- with a mesh back. Synthetic material I think. Terrible. It does the job though and I like the patch colours.




Do I need to keep looking for the perfect replica? I think yes!

Cheers

 

[joberg]

I think, to find/create the perfect cap is a combination of buying different products available on the market and mixing the best item/detail that each of this product offers you.
You've mentioned the black backing of the scrambled eggs on the visor. Yes, screen accurate! But disappointed with the yellow thread:angry. Cost, as you said, is a factor. It's up to you to get the expensive officer ones that'll make your cap a cut above the rest. Same with the patches (the Alien costume thread or the JY would be your best bet).
Good luck

 

[CessnaDriver]

The film patch was more flexible and thinnish compared to what we usually find available no?

 

[sliuman]

Well, looks like more searching for me. I'll take it as an opportunity to re-read some of my favourite threads to see what vendors are still out there for patches and stuff and if they are still producing.

My Kane jacket also needs some work but I bought some new dye recently -- so that'll be dye attempt No5!

Cheers

 

[JW Foust]

Took some photos of what I have now.
Left is original Thinking Cap Co patch with modern cap, middle is current DS, right is modern cap with a patch from a vendor here from a few years ago.
Notes: DS cap bill is longer than anything I could find online without getting stupid expensive. Vendor patch appears tan when viewed solo, but takes on a bluish cast on the hat, and looks really blue here.