General Clothears ESB Boba Flight Suit Vest Review

I've been very impressed with every phase and stitch of the work put into these pieces. I've never seen a more accurate neck seal. The stitching is simply fantastic. The vest and materials are just beautiful.

But I too am a bit taken back on the cost. No judgement intended. We all do what we do for our own reasons. It will certainly propel these pieces to the upper shelf of unreachable for most folks. But, you do get what you pay for.
 
I have one of these too , and I must agree , its perfect.
You couldn't get better than this.

I had to send it back to get it adjusted a bit , wich was done at no extra charge.

All the seams , stitches look perfectly screen accurate and it even comes pre weathered...

I agree the price is fairly high , but then , If you have this, you'll never have to upgrade ;)
 
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I won't be buying from them. Over 400 bucks for a suit that's not made to your measurements is just absurd. I'm pretty much positive that after this, most soft part makers are going to add the little bits they're missing anyways, and still be available for a far cheaper price.
 
Thank you to James, Keegan and Danzo for your support and comments.

Also apologies to James, this thread was started by him to show off his new suit and vest (which he was obviously very pleased with) to his friends and fellow Fett fans but it has become a discussion about the costs being overpriced.

We fully appreciate that the suit and vest are not cheap items to purchase and that many people will be unable or unwilling to spend that amount of money on the parts but we would like to attempt to defend ourselves.

The suit and vest have been work in progress for well over 12 months, draughting and re-draughting patterns, testing many different fabrics and dye colours and producing a large number of prototypes. We have not passed on any of the costs in the development and prototyping stage onto the cost of the final product.

In the UK we pay a high tax rate, we have to pay this on every suit that we sell, unfortunate but something that we can do nothing about.

Our products are made from the best quality materials available to us, our fabrics are professionally dyed to achieve the correct and consistent colour, a service that we have to pay for.

The amount of detail in our products means that the construction time is considerable, quality is paramount to us, no corners are cut. The suits sizing is not as simple as s, m, l, we send out a comprehensive measurement chart so that we can find the best fit possible if that means a different size lower half to top half then that is what is made, the lengths of legs and sleeves are adjusted for the customer.

We do feel that soft parts for suits are generally considered less important and therefore many people believe that they should be cheaper than the hard parts but please take in to account that once a mould is made for the hard parts construction time is dramatically reduced where as a soft part is started from scratch every time. As an example, a top end suit of storm trooper armour costs about £800 ($1,315) un built, that consists of about 26 main pieces of vac formed plastic, un trimmed and definitely not made to measure. We appreciate that the moulds take a long time to make (but so do the patterns for soft parts) once that is done the time taken to pull the vacs is a fraction of the time it takes to make a set of Fett soft parts and you still have to build the armour yourself once you receive it, plus the cost for plastic is much less than it is for fabrics.

We are aware that people will read this and still not be convinced of our reasons for the price but we can only assure you that we are not trying to take advantage and that the amount of profit on each suit is low, we could earn more working other jobs but we do this because we love the costumes and want to make the best and most accurate costumes that we can. We understand that we may not sell hundreds of these suits but to us it is more important that the parts be as accurate as possible and as well made as possible, rather than, as cheap as possible.
 
Youre comparing a TK suit with LINEAGE to the real suit to your reproduction....not apples and apples.

And youre comparing OTHER soft part wearing costumers to People here...who have the most intricate costume there is and most expensive.

Sure your overhead is high and hopefully you can find a way to lower prices in the future. The suit looks great or I wouldnt have bothered emailing you several times. If someone can afford to put 1/3 their budget of 3k into the soft parts the by all means go for it. But I really think at the price point youre at you are double what should be spent. Especially since its going to have to be tailored again locally. Ive had 4 flightsuits and not 1 was ready to wear. Something had to be changed to make it where it would be just right. The Fett jumpsuit is not a TK undersuit it holds the armor to the chest and has pouches that need to be at the right height, it holds shin tools...it tells a story itself with all the weathering. I dont know if you can send out unweathered, un dyed, no frills suits as a budget option but its something to consider. The people here are DIY type guys...who take pride in adding this or that....something to think about. I'll be emailing you about that option hope its something you can do as I REALLY do LOVE what you have done.
 
We weren't actually comparing our suit to any Tk armour in particular, a quick look on ebay showed us that armour ranges from about £650 to just over £1k, some of which (granted) had lineage but most didn't. We said about £800 as a rough price.

We are not sure what you mean by 'you're comparing OTHER soft part wearing costumers to People here', we certainly did not intend to compare any group of costumers to any other.

We fully understand that a Fett suit is not a TK undersuit, we have studied the suit in excruciating detail and know exactly what it is required of it, a good reason why it needs to be well constructed and patterned and made from quality materials.

We are pleased to hear that you like the suit, we are confident that it is the most accurate available, unfortunately with the best will in the world we cannot produce it any cheaper, that is just what it costs for us to produce such a high quality, accurate product.
 
We weren't actually comparing our suit to any Tk armour in particular, a quick look on ebay showed us that armour ranges from about £650 to just over £1k, some of which (granted) had lineage but most didn't. We said about £800 as a rough price.

We are not sure what you mean by 'you're comparing OTHER soft part wearing costumers to People here', we certainly did not intend to compare any group of costumers to any other.

We fully understand that a Fett suit is not a TK undersuit, we have studied the suit in excruciating detail and know exactly what it is required of it, a good reason why it needs to be well constructed and patterned and made from quality materials.

We are pleased to hear that you like the suit, we are confident that it is the most accurate available, unfortunately with the best will in the world we cannot produce it any cheaper, that is just what it costs for us to produce such a high quality, accurate product.

I don't think there's anyone here that doesn't like what you have made. Personally, I just think it's crazy the suit is over twice that of one that is made to the wearers measurements. When I found out that your price was over 800 for everything. My first thought was that I would rather buy my own sewing machine and make my own. While I would prefer to buy my parts from you. If I can buy a sewing machine, plus all the fabric to make everything, and still not hit the $400 mark of your flightsuit, that's the route I will have to take. I understand that it costs a certain amount to make things, and you have every right to ask as much as you want, but saying there's no way to bring the price down irks me a bit. Just about every good seller I know strives to make their parts more affordable, because they want to share what they've done with the community. I mean there's plenty of things you could do to bring the price down. Like offer them in runs, not weather them (I'm understanding they arrive pre weathered) Or offer them un dyed and let the customers dye them themselves.
 
The way I see it is if you can afford it, get it. If you can't (like me, lol) then get one of the other great options from the soft part makers here. That's what I did, and I couldn't be happier. I really don't see the problem. I want to thank the OP for posting the photos and video because the work is absolutely beautiful (and I'm a sucker for un-boxing videos). Enjoy them. They are a great base for your Fett costume!
 
If I can buy a sewing machine, plus all the fabric to make everything, and still not hit the $400 mark of your flightsuit, that's the route I will have to take.

There are plenty of other options out there before you go and make it yourself that are quite reasonable in price. As always, a large part of this hobby is about your budget, and what you are comfortable in spending.

Being a small business owner myself (Photographer), I understand what it's like when customers are shocked at the sticker price. Newly engaged couples have no idea why wedding photographers charge so much for what appears to be mere hours of work. Little do they know there is so much going on after their wedding that costs money (insurance, equipment upkeep, living expenses, marketing/advertising, etc.)...and not to mention the years of experience the artist has perfecting his/her craft which commands a higher wage. If you don't want to pay for a professional photographer, higher someone more within your budget. They may not produce as good of a product as the professional...but as Chris said...you get what you pay for.

I think a lot of time and effort went into the design and creation of these parts, and Clothears has every right to charge what they feel is fair based on their material costs, other expenses, etc. It's up to us as consumers to decide if their product is in our budget or not. Simple as that.
 
There are plenty of other options out there before you go and make it yourself that are quite reasonable in price. As always, a large part of this hobby is about your budget, and what you are comfortable in spending.

Being a small business owner myself (Photographer), I understand what it's like when customers are shocked at the sticker price. Newly engaged couples have no idea why wedding photographers charge so much for what appears to be mere hours of work. Little do they know there is so much going on after their wedding that costs money (insurance, equipment upkeep, living expenses, marketing/advertising, etc.)...and not to mention the years of experience the artist has perfecting his/her craft which commands a higher wage. If you don't want to pay for a professional photographer, higher someone more within your budget. They may not produce as good of a product as the professional...but as Chris said...you get what you pay for.

I think a lot of time and effort went into the design and creation of these parts, and Clothears has every right to charge what they feel is fair based on their material costs, other expenses, etc. It's up to us as consumers to decide if their product is in our budget or not. Simple as that.

Oh I know there's other options, but the point I was making is that you can buy everything you need to start making everything, including the tools for it, and still not hit the price point for the suit. I did say they have a right to charge what they want. My complaint more than anything is that it's over 400 for a generic sized suit. It's over double the cost that most charge suits made to your measurements. If this was 400 bucks for a suit made to your measurements, then it would be the best suit hands down. This isn't a case of "you get what you pay for" it's you pay an absurd price, then take it to a tailor and pay them to make it fit.

That's my opinion. No one has to agree with me, but it's how I see it.
 
I'm pretty certain it's to measure BUT you never will get it in hand fitting the way you NEED it to fit. And shipping back and forth to the UK isn't an option.

Sent from my SCH-I545
 
I'm pretty certain it's to measure BUT you never will get it in hand fitting the way you NEED it to fit. And shipping back and forth to the UK isn't an option.

Sent from my SCH-I545

"This is suit is made to either a smll, med, lrg, x-large. If you decide to place an order a measurement guide will be sent out to you and we will fit you to the appropriate suit. £245.00"
 
I have one of these too , and I must agree , its perfect.
You couldn't get better than this.

I had to send it back to get it adjusted a bit , wich was done at no extra charge.

All the seams , stitches look perfectly screen accurate and it even comes pre weathered...

I agree the price is fairly high , but then , If you have this, you'll never have to upgrade ;)

Weird cause seems like they adjusted it for Wolters here.

Sent from my SCH-I545
 
Sorry Guys I've been off for a few days...

I was actually shocked at how well the suit fit me. All the measurements they needed were actually quite extensive, the inseam, waste, and length in the arms was perfect and I will not be needing to get it tailored. The guys at Clothears I think are masters at what they do... Yes, the price is high, but if it was low, or there was a budget/DIY suit then everyone one and their brother would have one... This is THE suit to have! All the way down to the smallest detail. even the material of the flight suit and vest looks exactly like it does in high res images from Empire. I am still blown away! and honestly they're a professional costuming company. If you want something cheap get something cheap, great. Trooping is fun but who wants to be walking around with an all accurate 8k Boba around little kids.... Sorry to say, I'm a freak when it comes to accuracy. So, I HAD to have this... I might troop in it once or twice and that's about it, the rest of the time it will be on a mannequin in my movie room.
 
They sent out an extensive measurement chart and then adjusted the suit to fit.
Somehow a mistake was made on my part so that the fit wasnt perfect , I sent it back and it was adjusted .
The communication and willingless to resolve issues was great at all times.

The issue of cost ; it is here as with all costuming parts ; some make their own armor and painstakingly paint it at as low cost as possible , and some order it prepainted and ready to wear.
It all depends on the budget and quest for accuracy of the costumer.

Clothears merely offer a suit that they researched extensively and is to their opinion as perfect as they can get it.
For their efforts they charge a price that they think is a reasonable pay for materials and time .
It is up to every individual costumer to decide if this is what they want.
 
That is a fantastic flightsuit. It's not for everybody, but that's ok. Clothears can charge whatever they want for their products. The market will dictate if they are overpriced. Apparently people are ordering these so they seem to be doing ok. Good for them. On the other hand, I don't think coming in here and arguing with potential customers is going to help their cause, lol.
 
I don't think alot of you guys are listening here........

unfortunately with the best will in the world we cannot produce it any cheaper, that is just what it costs for us to produce such a high quality, accurate product.

- if you don't want to deal with Clothears then go elsewhere....
- if you can't afford Clothears then suck it up and go elsewhere....
- if it's so easy to get the price lower then GO ELSWHERE!!!!

Back to what this thread was ACTUALLY about (can't believe the moderator hasn't stepped in on this sour-grapes-a-thon!!) - JimmyC, that undersuit is AMAZING!! The best!

N.B. Re fitting. The RS boys took my measurements a while ago for some clothears kit & I still keep it today for other stuff - it has 28 items to measure. Attention to detail.
 
I think the price is fair game in "reviewing" the suit. I still don't see new posts spotlighting each of the new details this would be helpful.
 
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