Re: The Man With No Name costume (The Good The Bad The Ugly)
Great job! Its a much overlooked yet iconic costume. I cashed in a few favors to get info all around including being allowed to view behind the scenes photos and info not seen since production.
for the boots check ebay and wait it out. It took me a couple months to score but they are period (to the filming) correct Italian flat toe. Matches the color of the hat too, very worn.
The neckerchief is actually a navy blue silk handkerchief. Mine came from the thrift store.
There seem to be two separate blue/white stripe railroad engineer shirts used in GBU but it could just be an artifact of the shirts manufacture and the fact multiples were used. Even looking past post color correction the blue is much more faded here and there... I used a Marc Moto brand off ebay. His buttons were plastic but should be bone or horn. If you want to cheap out use some liquid paper and be done with it. Or just go get a cheap dollar store button repair kit and use the white buttons out of it. If you wear and XL shirt, look into a L. His shirt was a size too small.
Levi's had made some off the wall skinny jeans last year or so then seems to just as quickly discontinued them. They were pre aged with wear and stress marks right off the shelf. Just as with the shirt you want them to be a size too small. Even the belt loops were correct as were the pockets. Belt loops just wide enough for the pants belt but not enough for an actual period correct belt.
I used the Old Navy womens vest. With some basic trim and cuts all around it worked nicely. Mine is a M/L but the neat thing about these vests is they can be cut all around. The faux inner is glued to the faux outer. There is no need to sew or mend any cuts what so ever. If your quick with a non steam iron you can age the faux vests very quickly and easily. But be warned, you can just as quickly and easily ruin it. His vest was originally an old worn out coat that was cut down and sewn up. I was able to confirm this through the prior mentioned resources. Pay very close attention to every edge and you will see various hand stitching and cut marks. You want to do what they did, use a knife to make the cuts not scissors. Take it out in the mud, run it through and let it bake in the sun. Even the faux material should discolor.
Your main discrepancy will be the hat band as no replicas have nailed it. Mine was made by memory by someone in the know. He hadnt made one since the 60's and remembered why when doing mine. All that hand tooling on aged hands filled the curse jar. There are very minute details in there.
The poncho, story goes Eastwood had his own and Leone found another in an open air market. Eastwood still owns the original. It is indeed olive colored but the outside is mucked with dirt and grim making it appear brown. Being a hand made item the wool material would be lighter in weight than any replica. I still believe its a horse/saddle blanket that was modified into a poncho but seems we will never know. Ive tried to cash in countless favors to get hands on access to the poncho but the stars never seem to align. Its literally a few miles from me as I type. Mine is an older made in Mexico version.
The holster and belt rig, absolutely hands down nobody has done correct to this day as a replica. Every maker has their own way of doing things. This comes back as an insult to the maker when any attempt to correct their way vs the Andy Anderson (AA) way of doing things is pointed out. At least thats been my experience when dealing with half a dozen skilled leather craftsmen. Something about leather craftsmen and the words "exact replica" dont seem to mesh well.
The belt buckle is brass. My guy has a couple of the originals on hand. Story is AA took period correct belt buckles and beat them up with a ball peen hammer. You can find Mexican electroplated pot metal replicas for a few dollars and if your lucky a full brass one from a maker here in the US. The buckle will be somewhat expensive as the makers of the rigs dont want to sell you a buckle, they want you to buy an entire rig. Ive toyed with the idea of replicas off an original but dont think the interest would be there to justify the investment.
This is an early prototype Andy Anderson rig for TMWNN. The holster buckle should be the same on the screen used rigs. There were more than one rig used in GBU.
Lastly im glad you didnt opt for the Cimarron Arms snakes. A friend bought one of the complete replicas and the snakes had issues falling off. Then at that the snakes were nowhere near accurate. Have a look to compare. Both sides had their own unique variations as well. The details here will be sharper as this was years before TMWNN trilogy.
http://oi50.tinypic.com/1zqdg1i.jpg
