The Ultimate X-Wing Pilot Thread

[RogueSolo]

I don't know about the costumebase quality, but considering I got my flighsuit for about $20 and they're the real deal, I'd say no.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

I don't know about the costumebase quality, but considering I got my flighsuit for about $20 and they're the real deal, I'd say no.

you got a fully modified suit for $20? or are you saying you got an off the shelf orange flightsuit for $20? if you got a pre-made x wing suit that cheap i'm going to :cry

i spent a LONG time on my first one. i bought 2 coveralls (one for the base, one for fabric to make the pockets and such). ripped open all of the seams, made new pockets, remade the collar, etc... i'd say i spent 12 hours or so sewing on it.

the coveralls were $25 each, so there's 50. i bill out at around $50 an hour for normal work, so that's $600

considering that i paid $50 just for materials to make it myself, i'd say yeah, the suit's worth the $78.

the costumebase one looks like cotton twill to me. it's very similar to the workingclassclothes.com coveralls i bought a few years ago when i did the first one.

i'm not 100% sold on the vest. i don't troop with the rebel legion often, so i'm not super picky like i am with my fett. i think that the costumebase vest is fine if x wing pilots aren't your true love, but if you really want to nail the suit, it should go, if for no other reason than the fabric being cotton and not nylon.

 

[RogueSolo]

No no no, not modified. I bought a suit off... sportsmans guide for the $20-ish price range, and then with some help from some seamstress friends, modified it on my own. I thought it was easy to do a one-suit mod, I've never tried it with two.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

No no no, not modified. I bought a suit off... sportsmans guide for the $20-ish price range, and then with some help from some seamstress friends, modified it on my own. I thought it was easy to do a one-suit mod, I've never tried it with two.

Ah, I feel better now

So how did you make the pockets and stuff without a spare suit for fabric? Were you able to find stuff that matched?

My first suit was an adventure. I'm hoping this one is easier.

And I REALLY want to replace that picture on the Echo Base tutorial! I've lost 50 pounds since then

 

[RogueSolo]

We used most of the pockets that were ripped off for the pockets I needed, and also ripped off the bottoms of the legs just below the top of the bootline for extra. Sewed in some elastic to hold them in place, and I'm good to go.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

We used most of the pockets that were ripped off for the pockets I needed, and also ripped off the bottoms of the legs just below the top of the bootline for extra. Sewed in some elastic to hold them in place, and I'm good to go.

cool... sounds a lot less wasteful than the way i did mine. i ended up using 1 leg of the second suit, then i had a legless coverall.

if only i knew then what i know now... i'd have cut the ARMS off and used it as a wash coverall from firefly!

 

[stormtrooperguy]

i took some photos of the suit. these are in the house and i didn't bother with manual white balance on the camera. the color is a bit off... it looks more reddish in the photos, vs the true prison inmate orange it really is.

also the hips look sorta bunchy... i've got huge pajama pants on under it. obviously 1am is not my best time to be taking photos!

i modified the vest slightly - shortened shoulder and side straps. when i get my hardware from mansugi i'm going to really fix the chest strap. for now i just shortened it and left the velcro as-is.

i've got more pics of the suit here:
http://stormtrooperguy.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=279

so really... not as nice as a custom tailored suit, but worth the $$ they ask for it.

and wow... this outfit looks RIDICULOUS without the chest box, belts, etc...

 

[Gil_JediXXL]

I have the tube for the hose, but wasn't fortunate enough to get one with an attachment. Any suggestions for what to use on the end and what/where to clip it to the flightsuit or belt?

I used a hole puncher and put a keyring on the end of the hose. Most people just pin it to the inside of their Flak Vest at first. My hose goes into a pocket seam and clips to a zipper under my vest.

Brian, that suit doesn't look bad at all, what happened to your old suit?

Around here we've just about got the one flightsuit mod down to a science! Most of the material for the mods is taken from unused pockets, and after a few hours ripping seams you have enough of the same color orange material to do the mods.

Next project is a coverall mod using 2 suits...

 

[Miana]

Over the Christmas holidays, I did all of the sewing on my jumpsuit. I got into a group order with some people on jumpsuits, so I had mine then 1/4 of another for all of the pockets and goodies. I removed the small breast pockets and used one as my right arm pocket to sew on.

These things aren't the most flattering for women, so with my mom's help, we tailored it down to fit me better. I hope no guy ever needs to borrow it; we sewed in darts for better comfort in the chestal section and also gave me more of a waist, so it'd look mighty funny on them. :lol

Also got my belt, ejection harness, and leg flare holder done.

Pretty much all I have left is the flak vest (mom's working on that), the helmet, paint my comm pad, and attaching that stupid hose, then I'm good to go.

I used the echo base suggestion for ejection harness length at first, but I must be a lot shorter than whoever made it. :$

 

[superjedi]

Nice stuff everyone!
I bought some of Kenny's machined "mini flares" to go on my belt, but I'm not sure how to make those small loop sections that attach to the main belt.
My gray material is seat belt fabric, and I guess I'd have to cut a strip of the leftover material lengthwise or something to make it narrower? I just don't think the edges will look right if I do that.
If I use a different gray fabric, it won't match. . . so I've been holding off on doing that part of the belt. Any tips?

 

[JHVanOphem]

Instead of seat belt material, buy the material from Strapworks. 2-inch width for the belt and leg straps, and get a couple of feet of 1-inch width for the mini-flares.

That way you have consistent material/colour and don't have to worry about the smaller strap fraying.

Besides the stuff from Strapworks is more screen accurate than seat belt material.

 

[superjedi]

Thanks! Sounds like a good way to go. I'll check out the strapworks stuff.
Guess I'll have to re-sew my harness. I'm such a klutz with a needle and thread though! *sigh* :lol

EDIT: I should get the "silver gray" color flat nylon webbing, right? That's the only color that sounds remotely close.

EDIT EDIT: Nevermind, that's what I ordered. LOL. Hopefully it's the right stuff.

 

[dbuck]

Good luck. I got a call from strapworks two days ago and that stuff is on terminal backorder. I had to give an alternate choice.

David

 

[superjedi]

Hmm. . . that doesn't sound too promising.
I received an order confirmation thru email, but I guess that doesn't really mean anything's set in stone. Hopefully they'll get some. If not, I'll find an alternate source someplace.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

Hmm. . . that doesn't sound too promising.
I received an order confirmation thru email, but I guess that doesn't really mean anything's set in stone. Hopefully they'll get some. If not, I'll find an alternate source someplace.

Wacky... I ordered some last week and got my shipping confirmation. I got 10 yards of the 2" and 1 yard of the 1" silver grey.

 

[dbuck]

I didn't know anything was amiss until my order arrived Jan 6th. The 2 inch silver grey flat nylon I ordered wasn't included. Checking the invoice, it was clearly listed without any backorders or other notations.
So I e-mailed them. Two days later I had a voice mail from Donna at strapworks, (541) 741-0658, giving me other options. You can get it in silver-grey in Polypropylene, and I think you can get it in smooth finish (but that's the seat belt material). You may want to call and see what the availibility is.
I also found a guy selling a roll of it on ebay.

David

 

[stormtrooperguy]

I didn't know anything was amiss until my order arrived Jan 6th.

now that's just mean!

thanks for the warning. my estimated delivery time is the 17th. we'll see what i get!

 

[superjedi]

I just got my shipping notice, too. I'm also expecting my order on the 17th.
Hope the 2" material will be in there. :confused

 

[stormtrooperguy]

2 more days and we'll know! i'm really hoping i get everything i ordered.

if not i'll go for an alternate in similar color then replace it later, but that's just a fuss i don't want to go through.

 

[dbuck]

I just received some polypropyline webbing, which is a little bit stiffer than the nylon, but I call it a very acceptable substitute.
Although I'll probably replace it later, I would probably never really need to.

David