supgreg
Well-Known Member
Just received my "Golden Edition" Superman the movie costume form Action Costumes last week, and I wanted to share what I believe to be the most screen accurate replica out there. I spent that last week doing some screen accurate "upgrades" to it, that I will highlight in this review.
First of all, let me say that this was 6 1/2 months in the making. I ordered this in mid-December, and received it in the beginning of March. Their ebay listing says it will take only 30 days. The first costume I received was appalling. The stitching wasn't straight, and was actually coming apart. There were holes in the costume as well. Not large, but they were more like tears in the seams where it looked as if they had tried too many times to get it right with the sewing machine. I immediately filed a claim with ebay after emailing Action Costumes. I sent them some pictures, and they agreed to take it back and try again.
So after 3 more months, I finally received a quality product from them. One of the major hurtles was communication. Action Costumes would only answer emails about once a week, if that. This was very frustration and I voiced my concern. It never improved however, and I had to be quick about replying when I got an email, so they could see it before another week went by. So, if you you buy from them, this may happen to you.
On to the costume-
Yes, it's the Golden Edition. What makes it "Golden"? Well, it probably has the most accurate fabric of any replica to date. Up close, it's indistinguishable from the screen version. They only difference is that it's not quite as shiny. It's a two way stretch vice a 4-wat spandex. It doesn't stretch near as much either. All measurements were taken from a screen used costume that they managed to measure and study up close. Both the Chest S and the Cape S were also traced from the real deal.
Tunic: My additions were the larger screen accurate black snaps, and the "Berman's and Nathan's" Tags that I made myself on my inkjet printer with a bit of ribbon. I actually learned that there were two different types of font used on the tags between Superman I/II and III/IV. This "type writer" font was used in the first movie.
Belt: This edition has a much thinner belt than other replicas, just like the original. I also had Action Costumes add the screen accurate closures to the ends of the belt instead of velcro. It is lined with vinyl tape and has its own B&N tag as well. I gathered this info from the reference pics below.
Original Screen Used Belts: first one is from superman I, second is an evil one from III. The dark spot is where the tag was originally.
The picture surface recently. It's an authentic costume for sale/auction right now. It allowed me to calculate the actual size of the tag, since I know the belt is 2" wide.
Buckle: This I made myself by making a mold of a previous buckle I had that was cast form an original and then re-casting it. The difference is that I molded brass paper fasteners into the back. This is how the original buckles were attached, believe it or not. Every detail counts!
Leggings: Added a Bermans's and Nathan's tag in the correct location inside the waist band.
Cape:
My addtions to the standard Action Costumes makes for this edition are-
Screen accurate stitching around the border of the cape, replacement of the flap inside the neck-line to the correct material, hand stitching the emblem, and the larger black snaps to match the tunic. I also added a fabric hand written label to match a reference picture that I found.
First of all, let me say that this was 6 1/2 months in the making. I ordered this in mid-December, and received it in the beginning of March. Their ebay listing says it will take only 30 days. The first costume I received was appalling. The stitching wasn't straight, and was actually coming apart. There were holes in the costume as well. Not large, but they were more like tears in the seams where it looked as if they had tried too many times to get it right with the sewing machine. I immediately filed a claim with ebay after emailing Action Costumes. I sent them some pictures, and they agreed to take it back and try again.
So after 3 more months, I finally received a quality product from them. One of the major hurtles was communication. Action Costumes would only answer emails about once a week, if that. This was very frustration and I voiced my concern. It never improved however, and I had to be quick about replying when I got an email, so they could see it before another week went by. So, if you you buy from them, this may happen to you.
On to the costume-
Yes, it's the Golden Edition. What makes it "Golden"? Well, it probably has the most accurate fabric of any replica to date. Up close, it's indistinguishable from the screen version. They only difference is that it's not quite as shiny. It's a two way stretch vice a 4-wat spandex. It doesn't stretch near as much either. All measurements were taken from a screen used costume that they managed to measure and study up close. Both the Chest S and the Cape S were also traced from the real deal.
Tunic: My additions were the larger screen accurate black snaps, and the "Berman's and Nathan's" Tags that I made myself on my inkjet printer with a bit of ribbon. I actually learned that there were two different types of font used on the tags between Superman I/II and III/IV. This "type writer" font was used in the first movie.
Belt: This edition has a much thinner belt than other replicas, just like the original. I also had Action Costumes add the screen accurate closures to the ends of the belt instead of velcro. It is lined with vinyl tape and has its own B&N tag as well. I gathered this info from the reference pics below.
Original Screen Used Belts: first one is from superman I, second is an evil one from III. The dark spot is where the tag was originally.
The picture surface recently. It's an authentic costume for sale/auction right now. It allowed me to calculate the actual size of the tag, since I know the belt is 2" wide.
Buckle: This I made myself by making a mold of a previous buckle I had that was cast form an original and then re-casting it. The difference is that I molded brass paper fasteners into the back. This is how the original buckles were attached, believe it or not. Every detail counts!
Leggings: Added a Bermans's and Nathan's tag in the correct location inside the waist band.
Cape:
My addtions to the standard Action Costumes makes for this edition are-
Screen accurate stitching around the border of the cape, replacement of the flap inside the neck-line to the correct material, hand stitching the emblem, and the larger black snaps to match the tunic. I also added a fabric hand written label to match a reference picture that I found.
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