My not so accurate R.J. MacReady from The Thing costume thread.

[CB2001]

Not too long ago, there was a thread for The Thing related costumes. So, I figured I'd start this one on my not so screen accurate R.J. MacReady from John Carpenter's The Thing. So, before I start posting information on my costume build, here are some details that I should point out:

1. I'm doing it on a limited budget. - That means I can't afford a $50 military flight suit or a $100 leather jacket, but I can find an alternative elsewhere.
2. It will not be as accurate to the film - I may not be able to find out the exact style of flight suit, or find the correct type of hat to use, let alone afford to buy the correct style of leather jacket that MacReady wears due to #1.
3. Information is the key. - Though I am putting together the costume with #1 and #2 in mind, I will provide pictures and information I've found of the actual outfit provided, so that those who decide to follow the thread and feel inspired to construct their own, more screen accurate version should they decide to do so.

Total amount spent so far: $21 (USD)

Items I've got so far (this will be updated regularly, more information and photos will be also posted):
1. Brown leather jacket.
2. Old pair of army boots.
3. Cheap "western hat" from Party City.
4. Sunglasses that look like Mac's Glacier Glasses

Items I've got to get:
1. Flight Suit
2. Gray T-shirt (possibly. I already have one, but it may not be as close to the one in the film)
3. Spool of red covered, thick gauge wire (possibly will get this, ties in #2 below)
4. Wig (and possibly fake beard) - As my hair can't actually grow out that far, I know I'm going to need it to match the hairstyle in the film.

Items I've got to make:
1. Flamethower unit (not sure if I'll post the info on the build in the prop forum or in this thread, but I did find out some interesting details about the thrower MacReady uses)
2. Thing Blood Sample that pops up (possibly will do this. don't ask how... I'm still trying to figure it out myself)

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. We're going to find out who's who. :cool

 

[CB2001]

The Jacket: One of the most identifiable details about MacReady is his leather jacket. He's the only one who sports an aviator jacket, while everyone else just sports the thick winter jackets. I think that Carpenter purposefully chose this type of jacket for MacReady to help distinguish him from everyone else. And it works. So, before I go into MacReady's jacket, I'll show the one I am using for my not so screen accurate MacReady outfit. Here it is.

This jacket, which I picked up for $16 at a flea market/antique store. The label says its a "U2 Wear Me Out" leather jacket, size 46 (yeah, I'm a bit heavyset). Now, as you can tell with the jacket, the front pockets do not match the same type on the jacket in the film. But the color, the shine and the overall style are close enough to sell it. Though I did try to find the same type of jacket Mac wears, eBay often has them for $30 or more. But, for those who are looking to do a screen accurate MacReady, here's the info you need for the jacket.

The jacket is a NYC Style #674 G-1 Jacket made by Schott, NYC. This particular model of jacket can go as low as $69.99 on eBay (unless you happen to find one at a flea market for less). Below are some screencaps of Mac sporting his jacket.

 

[F-N-S]

The jacket looks great for that costume. If you change the front pockets and sew some fur to the collar it wil be perfect.

I bought a screen accurate jacket a while ago. Let me know if you need some measurements or pictures of it.

 

[MooCriket]

That jacket is pretty close indeed. Looking forward to seeing this come together. One of my all time favorite films. F-N-S, great score!

 

[CB2001]

The jacket looks great for that costume. If you change the front pockets and sew some fur to the collar it wil be perfect.

I bought a screen accurate jacket a while ago. Let me know if you need some measurements or pictures of it.

Nice snagging of a screen accurate jacket, F-N-S. The jacket's pockets and the fur would be a bit of a challenge to sew on. But if I decide to make it more screen accurate, I'll definitely will let you know about the info and pics.

That jacket is pretty close indeed. Looking forward to seeing this come together. One of my all time favorite films. F-N-S, great score!

Thanks, Moo. I actually looked up the info on my jacket and found that they're actually vintage too. The next thing I'm going to post is about the hat. Granted, the hat I got is a costume hat that was available at Party City, but like I listed, I'm doing this costume on a limited budget. And I agree, F-N-S scored greatly.

 

[Apollo]

I still say we can get a board member to do the hat.

The Jacket is Vintage re old I got mine in 1977 I think.

It was bomb-proof and very warm.

Still have it

 

[CB2001]

I still say we can get a board member to do the hat.

The Jacket is Vintage re old I got mine in 1977 I think it was bomb-proff and very warm

Yeah, someone doing the hat here would be the best bet (other than going to that one company I found for the outrageously overpriced "the R.J.").

I figured that the jacket would be vintage (circa 1982) to MacReady as well. Honestly, since MacReady is former military (much like Garry was), I would think the jacket would be something that he would have picked up at an Army Surplus store or something like that.

 

[Apollo]

I'm going to shoot him a PM.

See what he says about the hat

 

[terryr]

I think the jacket was meant to be a pilots jacket.

The boots look like feltpacks, with laces like a normal boot. Maybe Russell always bases his character on the shoes, like John Wayne did with his hat.

I never thought about this until now, but it was kind of unusual for their star to have a big beard. Studios usually hate that.
But you can still tell it's Russell.

 

[CB2001]

The Hat: Another one of the iconic items of R.J. MacReady's outfit is the abnormal hat that he has with him. Like before, before I go into talking about the hat in the film, here is the hat I plan on using. The hat is an el-cheapo one from Party City, as I've mentioned before. Since its made of foam, folding up the front and back shouldn't cause any problems (even though the hat is really undersized in comparison to the screen-used hat).

I tried to find out information about the hat, but not much is really known about the hat. I personally haven't found any type of information indicating a manufacturer and model. But, the only thing I can say for sure is this: the hat is an oversized campaign hat, which is normally used by drill instructors. One of the things I've noticed is that a lot of people have confused this particular hat with a sombrero (primarily because of the size and the brown leather strap used to keep the hat on Mac when he's not wearing them). But if anyone else happens to find any information on the hat used on the original production, feel free to post it here.

 

[CB2001]

Flight Suit: Now, I haven't purchased one yet, but I know of a vender at a flea market that has a few that I may be able to purchase on the cheap. Worse case, I end up buying an army green pair of pants that looks like the flight suit from the waist down. But I know the vender at the flea market has overalls for $15, but I don't know if it applies to the flight suits he has and if they're my size.

White Long Sleeved shirt and Grey shirt: I happen to have a white long sleeved shirt and a grey one, so I can simulate the pushed up sleeves that Mac has on his whenever he doesn't have the flight suit top on.

For both of these particular items, its hard to say what manufactures they are. But, it's safe to assume that MacReady's flight suit was standard military issue at one point. The white long sleeve shirt that he has on, I do believe, is the top of the thermal long johns that he and everyone else at Outpost #31 wear (which makes sense, as he is in the Antarctic. I don't know how many would go as far as to get the same type of underalls (seriously, that'd be true dedication. And as far as I'm aware, I don't know of anyone, even BTTF fans, that wear the same brand of Calvin Klein underwear as marty in BTTF when they dress up in cosplay). Again the actual brand of the grey shirt is also unknown. But, here are some pictures to use for reference purposes (in case you decide to modify some close to make them screen accurate). The grey colored shirt looks like something you can easily find at Michaels, but it'd probably wouldn't be as tight fitting.

Instead of posting the pictures directly into the thread, you can access them through the attachment section below (if for some reason they don't work, let me know and I'll fix them).

 

[Apollo]

bump for John!

 

[CB2001]

Hey, bump all you want (unless it's against forum rules of course, in that case don't bump).

 

[Thrawn]

I am sure you have seen this before (I think it was linked in the other costume thread), but if you haven't it might be interesting. At the very least it might provide some decent reference to the hat.
The RJ  by Baron Hats

 

[CB2001]

I am sure you have seen this before (I think it was linked in the other costume thread), but if you haven't it might be interesting. At the very least it might provide some decent reference to the hat.
The RJ* by Baron Hats

Yeah I came across it before, and mentioned in another Thing costume thread. But the pricing for it is ridiculous high.

 

[Apollo]

I've been trying to see if bendingoak could do the hat.

I know he does beautiful Indiana Jones fedoras so i don't see why he could not do this.

Another bump for the Master hatter

 

[CB2001]

Glacier Glasses: Now one of the most interesting items Mac has been seen wearing in a couple of the scenes are these big "bug eye" glasses. These are known as Glacier Glasses, which are used to help prevent snow blindness. Now, I was trying my best to go with sunglasses that match the size and style, but most of the "bug eye" sunglasses are for women and barely work. So, for me, I decided to use these. I picked them up from Target earlier today, and they are semi-Aviator style. I plan on adding the side covers (as seen in the second picture reference below), and had planned on cutting the "cross beam" piece at the top of the frames (but my dad got on to me saying that not many people would notice, though I know many will). So, for now, these are the frames I'm using.

For the ones in the film, they are Vuarnet Skilynx model 027 Glacier Glasses, made in the early 1980s. The drawback about them is this: They're $200-$300, and are difficult to find (even on eBay, any type of Vuarnet glasses are more than $100).

However, thanks to another Thing fan, I've found a place that sells knock-offs of the glasses at a more affordable price. Here's the place: Econo Everest Glacier Glasses. They're about $21 dollars (including the price of the glasses and shipping/handling), but they are dead-on enough of a replica to be useful for your MacReady outfit.

(I've posted thes pictures before, but its the best shots of them I could find.)

 

[CB2001]

Wig: I came across a wig that looks to be the same hair style. Originally, my dad suggested a Caveman costume wig (the upside for it was that it had a wig and a beard to go with it), but the issue I had was that its black, not brown. But on eBay, I found a user selling this wig, which looks close enough like the hairstyle MacReady has to me (but costs slightly more than the caveman wig and lack a beard). What do you guys think? Is it close or not? I used this picture for the comparison.

 

[CB2001]

Bumping to see if anyone responds to question on wig.

 

[pandamajik]

Love this movie! Don't forget about one of his most important accessories - the J&B Scotch. In fact, my friends and I just refer to it as "MacReady".