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I can understand that the hobby is really intimidating when you first join FISD, and when I was much younger, I felt the same as you. To the point I *gasp* bought ebay armor because “what does it matter? Armor is armor!” sure enough, I opened the box and realized just what I got myself into. Between poorly made parts, tons of inaccuracies, and just in general, terrible part quality. Thankfully I was able to return the armor for a full refund. Didn’t sign back onto the forums for a long while since I felt so discouraged. Then I decided to go to the page Gmrhodes posted and ended up making that my home page for a bit. Weeks go by as I started to really study the different armors to figure out which one was best for me, between quality, durability, and accurateness. I started reading other people’s build threads to get a better idea of what I can expect. I got in contact with my local garrison and they arranged to have dinner with me in just the span of a few weeks! All for a total stranger no less, but they were excited to meet a possible future trooper! Eventually I settled on an Armor Master 4.5 kit. A kit that costed twice as much as the 400 USD ebay armor I got! And let me tell you, I did not regret it. All the research payed off and I was able to get help from everyone on the forums. Not only that, but one of the troopers at the dinner turns out to live just a few minutes from my place and offered me to work on my armor in his basement. He basically was a guiding hand helping me every step on the way and was the one who helped me take my submission photos. What you get for joining the 501st is finding a second family as it turns out lol. what sets the 501st apart from other costuming groups is the fact that we strive for movie accuracy, to aim for a level of authenticity that even Lucasfilm even recognizes. That’s not to say that there aren’t other costuming groups of similar standards, it’s just that in a lot of ways, the 501st is the gold standard. I suppose at the end of the day, you will need to ask yourself why you want the stormtrooper armor. If you want to dress up as a stormtrooper from time to time, it is perfectly fine to do so without the strict guidelines of the 501st. However, if you want to go the extra mile and be part of a group that helps others and has a lasting impact both to star wars and her fans, then maybe this is the place you want to be. Sorry for the long post, but I think it will give you a better idea of “why we are the way we are”. The 501st isn’t for everyone, but unlike Yoda, we are certainly open to people who at least try.

So many odd ball things in ROTJ tk suit-ups that it wouldn't surprise me if someday we find a hidden trooper wearing a bathrobe. They were missing helmet ear pieces and lord knows what.

JR's post is perfect. It hits the nail on the head. The only thing I may add is that this bit of information has been lost as the last 5 years or so have gone on. People don't think about it. I don't know why. We don't want to put too much info out there about armor because we do have to keep in mind that copyright infringement still does exist. Again, it seems like that more people worried about that 5 or so years ago then currently. But our armor makers do put their neck out there because they could potentially feel the wrath of the mouse if they ever really wanted to. Research is key.

I doubt you would get to same appearance using canvas as the base. I've made them.in the past but unfortunately not able to do sewing at the moment. Here was my FOTK pouch which is similar A couple of good how to threads There was an awesome website from TK1336 with templates bit unfortunately it's no longer active, I'm pretty sure I have a copy of the templates, I'll have a look on computer in the morning. With his design they are mostly glued and it uses vinyl.

[Mention]TheDecisiveRaindrop[/Mention] Excellent post that captures the journey and experience of many in the Legion. Well said and excellent advice!

Hey Guys, Started a build over a year ago, then the pandemic exploded, plus my wife had some health issues, so my 501st dream got put on hold. Eventually reached out to Shawn Cantey of Imperial Assembly Line, (Pretty sure he's a Carolina Garrison member), to finish my build as I had clearly bitten off more than I can chew. He's down to the strapping, so will be putting my app in soon for my ANH Stunt TK. Picked up a new hobby in the meantime, directly related to my search for an E11. 3D Printing. Now I just need to assemble the one I printed. Meantime, I've got 3 printers going nonstop these days. (Currently printing a Mandalorian kit.) Anyway, I'm back.

Very hard at this stage with covid, next to no armor workshops or events, just know there are plenty here on the forum happy to lend an eye or guidance, some posts may get missed from time to time but we do try. As I tell everyone having a build thread is one of the best ways to get online help with a build, it's just a shame we can't be hands on to help.

I ended up going to Imperial Assembly Line/ Shawn Cantey to finish my build for me. Definitely bit off more than I could chew with my lack of experience and other issues that got in the way. Oddly enough I think if I had started with my 3D printed Mandalorian kit as my first costume, I may had been better off, since I was just problem solving rather than going an established route, so I understand the process better now.

Ok thank you, I will work on pictures and see about posting it here

Welcome back! Three printers - I guess you went all in on the printing. lol. I printed a Mandalorian kit for my son. Getting the beskar look was a learning curve, but there seems to be a lot of info out there nowadays for it. Have fun with it!

Just to verify I am still alive....

That one is an older design, would be entirely up to the DO's for higher level approval. You can see the differences to the reference image

I must also agree, JR's post is spot on. One thing you will learn by spending time on our forums is the fact we have a lot of members who are very eager to help. We offer the best advice available, have the largest resource for Stormtroopers anywhere on the internet period. If a stormtrooper is where you wish to start your journey into white armour, 501st or otherwise, then we have your back. It has been mentioned already that research is the key, and that is 100% correct. In fact when you think about it, that serves for any hobby or sport a person wishes to look into. There is far too much information to fit in any one post, and it's too easy to lose that mass of info we have in a Social media platform so the forum is to this day still the best place to spend your time learning. Become educated, make the right decision for you, and let your journey into this awesome hobby begin. Best of luck with it Spike.

You can find a list of garrison's here https://www.501st.com/members/displayUnits.php#garrisons Or search the map, bottom left of the page https://www.501st.com/

Aside from the readings and research here, have you try contact your local garrison? They might be able to offer some advice, say, based on your height and body size and short list some vendors for you to make contact with.

Indeed, real life has to come first, your kit will be ready waiting for when you have a little more time

POST 70 Britannia Patrol at MCM Comicon Birmingham UK 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Trimming the ears is pretty much everyone's fear on their first armour build, but dont stress. The ears should have trim lines on them. Trim short of those leaving some room for fine tuning and further trimming and adjustment. Once you have some of the excess removed and you hold them against the sides of the helmet you will get a better idea of how much more you need to remove. There are a few other tricks to employ when you start getting closer to those trim lines but just take it slow, trim carefully and keep testing against the helmet for high and low points. Here is a great tutorial on Ears for you. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29238-my-helmet-ear-tutorial/

POST 66 2019 Woodland Park Zoo Lights Seattle, WA Garrison Titan Fire Team Orca 1. 2019 Buddy Walk for Downs Syndrome Seattle, WA Garrison Titan Fire Team Orca 2. 2020 Everett Silvertips Star Wars Night Everett, WA Garrison Titan Fire Team Orca 3. 2021 Washington Summer Con Puyallup, WA Garrison Titan Fire Team Orca 4. 2021 Washington State Summer Con Again Puyallup WA Garrison Titan Fire Team Orca 5.

Heat bending is tricky. Make sure after you reshape a part in hot water to hold it in place for several seconds and also run it under water while holding the desired shape. When the plastic is cooling it will naturally want to go back to its original shape.