Costuming:TX novatrooper

Novatrooper

Model TX-35028 Cliff Tsui, Photo by Bao YanZhou

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Description: Novatrooper Prefix: TX Detachment: Spec Ops Detachment Context: Star Wars Galaxies (PC Game) Novatroopers were elite units which operated in limited squads under the Stormtrooper Corps. While they were most often utilized in ceremonious occasions, such as medal and award ceremonies, they have also been deployed in special and high profile missions. Such missions include infiltration and sabotage of high value targets as well as enforcement and crackdown on illegal activities.

For 501st membership only the requirements listed in black need to be met. Black text indicates a feature that is required for approval. Blue text denotes requirements for Level 2 "Specialist," but is not required for basic approval. Visit the Spec Ops website for a full description of these standards. Special Notes: The armor is gloss black and may be slightly weathered. All striping "flash" is clean and unweathered. Armor is made from one of these (or similar) types of materials: Fiberglass ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene). Blasters are not required for legion membership per our weapons policy.

This Visual Guide has been reviewed by the detachment staff and the LMO team and is certified for use as a minimum approval guideline for GMLs. GMLs are free to approve this costume type. This document is not intended to be a detailed how-to on costume construction; rather a visual guide to be used for 501st costume approval. Details on construction may be found on the respective costume detachment web forum. GMLs uncertain about an aspect of submitted costume shall post questions in the appropriate DL/GML peer review section of the Legion forum. Measurements given in this document are intended to be approximate and generalized; not criteria for approval. Requirements for all 501st costumes are proportional to the wearer in scale, fit and size. Text descriptions are only one part of the guideline. GMLs and costumers must consider both text and pictures (CRL and Reference) when reviewing the costume.

Required Costume Components

The following costume components are present and appear as described below.

	Helmet Lenses must be sufficiently dark enough to obscure the costumer's eyes. They are either flat or bubbled. Acceptable colors are black, smoke, or dark green. The body of the "ears" are black. The bars have three or four bumps and are black. The frown must have 8 teeth cut out and any coloring must not leave the indented area. Acceptable color is black. Black mesh must be used to obscure the face of the wearer. The tube stripes are black in color and may number between 9 and 16 per side with the curve bends extending backwards. These can be either hand painted or decals. Vocoder (vertically ribbed chin detail) is black. The aerators (cylinders on either side of the vocoder) are black, and screening can be either silver or black. The interior of the aerator can either be white, silver or black. Traps (trapezoids on dome of helmet) and tears (area beneath the corners of eye lenses) can be hand painted or decals. Acceptable colors are black (gloss/satin/matte) or dark gray. If dark gray is used then the tears and rear traps must have vertical black lines. Helmet flash is a gold stripe that runs horizontally along the brow with thicker sections cut at a right angle near the temple traps. Another horizontal gold stripe runs between the rear dome traps and is between half and three quarters the height of the traps. Gold bars are present under the tube stripes, on each side.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Ears shall have three screws per side, one above and one below the ear bar and one at the base of the helmet. Screws are slotted, flat topped, countersunk and painted black. Ear bars have four bumps only, not three. Correct 'Hovi mic' aerator tips. The screen in the aerator tips shall be painted silver and the interior of the aerator tip shall be painted white. Screens used shall be of a wide type mesh. Neck trim shall be an S-type profile rather than a U-type profile.

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	Neck Seal Black with horizontal ribs, fitted to the wearer, and extending from the base of the neck to conceal the entire neck.

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	Under Suit Black non-textured material, either one-piece or two-piece construction with no visible zippers or logos/designs.

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	Shoulder Straps These shall be securely mounted in front and may free float in the back. They can be affixed with rivets, Velcro or adhesive. The rear tab of the strap is optional and may or may not be present.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): No visible rivets are allowed to secure the straps in the front. These shall need to be held down in the back with a black elastic band to the black fabric that connects/ bridges the chest and back armor. These shall be glued in front. The rear tab of the strap shall be removed same as the TKs seen in ANH movie.

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	Shoulder Armor One on each shoulder with a gold vertical stripe running down the center of the outside. The shoulder bells are considered effectively symmetrical. They can be worn interchangeably on the left and right shoulders. Shoulders have a black elastic strap that wraps around the inside of the bicep.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and chest/back plate.

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	Biceps Biceps are fully closed with a gold vertical stripe running down the center of the outside. Overlap construction is only allowed for kits that come with the cover strip molded into the part.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Must be constructed using the butt plate joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed. There shall be a return edge that is present with a maximum width of 3⁄8" (10mm) width.

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	Forearm Armor Forearms are fully sealed and closed with a gold vertical stripe running down the center of the outside. Overlap construction is only allowed for kits that come with the cover strip molded into the part.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Must be constructed using the butt plate joint and cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed. There shall be no return edges present on the inside of the front of the forearms.

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	Hand Plates Pentagonal in shape, hand plates should be securely mounted over the back of the glove. These can be made up of plastic, latex or latex-like material and are gold in color.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Handguards shall be latex or latex-like, painted gold and affixed with adhesive to rubber gloves with no visible strapping or stitching.

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	Gloves Black in color, made of either rubber, nomex, leather, or leather-like material, with no visible straps or logos/ designs. The fingers are enclosed, non-textured.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Gloves shall be rubber or rubber-like chemical gloves, in black.

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	Chest Armor Chest armor overlaps abdominal armor.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): The chest plate shall have return edges all around it, maximum width of 3⁄8" (10mm). Chest and back shall be connected with a black fabric (preferably elastic) that does not stick out or show under the shoulder plastic straps.

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	Back Armor Back plate contains a “O II” design with little or no overlap of the kidney plate.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Back plate shall have return edges all around, maximum width of 3⁄8" (10mm).

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	Abdomen Armor The abdomen armor has a button area with 9 gloss buttons. Correct sized buttons are approximately 7⁄16” (11mm) in diameter. Abdomen armor button area detail matches reference photos.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): There should be no gap between the ab and kidney plate, a single visible seam line is ideal. Any gap between the abdomen and kidney armor shall be no more than 1⁄2” (12.5mm). Any shims used to achieve this effect shall have a similar material and color as with the abdomen and kidney armor. Shims should be flush and seams are allowed. Rivets on the left side of the ab plate: a total of three fasteners, the heads should be rounded or domed, solid, approximately 5⁄16” (8mm) in diameter and equally spaced out along the depth of the armor and about 3⁄8" (10mm) from the edge. They must be painted black. Paperclip brads are not considered to have a domed head. Note: The original TK armor used the bifurcated rivets or split rivets. A single male snap on the top right of the corner of the ab plate shall be present and painted black. A single split rivet or brad shall be present on the crotch tab of the ab plate and painted black. It does not need to be functional. Rivet diameter should be approximately 5⁄16” (8mm). Abdomen armor buttons are integrated directly on the armor. No separate buttons are allowed.

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	Kidney Armor The kidney/posterior armor may be either one piece (ROTJ style) or two pieces (ANH style). If a separate kidney plate is used, it lines up with the abdomen armor. The top of the kidney armor is flush to or under the back armor.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Three rivets shall be present on the left side of the kidney plate: a total of three fasteners, the heads should be rounded or domed, solid, approximately 5⁄16” (8mm) in diameter and equally spaced out the depth of the armor and about 3⁄8" (10mm) from the edge. They should be aligned horizontally with the three rivets on the ab plate. They must be painted black. Paperclip brads are not considered to have a domed head. Note: The original TK armor used the bifurcated rivets or split rivets. Cut-out notches at the bottom of the right and left side of the kidney armor are optional. If present, each notch is approximately 7⁄8" (22mm) tall and the back of the notch ideally is aligned with the front edges of the posterior armor plate.

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	Posterior Armor The kidney/posterior armor may be either one piece (ROTJ style) or two pieces (ANH style).
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Two male snaps are present on the lower center tab that are painted black. Snaps do not need to be functional.

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	Belt The ammo belt shall be made of similar material and color matching the overall armor. It is comprised of 6 rectangular boxes, with three square buttons, one centered in the middle and on each end of the belt. No button covers are present on the belt. The soft belt proper is made of black canvas, or material with a canvas covering and must be 3" to 3.5” (75–90mm) wide. The drop boxes dangle from the sides of the plastic belt face via black straps and are aligned under the plastic tabs of the ammo belt. The belt closes by overlapping in the rear center of the kidney/posterior armor where the thermal detonator is attached.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): The corners of the black plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that meets the outer edge of the canvas belt. The top of the ammo belt should sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels. Drop boxes must be attached using black elastic and must have full inner drop boxes to close the back. Flat covers are not allowed. Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. No buttons are present on the belt.

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	Thigh Armor The thigh armor may open and firmly close in the back allowing the two halves to appear sealed. The small ammo belt is installed on the bottom of the right thigh. The bottom corners of the thigh ammo belt shall be rounded off. Overlap construction is only allowable for kits that come with the cover strip molded into the part. Cover strips must end at the top of lower ridge in front and back. If the two parts of the thigh armor cannot fit the user, cover strip should not be too wide. Instead, shims can be used to close the back of the thigh armor. Shims shall have a similar material and color to the whole armor, should be flush without seams.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): The thigh ammo belt must be attached to the thigh armor with a solid head rivet or fastener, painted black in the upper corner and fastened to the lower thigh ridge. Rivet diameter should be approximately 5⁄16” (8mm). The rivets used shall be single cap, double cap or split rivets. Standard pop rivets are not allowed. Must be constructed using the butt joint cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.

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	Lower Leg Armor The shin armor is able to open and firmly close in the back allowing the two halves to appear sealed. The trapezoid knee plate is affixed to the top of the left shin. The hexagon in the center and upper ridge of the knee plate, as well as its top trim is painted gold. Overlap construction is only allowable for kits that come with the cover strip molded into the part.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Sniper knee plate must be aligned with the ridges on the shin. The sniper knee plate must not have visible rivets or fasteners attaching it to the shin. Shins are constructed using the butt joint cover strip method. Overlap construction is not allowed.

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	Boots Boots are above ankle height and made of black leather or leather-like material. Small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle. Flat sole with a short heel. No buckles or laces. Jodhpur/Chelsea-type boots or an equivalent style is acceptable. Elvis or Mariachi boots are not allowed.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): There is no seam present on the front of the boot.

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Optional Accessories

Items below are optional costume accessories. These items are not required for approval, but if present appear as described below. If adding in an accessory after initial approval, the item still needs to be submitted to local GML for approval before use.

	Pauldron Must be gold in color and made from vinyl, leather or leather like material. Must be worn over the right shoulder.

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	Thermal Detonator (A.K.A O2 canister) is attached to the center back of the belt. Detonator consists of a black cylinder with 2” to 2.68” (50–68mm) in diameter with black end caps on each end and a black control panel pad. The black control panel pad faces upwards, with the controls/round washer-style detail closest to the right end cap. The total length is approximately 7.5” (190.5mm). No silver stickers or silver paint is allowed. The detonator is attached to the black canvas belt with 1” (25mm) black or silver metal or metallic-appearing clips.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Clips shall be attached with slotted, pan head style screws, and painted black (two per clip). V-head screws are not permitted. Thermal detonator belt clips are positioned with little to no gap between the clips and the end caps. Belt clips shall be made of metal and must be black.

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	Holster It is made of black leather or leather-like material. It is worn on the left side of the canvas belt and is attached via two leather or leather-like material straps to the canvas belt from behind. Affixed with only two fasteners at the bottom, one on each side, painted in black. Fasteners may be rivets, snaps or Chicago screws.

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	E-11 Blaster Manufactured by BlasTech Industries, the E-11 is standard-issue for many Imperial troops. Light, compact yet powerful, the E-11 blaster is always in high demand throughout the galaxy. Based on a real or replica Sterling sub-machine gun, scratch-built, or a modified commercial toy Stormtrooper blaster.
	OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Folding stock. Stock does not need to function. A real or replica ammo counter - based off of a Hengstler counter - should be present. D-ring mounted on the rear. Correct style scope. Two 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). If using the Hasbro E11 toy blaster, it is modified to have the correct number of T-tracks (6 total), with a lower row of open vent holes on the magazine housing side. This is accomplished by covering the pre-existing rows of holes with T-tracks, then grinding off the lower integrated T-track on the magazine housing side, and drilling a new row of holes in its place. 3D printed blasters can not contain visible print lines and must be sanded smooth for a more realistic appearance.

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• This CRL is available as a PDF

This document and all of the images within were created by and are the property of the 501st Legion. Other media owned by Lucasfilm Ltd and Disney are used under authorization. All other uses are prohibited. The 501st Legion is a worldwide Star Wars costuming organization comprised of and operated by Star Wars fans. While it is not sponsored by Lucasfilm Ltd., it follows generally accepted ground rules for Star Wars fan groups. Star Wars, its characters, costumes, and all associated items are the intellectual property of Lucasfilm. Copyright and Trademark Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.