[RickH]

Hey dudes,

I scored this little gem on Ebay today. A new nomex flight suit.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0117332901

There's quite a few suits on Ebay, usually a little bit cheaper than in the stores. This one was $80 AU total after shipping, which is still $20 cheaper than a poly cotton suit from Australia.

[AMC78]

Choice. Looks the business.

Will you have to dye it? Man I'm a tad concerned about having a suit ready for Supernova, I have been dicked about with long waits and vanishing suits and cash from that idiot captainamerca on Ebay and have zip to show for it. Now I'm getting a little desperate to get one in time! It's been going on since Xmas. Just gonna bite the bullet and organize another as fast as l can.

Do you recommend nomex or truspec, Nomex harder to get? Is there a particular brand of gloves in Australia you recommend too?

Thanks

[RickH]

Hey dude,

As far as flight suits go, Nomex is industry standard. The whole point of wearing a flight suit (for aircrew) is having flame protection. Nomex feels heavier and sturdier, too. I'm not sure if I'll dye it yet, I'll decide when I get it.

Truspec Poly/Cotton isn't too bad though from what I've heard. My old suit was cheap poly/cotton, but plenty of guys here are raving about Tru Specs product. So you couldn't go wrong with it for the price. Just don't buy it from the Australian distributor because it's rediculously overpriced even after the exchange rate.

[RickH]

Forgot about the gloves. I bought my gloves from Woolies. $5 or something like that. They look good though.

[AMC78]

Hrrrm, well from the pic in your ebay auction it looks like it would fit really well. Fire resistant, slime resistant?

Is there an online site to buy one or is it one of those things you have to buy in bulk etc? Else in regards to the truspec, if not through the AU distributor then where would be the best place to buy one? The site I found was
http://www.legear.com.au/TruSpec-27P-Fl ... c-2662.htm. Tru specs look like they will need a dye job, sure there's topics on that technique on here somewhere. Had the elbow pads streched over 3L bottles for the past 3 weeks whilst I am overseas, gonna do a RIT job on those when I get home.

Thanks again

[RickH]

I used one tin of Dyson grey dye (from Spotlight) on my last flight suit. It worked out well, it just gave it a grey tinge. Poly Cotton like Tru Spec dyes a lot easier than nomex.

I think those truspec ones are $119 from legear.com.au, which is pretty rediculous because they are $40 US from some American websites. Just do a google search you'll find em.

[AMC78]

I've found a site from the US that was cheaper after you mentioned it, http://www.galls.com/gaweb.dll,type JS004 in the search bar, also I want to get a pair of corcoran jump boots. Actually, can you get them here, what do you use in the service these days?
Some guys say dye, others don't re truspec guess I'll wait till I get one. We're going to want our coveralls to be the same colour won't we lol.

[RickH]

Being a technician, I wear desert tan Fire Ant safety boots. Non-technical musterings mostly wear Terra's.

I've got a nice pair of Converse combat boots also, with a zipper on the side, but unfortunately I can't wear them at work because they're not authorised.

[AMC78]

Really? A pair of black converse combat boots were the most recent set of boots I've bought, the taller ones you mean right 8" or whatever height they are? I thought about them with a GB outfit but it just seemed out of place. I can be a bit fanatical when it comes to things being accurate so I was going to import some jump boots and get a zip put in like another board member in the US. If there's a couple of us wearing them then might look alright? How many other guys from Oz are going to Supernova this year in costume, tell them it's now the Oz GB authorised boot of preference haha.

[AMC78]

Oh and I forgot to ask, you got the CWU 27P nomex in tan but found this link which has a suit listed as khaki. Is this a different colour or just the site's labelling of the lighter colour? Because up to now I thought it was tan, green or black that you can only get?

[RickH]

Khaki and tan are the same colour, but like the other guys on the forum have said, different manufacturers have different shades of khaki/tan.

My converse boots are actually desert tan, not black. I bought a pair of black GP's on Ebay for my GB outfit. I was issued GP's when I joined the RAAF in 2002 but back then we wore brown GP's. Some people still have black ones, but it's not very common.

[AMC78]

Rick, I have found a suit in my size, but is yours a 'summer weight' suit? Thought I'd ask you before buying. I didn't know there were different weights but it makes sense.

Thanks again

[Charlie Richter]

Im thinking of grabbing a brand new truspec. Colour doesnt bother me so much, as I dont think every single uniform should be the same.

[RickH]

Not sure if it's summer weight or not. I don't know if I'd be able to tell the diff unless I had one of each to compare.

[AMC78]

Better to continue the uniform talk here I guess. So does the colour look darker irl of your suit than the auction pic? The uniform I bought almost looks the right colour in the pic from the auction, will be interesting to see when it comes.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... 0304935054

[RickH]

Yeah but only slightly. The colours of fabric would no doubt differ between manufacturers.

[RickH]

I've just put in an order with Multi Media Mayhem for a few bits and pieces. Laziness has kicked in and I can't be bothered driving around town looking for these bits to make them myself, figured it was easier to buy them:

Grey belt
Belt gizmo
Polyurethane hose kit for Proton Pack
Resin gun tip kit
Key fob
Yellow hose and adapter

Should look like a pretty cool rig when it's all together!

[ode2kenobi]

Just about to do my key fobs, just bought these today at the reject shop for $2

[Ryusui]

I actually ordered a Nomex from eBay last week and it just got here today. Well, actually, I ordered two, but had to return one...long story.

Anyway, I personally feel that this suit should be dyed. It's a light brown, but it's still very much brown. There was an awesome thread by SolidGoldCaddy last year in which he shows his before and after Nomex suit, and gives great insight on how to go about the process:
http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 38&start=0

[AMC78]

Rick, yeah that set is pretty good from MMM, That's what I have. Has your suit arrived yet?

I like the look of the dyed suit Ryusui, especially the one on pg 2 in that link that they used black dye on, I'm still of the mindset it was the film and lighting that made them look so gray, guess I'll wait till the suit arrives. Do you have plans to use that black dye or the pearl gray RIT?

[RickH]

Yeah my suit arrived. It's a good quality suit, just not as baggy as I would've liked. Still fits ok, though. I'm washing it a few times and on Saturday I might try and colour-strip it and add one packet of Dyson Grey just to get the browny/sandy colour out of it. It's a little bit darker tan than my old suit at the moment.

[Ryusui]

AMC, I'm of the belief that the movie suits weren't dyed either. I can't remember where I saw it and who said it but someone had said that it's no big mystery that suits from the 1970s-1980s would be different in color and materials than suits we buy now. It seems like a lot of discussion goes on about whether or not the original suits were dyed, and not so much about whether they were just a different color to begin with. Either way, I say dying is the way to go to make today's suits look more like the movie suits.

I think when I dye, I'm gonna try the color stripper and black dye. Hopefully it works ok...I hear Nomex is a bitch to dye. =P

[AMC78]

I read that 'how to' dye link Ryu and I'm going to cut to the chase and try RIT black dye on the nomex if I go with dying, chuck the pads in there too and spray the pad part after. My theory is that it is better to not subject the suit to mulitple dying and if I find it a little dark just wash it a few times.

Who's up for a possible beer, burgers and flightsuit dying weekend lol?

[RickH]

I tried colour-stripping the suit today. It made f*ck-all difference. That's after 3 washes with fabric softener. So now I'm trying the grey dye. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hey I'm happy to have ya's round for beers anytime. Or beers at the Clarendon Hotel on Fridays, topless waitress between 3pm-6pm Not to mention the meat raffle, lol. Gotta love western Sydney, it's where the real cool people hang out.

[Ryusui]

You know what's funny? I've recently been looking into paying a visit to a good friend of ours in Perth. If we get the chance to make it to AU and find our way to Sydney (which, if we actually do go to Australia then I'm sure we'd have to go to Sydney for at least a couple days) I'll definitely look you guys up!

I'll remember to bring my suit. ^_~

[RickH]

Perth is great, I've been there a few times with the Air Force. Northbridge is party central, just a whole street with bars and clubs. I've heard it's degenerated a bit lately and it's mostly strip clubs now. Scarborough Beach is awesome too on a Sunday. We had a mad Sunday session at the pub across from the beach. I love Perth Also pay a visit to the Swan Valley wineries and breweries. Actually now that I think of it, I don't think I did anything except drink while I was there, lol. Fun times, though.

Charlie can probably tell you more seeing that Kalgoorlie is a lot closer to Perth than Sydney is.

Yeah come to Sydney too. It's not as good as Melbourne or Gold Coast, but it's alright, lol.

[AMC78]

Yeah Rick look forward to hearing how it goes with the dying. Sounds like a good wateringhole you got there hehe. Oh and the best strip clubs are in Budapest, raven haired, tanned, blue eyed sirens, lesbian lapdances, and they actually tell you NOT to keep your hands to yourself. Choice.

[AMC78]

Forgot to mention Rick you seen these pics of the GB suit? Looks alot like the colour of your suit in the auction you won. I noticed even in the new game the suits don't look that gray. I wouldn't sweat it re the colour.

http://www.ipanetwork.com/Ernie_Hudson_ ... s_pic_.jpg

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/c ... ters-3.php

http://au.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14218 ... dnnbpe664c

[Ryusui]

Wow, Ernie is a lot thinner than I thought...look at how he has the velcro straps crossed on his suit.

[RickH]

It's just a personal preference I guess, I like the suit to be a little less tan and more pale/grey.

By the way I figured out why the dye didn't take yesterday, I forgot to add the salt! Trying again today, maybe I'll have more luck.

I paid for my order with MMM last night, He reckons it'll be shipped next Wednesday, so add about 2 weeks transit and it should be here at the end of the month or first week of June. Can't wait.