Keever

Agreed. In my experience, any costume which a taylor didn't personally put a tape measure to your body, could likely stand some upgrades, but ruling them out altogether is absurd, given how hard some of them work to accommodate our high standards. 

Kalani brings up some good points.  There are a lot of CS (cosplaysky) folks out there and that are 501st, so saying "don't do it" is a bit over the top.
 
However we would be remiss without clearly calling out the caveats.  Most people (at least in my garrison) do need further tailoring to get it to fit right, which is an extra cost.
 
Secondly, the jodhpur flares are not really done well, and at least as a GML nearly every applicant I've seen both in my own garrison and here on IOC has had to have them reworked to some degree.
 
Are these points egregious to say don't order from them?  Certainly not, however before buying you should be aware that ordering online doesn't mean perfect fit when it arrives or that it may not need work. 
 
For a secondary costume cosplaysky and other vendors like cosdaddy can be perfectly acceptable, but they will not look or be as high quality as having a custom made ID done with better fabric.  They again, they don't cost as much either!

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

I thought I would share my first troop with you all.
 
First Troop. Stollery Children’s  Hospital, Edmonton Alberta, Canada.
 
I don’t even know where to begin... nausea, nerves, excitement, fear and and absolute joy. This is what I experienced at my first troop. I can truly say that this is one of the most memorable days of my life. The pure joy that we brought to those wonderful children going through what may be one of the worst time of their little lives was amazing. There wasn’t a single person in the room that didn't have a smile.
 
We had parents comment on how they could not  remember when their child last smiled so much or that it was the most they were able to do in days. One little girl was dancing up a storm, laughing and playing the entire time. Her mother told us that the day before she wasn’t even walking and had no energy...don’t you know that she was one of the last kids to stay and play with us. Amazing!!!
We did have the opportunity to walk through some wards, where they were too unwell to make it out to see us. I seriously could have stayed all night with those kids.

I had the honour (Canadian spelling) of seeing and meet some wonderful members of my Garrison who took me in as one of their own from the moment I said “Hi, I’m the new guy.” They showed me what it is to be a member of the 501st. My only regret is that I didn’t join sooner.
 
now... the bad. I lost one of my code cylinders... but I have a set coming from Philo soon anyways.
 

 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

All excellent points, kman.  I didn't intend for my initial post to put CS down at all (just to clarify my intent), but to let people who haven't dealt with them know that the sizing grid is, as you say, hard to match all body types.
 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

As I slowly work on my Staff Officer build (hampered by finances... sigh), I just thought I'd share two mistakes I've made, in the hopes that other rookies won't waste their time and money.
 
First and foremost, read through the forums.  Go back a long, long time through them.  There are answers hidden several pages back that might be what you're looking for.
 
Second, start a thread.  Ask questions (after you've looked a long, long time back through the forums).  The people here have been wonderfully helpful to me, and I trust they will be to you as well... we're all doing this for the same reason.
 
Third (and this is to save you going back too far for this information), don't get the hat and belt from cosplaysky.  I read the thread about the belt not being approvable (the buckle's corners are too rounded, and the belt itself is REALLY cheap material), about 10 days after I ordered it, and of course, it had already shipped. As for the hat, it only took a glimpse to realize that there's no way it will pass in the condition it arrived in... the brim's a couple cm (a little over an inch) too long, the side flaps are stitched on the wrong way, and not centred, and it just generally sits wrong.

I'll be doing another post soon, with information about the pieces that I've been accumulating for my build, and the things I've learned soon.  I just want to get a couple of pics first, and I'm notoriously bad for hiding behind the camera.
 
So.  New Builders.  Learn from our mistakes.  Then go out and make new and exciting mistakes of your own, and share them with us! 

I just noticed that the files I posted say they've got three pages... they've actually got six pages each (except ROTJ, which only has two pages).  The first half of each file is the quotes, in order, by scene.  The second half is all the lines, sorted alphabetically by character.
 
Amusingly, when sorted like that, Tarkin's last words are "This had better work."  Is that the Imperial Officer equivalent of "Here, hold my beer"?

Thanks, MichaelK
 
Link to the google drive folder for all three files:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7r6KDi0GVexQVlzbHN1czl0Nlk?usp=sharing
 
Shortened version of the same link:  https://goo.gl/p87xdi
 
If the officer quotes were turned into modern-day docu-dramas:
 
ANH:  Tarkin:  Grandest Moff
ESB:  Piett:  Moff in the Making
ROTJ:  CONTROL:  Air Traffic Controllers of the Galactic Empire

Well kman, while I sit here waiting for my Cosplaysky uniform to arrive, I've taken it upon myself to help you out with that.
 
I found a script online, and copied all the lines over, then vetted them against my copy of ANH.  All I've got on my computer is the "Greedo shoots first" version... mea culpla... but I don't think any of the officers' lines were affected.
 
I'm working on ESB, but my roommate's ordered pizza, and that's distracting me.
 
Of course, this intel is unclassified, and is available to all Officer ranks...
Star Wars ANH Officer Quotes.pdf

Absolutely!  I think we'd make her day!

I'm about to place an order with them for a pair of Jack Boots and I wear a size 10.5 to 11 shoe.  Does anyone know if they run large or small?  I was hoping to get my orthotics in them. I also have larger than average calves and I figured they could be stretched out.

I ordered my regular size and they were a tad bigger so I have no problem fitting my orthotics in them.

I just noticed that the files I posted say they've got three pages... they've actually got six pages each (except ROTJ, which only has two pages).  The first half of each file is the quotes, in order, by scene.  The second half is all the lines, sorted alphabetically by character.
 
Amusingly, when sorted like that, Tarkin's last words are "This had better work."  Is that the Imperial Officer equivalent of "Here, hold my beer"?

Well kman, while I sit here waiting for my Cosplaysky uniform to arrive, I've taken it upon myself to help you out with that.
 
I found a script online, and copied all the lines over, then vetted them against my copy of ANH.  All I've got on my computer is the "Greedo shoots first" version... mea culpla... but I don't think any of the officers' lines were affected.
 
I'm working on ESB, but my roommate's ordered pizza, and that's distracting me.
 
Of course, this intel is unclassified, and is available to all Officer ranks...
Star Wars ANH Officer Quotes.pdf

Don't think I won't use that excuse.

Well kman, while I sit here waiting for my Cosplaysky uniform to arrive, I've taken it upon myself to help you out with that.
 
I found a script online, and copied all the lines over, then vetted them against my copy of ANH.  All I've got on my computer is the "Greedo shoots first" version... mea culpla... but I don't think any of the officers' lines were affected.
 
I'm working on ESB, but my roommate's ordered pizza, and that's distracting me.
 
Of course, this intel is unclassified, and is available to all Officer ranks...
Star Wars ANH Officer Quotes.pdf

Thanks, kman.  If you're looking for an excuse for a marathon, please feel free to do a second vetting of my work, or go through and make notes as to whether each line was a line officer, or a staff officer... y'know... for the ultimate accuracy of character lines. 

Well kman, while I sit here waiting for my Cosplaysky uniform to arrive, I've taken it upon myself to help you out with that.
 
I found a script online, and copied all the lines over, then vetted them against my copy of ANH.  All I've got on my computer is the "Greedo shoots first" version... mea culpla... but I don't think any of the officers' lines were affected.
 
I'm working on ESB, but my roommate's ordered pizza, and that's distracting me.
 
Of course, this intel is unclassified, and is available to all Officer ranks...
Star Wars ANH Officer Quotes.pdf

Thanks, MichaelK
 
Link to the google drive folder for all three files:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7r6KDi0GVexQVlzbHN1czl0Nlk?usp=sharing
 
Shortened version of the same link:  https://goo.gl/p87xdi
 
If the officer quotes were turned into modern-day docu-dramas:
 
ANH:  Tarkin:  Grandest Moff
ESB:  Piett:  Moff in the Making
ROTJ:  CONTROL:  Air Traffic Controllers of the Galactic Empire

Thanks, MichaelK
 
Link to the google drive folder for all three files:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B7r6KDi0GVexQVlzbHN1czl0Nlk?usp=sharing
 
Shortened version of the same link:  https://goo.gl/p87xdi
 
If the officer quotes were turned into modern-day docu-dramas:
 
ANH:  Tarkin:  Grandest Moff
ESB:  Piett:  Moff in the Making
ROTJ:  CONTROL:  Air Traffic Controllers of the Galactic Empire