Inside the Fighting 501st

When members of Vader's Fist -- the 501st Legion, a worldwide organization of dedicated Star Wars fans, don their stormtrooper armor it means more than just paying tribute to the Imperial forces seen on the big screen; for many it symbolizes their special commitment to both their fan and local communities.

Founded by Albin Johnson with Tom Crews, the 501st grew from a small group of devoted costumers to a world-wide organization of over 3,300 members with Garrisons set up in over 30 countries. It all began when two Star Wars fans went on a quest to find the perfect suit of stormtrooper armor.

"In 1995, I was sidelined by a traumatic accident where I was pinned between two cars on the side of the road," Johnson says. "That whole next year I spent in a wheelchair trying to save my leg and learning how the newly-emerging Internet worked. In 1997, I was more or less rehabilitated when the Star Wars trilogy was re-released as the Special Editions in theaters. My buddy Tom Crews and I started talking about how cool the stormtrooper characters were and, thinking out loud, imagined actually owning a suit like that. In no time we'd tracked down an ad on the Internet for a suit of stormtrooper armor."

"Tom and I both agreed we wanted to make our own armor because the product as far as we knew just didn't exist at the time and we were desperate to realize the dream," Johnson continues. "Fortunately, a few hobbyists were making armor even back then so we opted to buy their rough kits to use instead of trying to build from scratch. In 1997, there were only a few hobbyists out there with molds and vacuforming machines and everything was by word of mouth. Quality varied and there were definite evolutionary lines of the costume forming. You could identify armor types like one might identify the work of fashion designers: each had its own unique 'look.' Suits came in either styrene or ABS, pre-assembled or rough kits, designs inspired by different parts of the trilogy or custom-designed. It was a hard hobby to get into at the time."

Johnson's quest for the ultimate stormtrooper armor paid off, and the two friends attended the Columbia, SC, premiere of the Star Wars Special Edition wearing complete stormtrooper gear, impressing fans waiting in line.

"I remember the theater staff thought it was a joke and allowed me to change in this cramped little room where the popcorn butter was stored," Johnson recalls. "No sooner had I put on the helmet, though, than the employees caught sight of me and got very excited. As I stepped out into the theater lobby, immediately a clamor went up as the fans waiting in line saw me stroll into view. Shouts of, 'It's a stormtrooper!' and 'Cool! Look! Is that for REAL?' told me the visual impact was strong and completely unexpected. At the time these costumes just weren't in existence as far as anyone knew, so this was a ground-breaking experience."

"Even more impressive was weeks later at the premiere of Return of the Jedi," Johnson continues. "Tom suited up with me and the reaction was ten times bigger with two stormtroopers! I went from a curious standing museum piece by myself to a pair of stormtroopers that looked like a 'patrol' or 'detail.' That seemed to carry a lot more authority, visually. Suddenly, I realized how much more authentic stormtroopers looked when in numbers. It occurred to me then and there that there were no diminishing returns on the visual impact of stormtroopers. Quite simply, the more you have in one room the cooler they look."