Costume Reference Library Stormtrooper

Model: TK-7795, Photo by: Amanda Kreis

Description: Stormtrooper - ESB
Prefix: TK
Detachment: First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment
Context: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Stormtroopers are the backbone of the Galactic Empire, and were the raiding party that secured Bespin.

Costume components:

01. Helmet:

White fiberglass, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), or HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene). The ESB helmet is distinguished by the following details:

Traps (trapezoids on dome of helmet) and tears (area beneath the corners of eye lenses) are gray.
Rear traps and tears have vertical black lines.
Lenses are a flat green or smoke sufficiently dark enough to obscure the costumer's eyes.
The gray "ear" bars have four bumps, with a black outline.
Frown is painted black and does not leave the teeth area. Eight or six total teeth on the frown are cut out.
Tube stripes are medium blue, numbering between 9 and 15 per side with the curve bends extending backwards.
Vocoder (vertically ribbed chin detail) is painted black
Aerators (cylinders on either side of the vocoder) are black.

Note: While the FX helmet is considered to be deprecated (to be avoided) it is acceptable for Legion acceptance.

02. Neck Seal: Black with horizontal ribs, fitted to the wearer, and extending from the base of the neck to the top of the Adam's apple.

03. Shoulder Straps: Securely mounted in front and free floating in the back.

04. Shoulder Bells: One on each shoulder with little or no overlap of the bicep armor. The shoulder bells are considered effectively symmetrical; they may worn interchangeably on the left and right shoulders.

05. Biceps: Biceps are fully closed.

06. Forearms: Forearms are fully closed.

07. Hand Plates: These should be clam shell - or snowtrooper - style hand plates and not the trapezoidal design seen in A New Hope. The hand plates are mounted securely over the back of the glove.

08. Gloves: Black rubber, nomex, leather, or leather-like material, with no visible straps or logos. The fingers are enclosed, non-textured.

09. Chest: Chest plate overlaps the abdominal plate.

10. Back: Back plate contains a "O II" design with little or no overlap of the kidney plate.

11. Undersuit: Black non-textured material, either one-piece or two-piece construction with no visible zippers or logos.

12. Ab Plate: The ab plate has a button area that matches the color pattern shown (3 blue + 6 gray); buttons are approximately 7/16" in diameter. The ab plate and kidney plate should match together at the sides with no gap, just a seam line.

13. Kidney Plate: Kidney plate sides should line up with the ab plate leaving no gaps, just a seam line. The top of the kidney plate should abut the bottom of the back plate.

14. Butt Plate: The top of the butt plate should below the bottom of the belt, with minimal gap between it and the kidney plate.

15. Belt:

The belt consists of three parts:

Belt face is made of plastic (TK ammo belt). There should be three square buttons, one centered in the middle and one on each end.
Belt proper is made of canvas, canvas covered material, leather, or vinyl, 3 to 3.5” wide. The color is be white to off-white.
The drop boxes dangle from the sides of the plastic front belt via white straps and are aligned under the plastic tabs of the ammo belt.

16. Thermal Detonator: (a.k.a. O2 canister) attaches to the back of the belt. This is a gray cylinder 2 to 2.5" in diameter with white end caps and a white control panel pad, with controls closest to the right end cap.

17. Thighs: The thigh armour is closed in the back. The ammo belt is installed on the bottom of the right thigh.

18. Lower legs: Greaves close in the back. The trapezoid knee plate is affixed to the left greave.
Note: Diamond knee plates or the absence of a knee plate is not canon approvable.

19. Boots: White leather or leather-like, above ankle height, with a flat sole, and small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle with no buckles or laces. Jodhpur-type boots or an equivalent style.
Note: Elvis or Mariachi boots are not not canon approvable.

20. Holster: Made of black leather or leather-like material, worn on the right and affixed via two loops over the belt.

Costume Accessories:

21. BlasTech E-11 Blaster: Based on a real or replica Sterling sub-machine gun, scratch-built, or a modified commercial toy Stormtrooper blaster.

Construction Notes:

22. Helmet Details:

Precise ESB Stormtrooper helmet details include:

Flat green lenses.
Ears should have three screws used per side, one above and below the ear bar and one at the base of the helmet.
Ear bars should have four bumps only, not three.
Correct 'hovi mic' aerator tips.
Traps/tears and tube stripes must be decals, no hand-painting.
Traps/tears should be ANH grey or a slightly bluer shade of ANH gray..

23. Armor Details:

Shoulder straps should not be attached with rivets, and should free float in the back rather than being permanently attached.
Armor side gaps should be closed. This should be done by adding a shim or shims of material that must be of similar material and color as the ab and back plate. Shims should fit flush and may have seams. Ideally they will be seamless if possible to the ab and/or back plate, resulting in a single seam between the ab/back rather than extra seams for where the shims are joined.
Thermal detonator should be attached via metal clips approximately 1 inch wide, and should be all gray without silver stickers or silver paint.
Belt drop boxes should be closed in back.
Rivets on the left side of the ab/kidney plates: a total of six rivets with three on the ab and three on the kidney plate, equally spaced out along the depth of the armour and about 10mm from the edge. They may be painted white, or not.
Belt should be canvas or canvas covered instead of leather or vinyl.
The cod may be separated from the rest of the ab plate, but this cut line should not be visible from the front.
Hand plates may be sewn on to the gloves at five points equally spread out with 2 on the sides and 1 in the middle front.

24. Blaster Details: A screen accurate BlasTech E-11 blaster should have the following:

Folding stock (does not need to function).
D-ring mounted on the rear.
Correct style scope.
No power cylinders on the magazine.
Scratch-built, resin cast, Hyperfirm rubber cast blasters should have a total of 6 t-racks on blaster (leaving the lowest row on the Hengstler side un-covered).
Hasbro blasters should have a total of 7 t-racks (if you cover all the original Hasbro rows of holes) or 6 T-racks (if you cover the original Hasbro "open row" of holes on the Hengstler side. Below this, you must grind off the original Hasbro lower T-rack and drill a new row of holes).
No ESB/ROTJ greeblies on the blaster are allowed.

A promo variation BlasTech E-11 blaster should have the following:

Two greeblies on the left rear area.
Three studs on the right rear area.
Add two scope block greeblies.
Remove front bayonet muzzle disk.
Remove mag housing parts.
Remove D-Ring mount.
Swoosh trim on right above the pistol grip.

Note: Popular commercially available toy Stormtrooper blasters are discouraged but allowed.

*Some costumes sold as licensed costumes may require modifications for approval into the 501st Legion. Please see the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment for rules on modification of these costumes.

Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 June, 2010 15:51

If you have a question about the qualifications of a particular costume or want to know if a specific character/costume is accepted in the 501st Legion, please e-mail the Legion Membership Officer.