Hi everyone! My first step into a larger world starts with YOU!

[Starrfox1]

Hello all,

My name is James and I've lived in Portland OR for about 10 years now. I've always been interested in the 501st - especially considering my lifelong obsession with everything Star Wars.

I never thought that I'd have an opportunity to troop due to financial constraints but this year I finally got my head above water and I'm finally ready to start bringing smiles to people's faces. I just got back from Sakuracon 2015 and was happy to see a few of you guys there! 2 Tie pilots, one male, one female - I can post pics later

Anywho, now that you folks have granted me access to the forums, it's time to start putting some armor together. I've always loved the ANH stunt Stormtrooper - there seem to be tons of great sets of armor for the version and a lot of Oregon/Washington ANH stunts. Budget will no longer be an issue and I want to go for all of the bells and whistles. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the right way and I hold myself to a high standard of attention to detail in everything that I do. Definitely want to outfit the helmet with climate control and a great mic/speaker system; I've also been thinking about getting a DLT-19 as an alternate to the standard E-11.

From here, I was wondering if anyone in the Portland area would be open to meeting and discussing the armor build. I know that there are plenty of opportunities to get involved as a spotter so if that's my best bet for meeting a few of you guys, I'm definitely not opposed to involving myself in that respect. However, I'm also looking to make some Star Wars fan friends (I am probably the only person in my circle of friends with the level of SW obsession I have and I'm starting to feel a bit lonely) so if there are any of you guys in the Portland/South Washington areas that want to make some friends and hang out, send me a PM - I promise, I don't bite

Other than that, I guess the last thing I would be curious about is what armor kits you can recommend to me. I'm a pretty thin/skinny guy - 5'11" and 135 lbs - and I know that some armor types are more suited for different body types... the main thing that I'm concerned about is armor durability and longevity. I definitely don't want a thin, cheaply made set of armor and like I said, I want to go balls-to-the-wall with this and get the highest level of quality possible. I have absolutely zero experience with costume making but I don't want that to stop me from being able to make a killer set of armor that I can cherish forever.

Thank you so much for accepting me to the forum, what you guys do is frankly incredible and I can't wait to see where this journey takes me!

Best,

James

[Lidocaine]

Hi James, and welcome! If you're a Star Wars fan there might be one or two of us here also.

Sounds like you've done a little bit of research already, but if you haven't yet your best bet for getting all things Stormtrooper would be go to sign up at the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum

There's massive amounts of info to sift through there, but there's also some great insight into what armor could be the best for you, etc. Follow some of the build threads for your armor type and also check out the recent expert infantry badge and centurion applications for insight on how to get your armor into that top tier look you're after!

As a relatively new person I really got a lot of great info there, and we're always willing to answer questions too!

Personally, I went with the RS Props armor, and once I slimmed down to fit into it correctly I've been super happy with it. I'm not sure on their wait times for kits, but a fully assembled kit was around 6 months. They've been pretty crazy busy getting ready for celebration so communication might be spotty in the next couple of weeks. Also, they're probably the most expensive option since they're based out of the UK, so you're paying extra for shipping and the US dollar vs. the pound isn't super great. On the flip side, they're one of the few kits that have direct lineage from screen used armor    They have options for ABS and PVC plastic too.

Anyway, that's just my rather new kid on the block opinion, do your research on FISD and there's kits to fit all sizes and most budgets.

Always excited to have more TK's in works!

[RainTrooper]

Welcome James! I was once like you. The lone Star Wars nerd amongst friends who just didn't get it.  You've found the right place!  As far as TK armor, Luke's got it right. If money is no object and you're looking for the best of the best, go with a set a RS or TM armor for an ANH or ESB trooper. If you want to go ROTJ, look for CFO armor on FISD.  Oh, and we speak in acronyms a lot. You'll learn 'em quick.    Head over to whitearmor.net and start studying! Look at the ANH stunt build threads and Expert Infantry request threads. But first read up on the 'Getting Started' section of the boards. Good luck, have fun, and ask tons of questions!

[stevo502]

Welcome James! If you're free this weekend, there will be a crew of us down at Cherry City Comic Con in Salem Saturday and Sunday, it's a great little (but growing) con and would be a good opportunity to meet some folks, see some different costumes, and hang out a bit and talk Star Wars.

Also be sure to look at our spotter check-in forum board for other opportunities to help out and meet people. As far as getting started with armor, I can't add anything to what Luke or Jason already posted, but you're in good hands here, we've got a lot of new folks with great build experience.

Looking forward to another Stormtrooper in the ranks! We're growing like crazy!

[MetalJedi]

Hi James,

Welcome to the forums!

You have already received some great advice from your friendly neighborhood stormtroopers.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

[TD-8821]

hello and welcome

[Rat]

Welcome and yeah the fisd boards are invaluable. I've been poking through there for the better partcof two months and still barely scratched it.