Need some advice (pricing, fitting etc)

[CaptDunn]

I've asked around on a few detachment forums to try and pin down what my first costumes should be. I'm down to 3 maybe 4 costumes those being ANH stormtrooper, shoretrooper captain, staff officer or maybe tie pilot (i don't think i found a screen accurate one yet).

For pricing from what I've been able to find (cheapest in price range)

Screen accurate ANH TK kit $350

Shore trooper kit $400 - $500

Staff uniform bought in pieces I'm going to go with $270 - $300 total

For fitting I'm 5'3 or 5'4 male the ANH kit would require A LOT of work to fit me, The staff uniform can be fitted pretty easily.

How well could the shoretrooper be trimmed down to fit? It looks like a lot less hard armor than the TK Mostly being torso and arms. 

 

 

[Frank75139]

I’m not familiar with the shore trooper but I do have an ANH TK where did you get that price from? It’s way low something isn’t right.


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[CaptDunn]

10 minutes ago, Frank75139 said:

I’m not familiar with the shore trooper but I do have an ANH TK where did you get that price from? It’s way low something isn’t right.


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Found a seller online who does raw 3d prints of the whole kit. The guy acknowledged that the same kits can sell for 1k plus over DMs. His reviews seem pretty good including someone who bought specifically for the 501st.

I thought it was weird to because it seems to cheap considering all the TKs I've seen go anywhere between $500-1k plus.

[Frank75139]

Found a seller online who does raw 3d prints of the whole kit. The guy acknowledged that the same kits can sell for 1k plus over DMs. His reviews seem pretty good including someone who bought specifically for the 501st.
I thought it was weird to because it seems to cheap considering all the TKs I've seen go anywhere between $500-1k plus.

That’s recasting it’s frowned upon on FISD. Just beware of what you buy I’ve seen plenty of people buy things with great reviews to find out it’s not that great.


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[CaptDunn]

3 minutes ago, Frank75139 said:

 

That’s recasting it’s frowned upon on FISD. Just beware of what you buy I’ve seen plenty of people buy things with great reviews to find out it’s not that great.


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Mind if i ask why its frowned upon? I'm new to cosplay in general along with the 501st.

I'm not the biggest TK fan its why i considered it at the low price i prefer the look of black or weathered armor vs white.

[Stroker]

1 minute ago, CaptDunn said:

Mind if i ask why its frowned upon? I'm new to cosplay in general along with the 501st.

I'm not the biggest TK fan its why i considered it at the low price i prefer the look of black or weathered armor vs white.

It's stealing another person work and selling it as they're own. 

[CaptDunn]

7 minutes ago, Stroker said:

It's stealing another person work and selling it as they're own. 

Oh..Totally not what i thought it was, Thought it had something to do with using a weaker material or something along those lines. 

[Frank75139]

Mind if i ask why its frowned upon? I'm new to cosplay in general along with the 501st.
I'm not the biggest TK fan its why i considered it at the low price i prefer the look of black or weathered armor vs white.

It’s common where they use someone else’s measurements and manufacture armor with them. Basically some people don’t put the work in to do the research they just buy another makers armor and use those measurements making the armor calling it their own. It’s frowned upon because the people who are putting the work in to do it right are losing money because someone else is stealing their work and now selling it for less. It’s pretty much like anything in this world, someone makes it and everyone copies it trying to sell it for less money. Now I don’t know who the seller is so I can’t be 100% sure but if you’ve been on FISD and asked about the seller they’ll tell you what the deal is with them. I could be completely wrong but every set of armor I’ve seen at that price as either been unapprovable, or needed heavy modification to be approved. If you want my opinion for what it’s worth if your not a TK fan maybe pass on it. I picked it because it’s easily recognized and everyone loves them. After about two troops I was annoyed with it. It’s a pain in the butt getting on, you can’t sit, it’s hard to walk sometimes and the helmet is impossible to see or hear anything below or next to you, and that’s where most of the kids are right under you out of view. I still use my TK but I switched to a biker scout which I use more often, much more mobile and the helmet has better vision. Usually an officer costume would be the easiest and cheapest entry into the legion (other then a Jawa, I think) and some of the uniforms can have a dual purpose which you can turn into multiple different officer ranks or something like a tie fighter. All in for a TK which would be buying a decent set of armor, boots, gloves, under suit, and all the glue and strapping material you should be looking at about $1500.


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[CaptDunn]

7 minutes ago, Frank75139 said:

 

 

It’s common where they use someone else’s measurements and manufacture armor with them. Basically some people don’t put the work in to do the research they just buy another makers armor and use those measurements making the armor calling it their own. It’s frowned upon because the people who are putting the work in to do it right are losing money because someone else is stealing their work and now selling it for less. It’s pretty much like anything in this world, someone makes it and everyone copies it trying to sell it for less money. Now I don’t know who the seller is so I can’t be 100% sure but if you’ve been on FISD and asked about the seller they’ll tell you what the deal is with them. I could be completely wrong but every set of armor I’ve seen at that price as either been unapprovable, or needed heavy modification to be approved. If you want my opinion for what it’s worth if your not a TK fan maybe pass on it. I picked it because it’s easily recognized and everyone loves them. After about two troops I was annoyed with it. It’s a pain in the butt getting on, you can’t sit, it’s hard to walk sometimes and the helmet is impossible to see or hear anything below or next to you, and that’s where most of the kids are right under you out of view. I still use my TK but I switched to a biker scout which I use more often, much more mobile and the helmet has better vision. Usually an officer costume would be the easiest and cheapest entry into the legion (other then a Jawa, I think) and some of the uniforms can have a dual purpose which you can turn into multiple different officer ranks or something like a tie fighter. All in for a TK which would be buying a decent set of armor, boots, gloves, under suit, and all the glue and strapping material you should be looking at about $1500.


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Thanks I'll make sure to keep an eye out. If i did the uniform it would be the black staff uniform which seems to have a lot of legion aprovable customizability.

I generally like the new trooper design from R1 like shoretroopers, hovertank pilot, AT-ACT pilot. Looks a lot more maneuverable then other trooper armors i also like the E22 the shoretroopers get to use.

But about that TK

Its an etsy seller MakerofsoftthingsStudio 

I'd give you the link but I'm not sure how to do that through the app. They have 2 things on their shop both TK armor.

[Frank75139]

I’m well aware. Pretty sure he is still on the known recaster list. And yes usually with recasters it’s a cheaper material. If your interested in a TK head over to FISD www.whitearmor.net and ask around. They have a section for people getting started which will help guide you in the right direction. Basically most of the armor on eBay and Etsy is going to be questionable (not all but most of it)


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[Dart]

You mentioned Tie pilot in your list. It's a fairly easy to wear costume as the black jumpsuit is good for several other costumes. For example, if you got the black jumpsuit, a black cap, jackboots and a belt with the appropriate imperial buckle, you could get an IC - Bridge Crew. Throw some Tie pilot gloves on, add a comm pad and some code cylinders, and you've got a TI - Tie Pilot - Reserve. Then it's just a matter of getting the armour to do a full TI - Tie Pilot. OR, you could use the same jumpsuit and do a gunner, but the visibility is not so great.

Point is, if you're just joining and you're new to the costuming thing, a soft costume (like an officer or crewman) is a great way to get in and see if you like it without dropping too much money.

[TwistedZen]

On 11/18/2019 at 11:09 AM, Dart said:

You mentioned Tie pilot in your list. It's a fairly easy to wear costume as the black jumpsuit is good for several other costumes. For example, if you got the black jumpsuit, a black cap, jackboots and a belt with the appropriate imperial buckle, you could get an IC - Bridge Crew. Throw some Tie pilot gloves on, add a comm pad and some code cylinders, and you've got a TI - Tie Pilot - Reserve. Then it's just a matter of getting the armour to do a full TI - Tie Pilot. OR, you could use the same jumpsuit and do a gunner, but the visibility is not so great.

Point is, if you're just joining and you're new to the costuming thing, a soft costume (like an officer or crewman) is a great way to get in and see if you like it without dropping too much money.

Bridge Crew is probably the cheapest one to make and a great starter costume.  You get to be in costume while also act as a handler, since you can actually move around well and your vision isn't obstructed.  It is a great way to check out and learn about the different armors first hand.  Warrant Officer with "cheap" boots would work as well if you wanted the officer look.  I am actually working on a few guides right now to include vendors, tips and tricks kind of thing. If you are interested shoot me a message and I will send you what I have.