New Member - Introduction

[Jeffnmar]

Evening all , new member here from Molalla, OR and looking at doing my first TK build. So far this site  and FISD has been extremely helpful on helping answer my newbie questions ( and a few YouTube videos) 

With our  recent trip to disneyworld and a quick visit to  black spire outpost  meeting a few roaming stormtroopers , well... Enough said , I got the bug!

Just starting out on my research and there seems to be several options , I have some emails out to ATA and Authentic Props on costs, and also looked at RSpropmasters as an alternative. Any feedback on other potential avenues to acquire a build are welcome, like I said, still doing my research. Does this garrison have a preference or anyone in particular they recommend?

I am not opposed to purchasing a more complete outfit with less DIY ( I am not that handy) and that  might provided me the opportunity to start "trooping" sooner than later, but not opposed to any DIY if build parties are available and if the consensus that is the way to go , want to get it right  first time.

Frame wise I am 5'9" and about 205 ( rocking the dad bod .. LOL) , so I am not sure if there are some kits better than others for that?

Thanks again in advance for any answers and look forward to posting more in the near future, appreciate what this forum ( and group) have to offer!

- Jeff

[carpe mindiem]

Welcome, Jeff! We've got lots of TK resources around here who I'm sure will chime in soon with ideas and advice.

[nukem25rs]

welcome!

ATA makes great kits that should fit you well.
I have AP and the his buckets tend to run on the slightly smaller side.  i'm 5' 11" and was 195 when i built my kit and everything fits well. Mark at AP is great to deal with and is easy to get replacement parts from when needed.
when you are looking at the builds online it looks overwhelming but once you start into it and a get advice or help along the way with cutting and sizing it gets a lot easier to build( you get that first piece out of the way and it all just clicks!)
another great piece of advice that i wish i personally did was be a spotter for an event first. you get the opportunity to see and help with what we do first hand and we are always open to showing you the armor so you can get a feel for how its built and setup... I feel like being able to see the kits in person is always better then the pictures online!!!

[CJ49er]

Welcome, Jeff!

[Obi Jon]

Welcome!

[Jeffnmar]

Thanks for all the well wishes ... Have been doing a ton more research and ended up pulling the trigger on AM ( armor masters) TK outfit. I have talked to Dave from AM quite a bit and he has certainly been helpful answering all my FNG questions

Part of my reason for going with AM is lead time , sizing, and everything included in his kits to help me reach centurion quicker. Dave is also very accessible  by phone or email to help solve any issues, customer service is AWESOME.

Let me know your thoughts or opinions, and if anyone has used one of his kits recently would love to hear your feedback!

I realize this is a fan sculpt and not a mold of anything original , but a ton of troopers on FISD seem to be  happy with their builds..

[MissyThing]

Welcome!  Can't wait to see you out there trooping! 

[Lidocaine]

Up until recently (Anovos put out an "official" kit) everything has been a fan sculpt so a majority of 501st Stormtroopers are those, so no issue there.

Sounds like you've been getting great customer service from AM, and he's a known vendor on FISD with lots of positive feedback, so makes sense to me to pull the trigger!

Best of luck and keep us updated! In the meantime, totally check out "spotting" or "handling" for us sometime, we can always use an extra pair of hands and you can check out complete armor too.