does anybody have a greeblie guide for an accurate Admiral Kirk? Sources (Rodd.comm notwithstanding) would be great too-
I think I can help.
I upgraded my WOK uniform to an accurate admiral Kirk last year.
First off the rank pin:
This is Kirk's rear admiral rank. You need two of these (one for the shoulder, one for the left sleeve). They should both be the same size (although I've never seen a smaller version of the admiral pin).
Rodd.com sells the most accurate ones, but I got mine from katarra8 off ebay (yes she hasn't had the greatest reputation, however she always delivers with items she already has on hand).
Next the service band and pins:
The pictures in the other thread on Kirk's screenused uniform have much better pics of the pips and squeaks. Basically you need 4 long pins and 3 ten year service pins put on in this order- / @ / @ / @ /
This is the only part of my uniform that is wrong and I can't change it. I have four ten year pins and 3 long pins. When I discovered my mistake and planned to correct it, the holes made by those pins had been in that material for 15 years. The white material had also been slightly discoloured by the metal of the pins so I left mine as is.
The left sleeve also has an "admiral's braid" just above the white service band. In Star Trek II they used the black and gold checker pattern band also found on the old BSG uniforms.
Again katarra8 supplies this and will provide enough to go around your sleeve.
Star Trek III and on they came up with a different multi-coloured admiral braid that can be seen in the screenused thread. Unfortunately I don't know if any reproductions are easily available.
(This next part is a bit difficult to explain in words so I hope it makes sense)- The rank pin on the left sleeve has a little piece of material that it goes on, rather than the pin being placed directly onto the sleeve:
It's that little round piece of material the the rank pin is attached to.
I reproduced it myself with material that was as close a match as possible.
Now the jacket braid:
This is known as a soutache or Russian braid. It is actually a double braid rather than a single. You can make out the double braid in this pic of the braid on my pant seam:
The size you want is 5mm. Kirk's braid was metallic gold with what appears to be a bit of black in it. I got mine from a local sewing supply store.
Oh yeah- the braid goes on the pants too.
Well I "think" this about covers it. Any questions don't hesitate to ask!
Kevin