I've been wanting to join the 501st for years and I'm finally beginning to seriously explore what kind of a commitment this would be. I'm 20 years old and I'm going to college at the moment, so money and time are a bit short, but I am willing to begin the process of building my costume as a sort of side hobby, even if it takes a really long time. (I'm pretty set on the shoretrooper btw).
The only thing I still lack is information. I would love it if somebody could give me some pointers on the wisest way to proceed. I might have access to a 3d printer at my university, so I could print armor pieces, but I'm not sure if that would be the most cost effective approach, as I'm not sure if it would be better to make most of the costume myself or order most of it online.
In short, I just need to get started and I don't know how.
