Muldoon - Jurassic Park: Full Build and Research

[FPLeatherCo]

Hey all!

So over the past few months I've been slowly researching and acquiring the parts to put together a Robert Muldoon costume from Jurassic Park and I wanted to start a post to share some of my findings and just consolidate existing research into one thread.

I did one of these on Alan Grant's costume a few years ago and like Grant, Muldoon's costume at first seems very simple. But that simplicity makes the small details of each component even more important for the eye to read "oh! that's Muldoon from Jurassic Park!"

Here we go...


The Watch

This one was solved a while back on the WatchUSeek forum so I'll be using some of their reference images.

Here are some caps from the movie to start:

His watch was ID'ed as an Aquatech 50m. While this specific watch is nearly impossible to find, it's built on a Miyota 4800-01A Digital/Analogue Movement which were and are still quite common. Fortunately, there were a multitude of watches that used the 4800 many of which closely resemble the Aquatech version.

Aquatech 50m

​

The key features on this watch are the analog/digital face, green block glow-in-the-dark time markers, and the knurled bezel. Seiko, Michelle, and Waltham all made watches with these features. Seems like Waltham's and Michelle's pop up on Ebay from time to time but also are priced in the higher range. I also sometimes have found off-brand watches with the same look.

Muldoon also mounts a small compass on his watchband with similar knurled bezel and green glow indicators. I found a pretty decent match for this on Amazon.

For the watch, I ended up grabbing two versions. A Haverhills Hills Navigator and a Mariner 9 (I've also seen these as "Celsius 9"). The Haverhills watch is noticeably better quality with nice ratcheting action on the bezel and a more quality weight and feel to the materials. I actually really like this watch so I'm going to add it to my daily wearers and use the Mariner for the Muldoon setup.

To that, I added a cheap dive-style band with blocky, rectangular sections towards the spring bars. I also rounded the end to better match film band. I had to shave off some plastic on the band to get the compass to fit, but once I did I had a nice Muldoon watch setup and ready to go.

 

[FPLeatherCo]

The Hat

Muldoon wears a chapeau de brousse style hat. These bush hats were used by the French army during their attempt at rejuvenating their colonial empire period in the mid-20th century. They are made from cotton and feature snap-up sides, dual vents above each snap, cotton band, concentric stitching on the brim, vertical stitching on the crown, and a seam that runs down the center of the entire crown. These hats are not reinforced so they tend to be pretty floppy around the brim and the crown does not hold its shape.

Reproduction French Army Bush Hat
​

Muldoon's hat has all of these features but is a bit dressier and refined. It's got less pronounced stitching texture, a stiffer snap brim (and snap-up sides), and a reinforced crown that better maintains its shape.

Worn w/ Side Snapped Up

Brim Down

Detail Shot!

​

There are a few ways to go when trying to find a similar hat. You can of course get a repro French army bush hat which are pretty available through surplus stores and then there's the Dorfman Pacific Cotton Aussie Hat which has been a go-to standard for Muldoon costumes. I bought one of these initially and was very happy with it as it's actually just a real nice hat for the money (under $50) but it doesn't quite have the exact Muldoon look. I was thinking about steaming forming it to get a more Muldoon-like crease on the crown which would get a little closer.

But then I stumbled upon what I'm pretty sure is the actual has used in the movie. It's a French-made bush-style hat (presumably made in the 80s/90s). They are hard to track down online as people don't use consistent key words and I've seen them under multiple brand names. Some are under French brands, but I've seen some marked as "Hunting World" and others that are completely unbranded (or branding has worn off). Price-wise they seem to run a high end of $100-200 if they are in really nice condition and sold by a vintage clothing seller to around $50 and under in not-great condition or if they aren't branded.

Original Ad for the "Explora" Hat​

I had already spent the big bucks (or over $100 at least) on another part of this outfit so I was happy to find an unbranded one in used condition for not much money.

Dorfman Aussie vs. French-made "Explora" hat

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So that's case closed on the hat. Fine details-wise, it's just under a 3" brim, 4.5-5" crown height. It's got a 1" band with distinctive 2 lines of stitching at the bottom as visible in the film. Teardrop crease on top and a pretty large pinch front.

I still need to maybe give mine a steam clean and do a little more forming on it; probably remove the chin strap but otherwise it's spot on.

 

[division 6]

Great detective work.

As far as I can tell, the Dorfman hat was used by some of the park employee's in Jurassic World.
Just got one on sale for $25.

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Great detective work.

As far as I can tell, the Dorfman hat was used by some of the park employee's in Jurassic World.
Just got one on sale for $25.

After looking at a few screencaps I think they are actually using the Henschel Oswego Aussie Hat (or something similar) rather than the Dorfman. It's a little lighter in color and doesn't have the 2 small side vents. I also think it's a lower quality hat than the Dorfman as I've seen pictures where it looks very thin and easily mis-shaped; and the crowns seem to get pretty wrinkly where the outer cotton separates from the liner.

Jurassic World

Henschel Aussie Hat​

 

[division 6]

She's wearing a different hat then the men in the paddock and in the shopping area.
One of the guys in the shopping area changes hat's.

No internet for my computer at the moment or I would post a pic.

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Yeah - def post if you can find it. This is all I could see on a quick run-through.

 

[division 6]

Finally got my power and internet running again.

You may be right on the hat since the Dorfman is a bit dark.
Where I live, having it outside for a few days or weeks will definitely lighten it.

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Ended up scoring an actual Hunting World hat in excellent condition. Took a bit of a risk as it was sized a little smaller than I usually get but the price was right and its fits with a little stretching. It looks spot on and the material is quite soft and pliable. The brim isn’t as stiff as I was expecting either.

 

[HieronymousRex]

Ended up scoring an actual Hunting World hat in excellent condition. Took a bit of a risk as it was sized a little smaller than I usually get but the price was right and its fits with a little stretching. It looks spot on and the material is quite soft and pliable. The brim isn’t as stiff as I was expecting either.
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How did you find this!? I’m not sure where to look around other than eBay?

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Basically I just ran searches for similar hats whenever I had a moment (a little too obsessively maybe) on ebay/etsy/other clothing resellers. Sometimes you can luck out on things like this, other times you never find one.

 

[ironranger]

Any work done on sourcing the high waist, short inseam safari style shorts warn by Muldoon? I am having trouble trying to find pair that has any such resemblance.

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Any work done on sourcing the high waist, short inseam safari style shorts warn by Muldoon? I am having trouble trying to find pair that has any such resemblance.

Yeah, so I've had no luck finding an exact match on these either. I'm pretty sure there's some tailoring going on in the film one way or another. Shortening the inseam, adding the long belt loops or some combination on those.

I'll make a detailed post about this at some point but I found a base pair of shorts that matches the main features (proper size and shape of cargo pockets/back pocket flaps etc.) and I'm going to tailor them for the right length/fit and add the large belt loops.

 

[Storm]

Hunting world was not the maker of Muldoon hat.
They were only import from France.
The real company making them in the era has sold those hat style to different brand with sometimes small variation.
Here a hat with one button attachement.
Got another with the 2 buttons

 

[FPLeatherCo]

Good point - Hunting World was a prominent distributor of the hats but they were not the only ones. And you'll find lots of variations on the strap, strap connectors, and button arrangement.