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Old April 13th, 2009, 12:19 AM   #1
monolith21
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Vista, CA
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Default Colonial Warrior Uniform resource list.

Alright Warriors, time to grab your gear! The following is a list of Colonial Warrior uniform resources. Cylons and other costume resources are on their way. Boots and the pistol belt have been covered in other threads.

There is kind of a constant revolving door of people offering Battlestar Galactica costumes of various quality and prices. Going into this you should know that a lot of us have been burned more than once by long waits, ill fitting costumes, and the occasional non delivery. That said, I think the juice is definitely worth the squeeze and you will find just as many and more good people in this hobby.

Most of the resources on this list have been around for a while. Just in talking with people and seeing these things in person I've tried to rate them. Of course mine is far from the end all be all opinion. Please jump in and say what you can about all of these resources! It will help all of our potential warriors make the most inofrmed decisions they can. Leave your own ratings!

As new costume tailors become available we can add them. With all the work Mieal Deneb is putting in on the patterns, hopefully we'll get more resources in the near future!

Ratings are for the costume quality itself, not for customer service. I would definitely urge you to ask around about each of these sources and make your best judgement.

A = Screen Accurate
B = Well made with some innacuracies
C = Recognizable, but highly innacurate (budget costume). *May be subject to limited membership within the costuming club.
D = Extremely cheaply made, not recommended. Unnacceptable within Squadron Guidelines.
F = Are you kidding? No one would ever wear that in public let alone private.


www.battlestargalactica.org B+, A-
Pro: These uniforms are ready to go. They are made well and instantly recognizable.
Con: Minor innacuracies, standard sizing means no custom fit!
Price Range:
$495.00 Warrior Tans and Jacket
$299.95 Bridge Crew

In the past there have been disputes over the time lapse between ordering and delivery. This seems to have cleared up some in the past few years. The items are pretty top notch. There are a few minor issues if you're going for super screen accurate, but nothing all that big. Mainly the shape of the tunic collar overlay (I guess that is what it would be called) and the shoulders on the jackets (so I hear). Charybdis put up some great pictures of his Bridge crew uniform over in the "Blackstar Squadron" thread. Not bad!


http://www.monstersinmotion.com/cata...oducts_id/9640 B+, A-
Pro: If what you need isn't available for some reason from Battlestar Galactica.org, they might have it here.
Con: Their prices are usually $50.00 higher than www.battlestargalactica.org
Price Range:
$350.00 Bridge Crew
$600.00 Warrior Tans and Jacket

Unless they are pretty brazenly false advertising, they are selling the BSG.org stuff. The prices are a bit higher. It is a resource though.

http://fantasytroopers.blogspot.com/...l-warrior.html C
Pro: Cheapest available.
Con: Cheaper materials, innacuracies, difficulty arranging larger sizes.
Price Range: $200.00 Warrior Tans and Jacket together.

This gentlemen is only wearing half the uniform, but you can see the jacket color is off and the tunic overlay is a bit steep.

Here is a picture of Richard wearing another one of these on Galacticruise.


The price is fairly amazing all things considered. You should know that the material is not the correct stuff. The tunic is innacurate in many ways and the jacket I have seen in person was WAY off color wise from the original and from the picture advertised. However you do get what you pay for, and it is recognizeable. If you are going for screen accuracy, this is not for you. The buckles are off (though the correct buckles are available elsewhere and you could replace them), The collar to the tunic is quite drastic and innacurate. Made of fleece vs. the correct suede cloth. I was more than just a little tempted a while back to go with this but I have an eye for details and I know it would drive me nuts. Within the new squadron, this uniform is sort of agreed to be the bare minimum of an acceptable costume. I do not mean any offense to anyone who created it, but it is a budget costume.

http://www.shadowdalecreations.com/index.htm A-
Pro: Well made.
Con: Long wait, a bit pricey.

The Shadowdale tunic.

Shadowdale Jacket
I don't remember the prices. Good stuff, but I hear it is quite the wait. Drama runs high with custom costume tailors that don't have wait lists and take money in advance. I'd say you should ask about their work load before you order. That goes for any custom work! Seems to be very high quality. Delivery time is their main complaint. Detail wise, I wasn't a fan of the collar on the jacket. It stood a bit high.


http://www.magnoliclothiers.com/catalog/ (Rating not yet available)
Pro: Very highly recommended, VERY high quality.
Con: The cost will reflect the quality.
Price Range: $400-500

They have offered to take a crack at the jacket. Their reputation ensures it will more than likely be the most screen accurate jacket currently on the market (until Rachel gets hers underway I'm sure). It will be costly, in the high four hundreds...but for those of us who won't settle until we have the most accurate replica possible Magnoli just may be the way to go. They'll custom color match, and examine all available materials. If you want to see some great reproductions on their part, just look for their Blade Runner reproductions (they even did his neck tie!), and their Dark Knight Joker reproductions. They've got a knack for absolutely nailing obscure costume pieces. The Nostromo crew shirts from Alien are a personal fav. The man I spoke with is more than willing to work with us but we need someone to take that first plunge. I have yet to hear a bad review. Runs are usually limited. If there is enough interest we can start a thread and see how many people we get on board, the more people we get, we might be able to get the cost lowered.


www.katarra8.com (A, A-)
Pro: Well made, mostly accurate.
Con: Long waits, currently not making the Battle jacket in the correct color.
Price Range: Items listed below.

This is my warrior jacket by Kathy Pillsbury.
Kathy Pillsbury's ebay store. Those of you who don't know who she is, Kathy made the uniforms (with Joe Kerezman if I remember correct) for Richard Hatch's "Battlestar Galactica: The Second Coming" trailer. If you want a picture of her uniform, check the main "Blackstar Squadron" thread. She makes excellent uniforms, but you should be preparred to wait a while (in some cases a year or more). I do not wish to bad mouth her, as I have personally never had anything but good dealings with her. That said, a friend of mine and I ordered warrior jackets from her in January of 2006; my jacket took five months to complete which is not completely unreasonable. He has still yet to receive his as of this writing. From what I have gathered, standard sizes do seem to ship quicker. She also offers a wide array of Battlestar uniform accessories including dress uniform items, holster blanks, and patches. Some people swear by her, some people swear against her. Both sides are legit. I've had great dealings with her. People I personally know have had very bad dealings with her.
Tans: $249.99
Pants: $99.99
Tunic: $169.99
Jacket $249.99
Full ensemble: $495.99
2X and above add $65


I saved my favorite for last!
http://costumesandartwork.blogspot.c...1_archive.html
http://costumesandartwork.blogspot.c...-update-2.html
I commissioned Mieal Deneb to make my Tans and I'm hoping to get her to make my jacket once the patterns for that are done! She has an eye for detail, and a good business practice. I had to wait my turn until she could get to my costume which was fantastic! Too many costumers will take your money and then you get thrown in line. Anyway, she can tell you more about her experience and abilities than I can. She's also a founding member of Blackstar Squadron!

Well, that should get us started for now. Bring on the discussion!
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