And I still don't completely agree, but I'm not going down that road again. (I already replayed to that on page one.)
I can tell you that pieces of my version of this costume, is going to suck this time out, but by the next time, I hope to have upgraded it. Even then, I'm not going to spend my life savings on it. It's a costume, that I'm only going to get to wear once, and a great, great, wile, to some very miner conventions. I'm never going to the big ones like Dragon Con, or Comic Con. I just go to the local stuff, where the costumes range from then occasionally very good, to the all to common, very, very, bad. (usually off the rack at the costume shop, Mom's closet, a thrift store, or Victoria's secret.) I'm not about to spend a "TON" to impress folk, whom get most of there costumes for less then they spend on every day close. (if anything at all.)
I'm going to try to get hte correct boots, and I'm going to try very hard to get the holsters, and pouches, made before this con, and to do them as accurately as I can. I'm still working on home made comms for myself, and the rest of my crew. I'm still working on the pistols for myself, and my girl. (Had some set backs.)
If I can loose the weight, I'm going to wear the leather pants I got at the thrift store for $12. Are they accurate..... Nope, but they are real leather, and all that 90% of the folks that even remember the show, will recall, is that he wore leather pants, most of them will have never even noticed all the very, fancy stitching. (though yes it would have been nice for it to have been on mine, I really can live just fine without it.) If I can't get into them, I will look for another pair, or just wear black pants this tiem, and save the leather ones for next time.
I got a vest off ebay. It had the wrgon buckles, but I replaced them (myself) with the correct ones. I made the metal covers for them. (I just have to glue them on) The vest is WAY too big in the sholders. (it stuck out like 3 inches.), but we took off the piping, and cut off the excess. It still doesn't set on my shoulder as well as it should but it looks WAY better then it did. The back is way in accurate, but I'm not really worried about that. The front looks great, other then the fact that it has nylon straps in stead of the set belt straps (I bout the right stuff, but I don't have a way of putting it on there, because, I can't, nor can I find someone, to remove the ones that are on there, and put the right stuff on.) But hey, a lot of the high end once still use the wrong straps.
Sadly, I doubt I will be able to make, or order a coat.
I realy, really, want one. I really don't care if it's all that accurate. It could not have the descriptive stitching, and it could us the wrong straps. (hey the vest I have does so it would match.
) I actually wanted to find a leather jacket at the thrift store, to modify, but I waited too long, and now the thrift stores don't have any leather coats out.
And I don't have enough time, or money to order one. It's too bad, because the coat is my favorite part of this costume by far, but it is what it is, and we can't have everything we want in life. Even if I had the money, I probably wouldn't order one, because I can think of a lot more responsible things to spend $400. on.(I will have one, some day, but I just wont have a crew to wear it with.
) But, a lot of folks do this costume without the coat.
The rest of my crew is doing very well with their costumes though.
And they are all making them themselves, and almost no budget.
My girl now has 3 pair of pleather pants she has found at the thrift store, and she has tons of very Aeryn like tops. Our chiana, has her costume almost made. She's going with the modified black out stretchy outfit, with the fuzzy yarn, and she even ordered the contacts. Our D'Argo has most of his done, and he was doing the head tails last weekend. That was brilliant He filled old socks with card board until he had the right shape, then sprayed them with a can of "clear liquid Electrical tape", He then removed the sock ,and wound up, with tentacles that where very skin toned, and had a very skin like look, and feel.
once stuffed, they will look like very expensive silicon applications, but for less then $10. (I even told him if he needs more stuffing, he could always get dirt cheep stuffed animals, at the thrift store, and take them apart for the stuffing, and use the left over stuffed animal skins to make costumes for their pats.
) Our Zahn just got started a few weeks ago, and she is coming a long quite well. (she's the craftiest one of the group, so I have no doubt she will surpass us all.)
Your really can do a great costume on a budget. Some times it will be dead on, some times it wont, but in the end, it's just a costume. I would rather put food on my plate, and a roof over my head, then be out in the cold, starving, with a perfect costume, that most folks couldn't tell from the cheep one.
