I have to be honest here...

[deadshot]

When we were asked to send in photos of ourselves in costume for membership and I was one of the first to get mine in and was rejected by the council for having "illegal" buckles added to my boots, I was mad as hell. I was prepared to tell the council, only one of whom actually had photos of himself in costume posted, to go f*ck themselves and delete my account. But I backed off, took the time to simmer down knowing that quick Internet decisions can be bad news. After all, I already had a real pair of SIDIs in my possession and the Cordovan paint was on its way in the mail. "They don't even have enough members to be rejecting people!," I thought to myself. I was furious for about a week every time I thought about it.

OK, honestly--I had no idea that sci-fi costuming was taken so seriously. (I don't even want to know how strictly it works in the 501st!) Adding buckles was not an attempt to make dress boots look like real SIDIs; it was a newbie's attempt at making boots look cooler and more fancy by adding three brass buckles and black straps on each one so they matched the jacket. Quite ingenious, I still think 'cause they do look pretty damn sweet. (Now that they are becoming part of a Nite Owl costume I'm sure some superhero group will reject them as looking too Battlestar-ish).

I guess my point is, an old-school Colonial Warrior is a pretty unique costume to have at a con and there's not that many of us altogether. If it looks like someone is seriously trying hard and put some effort into making it (instead of just cash), maybe you could treat them with baby-gloves in the costume criticism department? I know you don't want to approve some dude who just went out and bought a brown leather jacket at Wal-Mart, but you probably don't want to put people off or dismiss them too quickly either if they've put dozens of hours into their suit. I'd never even heard the word "canon" before I showed up here!

Just my two cents, anyway. And I do sincerely thank you for your help and I'll certainly need more when it comes to fixing up my helmet and leg computer in the future.

=+ DeAdShoT +=

[monolith21]

I hear what you're saying man. We've discussed this quite a bit around here. The trouble is we have to walk a fine line if we want this to be a quality costuming club (which we do!).

There are many of us who have literally put years of research into this uniform and dropped upwards of $1000.00 into getting the uniform spot on. It is those people who have driven this club into existence.

Right now is an interesting time to be a Battlestar costumer simply because one of the only readily available uniforms on the market is cheap, but very poorly made. Naturally because they are cheap people have been snatching them up like mad. We've had to set up quality standards to help insure SOME uniformity.

We've tried very hard to find a comfortable medium. For example, we don't require Sidi Full bore's to consider a uniform complete. Other styles of boots were seen on screen even though the main players wore the Sidis. So in the interest of remaining faithful to what was seen on screen, we decided that Full Bores (or the equivalent) are of course the preferred choice but not always available. If you cannot get hold of Full Bores, go with the other screen accurate option.

When it comes to being "strict" we are about as laid back as they come in these type organizations. We do want to give everyone a shot, but we also want to keep a degree of screen accuracy.

Some of us have been working on getting this group off the ground for nearly a decade. It would be a shame to get it up and running only to have the Costume Base uniform or similar lower quality options become our mainstay.

With that said, we have not ruled out those lower quality options. A costume base, or similar uniform would not even be considered in an organization like the 501st. We have chosen to accept the uniform but limit such options in rank.

We encourage screen accuracy and award it with the option to move up through the ranks. However we welcome anyone with an interest in Battlestar costuming into the group.

Unfortunately "Canon" is a very real concern within costuming. Without those standards, you just never know when someone is going to show up in a bright pink warrior uniform and look at you like you're crazy when you ask them to tone it down. Crazier things have happened. We have to set up a solid foundation.

Believe it or not, the council has spent a lot of time dealing with requests to make the group a lot stricter int he authenticity department. I think we've managed to keep this thing hovering over a happy medium.

I'm very sorry you were mad as hell man. I feel your pain. I hope this helps put things into a little perspective. Kid gloves or no, people are always going to get a bit offended when you tell them that their creation doesn't quite fit into the vision for the group. We will definitely do our best to handle such matters with a healthy dose of sensitivity.

Like you said, you were one of the first. Growing pains. I'm glad you stuck around though. I look forward to having a fumarello with you some day!

(Hint hint...grab your pass to Comic Con!!! You won't be dissapointed!)

[Warrior]

Being new here and this being my second post, I may be out of line, but... a piece of advise: Not everyone can afford "canon" materials for their uniforms, so be a tad lenient on that. Sure, you can push for canon as much as possible, but not gonna happen 100%.

Plus remember that not all Earth militaries wear identical uniforms either. So it stands to reason the Colonies may be the same way.

When I was at Galacticon in 2003, there was a few guys with black uniforms, and these were not the Commander Adama style either. These were Apollo/Starbuck style, but in black. They were not canon, but everyone knew who they were.

[monolith21]

I hear ya man. I think we can all agree that this should be a place where people come to have fun. I think a happy medium is the best way to go. Everyone is welcome, but we will be fair and give credit where credit is due. People who have put the effort in to go for screen accuracy have really gone above and beyond. Then again, I'm smiling whenever I see anyone dressed as a Warrior.

I was talking to a guy from Qmx at Comic Con about screen accuracy. He said something that really stuck with me. We were talking about replicas as the time and he was saying that there are pretty much three rules for a quality replica...is it the same size, same shape, and same colour.

Here we have a lot more room to play than that. I think it is awesome when someone wants to do a custom variation. We just want the bulk of the membership to have something reasonably uniform.

We're definitely not as strict as the 501st or the Rebel Legion. However we're a tad more structured than the Ghostbusters "franchises". Good middle ground.

[mac]

I'm coming in from a reenacting back ground, and we have authenticy inspections before a battle. It's understandable when a new person comes into the hobby for the first, and doesn't have the right gear. We would tell the person what is wrong, and fix it before a battle. Most of the time we would hide them in the back formation to had the jungle boots.

[Gee2]

“Honesty is the best policy”, no truer statement was ever made, however, the part that Mr. Shakespeare left out was “what if the truth hurts?” Myself, I live by a few simple rules, one being; if the truth hurts, change it.
So how does that statement fit this situation, allow me to expound;

(The honesty part)
The Blackstar Squadron was founded by fans of the original series to fill the void of a genuine costuming club that would set a standard for BSG fandom, promote BSG in a positive light, support BSG activities at Cons and events, and finally allow for like minded costumers to get together and share ideas. This was done through several means; the gathering of like minded and hard working fans, countless (literally) hours of research into what works for a costuming club and what doesn’t, the daunting task of putting it into one place (here) and then getting the word out to other fans. Once that was completed the monumental task of putting together a set of standards for membership began, which again involved countless hours of research into uniform standards from every known/available scrap of reference material to make the standards as thorough as possible for the material and as inclusive as possible for everyone that had a notion to join the club to take part. All these “behind the scenes” activities brings us to where the club is today, when only a few years ago most of the heavily active members were a “rag tag group” trying to find a haven as a group of costumed BSG fans that could be taken somewhat serious as our cousin organizations like the 501st and Rebel Legion.
We don’t quite have the perceived “legitimacy” yet that the other organizations have, but in time we will. If we continue to do a few things that are intrinsic to any costuming clubs’ legitimacy; promote in a positive, polite and upstanding manner and stick to the standards.

(The truth sometimes hurts part)
Simply put, the standards are there for a reason. If you want to have the opportunity to be a higher ranking member, follow the standards. If anyone is under the impression that it should be “acceptable” to allow uniforms that don’t meet standards just for the sake of inclusion needs to recalibrate themselves a bit, take some time to do some research into the costuming hobby itself and drop by some of the other costuming clubs and maybe check the CRLs of our cousin organizations and then realize how congenial (read: laid back) the Blackstar standards really are.
Now consider a few methods on how to proceed;
If you can’t afford to purchase the correct materials, save your funds until you can (most folks are not independently wealthy and have taken years to get their kits together). If you have the materials and can’t afford to hire a seamstress, save your funds so that you can or learn to sew yourself (sewing sucks but it beats not having a costume). If you can’t learn to sew to save your life, search out someone that can (you may have to search for a while). If you absolutely cannot do any of these aforementioned things, you have a couple options; A) go the route of the commercially available uniforms or B) don’t expect to become a ranked member. If you choose option A, understand that it barely meets the minimum requirements and will require some work to make it presentable and representative of the clubs’ ideals (we don’t hide folks in the back row that don’t meet standards) on becoming a higher ranking member. Also realize you may face some diversity amongst folks that have put in time, effort and resource into their own kits.

Honestly, why would anyone wanting to wear a costume, not want to be wearing the most accurate costume they could?

[monolith21]

Very well said.

[mac]

The point that I was making is that the person didn't have everything for a complete impression. We didn't deny him membership into the unit because of this. The group gave him a set time to have the impression complete. If this wasn't met he would have been asked to leave. The point is give him/her a partial membership with a set time to correct the problem. If it isn't corrected, and no attempt is made then you have the person leave the group. However, I haven't read the bylaws of the group, and if you already have it there then carry on.
Mac

[Lt Bull Of Taura]

So you would advocate the cow-towing of a non-member, despite clearly established rules? Rules are in place for a reason. They are, by design, to be as fair as possible. While I am all for helping new people out (I do it all the time in my other costuming clubs). I'm all for mentoring. Mentoring is a good thing. But as a founder of a costuming club, myself, I'm not going to let the dictates on one individual to change how we do things because they don't like the structure of the group. The harsh reality is that we newbies are coming to a club as guests. We didn't make these rules, they were established before we got here. Is it right for us to demand a change in the rules to suit our needs when the rules have been established for some time and serve this club's official members really well? The answer is no.

I would advocate the same as Gee2 pointed out. Save, save, save to get what you are looking for. Or look for other kinds of options, such as exchanging, or trading for costuming parts. I, too, do this from time to time, as a leather worker. Sometimes folks can't afford the leather work, but if they have something of equal value in trade, I find that equally acceptable. I think there are a lot of vendors who are equally accommodating.

Of course, I am slightly biased, since I come from the cousin clubs background. I've been doing Star Wars costuming for the last 8 years. I started with a local independent club, called Darkside Troopers. I then went to the 501st and Mandalorian Mercs. I've also done the GI JOE costuming route, too, with Cobra's Finest (now known as The FINEST) and the sister club that I founded, the GI JOE (A Real American Hero) COSTUME CLUB. The point I am making is that I understand the method to the madness in what has gone into creating an organized costuming club for a genre that doesn't have the exposure like other genres have.

I would encourage all to try to give this place another chance and know that these folks are out to be elitist jerks. They really do want to grow the membership. But they also have a very clear vision and a set parameter of goals to reach in making this the best BSG costuming club that they can possibly produce - not just for the fans, but for the membership, too.

Kindest regards,

- Bill

[Spectre]

Oct 30, 2013 12:33:23 GMT -5 Lt Bull Of Taura said:

So you would advocate the cow-towing of a non-member, despite clearly established rules? Rules are in place for a reason. They are, by design, to be as fair as possible. While I am all for helping new people out (I do it all the time in my other costuming clubs). I'm all for mentoring. Mentoring is a good thing. But as a founder of a costuming club, myself, I'm not going to let the dictates on one individual to change how we do things because they don't like the structure of the group. The harsh reality is that we newbies are coming to a club as guests. We didn't make these rules, they were established before we got here. Is it right for us to demand a change in the rules to suit our needs when the rules have been established for some time and serve this club's official members really well? The answer is no.

I would advocate the same as Gee2 pointed out. Save, save, save to get what you are looking for. Or look for other kinds of options, such as exchanging, or trading for costuming parts. I, too, do this from time to time, as a leather worker. Sometimes folks can't afford the leather work, but if they have something of equal value in trade, I find that equally acceptable. I think there are a lot of vendors who are equally accommodating.

Of course, I am slightly biased, since I come from the cousin clubs background. I've been doing Star Wars costuming for the last 8 years. I started with a local independent club, called Darkside Troopers. I then went to the 501st and Mandalorian Mercs. I've also done the GI JOE costuming route, too, with Cobra's Finest (now known as The FINEST) and the sister club that I founded, the GI JOE (A Real American Hero) COSTUME CLUB. The point I am making is that I understand the method to the madness in what has gone into creating an organized costuming club for a genre that doesn't have the exposure like other genres have.

I would encourage all to try to give this place another chance and know that these folks are out to be elitist jerks. They really do want to grow the membership. But they also have a very clear vision and a set parameter of goals to reach in making this the best BSG costuming club that they can possibly produce - not just for the fans, but for the membership, too.

Kindest regards,

- Bill

Thanks, Bill--but do you realize that the previous post was 3 years old?

Still good info for new folks, though--and we appreciate your understanding.

[Reaper]

As noted, this is an old thread, and one that was resolved. the original poster had resubmitted his costume pics and was accepted. For that reason I am going to lock this thread.

I thank everyone for giving their opinions on the issue