Where can I go for a "Made to order" armor set that's 501st approved?

[thelightsabercomplainer]

Basically is there a site or seller (like on Etsy) who will take my measurements and make an armor set? Willing to spend a little but nothing over $1.7k. I've apparently seen that SDS Armor such as this are out of proportion and that if they aren't exactly to my measurements it won't be approved. Thank you all in advance, on my last post those who responded were very helpful!

[jsilvius[Staff]]

There are a few builders that will do this. But nothing is "501st Approvable" out of the box. 

Approval is based on how the armor fits the member wearing it. So while you could send your measurements to one of the folks that do commissioned builds, if it looks sloppy or out of proportion on you, it would need to be fixed before approval is granted.

 

Your best bet is to buy a kit and find local members that can help you build it. There are plenty of Stormtroopers members in the North Carolina area. 

If you build it, you know how to adjust it, and fix it when, not if, it breaks.

 

You can find many of the suggested makers on this list.

 

Best of luck in your quest to join the ranks!
 

[thelightsabercomplainer]

Thank you! I will definitely try that. Long live the Empire!

[Nairy[Staff]]

Hi Mary! What armor are you looking into getting? A New Hope/Empire Strikes Back/Return of the Jedi or the newer movies? How tall you are can also be of importance, because some makers can't help you if you are "too short" for example

[thelightsabercomplainer]

Hi! I’m looking into ANH to go along with the ANH blaster I’m ordering. 
 

i’m 5’7 and 1/4. I assume i could still be in that range, I found a pre-owned armor set on ebay that was for 5’8 (obviously it wouldn’t fit me even if it was the correct height), so you could say i’m a little short for a stormtrooper

[Nairy[Staff]]

2 hours ago, thelightsabercomplainer said:

Hi! I’m looking into ANH to go along with the ANH blaster I’m ordering. 
 

i’m 5’7 and 1/4. I assume i could still be in that range, I found a pre-owned armor set on ebay that was for 5’8 (obviously it wouldn’t fit me even if it was the correct height), so you could say i’m a little short for a stormtrooper

You're within a good height I'd say! I know people shorter than you and they have gotten armors!

[thelightsabercomplainer]

@Nairy Just a question, should I immediately shoot for Level 3 approval on my first set? I’m kinda a perfectionist when it comes to these things, and I want to make my first armor perfect.

[Sly11[Admin]]

46 minutes ago, thelightsabercomplainer said:

@Nairy Just a question, should I immediately shoot for Level 3 approval on my first set? I’m kinda a perfectionist when it comes to these things, and I want to make my first armor perfect.

This is a good question and the answer is yes.

Generally if you are building with centurion in mind or the aim, it is a little more cost and time effective.

You won't have to disassemble any of your armour to add in the extra bits and pieces, and it really doesn't cost much more to do it either.

You still need to have the 3 approvals done. Basic, then Expert infantry and of course finally Centurion, but the costume can have all the required upper level extras from the outset.

Having the two higher levels also opens up access to exclusive merch and forum banners to those to put the effort in to achieve them.

 

Looking forward to seeing your build thread and watching your journey to Centurion, it's well worth it.

 

[Nairy[Staff]]

On 6/3/2026 at 11:48 PM, thelightsabercomplainer said:

@Nairy Just a question, should I immediately shoot for Level 3 approval on my first set? I’m kinda a perfectionist when it comes to these things, and I want to make my first armor perfect.

Yeah I think you should try to aim for Level 3 from the get go! If you love details you will love to achieve it, and also, it is always easier to do it from the beginning with the Level 3 in mind, rather than adapting for it afterwards! It is not much more difficult to build it according to the Level 3, than to build it to basic approval, it's "just a different blueprint"!