Legion 501

Since I watched The Return of the Jedi when I was just a kid, I’ve always felt the Star Wars pull, specially for the Empire and two characters within: The Scout Troopers and the TIE Fighter Pilots.

Yesterday, going through one of many boring moments, I dedided to make a search for pictures of those two characters, of which I never have enough, and roaming about I decided to make a stop at a site I knew from previous surfing, but never paid too much attention.

The site is the so-called The 501st Legion, an imperial Star Wars fan-based association that has reached so much relevance that it counts among its Honorary Members with George Lucas himself along with other cast members such as Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Hayden Chistiansen (Anakin Skywalker adulto), Anthony Daniels (C3-Po) and several more. Although it’s not directly linked to Star Wars as a subsidiary, it´s very well considered by the Lucasfilm team.

As a Fan Club, The 501st Legion has expanded its influence worldwide and counts with several branches that, respecting the Imperial army slang, have been divided in smaller units, called Garrisons. These garrisons gather the members in a specific area, be it a small area within a state, a whole state or a foreigner country. So, you can find garrisons located, for example, in Spain, with 88 members, or in Southern California. Of course there are more, but I’m mentioning these two because these are the ones I have checked upon my personal interest.

The two main features of the 501st are that, in order to become a member, one must have at least one imperial costume, and it has to be a nice costume: Lame stuff is not valido ver there, and the costume has to look as much as posible to the original ones. Second, and it’s part of the first one being a requirement to be a member, is that he 501st is taking active part in the social activities in the zones close to a garrison in form of appearances, parades or as event attraction, even when the activity itself has nothing to do with the Star Wars universe. This way, they organize to attend charity activities, visit children hospitals, etc., and by what I’ve read, they are a hit wherever they show up.

Since I haven’t had much of a social life lately, I’ve seen the light in the 501st: They’re Star Wars fans, they organize public activities, and best of all, they know how to have fun! Let’s see if I can finally find a damn job, settle a bit, buy a uniform on ebay and join the gang…