The new BSG Colonial Viper pilot's jumpsuit, seen here in front and back views. The first picture offers a great view of the flightsuit without the protective vest, the second photo shows the back of the flightsuit and also the attachment points for the protective vest. Notice the two belt loops on the front hips and the single belt loop in the rear which are similar to the belt loops seen on the pants of the BDU uniform, the blue duty uniform, and the gray dress uniform.
For the main body of the flightsuit you need 3-4 yards of a very specialized fabric made by Sommers Plastic Products:
Type: High Intensity Chroma Satin Stretch
Color: Gold/ Silver, W/ Green/ Purple
ID# B080502
Cost: currently $52 USD/yard
The fabric for the cuffs (1-2 yards) on both the arms and legs and the neck seal may have originally been made by Sommers for the Mini-Series. Pictures from SDCC confirmed that the silver fabric being used more recently was more similar in color and texture to a fabric found at SYFabrics.
Type: Fetish Wet Vinyl
Color: Gun Metal
Cost: currently $7.50 USD/yard
The fabric for the "scales" on the rear of the flightsuit and also used as piping on the vest panels (2-3 yards) is also from Sommers, found HERE:
Type: Asteroid
Color: Marcasite
ID# Unknown
Cost: currently $29 USD/yard
Note: this was identified thanks to help from pictures taken at SDCC by several members of SciFiHero, this fabric is also sold out and has the same 300 yard requirement
Closeup view of the "scales." Notice the protective vest overlaps the shoulder scale. It is difficult to see in this photo, but the points at which the scales overlap are not sewn down onto the body of the flightsuit. This has led to the speculation that there is an open panel behind the scales to allow for ventilation, but no one has any actual evidence of this. Also notice there is a middle seam on the back of the flightsuit which can be just seen below the lowest scale.
Here is a sideview of the scales. Notice the side scales are sewn into the side seam of the flightsuit. In this photo, which is from the mini-series, you may notice the scales appear to made out of a different fabric, but their shape and construction is consistent with the current flightsuits.
Click HERE for a hi-res close up of the scales. You will see in this photo that it is possible that the back and side scales are made up of two different colors of material. You will also notice the "puffiness" of the scales suggesting some sort of padding sandwiched inside.
This is a picture of the inside of the flightsuit. Only the front torso is covered in an unidentified silver fabric that resembles jacket liner. Notice the point where the silver fabric ends and the black backing of the gold fabric becomes visible.
Here is an image of both sleeve cuffs. Notice they are not identical, the left arm cuff houses an unidentified device on the show, it is actually a watch here in the real world which is covered on the Accessories page.
Both the sleeve and leg cuffs are padded like the scales. All four of the cuffs are attached to the flightsuit with snaps and are removeable.
The sleeve cuff ends overlap and are secured with two or three snaps.
Here is an overhead photo of a leg cuff. Here you can see that the visible snaps are the back of the male end of the snaps, the female part of the snaps can be seen inside on the leg cuff. Also notice the double stitching on the bottom of the leg cuff with elastic inside, presumably it is the same with the sleeve cuffs although no photographic evidence is available yet.
Here we see that the leg cuff ends also overlap and are secured with three snaps.
This is a picture of the left sleeve pocket that is located just below the BSG patch on the left shoulder. Notice the flap is secured with a snap. Also notice the bottom of the pocket is cornered to allow for expansion so you can stash your stim pills.
Here is the pocket seen on the right belly just above the belt loop. It is a flat zippered pocket. For the moment this is the best photo we have of the pocket as it is always covered by the protective vest on the show. I will update with a new photo when it becomes available.
This opening is located on the lower left arm sleeve. Inside is a series of LEDs and an oxygen gauge that are used as part of the oxygen system for the flightsuits. The opening is covered in a clear plastic fabric.
Note: There is a single episode (Epiphanies) where the oxygen gauge was moved to a hole in the left forearm and an extra flap was added to cover it. If people wish me to include this in the guide I will be happy to, personally I feel it is unnecessary because it was obviously added to help along that particular story and did not become a permanent addition to the costumes.
These pockets appear on the right leg just above the knee. The main pocket is flat with a zipper in the middle. On the right of the image is a strap that is secured at its top end with a snap and sewn in under the flat pocket at its bottom. On the lower left is a small pocket roughly cellphone sized that holds one of several prop Accessories. Click HERE for a picture of the "cellphone" pocket from a sideview. This picture shows that the pocket is completely square in shape like a box.
This pocket is located on the left shin and houses another of the Accessories. This pocket is tubular at the top but is sewn with corners at the bottom.
The final pockets are located on the left leg just above the knee. The main pocket is a flat, zippered pocket. The second pocket is a pouch that holds the pre-flight checklists. This pocket seals with velcro located at the bottom of the pocket, the window is a clear plastic fabric.
This is a picture of the main zipper pull. It is a brass zipper with a black plastic covering on its end.
This type of brass zipper is used on the belly pocket and both leg pockets. There is no black plastic pull on this zipper, the photo is just dark. (will update with better picture soon)
Here is something odd and humorous. This photo comes from the recent hi-res season 3 promo photos. This is likely a restroom opening for the actors and may be a new addition to the season 3 costume. I've scoured through my other photos and cannot find another picture showing a zipper on a flightsuit crotch.
Finally, here are some hi-res reference photos that will help you in the construction of your flightsuit. They include close-ups of the stitching in several important areas of the costume.
Collar Close-up - this photo shows how the collar is constructed and how it attaches to the body, the photo also shows a close-up of how the suit folds over at the main zipper
Arms and Legs Seams - this photo shows how the halves of the arm are sewn together, this type of seam is used on the front and back of the arms, down both sides of the suit, and on the inside of the legs, the photo also shows how the sleeve is attached to the body of the suit
Scales Construction - this picture shows a close-up of part of the back scales, this is the same hi-res photo that was linked earlier in this guide