The Thing - RJ MacReady - Costume Research and Progress Thread (Back at it! 1/9/24)

Still working on the flamethrower, but was able to put together a "light" version of the costume for Texas Frightmare Weekend. Basically, MacReady without the flamethrower. Here a few images from that event. It actually worked out because I got a picture with John Carpenter and some of the cast and the flamethrower would have been in the way.

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Dallas Fan Expo is on the weekend of 6/9 - 6/11. I'm hoping to have everything wrapped up by then!
 
The M9 wand is done-ish. There's a couple of tweaks, but mostly just mounting everything to the internal frame.
Most flamethrowers were destroyed after they were decommissioned and the ones you can find easily sell for 5 figures.
The majority of this is 3D printed with some real world parts added for detail. Very, very happy with how it turned out.
The flamethrower is easily the most complex prop I've built. I've re-engineered pieces over and over to make sure it stays together and looks true to the real deal and it's all coming together extremely well.

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MorbidCharlie said:
Still working on the flamethrower, but was able to put together a "light" version of the costume for Texas Frightmare Weekend. Basically, MacReady without the flamethrower. Here a few images from that event. It actually worked out because I got a picture with John Carpenter and some of the cast and the flamethrower would have been in the way.

View attachment 1705938View attachment 1705939
View attachment 1705940
View attachment 1705941

Dallas Fan Expo is on the weekend of 6/9 - 6/11. I'm hoping to have everything wrapped up by then!
Click to expand...
Holy crap dude how did I miss this!
That pic with Fuchs, Clark, Palmer, Windows, and Bennings is
just about THE coolest THING ever.

Don’t even get me started on the pic with Carpenter! That’s just fantastic….

Your kit ,even sans flamethrower, is amazing. Can’t wait to se it all from Dallas.
 
Boneman said:
Love your MacReady build! Excellent work and your thread was good inspiration for helping me with my MacReady setup! Cheers!
Click to expand...
I appreciate that! I'm still not quite done with mine (still putting together the flamethrower and Norris spiderhead), but I'm close!
 
nusilver said:
What wig and beard set are you using, MorbidCharlie?
Click to expand...
The wig was the "Cool Brown" Skyelar from Arda wigs:
arda-wigs.com

Skyelar CLASSIC

The Skyelar is a wavy style with no bangs, measuring approx 13" (33 cm) from the crown, or 15" (38 cm) when straightened. It has a coin-sized skin top near the crown. Pre-teased fibers near the front hairline allow you to part the style on either side, though we recommend combing the hair...
arda-wigs.com arda-wigs.com

I wanted to style this a bit more before wearing it, but it did in a pinch.

The beard and mustache set was this from my local Norcostco:
norcostco.com

Biblical Beard & Moustache

A reasonably priced moustache in medium brown made with 100% human hair. This moustache and beard is the perfect moderate thickness without being too bushy or fake looking. An extremely popular style in biblical and medieval times. Available in brown only. Purchase from Norcostco with confidence...
norcostco.com norcostco.com

The mustache is terrible, but the beard is great. I trimmed the beard to a more "MacReady" length. My mustache is almost the same color as the hair and beard, so I just grew my own in and lightly brushed in some matching brown makeup in to my eyebrows, mustache and beard to tie it all together.
 
Thanks! I ordered the beard. My mustache and beard are, unfortunately, quite a bit darker than Mac's (and with a healthy amount of white peppered into the chestnut brown), so while I am planning to grow mine out as much as possible before Halloween and coloring it/adding some extra volume with makeup, this may end up working out better. Appreciate your help!
 
Thought I’d share how my costume came together across a couple of different “photo shoots” (me, my mother in law, or my wife taking iPhone pictures of me.) I decided to add some “snow” to the costume, and experimented with it in my beard and mustache as well. This year I’ll be skipping any weapon props because I blew my budget already, but I’m quite happy with how it’s all come together. The safety goggles, by the way, look a little narrow. That’s because they belong to my 5 year old. :p

I ended up getting one of forcebewitya’s hats without realizing it was him (bought it on Etsy), then the first day I wore the full costume, at PRGE 2023, he ended up being there so we got a chance to meet. He tapped me on my shoulder and said “I made your hat!” Awesome surprise.

Gonna do a little distressing to the jacket but this is essentially finished, at least for 2023.
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It's been a bit, but I am back at it and ready to finish this costume.
With sheer determination and constantly scouring the internet, I managed to snag a Kokusai Colt Trooper III (Gary's gun). The grips have been hydrodipped, now it's on to clean up and repainting of the gun. If anyone has had any experience repainting a Kokusai (SMG) gun, I would love to hear how you went about it.
1704784087162.jpeg


And finally, the flamethrower. Holy crap. This has to be the most work I have ever put into a prop, but I -think- I am finally done modeling the tank system on the flamethrower, meaning that I can start the process of printing and testing again. I've lost count of how many pieces I have printed in testing this out for look, strength and durability, but I am hoping I am near the finish line. I can't say this is completely accurate but I can say it is one of the most accurate M2 flamethrower props out there, assuming it all comes together.
I originally had purchased a model online, but the more I worked with it, the more I was unhappy with it and it ended up being just a guide to make my own model.
I got a QIDI X-Max 3 for myself for Christmas, so it's great for printing these pieces due to their size and it's a hell of a lot quicker than my MK3S+ so I'm hoping that I will have most of this printed to test out in a week.
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Last edited:
MorbidCharlie said:
"Nobody... nobody trusts anybody now, and we're all very tired... there's nothing more I can do, just wait...this is R.J. MacReady, helicopter pilot, US outpost #31."

The Thing is one of my all time favorite movies and with the snow down here (Texas) and craziness going on in the world, I figured it was time for me to tackle an easier cosplay that I have been wanting to do for a while since work on other projects is going to have to be put on hold until it gets warmer.
I saw howlingwind13 's MacReady recently and decided to get to work.

There's nothing terribly crazy about the costume, it's just sourcing everything.
  • Boots: Looking at a screen grab of the sole, the chevron pattern matches boots made by "RO Search" which were military issue in the 80s. These are the closest I can find, given that Kurt Russell's boots actually have lifts on them, which can be seen in the image below.

    View attachment 1431402View attachment 1431404View attachment 1676652
  • Flight suit: Basic Nomex flight suit. Again, easy enough to pick up.
  • Jacket: I've seen numerous sources that ID the jacket as a Schott 674 bomber jacket. I looked online and found several but actually managed to luck out and grab an "Excelled" bomber that looks identical as far as I can tell. Near enough for the $20 I spent on it. I'll need to distress it, once it arrives.
    View attachment 1427222View attachment 1427230
  • Sunglasses: ID'ed as Vuarnet 027s and very expensive. I was able to score the Rei Glaciers (a reproduction) on EBay.
    View attachment 1427232View attachment 1427231
  • Gloves: Pretty sure these are Castre leather snowmobile gauntlets. This particular style was made in the 80s. I was unable to find any that had the leather cuff so I purchased a pair with the fabric cuff and had a friend replace the fabric with leather.
    View attachment 1433647View attachment 1466795
  • The hat: I've decided to go with Screencapped Hats version. Waiting for it to arrive.
    View attachment 1427228
  • Flamethrower: The M2A1-7 model. It's a hybrid of the M9-7 flamethrower wand used in Vietnam with the tank system of the M2 from WW2. This will be a 3D printed prop.
    View attachment 1431405View attachment 1777435
  • Blue hoodie in "heather blue" and t-shirt.
  • The revolver that MacReady uses is actually Garry's and he ends up with it near the end of the movie. The revolver is a Colt Trooper Mk III with a 4" barrel. Garry's revolver is lighter and a little more worn in the movie. Kokusai (SMG) replica on the right.
    View attachment 1467803View attachment 1777436
  • The ammo belt and holster are going to be extremely hard to identify, so I went with best guess. Both are similar to Hunter brand equipment so I went with the Hunter 138 ammo belt and Hunter 1100-12 snap on holster off of EBay. The holster MacReady uses is to large for the Colt Trooper so I veered a little from screen accuracy and bought the appropriate sized holster. The rounds are empty casing with 3D printed bullets inserted into them.
    View attachment 1478211View attachment 1704590
Click to expand...
 
MorbidCharlie said:
"Nobody... nobody trusts anybody now, and we're all very tired... there's nothing more I can do, just wait...this is R.J. MacReady, helicopter pilot, US outpost #31."

The Thing is one of my all time favorite movies and with the snow down here (Texas) and craziness going on in the world, I figured it was time for me to tackle an easier cosplay that I have been wanting to do for a while since work on other projects is going to have to be put on hold until it gets warmer.
I saw howlingwind13 's MacReady recently and decided to get to work.

There's nothing terribly crazy about the costume, it's just sourcing everything.
  • Boots: Looking at a screen grab of the sole, the chevron pattern matches boots made by "RO Search" which were military issue in the 80s. These are the closest I can find, given that Kurt Russell's boots actually have lifts on them, which can be seen in the image below.

    View attachment 1431402View attachment 1431404View attachment 1676652
  • Flight suit: Basic Nomex flight suit. Again, easy enough to pick up.
  • Jacket: I've seen numerous sources that ID the jacket as a Schott 674 bomber jacket. I looked online and found several but actually managed to luck out and grab an "Excelled" bomber that looks identical as far as I can tell. Near enough for the $20 I spent on it. I'll need to distress it, once it arrives.
    View attachment 1427222View attachment 1427230
  • Sunglasses: ID'ed as Vuarnet 027s and very expensive. I was able to score the Rei Glaciers (a reproduction) on EBay.
    View attachment 1427232View attachment 1427231
  • Gloves: Pretty sure these are Castre leather snowmobile gauntlets. This particular style was made in the 80s. I was unable to find any that had the leather cuff so I purchased a pair with the fabric cuff and had a friend replace the fabric with leather.
    View attachment 1433647View attachment 1466795
  • The hat: I've decided to go with Screencapped Hats version. Waiting for it to arrive.
    View attachment 1427228
  • Flamethrower: The M2A1-7 model. It's a hybrid of the M9-7 flamethrower wand used in Vietnam with the tank system of the M2 from WW2. This will be a 3D printed prop.
    View attachment 1431405View attachment 1777435
  • Blue hoodie in "heather blue" and t-shirt.
  • The revolver that MacReady uses is actually Garry's and he ends up with it near the end of the movie. The revolver is a Colt Trooper Mk III with a 4" barrel. Garry's revolver is lighter and a little more worn in the movie. Kokusai (SMG) replica on the right.
    View attachment 1467803View attachment 1777436
  • The ammo belt and holster are going to be extremely hard to identify, so I went with best guess. Both are similar to Hunter brand equipment so I went with the Hunter 138 ammo belt and Hunter 1100-12 snap on holster off of EBay. The holster MacReady uses is to large for the Colt Trooper so I veered a little from screen accuracy and bought the appropriate sized holster. The rounds are empty casing with 3D printed bullets inserted into them.
    View attachment 1478211View attachment 1704590
Click to expand...
I just received my Hunter holster today and I was a bit disappointed when I noticed where the safety strap was located. I thought it should lay over the hammer (like yours) not the trigger guard. I posted on Facebook to see if anyone had any good screen grabs and just as I posted it I found this grab. So, I actually got the correct holster by the looks of it. Best $14 I ever spent
 

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