The 501st and Other Similar Groups

I always was "aware" of the 501st Group from various other threads and articles throughout the internet ... but after watching the REVELATIONS Documentary and seeing how so many of them came out and volunteered to take part in the production, I am wondering how many other similar groups there were out there who enjoy participating in various events and/or FanFilm projects.

As the REVELATIONS Documentary indicated, the 501st gets a lot of calls for them to participate in FanFilms. After a while, I'm sure the calls get tedious and they aren't as eager to breakout their Trooper Armor and participate.

SO, I am wondering if anyone knows of any OTHER similar type groups out there (either newly forming or in existence) who might possibly be available for projects and/or special events. They don't necessarily have to be Stormtrooper groups.

(No, I am not producing a FanFilm (just yet), but I like to research options well in advance).



JediTAC

 

It's rarely the same guys, since the 501st is made of thousands of people, accross like 20 garrisons...so don't worry about them getting tired of it. As for where you can find costumers, I saw a few Jedi and Boba Fetts, a Vader, and even a 3po/r2 pair at A-kon (www.akon.com, I think.) Try at similar scifi/comics conventions.

 

Ahhhh, I knew they were large, but I didn't realize that they were thousands strong accross the country.
Whenever they're referenced, it always seemed like they were a single group or something.

I learn something new every day.

 

The mighty Rebel Legion is the good-guys costuming group.

~Neszis~

 

A guy from here called mandolorian_warriors started something similar to 501st but with Fett armor. They just got going.

 

Houston is vast, we have the Star Garrison here, but there is like 4 people that are in it here, suprising for Houston... I think they are pretty spread out.

We got most of our costumes from a lady who had made costumes for conventions over the years, we lucked out in finding her...

 

ScaPaCamem, you speak of his mandalorian warriors. He is known as Jaster Mereel over at TDH his group isnt very large yet but there area ALOT of customs sprouting up lately(including myself) and many more to come. Hopefully one day his group will rival even the 501st.

 

*wave*

Don't forget about your local FanForce chapter... pretty much all of us (12 or 13 members) all have costumes of one type or another, but most of us aren't part of the 501st or Rebel Legion. I am sure this situation can be found in other chapters as well.

Indy

 

All I can tell you is that thanks to Azeem, who is a member, we had some real serious Troopers that appeared in ROGUE. They were great. Going over and above the strict call of duty.

The key is to have a relationship with them. I think.

And, above all, FEED THEM.

 

Yup, the old saying "an army marches on it's stomach" is too true!

 

At the premiere for Prodition, I met a couple of them 501st people. One of which was female. They were both WAY gung-ho for any excuse to put their costume on. (or "trooping" as they called it)

Really... I don't think there is any shortage of enthusiasm from that crew. They are the die-hards of Star Wars fandome.

 

Try your local Fan Force, alot of people in Fan Force are costumers not to mention film makers them selves.

 

In my own experiences (as both a 501st member and FanForce member) the Fanforces are much kinder and willing to help out. Not that 501st members are unkind, most of them are quite nice (like me) and willing to help, but there are a lot of "politics" involved as well in my experiences. If you have an active FanForce group in your area, check with them. Both the 501st and Rebel Legion are quite vast and generally have good costumes. The 501st is not just for stormtroopers but also basically any bad guys. The Rebel Legion is not just for X-Wing Pilots or Rebel Troopers but also includes Jedi and other good guy characters. If you're looking for a Mandalorian, such as myself, check with The Dented Helmet as my colleague krillindb pointed out. There is even a link on there to where you can find Mandalorians in your area.

 

There are some Jedi costuming legions out there... give me minute...


And there is yet another fan legion that builds R2-D2's and other droids!

 

The artoo unit one is called "the R2-D2 Builders Group." The Jedi one is called "the Jedi Assembly." I thought there was more besides the Rebel legion and the 501st, but I guess that's it.

 

Another independent one in the States is called "the Alabama Star Wars Syndicate." That's one of the fan costuming stands out to me other than Chicago Force... and I don't to exclude anybody, I just don't of any others.

 

EXCELLENT information guys !!!
Just the type of things I was hoping to find out about.

 

As a member of my local fanforce, a member of the 501st, AND a film-maker it's been my experience that the 501st and Rebel Legion will generally get you a higher quality of costume if you want them in your film. This is not to say that there are no good costumes in fanforces, however the quality tends to not be as high (there are always exceptions to this rule). As for willingness to help, it's been my experience that groups like the 501st will generally help if asked. I think the most i've heard of them asking for in return has been for the film-makers to buy lunch.

I know that members of the Empire City Garrison (NY 501st) helped alot in the film Revelations. As for Fanforces being "kinder" I would have to disagree. There are great fanforces out there, but some of them are run like little unions who will "blacklist" you if you don't "get with the program". As a film-maker I want to work with people who are serious about what they do. It's been my experience that you're more likely to get this from people who have invested hundreds, if not thousands,of dollars on their costumes then if you asked "fans".

Just my 2 cents

 

For an article on your site, perhaps?

 

If all you want is a legion of Stormtroopers and a Darth Vader, ask the 501st. If you want a variety of costumes and people who will help you make costumes, check with your local fanforce first. Perhaps, it is just the quality of fanforces in Southern California, but I see much better and more creative costumes in my fanforce than I do from many 501st members who don't belong in FF. The 501st likes to think of FF as being a bunch of bathrobe jedi, which is simply not true...it's just BS.

A few months ago, several costumed members of FF in Southern California were invited to be on Junkyard Wars in a battle between ILM and another FX house. FF was prepared to offer a wide array of well done and accurate costumes. FF would have supplied Junkyard Wars with 15-20 members. When the 501st got wind of this, they threw a fit, claiming that they had a special agreement to be the only source of costumes at official Lucasfilm Events. After much complaining, FF was subsequently told to shove it, and the 501st was invited instead. So, how did the shoot for Junkyard Wars go? 2 Stormtroopers showed up. That's it. Enthusiastic? Hardly.

 

That is a great story.

 

Foxbat, nothing is absolute and that is the point of my post. By all means I would recommend to any film-maker to contact their local 501st, Rebel legion, AND fanforce if they want costumed individuals. However, you made the statement that FF's are kind and more willing to work with people than the 501st. IN MY EXPERIENCE that just isn't true. As I said this is not necessarily the case with all fanforces. MY EXPERIENCE has been the opposite of yours. The local FF here seems to want to have control, or at the very least be able to influence, anything involving SW in my local area. Ex. The local 501st here does a charity event with a major toy store every year. At the time I wasn't with the 501st but held an advisory position with the local FF. When the FF staff found out that another FF had been invited to participate before us they threw a fit. Then, after complaining for several days, they/we were invited and all was well. However, the staff of the FF promoted the event as being held by them(the FF) to anyone who would listen.

Another example is the IMAX opening of AOTC. The local FF and 501st were both involved in it here. However, when a just starting neighboring FF wanted to get involved they were told that they "would not be allowed to participate" by the local FF because this new group had made the unforgivable mistake of going to the 501st first. The upstart FF was indeed "shut out" of the event.

As for the quality of costumes. I believe that there are members of FF's who make, own, and wear, extremely well done and professional quality costumes. However, this TENDS to be the exception not the rule. In my local FF there are about...5 members who have quality costumes. The rest are indeed "bathrobe Jedi". Also, the 5 with the quality costumes tend to also be members of either the Rebel Legion or 501st. That's just been my experience here, I'm sorry if that doesn't sit well with you, but that's just the reality here. As for the 501st only being troopers and vader...that's just not true. There are also other sith, royal guards, bounty hunters, etc. I know, cause I have a Boba Fett costume that I use.

My point is/was, whoever a film-maker chooses to "ask first" is dependent on what they are looking for from their "costumed" cast. 501st, FanForce, Rebel Legion, are all good places to start recruiting. However, the film-maker should be aware that the "Overall" quality will tend to vary between these groups. There is NO absolute. One cannot say "FF will be easier to work with" or "501st will have better quality". It's something that has to be taken on a case-by-case basis and ultimately the film-maker has to decide if the group in question is someone he/she want's to work with.

Again, my 2 cents.

 

As a member of the 501st I do know that the requirements of the 501st and the Rebel Legion are that you must have a professional grade costume.

People in the 501st and the Rebel Legion love to dress up. Not everyone but most would like to dress up in the costumes that they spent a lot of money, effort, and time on.

We have found that some people are hesitant to go to just any fan film because of bad experiences in the past (no bathroom, no food, no provisions for troopers to gear up or put their armor in a safe place, etc).

Many 501st members are Rebel Legion members. Many costume in something other than just Star Wars. It's a great networking spot to find costumers, make-up artists, etc.

SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) is another inernational group if you're interested in something non star wars. Their focus is primarily medieval but many of these people are die-hard costuming authenticity folks. They know about fighting (rapier and heavy weaponry), period food, costuming (although it's called garb) and much more.

How helpful the SCA is depends on your local group. In the states this can be as local as your county (the SCA has kingdoms which are broken up into baronies and principalities, etc). Some groups are friendly and open to new folks. Others have a lot of politics going on

Sci-Fi conventions are another great place to network. Star Trek has some great clubs. These are places where you'll find people with lots of different media interests so for those of you looking to make something other than Star Wars or sci-fi you can find extremely strong costumers here.

 

I just wanted to toss in that while i have had good experiences with the 501st and the FanForces, overall what I have seen has been closer to what Darth Venom said. I have no quarrel with the FF's, however, and I think you should still approach whoever you can to help get your movie made.

I think one of the minor things that helps along this "conflict" of sorts is some FF people think the 501st steals their thunder by attracting a lot more attention. Notice i said *some*, not all. There's a lot of people who are involved in both, and many FF members who have no problem with the 501.

Uh, yeah, that's all for now. Just for the sake of fairness and to let everyone know where i stand, I am a part-time member of the 501st. I don't think bias was influencing my post, but it's just good to know.

-Chris

EDIT: Yeah, as for what Dawn was saying above, she's right in the fact that the 501st gets approached CONSTANTLY from fanfilmmakers to appear in their movies, and no thought is given to what the costumers will need to suit up, stay comfortable, and in some cases, stay safe. You will have a *Very* hard time finding a stormtrooper willing to fall, jump around, or do any kind of stunts in his suit. They've spent too much money on them, and it's just too risky to their costumes and their own well being (as trooper outfits are the anti-combat outfit, just ask anyone that's worn one).

If you want to get the 501st involved, ask what they would need, provide it, and keep the action for the actors down to a minimum. If you still want them to tumble around, look into getting a seperate set of armor as a "Stunt suit" that you don't have to worry about damaging as much. -CH

 

Well I suppose that must be part of my own experiences then. I agree that members with better costumes in FanForce also tend to be members of 501st or Rebel Legion, such as myself. Actually all the costumed members in my FanForce are either members of 501st or Rebel Legion. I suppose our FanForce may be the exception to the rule.

Furthermore, I know that 501st is not just Stormtroopers and Vader, but also includes a wide range of badguys (I'm a Sandtrooper and a Bounty Hunter). I was just commenting that the only way you are going to get a legion of Stormtroopers is by going to the 501st. Your local FF may only have 3 or 4 Stormtroopers, if that. If you need a ton of Stormtroopers the 501st is the way to go.

Lastly, I agree that you should consult all 3 groups from your area. Fanforces may have some costumes which are extremely well done but not accepted in 501st or Rebel Legion on their own. I don't have a problem with 501st members (I am one of them) but I was just trying to point out that some nasty politics can get involved. Sometimes all 3 groups can work together quite well, like two weeks ago at our Toys 4 Tots Charity event where the 501st and FF both attended. It was a tremendous showing and everyone worked well together. The RL didn't show up because they tend to be non-existent in my area.