I decided to put together a little description of how I put together my Green BDU uniform. This could be used for the Tans or Blacks as well, just change the colors.

Below are my notes on where I purchased the items for my BDU’s and where I got the assembly instructions for the parts. The BDU uniform is fairly easy to assemble and doesn’t take too much sewing skill, if I can do it most anyone can. I only used my wife’s normal sewing machine for all the items. I used a jeans needle when I did the sewing with the webbing and it worked fine. Use the 3 links I posted at the bottom for all the details and photos on how to put this together. They are great resources! 

 

BDU Brands and Styles

Green BDUs used on the series were Tru Spec - RIP STOP BDUS - Color Olive Drab Long Sleeve Tactical Shirt Poly Cotton Ripstop (2 pocket) 6 pocket BDU pants - ripstop poly cotton.. Whatever you purchase, make sure the fiber content is the same for your jacket and pants so they match). All of the BDUs on the show were over dyed to make them darker.  I over dyed my BDUs with a combination of Brown, Black, and Green RIT (I used ¾ of a box of black, ½ box of brown, and a 1/3 box of green RIT dye) I used a large plastic tub that I got from the home store to do the dying in. It’s probably a 20 gallon size. Most people don't bother to over dye the fabric, and most people won't know the difference. The pants on the show were also modified. 3 wide belt loops were added to the pants. Many people just leave this off, especially if the tank tops are worn untucked. If you want to add accurate belt loops, that means either buying the 4 pocket shirt and removing the lower pockets and using the extra for the belt loops or buying one extra set of pants or a shirt to use as spare fabric just to make those belt loops. Whatever you do just make your mind up right away if you’re going to dye the fabric.

Another BDU brand option is Propper. This brand is not used on the show, but it looks the same. It's what I used and I was able to find them cheaper than the Tru Spec versions- poly cotton ripstop long sleeve shirt Olive Green and 6 pocket BDU pant poly cotton ripstop Olive Green .

Tank Tops

Tank Top sets are sold thru Anovos and on Amazon. I got mine thru Anovos, I have two of the cheaper versions and one set of the accurate ones.

Patches – You can get patches at several websites as well. Just be sure to look at the size as they should be 3 ½” not the 4” ones. I got some from www.SGpatch.com you can also get them on Amazon (watch the sizes) and screen accurate ones from ANOVOS.

Boots

I use a pair of New Balance TAB 8 inch side zip tactical boots from LA Police Gear. You can find many screen caps of boots and try to find one that matches as close as you can. The actual boots used I believe were Galls 8 inch side zips, can’t find them any longer in the same style as the show.

Belt

The belt is made using a 1.5" Duraflex Buckle purchased from www.questoutfitters.com/plastic.htm I used 1.5" forest green nylon webbing as well as 1" nylon webbing for the wrists and pockets. I got my webbing from sailrite.com http://www.sailrite.com/Webbing-Polypropylene-1-Forest-Green-360 in the Forest Green color. They have both the 1” and the 1 ½”. You can also get it from strapworks http://www.strapworks.com/Heavyweight_Polypropylene_p/hwp1.htm

Green Shoulder Suede 

Ultrasuede Light - Color "Ivy" If you can't find "Light" then get the "Ultrasuede Soft" in Ivy which is just a little thickerhttp://www.fieldsfabricsonline.com/Ultrasuedereg-Soft-486-Ivy_p_379.html

You can also find ultrasuede at most local fabric stores but the colors do vary. I would order from the site above to get the best match.

Patch Velcro I get from http://www.supplycaptain.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=31&ParentCat=14 in the 4” x 12” size, they have lots of colors.

To see a great tutorial on how to sew the shoulder suede go to http://www.scifihero.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=8251. There are lots of pictures and a tutorial for the sewing. I did add the shoulder seam on my microsuede. I found the hardest part is getting the corners square before sewing.

Pocket and wrist buckles

You will need four 1" black side release buckles for the shirt. The brand is Duraflex 1" stealth. I only know of this seller that sells in packs on Amazon. The alternative is the side release buckles from www.questoutfitters.com/plastic.htm .   They have the 1” and the 1 ½” buckles and the tri-glides. If you’re into camping equipment repair this is where I get all my supplies to repair tents, bags, and packs. Up to you whether you want to leave them black, paint them gold, or paint them gold and rub part of it off to make them look used. I painted mine gold.

I got my webbing from sailrite.com http://www.sailrite.com/Webbing-Polypropylene-1-Forest-Green-360 in the Forest Green color. They have both the 1” and the 1 ½”. You can also get it from strapworks http://www.strapworks.com/Heavyweight_Polypropylene_p/hwp1.htm they have the OD green if you want to use that instead of the Forest Green. You can find screen caps of both colors as screen used.

Pins

Rank pins are available from several sites, Amazon, Anovos,

Dog Tags

You can get a set of custom QXM dog tags with your name on them.

Research Web Sites

Many talented individuals have provided a ton of informative research that helped me in putting together my uniform. Here are some helpful sites to visit if you are putting together this uniform:

http://www.scifihero.net/forums/index.php?s=a21f97c43ceebfacba55a70d593f09d0&showforum=244

http://kay-dee.net/costumes/bsg-green/index.html

http://propreplicas.yuku.com/topic/11082/OD-BDU-guide#.Upz4WNKth8E

Here is my uniform top with Galactica patch and with Pegasus patch

 

You need to be a member of The Battlestar Galactica Fanclub- The First, Original BSG Club to add comments!

Join The Battlestar Galactica Fanclub- The First, Original BSG Club

Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –

Replies

  • Looks GREAT

  • It's fun to put your own uniforms together, I did green and tans the same way, base jacket and pants from US sellers through ebay, all the bits and pieces from various uk sellers - including the patches and pins. That way I was able to adjust the fit to suit me (only 5' 2" and small build - think Cally Tyrol). My tags were custom from Galron MFG - and I also biult my own deckhand suit, but that took a bit longer.

    I like this guide.

  • You bet! It's much more reasonable to make your own and I think it's fun to do and show off something that you made rather than purchased. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

  • Thank you for this!! To think I was about to buy a BDU uniform for over 200$

  • Great job on your BDU's Kreios and a very easy to follow How-To packed with all the required info!!!!

  • Thanks Iceworm! That means a lot coming from you, I've seem photos of your great uniforms! :)

    I'll look around the forums and see where else I should post a link. 

    Kreios

  • Think you should copy this to the uniform section and others if you haven't already. Regards, Paul

  • Kreios, man it's one thing to do detailed research to build accurate uniforms, it's even more impressive to write it up in an easy to read and understandable form. Well placed shot. Great looking product at a reasonable cost and effort. Regards, Iceworm

This reply was deleted.