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Earth Alliance Uniform Production

A

ABenk84

New member
Hello folks! I have some interest in Earth Alliance Uniforms from my customers. I wanted to be able to offer a high quality version with real leather and ordering the correct color of twill custom dyed to match the slight undertone of teal in the uniform. I am looking to charge anywhere from 800 - 1000 dollars for the pants and jacket with these options.

If you care to check out the lower grade version of what I did with basic twill and pleather you can look at my site www.meridiancreations.net.

If I can get 4-5 people with interest I can put the order in for the materials and begin production.

Cheers!

ABenk
 
I assume that you've received permission to use the Babylon 5 trademark in your for-profit venture?
 
Hello Wulf!

I did some double checking, just because I wanted to be sure what I understood was correct. In this case I am not selling a product. What I am offering are items for personal use and charging a commission for the time it takes me to make them - aka the hours of work. In no way is this at all coming close to making massive profit as the materials invested in the venture are very pricey and I am looking at least to use all that I order in offering it to a few others.

This falls under commission and fair trade use if I am correct. I am not by any means a lawyer but neither am I making a living off of doing this. As a fan of the show I produced one for a friend and because he was so impressed I had a few others approach me for commissions of the item. I do not make them ahead of time and it would be by commission only.

I hope that helps!

Cheers!
 
I don't personally care, so don't take this as me attacking you or your work.

We live in a world of laws, and companies hire highly paid lawyers to enforce these laws to the letter, well beyond the spirit they were created in.

You are posting pictures and offering a product for a specific amount of money. This is called selling.

This product has taken great pains to be identical to a portion of their intellectual property.

This product has a unique symbol which is the intellectual property of one of these large companies. You can guarantee this symbol is trademarked.

This product is called an "Earth Alliance" uniform. "Earth Alliance" will be a trademarked term. (These companies trademark and register everything)

You are selling a product that directly infringes upon the trademark and other IP of one or more large companies.

That being said, go nuts and have fun. I don't personally mind. You'll probably even get away with it for a while.

But some day one of their lawyers will become aware of it and ruin your life because that is what he is paid to do, and even if you were legally in the clear you couldn't afford to step into a court room to say it because you have far too much to lose and they will draw the process out until you couldn't hope to continue affording a lawyer.
 
Wulf said:
But some day one of their lawyers will become aware of it and ruin your life because that is what he is paid to do, and even if you were legally in the clear you couldn't afford to step into a court room to say it because you have far too much to lose and they will draw the process out until you couldn't hope to continue affording a lawyer.
Click to expand...

With respect, Wulf....baloney. WB attorneys wouldn't do anything more than send a Cease and Desist letter and once the items were taken down, that would be the end of it. They've got far better things to go after than little things like this. For that matter, if ABenk84 puts the proper trademark indica on her/his site, they might not even do that (it may be there, I haven't checked).

BTW, for anybody interested, there's an actual uniform up on Ebay. Way overpriced, but it's there. http://www.ebay.com/itm/311420486728?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Jan
 
As I said above, it was just an interest thread and I am doing a limited run. This sort of stuff takes time for me and I don't do it to make a living.

That said, most of the other stuff I make is custom things and designs I have made myself.

Cheers!
 
Anyway, that's enough from me on the matter. As I said, I have no stake in it :)

Good luck with however you proceed.
 
Oh, I know why it's priced that way but it's priced more like a Trek set-used item than a B5 item. The only things that I've seen that actually sold for that kind of price range were the things that JMS sold on Ebay years back. B5 stuff just doesn't go for those kinds of prices, especially something that's not iconic. By comparison I bought a Grey Council robe for $400 and an Ulkesh head for $1000 and a data crystal for $125. My entire collection of set-used scripts cost under $1500.

Jan
 
Jan said:
Oh, I know why it's priced that way but it's priced more like a Trek set-used item than a B5 item. The only things that I've seen that actually sold for that kind of price range were the things that JMS sold on Ebay years back. B5 stuff just doesn't go for those kinds of prices, especially something that's not iconic. By comparison I bought a Grey Council robe for $400 and an Ulkesh head for $1000 and a data crystal for $125. My entire collection of set-used scripts cost under $1500.

Jan
Click to expand...

Jan,

Well now I'm all kinds of jealous :drool:. Docholl is somewhat infamous for the prices he charges. There is another chap from the Replica Prop Forum, starbuc (evilbay handle is gbaldib5) who is selling a medical smock and Earth Force Marine jumpsuit. screen used for much better prices than Docholl
 
Jan,

I so wish I could hate you right now. ;) That is a very, very fine collection. I just had to bookmark it so I can peruse it at length later.

If I may ask a couple of questions. First off, would it be possible for you to measure the B5 Pilot Security Patch. I am convinced the commercial ones available on the 'Net are too small.

Second, does your Security Flak Jacket have two holster like forms, one on each side of the vest. I've always wanted to do that costume. I found a chap in the UK who did a bunch of resin and aluminium PPG rifles. I have images of the riot helmet, but haven't found anything remotely like it so far.

Best regards,
Don
 
I'm curious about that uniform on Ebay. The listing says the uniform shows some wear from being used on set, and that it has tags that read "C. Tsou". I can find only one person on imdb with that name and initial: Cece Tsou. I don't see Babylon 5 on her resume there and I can't seem to recall a character who looked like her. So, which character wore that uniform? Was she only on screen for a second or two? Then how is the uniform showing signs of wear? Or are (were) these "background" uniforms recycled and used on different characters?

I'm not much of a collector, so I don't know how prices for items like these are calculated. From what Jan is saying, this seems rather steep. Perhaps rarity is a factor? It's been almost twenty years so there's probably not that many of these around anymore? I honestly have no idea.

If you were interested in owning an Earth Force uniform, in terms of accuracy, buying an actual prop from the show would obviously be your best bet. But then, if you actually wanted to wear it you'd have to find one that also fit you reasonably well, which is probably quite hard to do. If you just wanted to display it I guess that wouldn't be a problem.

Back to the original topic of this discussion, ABenk84, your handmade uniform looks quite nice, especially if that's the "low grade" version. I have thought about making my own Earth Force uniform, but I'm much more of an amateur costume maker. So far, I've only 3D printed a link to stick on my hand. Even that wasn't all that straightforward :p I'd love to try my hand at some Centauri outfits, but that's even more complicated and will require a lot of different fabrics. I just don't have that kind of time right now.
 
Lennier's Tears said:
I'm curious about that uniform on Ebay. The listing says the uniform shows some wear from being used on set, and that it has tags that read "C. Tsou". I can find only one person on imdb with that name and initial: Cece Tsou. I don't see Babylon 5 on her resume there and I can't seem to recall a character who looked like her. So, which character wore that uniform? Was she only on screen for a second or two? Then how is the uniform showing signs of wear? Or are (were) these "background" uniforms recycled and used on different characters?

I'm not much of a collector, so I don't know how prices for items like these are calculated. From what Jan is saying, this seems rather steep. Perhaps rarity is a factor? It's been almost twenty years so there's probably not that many of these around anymore? I honestly have no idea.

If you were interested in owning an Earth Force uniform, in terms of accuracy, buying an actual prop from the show would obviously be your best bet. But then, if you actually wanted to wear it you'd have to find one that also fit you reasonably well, which is probably quite hard to do. If you just wanted to display it I guess that wouldn't be a problem.

Back to the original topic of this discussion, ABenk84, your handmade uniform looks quite nice, especially if that's the "low grade" version. I have thought about making my own Earth Force uniform, but I'm much more of an amateur costume maker. So far, I've only 3D printed a link to stick on my hand. Even that wasn't all that straightforward :p I'd love to try my hand at some Centauri outfits, but that's even more complicated and will require a lot of different fabrics. I just don't have that kind of time right now.
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According the the uniforms current owner, the actress can be seen briefly in the season 4 episode 'Rising Star". She is one of the seated Earth Alliance officers at the briefing given by Delenn, Londo and G'Kar. In all likelihood, the costume was used for any of the shots of massed EA personnel, may even have been used for Capt. Hiroshi from the EAS Churchill.

I agree with Jan, the price is too high. The costume has no link to any primary characters like Ivanova or Lochley. There are far fewer people looking for screen used B5 props and this auction is one reason why. I have the feeling Docholl may have paid a similar amount when he first purchased it but I really doubt that he'll sell it at that price.

It isn't just the fabric that you have to worry about. Don't forget all of the bits and bobs that adorn Centari clothing.
 
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Warspite said:
If I may ask a couple of questions. First off, would it be possible for you to measure the B5 Pilot Security Patch. I am convinced the commercial ones available on the 'Net are too small.
Click to expand...

(Sorry, I almost forgot about this) I can, but I guarantee that it will be much larger because the patches used in 'The Gathering' *were* much larger. Chances are, the ones you're finding were based on the series patches that were available via the Fan Club and are the same size as most of what you saw on the show.

Second, does your Security Flak Jacket have two holster like forms, one on each side of the vest. I've always wanted to do that costume. I found a chap in the UK who did a bunch of resin and aluminium PPG rifles. I have images of the riot helmet, but haven't found anything remotely like it so far.

Best regards,
Don
Click to expand...

No, no holster forms, just the leather vest - surprisingly heavy. Seems like costuming was trying to help actors get into character. I can take some more pictures for you if you're interested.

Jan
 
Jan,

The offer of the photos would be fantastic, can never have too much reference material. I asked about the holsters as there is a photo of Zack and Garabaldi in their vests and what looks like an open type holster holding PPG's at the waist. Must have been something that could be removed.

As for the patches, I guess I'll just have to go with that for now. I know the epaulette is 2 inches without the piping so comparing it to the patches will have to be my base measurement. They sure look bigger in the show. Oh well, as Marvin the Martian said "back to the old electronic drawing board".

Don
 
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