Pasadena, Calif. ? Jorge Candelas spent eight months perfecting the look of his Imperial biker scout uniform.

He watched the “Star Wars” movies over and over, making sure the plastic armor on his uniform sat at just the right angle. He endured teasing from his father, who calls him his “8-year-old who never grew up.”

But on Thursday, the 30-year-old computer engineer from Durango, Mexico, was marching proud.

He joined 200 fellow “Star Wars” fanatics at a Pasadena high school football field, attempting to march in unison on the commands of a U.S. Army Reserve colonel in preparation for the 118th Rose Parade.

The scene was surreal – the troupe wore blue jeans, cargo shorts and T-shirts but rested elaborate masks of the Imperial forces on their heads. On the sidelines was the Darth Vader understudy, preparing in case the real one got sidelined.

They are all members of the 501st Legion, an international organization of more than 3,000 people devoted to re-creating scenes from the “Star Wars” movies.

They painstakingly mold, sew and paint costumes to dress up as stormtroopers, Royal Guards and other characters, mostly to realize childhood fantasies – but also to appear at charity events and Civil War-style re-enactments.

Brothers Piero and Giancarlo Bockos flew in from Verona, Italy, after they won judges over with a video of them marching and role-playing at a theme park.

The brothers were worried that in this post-Sept. 11 age, getting their snowtrooper and biker scout uniforms through customs might be a problem. So they informed airport officials. “We told them ‘We’re here for the Rose Parade. We’re stormtroopers.’ They laughed,” Piero said. “Customs wanted to see our helmets. One of them was a fan.”

Fans dressed as Star

“Star Wars” isn’t as popular in Italy as in the United States, so the brothers said they feel at home in Pasadena among their fellow fanatics.

“The most difficult thing was telling my boss I was traveling to the U.S. to dress in a plastic costume,” said Giancarlo, 30, who wore a T-shirt Thursday with the famous silhouette of a woman leaning back popularized by truckers, but with a stormtrooper helmet on her head.

When the brothers were told by a reporter that their long hair, tattoos and mustaches didn’t make them look like typical “Star Wars” fans, they said, “Thank you.”

A friend from Italy, Luca Masciulo, said being invited to march in the Rose Parade was justice for everyone who laughed at his hobby.

“It’s our revenge,” said Masciulo, 41.

The group will march along the 5 1/2-mile parade route alongside two “Star Wars” floats, a 176-member band from Grambling State University, eight flag bearers, eight dancers dressed as Twi’leks and a Jedi Knight drum leader.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is the grand marshal for 2007, which marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the first “Star Wars” film.

Executives at Lucasfilm, which produced the movies, selected the 200 marchers from among 700 videos submitted and paid for their travels to Pasadena.

The Rose Parade has brought together “Star Wars” re-creators from decidedly different walks of life.

Mark Fordham will march as Darth Vader, the “Star Wars” villain who dons an imposing all-black outfit. The Provo, Utah, police officer said he’s been “Vadering” – changing his voice to sound like the character – for 10 years.

He said outposts in Taiwan, Singapore, the Netherlands and Switzerland will be represented in the march, though he regretted some members weren’t able to make it.

“Venezuela had some visa issues,” Fordham said. “Israel’s guy was in a bomb shelter because of the problem with Lebanon.”

Fordham’s Darth Vader backup, Andrew Page, will be driven along the route in a van, ready to replace Fordham if he’s injured or dehydrated.

Page, who has Vader’s signature heavy breathing as a cell phone ringtone, used to be a sandtrooper, but was encouraged to try out Vader because of his height.

It’s definitely not the typical Rose Parade fare. But organizers said “Star Wars” has become such a cultural icon that they could not resist.