Completely new to the costuming world

[SeanAviz]

Hey there Pathfinders and greetings from Malaysia!

I've turned 18 recently and it's been a long time dream of mine to join up with you guys and give back to the community in form of charity work/volunteering and at the same time sharing the love and passion of Star Wars! I figured since Covid-19 has me stuck at home I might as well finally start the road to the 501st! I've asked a couple of my friends who are in the 501st on how to get started and all of them point to the forums so here I am!

I've spent the last week reading the whitearmor.net forums on buyers and what not to do when choosing your armor sellers and what to look out for. I have no experience at all and no costuming skills what so ever, so I figured a ROTJ Biker Scout should be easy for beginners (plus they are my favorite variant of trooper as a child). I don't mind learning to sand, paint, trim and spending a long time making my armor as long as it is cost effective as the Malaysian Ringgit is x4 compared to 1 USD and costs can skyrocket especially with overseas shipping and all of that.

So far I'm feeling confident to buy my armor from a UK costume making business but those are priced at 6,000 Ringgit for a complete commission but I'm super new to this entire community and most likely there are better prices out there but I've got no clue where to look or where to start! I'm also very sorry if this question has been asked a million times, I'm horrible at navigating forums as this too is my first time with forums!

[Retrofire]

Hi Sean and welcome to the Pathfinders! I think it’s great you spent some time over with the Stormtroopers learning about some of the basics in starting this hobby. We have whole forum sections dedicated to that very same thing so you can learn everything about our costumes. Most people starting are don’t have any experience and I was one of them. I learned everything though the fantastic people here and sharpened my skills over my years in the Legion. You are in good company.

If you already haven’t I would like to encourage you to reach out to your local Garrison there in Malaysia which would be the Malaysia Garrison here: https://www.my501st.com/ There you can find additional resources and members that are close to you for help and resources should you need it. They are also the Garrison that you will be submitting for approval with so it’s good to get to know your future fellow troopers.

Some good places here to start are:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/forum/81-getting-started/
and
http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/forum/91-biker-scout-hq/

These two forums are a good jumping off place to learn about the various pieces and parts that make up this costume. From there you can read the various forums that break down the costume and even give you tips on how to build. Much of this costume is made up of soft armor so if you can sew you can make most of it yourself and save your funds for a good set of hard armor. 

As always we are here to help you be successful so don’t let all this overwhelm you. We have an amazing staff who are available to answer questions and provide pointers so if you got questions post them up. We want you to be successful!

[BikerScout007]

Welcome to the Pathfinders forum!

[Hask]

Welcome Sean

[Aradun]

Hey Sean,

I’d recommend checking out the following topics on the forum.

For armor vendors, there’s are great comparison thread where you might be able to find a vendor with a more reasonable price point for your budget:


http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17774-the-ultimate-armor-comparison-thread/

If you want to save some money, I also recommend investing in a sewing machine and trying to tackle making your own soft parts. There’s some great tutorials on how and the Pathfinders here are super helpful with questions and how-to’s.

Boot Tutorial:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19708-biker-scout-boots-tutorial/

Undersuit Mods:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19259-undersuit-mods/

Soft Parts Best Practices:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/19967-soft-parts-best-practices/

Flak Vest Tutorial:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/12485-build-your-own-vest-wpictures/

If you’ve never used a sewing machine before then you’re in great company as most Pathfinders never touched a sewing machine prior to getting into this hobby. It’s a lot easier than you think and again, everyone here is ready to help, encourage, and guide you as you build your ROTJ scout.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SeanAviz]

Thank you guys so much for this help, I don't know what to say!

I never thought I would get this warm welcome and guidance whether it is helpful links or ways to do things or even what my next step is!

I spoke to the Malaysian Garrison and they have been nothing but super nice and helpful with getting my Scout together and where to buy it, once again thank you guys so much I can't thank you enough!

[Retrofire]

1 hour ago, SeanAviz said:

Thank you guys so much for this help, I don't know what to say!

I never thought I would get this warm welcome and guidance whether it is helpful links or ways to do things or even what my next step is!

I spoke to the Malaysian Garrison and they have been nothing but super nice and helpful with getting my Scout together and where to buy it, once again thank you guys so much I can't thank you enough!

That’s great news Sean! When you get ready to start to build I would recommend starting a build thread here: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/forum/96-biker-scout-wip/ You can ask questions, post pictures, and keep a record of your build. We have a great team of armourers who will be happy to answer any questions you might have regarding becoming a scout. 

Make sure you keep the Costume Requirements Listing (CRL) handy as that’s what your Garrison will be judging you against: You can find that here: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TB_Scout_trooper

This detachment is focused on helping those that want to build and encouraging them along it’s all part of what we do. As I mentioned in my earlier post we want you to be successful in all you do so let us know if we can be of help in any way.