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All - The CRL for Imperial Army Trooper - Andor, is now live!! Congrats to all involved in the build! https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TX_imperial_army_trooper_andor Go forth and submit to your GMLs! Let's grow the rank of the army troopers! CRL will be updated once a costumer steps forward with a completed Armor+Helmet combo. And now ... onward to our next CRL! Security Trooper, anyone?

With my 100th post I'm reporting for duty! Get approved today without any issues? Very proud to be a part of the Spec Ops now. Many thanks to all who followed my way and helped with advice and tips. Special thanks to @Chaos for your great and always fast feedback, it was much appreciated. Thanks bro??! Now, looking forward for the first troop in it?

Hello, I'm Jon from Knightfall Garrison in Australia. Earlier this year, a mate lent me his spare printer as a way of luring me into the 3D print world. I guess it worked because I've been printing little bits of this psychopathic protocol droid ever since. It's been a learning curve for me - especially starting out with the borrowed Cocoon Create Model Maker (hint: don't). With no heating element and a print bed limited to 10x10x10 cm (approx 4x4x4"), it was often a choice between brims to maintain print adhesion, or no brims and get a piece to actually fit on the bed! A hair dryer became essential to heat the bed. I printed all of the small parts that would fit - namely hands, fingers, forearms and various greeblies - with high levels of success. Where I couldn't fit the pieces, I opted to slice them in software and print in pieces and then join them by melting with a soldering iron. At some point, I realised I needed more space so I opted for an Ender 3 that was on sale for a couple of bucks. Still not big enough to print a single piece of the torso but more than enough for everything else. Scaling/sizing has been a fine line here. I wanted it to be snug to maintain the lean lines of a protocol droid that are instantly recognisable, whilst also maintaining wearability. Many hours/days/months still to print...

I'm thinking it may read something like this: Damage and repair pattern; to achieve this, build your DT to Basic Level 1 Standards, once approved by your GML place the armor kit in one or multiple cardboard boxes, then mail it to yourself via your preferred ground/air package service. (Note: for a heavier damaged look I suggest the USPS, for less damage may I suggest FedEx or DHL) Once your kit arrives, make all repairs using gold tinted two part epoxy or bonds. Add gold paint as required. Level 2 will require a minimum of 18k gold leafing. 🤣😅 Sorry, I'm sitting on a plane heading to Hawaii and am bored! On a more serious note, it may take a while to even get this going due to so few available full 360 references.

Hi all I have been hearing about discussion about Imperial Army should have its own detachment and it has since branched off into several discussions. Some of the ideas discussed have been as follows: 1. Create new detachment 2. Create Detachment Squads 3. Move Imperial Army to IOC I know a lot of people don’t really bother with the main forums and I feel like there have been a lot of discussions outside of the detachment where the Imperial Army resides, so want to extend the opportunity to you here to discuss freely. We took the Imperial Army when no one else wanted to, and have been proud to watch it grow. The formation of a separate detachment has been discussed before but at the time no one had the appetite to follow through. Maybe now there is enough people, time and money to attempt a project of this size. It is likely that any of the options above will require a huge amount of work. The Detachment Squad idea would probably represent the least amount of work with the formation of a new detachment being the most. If there is enough appetite amongst Imperial Army members we can put it to a formal vote and give some weight to the larger discussion. But I really want to hear from the membership and will support you 100%

Hey, hoping I can add some insight here, I was lucky enough to wear the costume on set and been working with the IOC members looking to build this kit. The helmet had no rubber trim, there is a slight lip as you can see in the reference images but no rubber trim The chin strap was grey and most of us didn't have chin cups as they kept breaking (mine broke on the way to set so was removed, they were recasting and very brittle) The inner liner of the helmets was webbing like a construction helmet The goggles were cast in place and couldn't be moved Will help along the way where I can

I don't think expanding on an already unbalanced and wierd system for sorting costume like the Detachments is such a great idea. Sub units might be the way to go but could we not come up with a better name then using "Squads" agian, like for the third time (Garrisons have Squads and the JRS sub-groups are Squadrons) Call them Regiments, Corps, Battalions or Divisions, or any number of other great unit names or all of them depending on the Detachment they fall under. I love the 501st and Starwars and Cosplaying but I honeslty feel like we are stuck in an unwieldy system that those who came up with it could never have imagined it would be used as it is today. We could do so much better as a Fan organization then what we have.

Update: After over 9 months of waiting to make some progress and changing plans to another supplier for the armor, in this case to Jim Trippon, I received my main parts today (updated original posts for parts received today). Let the work begin! ? PS: Ignore the gym items, they do not belong to the kit! ?

So here it is! STILL found a couple things to fix, but that's all to make trooping easier. @IcyTrooper @nanotek I uploaded the Front and Back shots, take a look and let me know if you need me to retake them.

Hey all, First off, so excited to be here. I'm based in Phoenix (move #22 last May) and I've been off and on about doing this, and I've finally decided to take the leap. My limited experience is was with a Shadow Trooper Costume that I modded to heck, especially on the wiring side (my specialty), and I've flown as Krennic, cape and all (both of course not approved). I'm 6'4" and 250, so the Death Trooper seems like a perfect fit, and I've always been a fan since I first saw them. Most interesting fact though? @IcyTrooper and I were matched roommates our first year in college (to be pilots). Here's the current list: ArmoryShop Props - Ordered today 1/7/22 Armor Helmet Chest Rig Full Harness Belt Kit Pauldron Imperial Boots - Ordered today 1/7/22 - Arrived Trooper Glove Balaclava EZ Strap Tactical Padding UkswrathsSpeciality - Ordered today 1/7/22 - Arrived Helmet Hovi Lighting 5V Helmet Audio System with PTT Helmet Cooling System Trooperbay - Ordered today 1/7/22 - Arrived MP40x3 Ammo Pouch Crowprops - Ordered today 1/7/22 Short Boots (needed a size 14) Daman's Props - Ordered today 1/7/22 SE-14r Holster Undersuit - Ordered 2/12/22 - Shipped 2/7/22 Jim Tripon Here's what's left and any input would be super helpful: Blasters - It seems like the choice is between Imperial Arms and Premier Props, any thoughts? Imperial Arms SE-14r E-11D Premier Props SE-14r E-11D Can't wait to get everything and get involved! Michael PS: This was me way back when I lived in NYC in 2015, funnily enough I ran into a AT-ST on Halloween night

Instead of buying a magazine pouch I made my own. I wasn't very fond of the thin leather floppy pouches that I saw on the internet so I just purchased some 5 oz vegetable tanned leather on Amazon and made it out of that. Here is a little template with measurements that I drew up in Illustrator to share with everyone. Also, I did a video on how I made them so I will put the links for those below as well. I will save you a litte money on your build and it's kind of fun making it yourself.

Here's my Ghost Trooper build that I started right after I was approved as a Death Trooper and made it's first appearance at Celebration Chicago. The armor is 850 except for the upper legs/thighs which are Armory Shop along with the helmet. I'm planning two more non-TX Death Trooper builds for Celebration 2020. My Death Trooper armor is Armory Shop with an Anovos helmet.

We are now live: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:Imperial_security_trooper

All complete! What do you guys think?

The CRL has been finalized and submitted for LMO review to publish.

Just to update here we are still plugging away at the text on the CRL wiki and getting the images sorted. We'll continue posting instructions here again soon!

Hey fellow troopers, Some of you may know me, to others I'm probably a new face. Work, school and kids have kept me busy the last few years. Thankfully, the awesome members from the past and present command check in on me. Mark actually asked me to take a look and share my thoughts and some IA/Spec Ops history, as he knows in putting the finish on an Engineer to get back in the trooping game since my school is wrapping up this spring. This is going to be a bit long-winded, so the TL;DR of it is: You're entitled to your own opinion, only read this if you want a peek behind the 501st curtain. I was XO when the IA units were in development. I was over the development of the CRLs and the contact who "negotiated" directly with the LMOs for its approval. Sebastian was the main mover and shaker for the units as a whole, and Blackwatch spearheaded the Engineer like someone lit his rear plastoid plate on fire. There is quite a bit of work when it comes to NEW costume approval. There's a ton of back and forth discussion, not only about what its chosen, but also why things are chosen. Concessions are usually made on all sides until the base if what is acceptable is created and the first costume is approved. Talking about the units themselves: IA troopers and engineers aren't "just grunts" as I've heard them called in some posts. These costumes are of troopers who are sent into hostile territory on the frontier of the Empire in order to build fortifications to allow for an Imperial foothold on planets that were most likely not even in Alliance territory. The engineers most notably are a special force who understands how to build and maintain specialized equipment in unforgiving environments for this purpose. As for the costumes, as I understand it, the IA costumes were presented to one or two other detachments and turned down. Now this isn't always due detachments not liking the costume, often it's because when limited source material is viewed, detachments merely don't want to spend time and resources on "unapprovable" costumes. As I said above, approving a costume class is more than "Here's a picture. Looks good. Approved." Especially when sources deal with art that may change from panel to panel or artist to artist, and not just film captures and detailed computer models that stay more or less consistent. This isn't a downfall of other detachments, however we're lucky that it's a strength of Spec Ops. Spec Ops started with comics, RPG supplements and low resolution video game captures. We aren’t a detachment that says “You have your sources of what you want, now replicate it” we instead have always gone “If that’s what you want to build, let’s find what you need to get it approved.” That is the reason why Spec Ops has such a diverse and large roster. Here’s my thoughts: I’ve been slowly building an Engineer hopefully I’ll join their ranks soon. Do I feel they fit in Spec Ops? Absolutely! Do I feel they could fit in their own detachment? Absolutely! Do I think they’re a good fit for the IOC? No. The ACD would be a closer detachment costume-wise than IOC, but I still think it would be a mistake. Here the IA costumes have experienced staff supporting them, that will help support addition to the costume class. A staff that has helped build and has already navigated the pitfalls of IA costumes. Is there much more that they can accomplish as their own detachment? Not really. As for moving to another detachment, well it’s always more attractive to “welcome” other costumes when all the hard work is already completed. Welcoming and supporting a costume class are two different things. When your current Detachment has a huge success rate in getting a costume going, it doesn't make sense to jump. Also, jumping to another Det would probably destroy the option of breaking off as its own detachment later if that's what was desired. IA Prefix - That talk was had with the LMOs at the time of creation, but it was basically said that all the prefixes are actually making things too confusing, as there are getting to be too many in the Legion. However now that the roster has grown, it may be worth revisiting. If there is something more that IA members feel like they need, maybe bring it up to the Det Command staff and they can see how it can be accommodated? I really don’t think a sub-detachment is the answer, but maybe giving IA members duties over the corresponding CRLs, Merchandise, forum moderation, is really what is needed. My very long thoughts on the matter.

With Andor showing new army costumes, I have no doubt that an Imp. Army detachment perhaps could be the way forward, though I also like the idea of detachment squads - I am open to both and would like to offer my help if needed. Moving us to IOC ? no, it wouldn´t feel like the right place for the costumes. Already a member of IOC, so it has nothing to do with the detachment ?

Hello Troopers!!! I finally got the Imperial Army patch finalized with Endor Finders and they are in stock and ready to be purchased! I really appreciate Johns willingness to make this happen and for posting them to his store front and giving us these patches so, we can make our costumes ... thanks again John! anyways, click the link below to make a purchase for the patch ... Endor Finders Imperial Army Patch and if you would rather want to use the store front: once your at endor finders main page then look at the top left and select shop ---> scroll to the bottom of the page ... you should see the patches there go get 'em

Whoomp, there it is!? First complete suit up today! I must say, its a pain to put on all the stuff. 30 minutes in it and I was completely sweaty?With time, one becomes business-blind, but I hope that I have considered everything. Comments are much appreciated! Fire at will!

Just got word from my GMLs that my DT Version 2 has been approved. As soon as they update my profile I'm dropping my Specialist Level 2 application. So siked!

The Sith Trooper CRL is now live, please visit https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TX_Sith_Trooper This costume is also part of the Specialist Program! Thanks to @Spiel for being our model, he put in a lot of extra work to get the costume over the line. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the creation of this CRL, it is a costume that has a huge amount of detail and was easily the most difficult thing I have ever worked on. A few people worth mentioning here is @Spiel @gmrhodes13 @JoeShoe @JAFO @LVLAsian @Hask @Bear0902 Thanks to the CRL team as well @Blackwatch@IcyTrooper @rickyboyblue@RAIDER Also thanks to our LMO @ionicdesign for the last push over the line If there is anyone I missed from this list, please let me know and I will update it.

Hi there, this is a complex build and there are a few things you can consider before deciding on your armorer and soft parts. Unfortunately there is no "One size fits all" option and it is ultimately up to you, which means you will have to research, research, research! These suggestions below are not in any real order of significance, but they have an effect on each other. For example if you have no building experience, your costs will go up, but time and effort will go down. If you are building yourself, cost may go down but time will increase (your accuracy may also increase depending on your strategy). 1. Budget - Some kits are more expensive than others. Some are fibreglass, some are 3D printed, some are finished etc. Finished kits are going to be more expensive but less work on your part. If you're building yourself consider items like paint, fillers, fibreglass resin etc (Remember you will still have to add or alter strapping). Where you live will also play a part in how much this will cost you as postage can be super expensive! 2. Build Experience - Are you familiar with how to work with different materials? What is your level of skill? Are you prepared to make mistakes, learn and possibly take months to build? You may have to learn a lot of new skills to complete your build and this will take time to gain research and learn. If you don't know how to paint you will have to rely on others for touch-ups and repairs which can be expensive. 3. Space - depending on how you plan to tackle your build will determine your space requirements. For example if you plan on 3D printing your kit, you will need space to be able to sand, fill, prime and paint. 4. Accuracy - How accurate do you want to go? There are really only a couple of options that come close when it comes to the armor and literally zero options for the undersuit/gaskets. There are also very few accurate leather pouch/holster makers too. 5. Size - The size of your body may determine which armor you will go with. 3D printed offers the greatest flexibility in sizing, where as other kits you may have to make alterations to get it to fit and looking right when strapped. 6. Time - Do you have time constraints? Do you want it now or are prepared to wait? Again (and depending on choice of kit etc) this is a complicated build and no matter which avenue you take there will be some time constraints. Here is some helpful links to get you started: Link to the CRL: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TX_deathtrooper Various Resources on the forums: All the best with your build!

Star Wars: Empire - Dark Horse Comics:

Hello all, I've decided to tackle dye testing while we are fleshing out the CRL for the Aldhani Imperial Army Trooper. In this thread, I will specifically focus on Rit brand dyes. I may test other dyes in the future, but for now, this will solely focus on a few different dye color formulas from Rit. I will be using Rit's liquid dye rather than powder. The liquid is premixed and more concentrated than their powders. The formulas/recipes to achieve their massive variety of colors will be easier to measure out the liquid by volume rather than powders. If powders are your thing, that's fine. Here's Rit's statement regarding their liquid vs powder: "There is no difference in terms of color or dye performance. The liquid dye is already dissolved in water and more concentrated than the powder dye. So you only need to use half as much when using the liquid dye. Also, since the liquid dye is pre-mixed, this eliminates the need to dissolve the dye in hot water as you need to do with the powder dye before adding it to the dyebath. As a guideline, one bottle of liquid dye is equivalent to two boxes of powder dye." For example, Rit does not sell an Olive Green. You have to mix a specific amount of 3 different color dyes within a specific amount of water (along with sodium chloride [any type of table salt]) to achieve the color provided in their formula/recipe. Here are the colors from Rit that I will be testing: Olive Green - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/olive-green/ Green Sage - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/green-sage/ Baby Turtle - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/turtle-toes/ Turtle Toes - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/turtle-toes-2/ Avocado - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/avacado/ Rain Forest Cover - https://www.ritdye.com/color-formulas/rain-forest-cover/ As I go through each of these dyes one by one, if I notice that one is too dark or light and a dye that is yet to be made will likely be too light or dark, it will be skipped over; we will see how color selection evolves as we begin the process, but for now the dye color formulas above will be at least a starting point. I purchased small plastic containers large enough to hold 4 cups of water which is the amount of water used in the small batch fabric formulas. The fabric being used for the test are sample pieces provided by Vincent over at Imperial Boots when you order his Aldhani Trooper set. I've made a brief video intro here that talks through some quick notes, but I will likely be focusing on photos rather than videos for each, unless videos become preferred. High level notes for this first color (Olive Green), water was very hot likely close to 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit, 2 teaspoons of table salt without iodine in it, other formula details covered in my verbal description in the video above. The fabric sat in the dye bath for 30 minutes, the first 15 minutes, stirring was nearly nonstop, the last 15 minutes, stirring was about every 5 minutes. After 30 minutes were up, the fabric was removed from the dye bath and left to rest for 5 minutes before washing once with a pea sized dot of Dawn dish liquid and lukewarm water. After about 2 minutes of the fabric being under running water and occasional hand squeezing the water coming off of the fabric was clear. I let it rest for about 15 minutes, then I accelerated the drying of the fabric with a heat gun on low for 2 minutes. Here are the photo results of the Olive Green stages (first four photos are warm toned ceiling lights in my utility space; the final dried product [where I'm holding it] is in "Natural Light" tone LED ceiling lights): Base fabric color example before any dyes are applied: Initially removed from dye bath after 30 minutes of soaking: After washing off the excess dye: After air drying for 15 minutes: After air dry and 2 minutes of heat gun on low: Initial conclusion: I think this color choice is extremely close to what we see on screen, but it is worth doing some more science and testing! I've also noticed that the coloration in different lighting changes as much as we see it on screen. If you have this fabric under warm lights it looks greener, if its under more natural/neutral toned lighting it was a lighter toned green... gives me some flashbacks when we were all discussing fabric colorations from scene to scene. Bear with me some as my wife is still getting over being sick. More soon!!

Thanks to all involved developing this crl!

Here we go. I have begun acquiring needed materials for the IAT build. This WIP is more for those who will need in the future. For now, I will use it to show my progress and get tips/tricks from my peers. This is for the Imperial Army Trooper(v1 and v2), hopefully for lvl 2 approval. So far, I have collected the following items: The jumpsuit is an Original Dutch Army Coverall Air Force Mechanic. I have ordered a second one to use for sewing the required pockets and a hat (yes, it’s extra work, but I am also learning how to sew for the benefit of my family). jumpsuit- MilitarSurplusStore (Etsy) April 2023 Luke Waterproof Snow Winter Boot. These are recommended by previous IAT builders in their forum posts. Need to buy the Montana Gold Olive green to spray them boots- Totes(Amazon) April 2023 Both the gloves and belt I got from my local surplus store in Southern California. Gloves are basic police ones that I will either spray with the Montana or try and dye. (Recommendations on the gloves is highly welcomed). The belt I will spray with the Montana and remove the extra snaps, if needed for approval. Items not seen: Patches- I ordered the patches from a kind individual on Facebook in the Galactic Denizen group. I will keep him anonymous just in case. April 2023 H harness- I bought Polypropylene Webbing, 10 yrds, to make the harness. Harness material- Strapworks (Amazon) April 2023 Helmet- Since I am wanting to build more, I decided to order part of the AT-DP helmet from Imperial Surplus. I have a Mando kit from him and love the quality. Since it’s Vacuum Form, it will be lightweight. Excited for this part. Helmet- Imperial Surplus (website) April 2023

I figured I would start this now, so that I can track ordered and received times as it may be useful for others. Can’t wait for BBB day. Armour and Undersuit Jimmiroquai Imperial Death Trooper kit with specialist add ons Contact: jimmiroquai@yahoo.com Ordered on November 10, 2022 Shipped Dec 10, 2022 Arrived Dec 16, 2022 Boots Crowprops Death Trooper Short Boots. https://crowprops.bigcartel.com/product/deathtrooper-boots Ordered November 11, 2022 Shipped January 17, 2023 Arrived January 25, 2023 Gloves Endor Finders Rogue One Trooper Gloves https://www.endorfinders.com/shop/rogue-one-trooper-gloves?utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer_notification Ordered November 11, 2022 Shipped November 13, 2022 Arrived November 28, 2022 Blasters Martin Martinez (creator of Tom Campbell’’s 3D print files) https://cults3d.com/en/search?q=Mcm_design. This is his cults 3D page. I had to contact him directly for the blaster files 3D print files for the E-11D, DLT-19D and the SE-14R Ordered and obtained November 6, 2022 Arm Impellers Phoenix Props https://www.phoenixprops.net/products/death-trooper-arm-impellers-rockets Ordered Dec 12,2022 Received Dec 30, 2022 Belt Buckle Phoenix Props https://www.phoenixprops.net/products/death-trooper-belt-buckles Ordered Dec 12, 2022 Received Dec 30, 2022 Belt Trooperbay https://www.trooperbay.com/products/rogue-one-death-trooper-belt-webbing-and-buckle Ordered Dec 21, 2022 Shipped Dec 23, 2022 Received Jan 9, 2023 MP40 Ammo pouches Trooperbay https://www.trooperbay.com/products/star-wars-imperial-death-trooper-leather-ammo-3-compartment-pouch-costume-cosplay-mp40-style-black?pr_prod_strat=copurchase&pr_rec_id=4dac228d4&pr_rec_pid=7466420306070&pr_ref_pid=7466434592918&pr_seq=uniform Ordered Dec 21, 2022 Shipped Dec 23, 2022 Received Jan 9, 2023 Specialist pack buckles Rothco https://www.rothco.com/product/rothco-military-web-belts-with-open-face-buckle Ordered Dec 21, 2022 Shipped Dec 23, 2022 Received Jan 12, 2023 EL Panels EL wirecraft 2x green EL panels with 2xAA driver https://elwirecraft.co.uk/product/el-panel-2-4cm-x-4-5cm/ 2 way EL splitter https://elwirecraft.co.uk/product/standard-splitter-for-el-wire-or-el-tape-2-way-up-to-6-way/ Ordered Feb 27, 2023 Shipped Feb 29, 2023 Received March 17, 2023 Bubble Lenses OPLE props https://www.opleprops.com/en/lenses-visor-lense-star-wars-cosplay-4/325-OPLE-Props-Deathtrooper-Rogue-one-bulbed-lense-Anovos-Trooper-Helmetlense-Lense-Costume-Helmet-Cosplay-Krennic-death-trooper-rog.html Ordered Feb 27, 2023 Shipped March 8, 2023 Received March 27, 2023

First Troop Complete!

Finally completed my SE-14R.

And now, the full suit up!

suited up

Personally I don’t think that adding another Detachment is the solution, because of the nature of the costumes that would reside under the “Imperial Army” Detachment. Let me elaborate on that by smashing my keyboard a bit and throwing some copypasta. The Wookieepedia says; ”Imperial Army troopers, also known as Imperial Army soldiers, were the standard soldiers deployed by the Imperial Army as the infantry component of the Galactic Empire throughout the galaxy. Those troopers, who were separate from the elite white-armored stormtroopers and the fleet troopers of the Imperial Navy, were formed from eager and often young conscripts, serving as expeditionary units tasked with the subjugation of worlds that dared to resist the Emperor's rule.” Which would make them a specialized unit that are only used on specific locations; Ryloth, Aldhani, Mimban and Marca. The other two troopers that are mentioned already have a clearly defined Detachment within the 501st Legion Detachments (FISD & IOC). When the Star Wars TV Series/Stories are finished with the Empire era and Empire has been defeated, nothing new will be added to the Imperial Army Detachment and the Detachment will see nothing new added indefinitely. I think that instead of going through the difficult and long road of forming another Detachment, It might be a better idea to see if we can redefine what the Special Operations Detachment houses, because I think that the Imperial Army Troopers are all specialized units that would fit in well within the bounds of such a Detachment. None of these army troopers will be seen on terrain that they’re not equipped for. It would make them a type of Spec Ops costume In a similar fashion we see Shoretroopers and Scout Troopers being listed on the Pathfinder CRLs, Officers, Crew and Navy on the Imperial Officer Corps CRLs just to name a few.

I haven't really spoken much about this topic because I wanted to hear from everyone first (and I moved from Sydney to Perth which is around 4000km). You guys are the boots on the ground and it is my opinion that the membership drives these conversations. I don't currently hold an IA costume, but have been seriously considering as a cool option for being able to travel with. I think everyone has made some great points and even learned some new things along the way, so thank you! My own personal opinion is; it makes me sad to think about the IA leaving Spec Ops, not just because they're cool characters but because the founding members of the IA were outright rejected in the beginning and our Detachment took them on so without Spec Ops, there would be no Imperial Army! If there is one thing I have learned about our detachment is that we never shy away from any task, no matter how cool it might be or how much work it is involved - we get stuck in! The IA detachment discussion has come up before and we always assumed that if the membership grew to a point where it could be sustainable then we would support that 100%. In the meantime our focus has been on growing the Imperial Army and ensuring we have specialist staff available to guide members through their builds, which I think we have done very well. As for the new troopers from Andor, both Spec Ops and IOC have made a claim to the Andor troopers and it is currently under vote with the LMO team. I have stated that we currently hold the library for all Imperial Army troopers and we should logically be the home irrespective of any detachment placement (existing or future). I also stated that there are a lot of visual similarities between these new troopers and the Mudtroopers. The vote is up for seven days and we will know the outcome from that point on.

I came back to bring up this point that @Jankes beat me to, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the real, distilled, down-to-brass-tacks heart and soul of SpecOps is that we are the haven for the expanded universe characters? At face value we may seem like we are where every character-turned-gloss-black belongs, but that we pull from comics and video games and the unconventional places is really what makes us special. Granted, as more and more characters become canon, more and more classifications will become apparent (such as the IA troops we are discussing now) but if we were to relinquish our status as THE place for misfit costumes, then we do become little more than the Gloss Black Detachment, no?

I have been following the conversation over in the Council forums. From a military perspective (of which I have many many years’ experience) Many off shoots of the military's branches or specialized units have been formed out of a need for Command and Control. Looking at the history of the Imperial Troopers first seen in Solo and knowing that no other Detachment wanted to take them, we took them under our wing so to speak. I think as this progresses further we should have oversight until a satisfactory outcome can be arranged. Initially we gave them guidance and purpose and fostered recruitment. I have read many comments that some believe IA should not have been placed under Spec Ops, but in actuality, specialty jobs such as SAPPERS, Combat Engineers etc., were formed as "Specialized Entities" and they were few in numbers and spread out as "specialty support" troops for various operations that required their expertise. With that being said, it did make sense that they initially landed with us. Now that they are becoming more of a "grunt type character" and in larger numbers, it may be time for them to have their own "home" like the TKs (they are basically the same but with armor) but how should that occur? In the real world when a sub-unit grew to a point that it required its own C&C, the originating service developed and implemented the transition. Just like Space Command is now its own branch, it had its origins in the Air Force, also the Air Force began its path as the Army Air Corp. So as the IAs transition to their own branch (Detachment, etc) they should be kept under our guidance until they are ready to stand on their own. I do not concur that they belong under the IOC, they do have "Officers" leading them, but they are not an Officer Corp, they are grunts.

As one of the early-on troops who got a TX designation with an Army uniform, this is a near and dear topic to me. The Imperial Army continues to grow, and will continue to do so as long as we have easy to wear/ easy to build uniforms like the IAT and IAE. We have a significant amount of troopers joining the Army ranks, who are now making Spec Ops their home. When the Imperial Army was first standing up there was the attempt to create a new Det, but it lacked support. Not so much a lack of vision, but it did lack support. I have some of the original, first and completely unofficial "merch" that was created from that endeavor. The creation of a new Det is no simple task, and it requires a trained staff, with at least SOME experience running a Det, running a website, and interacting with Command. I'm sure we have Army troopers with those qualifications. Currently we are all grouped together with the same TX designation, like TKs and TI's pretty much have the same. The Armored Cavalry has different designations for their different troopers, TA , IS and CX. Perhaps, one way to begin to show a bit of differentiation (without physical separation) would be the creation of a new designation, IA. We know IS stands for Imperial Soldier, not that much different than the IAT. West End Games had these characters as canon fodder, and they wore the same coveralls , googles helmets and gloves as our IS classification walker driver. I am certainly not opposed to Jason's idea, and Im sure it has already been used in other Dets. I thought that the IGC was, but I just checked and it is not broken down that way. I would tend to not use Corps, since we have IOC and IGC already; breaking the Army and Mudtroopers into something like a Batallion (each) as a working unit within SpecOps as an administrative group only might be possible, if the troopers are behind it. Merch is not a consideration as I see it. Those are my thoughts on this. Its a topic that came up early, died off, and has recently resurfaced outside of this forum.

Well, we're really close now! Unfortunately didn't get a chance to do a test fit before the troop, but it overall it went well! Very comfortable for a fully armored trooper. As always, have a couple small fitment issues to fix. The big thing is the jetpack/backplate combo were sitting too high up so the jetpack was angled forward a bit too much. This also made a huge gap between the back and kidney. Simple fix, just adjust the jetpack harness, but this will create a gap between the chest and back plate. So to remedy that I'll make a filler panel to go between the two to keep that "seamless" look. So I'll get going on the fixes this week and try again for the CRL photos.

Unsure whether to go with C3PO's "That’s funny, the damage doesn’t look as bad from out here", or Han Solo's "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid". Either way, I'm happy to report that all major printing is complete with only a handful of pistons/greeblies to go. Parts are at various stages, with some untouched, others sanded/primed, some have been fiberglassed on the inside for strength and others have been completely painted (not that you can tell here; the black paint looks just like the raw print). Fair to say if you can see a print line or glue seam, that part hasn't been sanded yet as I plan to leave no trace that this was 3D printed. Honestly, I'm happy to be moving to the next phase of bringing everything to life. Heaps of preparatory work to go and still waiting on some specialty hardware to arrive over the next couple of weeks but it's coming together. Next will be the full test fit for mobility. I plan to cast the feet in flexible urethane eventually too.

The entire CRL will be presented at once both L1 and L2. All text is. complete. Model pics being compiled and edited. The hope is for before the year ends but thats about the best I can say at this point.

Hello brothers and sisters, I am Giovanni CT6244, I invested a lot of money in make moulds to make sierra replica soles, I am going to make Shadow boots from 41eur up to 46eur, I will hang more pics in the next days about the work in progress, we are making Biker scout gloves too, the attached pic show you the details, if you follow me in my crowprops social group in FB you can see more details about the soles. Gio

So, approval just came through!! It's been such a long journey with this costume. It is true that I got Nihilus, ATAT Commander, a new CRL, and various other costumes approved in between, but this is finally done! After only 1 hours in this costume, I can confirm, after 15 approvals of all sorts, that this is the most uncomfortable I have ever worn. We need to add some sort of natural weathering to this CRL as the pieces overlap and simply scratch other parts. I can forsee a lot of repainting in the near future. Modifications to be made for comfort: 1. Cut 1-2cm of biceps, they are simply too large. 2. Remove return edge of bottom cod piece, it kept pinching my inner thighs. 3. Shorten shoulder bell to chest plate straps. 4. Cut about 1.5cm of the chest plate lateral flaps as they kept scratching the ab piece. 5. Finish my Daniel Dirsten lid and change as SGB's is simply way too large, this is not the first time I have had this experience with SGB and will never buy again. Just as a reference, I am 6.3 in boots, so imagine this on a smaller person. I would like to thank you all for your comments and advice along the way and I really hope to continue investigating and even helping to write a level II for this CRL as soon as possible. I will get a nice picture up tonight, but these are submission pics:

This is the Medic sigil that I used for my bicep when I made it. The template file is a PDF, so convertable to vector, and nice big clean print. I dropped it into my Silhouette cutter, and make a stencil out of heavy duty card stock, so I could hand cut it into painter's tape nice and easy. Mudtrooper Medic Bicep Template.pdf

FINISHED PHOTOS So I'm calling this build complete, and here's sharing the photos of my finished parts.

THANK YOU!!!! Now that the CRL has dropped, the journey for this 501st Legion character has begun. Any of the 13,299 active members worldwide who might have been building this character could have been model for this costume. My take on this character was deemed by the powers-that-be as deserving to be representative of its CRL. I'm humbled. It was my privilege. With this achievement, i feel honored to have represented my unit, the Golden Gate Garrison. I'm stoked that I'm now part of the awesome Spec Ops Detachment. I'm proud to also represent all the short troopers of the world -- short peeps can rock the Imperial runway too! Thanks to my Legion friends who helped me achieve the highest level my character could have achieve -- Darren, David, Sebastian, Jim. You guys were amazing! Now let's continue building, troopers. Let's unleash this character to the entire Legion, to the galaxy -- from Mimban and beyond!

The digital repair of the chest and back armor has been completed.

Hello there! Happy 2022! My name is Sergio and I'm a member of the Spanish Garrison. I'm starting this crazy project and after some research on the forums and social media, I decided to order a helmet and armor from Armory Shop Props, that arrived last week. I have taken some pics of the elements to post and get any and all comments. I am missing the soft parts, that I will probably get from Spanish vendors and fellow troopers. I am having a hard time finding my boots, mainly because I'd like to avoid buying overseas again. Thanks for following!

Update: My Jim Tripon undersuit came today. The material is pretty incredible, and it fits well, though I do have some trouble lifting my arms up. I tried it on with my boots and am happy with how it’s looking so far. I’m also in the midst of printing my armor pieces. I’ve done quite a few already, but still have a bunch of the big pieces left. I’m going over to a trooper’s house tomorrow to learn about sanding/post processing.

I reached my goal of becoming a specilist with this costume. Now I am looking forward to wearing it at events. I hope that there will be some soon.

I will absolutely echo here that we will poll our detachment members on any transitions and thoughts about a separate detachment. Without our fantastic members who have cultivated the growth and development of these characters, they would not have otherwise existed. I'm in no way opposed to a separate detachment, but it must be well thought out and developed with member input at every turn. With that being said, I'm going to remain a strong voice to keep IA discussions as they relate to the IA trooper, IA engineer, IA sapper and Lt Sunber developments under the Spec Ops detachment where they currently reside.