My name is Mike and I'm from Plainfield, IL. I'm a firefighter by profession, and I'm also a snare drummer in the Firefighters Highland Guard of Naperville. I've seen the 501st at several events through the years, often at the Naperville St. Patrick's Day parade, and I was always interested in joining up. Part of our uniform in the drum line is our replica Vader lightsabers (I have the Force FX version, modified by Ultrasabers), so we always shared a similar interest. :p
My wife and I have started doing Disney runs the past two years, and run costuming is part of the enjoyment of doing those runs. We've started purchasing some light costumes for those. I bought a Rubies Vader helmet, and wore the dome with my saber and Vader Dri-Fit shirt, and was quite popular along the route. We went to this year's C2E2, and the MWG was there, and the 501st was also present at the Star Wars Weekends down in Disney World. My interest spiked, and I started looking for vendors.
Still thinking a Vader, I checked out Anovos, who I'd been following on Facebook for a while. I checked out their Vaders, which look amazing, but it was way out of my price range. At the time, they were in pre-production of their Stormtrooper outfits, and I was really tempted to get in on the early-bird pricing. Time passed, and I put it off. Shortly after that, however, they began pre-production of the the Shadow Stormtrooper outfit. That one locked me in, since I got in at the first phase pricing of $375 for the kit.
Here's the link to what I bought. http://www.anovos.com/collections/the-i ... -pre-order It should be shipping around December, but whenever it arrives it arrives.
After stopping at the 501st booth at Wizard World Comic Con last month, I was pointed this direction, and here I am. The Members there told me to get on the forums, and start reading, as there were be much information on what I will need to do with my outfit once it arrives. The outfit is going to come in vacuformed sheets, so I will be doing all the cutting and assembly (the helmet is the only item that is completed in the shipment). Anovos linked out to a Tested.com video, where those guys are demonstrating the initial process of assembly. Hopefully they will release part II, hehe.
So, I do have a few questions. First off, does anyone have an Anovos costume? Will I have any problems getting it approved, and to what level might it be approved? Anovos doesn't include blasters, so I would be interested in where would be a good place to obtain one. And lastly, I will be interested in configuring some ventilation system in the helmet, and installing a comm system. Where might be a good vendor to obtain those items?
Once I have the Shadow Stormtrooper outfit completed, I'll be looking to connect and join up. Looking forward to that time...
