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Hey all! This week we launched our YouTube channel in order to house the many videos we've created and will create in the future. So instead of trying to track them down in a myriad of places, they are now all in one easy to find place -- including the Virtual Armor Party videos! More stuff to be uploaded soon! Please like and subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/@501stPathfinders

Saturday April 12th 9:00AM (PST) / 12:00PM (ET) / 4:00PM (UTC+1) Length: 2-3 hours (depending on interest and availability of staff) Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/iph-uxin-qag (No Download Required) Pathfinders Virtual Armor Party. Everyone is welcome to attend and bring any questions you have about any of the Pathfinders costumes. If you're new to the detachment and this is your first costume build or if you're deep in the weeds with a plethora of costumes but feel "just one more couldn't hurt," come join in. The time gives the best coverage for the US and Europe but everyone is invited to join. While the forum is a great source for just about anything you would like to know about Pathfinders costumes, it never hurts to have someone to talk to directly as well as being able to ask specific questions about your build while being able to see first hand the answers to those questions. Working on armor by yourself can be a daunting task, so let us help with some of that strain. Armorers and Command staff will be available to help you with your builds so come prepared with questions and be ready to work. Or if you just want to say hi to some of the folks you see posting on the forum all the time, now is your chance! If you are unable to attend due to timezone issues please let us know your interest. If there are enough people outside of the current timezone we can always schedule another Armor Party at a later date that will take this into account.

BUMP -- this is in two days, folks!

I don't know how much you can see in the picture, but today I finally had the opportunity to put on all my Shoretrooper variants and take some photos of it - I've put the pictures together here to make a group photo with myself ^^

Troopers have varying skill levels and appetite to make their own goods and that's okay. If you're looking for vendors that pathfinders have used in the past, go here: https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/19003-biker-scout-vendor-list/#comment-171429 https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/forum/156-vendor-sales/ KriptonTop is a common go-to for soft goods.

When it comes to paint it's usually the clear coat that starts yellowing. I typically tell folks not to clear coat for that very reason. I've never used that particular type of Rusto paint before, but I also wonder if the epoxy aspect of the paint might be part of the issue. Unfortunately, short of sanding and repainting, there's no magic method to remove the yellowing from either paint or clear coats.

Final armor weathering. Heavy pic post incoming… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To the 501st Pathfinders Command Staff, I just wanted to extend a huge thank you for the time and guidance you’ve given throughout my kit build. The resources you’ve provided, and the support you offer through the forum, have been absolutely essential—and honestly, game-changing. A special shoutout to @Chopper, @Tarok, and @Aradun—your advice, patience, and dedication made a daunting process not just doable, but actually enjoyable. You’ve helped turn a pile of plastic into something truly epic. Thanks again for everything you do—not just for me, but for every builder chasing that screen-accurate dream. Scott B. - aka Sgt. Bilko

I was able to buy the DLT-19x files from surfinbird132 on Cults before he mysteriously took them all down a few days ago. Posting my build progress here. So far I've got all the pieces printed out and did some 120, 220, and 320g sanding. Next step will be to glue all the pieces together with the dowel and pipe then bondo.

Hello there, fellow pathfinders. I'm Will from the Golden Gate Garrison, BH82886. I have a few approved costumes already but have always been tempted by the legendary shoretrooper. Honestly, I could do almost any costume from Rogue One and be excited about it. I've been lurking here for a while but have finally kicked off my Shoretrooper Squad Leader (R1), and have been having a blast on this build so far! Helmet - Mr Paul Soft goods - Darkside Closet Boots - Orca Bay Gloves - Endor Finders Armor - Imperial Surplus

The dimensions don't look great but the real disqualifier is the number of ribs "Front of cummerbund has 5 ribs of equal width made of 6 vertical stitch lines, centered between the two fabric pouches" That one has 6

Looks warm. From the quick glance on my phone it looks good.

Hi Toby, I'm excited to hear we have another future GLG member in the works! Costuming in a post-Joann world is certainly going to be a challenge. To answer your questions, all of the elastic that I used is the Dritz brand. I brought mine from Joann, but it looks like their products are available on Amazon. I believe that is where I found my webbing as well. As for the fabric, I'm not sure where you are located in Michigan, but there is a pretty good fabric store called Haberman Fabrics in Clawson. I've visited there once, and they have a pretty good selection of apparel fabrics. Ordering online is an option as well, but I would recommend ordering a swatch to make sure it looks and feels right before placing an order. If you haven't already done so, I'd also recommend starting a build thread here and asking questions when you have trouble finding materials or need help with anything. The Pathfinders staff is AMAZING and was super helpful to me throughout my build. Best of luck with your build!

I bought a Jet Trooper file set from them. They're not well detailed and really not designed to turn into a costume. It could be done but with sooooo much work.

1. Red Kap black coveralls (alterations needed) 2. Gloves - WampaWear 3. Black balaclava 4. 4kg White PETG

I have a printed set of Galactic Armory Scout Trooper and I wouldn't use it for Approval. Maybe pieces of it. I have a Studio Creations kit I am building alongside two Galactic Armory prints and I am not even approved and I can already see problems with some of the pieces just from my casual reading of the CRL, particularly for Level 2 approval.

Okay looking for some assistance. It seems 3D printing is really the only way to go with the armor (I've talked to Walt a few times, but I'm still waiting on his R1TK, so I'm not paying him for anything else until that is done). Seem there is a solid source for the pants, boots and gloves, but the jacket still remains difficult if not impossible to find. I've heard good and bad about Sheev's Emporium, can I get a consensus on ordering from there? There was a recent post from there with what looks like an updated version. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BSwzUnLHd/ I've ordered the pants, waiting for a response about the boots and gloves, and I'm planning to buy @MrPoopie's files (I love the ROTJ scout files I got from him).

That happens to all of us. Most of just put foam on the cheeks to lift the helmet off our noses

From what I've heard, Sheev's has really dropped off. So much so that we have dropped him from the approved Vendor list. More and more folks are making their own -- we reduced the L1 qualifications to make it even easier for folks making their own at home. If a new vendor comes along that makes approvable stuff, we will definitely add them to the list

Nice! Keep up the great work! I'm in a bit of a post-con crafting slump right now, but I'll get back on mine (literally, I have to do the backplate) soon. Good luck!

No I ended up canceling my order because he was constantly promising it'll be done next week and falling through on it. Wouldn't recommend him.

That part of the CRL is intended as a catch on people wearing massively oversized gloves. If you are wearing properly sized wampa wear gloves, then they will not need any modifications.

Smooth! Looks a lot better than mine!

Thank you for doing this, Hopefully i can attend.. 🤘🏼🙏🏼 i wanted to finished my bikerscout MC2? fiberglass helmet.. but not for trooping .. just for display i guess. See you guys April 12th... Louis - DZ-17026 - Garuda Garrison Indonesia.

Hello, I'm Darcy. I live in Virginia and I just started my Shoretrooper build and this will be my first suit to get approved but not my last. This forum and this particular thread has been help me too. I will eventually create my thread to show progress reports on my build. Great to have veteran builders. I will probably pick Joe Minimo's brain since his in the same area as me. Congrats Will on building a Shoretrooper!

Hello Pathfinders! My Name is Tyler aka JawaJunker, Long time follower and hopeful wisher to one day be able to join the ranks of you fine folks and hopefully join the 501st in the near future with my first costume (ROTJ Biker Scout of course)! Well, the time has finally come! I managed to score a complete & previously 501st approved Biker Scout outfit locally here in North Texas that just never got the chance to get trooped in. I couldn’t be happier I pulled the trigger and jumped into this but I got some work to do to make it mine! While I didn’t find out until after the purchase that the helmet ended up being a Walt 1.0 and is no longer accepted, it’s all good and hopefully will be able to use it later down the road for props and whatnot, but it did give me an excuse to order a coveted item for years now….. RS Prop Masters Biker Scout Bucket, 6 week lead time but also gives me time to get other items together too. Thought I would go ahead and throw out there some of the piece parts I now own and a few items that I have started to pickup to complete the Scout. I’m certain I will be back for more research, questions and roadblocks I’m sure to encounter in the next few weeks/months. -Helmet: WTF 1.0. [I have now purchased and awaiting new helmet, RS Prop Masters] -Armor: WTF. [Had to order a new blaster holster as the one on the boot snapped off at the rivets] -Gloves: Wampa Wear -Jumpsuit: RedKap custom Modified jumpsuit -Boots: Boots that came with my suit were from Cheesewhoopy but unfortunately don’t fit by 1/2”, but happy to have an expert example to fashion my new boots from. [I found a pair of fitting work boots at my local Walmart that I’m planning on carving up to the best of my ability. Seen them listed in another post that seemed to workout for Lancer, so figured I'd give it a shot.] -Cummerbund and Vest: Custom -Sidearm: Hyperfirm -Balaclava: UnderArmour (Recent Amazon purchase thanks to some great posts out there on this forum) -Neck Dickie: Amazon find (Again thanks to this forum) So looking forward to this journey and fun that shall ensue in the near future! Thanks for checking out my post!

Aside from you what you already mentioned, I think you should be good to go.

Greetings Pathfinders! Thank you once again for allowing me to continue to serve you all as Detachment Leader of the Pathfinders for the coming term. And what a fun term we have coming up! 1. The 20th Anniversary of "Revenge of the Sith" ROTS turns 20 this year, which means so does the Kashyyyk Trooper! The 2nd CRL of our Detachment, the Kashy has had a small but steady following here since 2006. We've always had between 50-60 Kashys at any given time, but with more propmakers offering Kashy parts, now is the best time to get into this CRL. And our Kashy DCA @Jakeputt, is here to help you be successful! This also means we'll be offering Kashy 20th Anniversary merch this year. We know Kashy merch is not one of our bigger sellers, so we're hoping to entice you all with some great design! And currently we are working on a CRL for the Kashy Heavy from Battlefront 2. If this interests you, feel free to chime in 2. The 25th Anniversary of the Detachment! Doesn't it feel like the 20th was just yesterday? Hard to believe but we are now in year 25 for the Pathfinders. From a Yahoo group to the mighty forum we are today, the Pathfinders have come a long way! And we'll be offering some commemorative 25th Anniversary merch this term to celebrate. 3. Celebration Japan! 18-20 April 2025 is almost here and we can't wait to see the Pathfinder group photo! I unfortunately won't be there this time around, but I will be jealously viewing all your photos. If anyone is interested in helping organize the group photo, please let me know and I will assist any way that I can. 4. New CRLs? We've already seen Scouts in the "Andor 2" trailer, so there's a good chance we'll be seeing a new CRL for them (unless they are just CGI copy-pastes from "The Mandalorian"). We are also working on the above-mentioned Kashy Heavy. "Andor" is also known for being very Shoretrooper friendly, so we will keep our eyes peeled for any ST sightings! 5. Videos! For the Kashyyyk 20th we will be doing the Kashy CRL walkthrough. And I am going to do that ROTJ Soft Goods Video once and for all this term! I apologize for it taking so long; the scope of it has been a bit overwhelming. But until then, we have great tutorials for just about everything soft goods related in our Scout soft goods armory https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/forum/145-rotj-biker-scout-soft-parts/ 6. Staffing And with a new term comes the usual flood of PMs asking me for a staff job. Folks, the bunker is full up with some of the best Pathfinders around! Take a look at the awesome team pictured above -- these troopers have put their time in, paid their dues and know the costumes inside and out. If I ever need to replace anyone, it will come from folks already on the forum who are showing that level of aptitude. I'll take our newest armor, @MikeRadness as an example. He never asked me for anything. He was already here on the forum, doing the work. And when someone goes so far as to get THREE L2s for their various Shoretroopers, an Armor Team spot was a foregone conclusion. Looking forward to another great term! From the bottom of my Imperial heart, I want to thank you all for your support! Mickey Bukowski TB/ST-81974 Pathfinders Detachment Leader

Welcome Toby! Make sure to do your homework if you’re planning to print your armor. Not all vendors sell files that are approvable. If you have any questions or want to run anything by the armory team prior to purchasing where here for you.

We all started with the first step! Welcome, we are here for you

Here:

Hey y'all! Since I've been sitting home sick this Memorial Day weekend, I decided to throw together some comparison pics of the various armors versus the Scout in the Costumes book to see how they measure up. I tried to get Lancer app photos where I could, so it would be the best representation of the armor, and only used pics where the armor was one maker from head to toe. If anyone has a better representation photo, I am happy to use it. I will also do back photos when I get one for each So here we go, in alphabetical order: Altmann (now offered by Pilot Bay - USA) Chef (U.K.) Gino's (not for sale) Kropserkel (KS) (Canada) (the dropboxes were modified to be shorter than they are out of the box) Moncal (MC) (USA) RS Props (UK) RWA Creations Studio Creations (old version) (SC) (USA) Studio Creations ver. 2 Armor (SC) (USA) CFO/Strider (UK) Walt's Trooper Factory v1 (WTF) (USA) Walt's Trooper Factory v2 (WTF) (USA)

The side armor and ammo boxes are all painted, not in picture. Left with the largest armor to work with. The AB armor look kinda tricky. Not sure if I need extension by the sides or by extending the back plate. Will figure it out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yellowing is a problem for most white plastics and how much yellowing occurs can vary widely by plastic type and specific batch formulation and storage conditions. With painting, I've found that clear coats tend to yellow more than uncoated white paint, so clear coating armor would likely not be much help.

If it’s got a decent yhickness of clear coat over the base paint , you could try rubbing compound on the laquer to see if you can remove a tiny layer , as it’s usually the outer most molecules of clear coat that start to yellow

I used a locally available boot, not the Ozark one you mention. You can see my in-progress photos and the end result in my Mando Scout build thread: https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/23617-tarok%E2%80%99s-remnantmando-scout-approved/page/3/#comment-229363 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, here's the final jacket that I received over the weekend. The chest and back areas are pretty soft and smooth. The ribs on the arms came out good as I was concerned that the maker wasn't going to make them correctly. Instead of submitting custom measurements, I order the jacket in a Men's XL size as I could go to a local tailor to make small adjustments rather than get a jacket that turns out to be too tight and uncomfortable. What do you think?

Thanks. Next up, soft parts. I’ll trial on an inconspicuous area first or on some extra fabric to get the technique down. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After over 50 events in my Shoretrooper Squad Leader, I wanted to rework the armor a bit, but then came to the conclusion that a complete new build would probably make more sense. Then the question arose as to which variant I should choose and the answer was “yes”! A few details are still missing, e.g. I still have to add the long belt box and the biceps parts are somehow too tight, so that I can't get them high enough in combination with the shirt - so I have to work on that again. Approval photos will have to wait a little longer, but all in all this should cover pretty much every Shoretrooper variant currently available. ^^ I'm missing an E-11 balster, but who needs one, if you can have an E-22?! But the best of all - I can actually fit all of this in a 190l Stanley box & the weapon case, which have of course been branded accordingly. I thought I've archived the pictures of the building process somewhere, but somehow I can't find them right now. It was actually a process during the last 2 years and I built 4 other armors inbetween/parallel for friends who are now members too. But at least, here is the result. As said, have to take pics for approval when I find the time to wear and change all those parts and I have reworked thos tiny parts still missing or needing a change. I can put on everything on my own, but it's easier with someone to help. And then I hope to find the time for more trooping again

Congrats Scott! Well done Pathfinder - a Superb build!

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Hey James, I bought Alan Rivard's too but Mr Poopie's files are the best ones. I wouldn't hesitate. Sent from my SM-A245M using Tapatalk

No they do not. The imperial boots cod's that I've seen attach with a strap around your waist. This is atypical for most scouts, where it is attached to the flak vest, but that's the way they do it. The crotch strap on the cod is typically attached to the back of your flight suit or flak vest.

Awesome! I am absolutely loving this build and getting to work with the Montana Gold spray pants is a total blast. I'm sure I'll eat my words when it comes to the abdomen/belt though.

Hi! This looks great so far. I'm building a captain so I'm there with you, trooper! Yes, there's a spacing guide on the Shoretrooper Fam facebook page, here.

Mine are snug so don’t have foam, but any standard foam should work. I would use hot glue for that, gives you flexibility to change it, and not a huge deal if you need to re-aply at some point!

Next steps! Bondo and sanding said Bondo. Any tips on getting a nice smooth finish? I’m using a dremel to sand it down.

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Dude this is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Damn it.... Now I have to upgrade it... That's my version right at the moment (added the belt yesterday and thought I was done)