Highly Accurate Vintage Ghostbusters Uniform. WIP

[Phish4dinner]

I always needed to upgrade my uniform and planned on getting one tailor made from Gibson and Barnes within the the next few months. I was never too picky about my uniforms accuracy as much as the other GB props. But, i caught the bug now and want to upgrade everything.. About 2 weeks ago i stumbled across an extremely accurate, original Vietnam War era nomex flightsuit made by Flightsuits LTD. Which most GB proppers know is the same company that made the screen used suits and since then has changed their name to Gibson and Barnes. I've never seen one of these out in the wild before, and it fits like a charm. Kinda like hitting the lottery. :lol

Took some photos in various lightings. On screen they are khaki but due to the lighting, look very gray. The nomex even has the correct ripstock pattern

A fun extra. Scattered inside the pockets were some vintage military officer patches and earplugs.

Added a more accurate "sloppy" No-Ghost patch. Now a comparison shot with my standard nomex flightsuit. Huge improvement. Practically screen used. :love

and suited up with some elbow pads that i cherish so much made by parksdesign. Dont mind the crazy goatee. Im not camera friendly in the mornings. :lol

The only thing that the suit is missing is the skinny left button pocket under the family jewels. I believe its a knife sheath. Its a small price to pay for an original and i can live without it or get it tailored. That pocket is kind of annoying anyway :lol

Thats all for now. I'll update as i upgrade. Thanks for looking!

 

[Phish4dinner]

Re: Highly Accurate Ghostbusters Uniform. WIP

forgot to post the boots! They are Corcoran 995 combat boots. Very accurate. Only vintage boots would ever replace them.

 

[thorneyboy]

Dude,

Good find and looks the part. Gibson and Barnes or as the were known Flightsuits LTD were actually given the fabric by the studio when they made the suit. Below is an email they sent to me when i enquired:

Wayne:

Yes we are the ones who made the Ghostbusters suits. It is our FSL -27/P. You can see it hereFSL 27/P Flight Suit | Gibson & Barnes - Premiere Flyer & Aviation Outfitters The fabric used was special for that project and provided by the studio. We do however have Khaki and DK Grey P/C which is close to the original.

If there is anything else I can do for you please let me know.

Thank you,
Dan Longbrake
Director of Sales & Marketing

 

[thorneyboy]

Does that suit have the side zipper pockets also???

 

[Phish4dinner]

Dude,

Good find and looks the part. Gibson and Barnes or as the were known Flightsuits LTD were actually given the fabric by the studio when they made the suit. Below is an email they sent to me when i enquired:

Thanks man. It warms my nerd tummy everytime i look at it. Its about as screen used as you can get. :love

This is true for the 2nd movie. However the first film used surplus flightsuits. Nobody has ever really confirmed which ones exactly but i think its a safe assumption that they were also made by the same company. I've done alot of comparing since i recieved this to the everyday military issued suits from the era and this one is dead on to the originals (minus the left leg knife sheath) while the others are missing some details. All the way down to the fabric and pattern. I cant even take a picture that doesnt match the various lighting shades you see on screen. Theres a video of a screen used Spengler GB2 suit thats floating around that you can see a newer, more Gibson and Barnish style Flightsuits LTD tag inside near the belly like this one. But as you can see on mine it just says "Flight Suits". The "LTD" in the name must have came later on. Of course, these are just my theories. But it just makes more sense to me that the original proppers would have just contacted the company they read on the tag of the current suits used and have them make new custom suits. Gibson and Barnes more than likely wouldnt even be aware of it. That would explain alot and seems like the most plausible theory, at least to me

 

[Dave Ward]

Great find!

Didn't know that was a knife sheath! It's normally where I keep a little squeezy bottle full of extra "slime" :lol

 

[Phish4dinner]

Great find!

Didn't know that was a knife sheath! It's normally where I keep a little squeezy bottle full of extra "slime" :lol

Thanks!

A squeeze bottle of slime on the crotch? Ladies must love it. :lol

 

[Spengler28]

Another Phis Score!

 

[thorneyboy]

Thanks man. It warms my nerd tummy everytime i look at it. Its about as screen used as you can get. :love

This is true for the 2nd movie. However the first film used surplus flightsuits. Nobody has ever really confirmed which ones exactly but i think its a safe assumption that they were also made by the same company. I've done alot of comparing since i recieved this to the everyday military issued suits from the era and this one is dead on to the originals (minus the left leg knife sheath) while the others are missing some details. All the way down to the fabric and pattern. I cant even take a picture that doesnt match the various lighting shades you see on screen. Theres a video of a screen used Spengler GB2 suit thats floating around that you can see a newer, more Gibson and Barnish style Flightsuits LTD tag inside near the belly like this one. But as you can see on mine it just says "Flight Suits". The "LTD" in the name must have came later on. Of course, these are just my theories. But it just makes more sense to me that the original proppers would have just contacted the company they read on the tag of the current suits used and have them make new custom suits. Gibson and Barnes more than likely wouldnt even be aware of it. That would explain alot and seems like the most plausible theory, at least to me

Totally agree my friend that it looks fantastic. Did you see my other question about the side zippers that the original suits had. I see that it is missing the knife sheath but I also cannot see the side zippers near the waist/hip area.

However once again let me say well done, awesome find and I am turning green with envy..

 

[Tobot]

Now if you could only get a little project together whereby you get a tailor to copy/scale this pattern for different sizes and find a bolt of the accurate cloth.

Well sir I reckon you'd have a few hundred sales on your hands, it looks ace next to your nomex

 

[KagaSakai]

Kenny always finds the good stuff!

 

[Filandrius]

Man you need to fix those zippers on those boots, fast. Sand the black off to reveal the brass, then color it with a silver metallic pen. Check out how mine turned out:

Great find on the flight suit, BTW. Score!

 

[Phish4dinner]

Totally agree my friend that it looks fantastic. Did you see my other question about the side zippers that the original suits had. I see that it is missing the knife sheath but I also cannot see the side zippers near the waist/hip area.

However once again let me say well done, awesome find and I am turning green with envy..

Thanks again. Sorry i missed that. I dont quite know what side zippers you are referring to by the waist/hip. I'm not seeing any zippers in those areas. Just the velcro straps. If you have some reference that would be great. I'de love to see it.

Man you need to fix those zippers on those boots, fast. Sand the black off to reveal the brass, then color it with a silver metallic pen. Check out how mine turned out!

I'll buy the marker tomorrow. Thanks!

Now if you could only get a little project together whereby you get a tailor to copy/scale this pattern for different sizes and find a bolt of the accurate cloth.

Well sir I reckon you'd have a few hundred sales on your hands, it looks ace next to your nomex

Thats quite a daunting task but i'll keep an eye out for fabrics and whatnot.

Kenny always finds the good stuff!

Another Phis Score!

:$

 

[thorneyboy]

The screen worn uniforms had vertical side zippers around the hip/thigh area. This was an option that the original company had requested when the suits were being made, this is evidence to say that they were not just surplus suits but actually made specifically for the film by Flight SUits LTD.

As you can see from the pictures above, including one you previously posted, there are vertical pockets on the suits. I have red ringed where they are. This is common knowledge and a pain for us Ghosbuster fans as the Nomex suits have alot of the other features but we always lose out because they do not have side zipper pockets, something the Tru Spec suits do have.

So your found suit ticks a massive amount of the boxes in terms of fabric, brass zippers and general look but like other suits we "Busters" wear, it loses out without the knife pocket, and lack of side zippers thus adding to the fact they were specially made and not found surplus suits.

However please do not take this as a negative on your find as I simply answering the question you posed. To have similar material and the nice worn look to it makes it a top notch suit and a top notch find indeed.

 

[Phish4dinner]

The screen worn uniforms had vertical side zippers around the hip/thigh area. This was an option that the original company had requested when the suits were being made, this is evidence to say that they were not just surplus suits but actually made specifically for the film by Flight SUits LTD.

As you can see from the pictures above, including one you previously posted, there are vertical pockets on the suits. I have red ringed where they are. This is common knowledge and a pain for us Ghosbuster fans as the Nomex suits have alot of the other features but we always lose out because they do not have side zipper pockets, something the Tru Spec suits do have.

So your found suit ticks a massive amount of the boxes in terms of fabric, brass zippers and general look but like other suits we "Busters" wear, it loses out without the knife pocket, and lack of side zippers thus adding to the fact they were specially made and not found surplus suits.

ahhh yes, i forgot about those. Brainfart. Thats whats happens when you ignore the uniform for a year. :facepalm Oh well, i guess i should look for matching fabric sooner than i thought for those 3 extra pockets. Hopefully that doesnt take 2 years like finding anything else GB related. lol I'm sure a local tailor or sending it off to Gibson and Barnes with the correct ripstock materials would remedy that. I actually only paid $35 for the suit so in the end i'de still be saving a TON of cash not having to buy one custom from G&B with found ripstock. It'll just take time with trial and error to find the right stuff then age it so its matches my suits wear. For the time being, nobody will notice it. That whole area gets covered with stuff on the belts anyway :lol

Interesting theories, they seem plausible as well. Plausibles are what make interesting discussions. It could have gone either way for GB1 i suppose. Surplus, not surplus. For all we know, the officer that owned my suit back in war day couldve just ordered one from Flightsuits LTD because he didnt want the less comfortable standard military issue that were manufactured in larger numbers then just purposely left those pockets off the suit for personal preference. It doesnt look like any of the standard model suits. Who knows? Propping is never too easy, especially GB propping, and even more so for GB1. :rolleyes

However please do not take this as a negative on your find as I simply answering the question you posed. To have similar material and the nice worn look to it makes it a top notch suit and a top notch find indeed.

No negative vibes were received my friend. I appreciate the help. The suit has given me alot of inspiration to give it its due and be the most accurate suit humanly possible. So i'm enjoying the discussions and am open to any ideas for improvements.

Thanks again bro!

 

[Phish4dinner]

Took the advice of Filandrius on the boot zippers. Happy with the results.

 

[ShaneHelms]

Well this thread was a super help for me. I did however have one question and curious to see if anyone has researched it.

What type of shirt is Venkman wearing over his flight suit when he goes to talk with Dana to discuss the progress on her case?

It seems to be a red shirt with patches on the elbows. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ShaneHelms]

 

[ShaneHelms]

View attachment 342356

 

[ShaneHelms]

Tracked down the shirt. It's a Woolrich hunting/work shirt. I'll have better shots when it arrives, also they seem to have taken the elbow patches from a separate Woolrich coat and placed them on the shirt.