TeaJay

Thank you, sir! Another brand to consider would be Dylon. They do make an olive green option that is pre-mixed; it is a powder and understanding the water to dye ratio may be more trial and error on this. https://www.amazon.com/Dylon-87034-Permanent-Fabric-1-75-Ounce/dp/B000FNDZN6 That is the reason I went with Rit, it seems to be more widely found without getting into hardcore professional dyes that can get expensive or hard to find in some countries.

Looking good now! I've already started doing some homework on the trousers -- I'm prepping screenshots for discussions now

We just need to add a line item for the two recessed lines found on the belt leather. The two recessed lines are on multiple extras and main characters. I have not been able to spot anyone close enough to the camera that doesn't have these two lines on their belt. The only justification for not having them at L1 and making it an L2 option is to allow flexibility for members to use existing costume belts they may have for other costumes. I'm okay with the two recesses being a L1 line item since all extras and main characters close enough to the camera to confirm have these... ---- IOC tends to make this an L2 requirement, here is their language for it, "Belt has a groove at the top and bottom edge along the length of the belt." Other than this all looks in order, thoughts?

Sounds great! Since you and Jason are able to do some testing as well, I'll go ahead and use my last piece for the Spanish Olive, I'd like to see that one in person as well. Triple Axel is likely too blue and not green enough, probably okay to pass on. Granny Smith is a bit pale but curious how it turns out on the fabric. Agreed on these two statements. I think Granny Smith may still be worth testing. Neoakaj mentioned testing it for us. I'm curious how that pale color translates onto the fabric.

Sounds great! As mentioned in my videos, I've been testing Rit's small batch formulas; you can change their calculator by selecting "socks" or any of the other small batch items to get the formula needs (assuming you plan to test Rit). I would like us to test something a tad more of the blue/teal end of the color spectrum; this one caught my eye, but not sure how strongly I feel about it (Triple Axel): https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/triple-axel/ And this one, too yellow? (Granny Smith)-- https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/granny-smith/ ---- Still feeling strongly about Olive Green, especially as it fades after a few washes.

Believe it or not this color is from the Olive Green dye swatch. It seems that my camera wanted to change the color contrast of the Olive Green because of the blue glove that I was wearing while holding it... I have one undyed swatch left to test with... any thoughts on the greens from this page? https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/?type=197&hue=199&collection=0&collaboration=0 We're considering the Spanish Olive that Simon mentioned in his post above. Any thoughts from you, @fb501, are welcome!

I have the Charcoal Grey dye to test this out. I honestly had this color on my radar but completely forgot. The last piece of fabric that I have is the undyed sample from the recent videos... if we want to use this last piece to test out Spanish Olive, I can... Are there any other ones we want to consider before I use the last piece of fabric?

I bought 4 cans in total, yes I paid the batch fee too... It was around $120ish dollars for 4 cans of spray paint. The most money I've spent on spray paint ever... Based on seeing samples in store at a local Sherwin Williams, this color should be great. The color matching that this company does should be spot on with what I saw in-store at SW. I haven't sprayed it yet.

Here's another video with the custom mixture of Olive Green w/Tan and Olive Green w/Golden Yellow: Here's a photo of the olive green variants side by side: Formulas: OLIVE GREEN BASE: 1 Teaspoon Apple Green 1 Teaspoon Pearl Grey 1 Teaspoon Dark Green CUSTOM ADJUSTMENTS: 1/4 Teaspoon Golden Yellow vs. 1/4 Teaspoon Tan WATER AND SALT: 4 Cups Hot Water 2 Teaspoons Salt (no Iodine) As I mention in the video, they are only slightly discernable in person. The video/photos from my phone barely pick up any of the little subtleties and that's okay; this test was mainly a sanity check for me to see if a slight dye color formula change would make a significant impact. If anything this shows that folks have some flexibility in nailing down the right formula for their brand and preferred on-screen color. I saw that @fb501 mentioned that his uniform had varying colors for each piece (hat, tunic, trousers), but I really think that if the production team could have the idealized color consistency across the various parts of a single soldier's uniform they would have. Here are some indoor photos with different forms of lighting (outdoor shots coming soon): Low light under warm tone lamp: Low light under single warm ceiling light: Regular room lighting (ceiling Natural tone LED): I will do a group photo of all of these outdoors, I think tomorrow's forecast is cloudy, seems to be fitting for the on-location weather. I will also do some more up close comparisons with Olive Green and Rain Forest Cover. If anyone wants me to include any of the other colors let me know. --- As a side note, the custom Greenblack SW6994 spray paint came in the mail today, it is currently too cold to spray outside and I do not have a safe place to spray this without introducing spray can fumes into the house; not exactly the best idea for my 2 year old and my wife would also not be pleased with me

I agree with Simon on this one. From Fraser's description of the non-armored soldiers being within the base/not in a heightened security state, it seems very much like TIE Reserve vs TIE Pilot. I'll be a bit bummed to see a single CRL that combines all three...In universe, it feels like a separate costume to me, in episode 5 there was no need for the armor as they weren't on high alert, etc. In episode 6 all non-armored soldiers were in the confines of the base. That is why Andor and crew strip off their armor once they get inside the base to aid in the differentiation for subterfuge purposes even for a few brief moments as they take over individual sections within the base. Also, having armor vs no armor seems like two separate skills sets and entry level to the cost of the costume. I swear these scenarios scream for separate CRLs. ---- As a side note, I've posted a new video discussing the dye testing so far: https://forum.specops501st.com/topic/8801-dye-testing-rit-brand-aldhani-soft-goods/?do=findComment&comment=106079

Hey all, I spent some time putting together a quick comparison video and one photo of all the sample swatches in one lighting condition. More to come, take a look at the video, be sure to set the quality to 1080p on Youtube! Keeping with the same lighting as the initial photos in the previous posts here are all colors side by side: The video covers the summary more in depth, but the TLDR notes are: Lighting in the video and the single image above is only one lighting condition; we've seen different degrees of Kelvin (K) on the light scale change the color appearance of the fabric both on-screen and in my other photos. Olive Green and Rain Forest Cover are the closest to on-screen out of these 6 dye colors tested. Baby Turtle is half the dye ratio of Turtle Toes Avocado is half the dye ratio of Rain Forest Cover Green Sage is too sharp of a green in my opinion 2 more dye tests to perform -- custom mixture of Olive Green w/Tan and Olive Green w/Golden Yellow -- see video for more details.

Had an emergency pipe leak in our bathroom that led to all day repair work and replacement of the sink. No luck on making progress on last two dye tests. Stay tuned!

Asking for 2 CRLs... 1 for soft goods only 1 for Armor that has two variations Soft Cap and Helmet. Others in this thread seemed to like this idea...

I've completed dyeing all six of the sample swatches listed in the original post this weekend. I plan on doing 2 more custom dyes trials tomorrow and will make a video discussing and showing all results. I'll also accompany the video with some written details and photos. The video will help the post not be a massive essay... After posting the video and recap, I'll follow up with additional photos in the coming days, outside and indoors with different lighting conditions. Looking forward to recording the video soon!

So is the plan to have the full soft costume as a variant of this one CRL rather than a soft parts only (hat, trousers, tunic) have its own CRL similar to TIE Reserve (still in Spec Ops Det.) and then have the hard armor CRL that includes the soft cap and the helmet variant as discussed previously in this thread? I'm hopeful for the latter as the armored and non-armored costumes are extremely similar to the TIE Pilot and TIE Reserve concept.

Hoping to get to some more dye testing this weekend, but in the meantime, here's a photo of the Olive Green in partly cloudy weather after more morning rain. Current sky:

People really shouldn't go out of their way to have mismatched colors on the three soft parts of the uniform. Ideally it's all dyed in the same batch for color consistency. If there are blotches in sections of a specific garment it should be addressed as best as possible for color consistency for that particular garment. In your screenshots with multiple soldiers walking at the checkpoint, it was raining during these shots and color varies because of specific components of the soft goods on various extras and main characters being actively wet. However, as you show with the Skeen photo, the wet weather isn't the sole reason of the color differences. On the production side of costume creation, due to the sheer amount of soft goods volume produced because of how many extras there were; I'm sure multiple dye batches were created, clothing was bulk dyed, dried, and cleaned all mixed together, then hats, tunics, and trouser were divided up among cast members based on individual size needs, etc. From what we know from an extra who was in these scenes, there were multiple things that were rushed in production, such as the Aldhani troopers were suppose to have shin guard on their boots but the majority were broken when they arrived, chin cups on helmets also cracking and breaking off (so not everyone had them), wet weather in Scotland making some scenes difficult to film, and that's just the beginning... I'm sure if you asked the production team and costume designers if they wanted consistency, they would likely say yes, but with multiple factors effecting that, it's never as simple as what people would like/prefer... The goal in the CRL writeup for soft coloration is for those who need to dye their uniform, they should be doing it all in the same dye batch to allow for consistency as close as possible; if the hat is a slight hue lighter/darker, GMLs should be able to reference the episode and see that minor difference and make their decision or reach out to the DL and/or LMO for feedback in the designated GML/DL/LMO costume feedback subforum on the legion site.

It's been pouring outside, but yes, I will definitely get some shots outdoors when the weather dries up.

I agree with you 100% on this one, but guess what... it's only the lighting depending on the room I was in when I took the photo. Check this out, here is original lighting from the room where you saw it air drying... here it is this morning... Then I went over to the room where I took the photo where it seemed more olive/yellowish and dimmed the overhead neutral toned LED lights and turned on the warm white standing lamp: That darker green. It's a trick of the lighting... I really like this olive green color, but will be doing more testing soon.

I like this latest text revision. I've started a new thread for the Rit dye testing here: I've completed one color so far and hope to do more in the coming days.

Hello all, I've decided to tackle dye testing while we are fleshing out the CRL for the Aldhani Imperial Army Trooper. In this thread, I will specifically focus on Rit brand dyes. I may test other dyes in the future, but for now, this will solely focus on a few different dye color formulas from Rit. I will be using Rit's liquid dye rather than powder. The liquid is premixed and more concentrated than their powders. The formulas/recipes to achieve their massive variety of colors will be easier to measure out the liquid by volume rather than powders. If powders are your thing, that's fine. Here's Rit's statement regarding their liquid vs powder: "There is no difference in terms of color or dye performance. The liquid dye is already dissolved in water and more concentrated than the powder dye. So you only need to use half as much when using the liquid dye. Also, since the liquid dye is pre-mixed, this eliminates the need to dissolve the dye in hot water as you need to do with the powder dye before adding it to the dyebath. As a guideline, one bottle of liquid dye is equivalent to two boxes of powder dye." For example, Rit does not sell an Olive Green. You have to mix a specific amount of 3 different color dyes within a specific amount of water (along with sodium chloride [any type of table salt]) to achieve the color provided in their formula/recipe. Here are the colors from Rit that I will be testing: Olive Green - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/olive-green/ Green Sage - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/green-sage/ Baby Turtle - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/turtle-toes/ Turtle Toes - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/turtle-toes-2/ Avocado - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/avacado/ Rain Forest Cover - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/rain-forest-cover/ As I go through each of these dyes one by one, if I notice that one is too dark or light and a dye that is yet to be made will likely be too light or dark, it will be skipped over; we will see how color selection evolves as we begin the process, but for now the dye color formulas above will be at least a starting point. I purchased small plastic containers large enough to hold 4 cups of water which is the amount of water used in the small batch fabric formulas. The fabric being used for the test are sample pieces provided by Vincent over at Imperial Boots when you order his Aldhani Trooper set. I've made a brief video intro here that talks through some quick notes, but I will likely be focusing on photos rather than videos for each, unless videos become preferred. High level notes for this first color (Olive Green), water was very hot likely close to 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit, 2 teaspoons of table salt without iodine in it, other formula details covered in my verbal description in the video above. The fabric sat in the dye bath for 30 minutes, the first 15 minutes, stirring was nearly nonstop, the last 15 minutes, stirring was about every 5 minutes. After 30 minutes were up, the fabric was removed from the dye bath and left to rest for 5 minutes before washing once with a pea sized dot of Dawn dish liquid and lukewarm water. After about 2 minutes of the fabric being under running water and occasional hand squeezing the water coming off of the fabric was clear. I let it rest for about 15 minutes, then I accelerated the drying of the fabric with a heat gun on low for 2 minutes. Here are the photo results of the Olive Green stages (first four photos are warm toned ceiling lights in my utility space; the final dried product [where I'm holding it] is in "Natural Light" tone LED ceiling lights): Base fabric color example before any dyes are applied: Initially removed from dye bath after 30 minutes of soaking: After washing off the excess dye: After air drying for 15 minutes: After air dry and 2 minutes of heat gun on low: Initial conclusion: I think this color choice is extremely close to what we see on screen, but it is worth doing some more science and testing! I've also noticed that the coloration in different lighting changes as much as we see it on screen. If you have this fabric under warm lights it looks greener, if its under more natural/neutral toned lighting it was a lighter toned green... gives me some flashbacks when we were all discussing fabric colorations from scene to scene. Bear with me some as my wife is still getting over being sick. More soon!!

Rit's liquid is premixed and more concentrated. The formulas/recipes to achieve their massive variety of colors will be easier to measure out the liquid by volume rather than powders. If powders are your thing, that's fine. Here's their statement of their liquid vs powder: "There is no difference in terms of color or dye performance. The liquid dye is already dissolved in water and more concentrated than the powder dye. So you only need to use half as much when using the liquid dye. Also, since the liquid dye is pre-mixed, this eliminates the need to dissolve the dye in hot water as you need to do with the powder dye before adding it to the dyebath. As a guideline, one bottle of liquid dye is equivalent to two boxes of powder dye." For example, Rit does not sell an Olive Green. You have to mix a specific amount of 3 different color dyes within a specific amount of water (along with sodium chloride [any type of table salt]) to achieve the color provided in their formula/recipe.

The two recessed lines are on multiple extras and main characters. I have not been able to spot anyone close enough to the camera that doesn't have these two lines on their belt. The only justification for not having them at L1 and making it an L2 option is to allow flexibility for members to use existing costume belts they may have for other costumes. I'm okay with the two recesses being a L1 line item since all extras and main characters close enough to the camera to confirm have these... It's important for us to also document the Rogue One style code disk without the recessed circle edge on the belt buckle as noted in the screenshot from @Blackwatch's most recent post. -- Quick addendum: The dyes have arrived and I went out to get supplies for the testing process. I'm hoping to kick off the dyeing tests soon. Unfortunately, my wife just got sick and taking care of her and our 2 1/2 year old will be priority for a bit.

Belt boxes tend to be listed separately on costumes where they are considered optional (quite a few in IOC's case). In this case all troopers have them on removing them from being listed as optional, so I would assume that these would be listed along with the belt. The detachment may want them all in one line item similar to the mudtrooper to follow suit with other Spec Ops CRLs, too? 🤷‍♂️ --- Yes, I would hope we can consider the two recessed lines for L2 requirements for the belt. This is an important point we should not overlook.

@Blackwatch -- You have the OT measurements listed... please swap them to the Rogue One dimensions: Dimensions are approximately 2 inches (50.8 mm) wide, 3 inches (76.2 mm) tall and 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick"