PArmstr's Imperial Army Engineer WIP

[PArmstr[TX]]

I have been considering making an Imperial Army Engineer for about a year but had difficulties finding Commuter style boots in my size in Germany. I have tiny but wide feet with high arches. I also have huge calves, which makes things more complicated. When I made my Imperial Bridge Crew, I had to buy MIL-TEC Knobelbecher in the German Men's size 41 because that was the smallest Knobelbecher I could get far enough to see if they fit my foot. I have four pairs of extra soles inside each boot because the foot is too long. A medical shoemaker added extra leather so that the shoes would fit my calves. Since I am only 62 inches tall, the boots come higher than mid-calf, but I was approved in April 2017.

This week I finally found something that will work for my Engineer boots. I bought a brand new pair of NVA Filsstiefel in size 27, which is about German Men's size 40, for 30 Euros on Ebay.de. I cut away the felt, and the leather boots that are left are the right height for me. They will be 6.5 inches high. That is lower than the 8 or 9 inches mentioned in the CRL, but they are the correct height because I am so short. 8 or 9-inch boots would look too high on me. I still have some minor things to do on the boots. 
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Original-DDR-Filzstiefel-NVA-Winterstiefel-Groesse-27-/275638973980?nma=true&si=1BTrrJUl8IfZHzwnBhzuwwLQS88%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Since my sewing skills have gotten better over the year, I am using a self-made cap instead the Master Replica cap size S that I am using for my Imperial Bridge Crew because I think it is too large for my small head. I used the Cyber Seams pattern and Hawk Worley's Youtube tutorial to make it.
https://cyberseams.com/sewing/clothes/star-wars-imperial-officer-hat-pattern/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBrsac-aRMA&t=944s

I have a pair of black leather gloves, size S that I used for back searches while working as a security guard. They look perfect for this project.

I will order the Imperial Army patch from Herotec X. I just contacted them via Facebook messenger and hope to hear from them soon.

 

Approved Imperial Bridge Crew with altered MIL-TEC knobelbecher and Master Replica Imperial Officer hat

 

 

The boots before cutting away the felt (Photos are from the seller "kruemelmaik" on Ebay, because I forgot to take some when they arrived)

 

 

Cut down NVA boots

 

Self-made imperial hat

Black Leather gloves

 

[PArmstr[TX]]

I ordered my belt today it should arrive tomorrow. I do not fit into store bought overalls and changing bought one to fit me is too much work so I am going to sew my overall myself. My favorite online fabric store ran out of the black cotton-polyester twill fabric that I use for my Imperial hat so I have to wait a little bit for them to restock again.

I cannot find the four small pouches for the front of the belt and the large pouch for the back that I want so I am also going to sew those myself. I am corrently looking for a good fabric for them.

I already have the 2 inch wide black nylon webbing for the harness since I also use it for other costume projects. I might have to order 2 inch wide tri-glides I think I ran out of those.

[PArmstr[TX]]

The GMOs of my Garrisons have a reputation of being very strict so I desided to add the missing inches to the boot. I looked at a lot of photos of commuter III boots from weatherproof and will try to replicate the look. I have two different types black leather that I can use. I have leather from a smaller pair of NVA boots that I took abart. I bought the size 25 boots in 2018 or 2019. They were very cheap because the misshaped. The foot got squished during storing. I tried to salvage them but it did not work. I also have soft leather from a pack leather pieces I bought on Amazon in 2017.

 

 

[PArmstr[TX]]

The belt from tactical belt from Ultrakey that I ordered via Amazon arrived yesterday. The webbing is fine but the plastic quick closure buckle and the metal part are junk. I have high quality buckles from British PLCE belts that I replaced with roll pin buckle laying around so that is not an issue.

 

 

[PArmstr[TX]]

I had a black BW Brotbeutel in my closet that I used to use as my handbag/purse, and I decided to make it into my large back pouch since it has the correct size. I removed all extra straps and buckle. The only thing left to do is to add two black snaps to the closure flap and attach it to the belt. I might have to dye it black because the color is a little washed out. 

 

 

[PArmstr[TX]]

I just ordered my patches from Herotec X. Sofar everything is coming together better than most of my other costume projects.

[PArmstr[TX]]

I just ordered 2-inch black webbing and 2-inch sliders for the harness because I only had black webbing in 4cm, 3cm, and 2cm, and sliders in 3cm and 2cm.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Patricia I'm glad to se you here. I know you will knock the engineer out of the park. I love it because 1 its comfortable and 2 it has built in sunglasses! I was a bit concerned when I saw the cut on the boot but I know you will do fine with getting them back up to the required height.   Plan on sending in your Specialist application, I really want all of our Army troopers to be Specialists, and its not that much more work to get it for Engineer. 

[PArmstr[TX]]

Hi David. Thank you for the kind words. I have yet to look at the Specialist program, but I will try to make the features for the level from the start. It is easier to do it now than add them later. 

I have an idea of getting the boots to 8 inches, but I have to wait a bit to implement it. Sewing leather by hand always takes a lot of time. Unfortunately, I will be too busy the next few weeks with real-life things to start the sewing, so it will probably be March when I post the progress on the boots.

I am having difficulties finding the small pouches I want, so I plan on making them out of a similar material to the large bag. The welding goggles are also giving me some trouble. The type of welding goggles shown in the CRL is not used in Germany anymore. The only black ones that I can find are for steampunk costumes, and I do not know if they are plain enough for the IAE.

 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Patricia those are not plain enough. 

let me get you a pair here and I can ship it with your husbands ERT pants they are done. Gimme a day, I may need to order them, but with that box going to you I may as well just send you along a pair. I agree, all that you commonly find are steampunk setups. Old, round welding goggles are not that common anymore. 

[PArmstr[TX]]

Thank you for helping me out with the goggles, David.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

yw, it only makes sense to toss them in the box.  I love having built in sunglasses! 

[PArmstr[TX]]

The black 2 inch webbing for the harness arrived today.  I ordered a 50m roll so that I have enough for other projects as well. It is cheaper that way because the meter webbing gets cheaper the more you buy and I save money for shipping.

 

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

I often order it in ten meter rolls, with shipping, more is less. 

Make sure to lay the webbing on you so that it lays as flat as possible on your shoulders. The strapping is not a true H shape. It tapers in

slightly at the back. 

[PArmstr[TX]]

Thank you for the advice. I was not aware of the fact that the harness was not completely H-shaped but rather a turned around "A".

[PArmstr[TX]]

I have been thinking about the coverall that I have to sew. The CRL states: "One piece black coverall with a hidden front zipper and mandarin collar." I was wondering it would be possible to make a two piece overall if I am able to make it look like a black coverall. I have been working on creating a two piece orange rebel flight suit for my OT X-Wing pilot and a tan two piece tan rebel flight suit for my Hoth Technician / Endor Gunner.

 

Another thing that is not clear for me is the type of cargo pocket. The CRL states "2 large cargo pockets sit on the outside of the legs from around mid-thigh and not extending past bottom of the knee, with a rectangular flap covering the top of the pocket." As far as I can tell many approved IAEs do not have cargo pockets. They only have "large patch pockets" on their legs. All cargo pockets that I knnow of have some type of pleat system so that more stuff fits into them. Which pocket types are approvable?

 

 

Large patch pocket with flap

 

 

 

 

Common styles of cargo pockets

 

 

 

BDU pocket

 

 

Box pocket

 

 

Gussett pocket

 

 

Helikon pocket

 

 

Box pleat pocket

 

 

Inverted box pleat pocket

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Its a large, flapped pocket. 

There are EXTREMELY few options for the coveralls especially in my size, so when I wrote it I left it vague on purpose. The art does not  agree with itself and when it does show something, it's completely inconsistent. We have stuff showing up in one panel that is never seen again on any other panel.  That's the limitations of working from comic artists.  

Concerning the two piece,  I believe you did that before on one of your RL uniforms? Where you hid the split line under the belt? 

 

 

[PArmstr[TX]]

1 hour ago, Blackwatch said:

Concerning the two piece,  I believe you did that before on one of your RL uniforms? Where you hid the split line under the belt? 

The two Rebel Flight suits still need to be finished because I ran into some sizing issues. After all, everything has to fit my proportions. There are so many things I had to keep in mind, such as sleeve pockets, cuffs, sleeve holes, action pleats, chest pockets, etc. Another issue I ran into is that the torso of the flight suit has to be split into three parts to achieve the distinctive Imperial/Rebel look. I have to consider my breast size, or it will look incorrect. So I am currently learning to make my own pattern to make everything fit together. Yes, the split will be hidden under the belt (Endor Gunner and X-Wing pilot) or the vest in the case of the Hoth technician.

The two-piece coverall for the Imperial Army Engineer is much easier to make. I can use the Kwik Sew K3389 overall pattern Size 2XL for that. I only have to add pockets and shorten the sleeves and legs. Making the collar into a mandarin is also very easy. I have done it for both of my Rogue One Officers. The IAE belt and harness are perfect for hiding the split line. No one should be able to see that it is a two-piece coverall and not a one-piece.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

I jus got a brand new prototype suit from Philonius and the standing collar is really stiff. I think it has some stabilizer in there. Its also fairly tall. I think I really like that over the whimpy collars I have been making. I have asked him if he can look into making green IA coveralls for us. 

[SpaceWelder[TX]]

On 2/9/2023 at 4:56 AM, PArmstr said:

Another thing that is not clear for me is the type of cargo pocket. The CRL states "2 large cargo pockets sit on the outside of the legs from around mid-thigh and not extending past bottom of the knee, with a rectangular flap covering the top of the pocket." As far as I can tell many approved IAEs do not have cargo pockets. They only have "large patch pockets" on their legs. All cargo pockets that I knnow of have some type of pleat system so that more stuff fits into them. Which pocket types are approvable?

 

 

I feel like I had this same conundrum.  I think I landed (in my opinion) that they are gusseted with perhaps a knife or BDU pleat. I ended up doing a gusset with the bottom gusset sewn to stay tight to the leg, with an inverted box pleat.  YMMV, but that got approved for me

[PArmstr[TX]]

Thank you for your feedback, David and Chris. I decided that I will use a gusset pocket. The one in the photo is a little bit to narrow for my liking so I am going to make mine as wide as a BDU pocket.

 

 

[Hoda[CMD-DCA]]

Hahahaha I think the truth is most people don't think too hard on what a cargo pocket is - most probably just assumed any pockets present on mid-thigh are cargo pockets.

[PArmstr[TX]]

5 hours ago, Hoda said:

Hahahaha I think the truth is most people don't think too hard on what a cargo pocket is - most probably just assumed any pockets present on mid-thigh are cargo pockets.

I am pretty sure that is the case. I did not know the different styles of pockets before I started sewing my costume pants. So far I made seven pairs of pants. Five of them either had large patch pockets with flaps, box bockets or both types of pockets.

 

The 2 inches wide tri-glides for the harness arrived.

[PArmstr[TX]]

I did some prototyping for my pouches. Originally I wanted to buy four Condor Handcuff Cases but decided against it when I saw what they cost in Germany. Then I decided to try to replicate them since I have all the materials to do that. So after making a prototype out of paper, which I did not like, I thought I might as well try to make a pouch from the comic. I think that the main part of the pouch looks good but the closure flap needs a little bit more work.

 

 

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

Great job on the custom work thus far!