An eager civilian

[paolodmi]

Hello there,

I'd like to present myself as Paolo Di Michele, currently a civilian constituent of the Galactic Empire residing in Toronto, CA. In all seriousness it's great to be here; I'm a design graduate hailing from York University and it's always been a bucket list item to join the Legion. I'm in the VERY early stages of contacting my GML over at my local Canadian Garrison. I'm hoping to make some armor decisions and get started as soon as I do some more research. Anyone willing to mentor or help me get started would be most appreciated, I tend to take a more personable approach.

 

I am everso eager to join the army of Star Wars fans internationally celebrating the craft and bring glory to our Galactic Empire. Right now I'm not completely sure what I should be doing or where I should be looking, so far I've been reading through this forum and getting familiar with the UX/UI. I'm having trouble deciding between Stormtrooper armors (ANH, ROTJ, ESB) and distinguishing the pro's and con's between "Hero" and "Stunt" armor. Does anyone have any options? Suggestions? IT IS PROBABLY WORTH MENTIONING I AM 6' 2" (not a little short for a Stormtrooper) I'm not sure if this will damper my efforts or aid my progress?

 

Thank you in advance y'all - hail the Galactic Empire (check out some cute baby photos of me meeting the Legion for the first time versus my last encounter at Fan Expo 2022

 

Signing off for now,

P

Edited July 5, 2023 by paolodmi

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Welcome to the FISD, Paolo!  As you have probably realized, there is a LOT of research and many decisions to make.  The differences between Stunt and Hero are pretty minimal, but even with your height either are fine (Mark Hamill was only 5' 9" but Harrison Ford was 6' 1").

 

The most important thing after choosing your costume is deciding which armorer to go with.  I would avoid ebay or the like (see this link) and stick with one of our "vetted" (tried and true) vendors which you can find here. It

 

Lastly, know that we are here to help every step of the way on your journey to become a white plastic spaceman, lol.  Always feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and we look forward to answering them!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Hello and welcome aboard, good luck with the research

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Hi Paolo,

 

Welcome to the FISD. I am only an hour away from you and am more than happy to help with anything you need.  
‘Looking forward to trooping with you in the future. 

[Nairy[Staff]]

Hello Paolo! Welcome to the FISD and congratulations on taking your first steps towards becoming a Stormtrooper! 

When I was at your stage early last year, I looked everywhere, on YouTube and on this forum (mainly Expert Infantry and Centurion threads) to see which makers I thought looked the part! With your height, I don't see an issue with pretty much any maker, but a fellow Garrison member that is a little taller, he went with TM (Troopermaster on Facebook) as he can offer taller legs if that is something you're a little worried about!

 

What makers people choose tend to vary mostly based on the "width" of a person from what I've seen so far, and in the "width" department most if not all the vetted vendors offers good solutions on this, maybe except from the ROTJ armor makers as the armor itself isn't really made with shims in mind, but I'm sure that this isn't any issue for you!

 

As for the Hero and Stunt, it is of course based off of your own personal preference! When I ordered my kit from RS Prop Masters I couldn't decide on which one I wanted. I loved the Stunt but in my mind the Hero had etched into my memory as what the Stormtrooper should look like, since when I was a little tiny boy - I looked through (and pretended to read) the book "Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary" a whole lot!
 

 

Since the difference between the Hero and the Stunt is simply just the helmet and the belt, I decided to spend a little extra to get the Stunt too (I have yet to troop in it), it just felt awesome to be able to have the same helmet as most people wear, if I ever wanted to! If you are into accessories, the Stunt and Hero have different accessories available to them and that could also influence your decision!

 

Glory to the Empire!

[FN1313[TK]]

Hey there Paolo,

Yeah there’s lots of information here. My recommendation is determine which version/costume you will like the most. Most troopers tend to go ANH Stunt because it’s the most iconic look of the stormtrooper, but there still are many who have affinities to R1, ESB and RotJ. But if you choose based on what you like most, you’ll be happiest with your end result.

Hero/Stunt troopers with ANH don’t have a lot of differences, but they exist, so definitely worth understanding them as you make your choice.

 

Look forward to your build and progress.

[paolodmi]

Welcome to the FISD, Paolo!  As you have probably realized, there is a LOT of research and many decisions to make.  The differences between Stunt and Hero are pretty minimal, but even with your height either are fine (Mark Hamill was only 5' 9" but Harrison Ford was 6' 1").
 
The most important thing after choosing your costume is deciding which armorer to go with.  I would avoid ebay or the like (see this link) and stick with one of our "vetted" (tried and true) vendors which you can find here. It
 
Lastly, know that we are here to help every step of the way on your journey to become a white plastic spaceman, lol.  Always feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and we look forward to answering them!

JustJoseph, thank you so much for your support and guidance! I feel overwhelmingly affirmed and assured knowing you folks, and the community, are (is) this supportive!

After some debate and research I’m thinking of ambitiously going in the direction of a standard ANH stunt-variant armour; a genuine classic we all grew up with, seems to be the most icon choice. I know it will be abit of work (and I’ll ask the other replies to my thread) but do you feel this is a good choice (both in terms of being the most iconic/ popular choice and recognizable iteration of a “StarWars Stormtrooper”)?

I’m absolutely going to be taking everyone’s suggestion to go with one of our vetted makers, I’m wondering if you yourself had a preference of who to go with based off of your experience? Price at this point in time is not a huge concern as I’m moreso getting quotes, and going for quality of costume. I’m a big collector and I’m hoping to make this suit everything baby Paolo has dreamt of!

Thank you again for your time and support, I know this is strictly voluntary and I appreciate this wholeheartedly.

Signing off for now,
P



APOLOGIES ON THE DUPLICATED POST, IF POSSIBLE COULD A MOD DELETE THIS? THANK YOU

[paolodmi]

[mention]justjoseph63 [/mention] [mention]gmrhodes13 [/mention] [mention]Doggydoc [/mention] [mention]Nairy [/mention] [mention]FN1313 [/mention]


Thank you all so much for your support and guidance! I feel overwhelmingly affirmed and assured knowing you folks, and the community, are (is) this supportive!

After some debate and research I’m thinking of ambitiously going in the direction of a standard ANH stunt-variant armour; a genuine classic we all grew up with, seems to be the most icon choice. I know it will be abit of work (and I’ll tag all the replies to my thread) but do you feel this is a good choice (both in terms of being the most iconic/ popular choice and recognizable iteration of a “StarWars Stormtrooper”)?

I’m absolutely going to be taking everyone’s suggestion to go with one of our vetted makers, I’m wondering if you yourself had a preference of who to go with based off of your experience? Price at this point in time is not a huge concern as I’m moreso getting quotes, and going for quality of costume. I’m a big collector and I’m hoping to make this suit everything baby Paolo has dreamt of!

Thank you all again for your time and support, I know this is strictly voluntary and I appreciate this wholeheartedly.

Signing off for now,
P



APOLOGIES ON THE DUPLICATED POST, IF POSSIBLE COULD A MOD DELETE THIS? THANK YOU

[paolodmi]

Hey there Paolo,

Yeah there’s lots of information here. My recommendation is determine which version/costume you will like the most. Most troopers tend to go ANH Stunt because it’s the most iconic look of the stormtrooper, but there still are many who have affinities to R1, ESB and RotJ. But if you choose based on what you like most, you’ll be happiest with your end result.

Hero/Stunt troopers with ANH don’t have a lot of differences, but they exist, so definitely worth understanding them as you make your choice.
 
Look forward to your build and progress.

Hello Paolo! Welcome to the FISD and congratulations on taking your first steps towards becoming a Stormtrooper! 
When I was at your stage early last year, I looked everywhere, on YouTube and on this forum (mainly Expert Infantry and Centurion threads) to see which makers I thought looked the part! With your height, I don't see an issue with pretty much any maker, but a fellow Garrison member that is a little taller, he went with TM (Troopermaster on Facebook) as he can offer taller legs if that is something you're a little worried about!
 
What makers people choose tend to vary mostly based on the "width" of a person from what I've seen so far, and in the "width" department most if not all the vetted vendors offers good solutions on this, maybe except from the ROTJ armor makers as the armor itself isn't really made with shims in mind, but I'm sure that this isn't any issue for you!
 
As for the Hero and Stunt, it is of course based off of your own personal preference! When I ordered my kit from RS Prop Masters I couldn't decide on which one I wanted. I loved the Stunt but in my mind the Hero had etched into my memory as what the Stormtrooper should look like, since when I was a little tiny boy - I looked through (and pretended to read) the book "Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary" a whole lot!
 
 
Since the difference between the Hero and the Stunt is simply just the helmet and the belt, I decided to spend a little extra to get the Stunt too (I have yet to troop in it), it just felt awesome to be able to have the same helmet as most people wear, if I ever wanted to! If you are into accessories, the Stunt and Hero have different accessories available to them and that could also influence your decision!
 
Glory to the Empire!

Hi Paolo,
 
Welcome to the FISD. I am only an hour away from you and am more than happy to help with anything you need.  
‘Looking forward to trooping with you in the future. 

Hello and welcome aboard, good luck with the research

Welcome to the FISD, Paolo!  As you have probably realized, there is a LOT of research and many decisions to make.  The differences between Stunt and Hero are pretty minimal, but even with your height either are fine (Mark Hamill was only 5' 9" but Harrison Ford was 6' 1").
 
The most important thing after choosing your costume is deciding which armorer to go with.  I would avoid ebay or the like (see this link) and stick with one of our "vetted" (tried and true) vendors which you can find here. It
 
Lastly, know that we are here to help every step of the way on your journey to become a white plastic spaceman, lol.  Always feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and we look forward to answering them!

APOLOGIES ABOUT THE MULTI-POST SPAM I’M STILL FIGURING OUT HOW THREADS HERE WORK

Thank you all so much for your support and guidance! I feel overwhelmingly affirmed and assured knowing you folks, and the community, are (is) this supportive!

After some debate and research I'm thinking of ambitiously going in the direction of a standard ANH stunt-variant armour; a genuine classic we all grew up with, seems to be the most icon choice. I know it will be abit of work (and I'll tag all the replies to my thread) but do you feel this is a good choice (both in terms of being the most iconic/ popular choice and recognizable iteration of a "StarWars Stormtrooper")?

I'm absolutely going to be taking everyone's suggestion to go with one of our vetted makers, I'm wondering if you yourself had a preference of who to go with based off of your experience? Price at this point in time is not a huge concern as l'm moreso getting quotes, and going for quality of costume. I'm a big collector and I'm hoping to make this suit everything baby Paolo has dreamt of!

Thank you all again for your time and support, I know this is strictly voluntary and I appreciate this wholeheartedly.

Signing off for now,
P

[Sly11[Admin]]

Welcome to FISD Paolo, you are in for some great adventures joining both the Detachment and the 501st.

You are certainly in the right place to learn about Stormtroopers and we are all here to support you on this new journey.

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

9 hours ago, paolodmi said:

do you feel this is a good choice (both in terms of being the most iconic/ popular choice and recognizable iteration of a "StarWars Stormtrooper")?

Yes.  This is a great choice,  you won’t be disappointed. Being the most iconic variant of the bunch, it makes it a bit easier to find good references for I found.

 

9 hours ago, paolodmi said:

I'm wondering if you yourself had a preference of who to go with based off of your experience?

I went with Authentic Props.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  I am a bit of a “Husky trooper”, so Mark’s kit allows for a bigger mid section.  With your height, I would double check to make sure it will work for you.  
The other huge factor is that he is in Quebec, so shipping was very simple for me living in southern Ontario. 
 

[Nairy[Staff]]

I went with RS, I've only had great experiences with them and their customer service is amazing. They produce the only armor out there with direct lineage to ANH if that is something you're into! Troopermaster have taken measurements from the same ANH armor so he produces a great kit too!

 

Some key people at RS are on vacation for a week starting tomorrow 2023-07-10 FYI, but RS and TM are the only makers I have personal/second hand experience with and they're all great kits!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Hi Paolo! I’m super late to the party, but as others have already said, welcome to FISD! You’re absolutely in the right place for all this shiny white armor related, and this is an excellent community that will support you along your journey! I myself took three years to finish my build, due to various life challenges, but all along the way I had Troopers helping and encouraging me.

It’s great that you’re going with an ANH stunt. Have you already decided on your armor maker? Apologies if I’ve missed a build thread of yours in which you mention that.

In case it can be of help to you, below is a link to a resource thread I initially compiled for my own reference while building.

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49412-all-in-one-tk-anh-stunt-index-of-resources-by-maskedvengeance/