CostumeBase Quality?

Tk-Devo

Well-Known Member
Thinking about possibly getting an Imperial Officers costume from their ebay store. Does anyone know if they are a good quality?
 
Yes and no, hit or miss on size.

I've heard from friends who have ordered from them that they use a lightweight jersey material, almost like a thick t-shirt material.

For the $$, you can buy from CB, take it apart and use it as a pattern and cut&sew your own with better fabric.
 
I have one from costumebase. It is OK. Although a cheap price, it is not accurate and the sizing runs small. You order S,M,L or XL, look at the chart and hope it fits. They dont do custom made stuff. I find it runs short and tight. Maybe I just put on weight. The material feels like a lightweight poly pants. Want to buy mine? I may sell it in once the new year starts.
 
check with the 501st officers' detachment. they have a lot to say about it.

from what i remember, the soft parts are relatively ok, as long as it fits you well. not great, but cheap and ok. the belt / rank badge are trash and need to be replaced with something that at least is sized right :)
 
As far as the officer costumes go, the belts, rank bars, and the hats are trash. At the very least you'll have to replace the disk on the hat, but the hat is really wonky anyways and you'd be better off with something else.
 
http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=46479

well I got their han solo ROTJ costume and it wasn't bad. the pants were so big they were a joke, but tons of material to take it in. I got the bloodstripes from another source but the gunbelt was good and thick pleather.

I've trooped in it about 8 times now and it holds up really well.
 
There is another ebay supplier called something like Cosplay-Ying. They cost only a little more that CostumeBase, but use far superior fabric, patterns, and tailor the tunic and breeches to the measurements you provide. Their hat is better also.
 
Reader's Digest game

Military Intelligence. Rubies Accuracy. CostumeBase Quality.

I hope to communicate my point without slander. Consider the options and cost range for an Imperial Officer uniform. CostumeBase comes in at about 100, Museum Replicas at 475. (Both without boots)

Now think of any other product you might buy with such a price range; 99¢ burger vs. the $6.00. Sure one is cheaper, it is just a matter of what you are willing to put in your body.

SWCIV165.jpg

Jamin, of Leia's Metal Bikini, is wearing more or less unaltered CostumeBase Officers Uniform. And he rocks it. Just like the model on the cover a costume package in the adult section at Target. His own features, and accessories make up for the suit's short comings. His accesories--boots, undertunic, and gloves--cost more than the CB suit.

Here are some examples tailored suits for reference;
SWCIV161.jpg

Commander Meesh
ROTSpremiere06.jpg

Governor Newkirk

With a good ammount of aftermarket investment, you can make a CB suit work, but that should be considered in the overall cost.

Be well,
Thomas
 
I got an NX-01 jumpsuit from Costumebase so I can only speak on that for whats it's worth. It is darker than the material used on the show but I already knew that. I see it as just a costume for fun.

Simon Poon had good communication, delivered with tracking in a timely fashion, and the person who did the work really knew their stuff. The suit is very well assembled. I did need to get it tailored but that is to be expected since human beings don't roll off an assembly line.
 
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I bought a Joker coat from Cosplayying and they are pretty good at taking requests and accomidating thier customers - if you have specific fabric needs they will take a look at samples you send them and provide you with what you need and at a great price considering they tailor to your measurments.
 
Thomas summed it up well.

My 2 cents...I own one of these, and for the fabric bits, it IS decent. The belt I didn't bother getting from them because it's terrible, I bought mine elsewhere. I've been meaning to upgrade my greeblies for forever because they're pretty much 3 washers and a screw in costume-base's hat. The rankbars are a joke. They're made out of grey, red, and blue rubber. But they come with it, so it wasn't any extra $$, and it didn't cost much to get better ones.

So this is my Imp officer with the added components of real riding boots, a nice belt, chalk holders, and a good rank bar:

l_23dcc4e71f70f34a8f65c46eaaecc542.jpg


(Yes it's baggy, but keep in mind this is a men's medium, and I'm a women's 0-2. >.< That tells you how versitile the sizing is!)


As for approval.....as far as I'm aware I was one of the last few people to be approved with the *unaltered* Costume base imp officer (soft parts only). I may be mistaken but the officer's detatchment has gotten quite finicky (more power to them) and unless costume base improved their outfit it most likely is NOT approvable. Heck, I don't even like how I look in it because it's SO baggy on me, and a lot of people have had sizing issues. To make it really work, the way Jamin did, it needs to be altered in most cases. In 501st terms, it's basically the less expensive version of getting a Rubie's vader and working it well over.
 
they will sell you bits and pieces if you ask - I wanted the Jack Sparrow costume, so I wrote him and asked for a price leaving certain parts out to bring the price down and he allowed it. I got a leather jedi belt from them - and it's awesome - my Jack Sparrow costume was "good" but now that I had dyed it and roughed it up - it's very good.

yes, it is "hit or miss" on other items.
 
I like my AT-AT jumpsuit just fine. I use it for my AT-TS costume and then bought another for my Y-Wing Pilot costume.

Scott
 
I had a ANH Han from then and like everything stated above, everything was 'ok'. The belt was no good, the fabric was so-so, and everything fits small. If you are going for accuracy, take into consideration the time you will spend re-tailoring the outfit to fit you properly. Although you may get the CB Officer and it may fit like a glove.
 
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