maboot38
Well-Known Member
I wanted to post this to give others an idea of how to put together a reasonable accurate x-wing pilot uniform.
First the boots. I originally had a pair of Red Wings Pecos boots like this:
But they posed several problems. The toe was too pointed, the heel was a little too high, and the top of the boot was not even all the way around the thigh. You can see how the look in the complete costume photos below (the photos without the helmet).
I have since purchased these:
Those are the real deal. They even have a metal heel which give a nice military click when walking on pavement.
Next, I have the flightsuit from costume base:
I negotiated the price of the flight suit/vest/chestbox combo down so that basically I got the chestbox and vest for free. When the flightsuit first arrived, it was a bit small. Even though I am a large in the dickies, the costumebase flight suits fit small, so I had to send mine back to exchange it for an extra large.
The vest that came with the costumebase flight suit is acceptable, but needs some work. Here is what it looks like without any alteration:
I went to home depot and picked up some 40 feet of 5/16" clear pvc tubing from the plumbing section, and 8 feet of 14 guage white coated wire from the electrical section. I have inserted these into the vest, and it is amazing what a difference they make. After adding the tubing, it looked like this:
The strap that goes around the bottom appears to be more narrow than the screen version, and is held together on the side with velcro, and also goes INTO the vest instead of around it.
I ordered white web strapping, side clips, and back lock from Mansugi to improve it.
First, I pulled out the original cloth strap. Then, I sewed white leather tabs on the sides of the front of the vest.
Next I attached the female part of the clasp to the tabs:
Then I attached the male end of the clasp to another piece of white leather and attached that white leather to a white web strap:
Next I cut two holes in the strap housing in the back of the costumebase vest to thread the web strap through, and sewed the edges of the holes to make the holes stable.
Then I threaded the web strap though, cut the strap in half and sewed one half to the buckle in the back, then sewed the other end to the other male part of the clasp, and threaded the other loose end through the other side of the back buckle.
And there you go. 100% improvement over the original costumebase vest. I may add some more white leather to the edges at some point, but I'm in no hurry to thread through DOUBLE leather.
The straps that go over the shoulders appear to be incorrect in that they do not have any sort of ribbing across them like they seem to in the movies.
My compad is a modified resin model that has actual variable LEDs that light up and change color. I got this from James Troyer.
I put my new compad in the pouch, using heavy duty double sided tape to secure it in so that it would not slide all over the place. Here is a collage I made of the compad in various stages of illumination:
The thing looks really cool. I'm very happy with it.
I bought these gloves for $26.00 including shipping.
My only complaint about them is that they don't flare out enough as compared to the gloves in the flims, but that is hardly noticeable.
The chestbox that comes from costumebase appears to be rather inaccurate. The dimensions of the chestbox as measured by me are:
8 and 11/16 inches tall
5 and 7/8 inches across
18.5 inch hose with 5/8 inch diameter
a couple of 3.25 inch black velcro strips - poorly glued
One metal safety pin attached behind the neck?????
Here are some photos of it:
I've replaced this chestbox with one from Mansugi, At some point I'll also probably correct my costumebase one to sell or make a second pilot.
I also ordered my arm cylinders, leg flares, and belt mini-flares from Kenny, and they are fantastic! The only other strange thing I noticed was that one of the three cylinders was thicker than the other two. I don't think that will make a difference though. Here are the pics:
Here is the Mansugi leg flare holder that I ordered. I believe those are Kenny's leg flares in the photo.
Here is a photo of the belt and harness that I ordered from Mansugi.
Here is my belt from Mansugi with Kenny's mini-flares screwed in (it is NOT easy getting those flat screws through that belt without a punch)!!!
And here is my new Blastech DL-44. This is an amazing piece of work!
I tapped screw holes in my leg flares, and attached them to the leg flare holder:
And finally.......
Here is the original photo I used for acceptance into the legion, although there have been further imprvements since.
I will update this thread soon with a newer photo which includes Mansugi's chest box, the German jack boots, and a belt and holster for the blaster.
I still need a helmet, but I'm going to hold off until I find the right one. I think I've found a vendor.
First the boots. I originally had a pair of Red Wings Pecos boots like this:
But they posed several problems. The toe was too pointed, the heel was a little too high, and the top of the boot was not even all the way around the thigh. You can see how the look in the complete costume photos below (the photos without the helmet).
I have since purchased these:
Those are the real deal. They even have a metal heel which give a nice military click when walking on pavement.
Next, I have the flightsuit from costume base:
I negotiated the price of the flight suit/vest/chestbox combo down so that basically I got the chestbox and vest for free. When the flightsuit first arrived, it was a bit small. Even though I am a large in the dickies, the costumebase flight suits fit small, so I had to send mine back to exchange it for an extra large.
The vest that came with the costumebase flight suit is acceptable, but needs some work. Here is what it looks like without any alteration:
I went to home depot and picked up some 40 feet of 5/16" clear pvc tubing from the plumbing section, and 8 feet of 14 guage white coated wire from the electrical section. I have inserted these into the vest, and it is amazing what a difference they make. After adding the tubing, it looked like this:
The strap that goes around the bottom appears to be more narrow than the screen version, and is held together on the side with velcro, and also goes INTO the vest instead of around it.
I ordered white web strapping, side clips, and back lock from Mansugi to improve it.
First, I pulled out the original cloth strap. Then, I sewed white leather tabs on the sides of the front of the vest.
Next I attached the female part of the clasp to the tabs:
Then I attached the male end of the clasp to another piece of white leather and attached that white leather to a white web strap:
Next I cut two holes in the strap housing in the back of the costumebase vest to thread the web strap through, and sewed the edges of the holes to make the holes stable.
Then I threaded the web strap though, cut the strap in half and sewed one half to the buckle in the back, then sewed the other end to the other male part of the clasp, and threaded the other loose end through the other side of the back buckle.
And there you go. 100% improvement over the original costumebase vest. I may add some more white leather to the edges at some point, but I'm in no hurry to thread through DOUBLE leather.
The straps that go over the shoulders appear to be incorrect in that they do not have any sort of ribbing across them like they seem to in the movies.
My compad is a modified resin model that has actual variable LEDs that light up and change color. I got this from James Troyer.
I put my new compad in the pouch, using heavy duty double sided tape to secure it in so that it would not slide all over the place. Here is a collage I made of the compad in various stages of illumination:
The thing looks really cool. I'm very happy with it.
I bought these gloves for $26.00 including shipping.
My only complaint about them is that they don't flare out enough as compared to the gloves in the flims, but that is hardly noticeable.
The chestbox that comes from costumebase appears to be rather inaccurate. The dimensions of the chestbox as measured by me are:
8 and 11/16 inches tall
5 and 7/8 inches across
18.5 inch hose with 5/8 inch diameter
a couple of 3.25 inch black velcro strips - poorly glued
One metal safety pin attached behind the neck?????
Here are some photos of it:
I've replaced this chestbox with one from Mansugi, At some point I'll also probably correct my costumebase one to sell or make a second pilot.
I also ordered my arm cylinders, leg flares, and belt mini-flares from Kenny, and they are fantastic! The only other strange thing I noticed was that one of the three cylinders was thicker than the other two. I don't think that will make a difference though. Here are the pics:
Here is the Mansugi leg flare holder that I ordered. I believe those are Kenny's leg flares in the photo.
Here is a photo of the belt and harness that I ordered from Mansugi.
Here is my belt from Mansugi with Kenny's mini-flares screwed in (it is NOT easy getting those flat screws through that belt without a punch)!!!
And here is my new Blastech DL-44. This is an amazing piece of work!
I tapped screw holes in my leg flares, and attached them to the leg flare holder:
And finally.......
Here is the original photo I used for acceptance into the legion, although there have been further imprvements since.
I will update this thread soon with a newer photo which includes Mansugi's chest box, the German jack boots, and a belt and holster for the blaster.
I still need a helmet, but I'm going to hold off until I find the right one. I think I've found a vendor.
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