The uniforms worn by Col. Lasky and Capt. Cutter in gameplay are more working/combat uniforms than dress uniforms. That'd be more like what Admiral Hood was wearing at the beginning of Halo 2 (Officer Dress Whites) or what the Marines were wearing in "We are ODST." If you're looking for something to walk around in at a convention, you're probably looking for something more like a Service uniform than a Dress Uniform. For that, I reference you to what the instructors were wearing in "Forward unto Dawn."
I drew this up with Navy Lieutenant (O3) bars and insignia. It's a good rank to go with because every officer (at least in the Navy) makes O3 automatically after 2 years, just like every Navy recruit makes E3 after 2 years just for breathing. However, make sure you check which branch of the military you go with before you pick your rank. A Captain in the Navy and a Captain in the Marines/Army are
very different. The color on the uniform changed with every scene due to the lighting. It looks like it could either be a dark olive drab with khaki accents
or a dark charcoal gray with heather gray accents. I'll let you choose, but I'd do the OD/Khaki for army/marines and the gray combo for Navy/Air force. But that's just my opinion.
This uniform features a squared off Mandarin collar, with shoulder boards featuring rank striping and collar insignia. The sleeves have a second seam just like our uniforms right now (it's supposed to make movement easier) and rank stripes at the bottom of both sleeves. The shoulder board has a hard, stiff bottom board, so use some decent interfacing, and a softer top. The top piece is slightly narrower, connects at the outer edge, and pins/connects at the side towards the neck. Make sure to leave some space between the two to thread the stitched detail through.
The stitched pieces that thread through the shoulder board wrap around both front, back and under the armpit. This was a harder piece to map out. On General Black, there are 6 distinct rows on either side of the center triangle that go down to 4 under the arm, but only 4 rows on Lt. Col. Mehaffey. This might be because of the more narrow shoulders or that it's the difference between male and female uniforms.
The back features a center seam on both male and female uniforms. The belt goes around the back and through two wide belt loops. Just 2, on the entire uniform. The belt connects to 2 rounded off pieces from the front of the uniform, with parachute/side-release buckles that connect quickly after. The buckles are mostly decorative, but from Navy uniform knowledge, both buckles probably buckle in towards the front center.
As for the front, that is another tricky part. I left the left side uncovered to show that the front connects about halfway down the sleeve seam. This sis not a separate piece. It is firmly sewn onto the coat, but maybe an inch in from the edges to create that shadow. The two sides of the coat will overlap a little, but this should lend itself very well to a covered zipper. Then it's ribbons on your left, name tag on your right, and a command patch or embroidery above your ribbons. (the blank circle, make up whatever or put in the 405th insignia!) In the movie, the Corbulo insignia was directly embroidered onto the uniform.
If you want to go for authenticity, most military uniforms are make out of wool. Terrible, terrible wool, but any suiting material should work just fine. Now, put you're coat over a pair of matching plain pants and some well shined boots, and you should be good to go at any convention.
If you want any notes or references on other uniforms, just PM me and give me an afternoon to sketch it out.
