Greetings, new to forums looking for insight

[woulf]

Hello all

First let me say that troopers...are awesome! lol

my name is Steve Mammen and ive been a big star wars fan since i was...well, watching a new hope at the drive in when i was like 4. even then i thought the empire and Vader were the coolest, lol.

Im a friend and supporter of Bug's Pals and co-worker and friend of Dan Siemek, whom you guys did a terrific job of raising toys and handing them out at hope childrens hospital. Thats where i found out about you guys and all the great work you do for children and causes. That alone would make me want to help, but to do it as a stormtrooper...that would be incredible.

i am really thinking of getting into this, but i have no clue where to begin, other reading all the posts and questions here. i have been reading everything here and a link to the blizzard forces website as well when i made my post on your FB page.

i dont want to just jump in without trying to understand exactly all that goes on, as well as all that goes into getting armor ( i know the fan designations, but some of the abbrv.s ive seen here, i 'm a little in the dark)

so just looking to gain some more insight and helpful hints into what i may be getting into, LOL

thanks, and once again let me thank you guys for all the stuff you guys do, very cool

[iam8114]

Hi Steve. We're here to help you if you have any specific questions, ask away.

[valissa]

Hello Steve,
If I can make a suggestion, I would start by looking at ALL the choices besides stormtrooper. While the trooper is the most er....popular There are lots of different choices, some easy to make, some hard, that you could choose from!

Each type of costume usually has a subpage that you can gleam additional information from including where/how to get a costume and associated costs.

The second suggestion I would make is to ask questions. Its hard for us to give guidance with such a broad starting place. Take a look around, ask, and a wealth of information and guidance is at your fingertips!

You will be hard pressed to find a more friendly, helpful, and knowledgable group of people than those that belong to the MidWest Garrison!

Best of luck!

Valissa

[woulf]

there are definatly a lot of choices, LOL.
here ive been limiting myself to just the movies, wasnt even thinking of the character groups from video gaming too, lol. ESB was always my favorite movie, and ive always liked snowtroopers, however nothing beats the original stormtrooper

ive been burning up all my free time between here and FISD forums. Still nothing definate...but strongly leaning towards TK...but even though i have this tremendous ugre to go buy armor, im trying to take my time and consider all possibilites.

is there a particular "need" in the garrison? or really doesnt matter?

just another thought to takeinto consideration.

thanks to you all for your williness to help out the noob LOL

steve

[iam8114]

Its up to you man, build a costume you want to wear.

[Fleetfang]

Hey Steve!
I agree 100% with 8114. You should build a costume that you really want to build.
That said, here are a few personal thoughts I have about a number of the costumes, not all of them to be sure, just the ones that I've had a little experience with... Remember, these are just my thoughts and my experiences, your mileage may certainly vary, and others here might have completely different thoughts. Plus, there are tons of other options out there - I couldn't really comment on all of them.

Generally speaking, I prefer a costume that conceals my face. It makes for a more convincing character for the fans. Of course, with a closed helmet, you've got some of that "labor of love" pain to work through with heat and humidity inside, visibility limitations, etc. There are certainly ways to mitigate these challenges, and they can certainly be overcome. For me, it's worth it to look just like you walked off the screen.

Stormtrooper (TK): A Classic. You can wear this at any number of events and blend in. There are a lot of variations on the standard Stormtrooper, but if an event doesn't have at least one or two TKs, to me, it seems a little odd. They're the foundation of the Empire and the Legion, the glue that sticks us together. It used to be that you could say it will never go out of style, but...

Clone Troopers (TC and CT): With the Clone Wars cartoon, kids today get far more excited about the prequel characters than they do for the Original Trilogy bad guys. They still know Darth Vader and Stormtroopers (and their parents love the classic trilogy, like we do), but there have been one or two events in the last year where OT characters have been eschewed in favor of Prequel guys. Clones are the future of Star Wars. On the other hand, anyone who's built one can tell you that Clone armor is FAR more difficult to assemble.

Sandtrooper (TD): All the same stuff as a TK, but you don't need to worry about keeping yourself clean. You also get to carry around a big honking backpack and a gigantic gun. Don't be fooled though, there are a lot of tiny differences in the armor between a TK and a TD. If you go this route, you'll learn all about them.

Snowtrooper (TS): I don't know much about this costume, other than --depending on what you use for your soft parts-- it can be very, very hot. You might want to explore warm weather substitutions so you don't burn up during our summer parades. Some people think that Snowies look odd in summertime. I don't think so, but you'll want to ask yourself how YOU feel about it. You'll be trooping all year round, after all. If you love it, then go for it. When I was a kid, the Biker Scouts were my favorite, but I opted to build a TK first, since it was the "standard trooper". But at my first troop, I already started to have Biker envy.

Biker Scout (TB): Like I said, it's my personal favorite. You get recognized as a Stormtrooper (some other costumes aren't so lucky), but you have a lot more mobility and freedom in a Scout. Pluses: sitting down, having pockets, kneeling to put yourself at a kid's level, and if a kid is a bit scared of how intimidating we look, the Scout helmet actually has a flip-up visor that you can easily raise to flash a smile to put them more at ease. I think Bikers are the costume most suited to interacting with kids. Again, that's just me. Downsides: You're not one of the classic uber-iconic characters. There are also a lot of layers to the soft parts, and (at least for me) it can get pretty hot in the summer months. I know other folks who don't have this problem at all, though.

Tusken Raider or Jawa (DZ): Great if you like to play in character! Sandpeople have fantastic range of motion and the freedom to wear whatever they need under their robes (warm stuff in winter, almost nothing in summer). There is very, very limited vision in the mask, though. Jawas, sadly, are really only for the short of stature.

Imperial Crewman (IC):I know I said that having a helmet makes me feel cooler. But I mention the Imperial Crewman here because it's a "gateway" costume. You can assemble the parts easily through eBay (one of the only safe things you can get on the 'Bay, actually, is an Imperial Jumpsuit by CostumeBase), and it's pretty cheap to do - maybe a couple hundred bucks. But once you get it approved, then you will be a member of the Legion and you'll have access to the stuff that we're legally obligated to hide behind the curtain of membership. We can't sell costumes to people outside the Legion, but if you're an Imperial Crewman, then you're in the Legion, and you'll be able to enter the Legion "For Sale/For Trade" boards on http://www.501st.com. Buying costume parts for other costumes will get a WHOLE lot easier for you.
Also, the Crewman uses a lot of the same costume pieces as other costumes. Lose the hat and put on an Imperial Gunner helmet and a "bib" and your IG is complete. Drop the hat and put on a TIE Helmet and upper armor, and you're a Pilot just like that. Again, trade the crewman cap for a Naval helmet, and you're a Death Star Trooper. If you swap out the jump suit for an officer's pants and tunic, you can use almost everything else for an Imperial Officer. There are lots of options just right there.

Any of the Bounty Hunters: While super cool, they are rarer costumes and more difficult to assemble, since no one (to my knowledge) puts out (for example) a full Boba Fett kit. Also, remember that you can't have two Bobas (or Bossks or Dengars) at a single smaller event. For the big conventions, it's okay (but not preferred), but at a smaller thing, you don't want to confuse folks. For that reason, a lot of the people who have a specific character (like Fett or Vader) also have a second costume they can wear if someone else calls "dibs" on being that guy first.

Some costumes don't make any demands on one's build. But there are some exceptions that might make costuming more fun for you if you fit a certain mold...
-- If you're clearly "a little short for a stormtrooper" be prepared to hear that joke a lot.
-- Darth Vader really needs to tower over his minions; If you're not at LEAST 6'10" in lifts, then something will look odd.
-- The Clone armor that's out there fits a very limited height and build requirement, since it needs to look "seamless." I'm not 100% sure what the height and weight range is for the couple of kits that are popular, but if you want to go clone, check with the detachment forums before buying anything that might not fit you.
-- TIES, Tuskens, Bikers, Crewmen, Officers, Snowtroopers, Gunners, just about anyone else... As variations on the standard trooper or as people with faces, there's absolutely no "limitation" for height or build. Absolutely anyone can do these costumes.

Sorry if I got a little carried away there. Ultimately, if you do something you want to do, then you can't go wrong.
Good luck with your research, and if you have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask away!

[woulf]

WOW!

such a great list of options and possible pros/cons. thank you all so much. my fav's when a child were always snow troopers, but i think my first build is getting my TK armor, maybe a TS for the winter months later on down the road, lol. ive been getting great info from you guys and from FISD forums, pretty much have it narrowed down, but still have to go over some minor things before i pull the trigger. I've been getting great info from gazmosis, and he lives right near me, so ive been picking his brain as well. got the field narrowed down to 2 armorers, just want to do a little more fact checking/comparison. Im also intruiged by the HWT build, but i think its for the BFG, lol. I'm getting so excited of the prospect have to keep telling myself to relax and take my time. Definatly agree with the fact of covering my face to pull off the movie walk off look. Thanks again for all the great insight and info. i look forward to getting geared up and joining in the fun as soon as i can

[iam8114]

You know what I will make a suggestion to consider. I would suggest also looking into Clone Wars clones. I know all of us older guys are all about the original trilogy characters but as we've all learned recently, the kids go NUTS over the Clone Wars characters because that's their Star Wars.

Characters like Captain Rex, Commander Cody, etc get a huge response from the kids that sometimes even rivals mainstays like Vader. Granted I don't really suggest one of these for your first kit because they do take a lot more effort and work, as well as Brian mentioned the kits are a little more dependent upon body sizes.

[woulf]

Great information from all you guys. let me say again thanks to you all for trying to help me out while i figure out the direction i want to go. i wouldnt have half a clue about what to look for, the pros and cons to each, and even more important what to avoid with out your guy's input. im sure ill have even more questions and problems once i make up my mind (pretty much thinking a TK at this point) and hopefully you can prevent me from making mistakes, lol