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Pros and Cons of being a Biker Scout


Bacheek2007

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Hey All -

 

As I posted in my introduction the other day, I'm brand new to the world of the 501. I'm not dead set on a particular trooper to build as of yet and am still weighing my options. What I'm looking for are some pros and cons of being a Biker Scout verses a normal Stormtrooper, Sandtrooper, TIE Pilot, etc (I'm looking at Original Trilogy troopers, obviously). I'm not looking for "Be a Scout because we're the coolest branch of the Imperial Forces" (however true that may be). I'm looking for things like build complexity, cost, trooping hardships, civilian reactions to Scouts, armor comfort, etc.

 

I appreciate any help you guys could throw my way so that I can make the best decision for myself.

 

(If this has already been discussed, please link me to the thread. I looked for one but didn't see anything).

 

Many thanks! - Brock

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Welcome Brock,

 

One of the best thing about wearing the Scout Trooper costume is when everyone is hot & sweaty from a troop & they have to remove their helmet we can just lift up our face plate to get air. But the most important thing is during a long troop & all the shiney Stormtroopers are standing around we can SIT DOWN! :P

 

PROS- Ok seriously those are two good pros. But honestly you can make a Biker Scout in about a months time. SC is great on getting armor out. I paid & had my box of armor in hand 6 days later. If you know how to sew or know someone who does & complete set of Biker Scout soft parts can be made in a day. If everyone(my family) leaves me alone I can turn out 3-4 riding suits a day. Vest & bunds are a lil harder & I like to take my time so I do 1 a day. But actually take me about 4hrs each. boots if rushed can be made in about 3-4 days time. You can find the boot tutorial here under "Boots" The costume is really comfortable. Wanna say the longest I've been in costume is 5hrs straight. I've walked in 2 XMas parades with no issue. I personally have close to 20 costumes & I can say the Scout is my favorite right now. (Dream costume in the works right now. All parts ordered. RotJ Boba Fett by summer) No "Armor Hickies" can honestly say I've never been pinched in the wrong palce from wearing this costume. My wife wore her Sandtrooper for 6hrs at San Diego Comic Con & it looked like I beat her when she took it off. She had purple bruises in between her theighs, underarms, arms & neck. Its less hard armor & can fit in a smaller tub, which makes for easier tranportaion.

 

Cons -Some of the armor is a lil small. I bought my original costume 2nd hand & remade all the soft parts so Im not sure of the maker. But the chest plate is small, but the knees, biceps & forearms are big. (Im not the smallest trooper) I ordered a new set of SC armor couple months back & it had some smaller parts. But the main chest palte was apx 2" bigger than my old kit. So I will mix match my 2 kits into one & use the smaller parts for my wifes TB. There is also a Buyer Beware out right now on a certain helmet vendor. He has taken peoples money & not delivered. Read the info on vendors & you'll come across another vendor who may have bad pulls in recent times.

 

There is no one perfect costume. To each his own. Like I said I have lots of costumes, but don't wear some due to gaining weight or just retireing it. A question was raised here a while back asking why you wanted to be a Biker Scout. My answer palin & simple was "I don't fit in my TK anymore" :unsure: The Stomrtrooper "IS" Star Wars, but you go to any con & there a countless Stormtroopers walking around. Not as many Scout, so we tend to stand out. That oddball costume seems to get all the attention. So choose on what is your favorite charecter. Like I said Boba Fett has always been my dream costume. But it was always out of my price range. It's easy to drop $1000 a year on a costume. $3000 my wife tends to notice bills not getting paid. But luckily I recently received a large back pay check & I asked if I could finally have my Boba. Obviously I have the BEST WIFE IN THE WORLD cuz she said yes. :wub:

Whats your favorite charecter in the Star Wars Universe & make that costume. Because nothing feels better than dressing up as your favorite charecter & seeing all the faces light up.

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I have a TK (Stormtrooper), TI (Tie Fighter), and a custom mandolorian right now.

 

Joe nailed it. Stormtroopers are fun but they hurt and unless you have the perfect body/build, the armor migrates a lot and you'll never notice that your thigh armor is tilted funny until you see the pictures later. It's great because everyone knows what you are, but you are usually just another Stormtrooper in a group. If you love OT, you'll make a Stormtrooper at some point. Trust me.

 

Tie Fighter is my favorite right now (still building my TB). It's easy to wear because its a jumpsuit with a chest and back piece. The helmet is big and gets better air than the Stormtrooper helmet does. You can walk up and down stairs without a problem (Stormtroopers cant do stairs without bleeding). Stormtrooper helmets can be hard to see out of.

 

The con to the Tie Fighter is everyone thinks you are Darth Vader unless they are in their 40's and had the action figures. The other problem is Tie Fighters dont photograph well. Shiny black armor just blends together in photos. The Tie Fighter visibility is worse than the Stormtrooper. You cant look down at all. That being said - It's a rad costume and I've done a ton of troops in it.

 

The TB (Biker Scout) blends the best of both worlds. Its white armor on black so it photographs really well. You dont have thigh armor so you can walk around, sit down, and kneel down for kid photos without getting stuck. Biker Scouts have the most mobility and because the visor is so big, you can see everything.

 

Those are just my personal observations about wearing the different costumes during troops.

 

TK kits are easy to get and you can get them sized from normal to larger sized.

TI kits are harder to get and take longer. The flightsuit mostly dictates the size so no worries on sizes.

TB kits are easy to get and fit with elastic so you size them to your body.

 

In the end, build the costume you loved the most as a kid. You'll be the one who sees more pictures of yourself in the costume you pick than anyone else, so make it one you like to look at.

 

Good luck man

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You can see

 

You can sit

 

You can play Twister

 

16416_10204206371532279_3166008496595595136_n_zpsdea5f0b2.jpg

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All good thoughts, I would just like to add, fun factor is above all other costumes, and I too have built a lot ;),

Scouts are worldwide known for getting away with stuff, other troopers cannot.

So in short their cool as heck, movement is soooo good and fun fun fun, go for it Brock you won't be disappointed

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Pro: It keeps you warm in the cold months due to the layers

 

Con: You sweat your butt off in the summer months due to the layers

 

That's the only con I can think of. Everyone else has pretty much nailed it.

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Pro: It keeps you warm in the cold months due to the layers

 

Con: You sweat your butt off in the summer months due to the layers

 

That's the only con I can think of. Everyone else has pretty much nailed it.

 

That's true. I've seen a few of the scouts out here drop the vest in the summertime just to remove one layer.

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Aside fromt he practical aspects some facts....

 

Pros:

 

Regarding the old trilogy Scouts represent the final evolution of imperial costumes! The most innvoations and the most experience went into this one trooper.

Therefore it is also quite more practical and believable compared to the other two gears. It is the most detailed suit!

 

Scouts not only look the coolest - they actually have been the coolest in the show.

While stormtroopers had to rely on numbers, heavy weaponry and direct orders - scouts showed initative and cunning performance being a lot more independent and acting in teams of two or four troopers deep in hostile area.

They handle things on their own and don't hesitate to go into close combat with heroes.

 

From a design perspective they have the best balance of looks, contrasting colors and different layers.

They're not the dress men among troopers but they're damn sexy cowboys.

 

 

Negs:

 

People think of scout costumes as being simple and easy due to less armor involved.

Even on first look it's obvious it is the most complex trooper of the classic trilogy.

The armor is not the problem - it is the different fabrics, the different layers/elements and applications on the suit with all the tiny details and parts involved.

Just when you thought you managed well in getting a suit you realize there need to be proper boots, straps, duck cloth for pouches and suede for riding patches and the latter even properly applied on the suit not forgetting the strapping all along....

It is a tedious process - both sourcing for really good parts and assembling them to fit and look authentic.

 

It is a difficult task rarely acheived to have a replica gear assembled to look just like the screen original.

I can't tell by actual percentage but even the whole lancer gallery onloy shows rare numbers of costumes that I deem spot on as spot on one can be with the resources we have.

 

This is a lot easier these days with the stormtrooper or snow trooper and always has been since TE(PT etc)/TM and now RS.

The stormtrooper armor is actually the only one of original descent.

Scout just caught up with original descent regarding the helmet recently!

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

 

Looking for a cool costume with quite some benefits in comfort being in action/character and bad ass look? Go for it

 

Looking for a more accessable and user friendly costume for the first pitch? Go for white armor

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I'd have to agree with Philipp in regards to the assembly of it all.

 

It's deceptively complicated to get the right materials/patterns so you have a nice suit. There's no single place that sells everything (like a TK) so there's more on the costumer to figure out where to get or how to make the soft parts.

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  • 1 month later...

Even though I don't have my armor kit bought yet (I just barely made the deal to buy it a few days ago), I think there are a few pros and cons to it. The biggest pro and con being that it's a very recognizable suit. To be honest, when the general public thinks about Star Wars (and the Empire in general), the first thing that comes to mind is Darth Vader and the troops (TK's and Scouts both). For me, that's a good thing but I also want to keep my builds extremely unusual and challenging (which is why I'm going to be doing a Galactic Marine). For me, the Scout is going to be a good one to have because I can use it for troops when they're looking to do formation marching, etc.

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Mobility, visibility. Those are the two big ones for me. During colder events I can put on extra layers under the flight suit (can't get away with that on TK units). There are a greater number of poses for pictures you can do for a Scout. TK and TI it is mostly stand there or point a blaster. TB's can get much more involved.

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It's funny you mention that. I'm no coffee drinker (beer drinker, of course lol) but one of the comments I made about the armor is "how do you take a leak out of one of these things?" In scout armor, it's not too bad, but I imagine it's a lot tougher in a TK suit.

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1) I will actually be able to ride, though I will only do it for a quick video...

TK-Bike_zps99qqzc8x.jpg

 

2) It will be easier to walk around, although this one gets to break the rules a bit. You weren't supposed to take photos in the autograph line, but Karen made an exception for this, as she asked for the photo! The scout will be 1,000 degrees cooler than my wookiee...

Tweet-KarenGillan-Steve-Tarfful_zpsim4i2y0z.jpg

 

But really though, I am looking forward to working on my TB armor and getting this kit approved and rocking!

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