The Continuity GuideUniforms
by Martin Willey
The Continuity Guide
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The orange spacesuit used by Moonbase Alpha resembles the orange Advanced Crew Escape Suit (ACES, also known collaqually as the "pumpkin suit"), a full pressure suit worn by US Space Shuttle crews for the ascent and entry portions of flight since 1988. The same colour will be used on the Constellation spacesuits in use after 2010. The colour of the cover material is "international orange" (hex #FF4F00), and is intended to make crew easily seen in the event of bailout in the sea. The same logic would apply to the use of the colour on Moonbase Alpha. The outer fabric of the pressure garment is orange nylon, ribbed by stitching (there is close ribbing around upper torso to shoulders, middle of arms, and upper legs). Zips are white. The main zips are on the front and on the insides of arms and legs. There are pockets, with zips, on the outside forearm of the right arm (occasionally the left; not on Victor's/Helena's), on the front of upper legs (Koenig's pockets are in a higher position) and on the outside of the left leg below the knee. The inside of the suit is yellow nylon, glimpsed occasionally (The Infernal Machine). The legs have an aluminium ring on the end. A chest pack and a back pack are worn in space, secured with belts. Individuals are identified by their name on the helmet above the visor, and a number on the chest and back packs. Koenig is always number 1, Alan Carter is usually 3; others vary. Another Alphan wears the number 1 in The A B Chrysalis. Apparently each Alphan has their own spacesuit (they do not swap the name labels on their helmets). In Year One living quarters, we often see spacesuits and helmets in the cupboards; in The Last Enemy, Sandra clearly has two spacesuits in her quarters. During the filming of Breakaway, the neck ring changed from cloth, with a zip at the back, to corrugated rubber with no zip. Changes in Year 2 included a new badge indicating the Eagle number on both arms, buckles on the belts and revisions to the chest and back packs. After Space Warp, an oxygen dial appears on the back pack. A camera helmet is seen in The A B Chrysalis and subsequently. EVA packs are seen in Space Brain & The Exiles (no back packs are necessary). The packs in The Exiles do not have the central black cylinder seen in Space Brain. One of the firemen in The Bringers Of Wonder part 1 also does not have a backpack. There were only six different spacesuits and in some sequences (such as Space Brain) the cast had to exchange suits between shots so they could all appear to be wearing spacesuits. The yellow boots are yachting boots (with drawstrings along the top). Under the spacesuit, astronauts seemed to be in normal uniform. In The Exiles they have black balaclavas under the helmets. In The A B Chrysalis they are wearing woolly jumpers.  |
The helmets are yellow Bell Star motorcycle helmets with bubble visors (very recognisable in the 1970s). The front of the ridge at the top of the helmet was originally dark, as were the rectangles around the visor. During Year 2 some helmets were repainted, and these features became the same yellow as the rest of the helmet. This is noticable on the camera helmet introduced in The A B Chrysalis, and seen again in The Bringers Of Wonder part 2.
The packs were revised slightly during Year 2, with numbers in a new typeface. Sections of the front panels were outlined with thicker black borders and some of the sections changed colours. The label "AE2" that appeared bottom right disappeared on most packs, and was replaced on Koenig's pack by a larger label saying "AE3". New belts were used.
In Space Warp, a nozzle (for the emergency air tank) suddenly appears on all the packs, with a dial on the left side in the yellow strip.
The gloves are leather, with a black palm, held to the fibreglass ring at the end of the sleeves by small magnets. They are Les Leston brand driving gloves (Les Leston was a British racing driver in the 1950s). Koenig's silver spacesuit in Brian The Brain has an additional white latch to hold the gloves more securely; there is another type of latch on Alan's suit in The A B Chrysalis, and large metal latches appear on other suits from Space Warp on.
Copyright Martin Willey