Flight Suit ESB Flight Suit Dying Progress - Looking for Opinions

[DrToothache]

Hey Everyone,

So I am working on dying my ESB flight suit and need some opinions. I have 2 flight suits from the same maker and was dying both at the same time. They both started as gray and I used Rit Evening Blue to dye the suits. Even though they are from the same manufacturer, they came out with vastly different results! Note that these were dyed in the same batch with the recommended amount of dye. One of the flight suits came out on the darker side and the other on the lighter side. I know that it wasn't the process because both suits were in the same bath together for the same amount of time and everything was thoroughly mixed. The only thing I can think of is that even though they are from the same manufacturer, one of the suits probably has a higher percentage of polyester material as opposed to cotton (the dye used was Rit All Purpose dye for cotton).

I don't think that the results are bad though, I was just really surprised that they came out so differently. Anyways, here are some photos comparing the 3 suits (left is darker outcome, middle is starting point, right is lighter outcome), as well as the suits lined up against reference pics in a collage.

Here is a picture with indoor lighting (Darker suit on left, starting point in middle, lighter blue on right):

Here they are with sunlight beaming directly on them through the window:

And here they are with camera flash on:

Then here is the collage I made using reference pictures from the movie. I tried to line up the photos with sunlight exposed on left / dimmer lighting on right side of collage.

And another reference pic to compare against:

So I am kind of torn on what to do, but my opinion is that the one on the right is a better starting point. It seems to be slightly lighter than the reference photos whereas the darker flightsuit is way too dark. I am thinking that doing another run with the same dye with the lighter flightsuit for less time than the first round may get the flightsuit in a better place. However part of me also thinks that what I am seeing in the reference pictures that is making his suit darker is the weathering. So what are your thoughts? Use the right flightsuit and dye it a little more? Or keep it at its current state and apply weathering?

Or do you think I should use a small amount of dye remover on the left/darker flight suit?

Thank you in advance for your opinion guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[Eli Jinn]

Hey Everyone,

So I am working on dying my ESB flight suit and need some opinions. I have 2 flight suits from the same maker and was dying both at the same time. They both started as gray and I used Rit Evening Blue to dye the suits. Even though they are from the same manufacturer, they came out with vastly different results! Note that these were dyed in the same batch with the recommended amount of dye. One of the flight suits came out on the darker side and the other on the lighter side. I know that it wasn't the process because both suits were in the same bath together for the same amount of time and everything was thoroughly mixed. The only thing I can think of is that even though they are from the same manufacturer, one of the suits probably has a higher percentage of polyester material as opposed to cotton (the dye used was Rit All Purpose dye for cotton).

I don't think that the results are bad though, I was just really surprised that they came out so differently. Anyways, here are some photos comparing the 3 suits (left is darker outcome, middle is starting point, right is lighter outcome), as well as the suits lined up against reference pics in a collage.

Here is a picture with indoor lighting (Darker suit on left, starting point in middle, lighter blue on right):
View attachment 239593

Here they are with sunlight beaming directly on them through the window:
View attachment 239594

And here they are with camera flash on:
View attachment 239595

Then here is the collage I made using reference pictures from the movie. I tried to line up the photos with sunlight exposed on left / dimmer lighting on right side of collage.
View attachment 239596
And another reference pic to compare against:
View attachment 239597

So I am kind of torn on what to do, but my opinion is that the one on the right is a better starting point. It seems to be slightly lighter than the reference photos whereas the darker flightsuit is way too dark. I am thinking that doing another run with the same dye with the lighter flightsuit for less time than the first round may get the flightsuit in a better place. However part of me also thinks that what I am seeing in the reference pictures that is making his suit darker is the weathering. So what are your thoughts? Use the right flightsuit and dye it a little more? Or keep it at its current state and apply weathering?

Or do you think I should use a small amount of dye remover on the left/darker flight suit?

Thank you in advance for your opinion guys, I really appreciate it!

I'd personally say to dye the right flightsuit a little bit more and then go ahead with weathering.
If it helps, here's what my flightsuit looked like after dying, under indoor lighting

Then I decided to go pretty heavy on the weathering, sorry the bottom is in shadow so its hard to see the weathering

I just noticed how much the color changed between those two photos. Sorry about that. The bottoms of the sleeves and the whole torso are completely clean, so that's kinda what you're looking for.
Anyway, there's the finished product in context. Again under indoor lighting. Hopefully with the context of the rest of the armor this pic has the most accurate colors.

 

[Mythosaur]

I'm in no way an expert on ESB, there are others that are more knowledgeable, but I agree with Eli that the bluer one looks better. When I did my flightsuit, I used 1/8 tsp evening blue liquid and 1/4 tsp pearl grey powder (this calculates out to an even amount of each, Rit liquid is double the strength of the powder) and it looked fairly similar to ESB. If you add a little pearl grey, it may get you a little closer, again though I am in no way an expert, just my advice from the experiences I've had with dyeing.

 

[jedisushi]

The color of the flight suit is one of the most persnickety things because lighting just plays tricks all over the place.

You might try weathering the lighter suit first using something washable like Dirty Down. I don’t think you want to take the darker suit any darker, so leave that one as is. What you need to do is figure out if the lighter suit needs only weathering or a bit more dye and weathering. Good luck!

I don’t think you can make a bad choice here in the end. It’s good to look at the suit under different lighting conditions and with the vest and armor on if possible. Just go with whatever makes you happiest in the end.

 

[BudaFett]

I personally think the blue on the right isn't bad at all. The darker blue seems too dark.

 

[DrToothache]

I'd personally say to dye the right flightsuit a little bit more and then go ahead with weathering.
If it helps, here's what my flightsuit looked like after dying, under indoor lighting

Thanks Eli! I am thinking the same thing. I might do a mix with half the amount of Evening Blue as the first round and just a bit of Pearl Gray. I feel like it is close but still slightly too light. Your flight suit (and costume) looks awesome by the way! The weathering is perfect Nice job man and thanks for the feedback.

I'm in no way an expert on ESB, there are others that are more knowledgeable, but I agree with Eli that the bluer one looks better. When I did my flightsuit, I used 1/8 tsp evening blue liquid and 1/4 tsp pearl grey powder (this calculates out to an even amount of each, Rit liquid is double the strength of the powder) and it looked fairly similar to ESB. If you add a little pearl grey, it may get you a little closer, again though I am in no way an expert, just my advice from the experiences I've had with dyeing.

Thanks Mythosaur, I was thinking about doing some Pearl Gray as well since I haven't added that yet. My suit was pretty gray to begin with so I wanted to try with just the evening blue first and see how it turned out. It seems like it almost completed wiped out the base gray color though so it might be a good idea to add some gray back.

The color of the flight suit is one of the most persnickety things because lighting just plays tricks all over the place.

You might try weathering the lighter suit first using something washable like Dirty Down. I don’t think you want to take the darker suit any darker, so leave that one as is. What you need to do is figure out if the lighter suit needs only weathering or a bit more dye and weathering. Good luck!

I don’t think you can make a bad choice here in the end. It’s good to look at the suit under different lighting conditions and with the vest and armor on if possible. Just go with whatever makes you happiest in the end.

I know right?
The lighting in all of the ESB reference photos makes it hard to get an accurate color, and there seems to be many different shades of blue/gray that builders settle with. I want to be as accurate as possible and looking at the reference pictures that are in bright light seems to indicate that the blue is very light and that the weathering is what makes the blue appear darker in some shots. It is hard to say though but I am leaning towards a lighter blue so I will probably add some pearl gray and a tad bit more evening blue to the lighter suit. I am going to put the suit together with flight vest / helmet / boots / jetpack and see how it looks all together before making a decision. Thanks for the feedback.

I personally think the blue on the right isn't bad at all. The darker blue seems too dark.

Thanks BudaFett! It seems that the consensus here is to use the lighter suit in the picture and either add a bit more blue/gray or just weather it as is. I will probably use that one and maybe add just a bit of pearl gray and re-evaluate. Possibly add more evening blue after that.
Going to put the suit on the mannequin with all of the other parts that I currently have to see it better before I make a decision. I appreciate the input!

 

[DrToothache]

Alright, so I put some items on the mannequin to better visualize and compare the flightsuits. Some of the parts are for my build and others are from an old Boba Fett cheap halloween costume. I figured that having some stuff on the mannequin though would help.
The legs are the darker blue, the torso/arms is the lighter version. The darker suit is definitely way too dark, but is just on there for comparison. Here are the photos mixed with dark room lighting to bright room lighting and with camera flash. Unfortunately it is night time so I don't have a sunlight photo currently.

The brighter blue flight suit seems to be pretty close in some lighting, but looks gray in other shots. The suit looks more gray in dim lighting and a light blue in bright lighting. I feel like with weathering this would look pretty close to ESB Boba's flightsuit. I am still torn on whether it needs a little more blue though, I just don't want to overdo it and then start dabbling with dye remover

If anyone has different opinions now that it's on the mannequin then let me know. I am leaning towards just running with it for now (Can always add more dye later).

 

[Eli Jinn]

Alright, so I put some items on the mannequin to better visualize and compare the flightsuits. Some of the parts are for my build and others are from an old Boba Fett cheap halloween costume. I figured that having some stuff on the mannequin though would help.
The legs are the darker blue, the torso/arms is the lighter version. The darker suit is definitely way too dark, but is just on there for comparison. Here are the photos mixed with dark room lighting to bright room lighting and with camera flash. Unfortunately it is night time so I don't have a sunlight photo currently.

View attachment 239605
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View attachment 239608
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The brighter blue flight suit seems to be pretty close in some lighting, but looks gray in other shots. The suit looks more gray in dim lighting and a light blue in bright lighting. I feel like with weathering this would look pretty close to ESB Boba's flightsuit. I am still torn on whether it needs a little more blue though, I just don't want to overdo it and then start dabbling with dye remover

If anyone has different opinions now that it's on the mannequin then let me know. I am leaning towards just running with it for now (Can always add more dye later).

That's hard. I'd say just go with your gut. I agree with jedisushi when he said that you really can't go wrong no matter what you do.

 

[DrToothache]

Dyed the lighter flight suit a little more with both Pearl Gray and Evening Blue. I did 20 minutes in the dye this time with 1 bottle of each. Also died the flak vest with pearl gray...the flak vest definitely needs some more dye though as it still basically looks white. I may just weather the flak vest to the proper light gray color though.

Also did some in-house tailoring with my sewing machine to make the flight suit fit tighter. I think that the suit is pretty close to ESB Boba's color now however it still looks a little light to me (but I think I have been staring at the color blue too long for the past few days an need a break!). At this point I just need to do weathering and see how it looks after that.

Sorry for the poor photo quality, I had to use my webcam to get any full body shots tonight.

Next up is dying the flak vest and tailoring it to be a little tighter / shorter as well as removing some dye from the front girth belt pouches. I think at this point I am just going to start my build thread unless any one has any strong opinions on the color of my flight suit and thinks that it needs changed. I appreciate all of the feedback that you guys have given me so far!

 

[DennisFett1142]

I think the lighter blue is pretty close depending on lighting (yeah, pretty much what we say about EVERY Boba Fett color!). Weathering could help quite a bit with it. The darker blue one is a pretty good start to a PP2 flight suit, so it wasn't for naught. If you decide to re-dye the light blue one, just make it short little baths and wash and dry in between to make sure you don't get too dark. My ESB went through five or six dye baths before I got it to where I was satisfied. Good luck!

 

[DrToothache]

I think the lighter blue is pretty close depending on lighting (yeah, pretty much what we say about EVERY Boba Fett color!). Weathering could help quite a bit with it. The darker blue one is a pretty good start to a PP2 flight suit, so it wasn't for naught. If you decide to re-dye the light blue one, just make it short little baths and wash and dry in between to make sure you don't get too dark. My ESB went through five or six dye baths before I got it to where I was satisfied. Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback. And yes when trying to research there were definitely mixed opinions on the colors of Boba, both ESB and ROTJ lol. I think I am going to keep the lighter suit as is and get the flak vest situated then start the weathering. Good to know that it has taken others multiple dye baths because I did 3 to get to where this is at now. Some reference pictures made me feel like the suit is too light, and others too dark. Then to make things more challenging, I realized that Lucasfilm changed the lighting with each additional special edition / release off the ESB movie. For example:

Hmm a PP2 build - thanks for the idea for my next project . Your Fetts look amazing by the way. I am working on both a Jango and ESB Boba concurrently right now, it's hard to do just 1 Fett....

 

[jedisushi]

Re: the vest, it isn’t really gray. Take a look at the Clothears vest. It’s pretty definitive. Arkady’s color is similar.

 

[jakotadones]

Hey Everyone,

So I am working on dying my ESB flight suit and need some opinions. I have 2 flight suits from the same maker and was dying both at the same time. They both started as gray and I used Rit Evening Blue to dye the suits. Even though they are from the same manufacturer, they came out with vastly different results! Note that these were dyed in the same batch with the recommended amount of dye. One of the flight suits came out on the darker side and the other on the lighter side. I know that it wasn't the process because both suits were in the same bath together for the same amount of time and everything was thoroughly mixed. The only thing I can think of is that even though they are from the same manufacturer, one of the suits probably has a higher percentage of polyester material as opposed to cotton (the dye used was Rit All Purpose dye for cotton).

I don't think that the results are bad though, I was just really surprised that they came out so differently. Anyways, here are some photos comparing the 3 suits (left is darker outcome, middle is starting point, right is lighter outcome), as well as the suits lined up against reference pics in a collage.

Here is a picture with indoor lighting (Darker suit on left, starting point in middle, lighter blue on right):
View attachment 239593

Here they are with sunlight beaming directly on them through the window:
View attachment 239594

And here they are with camera flash on:
View attachment 239595

Then here is the collage I made using reference pictures from the movie. I tried to line up the photos with sunlight exposed on left / dimmer lighting on right side of collage.
View attachment 239596
And another reference pic to compare against:
View attachment 239597

So I am kind of torn on what to do, but my opinion is that the one on the right is a better starting point. It seems to be slightly lighter than the reference photos whereas the darker flightsuit is way too dark. I am thinking that doing another run with the same dye with the lighter flightsuit for less time than the first round may get the flightsuit in a better place. However part of me also thinks that what I am seeing in the reference pictures that is making his suit darker is the weathering. So what are your thoughts? Use the right flightsuit and dye it a little more? Or keep it at its current state and apply weathering?

Or do you think I should use a small amount of dye remover on the left/darker flight suit?

Thank you in advance for your opinion guys, I really appreciate it!

This might a little underqualified/unrelated but since your working on your suit color, you could maybe just airbrush/weather the exposed areas of the lighter suit to level it out a bit more? miggs_fett on Instagram made a post on Nov 15 about how his suit is lightly dyed and airbrushed to be a bit more accurate to the hero rotj version so maybe you could employ the same strategy. It looks like his suit is mostly tan with blue added in on flaps and pockets. That way you won't need to re-dye.