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Thanks for sharing that picture Red! I always thought they were tan too, but watching the movie I swear it seems like the dance back and forth. Sometimes they for sure look tan and other times grey. I have a tan connector on my nomex suit and I’m trying to decide which to do on this one. Obviously I’d like to be as accurate as possible given how well done these suits are!

No problem.
Yeah they definitely look grey at certain points, where have we heard that before ?
I guess it's possible that there were some that were grey but I've yet to see any reference for them.

Here's a couple more pics of different screen used connectors.
Each one looks to be the same as the one before, colour wise.

Haha right? All the colors are subjective in the first movie with the way it was filmed Thanks for confirming what I thought, I'll look to order another tan one for this suit. Like I said I have a tan one from the shop on my other suit but like the look of the EctoLabs that Mike posted. Decisions decisions....

I was going to wait until the weekend, but had enough of a break in my work schedule that I ran out to get some thread, and figured out how to whipstitch everything onto the suit.



I wanted to do an idealized logo patch, so I went with the GB Fans version, but this my first time sewing on my patches, and I'm very happy with the result!


I got the EctoLabs mounting plate attached securely, which makes attaching and removing the hose connector a piece of cake...

I have definitely reached the conclusion that they were a kind of tan in the first movie based on the consistency of the reference photos. The colour I use on my GB1 connectors are a form of camouflage khaki and it's a nightmare to photograph. Sometimes it looks grey, sometimes it looks more sandy and other times it has a greenish hue. All dependant on lighting.

Conversely, even though I currently have a tan connector on my GB1 suit, I'm pretty certain the screen used connectors were originally fairly gray in color (although probably a slightly warm gray). Sure, the connectors are tan now, but they're made of rubber that's had decades to break down and yellow. We aren't looking at the original color in those photos. When looking at pictures of the connectors back during filming, the connectors look pretty gray compared to the suit color itself, which was already a fairly subtle tan compared to typical flight suits.

Perfect example of what I was saying earlier, thank you for posting this!

There are two constants in the GB community.
Amazing replica builds and colour debates

The problem with this is we're simply not going to get an accurate representation of the true colour during production either in the movie or in production stills due to the many variables such as film stock, lighting etc just as we've seen from similar debates with both the suits and the belts.

But, discounting modern reference images that's all we really have to go by.
Now if the connectors appeared to be consistently grey as the elbow pads do throughout all of the movie and in BTS stills then I would whole heartedly agree that they were most likely grey during that time.

However, they simply don't.
The fact alone that they appear to be tan in multiple scenes and BTS stills suggests that they were tan back at the time of production as a purely grey coloured item (once again like the elbow pads) simply won't exhibit the oddly wide range of colour shifting that a tan/khaki item would.
A colour shift which we've seen time and again with both the Suits, connectors and belts.

I realise that plenty of folks will always be of the firm belief that the connectors and belts for that matter were grey but I've seen enough evidence to the contrary to have to agree to disagree.

Some really great reference pictures here, thanks. Yeah, I find it hard to believe that every screen-used connector that has survived (and been subsequently photographed) would have become discoloured so consistently if they were originally grey.

As above, once screencaps from the movie have been corrected to reflect the correct colour of the flight suits (for which there is no longer any debate) then the connectors seem to match those in the more recent close-up photos. What is for certain is that it's a royal pain in the ass color to try and match!

Connector aside, Magnoli has done an amazing job with these suits. Looking forward to a closer look at the GB2 style. They're definitely dark blue right??

EctoLabs wrote: ↑March 25th, 2021, 6:56 am They're definitely dark blue right??

uh oh haha.

EctoLabs wrote: ↑March 25th, 2021, 6:56 am Some really great reference pictures here, thanks. Yeah, I find it hard to believe that every screen-used connector that has survived (and been subsequently photographed) would have become discoloured so consistently if they were originally .

I work at an animatronics studio, which houses a number of aging movie props made from rubber like this, in addition to our old pre-silicone skins and whatnot. It's certainly up for speculation how much the color has changed and precisely what it looked like before, but I'm guaranteeing you that it has changed and shifted more toward tan than it was originally.

As for RedSpecial's images, consider how much of an overall (often warm) tint and oversaturation those images have. Look at the colors of the flight suit and the belt for comparison. In those images, I would say the flight suit only approaches the actual in-person color in a couple of those images, and incidentally, the connector looks the most gray in those.

As I've previously stated, it appears to be a warm gray, as opposed to a neutral-to-cool gray of the elbow pads, particularly because the untinted rubber would have been a warm translucent color when solidified; but it is not the tan color people (including myself) normally use. For my own Magnoli suit, I'm going to start with a gray rubber connector and dye it with a slight warm tint, which should look about perfect.

At this point, I'm fairly certain the correct color is whatever you it to be. Is it tan? Sure. Is it grey? You betcha.

BTW, since I don't think everybody's on the same page when it comes to identifying colors, this is tan:

And this is warm gray:

Really enjoy discussion like this and the back and forth. I can absolutely see how the connectors could be that warm gray color NJ posted. It’s so tough to tell the actual color with all the variables at play. A color like that could certainly shift from being more brown to the more gray we’ve seen in all of the pictures posted depending on the tint/saturation/lighting etc etc.

It may also be worth noting that given there were multiples of the suits made, it's not outside the realm of possibility some of the hose connectors might've been painted/dyed a different shade/colour, which could account for some of the variance... Though I acknowledge that even to me this is probably unlikely.

Kingpin wrote: ↑March 26th, 2021, 10:52 amIt may also be worth noting that given there were multiples of the suits made, it's not outside the realm of possibility some of the hose connectors might've been painted/dyed a different shade/colour, which could account for some of the variance... Though I acknowledge that even to me this is probably unlikely.

I mean, look at all the variance in elbow pads.

CosmoBubba wrote: ↑March 25th, 2021, 8:40 am At this point, I'm fairly certain the correct color is whatever you it to be. Is it tan? Sure. Is it grey? You betcha.

This is probably the best conclusion we'll ever reach. I'm thinking of changing my connector color name from 'Genuine Tan' to 'Ballpark Khaki'.

I received my flightsuit today. Really nice quality! The fabric is way heavier than I expected and feels really durable, almost to the point where it feels like it needs a little breaking in. I like the arm patch for its color and how it sits on the suit, even if it looks a little large. I might swap it for my todd cook patch but I'm going to wait a while. Looks like for the hands they sewed it on with white thread on the hands itself, instead of black on the border (which correct me if I'm wrong, is how the screen used ones are sewn)? It leaves the fingers lifting off the fabric a bit which feels like it needs fixing. Very minor thing though. I also have an older more worn down name patch that I'll probably swap to for a more weathered appearance since this one feels very new and clean.

My biggest complaint is the leg hose connector. Thankfully mine came attached with the thread, but the actual hole is too small to fit a gbfans leg hose (or I assume any screen-accurate hose diameter). And even if it was wide enough, the hole for it is so shallow that it wouldn't hold the hose in place anyway without glue or cutting into it. These issues combines with the color and shape are going to force me to replace it. I might go with the gbfans one since I have it, but I'm not completely satisfied with that one either. Is there a definitive one available that's the correct color and shape?

Here's a comparison (gbfans on the left, magnoli on the right):




In a nutshell I'd definitely recommend this for the flight suit itself. It's far and away the best option for it and the price is right. If you're an accuracy nut like a lot of us are then you probably want to ask for the patches and hose connector to not come attached though.

Now that a few of you have these in hands, it seems the big complaint for accuracy are the patches and hose connectors. So... let's do some tweaking! How much smaller do the patches need to be? What is the preferred size, shape and color for the hose connectors? We might as well get these perfect!

The colour of the connector is still being debated, although as far as I'm concerned they are beige/Khaki whatever you want to call it.
This is considered to be the accurate shape for them.







As for the patch, it's about 6mm over sized compared to the screen used patches.
The stitching on the red thread also differs as you can see here, the way they are stitched you can see each individual thread going across the width of the red border.
I don't know any of the technical terms for different types of embroidery so I'm sorry if I'm not explaining that very well.

Couture wrote: ↑April 13th, 2021, 3:40 pm . Is there a definitive one available that's the correct color and shape?

The Heavy Props connector is what I personally would consider to be the most accurate in terms of shape and colour.
Having been made from measurements taken from a screen used connector.
There's a pic of it in my previous post.

What size hose do the original suits have? I think we based our opening on this GB2 connector which seems to have a 3/8" hole:



It also seems that the original connectors are slush cast (completely hollow), which explains why they are warping so badly over time. Ours are solid so, although they're heavier, they should last a LONG time.

The ID of the connector measures at 13.16mm although its stepped inside in order to fit a 1/2 inch OD hose.

Indy Magnoli wrote: ↑April 13th, 2021, 4:08 pm Now that a few of you have these in hands, it seems the big complaint for accuracy are the patches and hose connectors. So... let's do some tweaking! How much smaller do the patches need to be? What is the preferred size, shape and color for the hose connectors? We might as well get these perfect!

Thanks for the dedication on this project Indy, I’m excited to get mine! Red has given a great breakdown on things, but as he said the original color is something we’ll probably never know and always debate. You can see a lot of the color back and forth in prior posts, and this will probably be one of those things were you can’t make everyone happy But I for one appreciate the continued efforts to get things perfect!

We know the connectors in the first film had black zip-ties to help keep the yellow tubing from sliding out. Is it possible the ties caused the latex to warp over time, making it look as though there’s an additional “step” at the top? I assume the GB2 costumers used a GB1 connector to cast molds for the second film, so they’d have any warping, as well.

I received my suit, and I'm not that happy. They ignored my instructions to leave the patches and leg hose off. I included the note when ordering a year ago, and sent multiple emails about it, with confirmation back that they'd leave those things for me to attach. Now, when attaching my own patches and connector, I'll have extra holes in the fabric if I want to tweak the placement. It's probably not so bad for the patches, but the leg hose connector is attached via larger holes ripped into the fabric, with the number of holes not matching other connectors, so I'm kind of screwed there.

Also, I still need to spend more time to evaluate it, but the fit doesn't seem as good as my other suits of the same size. It seems longer in the torso, and I have to wear my belt very low for it to be positioned below the waist straps (also, the waist straps have too much elastic; I can pull them all the way to the other side of my body before they get tension). Unfortunately, that puts my gizmo in a position to collide with the leg hose connector, and I can't move the connector position now because of the big torn holes. Do you guys think I might be able to shrink the suit slightly to the point that the waist straps might land in a slightly better spot? I got the sleeves with a bit shorter length, so I can only afford to shrink them by an inch or so. I guess I'll try to fix the suit this weekend, and see if I need to end up ordering it all over again to get it right. I need a ripstop suit one way or another, even if the process of getting it is a pain.

As for the leg hose connector, I just got a GBFans version, and it is more accurate than my Heavy Props version upon close inspection. I believe it's the most accurate one I've seen so far.

NuclearJungle is correct in terms of the accuracy of the Gbfans connector vs the heavy props.
Please ignore my previous post regarding that.

Although it's noted as being made from measurements taken from a screen used prop, I've since found out the HP connector is based on outdated information from 2008 where as GBfans new connector is an updated design taken from measurements of a screen used connector which is owned by a member of the community.

Ok, so could someone provide the specs of the hose connector that would make most of you guys happy? I've got plenty of photos of the originals, but want to give you guys what you want.

I just want to take a second and acknowledge how much effort Indy Magnoli is going though on this. It's a rare thing for a vendor to bend over backward so much on such a niche product (and over what isn't a huge detail), and I can't not appreciate that. People doing things like running Kickstarters and such could really learn a lot from the collaboration and effort that's going on here. Connector issues or not, I'm not sure I've ever been more excited for something to hit my mailbox.

Indy Magnoli wrote: ↑April 15th, 2021, 2:00 pm Ok, so could someone provide the specs of the hose connector that would make most of you guys happy? I've got plenty of photos of the originals, but want to give you guys what you want.

I have a heavy props connector already, and I recently ordered a GBfans connector. Once I get it I can post side by side shots and some measurements of them and everyone can debate from there.