Weathering flight suit

Wolfhound (Matt Ragan) · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 9:05 pm Post subject: Weathering flight suit

Howdy, I'm a new guy so please bear with me. Smile

I've spent a bit searching and lots of threads on weathering helmets... a thread on NOT weathering Jedi robes so much... but still I cannot seem to find out why it is that the orange flight suit seems to be "as is" with little to no weathering/fabric distressing/stain/fullers earth/etc.

Is there a CRL prohibition or just a general preference to have grungy helmets but near-pristine flight suits?

Jello (Tony) · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 9:36 pm Post subject:

I don't think there's a specific prohibition against weathering a flight suit, but I'd suggest caution in weathering it. The reason I say that is that to my best recollection, the screen used kits didn't really show all that much in the way of weathering (I think... I've just found an excuse to go watch ANH again!)
Obviously, the more you wear it, the more weathering it will take naturally; the trick is finding a happy medium if you're going to do it manually.
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JediXXL (Gil Guemes) · Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:56 pm Post subject:

Just wear it. Mr. Green

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Wolfhound (Matt Ragan) · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 2:14 pm Post subject:

Thanks y'all. My Mercs Mando kit has heavy weathering (soft and rigid) so I'm probably predisposed to "more" than "less" so I'll take the advice to heart. Laughing

I was thinking of trying to replicate some of the weathering I've seen on surplus 60s/early 70s era US Navy "Indian Orange" flight suits. It just seemed jarring to me that the Rebel helmet has such heavy weathering but the suits were nearly pristine.

This one is great, you can see the battery acid holes (which I wouldn't do) and stains from coffee, various aircraft fluids, and who knows what else. I guess this would be "heavy" Smile

I love the grunge around the thighs where the kneeboard and whatever else would have been.

This one I guess would be "light" (mainly some fading and wear around the seams and zippers). Obviously it's not the "Indian Orange" of the prior decade, but it shows the weathering better since it's OD.

DroidWelder () · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 5:24 pm Post subject:

Rebel_Grunt () · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 6:39 pm Post subject:

You can clearly see weathering on all the pilot's flight suits in the Battle of Yavin IV mission briefing scene.

Usually pilots are depicted in less them optimal lights i.e. dark hangers and in cockpit scenes. The mission briefing is relatively well lit.

High Rez version:
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130306005431/starwars/images/5/5d/DeathStar_plans.png

I plan on weathering mine using the black shoe polish method which is basically a dry brushing technique using a boot buffing brush where you have removed nearly all of the polish off the bristles and then flight rake it over the fabric areas you want coloured.

Wolfhound (Matt Ragan) · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 7:24 pm Post subject:

Rebel_Grunt that's a fantastic pic, glad you posted the high resolution one.

EDIT for me to reference later:

Lora Skywalker () · Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2015 9:16 pm Post subject:

I think I'd just do some ground rolling/crawling in the costume and then put it in the washer. Do that a few times and you get some natural weathering. Smile

But it will be a while before I get to that point...
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Blue Banshee Leader (Alex Buirch) · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:00 am Post subject:

You can also see weathering on the snowspeeder pilot suits in ESB. It's most noticeable on the flak vests, but you can see some "dirt" on the jackets, too. Smile

Anyway, I've also been looking for a good way to weather my flightsuit. I haven't found much yet, and no one in my base has been willing to help, so it hasn't gone so well lately. But I keep trying to find some decent and easy guides... Heh heh...
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Jello (Tony) · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 3:06 pm Post subject:

After having watched ANH, I stand corrected... I'm going to have to resist the urge to weather my flightsuit to the same degree my scout and snowie are though...
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BobaFiend (Austin) · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2015 5:38 pm Post subject:

I would definitely add some level of weathering to your flightsuit. For me, it was enough to use course sandpaper (100 grit) on the heavy-wear areas like knees, elbows, collar, etc. I then went back in with shoe polish and added some black weathering to the flightsuit.

If you have an airbrush that seems to be the best way to get that black "space dust" look that everything seems to have in Star Wars. You can get really nice natural looking gradients shooting Createx textile paint or fabric dye.

Here's a really in-depth tutorial that details a few different methods.

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f34/weathering-tutorial-comments-critiques-welcome-23363/
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Tigerantilles (Gregor Sink) · Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 7:55 pm Post subject:

Philonius () · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:21 pm Post subject:

I just noticed this tread, and it piqued my interest because I am thinking about how I'm going to dirty-up my TFA X-wing suit and vest. I had started on my A-wing vest and hose with some wiped-up grime from my car's engine, but that didn't seem enough. The grime on the TFA stuff especially is more realistic, and looks like they had someone professionally stain the low spots where all the stitching is, between the ribs on the vest, etc.

In historical reenacting, some folks would use tea or coffee to age things... this might be something to try. However, the acidic tannins in tea tend to break down fibers, but if you use polyester thread, probably not an issue. Paint in lieu of grime on your suit might be the best though, as you'll likely want to wash the suit after sweating in it.... no one likes "that guy", especially on a public troop! Fabreeze only goes so far.... Smile

I think I might try a series of tests on scrap fabric, and post here the results.
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twhigham (Troy Whigham) · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:46 pm Post subject:

I've found the best way to weather a flight suit is to wear it to a couple of air shows (and wear it all 3 days of the show) because there's no grungier form of dirty than air show dirty. Between the heat, the dust, the aircraft exhaust, the food vendor smoke, and accidentally standing too close to an air-cooled engine, you'll have plenty of "smudge" to be realistic.

I'm glad I found this thread. Now I have a reason to not wash my suit!
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allonsy_slayergirl (Lauren Fairley) · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 5:29 pm Post subject:

This is an amazing thread... I have been thinking my flight suit is too clean, same with the flak vest. Would be great to rub a little dirt in there and make it look worn.

Please let us know if anyone found a good way to weather!

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