As I work towards my goal of joining the 501st costuming group I will be blogging my progress on my AP A New Hope Stormtrooper Hero armor. Trust me, all of those words mean something as to which exact suit I am building. I have already received my white plastic armor pieces but that will be for another post.

An important first step in the construction of a set of Stormtrooper armor is the under suit. This needs to be worn while the white plastic armor pieces are measured and trimmed around your body. Through searching the forums of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment the most recommended under suit I could find came from the fine folks at East Bay.

The top piece is a Eastbay EVAPOR Long Sleeve Compression Crew - Men's Black of course. It looks like it will be form fitting and help prevent me from overheating. Which is a big concern here in the Southern California Garrison. This last week the temperature peaked over 100 degrees for two days. I hope to have my armor completed by Halloween 2013 so my first troop will probably take place in the winter.

The bottom piece is a Eastbay EVAPOR Tights - Men's Black again. I will be purchasing a black zipper piece to sew into the tights so that I do not have to remove them when using the bathroom. I have read that this is a very good idea for first time troopers. I may also add some foot loops to help keep the ends firmly rooted in my boots.

My list of items left to buy is growing shorter. I still need:

Neck Seal

E-11 Blaster

Boots

Helmet Interior Pieces (fans, padding, mounting, trim)

Tools (rivet set, sheers, heat gun)

So this has been an important step forward. I intend these armor building updates to reach out to those of you who are also interested in putting together your own set of Stormtrooper Armor. I will be posting fairly regularly, covering both the large and small steps towards joining the 501st.

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