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TI - TIE Pilot
501st Jolly Roger Squadron:
http://www.jrsdetachment501st.org. Jolly Roger Squadron is the official 501st TIE fighter Detachment.
Omega Wing:
http://www.omegawing.net. The website for all things TIE. The Omega Wing forums are jam-packed with essential info. While not being a part of the
501st Legion, Omega Wing is closely "affiliated" and most of it's members are also members of the 501st.
You’ll find
a huge amount of information there as well
as “How to…” guides and
items for sale.
For help with this costume,
please contact:
TI-3844
Helmet
Licensed helmets are hard to come by these days. The now defunct Don Post Studios used to offer a
"standard" and a "Classic Action" helmet. The DP
standard is a small bucket - suitable for smaller-frame pilots - while the rare and sought-after Classic
Action is a movie-sized helmet. These can be found
on eBay and occasionally in private fan-to-fan sales.
Don Post did also offer a "Deluxe" helmet in fibreglass - a very rare helmet to obtain, and more of a
display piece rather than a trooping lid.
Rubies - the current license holder - makes a TIE helmet which reportedly is made from the Don Post
standard molds. As it's predecessor, the Rubies is
small and quite prone to warping due to the soft roto-cast vinyl it is made of.
There are some fan-made helmets around as well - more accurate than the licensed ones in terms of looks
and size.
The shape of the TIE helmet often leaves the wearer's neck exposed - in order to prevent this, a black
balaclava or a Stormtrooper neckseal (or both)
should be worn. Balaclavas can be made or bought at your local motorcycle dealer.
Flightsuit
Many TI's go for a regular (U.S.) black aviator's jumpsuit though these aren't quite satisfactory,
accuracy-wise. IMO, the best choices would be to either
buy a custom-made Imperial jumpsuit or make your own. A pair of regular work coveralls with a hidden
zipper and sewn-on pockets will do the trick nicely.
Remove the original pockets and make new ones for both sleeves and legs. The chest pockets may be omitted
- they won't be visible underneath the
armour anyway. (Recently, people "in the know" have debated the existence of chest pockets on the TIE suits
- perhaps it is quite canon to leave them
out...)
Hard Armour
Aside from the ultra-rare Don Post Deluxe armour/chest box combo, no licensed TI armour exists to date.
Several fan made styrene and ABS kits do exist
though.
Chest box:
For availability, see Armour. Chest boxes come both in electronic (lights) versions and "dummy" variants.
Having LEDs light up on the box is a matter of
personal preference - the screen-used boxes didn't light up though.
Gloves
Black motorcycle or "Renaissance" fencing gauntlets. The general consensus seems to be that Damascus
D650 Cabretta Motorcycle Gauntlet gloves are as close as it gets to the
screen-used flight gloves.
 Boots
German military jack boots, or "Knobelbecher" were used in the movies. They can still be found in army
surplus stores and, naturally, on eBay. The more
common East German version is another, sometimes cheaper option.
Blaster
Pilots do not carry firearms in the movies. Several of the 501st TI's do pack heat though - a DL-44 or
Merr-Sonn Power 5 is sometimes worn by 501st pilots
and the regular trooper E-11 is also a popular sidearm. Another option would be the Short Range
Pistol/Rexim-Favor blaster, carried by Imperial pilots in
the Dark Horse Star Wars comics.
Accessories
Code cylinders - although no TIE pilots are seen wearing code cylinders in the movies, they're a popular
add-on. However, cylinders are not canon and they
are not a requisite for a 501st eligible costume.
Comm pad - Imperial personnel wear these in the left underarm pocket. Check out the above websites for
info on how to make or obtain one.
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