TB-1019

I'm locking this thread down before it gets into a pissing contest.

It looks like it's time to dust off the standard response to this, so... *clears throat* ... here it goes... The 501st Legion neither condones nor discourages the act, sale or distribution of recast props and costume parts. The 501st Legion is a costuming club and any ruling on the ethical or moral issues behind the subject of recasting are beyond the scope of the organization. As the Pathfinders Detachment is a supporting element of the 501st Legion, we are obligated to follow Legion policies. It is not the detachment's place to summarily dismiss a member. If, however, a member is found through Legion disciplinary hearing to have acted in a way that is harmful to the organization and its membership and said member is subject to expulsion from the Legion, we would act appropriately to carry out the Legion's ruling. As always, caveat emptor-- buyer beware.

For those of you rookies out there who are unaware, "recasting" is the act of taking an original artisan's work and creating new molds from them for the purpose of creating knockoffs. There is a debate in the hobby as to the ethics of recasting. Some argue that it takes money out of the hands of original artists like MLC, MC or KS (who make enough money to pay for the materials they use and who cannot make a substantial profit, or else be taken down by Lucasfilm). Others would argue that these artists do not have a claim to a design that originated from Lucasfilm's studios and that they are not original. The controversy is much more complicated than that, but when it comes down to it, recasted goods almost always are qualitatively inferior to the originals. You may pay less for them, but you risk quality and accuracy and oftentimes, dealing with people whose business ethics are to copy another persons' hard work, you put yourself at risk for having your hard earned money taken from you with nothing to show for it except, maybe, a terrible copy. This is why we emphasize doing your homework. We're not trying to be difficult here. We're only trying to help people not get shafted and to help them come away with quality gear.

Did someone say Aliens?

Nerf Longshots are perfect toys to turn into modified props, but they do not belong on Star Wars costumes when there are options out there to be accurate. Here is my own Nerf Longshot mod:

Hi, Rudi, You've done an outstanding job putting together your scout costume, and it's clear you have an eye towards high quality work. I commend you. Overall, I think you have a costume that is almost Lancer ready, but there are a few minor things that you may want to correct and resubmit photos of for us to re-examine. The first of those being the flightsuit collar, which should be mandarin style (or with the collar standing up), with a closure across the front, and not open with a lapel like your photos are showing. The vest looks good, but the Velcro closure in the back seems to stand out to me. I'm not sure how to recommend getting that fixed. Maybe there is a way it can be hidden better. Denise, do you have any thoughts? Do all vests have that rear closure and I am only now just noticing it? Finally, the metal clips you have connecting your belt canister box are also quite noticeable and, thus, inaccurate. I understand that getting the canister box to attach to the belt is a tricky process and oftentimes we have to find creative ways of making it work, but when it comes to the Lancer standards, we cannot approve connection methods that are visible. If you can find a way to hide those clips, you should be okay.

The Lancers will still be here when you're done, and will welcome you with open arms once you're ready. We're all glad to see the dedication you have in your craft.

No worries, Jennie. Go ahead and send the pics so we can verify it, but we will review them as if you have them on the correct arms. Thanks!

Hi, Jennie, Do you have a photo of your t-bits that shows more of your upper torso? The reason I ask is because I need to verify that you have the large square (lower portion) of the t-bit oriented in the right direction and it's hard to tell from the small cropped photo. Thanks.

Biker scout armor does not normally meet to butt up end-to-end like that, unless you are very, very skinny. Even then, it's a short elastic or web strap connection. Check out all of the reference shots and see for yourself.

Everything you need to know about what is, and what is not considered for Lancer status can be found HERE. For efficiency's sake, I will re-post the relevant section:

Michael- Before posting a thread like this, please take the time to do your own research by reading the other threads in this board. If you did that, you would know who to ask. Don't expect people to happily hand information to you on a platter when the information you need is right in front of you.

Looks good, Steve. Great choice!

I just wanted to point out here that I think the main reason why I think racing suits are superior to flight suits is because flight suits are intentionally made baggy to accommodate pilot's g-suits and other undergarments. Even if you get one that is correctly sized for you, they are put together a little baggy. Racing suits are meant to fit closer to the body to assist in reducing drag (for motorcycle suits) and to protect car drivers. They should not be form fitting, but they should not look like you are wearing a tent on you either. One of the biggest detractions of flight suits-- again, IMO-- are that they bunch up at the joints and tend to make some look sloppy.

Tim, is there anything you can do about how high your backplate is riding above your cummerbund? Both the front and back plates should overlap the cummerbund with no black gaps showing.

It's not a bad looking suit, and I think that racing suits always look better than flight suits (because that's what was worn on-screen, and they tend to be less baggy than flight suits). However, I have only two minor things to nitpick on this particular racing suit. First are the epaulets, which can be removed so is not a major drawback. The second is what is written in the description of the suit, that it has a slight semi-gloss sheen to it, which I think won't look right underneath armor. Otherwise, I like the way it looks, and it has the sealing mandarin collar which is more important to the overall look of the suit than most people would would think. Nice find.

Thanks for addressing the issues that needed adjustment, Marcel, and for doing it with such a good attitude. As a short reminder to any future applicants reading this thread, the Lancer review committee is well aware of how important the Lancer standards are to this detachment. The words "Lancer standards" are now being used by other (non-Pathfinders) as an example of high accuracy tiers of costuming on other detachment boards. Not only have we been complemented on our strict list of requirements, but also for our attention to detail. We encourage all Pathfinders to make Lancer their very own set of goals, but we will never, ever make it mandatory.

Thanks for posting your request, Marcel. The review committee, made up of the detachment leader (Army Scout), the detachment armorer (Bluecyclone) and the assistant detachment leader (myself) will examine your photos carefully to determine if you have met the requirements for Lancer status. Please note that you may be asked to provide more photographs showing details we would like to see more closely.

Nothing has been set in stone, so I would hold off on doing anything permanent quite yet. Not at least until the Legion Council announces the passing of the CRL's and all of the pending new designation ID's.

To post an image, the easiest way is to click the little icon of the picture at the top of the text entry window. It's between the icon with a "+" sign and the smiley icon. A little window will pop up and you just copy and paste the URL of each individual image into that window, and click OK. That'll drop a link in your text window.

I don't think we're going to nitpick by counting rivets. I mean, if the costume has so many rivets it looks like the armored side of a WWI tank, I think that would disqualify it, but people need to build their armor in a way that works for them, yet they also need to make it look good. That said, we would encourage everyone aspiring to shoot for Lancer status to minimize or at least conceal the use of rivets where possible.

JC Whitney gloves do qualify, provided the necessary modifications are done to them. Unmodified, they are not accepted.

Congratulations once again, Jim.

Thanks, Jim! The review panel will look it over and we'll be in touch with you.

I didn't want to respond first to this thread because I am definitely not an authority on the BARC troopers, but one of the big issues that the BARC crew has been wrestling with is the camo pattern. Basically, no current real-world camo pattern looks close to what the BARC's wear so any solution would involve one of two things: 1. Dyeing or otherwise altering an existing camoflauge pattern to make it come close. - PROS: Cheaper, better availablity to the masses, a DIY job. - CONS: Accuracy and uniformity suffers, you would have a disparity of aesthetic look between troopers (i.e. no two will look alike). 2. Creating a new, original camoflauge pattern from scratch. - PROS: Uniformity, accuracy is improved. - CONS: Expensive to R&D, then the difficulties in manufacturing a custom textile are manifested. Cost becomes prohibitive.