Hello!
Man, I can't believe this is my first post here. I've been lurking Stormtrooper-related forums and sites for the better part of a decade and a half, yet haven't posted on any of them until now. Weird.
Anyway, I come with a question! For the aforementioned decade and a half or so, ever since realizing that making Stormtrooper armor was a thing people could and did actually do, it's been on my long-term project to-do list. In the last few years, I've been slowly making actual progress toward having the workshop environment necessary to bring that goal to fruition (owning a house rather than renting an apartment helps!). Shortly, once I finish up a small home renovation project, I'll be starting work on an in-house vacuform setup (all necessary parts have long-since been acquired, just need to put it together!). I've also been trawling threads over on theRPF wherein posters have been scratch-building their own bucket molds, which has been inspirational beyond measure.
As I've been formulating my plan for constructing my armor, a single misgiving has been brewing that I wanted to ask the community about. Namely, how heavy an emphasis is placed on screen accuracy versus a tolerance for customization?
I realize there are many for whom the goal is complete screen accuracy and more power to those folks if/when they achieve that goal! For my part, I'm more interested in creating an aesthetic (and, possibly, functional!) "best of all worlds." As an example to that end, asymmetry in the helmet is something I would try to avoid rather than duplicate. In general, my build plan has revolved around considering each of the four major TK types (ANH stunt, hero, ESB, and ROTJ) and pulling the "best" elements from each. However, I worry that doing so would somehow ostracize me from joining the collective assembly of white armor enthusiasts in the 501. Are these fears unfounded? Are there others that have been accepted for 501st membership with similar "optimized" armor builds?
Thanks for sharing so much phenomenal information and continuing to be an unparalleled information resource!