BAZINGA

I was 13 when I saw ANH. Maybe for me that is the age it stuck. Still my favorite of all of them. I may not be a superfan that some are, but SW is what changed movies forever and it still has the coolest over everything costumes! Bart

Thanks. To finally decide it took a bit of chatting and today I went and bought a set of black undersuit compression, whatever-the-heck-it-is stuff to see what that felt like, It was a bit strange. Tight. OMG the gut..... OK, good that that goes under the ABS. Still a bit horrific to think about. But at the end of it all as scary a this seems (because I'm already thinking of actual trooping which I am not at yet) instead of just dealing with one step at a time I'm in the process of getting armor ordered. Can't even believe I am saying that. I read all the stuff here and watch videos and everyone seems to be having just so much fun I can't not do it even with some insecurities and still a mile long list of unknowns to still figure out. It will be hard to govern myself here with the flow of questions to come from me. Bart

Nice. I was thinking maybe I'm trying to get in with the wrong crowd of younglings here. Awkward.... I will send you a message tonight. Thanks. Bart

I'd like to keep it in a personal message if there are any of you out there who would discuss some stuff with me! Bart

I know it is of no help to you however I just wanted to let you know that you're resizing challenge is helping me to understand what I may have to go through having thin legs too so I appreciate you documenting it here. Bart

Is he on this board too by chance? I haven't found him here, but am interested in his services. Thanks. Bart

I'm watching your progress with great interest as I am considering an AP armor commission. An immediate difference is you have no gut and I have a gut which is adding 10" to your size. Your thigh size is the same as me so I'm concerned there too for that gap. I'm sure you will get all the help you need to get it right for you, but it does suck that you have to make those drastic changes right away. I'm in contact with someone from my local garrison that can help me should I go this route too. Bart

I'm going to be eager to see your fixes. If I get armor I will be in the same boat as you. No tools, no skills in this and not a ton of time to fiddle with it. Since I am also looking at AP armor anything you need to do I may need to follow with. I can't wait to see it all done and fitted on you! Bart

Hope you don't get Covid. I escaped it for a long time then a friend basically walked it into my house. I had a mild case that lingered for two weeks and ever since then my allergies have been much worse than normal. Bart

Yeah I wouldn't be in the 501st by the time the Imax re-release happens. That's closer at just 2.5 hours away. There won't be much in the way of opportunity locally unless there is a sudden shift in interests in the immediate area. The trick for me is figuring out how to maintain my interest in between the 3 or 4 events I can get to any given year. Bart

Thanks. I fully agree that building the armor myself would be the best option and the most satisfying if I had any skill in that area. My hat is off to anyone who can do this kind of build. I just know that if I even start down that path the odds of completing it on my own are poor. As I understand it, assuming acceptance into the 501st is a real thing for me, there is not much I can do in terms of representing the 501st outside of the authorized appearances. So I can do things with my costume, on my own, but can’t really do it on behalf of the 501st. I assume I could encourage others to check it out I just can’t “represent”. It’s a big confusing what is okay and is not but for now that’s okay. I would expect that if I am to get any mileage in the armor that would be the boat I’d be in most of the time - solo. Not ideal. All the solo stuff kind of takes some of the shine off the idea of being part of something bigger. Official events would almost always mean travelling. That is not a huge deal as I can do that for maybe 3 or 4 a year that would be in range for a weekend. I’m not even opposed to further if it was part of a group going up together. I fully anticipated that to make the most of it travelling is a must. These travel opportunities aren’t local though. I never expect there would be anything big locally but I know that going in. I had other ideas, but keep reading if you aren’t bored yet. Not having local 501st events all the time is not really the deal breaker so long as I can find other ways to stay involved in the organization beyond sweating it out in armor. There is one small thing locally where the 501st are invited for a couple hours one day in July or August. From what I have found out there is only one other 501st member in the same town as me, but they are, unfortunately, not interested in even showing me their armor and answering some questions about how they built it so I have to assume that is a non-starter for anything else. The next closest is an hour drive. I had high hopes for that connection, but after a couple attempts to meet up and see the armor there was just radio silence so it does appear “local” involvement or networking isn’t going to be a thing for a good long time if ever. I had an idea that teaming up with even two others can make something happen, but there is no interest there from them on that front. Maybe if I am loud enough something sparks with them down the road but not the vibe I got. I’m not even sure who I could recruit as a handler for myself if I do get to do some solo things here and not want to be stumbling around with poor visibility. That’s a problem for later after a decision is made. One other friend here does like cosplay, but has no interested in building a stormtrooper or anything from the 501st. He really only travels to a couple things with his own creations and doesn’t have much in the way of time for anything else. He’d be one that I would approach none-the-less when I have the armor to see if he wanted to team up for anything. As cosplay is one of his interests he may be more onboard if I demonstrate I’m serious too. It’s a tough town for us geeks to crack! The only other stormtrooper that I “know”, for all of two weeks now, would be Greg, who has commented on this thread already He is 3 hours away from me. He’s been an huge help with my endless questions. I had another friend in the 501st that has a Tusken costume, but I don’t know of any other stormtroopers. He is not near me either and we don’t really associate anymore regardless for other reasons. The Badlands are very spread out. Each member in it has several thousand square miles to call their own! So that is the big ask of myself before pulling the trigger. What can I do? Buying it isn’t the issue. I know the expenses up front. Trooping is the thing and the opportunity to do that. Everything on this board confirms that when I read the various threads and see the pictures with the fun that is being had. Standing out in a green field with my white armor may make an interesting photo shoot, but how much fun does that bring? I know no one else can make the decision for me. I just value the input from anyone who is doing this so I can make the informed decision vs. a knee jerk reaction. I know I’m not the only one with a lack of local 501st members in the same area so how do others stay interested and involved in the considerable down time between troops? I guess that is the big question I am trying to answer for myself. Bart

Hi. I'm new too and also looking at the AP commissioned build. I'm in the middle of no where so it's hard for me to determine how much use I'm going to get from the armor. I'd hate for it to be sitting in a box for a year at a time. Bart

Thanks, yes I would agree. When I am interested or involved in something I want to be "All in" so always want to make the most of it. I'm not sure on the 501st dynamics yet if there are others who feel the same as me or if it's more random interaction. Bart

Ok I will start with something that hopefully isn't dumb and work my way up. What do you all do in the "off season" assuming there is one to keep up your interest and networking with each other? I'm in the middle of no where so a forum, while handy, won't provide the best stream for me to feel involved. What do you do, if anything, to maintain or promote the 501st in the off season. Basically what is there all "to do" when not trooping? Bart

Hold my beer. Bart

Hello from the middle of nowhere. You want to talk about the outer-rim. I’m living there. I’m in southern Sask. Canada. That’s part of the Badlands Garrison. There aren’t many, if any, 501st members near me and Wook1138 from Badlands was really great with some questions I had and some worries in my brain about what might be available for fun where I am. So I have been interested in the 501st for quite a number of years. About 5 years ago I almost pulled the trigger on a stormtrooper kit but just had too many concerns and self-doubts about so much of the whole process I folded. Long story short, take care of you mental health guys. Turns out when things just have lost their shine and nothing seems worthwhile anymore that’s a sign to get some help. Who knew? I didn’t but thankfully found out before things got worse. Fast forward to now and I am much better at seeing if I should or shouldn’t do something and once again the interest and fascination with the 501st came back up and I decided it was time to either pull the trigger for real or finally leave it behind but it shouldn’t float any longer. I’ve been reading here a lot. I am sure I am cross-eyed every evening and have lost sleep trying to make sense of it all. There is a lot of information on this forum in case no one noticed. In some ways there is too much and my OCD was slapping me around a lot. But I have boiled it down to a few things now and just need some final details I’m hoping you all can chime in with. The one thing that really stood out here was the crazy amount of support for everyone and I like that. I don’t think I have the building skills to put together armor myself. I know a common feeling here is that there is support to help people with it and there is high level of pride in doing it yourself which I can’t deny would be a thing and something to be very proud of. For me my OCD alone would add months to a self build if I got through the process at all. With such scarce local members it would be tough with old man eyes and no in person consulting. So after some emails with AP I have determined a commissioned build is the least stressful route for me. That then also dictated the stunt version from ANH which also seems to be the popular build and what AP can supply at a level 3. That expense is understood should I proceed. The bigger questions for me are what kind of mileage I can get from the armor vs. cost. What I mean is, there are not a lot of opportunities near me to troop with other members. I’d have to try for some non- affiliated stuff to get more use from the armor. I also just don’t want to be someone who just shows up and that’s it. A big part of what I really like about the 501st is the community involvement and the camaraderie of the members. So what types of things can I do to benefit/help the organization not necessarily in armor? I, obviously, won’t be the guy who can advise on how to build armor. I could be the guy who does… what to stay involved and useful to Badlands, FISD and the 501st? It may be a weird question I know. It’s hard to articulate the thought. I just don’t want a solo hobby so-to-speak here in the outer rim. I’ve done that before. It gets boring. It is important to feel the connection where there are not a lot of members and they are mostly far spaced over a very large area. This is a short novel I know and thank you to those who have made it this far. I appreciated it. If anyone has some insight for me on how you make the organization special to you or how you jump in with both feet throw it my way. Thanks. Bart