I need help finding parts to make the Imperial Army Engineer

[Blitz3770]

I am not old an enough yet to join the 501st, but I want to start doing Star Wars cosplay and thought that the Imperial Army Engineer would be a relatively  easy way to get started. But I had trouble finding the flight suit, Imperial Army patch, and a lot of the other pieces in kit. I would really appreciate some help.  

[RAIDER[COTG]]

@ShovelGuy and @Blackwatch are good members to get info from.  There are many others here as well.   Good to have u cadet ?

[Blitz3770]

@Raider  Thank you, I have messaged one about it and I will try to keep this up to date on my progress of getting the parts for it.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

hello and welcome Joseph! 

A couple of things to consider:

1 your budget

2 you may continue to grow as you get older (* I sure did!) .  If you are 17 and looking to build now, and join soon, ignore everything Im about to say about going up in sizes. 

The engineer is pretty simple, and I have an outlined resource list posted in the forum.  If you have a local surplus store, a lot of this will be right in the store.  

Unfortunately you can't walk into any given store and find black work coveralls.  I always have to mail order mine , and  I have started using the Natural Workwear brand on Amazon. They are comparable to DIckies at a somewhat cheaper price. Find your best deal.  Unlike other conversions you will only need one pair.  USAF style flight suits with all the pockets and zippers are wrong for this suit. If you are still growing you might want to leave it a bit baggy.  We have GA troopers here and they are still growing, so they use somewhat large coveralls, but not TOO large, just enough to let them grow into them. 

You can always refer back to my build WIP for any reference, but keep in mind I had to make a bunch of changes during the build.  Most of the build is mail order, so that makes this especially easy.    

Here is the buy list for the Imperial Army, and fits the three established CRLs.   I found most of my stuff on Ebay and Amazon. If you have a local surplus store you can probably just walk in and get it, this is pretty common stuff.  This list is pretty comprehensive so you will want to poke through all of its links.  Just remember everythign on the Egnineer is glorious black.  

Here's my coverall conversion.  It was written for the blue mechanical crewman, so ignore some of the details in the photos like the point.  Just follow the text. The Engineer back pockets can be used for the leg pockets. You don't need to make the whole collar conversion, you can add a tab from suit material like the arm pocket, and that has been what most people have done.  Use a super sharp utility knife on the inside of the pocket bartacks. bust the bartacks loose 

For boots, its really up to you, but until you are ready to join, I would consider going with a low cost alternative . The CRL is written for regular jackboots, and Ebay can be a great source if you want to make the jump now. Otherwise, a black simple boot from a thrift store will work. I looked at boots at a couple of thrift stores this week:   One was a pull on work type boot which might work if the wellington type top was cut off. 

For the pouches you can use the recommended pouches, or stick with four black , smaller, less expensive pouches for now.   

There are two other considerations, the hat and the patches. 

Currently we don't have a source for the patches, as they have sold out again.  years ago a member made his own with the small size  Imperial cogs you can find on Ebay, a large patch of olive fabric and two rectangles of green fabric,  sewing them together to form the shape.   We do need  asource for the patches, that is certain. 

On the hat, Its up to you.  There are a lot of inexpensive  hats on Ebay, but they look funky. there are members in the Imperial Officer Corps forums who will make hats. Understand this is not mail order, you go on a waiting list, and the wait can and often does take several months due to the very high demand for black hats.  

This is by no means great, but its economical.  I can tell you from personal experience the costumebase brand hat found on Ebay and Amazon is just plain BAD.  Etsy seller 20eyesdesign has made a bunch of things for me over the years and I can speak to her work. it will not be the best hat you have ever seen but its affordable.  Measure your head, don't guess, these are made to order and they cannot be resized.    

 

I hope this helps, good luck, and please post your progress! 

 

 

[Blitz3770]

@Blackwatch Thank you, I think that will help me a lot! Thank you for spending the time to type and send your message. I will try to keep everyone up to date on my progress. Thank you again.

 

 

 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

well done on your WIP Joseph.  Im glad you found a hat that looks good AND fits, and that you are making progress.   It will all be worth it in the end. 

[Mython[TX]]

On 9/15/2019 at 9:08 PM, Blackwatch said:

hello and welcome Joseph! 

A couple of things to consider:

1 your budget

2 you may continue to grow as you get older (* I sure did!) .  If you are 17 and looking to build now, and join soon, ignore everything Im about to say about going up in sizes. 

The engineer is pretty simple, and I have an outlined resource list posted in the forum.  If you have a local surplus store, a lot of this will be right in the store.  

Unfortunately you can't walk into any given store and find black work coveralls.  I always have to mail order mine , and  I have started using the Natural Workwear brand on Amazon. They are comparable to DIckies at a somewhat cheaper price. Find your best deal.  Unlike other conversions you will only need one pair.  USAF style flight suits with all the pockets and zippers are wrong for this suit. If you are still growing you might want to leave it a bit baggy.  We have GA troopers here and they are still growing, so they use somewhat large coveralls, but not TOO large, just enough to let them grow into them. 

You can always refer back to my build WIP for any reference, but keep in mind I had to make a bunch of changes during the build.  Most of the build is mail order, so that makes this especially easy.    

Here is the buy list for the Imperial Army, and fits the three established CRLs.   I found most of my stuff on Ebay and Amazon. If you have a local surplus store you can probably just walk in and get it, this is pretty common stuff.  This list is pretty comprehensive so you will want to poke through all of its links.  Just remember everythign on the Egnineer is glorious black.  

Here's my coverall conversion.  It was written for the blue mechanical crewman, so ignore some of the details in the photos like the point.  Just follow the text. The Engineer back pockets can be used for the leg pockets. You don't need to make the whole collar conversion, you can add a tab from suit material like the arm pocket, and that has been what most people have done.  Use a super sharp utility knife on the inside of the pocket bartacks. bust the bartacks loose 

For boots, its really up to you, but until you are ready to join, I would consider going with a low cost alternative . The CRL is written for regular jackboots, and Ebay can be a great source if you want to make the jump now. Otherwise, a black simple boot from a thrift store will work. I looked at boots at a couple of thrift stores this week:   One was a pull on work type boot which might work if the wellington type top was cut off. 

For the pouches you can use the recommended pouches, or stick with four black , smaller, less expensive pouches for now.   

There are two other considerations, the hat and the patches. 

Currently we don't have a source for the patches, as they have sold out again.  years ago a member made his own with the small size  Imperial cogs you can find on Ebay, a large patch of olive fabric and two rectangles of green fabric,  sewing them together to form the shape.   We do need  asource for the patches, that is certain. 

On the hat, Its up to you.  There are a lot of inexpensive  hats on Ebay, but they look funky. there are members in the Imperial Officer Corps forums who will make hats. Understand this is not mail order, you go on a waiting list, and the wait can and often does take several months due to the very high demand for black hats.  

This is by no means great, but its economical.  I can tell you from personal experience the costumebase brand hat found on Ebay and Amazon is just plain BAD.  Etsy seller 20eyesdesign has made a bunch of things for me over the years and I can speak to her work. it will not be the best hat you have ever seen but its affordable.  Measure your head, don't guess, these are made to order and they cannot be resized.    

 

I hope this helps, good luck, and please post your progress! 

 

 

Fantastic info! This has launched my Imperial Army Engineer costume, started working on it this past weekend! Thank you!

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

We look forward to your progress