Accurate Costumes??

[bigmeat]

I've just been to my first Star Wars event, and seen many members of the 501st. I never got to speak to any of the members, but have a few questions about costumes and stuff.
I've been after a Stormtrooper or Boba Fett costume for a while now, but it's hard to know what's worth having. I've read about Don Post helmets which seem to be heavily criticised, FX armour and others, and a guy called bobamaker who does fett helmets here in the UK. I've seen various armour on prop boards and ebay, but i really don;t know what's a fair price, or what's a rip off.
I want something movie accurate, I wasn;t bothered about being able to wear it till i saw the 501st guys today and they blew me away.
So, can anyone help me out, what is good, accurate armour, what's a fair price, where can i get it?
I realise that with selling unlicensed replicas there can be trouble, so if it's easier then please PM me.
Many thanks for any advice/help.

 

[superjedi]

Hi bigmeat,
Before you purchase anything related to a Boba Fett costume, I would STRONGLY recommend checking out "The Dented Helmet" forums.
It's a website similar to this one that focuses on Boba and Jango Fett. Great information, and you'll get plenty of good advice regarding good/bad sellers.
Check it out!! :thumbsup :thumbsup

 

[IAMMAUL]

Bobamaker stuff is top notch, you can see his work on the TDH. Do check the TDH for Boba Fett info or any Mando and Zam. Before I forget welcome to the SICKNESS. :lol

 

[DL 44 Blaster]

Price is of no object when completing a Boba Fett....so just get ready to start throwing cash at it relentlessly:lol

TDH is a must for all your Fett Q&A plus you'll get a lot of good one off sales from guys upgrading or changing.


Steve

 

[hansicle]

Having a bit of Both. I made a Boba complete from scratch.. over several years, it was better than some of the other Bobas at the time, but over the years far more accurate suits have come along, making mine look.. well, not as good as it used to :lol I decided to get a Trooper and just build a kit instead of trying to make a complete suit. I have a TE set. I love it, wear it when I can.

Some of the differences with deciding on the 2 sets of armor is the amount of commitment you have, if you're a perfectionist, have cash on hand, want one of these suits relatively soon.

Some things to consider is. You could probably track down a movie accurate Trooper, build it in a matter of weeks (took me about 4 weeks of nit picking, trimming, and anal retentive scrutinity) to make the armor wearable, plus, the rest of the suit can be ordered while you're building it (Boots, trooper dickie, black undersuit) It's a fast suit.

A draw back... you gotta pay for the armor up front and in a lump sum.

The Fett on the other hand, you can buy piece by piece. But it will take you LONGER! Not everything available is 100% accurate... but some of it is darn close. You then contract a disease that will cause you to never be satisfied with your suit, and you will constsntly want to change out parts, and you will NEVER BE FINISHED WITH IT :lol

Over your lifetime, you will probably complete 3 full Boba suits, buying parts, until someone makes something better and selling off your old parts, to fund future purchases, or "upgrading" to what you feel is "More adccurate" ... It will become an OBSESSION :lol

Choose wisely my friend.....

 

[The Manlet]

I have yet to jump in the world of fett But if there is anything i know for sure it is costly! if you want an accurate suit with the least bit of work. Go trooper
Try and get your hands on an orginal TE suit.. TE2 pulls are not as sharp IMO.
Vader is just as costly as fett IMO i have drom 3 grand in to my vader and it isnt ready to be displayed yet But hit the THD see what you can dig up there is always something great being sold or offered there!

 

[slave1pilot]

as stated above, The Dented Helmet is the place to go for your Boba
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use the search function.
It'll be a lot easier & you'll avoid several posts telling you to "use the search" whenever you ask a "noob" question.
I try & answer the questions people ask, but others aren't as nice about it.

Be prepared to shell out several thousand dollars for top notch stuff.
most guys spend at least $2K US for Higher end "accurate" Bobas
My wife added mine up yesterday & we're at the 2 grand mark (if I would have paid for all my stuff, which I didn't).
I got several of my parts for free or in trade.
That $2K doesn't include any time spent. that's just for parts & supllies like paint & velcro.If you can paint your own stuff it'll be way cheaper than paying for the services.
I always suggest trying your own paint for the first try.

You can cut corners, but it'll look like you cut corners it to the "experts", most ordinary people won't be able to tell though.
It all depends on what you'll be happy with.

Be prepared to start calling you costume by "version"
I don't just mean the movies;
ESB, ROTJ, SE, Pre-Pro etc.
I also mean your upgrade level ;
i.e. Version 1.0, 2.6. ,7.1
her's my ROTJ Boba Version 1.0

and one with a better shot of the JP & with the Blaster

 

[defstartrooper]

I've not delved into the world of Fett myself but if it's any help i have had dealings with Bobamaker in the past and he is a great guy to deal with completely upfront and honest if somethings going to take 6 weeks to do he will tell you that not tell you it will be 2 weeks and keep feeding excuses which i have had from other people before.
I was very pleased with the work he did for me the quality was superb and from what i have seen of his Fett gear thats no different.
I did have a problem once with a flightsuit he made me which came out a little too small it had shrunk during the dying process i sent him an email he replied straight away sent me the money to post it back and replaced it within a week no questions no arguement.

 

[bigmeat]

Hey, thanks very much to everyone who's replied, your comments are all very helpful & i appreciate it.

I knew it wouldn;t be cheap, but i didn;t realise it would be quite so expensive for a Fett setup. Reckon it might be a little easier to go for the stormie first, 'specially since funds aren;t unlimited. I've just this week been retired on ill health grounds, after a motorbike crash 3 years ago.

Anyway, reckon i'll be the first stormie with a crutch and a carbon knee brace... Now how can i make them tie in with the costume???

Thanks again guys, i was a little nervous about asking for help, as i realise it's a bit of a noob question, but there's just so much info out there sometimes you can;t see what you want for looking...

 

[stormtrooperguy]

there's actually a nifty thread on TDH to give an estimate of how much everything usually costs...

http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/showthread.php?t=17421

it gives a pretty reasonable idea of how much stuff runs ya.

a highly accurate trooper still gets up there in $$. not quite that high, but not all that far removed either. i'd estimate i've got about $1100 in my sandtrooper, and that's "only" an AP suit (more accurate than FX, but not super high end stuff either)

 

[spidermale]

if this will help you in your stormie search, ill tell you what i know:
FX: 90 percent of storm and sandtrooper armor that the 501st uses. Costs anywhere between 400-700 dollars US. Fan sculpted, so not entirely movie accurate. The directions are also pretty crappy, luckily alot of sites out there give tutorials on how to mod it. Its a large suit so it will fit you anywhere between 5 foot something and over 6 feet. You will need industrial strength velcro, paint, and depending on how you want to do the strapping system, extra elastic, different glue, etc., etc...
AP(authenticprops) the best suit out there right now. Its a copy of a screen used suit, so its the real deal. Whereas the FX suit comes in pieces in kit form, the AP comes in kit form still attached to the abs plates it was vacuformed into, so theres alot more cutting involved. The price usually starts around 700 and goes up.
When all is said and done expect to put in over a thousand dollars into your suit. You can buy the little things now, like the bodysuit, the boots, a blaster, but you have to pay a lump sum for the armor up front unless you can work out a deal with someone.
For good comparison pics, check out starwarshelmets.com.
Its alright to ask questions, we all start somewhere, and we all do things different ways. Good Luck!

 

[Sixxgunn13]

i Just started my ESB Boba costume,

Sgt Fang Helmet, SGB Jumpsuit, Caboots, Kneedarts, MOW Esb Gautlets, ee-3 gun sling.. and i've spent $800.

still need Jetpack $370+, Armor $255+ , EE-3 blaster $255..plus other soft parts.
And i still need to paint and assemble it all snd i'm still trying to make my own ammo pouchs, vest,neck seal..to cut costs.
Not cheap

 

[Raffles]

Fett is one of the most expensive costumes you can go for if you want accuracy. You can make far more parts of the Fett costume yourself than the TK. I would suggest starting with "basic" parts and versions, I.e. - DP 95/97 helmet reshaped and painted yourself, F/g kit gauntlets, homemade cape/vest etc. and then trade up piece by piece. Nobody is going to lay into you for starting basic and upgrading and TDH is THE place to get a Fett done at any level.

 

[WebChief]

I don't have much else to add here that hasn't been said except that if you're truly interested in Fett and "only" build a stormie... you'll never be satisfied in white.

Be prepared to come down with a strange sickness though... the upgrade bug. It's an odd little thing that no one except fellow costumers will understand.:lol Just ask me... I've been upgrading since 2001.

If you're building a Fett, TDH is THE place to go.... trust me.:love

 

[scattrap]

Mine ran the better part of $3000. And I still dont have a servo or voice amp. Mind you I have both an ESB and ROTJ helmet. (So I can do SE) But keep in mind, not painting your own year will easily double the price of your suit. A good paint job on a helmet is between $400-1000.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

i'm ALMOST feeling like i'm done after just shy of 2 years. when i finish up my current jetpack and blaster projects, i'll be satisfied.

i think.

until something new comes along

 

[freakengine]

When it comes to trooper kits, size is a very important issue. AP and TE suits, while traceable to original screen and tour pieces, can be too small if you have a large frame. FX, on the other hand can be too large if you're frame is small, and it's inaccurate in almost every way. TrooperMaster's armor should also be considered. It's a fan sculpt, but I find it to be highly accurate and relatively affordable. I'm currently sporting a TM helmet with FX armor due to my height.

Materials should also be a consideration. TE (and TE2 I think) are both styrene, which IMHO is less durable than ABS if you plan to troop in it. AP and FX are ABS, while TM is gloss HIPS.

I'd suggest you visit the Mos Eisley Police Department forums in addition to this one. Good advice is abundant and many there are focused on accuracy.

 

[al13ns]

just lurking around the cargo hold in TDH forums, u might get a very good deal of boba fett's thing there...

 

[stormtrooperguy]

as far as blending the crutch into a costume... you could try to adapt one of the big weapons the sandtroopers carry and make a functional crutch out of it. that way it would look like you were leaning on your weapon.

 

[Darth Niob]

Boba is really expensive. Mine will be more expensive than my ANH vader. But if you want some really accurate (order from Bobamaker, as said before, a really great guy to deal with), you have to pay for it.