So I am really close to finishing my film accurate Kylo and am

It depends ENTIRELY on the social makeup of your local garrison. In some cities/places they're in the middle of huge feuds with the other local LFL clubs like Rebel Legion and the Mercs, but in other places they're all one big happy family. Some garrisons have middle aged dudes with children and mortgages vaguebooking at each other and starting drama between the various clubs, some don't.

I'm from a state where our local LFL clubs are full of vaguebooking old guys causing drama, and BOY HOWDY that stuff can get so tiring so quickly. I'm Mercs, not 501st, so from my outside-looking-in perspective the TKs are generally decent folk, the Kylos are all either memeing shitlords or gigantic edgelords, the Scout Troopers are all chill as hell, and the Vaders are cool dudes. I steer clear of the people that like to dress as officers tho because they're usually gigantic jackholes to complete strangers. Apparently one of the Florida garrisons (can't remember if there's more than one, I think there's a north and south??) likes to give really mean-spirited awards to certain people every year for not being able to troop.

Also: don't just craft on your own in your basement and only see people at troops. Join up on the forums and find your local garrison's subforum, talk to some people, go to some armor parties, make some friends. Try to befriend people that are also clone troopers in Rebel Legion, they're ALWAYS super chill motherfuckers.

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Basically what
>>9518363
>>9518364
said. I started in the 501st as a Scout Trooper, and then joined the Mandos. Our Garrison's leadership don't like the Mando Mercs, but they're stance has been getting edged out by the increasing numbers in both groups who just wanna do events and have fun. If you wanna do events and have fun, do this, and let the drama pass you by.

Conventions and community events are fun, charity fundraising is great, and there's NOTHING like getting to visit a children's hospital or kid in need. It'll make you glad you have a helmet to hide the tears.

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>>9518874
their* Goddamn it I am tired.

>>9516783
Funny that you bring up Kylo as I myself have a Kylo that is not approved and while at a con in Australia they approached me to join because I would be the only Kylo in the garrison. It was cool because I run into them a lot and considering I have my friend as hux as a spotter it would work well but anyway they let us hang out behind the booth with them which was really rad.

I'm not in a garrison (both my local 501st and Rebel Legion are inactive) but I'm in the Knights of Ren facebook group, and whooooo boy, if the people in there are any indication, I would stay the hell away.
>>9518363
summed it up very well with:
>the Kylos are all either memeing shitlords or gigantic edgelords
and I'll throw in that they're all in deep denial about how Kylo is obviously not just COOL EVIL DUDE IN A HELMET WITH NO EMOTIONS OTHER THAN RAEEEG. Every day there's a whiny post about whether or not he'll wear a helmet in TLJ because they don't want to have to show their ugly mugs. Then there's people who act like 501st approval is the end-all-be-all, and treat it as a reason to be pretentious.
I hope the garrison near you isn't like them, but I wouldn't be surprised if you ran into quite a few douches.

>>9518904
Christ the knight of ren group is a fucking mess. The only reason I am still in it is because of the tutorials and references people like Dawn and Luke. Who if I am honest are the only tolerable people in there because most of the time it is the same question over and over again like "where do I get my saber modded" or "how do I mod a black series bucket with a budget of ten dollars" but my favourite is "Is this 501st approved?" like yes hon that skimpy China based cosplay site you got it from is for sure 501st approvable.

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>>9516783
Hi I'm as fairly new member myself (Staff Officer aka Gigantic Jackhole) and so far I've trooped 3 times (2 were at conventions).
Everyone I've met in person while trooping has been welcoming and chill, and we have a lot in common outside of Star Wars. It's mainly 35-50ish guys but as a younger member I don't feel out of place.
That being said there is a fair amount of drama online (which I find equally hilarious and sad). I just keep out of it like most people there, and focus on having a good time and 'doing good' for the cause/charity.
At the end of the day it's about raising smiles and donations, and its like nothing else I've experienced.

>>9518874
I get the feeling that you're in Misha's Elegant Tea Society.

>>9519075
Don't feel too bad about being a Gigantic Jackhole, someday you will blossom into a beautiful armored butterfly. This is like a pupa stage. Also, if you're self-aware enough that you can embrace the title, you're already on the road to recovery.

>>9518909
Yeah, Dawn and Luke are amazing. But 90% of the posts are absolute garbage. I've been debating posting some of my own tutorials (especially a makeup / sfx scar makeup one, because nobody seems to know wtf they're doing in that regard) but idk if I want to deal with the idiotic questions which I'm sure will happen as a result.

>>9518874

I'm tryna figure out what you have going on here with your kit. Legacy torso and shnees, Deathwatch bucket, and Jango cod and thighs? I dig it, but I don't know that I've ever seen anyone do that before. Or maybe it's just more noticeable with your paint job. Loving the matte.

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>>9520991
The kit is from my local makers (and Clan officers). It's gradually being upgraded from....well, the attached image. Resin cast helmet instead of pep/fiberglass, new gauntlets. I just got a plate put in behind my collar/chest a couple days ago, and I'm going to strap the shoulders to my arms tonight so they stop flipping back when I move.

I have a blaster sidearm to paint and get a holster for, want to get a couple more pouches, get new thighs that sit on the sides instead of the front, add more decoration to the bucket, plates could use a repaint....

The kit is never done.

>>9521289

kit? finished? perish the thought.

What kind of blaster are you getting a holster for? Deathwatch thighs are designed to have an attached thigh holster built in (and you can get them vacformed from a couple different people if I'm remembering correctly), but you've got kamas so that seems like it might not go over so well.

At the same time though, I can't actually reach my holdout pistol because it's too far behind my back sooooooo

You guys are so fucking asinine with your feuds over people dressing up as science fiction characters.

Who gives a shit what people think of you dressing up in a Star Wars outfit? You all need a goddamn life, and to stop being so fucking fragile.

Pussies.

So this is basically a Star Wars enthusiast club that focuses on having high quality costumes that does a lot of charity work/special events? Also is it like a 'no girls allowed' thing? Just looked up my local 501st and it's 50 guys, not a single chick

>>9521565
>is it no girls allowed?
no, but you will have to wear a suit like everyone else, and they probably won't let you have one that's pink or where the chestplate isn't flat.

>>9521571
Totally reasonable.
So does everyone start out as a stormtrooper and make their way up to more recognizable characters?

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>>9521565
Pfffft. My mother is a mandalorian merc.

It's great.

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>>9521469
It's one of the old laser tag DL-44's. Far from a showpiece, but if it spends all its time in a holster anyway....

>>9521565
No, the go-to person for Kylo costumes for the 501st is a woman, Dawn Bright. It seems there's a lot more women in the Rebel Legion and Mando Mercs than in the 501st (which makes sense, as there aren't many female Empire/FO characters). BUT the general attitude I get from most of the men is that it's basically a dick-measuring contest as to who has the superior costume, who spent the most $ on their shitty Anovos helmet that doesn't look any better than a modded Black Series... which, in my experience, the ladies tend to stay away from.
>>9521577
You can go for whatever character you want within each club, but it has to meet their criteria for approval.

>>9521594
I love it! Your mom is awesome.

>>9519089
Too true. The next costume will likely end up being a Mando (or Phasma if I land that dream job next year...)

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>>9521598

I can't judge, my holdout is a DL that falls apart if I remove it from the holster anyway so it's actually a good thing I can't reach it.

>>9521571
>they won't let you have a suit that's pink with boob plates

Join the Mercs. We allow pink and boob plates as long as you meet all the CRLs. Pic related, I'm even official.

I don't necessarily want to join one of these groups, but if I show up in my oc donut steel hussar Jedi, will they harass me for not being exactly star wars accurate?

>>9521871
>dat pic
Damn, you look awesome lol

>>9523252

if you're not in the group, nobody cares what you're dressed as. If you keep showing up to group events without being a member and hanging around in costume eventually someone is going to pull you aside and ask you what the fuck you're doing.

>>9523252
No. It's just like every other group of people at any con: if you're an OC, nobody gives a shit.

>>9521594
Your mum is my hero.

>>9521871
The mercs are nothing but aspies that love OCs.

>>9524695

I honest to god cannot fight you on this because there's one dude in my clan that will not take his armor off until the event is over and calls everyone by their "character name" and it's honestly pretty weird when you're just in it for crafting without the anxiety of having to stick to a set character design.

To be fair to the guy though he's also the kind of fella that I would not put past having been a mall Santa at some point in his life.

>>9518904
>>9518909
That makes three of us in the Knights of Ren. I can also attest to the disarray the group has devolved into. I think it's due in part the group becoming public rather than private and waiting approval to join?

The influx of repeated questions has become such an eye sore that could be resolved with the simple use of the search function. Not to say they're all spazzes, save the few gems (Dawn and Luke already mentioned) that still linger, but the whole "I NEED VALIDATION IS THIS 501ST APPROVED?" fiasco is ridiculous, as well as the desperate scrambling to put together TLJ Kylo costume with barely any references to go off of. Though, I can't be too critical of that as it was no different when any sort of reference for TFA Kylo was taken from blurry images and a little left to imagination teaser were released.

I will say I'm at the point where I'm satisfied with my costume, without a few minor touch-ups to feel complete.

>>9526374
>the desperate scrambling to put together TLJ Kylo costume with barely any references to go off of.

Same thing with Rey's Jedi-esque costume from the new movie. We have a few blurry shots and general idea, but almost nothing other than that to go off of.

It's like, what's the point? You're going to pour that amount of effort into something you might be guessing wrong?

The costume looks great and I can't wait to make it, but I want to wait until I can make it right.

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>>9526374
>>9526449
Yeah, the whole TLJ thing is a bit ridiculous. Like, I want to make TLJ Rey & Kylo for myself and my boyfriend, but I know that everything's going to change once we get more pictures, so why am I going to spend hours and hours on something that I'll just have to redo? I might see if I can churn out a quick and cheap "as-good-as-I-can-guess" version of TLJ Rey just so I'm not one of 100 TFA Reys at my next con, since I'd only need to make a few new things, but idk.

Not to mention that everyone in KoR who's been making Kylo's new quilted tunic with white thread looks SO BAD.

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>>9521684
>>9524542
You have no idea how much it cheers her up to hear about people reacting like this.