Imperial Officer Information

[Alay]

I've been asked a LOT about Officer stuff, where to start, etc... so I'm modifying a post from another thread and stickying it here with info dump/links/etc.?? If you have any extra information to add, please post it!

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Best place to start for reference is always the??Detachment Forums

For the??uniform itself, you have a couple of options depending on your skill, your willingness to spend, and the quality level you want to go for:

First option is to sew it yourself.?? There's some great sources for patterns and materials on the detachment forums, and if you're patient and have experience tailoring you can create a really nice one.?? The German Garrison occasionally does Fabric runs as well (here's a link to the most recent one) and if you're sourcing fabric I'd strongly strongly advise you to go with that.?? The accuracy is superb.

For the lower price end of costume, you can get with a??Cosplay Sky??jacket and pants.?? The hat 100% is not approvable so don't purchase one, but do ask for extra material to get it made elsewhere.?? You can give them measurements and they might just make it to the right size, with minimal adjustments needed.?? We have a fair few officers in the garrison that went that route, with varying levels of success.?? Do keep in mind, you get what you pay for here, and the jhodpur flares can be in weird places on folks, tunics too small, the material is thin... etc.

Middle of the range, Anovos??Pants??and??Tunic??are fairly good quality, but you have to deal with the stock sizing and Anovos shipping times which can be... very bad in a lot of ways.?? I've not seen one of these in person, but the??IOC??XO??has vouched for it being quality, and I respect his word on it.?? Their stock is hit or miss, so you have to get lucky.?? I'd avoid the "Women's Cut" ones if possible as??they have non-screen accurate modifications and may give you trouble for higher levels of approval.?? If the hat isn't in stock, you can order extra pants to make the hat out of.????

Top of the price line is custom commissioning work from a tailor.?? I ordered a setup from??Clothears??in the UK.?? It was expensive and the wait was about 9-12 months, but obviously it's made to my exact size specifications with all of the movie accurate detailing.?? Those folks did a ton of effort in researching the costume and it's beautiful; I cannot recommend them highly enough if you want a setup that's top notch.????As far as I'm concerned, they make far and away the best and most accurate officer on the market right now. Their costume is fully tailored, so you need to give them 20 or so specific measurements and pictures to help guide then, and the waiting time is long. But it's so worth it; I've bought my Boba Fett flight suit from them too, and am eyeing up the 451 Officer from them for my next IOC costume.????https://clothearscostumes.com/imperial-officer?? I've been eyeing up the 451 version... see notes below.

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SPEAKING OF UNIFORMS, did you know that the Staff Officers (black uniforms) you see in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi are different?

The costumes seen in A New Hope have a full front neck piece and open on the side of the neck.?? They're modeled after the Fahrenheit 451 jacket:

This type, with the rank bar, code cylinders, and side neck opening, is exclusive to A New Hope.?? In Return of the Jedi, the black costume officers mimic the cut of the Line Officers:

The ROTJ ones lack rank bars, code cylinders, etc.?? Worth keeping in mind

They're event differen CRLS:
http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_anh_staff_officer
http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_imperial_officer_black_nco

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For the hat, assuming you didn't buy one from Anvoos or Clothears, I've heard SewingJenny makes really good ones on the Detachment boards.?? I heard she's on hiatus though, so check there.?? I know some folks also sewed their own with the extra material from CosplaySky/Anovos.????Molli on the detachment forums??is also making hats and they look pretty good.

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Boots??will almost surely be the hardest part.?? Again you have a couple options dependent on money and time and patience.?? The cheapest way is to get a pair of second hand Equestrian Riding Boots from either a local equestrian store, or secondhand on ebay.?? If you have friends or family in the UK it's pretty popular over there in the style used, and you can get lucky.

If you're lucky enough to fall into a standard sizing but don't want to try and get lucky with Ebay, you can??nab a standard sizing from Magnoli Clothiers.?? I went with these myself, and they're pretty good boots; though my legs are a tad too small for the stock sizing so it's not ideal for me.

If you're unfortunate to have weird sizing and won't fit standard boots, you're probably looking at getting custom sized riding boots made... Which is very hefty in price.

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For the accessories, you'll need at least one??Code Cylinder.?? Depending on which character you're portraying you'll want to research their configuration and Code Cylinder Type.?? They come in three standard types

Blue Topped "type a":

These were used EXCLUSIVELY in Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and were used mostly for A New Hope.?? If you're portraying an Empire or Jedi officer, you'll want to go with these.?? They were originally Stephan brand dosimeters.?? You can find pretty accurate replicas from a fine member of the??Italian garrison on the Detachment Forums.?? If you're looking for a more weighted version, there's a fella that does low detail??aluminum ones that will sit nicely in uniform--I've used both before I sourced original Stephan dosimeters, and they both work fine.

Untopped "type b":

These were only used in A New Hope by a couple of officers; most notably General Tagge.?? I'm not certain of a good replica source currently, but original Stephans brand ones pop up for sale occasionally on the RPF and??IOC.

X-Wing Style:

These were only used by imperials in A New Hope, again notably by General Tagge.?? There's a few replica creators, such as??this fella.?? Original source part is unknown???? If you have access to a lathe they're super easy to make.

Whatever you do,??please don't make chalk holder dosimeters.?? They look really poor, and their approval status is in question and potentially will be removed from allowable.

For a belt, you'll need a leather belt about 2.25" with an accurate buckle and greeblie.????Tigg Wolf creates them for sale??(Tigg is having vendor issues, don't recommend anymore). Wampawear creates them for sale.?? I create them for sale (PM me).?? If you have access to a lathe the greeblie is a breeze to make.?? The belt itself is basic leather working... not hugely difficult.?? All officers use roughly the same style belt, though a couple of Staff Officers have a holster and blaster.?? Make sure it has the single snap that's worn to the left of the wearer!

For gloves, if you're replicating an officer that wears them, you'll need either gauntlet-style (ANH staff officer) or wrist-length gloves (ANH line officer,??ESB??or??ROTJ).?? I found my wrist-sized ones on Amazon for a couple of bucks.?? The Detachment Forum has links for more info on that.

For belt boxes??(if you're doing an??ANH??officer/ROTJ Warrant officer) you can probably make them yourself fairly easily.?? There's also??these really cool ones??for sale over on the detachment forums that look sharp and are a common go-to for folks.

Last but not least is the??rank badge.?? Accurate ones use 1" aluminum bars of varying lengths with push buttons attached to them.?? Acrylic and Plexiglass ones are not accurate (and look fairly tacky),??you want push button badges.?? Once you've picked out the officer configuration you want to go with and the rank bar appropriate, you can purchase from either myself or??several??other??folks.?? Or you can try your hand at making them yourself if you have metal cutting tools and some patience--it's not too difficult!?? PM me if you need source part info.

Hope that gives you some good starting information and direction!?? As always, tons of info and questions being answered on the detachment forums!