Star Wars Oregon
Public Information => Imperial Armor => Imperial Work In Progress => Topic started by: Fox on August 20, 2022, 12:45:08 AM
-
Not sure if this counts as a build or more of a slow and expensive shopping trip.
I thought about getting a more comfortable option. Admired the Officer's uniform. Thought it was neat that Museum Collectibles made one, followed by Anovos. Spent the last 2 week doing research. Narrowed my list down to Denuo Novo (formerly Anovos) and Wampa Wear. Concluded maybe I shouldn't be spending so much money on something so silly. Then Denou Novo included a belt and shipping for free - SOLD!
Hat, Jacket, Slacks and Belt all on pre-order from Denou Novo who so far I hear has been doing a good job fixing Anovos mistakes. Preorder is due this quarter.
Next on the shopping list in no particular order:
1. Riding boots for true gentleman.
2. A belt in my size. They didn't have my size in stock. Maybe the alternative will fit.
3. Replacement hat pin. Original Trilogy.
4. Gloves because we don't like to get our hands dirty.
5. Rank Badge and cylinder. Guess I'll have to decide which one I want. More of a fan the ESB/ROTJ designs.
I will be waiting for the main uniform to arrive before ordering some of these additional parts.
-
Gloves ordered.
I was ordering a neck wallet to carry my stuff under the TK armor. Had to purchase at $25 to get free shipping from Amazon. Found a pair that seems like it fits the reference library and the total for the order was $25.02
-
Hi there!
Which Officer CRL are you following?
-
This one,
https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:ID_imperial_officer
-
Boots are tricky.
My research shows 2 main sources.
Imperial Boots and Hessen Antique. Hessen is $50 cheaper but out of stock. Imperial does a run at time. Get your order in during the next ordering week and your boots will be by shipped 1-2 months later. I guess add 1 month extra for shipping. ETA December? There's also eBay & Etsy. Avoiding the cheap looking ones. I've found some legit looking ones but always seems to be in a small size. Must be a retired jockey. Going to see what Imperial's shipping fees are. If reasonable I'll place an order if not wait on Hessen.
Sizing will also be tricky as returns will be a hassle. I usually wear a size larger than my true size. This style of boot in general a tight fit. Guess I'll order 2 sizes up from my true size to be safe and add inserts as needed.
-
Hessen has never let me down, but your best bet is to go to the next 4h tack sale and grab a pair of boots there. They used to have the sales twice a year, but I’m not sure if that changed with COVID. You could get a sweet pair of barely used full leather boots for under $50 though.
You mentioned a card holder for you TK and it made me think of this wallet for cards and phone that I ended up getting at Sarah’s suggestion for my ID. It fits right in with the uniform and doesn’t make awkward pocket bulges ruining the smooth lines of the uniform!
https://www.amazon.com/Meilib-Holster-Designed-iPhone-Compatible/dp/B09CVY2HN4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=Meilib&qid=1661383083&sr=8-3
-
Neck wallet for the TK is good but not the gloves for my Officer. Men's size L fits like Women's size M.
-
Returned those no-brand gloves and ordered some $90 name-brand gloves that was on clearance for $25. According to all the charts and videos my hands are size M but I have long fingers. Ordered new gloves in Men's size L. They're nice but now a bit too loose. Going to keep them. These gloves end above the wrist. I read the ESB's gloves should end at a wrist and ROTJ's end above. I said I was aiming for an ESB Officer. Now I guess I'll be an ROTJ Officer? With me being on the tall size longer gloves will help if the jacket sleeves are a tad too short.
-
The price of these boots hurts my wallet.
Hessen $230 ($400 regularly? It says $170 savings) but out of stock in my size.
Imperial Boots cost more at $280. Could wait for Hessen but will they go back up in price? I can live with $270 provided the boots aren't too much over $300 with shipping.
Cost with shipping $365!
Really wanted to go with the real deal on everything but this too much. My goal was Level 2 accuracy for this build. Looks like real leather is only needed for Level 3. Could still do the less expensive PVC. Benefit of that is you can find them on sites like Amazon and can return them hassle free if size is wrong. My uniform is still on preorder. Was planning to make an order with Imperial boots today because I estimate the wait would be at least 2 months. At $365 I'm going have to remove them as an option. I think I might wait on Hessen or go with PVC if the uniform is ready before Hessen is restocked.
-
Update.
I placed the wrong size in the checkout cart to see shipping cost. It was only $5 more. I think I can wait for them to restock. They say the boots run large. Might be able to fit in a size 11 but not risking it.
-
Got my rank badge.
Went the Captain's. Could have made myself a General or Admiral but felt Captain was more realistic goal for a career officer. For a ROTJ build I could use this badge to represent every single rank.
There's still more hardware that I need to get but I'll order that after my pre-order for the uniform arrives. I just wanted at badge ready.
-
For the Olive Drab costume, Captain is a solid rank :cool:
-
Stuck in the waiting room.
Uniform ETA is this quarter. From what I hear the new management is doing a good job getting pre-orders in on time. Giving them till November before I say what's up?
Also waiting on Hessen to restock their larger sizes. If the uniform gets shipped before the boots, I'll order some rubber ones but I'd rather not. Not interested in spending $300+ for other boots. I've found legit boots on eBay UK. One pair exactly my size and another a size larger. Neither offers shipping to US. I sent a message to the larger one. Always a bad sign when it isn't offered automatically. If you do manage to convince them to ship, they might charge you extra because it inconvenient for them. Could still get them for much less than Hessen charges if I'm lucky.
-
If you do go with Hessen, make sure to get a size or two larger then your foot. They are extremely undersized.
-
I've heard that.
I'm like 11-12 in most shoes and was planning to order the largest 13 anyways.
-
The Seller says they'll ship to the USA. Gave them my address and now wait for a quote before I buy. Very possible to get these for a reasonable price.
-
Still waiting on that shipping quote. I think these will really work. Another pair popped up from another UK seller who has US shipping as option from the start. These ones are more like my actual size. Could try them if the 1st seller doesn't get back to me. My preference is to order a size up. I've wore snug shoes before, but the idea is for this costume to be my more comfortable option.
-
Not sure if seller is leading me on or they're very laid back in jolly old England. Decided to encourage them by sharing the max I'm looking to pay with shipping. About 180% asking price. This is still less than Hessen (who is still out of stock) and much much less than other options I've seen.
-
2 to 3 days later and no word back from seller.
Asked if they'd ship to the US. Said they would. Keep saying haven't had a chance to visit PO. In my last message I hinted how much I'd pay with shipping. My offer is enough to cover what they're asking, shipping fees and enough left over to buy them a nice dinner.
Pretty sure I'm being ghosted.
-
The seller is still alive. Gave me a shipping quote and asked if I need insurance. Deal is not done yet until I get the go ahead. Uniform ETA been bumped from 3rd quarter to this 4th quarter. Sometime between October and December. Maybe will have the complete look by New Years.
-
Still waiting on that go ahead.
On the plus side. I just watched DN booth tour video from NYCC. In it the brand manager mentions that uniform will be arriving to them from the factory later this month. Meaning very good chance it will be in my hands by November. Really need that seller to come through or Hessen to restock.
-
The drama continues.
Been dealing with this seller for a full quote on these boots for nearly a month. Because of International times zones I don't expect quick replies. Every reply takes a few days and only provides bits of information at a time. Here's the shipping costs for the boots. Do you want me to find out the cost for insurance? That's something they should have found out when researching the cost to ship. Pretty sure that I expressed my intentions to honor this exchange. I just can't get them to pick up the pace.
How long do I keep this going before I give them an ultimatum? There's no harm as long as Hessen is out of stock. Getting tempted to try the made to order custom jobs.
-
Def a bummer when dealing with less than helpful sellers. Sorry you have to go through this headache with them.
-
Was doing my daily search for boots. Reviewed Magnoli (again). At $300 it's at my max and that's before shipping. I assume shipping would be what Imperial Boots charges. $365 total for Imperial Boots. Created an account just to see cost to ship. Around $15 to $30. Better than Imperial Boots but still over budget. Played the Google coupon code game - nada. Saw they have an Ebay store. If I haven't shopped at a store before I prefer to use Ebay or Amazon as a middleman. Wanted to play around with eBay coupon codes. They tweaked the buy it now system. I remember them showing a grand total before committing. It looked like accidently bought them! Double checked they are just in my cart, and I can still back out. None of coupon codes worked. Visited my second PayPal account had a balance of $40+ dollars. Visited IOC forums. It seems many have reached got level 2 and 3 with Magnoli. The pair in my eBay cart was size 12.5 US. Made a trip to my shoe closet. 3 pairs of dress shoes sizes 11, 11 and 12. The 11's fit just right and 12 is more than a little loose. A size 12.5 riding boot, even if their sizing runs small it should still work.
That other pair of boots I've trying to get a full quote on eBay for nearly a month was $220 shipped without insurance. These were the real deal. Not a re-creation. but this Seller is in no rush to close the sale. Maybe they'll message me Monday with a total. Then I'll say deal! Click buy it now and then message them update to the listing to included update shipping. Wait a few days and remind them again. Now these Magnoli boots seem like a solid choice. Over budget but if I minus my PayPal balance these Magnoli boots cost under $300. I also saved money on those designer gloves I bought because they were on clearance. See where my logic is heading? I've never paid $300 for shoes before but if I look at the cost for the total costume, I can apply the rule of I've paid less for one item I can justify paying more on another.
ETA for Magnoli by November 1st.
Now I think it is time to see what stuff I got to sale on eBay.
-
That eBay seller finally got back to me! With a grand total of 200 GBP or 224 USD with today's current exchange rate. I don't believe this. Too late to cancel from Magnoli. I could try but that's going to moof milk them off asked them to return my money. Risk is the chap of England could fall through. I don't need 2 pairs but it is still a good price. In case anyone is interested. I'll be willingly to bite the bullet and resell them at cost.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125466861367?hash=item1d36685f37:g:bDEAAOSw5dBi-7ID
-
ETA for Magnoli Monday.
Hope porch pirates don't find it and they fit.
-
Got them a day late.
I don't see any defects. Seems they were put together well and look good. Only legitimate complaint is the insoles are too small like they didn't have the correct size and stuck small ones inside. These cost $100 more than the other boots I was going after. The outside looks good. The insides could have been better. Considering how uncommon this type of boots are I think they're worth the price. I'd order from this company again.
One thing that I need to stress is these boots are huge. I ordered a 12.5 as a size 11 dress shoe is snug fit. I heard this type of boot can be a tight fit. Not these ones made by Magnoli. I could store my phone, wallet in these things.
-
Now I see Hessen got my size in stock.
RS Prop Masters is having their Black Friday a month early. 20% discount. I'm looking at stuff and keep thinking if only I didn't spend an extra $100 on boots.
-
DN says the jacket is in stock.
Asked what about the pants? They said those are due by the end of the month.
With shipping time I'll get them mid-December?
After I get them might have to replace some greebles. Complete outfit by the new year?
-
Got an email from DN.
Is it a shipping notice?
Nope it is notice that the belt I ordered months ago is out of stock. Would I like them to remove it from my order or do I want another size?
I went with DN over WW for 2 reasons. First DN field grey looks more EBS-like to me. While WW looked more AHN in color. Second DN had a promo deal free shipping and free belt. I should use large, but it wasn't in stock when I placed my order so, I went with an x-large. Had this order in for a few months now. Prepaid for everything and they gave my belt away to somebody else?
I'm average weight for my build. Not going to drop 30 pounds to use a medium belt. If it is removed from my order do I get discount in exchange? They have to honor the promo in a reasonable manner. Before anyone says that Anovos for you. This operation is under new management. No company has 100% record for not screwing up an order. I judge a company not by how mistake free their operation is but by how well they fix their mistakes. Do you have to twist their arm to do anything. Do they just do the bare minimum or do they re-cook your steak and give you a complimentary piece of pie.
-
Said they'd include a large belt with my order. I thought that size was out of stock too. We'll see if they contact me again about the lack of stock.
-
I think the uniform will be arriving next Thursday.
I got a fishy email from the post office about a package. I say fishy because I have 3 other packages coming next week and this isn't one of them. Didn't click the any links in the email in case scammers faked it. I did enter the tracking number by hand. A package is headed to me from Oak Creek WI. There's a thread on the RPF that mentions Oak Creek as being part of Denou Novo's system.
Will know for sure by next week. I'm a little worried because DN doesn't do returns unless it is a screw-up on their part. Did I order the right size? If everything is correct I'll be getting the jacket, trousers, hat and belt. Only I still need to get are the tiny metal bits.
-
Update,
An hour and a half later I got an email from DN confirming what I thought. That shipment is from them, but...
It is just the jacket. Other items are listed as preparing to ship. Maybe days or weeks from now?
-
Here's the listed package weight for my single officer's jacket.
43.60 LBS
That can't be right?
I'll know by Thursday if they sent me one jacket or all their jackets.
-
Quick Phone pic. Cropped cause the bathroom mirror could be cleaner.
Ordered an X-Large. Might have been able to get away with a large. It is a roomy fit. Don't have the pants but the length of the torso and arms look right. Need more time to study the color. I was a tad worry about the quality. How long will this thing last before normal wear and tear take its toll. This thing is heavy, and material is thick. It does look and feel worth its price.
The downside. There's no inner-collar flap. Looks like that's a requirement for level 1. How can an official Disney/Lucas high-end product not qualify for level 1? I'm even 90% sure there's a scene with Admiral Piett and he's missing the flap. Once the collar is closed you can't even tell it is there or not. I read that this flap is option for the Officer (Non-Saga). That would mean I have to get silver code cylinders instead of brass. New Star Wars wasn't the look I was going for.
-
And the replacement belt appears to be out of stock.
-
Wow - seems like Denuo Novos is really putting you through the wringer.
What’s the plan going forward?
-
I'm waiting to get clarification on the belt. It was a free item as part of a promo deal. If they can't deliver a proper size belt, I'm going to ask money back. I think they have to honor a promotion in a way that makes sense. Mistakes happen I want to see how they fix it.
I suspect the website dept is in one city, customer service in another city and the warehouse is in another city. Because it seems like information isn't getting to the right department in time. I'm not complaining about how I've been treated. They are very pleasant. In my opinion they need to close their site for a day for "upgrade" while they do a proper inventory at the warehouse and update all their computers. In my opinion any errors are likely a warehouse issue. They are fulfilling orders before they are ready and not keeping track who ordered what.
-
Update,
Customer Service email back saying it is out of the stock, and we can't refund you because it was a free item.
My reply. The free item was part of a promotional offer to get customers to make a purchase. I made a purchase that qualified. They should honor their promotions. Can't give me money than give me suitable replacement item of equal value. Waiting now for that respond. I also have contact with one of their PR people if CS reps can't help.
Another sale is going on right now. I could buy the same stuff already in my order again and have that deal offered but can't get my original deal? This kind of stuff is common when buying direct from manufactures. They don't under how direct to consumer retail works. Their mindset is business to business. Where you send invoices to each other and take months to pay your suppliers.
-
I decided to send a message to their PR before getting a response from CS. For all I know they are the same people. Last company I had a similar issue with Hasbro Pulse I was getting nowhere with CS but once I connected with their PR things got moving. I want to get ahead of the game.
Best case scenario. They honor the deal with a plus. As I think not honoring a deal counts borders on something shady. That CS rep should have offered a solution in that reply. Don't leave it up to the customer to do your job. I swear I will sing their praises and threatem anyone who bad mouths them if they go beyond the bare minimum.
What I think will happen is the bare minimum.
Worst case scenario. They don't honor it and they're also out of stock of other stuff I ordered.
-
Update the PR rep replied before the CS rep did and this PR rep is going to talk with a higher up. I don't know if anything will come from this. I swear I'm not a Karen. I don't go around demanding free stuff. I do have a little knowledge of PR and the legality of business.
-
Update.
Not on the whole out of stock belt situation but the rest of the uniform. The pants are being shipped. I hope they fit.
Now what about the hat? It hasn't shipped yet. It was in stock this entire time. Could have shipped it months ago. Could have shipped it last week with the tunic. Could have shipped it this week with the pants. I can find a belt at multiple vendors the hat however needs color and fabric needs to match the rest of the uniform.
-
Friends don’t let friends buy from Anovos….
-
Ha!
Technically Anovos was bought by Rubies and are a new company. No different than finding local Pizza Parlor has a new name, new owner. The pies taste the same, the staff are the same. Maybe they have Pepsi products instead of coke. The new owner that Pizza Parlor needs to quickly learn what worked, what didn't and fix it before they repeat the same mistakes. Rubies needs to step up and fix the reputation of business that they bought.
You do that by cleaning house and actually thriving for excellence in customer service by spending money. Many companies are sadly cheap. Here's hoping I get my hat soon and I hear something about them honoring that promotion.
-
Good news?
I got another shipping notice from UPS. My DN order page hasn't been updated but this shipment is from the same outgoing location and is the weight is light enough to be a hat. ETA next Friday. Meaning I'll have the hat, tunic and trousers. Then it is a matter of finding a belt and last metal bits.
You better believe I'm going to hound them to honor that promotional deal make it right.
-
The mystery shipment is that hat.
I just placed an order for belt from Darman. Pretty sure I won't be getting a correct signed belt from DN anytime soon. When the last of soft goods arrive on Friday I'll place an order for the metal bits. Pretty sure the hat has the wrong disc butm I'll wait till I have it in hand.
-
Follow up on the DN situation. A restock of belts is due in early 2023 or if I don't want to wait, they'll send me a Solo belt, a belt buckle or an Imperial hat.
I have a couple thoughts on this. Once they learned that they couldn't provide the belt that I ordered why didn't they try to find out when they would be restocked? Send me an email apologizing for the inconvenience tell me the new eta? I would have said, I'm disappointed but I'll wait. Instead, I get a sorry we don't have it, you already paid and we're not going to do anything from the customer service rep. I had to reach out to PR on social media to get them to do the bare minimum.
Already ordered a non DN Imperial belt after learning no stock, not planning on a Solo costume, a black officer hat could be useful for that Tie pilot. Never mind only size in stock is a small. Maybe a spare olive officer hat? Going to wait to see how the large hat I ordered fits me. I could still just wait for the belt but part of me is thinking get a replacement product and be done with this company asap.
It is a little early to give a full review until I get the rest of costume but here's my quick review on DN. They make a fine product. When you have one of them in your hands it feels like it is a quality collectible worthy of its premium price. Unfortunately, all that credit goes to the product designers, the material suppliers and the factory that makes the physical product. DN's sales/customer service department is not equal in that regard. There's a reason why someone will pay $5 for a can of coke at a fancy restaurant when they also buy the same can for 75 cents at the 7-11. It is called service. Considering the bad rep of the company they inherited you'd think they would be on top of providing good customer service. I shouldn't have to give them a push to for them to do the bare minimum.
I'm not saying never buy from this company. The product (that I have so far) is really good and eventually it looks like I'm going to get what I ordered. I would suggest not making any pre-order. As their pre-order policy won't adjust if something goes on sale. You will pay and see better deals come along while you're still waiting for your pre-order to arrive. See a sale on an in-stock item order it. Their customer service is not worth paying full price and wait for.
-
Hat and trousers have transferred from UPS to my local post office at 5am this morning. UPS says I'll get them today. USPS tracking says, we haven't put in our system yet. Don't think they'll be making a special trip for a UPS package.
Ordered Code Cylinders Monday and they arrived 6am this morning by USPS. A small 1st class package across the entire country. The shipping industry is messed up. Doesn't matter if you purchase the least or most expensive shipping option there's no such thing as good delivery estimate. I did read from reviews dating back a few years that pocket for the code cylinders was too shallow on Anovos's tunic. Did DN update this minor flaw? No. Did I cry a little on the inside as I cut a hole inside the pocket's lining of this expensive new tunic I just bought? Yes. DN doesn't sell half sized code cylinders. It couldn't have been that hard to improve this part of the design.
Thinking of replacing my gloves for the second time. 1st pair was way too tight. 2nd pair were very loose. wore them with the tunic for the first time. My hands look oversized. I don't have the trousers yet. Maybe the flared legs will balance out the gloves.
-
Got the hat and trousers today.
The trousers run on the small side. I don't need to use a belt. They're snug around the calves even before tying them. My calves aren't beefy. If I wear the trouser at proper waist height the upper laces are above the boot. If I wear them a bit lower the lace is hidden in the boot but, then they look a bit baggy.
As for the hat. It is a little off from the original trilogy hat in my opinion. Need to review the officers in the Disney's era to see if it matches their look more. It appears to be taller than what appeared in the original saga. My urge is to wear it lower on my head. When I do that, it feels tight. That's why I decided to order the hat again next size up as my replacement item for promo fiasco.
I feel a little bit like a gorilla in the uniform. I'm tall and slender with board shoulders. The tunic is structured to give the appearance of strong shoulders to people who have weak shoulders. On me I look like I'm wide enough to wrestle a Wookie.
-
As mentioned, the tunic lacks a modesty panel for the collar. Hit 2 fabric stores today. Best match was still off by a few shades of green and $16 a yard. Don't need that much and don't want to spend that much money. Went on Amazon and found a fabric sample in better shade, for $5 shipped. Seller sent me a message asking if my order was a mistake.
Nope just needed a swatch's worth.
-
Fabric swatch for collar modesty panel has been shipped.
Darman Belt has been shipped.
Got the replacement gloves. Looks and fits good.
DN's PR rep informed me they'll pass my replacement item request along.
Got a black officer hat from Wampa Wear. Picked it up for the code disk and the hat for my Tie build. Thought I could easily swap out the disk as needed. Nope you need a micro screwdriver. I can see something breaking. I'll pick up another disk later. Once the fabric swatch and belt are here, I'll have everything that I need to complete this build.
-
Fabric swatch for modesty collar arrived yesterday and belt arrived this morning it was delayed a day because of the weather.
Going to make a simple removable modesty panel. First step is to fold the piece in half and sew the two halves together. Look I still have a tube of fabric glue from that other project from 3 years ago. I'll just instead of hand sewing. Why isn't more coming out the tube feels full - Oh crap the glue inside separated and now just exploded over the fabric! A day later the glue is all dry and fabric really smells of glue. Giving it a few days to air out. The belt looks fine. Only complaint is they forgot to punch a hole in it, and I did give instructions to add one. Now going to trying adding one myself with a basic household tools.
Still waiting on replacement item update status from DN but I now have all the pieces to complete this build. In week or 2 I'll setup the home photo studio and make myself all clean shaven for some pictures.
-
Finally got my replacement item from DN. It only took bypassing the customer service department for a social media PR rep and then reminding them to remind the shipping department to send it.
Here's my opinion of DN. The designers, marketing and manufacturing departments do a good job. Their customer service and fulfillment are bad. You can't be a seller of high-end collectibles when half of your business is acting like a discount shop.