The 501st Legion is a volunteer costuming organization. Members own and wear screen-accurate Imperial costumes at charity and community events. Bast Alpha does not rent or lend costumes.
Research first. Acquaint yourself with the Costume Reference Library (CRL), the Detachment for the costume you want to build, and this garrison. Choose a costume based on budget, comfort, and love. We recommend an established character for your first 501st costume.
The Costume Reference Library is the Legion’s living guide to accepted costumes. Garrison Membership Liaisons use it to judge a suit. Screen-accurate is the standard — this is not costume rental. If a new character is not listed yet, it may still be approvable; an established CRL is still the safest first build.
Open the CRL, then the alphabetical costume list, and pick the Visual Guide for the character you love.
Detachments are Legion communities for a costume type. They know the CRL, run work-in-progress threads, and often offer mentors. Sign up, read, and post build photos. This is the first forum you join.
A listing of Detachments by theme is on the CRL. Questions about whether a costume belongs in the 501st can go to the Legion Membership Officer at LMO@501st.com.
If you live in Louisiana, Bast Alpha is your garrison. Register on our phpBB and introduce yourself: who you are, where you are from, and what costume you are building. Link your Detachment build thread so local troopers can help. This is the second forum you join. A Garrison Membership Liaison (GML) will walk you through photos and the application.
Your GML verifies costume ownership from photos against the CRL, then you complete the official 501st application. You will be asked for five five-digit numbers (10000–99999) as Legion ID (TKID) candidates. The 501st is all-volunteer; review can take several weeks. If the suit is not ready, the GML will tell you what to change. Approved members troop with Bast Alpha.
Start with the CRL and the Legion join guide, then introduce yourself on the garrison forum so a GML can help. Avoid buying armor or complete costumes off eBay.
