Mandalorian Mercs The Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club is a world - wide fan organization , officially recognized by Lucasfilm Ltd . , that began as the brainchild of Tom Hutchens in March of 2007 . Noticing that Mandalorian costumers had distinctive and separate needs to other Star Wars costuming groups , Hutchens decided to create a costume group based on the Mandalorian culture . Utilizing a guild name from Star Wars : Galaxies and references from Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic and Republic Commando video game and novels , the Mandalorian Mercs as a costume organization was officially incorporated on April 7 , 2007 . The Mercs were granted official 501 ( c ) ( 4 ) tax status as a non - profit organization in the United States in 2012 . During the formation of the club , Hutchens began uniting Mandalorian costumers in the United States of America and the United Kingdom ; the regions were given names using the Mandalorian language developed by novelist and MMCC Honorary Member Karen Traviss . Talon Clan became the first official Mandalorian Mercs clan in April 2007 , shortly followed by Falco , Sun Raider and Storm Raider clans . The UK ' s Vok ’ Chi Clan was founded in late 2007 . The Mandalorian Mercs made their first Star Wars convention appearance at Orlando ’ s Celebration V , held in August of 2010 and featuring Boba Fett on advertising images . The Mercs have appeared at every Celebration since , eventually debuting a full - size , fully - operational Mandalorian speeder at 2015 ’ s Celebration Anaheim , along with a full - scale Mandalorian prison and cantina . From humble beginnings the club has grown to a global force , with over 1 , 500 members in 74 clans , strongholds and squads in more than 20 countries , a global club that entertains " Star Wars " fans , promotes the creation of costumes , and raises money for charities world - wide . Organization . The infrastructure of the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club is based on references to the Mandalorian culture in the Star Wars Expanded Universe canon . The cultural leader , or Mandalore , is the public figurehead with a ruling and advisory council and command staff used to debate and guide the club ’ s direction . This makes the Mandalorian Mercs Costuming Club unique as it is based on methodology and ideology as opposed to visual accuracies based on the Star Wars films , although all members must meet a level of quality inspired by canon characters and outlined in CRLs . It is the goal of the Mercs to be an inclusive and family - friendly club , following the Mandalorian way of life as part of a clan , or family unit , and a clan ' s ability to adopt anyone who wishes to become a Mandalorian . Command Staff < nowiki > < / nowiki > The Mercs Command Staff consists of : Administrative Staff Application Team Staff Brigade Team Staff Regional Leadership Local Leadership Members of the Mercs not holding an officer position are referred to as " OMs " ( Official Members ) . In 2016 , the Squad System and Freelancer Guild were disbanded and replaced with the Stronghold system . Both systems existed to serve areas that did not have enough members to create a clan ( a clan currently requires 7 official members ) . The purpose of the Stronghold system is to give those members who are not part of a clan the ability to seek guidance , assistance , mentorship , and publicity materials in an effort to better equip them to grow the MMCC in their area to a clan status . Once a Stronghold reaches 7 members in relative proximity to one another , they may apply for official clan status . The Regional Commander and their staff are the representation and leadership for members within a Stronghold until such time that the Stronghold has enough members to become a fully recognized clan within the MMCC . Charity . Since its small beginnings , the Mandalorian Mercs has become a rapidly - growing community of Mandalorian costumers . Like the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion , many Mercs wanted to use this popularity to give back to the community in some way . As such , clans are free to support any charity they wish , including its own Little Warrior International , developed by the Mercs to help sick or underprivileged children . LWI became an official US Charity in 2012 . Membership . Anyone who is at least 18 years and in possession of a custom Mandalorian costume from the Star Wars Universe is eligible for membership in the club . Applications can be submitted on the official site . This process typically consists of the application team checking an applicant ' s submitted photos and forwarding the information to the local clan or squad to which the member would belong . All Mercs members are encouraged to create their own unique character name to use on the site ' s forums and at events in conjunction with their costume . The custom nature of the club has lent itself to occasionally influencing the " Star Wars " Expanded Universe canon . Author Karen Traviss thanks official Mercs member Ray Ramirez in several of her novels for technical advice and friendship . Ray ' s Mandalorian character , Ram Zerimar , was later written into in the Legacy of the Force series . The authors of The Essential Guide to Warfare also based the character of Mandalore the Uniter on the character created by Mandalorian Mercs founder Tom Hutchens . Honorary Members . Some other honorary members of the Mercs include actors , authors and illustrators : Costumes . Most members choose to make their own armor , using templates and tutorials located on the Mandalorian Mercs website . Typically , if other official or unofficial members live near a new recruit trying to make their own armor , these members will get together to assist the new member in building their costume . Members will also host armor parties , allowing fellow members and recruits to come together and work on armor , while also getting to know one another . This helps to promote a sense of family within the club and among members . These eras have different styles of armor unique to their period in the Star Wars Universe . Each era of Mandalorian armor has its own separate requirements for costume approval and a specialized approval team dedicated to it . Modern and Legacy , while somewhat different in armor layout , share the same Costume Requirements List ( commonly known as CRLs ) . Methods of Custom Armor Building . Costume building tends to follow a similar path when it comes to materials and methods , with some taking their own direction in design , materials , and methods . Armor is most commonly made from PVC foam board ( brand names include Sintra ) , with thickness typically varying from 3mm to 6mm . Some armor builders choose to use Pepakura ( a system of templates for paper - based construction ) , while others purchase their armor from vendors . Helmets are sometimes built from scratch with templates on the Mercs website , while others build theirs from Pepakura files . Members have also been known to purchase resin casts of helmets from particular vendors . All third - party products must meet Mercs approval , and vendors who do not meet standards can find their products banned for use by the organization . Canon Characters Accepted . For many modern canon costumes , different CRLs exist for different canon appearances .