Recruiting

Welcome, and thank you for your interest in the 501st Legion! This page should cover all of the things you need to know in order to get started on your journey to the dark side!

First and foremost: you don’t need to have a costume to sign up here for our Imperial Academy! The academy is the best way to get familiar with how the group works and to get advice on making/building your costume and joining the Legion. To join the Academy you just need to be 18+, have an interest in making a costume, and to register on our forum.

We should give you fair warning that this hobby can get expensive. You should expect to spend anywhere from $150 - $1500+ depending on the costume type and your own skill levels. There is a lot of local expertise that can help keep the costs down, so please check in with us before you start buying parts.

When you register on the board, you’ll be contacted by our membership officer to ensure that you aren’t a spam-bot. Throughout the process of building a suit and joining the membership officer will be available to help.

Once you join the board, please introduce yourself! Let us know who you are and what you want to work on.

When you figure out what characters you like we’ll direct you to one of the specialty forums dedicated to that costume. These sites, called detachments, are dedicated to specific characters and are a great resource!

When you join a detachment, find the section where people are showing off their build projects. When you see someone with a build you like, you will probably also see what parts they are using. You can then do more research into those parts. Make sure you review the rules of the detachment forum since they can all be slightly different.

Generally speaking, avoid eBay for fan made kits. You typically find either bad items that would not be acceptable on the detachment boards or good items that are overpriced considerably. Licensed items can be found there for good prices sometimes, but it’s still best to stick to detachment boards.

Once you’ve settled on a kit and have it in hand, it’s time to build.

• TAKE YOUR TIME! There will be a lot of things you’ve possibly never done before. Just go slow. Some people will build a kit in an hour, others will take a year. There’s no right or wrong, just work at your own pace.

 

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions! It’s best to ask first rather than destroying a part and needing to buy a replacement.

 

• Post progress pictures! This does 2 things: Experienced builders can offer advice, and the feedback and encouragement will help keep you motivated.

 

• Don’t get discouraged! There will be setbacks. You may not get approved on the first pass. That’s normal, and nothing to be upset over. Just roll with it and it will all come together.

Finally, once your costume is finished, you submit your photos to the membership officer who will review them and either approve it or give you the feedback needed to get it approved. At that point you are given a legion ID number and are a member of the 501st!

So what are you waiting for? Join us! It is your destiny!