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Arminius

IOC Member[IOC]
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Posts posted by Arminius

  1. As someone who went through three flightsuits, three pairs of boots and took just under 5 years to finish my costume, I can wholeheartedly understand your frustrations. Check with your garrison partner if they'd be interested in any of those pairs of boots so you can at least get some of your money back. And if I may give you some advice, I couldn't agree more with @kman There were many points where I almost gave up, but in the end it all worked out. Sometimes it's best to take a breath and calm down. If you can at least put the boots on and don't mind doing a quick fix by yourself, get a shoe stretcher spray. I used that for a pair of work boots and they really helped me out. A cobbler should also be able to help you out.

     

    4 hours ago, kman said:

    There ARE a couple of super low cost options that I hesitate to recommend because they've not been well-vetted, but PM me if you're interested in being a guinea pig.

    Decathlon also sells synthetic riding boots. I've seen them and they look nice but I haven't tested them myself.

     

    As for CrowProps, I haven't seen anyone with their boots since they'd be quite expensive in my country. Fortunately I live near a town with an economy focused on leatherworking and I found a good shoemaker who was willing to make me a custom-sized pair of inexpensive jackboots, not riding boots but similar although there were some people selling quality riding boots. As reference I used images from CrowProps, Hessen and Epic Militaria. Maybe you could try finding someone in your area who could help you out?

  2. The reference pic in the Line Officer CRL appears to show grooves on the edges of the belt.

     

    I have two belts and one of them makes the groove effect with stitching which I then painted using the same black paint I used for the belt itself so the thread is camouflaged but the groove effect is visible and you can really only tell the difference if you look at it from a few inches away.

     

    Or you can just get a plain leather belt without grooving.

  3. Also losing weight but so far my belt only slips down when I walk and it's not a big deal yet. The CRL for the Army Trooper from Andor mentions you can add two hooks to the tunic to hold the belt in place but I don't know if any IOC CRL also mentions this.

     

    I would also advise to just add an extra hole and wear it tighter. Alternatively you could wear an extra layer underneath your tunic to add some bulk.

  4. 12 hours ago, kman said:

    Anovos / Denuo Novo is a pretty big supplier of imperial belts, and I'm not aware any detachments that doesn't allow their use, on costumes that use a standard imperial belt.  If anything, there may be a higher level limitation, as opposed to standard approval.  For IOC, it's definitely not a problem.

     

    The Denuo Novo belt costs 61 pounds on their website, although at the moment it's on sale at 55, plus shipping. Buying stuff even from the US is prohibitively expensive and more so from across the pond, so we often have to get creative and get things locally or make them ourselves. Fortunately, there is a town in my city's metropolitan area with a large leatherworking business where we can get a lot of stuff; I actually got my custom-sized jackboots for 70 US dollars.

     

    I'll gauge interest with the rest of my squad to see if they would like their own belts so we can find someone to do a belt run for us using mine as a template.

  5. I have a Bridge Crew, so very generic if you ask me. I'd have to watch the original trilogy again to check if any of their belts have holes. Also, since I might use this belt for a number of costumes, I'd have to check with the other detachments to see if the belt holes are approvable.

     

    For now I guess I'll keep the current one and try making copies of it with no holes. Thanks!

  6. Interesting, for some reason I remembered that no belt holes could be present. I can't find any mention of belt holes in the Bridge Crew CRL, can you think of some CRLs that do mention them?

     

    I'm quite content with my current belt, but using it as a pattern for future recruits would be a great idea for my squad, and there are more than a few nearby leatherworking business we could go to.

  7. 43 minutes ago, swirlie said:

     

    And this simple principle is so at odds with every other CRL that the 501st does. Heaven forbid you have an extra pouch on your belt, or a pouch too few, or you aren't 100% emulating this specific series of different pouches in this exact order on whatever armor kit... those will all get your app denied even for basic lvl 1 approval and I hate that. There should be some wiggle room, some amount of insignificant variation.

     

    So I'm glad the IOC sees reason on that front.

    I don't believe that is a matter of detachments as much as it is about costumes. The armors we see are much more consistent in their portrayal across multiple pieces of media. There are of course changes between, for example, clone troopers in TCW and ROTS, or stormtroopers in R1 and ANH, but the changes are relatively small since the armors are harder to produce, so you want a design that remains consistent and that you can reuse the costumes of for future projects. This leads to a somewhat fixed or constant look, while in contrast an officer uniform is easier to modify or change.

  8. 7 hours ago, swirlie said:

    In the various CRLs most seem to have multiple versions. Are the versions mix-and-match, e.g- can I take tunic 1 with pant 2 and boot 3 (simply illustrative) based on my personal preferences?

    No, you have to pick one version alone. If, for example, you choose tunic 2, you have to use the other parts of that version. Remember that we are recreating the uniforms seen in the official media, not cobbling together our own uniforms out of separate designs.

    7 hours ago, swirlie said:

    Are outfit colors very specific to something in-universe, or can I just decide I like grey most or I want green or whatever?

    There are some colors that are associated with particular factions or organizations. Green, for example, is mostly seen in Republic uniforms, while black is more common in the Empire. You can choose any CRL you want, but you'll have to comply with what the CRL says. If the CRL of your choice says the tunic is grey, then it has to be grey. If it says it's white, then it has to be white.

     

    As for the rank bars, the media has never been consistent with what design corresponds to each rank. However, while browsing through the databank I stumbled upon this page that might help you:

    https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:Imperialrankbar

     

    If the CRL doesn't state a defined rank bar design for the costume, you can in theory pick almost any rank design you want. However, I do recommend picking one that fits your age because realistically you're not going to see a 20-year-old Grand Admiral or a 58-year-old cadet. The more squares a rank bar has, the higher the rank. For choosing a rank, I recommend this source material designed by one of the Rogue One artists:

    https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_insignia_plaque?file=Imperial_Forces_Rank_Chart_-_Rogue_One.png

  9. Thank you everyone, I'm so excited to be here!

     

    On 11/16/2023 at 9:10 PM, Terunis said:

    Huzzah! Particular shout out to the boots, which look and fit perfectly. Well done!

    Fortunately I live near a town with a large leather & shoemaking industry so I was able to get these custom-sized from a local vendor who had previously worked making costumes for film productions. The sole is a bit thin, but for 1200 mexican pesos (about 70 dollars) I'd say I got a good deal.

     

  10. I first met the 501s on December 1st, 2018 during a local expo. During this time I have changed costumes (originally a Royal Guard), gone through something like 3 flight suits due to gaining weight during the pandemic and bought another 3 pairs of boots on a shopping spree that would end up not meeting the CRL standards.

     

    But finally, on the morning of November 11th, 2023, I received my approval!

     

    image.thumb.jpeg.3e49cae9793775e20ecaf62bafcfe9c4.jpeg

  11. I use a regular black fabric suitcase. Each of my boots are kept in separate plastic bags, while the hat and belt are kept in large ziploc bags to prevent them from getting damaged, although I am looking for something with more structure for the hat. This was an old suitcase I found in my parents' closet, but it hasn't failed me so far.

     

    Once I get some merch I'll try to decorate it.

  12. Hi everyone,I'm aware this might not be the best place to post this and might be a little too controversial,feel free to delete it if you believe so,but I just wanted to share some thoughts I had about the matter which came to me a few days ago after rewatching ESB and I would like to know yours as well.I'm a big military history buff ever since I have a memory and my favorite period is WWII,one of the characters in history that I'm the most interested about is Erwin Rommel,a german general nicknamed as the "Desert Fox" by the British for his ingenious tactics with armored units during his campaign in Africa.I might not be the first one to find the similarities and possibly some authors that expanded Veers' story noticed them to.These are the things I found in common between these two men:

     

    -Background: Both men came from humble origins,Veers came from a working-class family and Rommel was the son of a teacher.

     

    -Family: According to wookiepedia,Veers was a family man and was devastated when his son defected to the rebels.Rommel was very caring towards his family,he would send letters to his wife daily and had a happy marriage and discouraged his son from joining the army.

     

    -Rise through the ranks:Veers roose through the ranks for his courage in battle as well as his fast thinking and cunning tactics,he was also closely involved with Vader who recognized his talent in armored warfare,which led to his assignment to Vader's Death Squadron. Rommel earned a reputation in WWI as a lieutenant and defeated his enemies with his ingenious tactics,on one occasion capturing 9000 enemy soldiers with only 150 men, during the interwar period he developed a close relationship with Hitler and became the commander of his security detail.

     

    -Units commanded: Both of them made their reputation commanding armored units (AT-ATs and Panzers respectively).

     

    -Leading from the front: Both led his troops from the front,as they believed this allowed them to see the battle with more detail,which also served as a morale booster.Both of them were wounded many times during their service,but this did little to none to discourage them.

     

    -Reputation: Rommel was held in high regard by friend and foe alike for his effectiveness and,although not explicitly stated,we can assume that the rebels respected Veers as a brilliant strategist too.

     

    -Uniform and appearance:You can't tell me that watching Veers decimate rebel troops from the cockpit of an AT-AT isn't similar to Rommel on the turret of a Panzer,not to mention that both had similar uniforms,specially their goggles.

     

    -Virtues:Both men were calm and focused during the battle.Rommel is remembered as a man who respected his POWs with dignity,and his famous goggles were actually a gift from a British POW for retrieving his hat after a german soldier took it.

     

    -Fate: In Legends,Veers was disgraced after the Battle of Hoth and his son's defection,demoted and sent on a suicide mission.Rommel was forced to commit suicide after being accused of being involved in the 20 July plot to assassiate Hitler.

     

    -Regimes they served: The Galactic Empire and Nazi Germany have many similarities that I need not mention,it is unknown to what degree was Veers involved in the atrocities of the Empire.Rommel's role in the Holocaust is still debated between historians

     

    -Relation with their troops:Like I said before,both of them led from the front putting themselves in the same danger as their troops,this kept morale very high among their troops despite the harsh environments they fought in (North Africa and Hoth) and were both used as propaganda tools.

     

    -Terrain: Both fought in harsh conditions but achieved significant victories nonetheless,Veers in the ice of Hoth and Rommel in the deserts of North Africa.

     

    -Possible inspiration: Lucas is a great history nerd too,and he took many inspirations from history,for example the Galactic Civil War is inspired by the Vietnam War,so it is possible that he was thinking of Rommel while writing the scropt for ESB and/or Julian Glover grew up hearing stories of the Desert Fox.

     

    Keep in mind that I did a little bit of speculation in some parts,so I encourage you to look more into the resemblances between these two men and their individual stories.I personally am a great fan of Veers.

  13. Good news,the flightsuit and belt have arrived,I've already trooped with them and they fit almost perfectly.There are only two problems:

    -The wrist are a bit bigger than I expected so I might have to place another button there

    -The neck is too tight but I might not be able to change that

    Sorry for the low quality of the pics,my phone's camera is broken

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