Star Trek Phase II: Origins
- Thread starter S'kai
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doubleohfive
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I hate to say it ... but it looks like a marching band uniform.
A really good marching band uniform, but a marching band uniform nonetheless.
A really good marching band uniform, but a marching band uniform nonetheless.
Just to toss in a bit more information, the jacket is worn over the regular silvery-colored tunic like we saw Finnegan wearing. We have shoulder epaulettes, but we're undecided whether the uniform looks better with them or without them. (I'm not sure where we'll end up when the smoke clears.) The sleeve stripes indicate which year the cadet/midshipman is in, of course. We also don't know what kind of insignia we'll have. James seems to want the JJ Abrams Trek insignia. I think I'd rather have the "regular" starburst/daisy thing that we saw Finnegan wearing (but maybe we should have that on just the tunic and not the coat). James is the costuming expert, but he's skin and bones and I can take him with one hand tied behind my back, so we'll see how the costume finally ends up.
Oh, and there's a cadet cover (cap) too: it's the same cap you can see sitting in Captain Pike's quarters in "The Cage." (It's a US Marine Corps style with an early United Planets-type insignia.)
Feedback is always welcome.
I like that it's a jacket over the silver tunic. I also tend to agree with you Greg; go with the starburst insignia. 
I think the epaulettes might be nice, but they're probably extraneous, so I'd say go without 'em. YMMV.
I think the epaulettes might be nice, but they're probably extraneous, so I'd say go without 'em. YMMV.
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The Abrams badges work nicely for this because they read as very similar to the emblems worn in "The Cage" - about the same size.
The whole thing's rather charmingly TNG-ish - the waistband, round collar and color break-up - and also a little reminiscent of Kirk's two-color uniform in ST:TMP.
The whole thing's rather charmingly TNG-ish - the waistband, round collar and color break-up - and also a little reminiscent of Kirk's two-color uniform in ST:TMP.
There's a lot of stuff for James to juggle: we want it to look a bit like x and y with touches of z, but it can't look too much like a, b, or c. Trying to find the right mix of things to be reminiscent of (or harbingers of) is a bit balancing act.
The epaulettes (if we use them) are meant to not only touch on the TMP uniforms that will be coming down the pike (yes, pun intended) in the next twenty or so years (Trek-time). They also are meant to reflect the old Cage-era uniform worn by the Space Officer seen in "The Cage" ("Great place you have here, Mister Pike"). It's just about even money whether it looks better with them or without them.
One thing James didn't want to do that I suggested was to put piping (black? gold?) around the top edges of the Nehru-style collar. James thought it looked *too* TNG and likes them better plain. He's probably right.
This discussion reminds me of a talk I had with a friend after we saw "The Wrath of Khan." My friend thought the red jackets made the officers look like bellhops, but I thought they more along the line of pirate costumes and made it easier to buckle that swash. It's sill my favorite Trek uniform.
Trek costumes always tend to go a little "Gilbert & Sullivan," but I think that's true of science fiction "futuristic uniforms" in general. Michael O'Hare's brothers, both military officers IRL, used to tease him about the "bellhop and head-waiter" B5 uniforms.
I kind of agree that it's a bit like a marching band outfit, but I also have to say that as far as fanon designs go... this is not bad at all... I've seen FAR worse.
Too much of a departure from what we saw in "Shore Leave" for my tastes...
Stay away from JJ-Trek, or the Sub-Prime universe. I think having the empulets is good. The idea that that particular uniform element is there in TOS somewhere and is brought back into the TMP and to some extent WOK uniform styles is a nice touch. The black is perhaps too much TNG for me. Id like to see a darker grey like what we saw on the landing jackets with Pike's crew, but it looks like a done deal...Anywho, I thought the hat worked okay.
Execpt that this is a jacket that goes over the uniform seen in Shore Leave. This enhances the costume we've already seen, not replaces it.
Dennis and Nick, Thank You.
My goal here was to design something that was more at home in a 1950's era sci fi film, which I always felt "The Cage" more closely resembles than later Trek.
I think I succeeded. This is a dress jacket that will be worn over the silver "Finnegan" tunic.
I have a couple of slight changes to make, but overall I am very happy with my first pass as both a designer and maker!
James
My goal here was to design something that was more at home in a 1950's era sci fi film, which I always felt "The Cage" more closely resembles than later Trek.
I think I succeeded. This is a dress jacket that will be worn over the silver "Finnegan" tunic.
I have a couple of slight changes to make, but overall I am very happy with my first pass as both a designer and maker!
James
Seeing half a dozen kids in those sparkly silver tops would look pretty ridiculous.
I'm partial to 1950s sf design myself.
This isn't your first time designing, James, is it? What about TNG?
I'm partial to 1950s sf design myself.
This isn't your first time designing, James, is it? What about TNG?
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I have done some other small stuff for our show, which will be seen in "Enemy:Starfleet". But that is all.
I have always been the guy that just cuts and sews. Bill Theiss did all the design work for TNG in that 1st year. I was fortunate enough to just get to know him and sew for him.
I have always been the guy that just cuts and sews. Bill Theiss did all the design work for TNG in that 1st year. I was fortunate enough to just get to know him and sew for him.
I think it's a good, sound aesthetic decision to base the Trek early years designs in the 1950s SF film era. There's a bit of Tom Corbett Space Cadet in that design that's really cool to have. After all, even the new movie took a cue from 50s SF film for the Kelvin uniforms.
IIRC, Harve Bennett even wanted a retro-50s feel to his Starfleet Academy flick, Star Trek: The First Adventure.
I love the idea of using the nuTrek pin on the jacket. But maybe you can use a silhouette-type insignia like those found on the Kelvin uniforms to give a more subtle hint to the new movie.
You know, the color break-up is very similar to the uniforms on "Rocky Jones, Space Ranger," which I've always thought had a cool ur-Trek look to them:
Yeah, but you need those baggy pleated 50s trousers ala RJ:SR and Forbidden Planet. 
Pleats...blech.
Pleats...blech.
