Making your own set of Stormtrooper armour is a huge undertaking, but making it out of carbon fibre instead of plastic vacuum-forming techniques? You’ve just earned yourself a place next to Gene Roddenberry and Gary Gygax in nerd heaven.
The men behind the imperial masks are Jon Blackler, Kevin Proum, Len Carson and Daniel Avina, engineers working at a composites company in San Diego. So not only did they have the know-how and access to the resources and tooling to make the project happen, but also the requisite level of Star Wars fandom to even attempt it in the first place.
Thankfully their boss was on board and donated some of the company’s resources in exchange for displaying one of the suits in the lobby of their shop, but the cost for the project still ended up being in the neighbourhood of a really nice car. Money well spent for what will certainly make them the kings of Comic Con next year. [Carbon Fiber Gear via TheForce.net]