New Build!

[matt_aggy28]

Hey all! 

I am brand new to the 501st picture, and I want my first build to be my favorite trooper. I would love some help on getting started and some steps to take. I was curious where to start a WIP as well as where to look at them. I look forward to hearing from you all!

[J47555[CMD-DWM]]

Hello Matthew! Welcome to SpecOps 😄

My first costume was (now my current and only costume) my Death Trooper and I'm happy to hopefully now be able to spread some information to someone who's in the exact same position I was in!

In terms of getting started, there's arguably 3 major components to the Death Trooper that I was looking it when I started and generally where someone starts. The Undersuit/Soft Goods, the Armor itself, and the Helmet. The first thing I would say to determine and launch off of is your budget and time you want to invest. There's some general outlines on how to go about this regarding budget which is what stage of the process you want to be in:

1. You can buy pretty much everything in a mostly finished form with some light assembly required
2. You can buy unfinished or "raw" as it's referred to which means pieces that are already made like Armor for example that will need to be assembled, painted, etc.
3. You can do everything from scratch

The Death Trooper is a fun build but something I don't think anybody here will tell you will be a short endeavor but that's part of it. She's a labor of love and it'll all be worth it! This subcategory in the forum actually has quite fantastic resources for building your armor which I'll link below here:

This a forum where vendors that sell Death Trooper parts can be found:

*Keep in mind however like it says in the thread that none of these vendors are officially endorsed by us but more directions you can take.

There's actually a really lovely FAQ on the Death Trooper put together that you can find here:

Regarding your WIP thread, you can start one here if you'd like and update as you go! This entire category is dedicated to asking questions and the builds of various members in various stages of their own build!

I would say the reading above is a good starting point but the best piece of advice I can offer is ask lots of questions! Someone most likely will have ran into the same problem you may have during a build and found a fix and are happy to share that information. Speaking from personal experience, all of the current and future Death Troopers are lovely people and will be happy to direct you in the right direction or answer any questions you might have at any stage!

I look forward to watching your build progress!

[Chaos[CMD-DCA]]

@matt_aggy28

Matthew, welcome to Spec Ops, the darker side of The Darkside! There are plenty of Deathtroopers here and like Jacob said, many of us have run into the same questions/issues during our builds. Ask plenty of questions. As you are deciding on which Armorer to go with to purchase your parts, look thru the build threads for people who have used/purchased the same parts. They can tell you what issues/headaches etc that they have had and use that information to prepare yourself to decide on which route to take. Best of luck and we are always here to assist.

[DoggyDoc[CMD-DCA]]

Hi Matthew,  Welcome to spec ops and congratulations on your choice of costume. The death trooper is a res;y fun one to wear and gets a very different reaction from fans.  
@J47555 and @Chaos have given you a great place to start.  My advice is don’t be shy or feel a question is not worth asking.  We are here to help and want you succeed in looking your best as a death trooper. 

[BLACKFOX[PR-CMD]]

Great costume choice Matthew. My Death Trooper has definitely become one of my favourite costumes to troop in. Great advise mentioned above and doing your research before jumping into purchasing everything is always the best way to go.

I also try to find my footwear and soft parts first for any costume that I'm building... or at least know where I'm getting them from, as they can sometimes be the most difficult to obtain.

[Mal86]

Welcome!  I'm working on my Death Trooper as well.  Everyone here is very helpful.  Let us know how we can best support you.  I put this thread together when I was trying to decide what kit to get: 

 

 

[matt_aggy28]

Thank you all! I will be posting a start to my WIP tomorrow!