After 'Trooping' for a while, I get a lot of people asking:"Where can I get a Stormtrooper suit?" I hate to tell them, that you can't just go down to Wal-mart and buy a set. The sad truth is, George Lucas, to my knowledge, has never made an accurate suit for the serious adult costumer. The only thing I remember being offered was the Don Post statues, costing thousands of dollars, and were static display mannequins, not wearable costumes. Huh? Thats right. There has never been an adult stormtrooper costume offered by Lucastfilm. If you see an ebay auction claiming to be a George Lucas suit, remember, there were only a few dozen suits made for the films, and no costumes ever licensed by Mr. Lucas.

Where Lucas failed, the Star Wars fans succeeded. A few years ago, if you really wanted a suit, you could find one on ebay, or through a number of online Star Wars costume sites. The cheapest sets were called GT/FX kits and ran around $550US. You had to know someone who knows someone th get a set. The modern equilavent to a 1920's Prohibition Era speak-easy. Now, the suppliers are underground, or have all pretty much been forced to shut down, due to lawsuits from Lucasfilms. Too bad really. The 501st, and other costume groups are great PR for the Star Wars franchise, and, they have to skirt the lawyers to get into character! If you have a lot of money, and you know where to look, you can still find a GT/FX suit, or even a more screen accurate GF suit.

I purchased a GT/FX suite a few years ago, before some of the "upgraded" suits came out. I really liked it, but wanted a second suit to be modified as a Sandtrooper. My wife would not allow it. So I had only one option, make my own. The results of this multi-year projects are presented to you on this website.

The process is pretty basic:

• You need to make the molds,
• build a vacuum form machine,
• and "pull" a few sheets of HIS or ABS plastic,
• then trim the parts out.

This site will break down my process for making the mods, making a vacuum form machine, and pulling your own armor.

Details will follow, but for now, check out the sister site: www.tk560.com