We've been following your comments about our exclusive first pictures of the FOXHOUND prototype and first of all we want to say a huge:
THANK YOU!
The response to this design so far has been overwhelming! And this is exactly what we need to make this coat complete. So without further ado, we've divided your comments into 8 major categories that we will cover one-at-a-time, with pictures where appropriate.
(We even managed to convince AbbyShot employee Mark to model the coat for us to show what it looks like on a person - because, well, mannequins can only tell you so much.)
Now - at ease, soldiers! And read on...
1. The Colour
This was probably the most hotly-debated topic in the preceding blog post, and with good reason! There are a lot of different versions of the FOXHOUND coat, and even within the same game, depending on the lighting, the shade of the coat can look different. Some commenters have said it should be a "tan" colour, some have said "olive green", some have said "dark brown", some "greenish brown", some "speckled orange". Just kidding about that last one ;)
Suffice it to say - there are many different opinions about the colour!
For us, when it came down to it, we fell in love with the colour of "The Twin Snakes" version of Liquid Snake's coat. It was due in some part to the campaigning of Metal Gear fan "Snake" who has weighed in several times on our previous FOXHOUND prototype blog post, but also because it's a rich and very wearable shade of brown.
"The Twin Snakes" was a complete remake of the first Metal Gear Solid game, and as our friend Snake pointed out: the darker brown colour of the FOXHOUND coat was the only drastic change in colouring in any of the character designs. Does that mean something? Interpret it as you will, but we found that this deep brown makes for a much more striking and wearable coat. We will be sticking with this colour for our final FOXHOUND coat.
2. The Fabric
On to a very related topic - the fabric of this coat. Another benefit of going with "The Twin Snakes" dark brown colour is that we found a great colour match in a very durable and high quality outerwear fabric. As one commenter very eloquently said: "I'm hoping this will be made of something very durable, so I could wear it as an everyday item."
Well, that's exactly what we've got here my friend :)
Please note, however, that this fabric is not waterproof as some had thought. Someone also mentioned that it looked like a "wooly" fabric, but this is not the case. It is a tightly woven cotton-synthetic blend.
3. Collar / Lapels
The lapels and collar of the FOXHOUND coat were a particularly tricky part of the design because we had to find a way to balance how the coat is supposed to look both opened and closed. Although there MAY be some tiny tweaks to be made (mostly to the collar area), we've got some new pictures here that will hopefully showcase the functionality of the lapels of this coat.
Above are the lapels worn differently, with the collar turned up.
Here is the coat pushed way back, like many of the design sketches of Liquid Snake in his trench (we didn't have a wind machine handy, so we had to settle for "hands in the pockets").
And of course, the coat needs to button up properly! My how it does ;)So the lapels really do strike that balance of looking good buttoned up and opened up, and we would only make minor changes here so that we may preserve both important "looks" of the coat.
4. Shoulder Pads
Many thought the distinctive shoulder pads of this coat needed to be a little more defined - especially in terms of the stitch lines. We agree, and are taking into consideration the best way to go about this change (double-stitching, more padding, etc) as we prepare the final FOXHOUND design.
As for "bringing in" the shoulder pads as some had mentioned - this is a tougher call because they are meant to be a prominent part of the coat. We also need to allow for a functional armhole and sleeve, so a balance between the right look and functionality needs to be found. We'll see what we can do, but have a look at the above pictures again to see that the shoulder pads are "filled in" a bit more by having an arm in there (something our silver mannequin is sadly lacking! ;)
5. Buttons
We are definitely going to go with darker buttons for the final version of this coat, not to worry.
As for the commenter who had some buttons come off previous trench coats (hopefully not from us! ;) we can assure you that all of our buttons are carefully sewn on by hand and we also include a replacement button with each coat JUST in case.
6. Waist
Many of you wonderful, eagle-eyed fans also noticed that the waist of this coat should be more tapered, and you are correct! The waist of the final design will be more tapered in, and the belt will also be more snug to fit closer to the waist. So that "Liquid Snake Look" can and will be yours!
7. Cuffs
To quote Snake (and many others): "the cuffs shouldn't be so tall". You are exactly right, and this will be adjusted on the final version of the design.
8. Tail of the Coat
A few commenters also pointed out that there should be a split in the tail of the coat and this is absolutely right. It's also something that we DID include in the prototype! It just wasn't clear from the previous pictures, we're sorry about that! Here's a photo to show you:
We also saw that many of you thought the coat was a tad too short and we agree with you here as well. We will be adding to the finished length of the garment.It's almost time for us to sign off, but hopefully we addressed all your concerns here in this follow-up post. Feel free to respond to our response though if we missed anything; we will still be checking the blog every day for your thoughts and opinions.
It won't be long now until you'll be able to truly become a member of the FOXHOUND group - and AbbyShot is happy to serve this greater cause!
Thanks again for all your great comments, and stay locked on this frequency for all future updates.
This is AbbyShot, signing off once again.
Over and out.
