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Finally Stormtroopers, about time No grey inside ends TD White Pauldron

How’s this? I might need to trim the dome a bit more, the brow does angle. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You need to add a link to your legion membership profile, have a look at the first post in this thread

Looking good, I would bring it down just a touch in the front, as the sides angle downwards A great reference for helmets is http://www.starwarshelmets.com/stormtrooper_helmets_armor_and_costumes.htm Also a couple of great helmet threads

I love this collage of us sitting or laying in our armors

No worries Jonas, start with the weathering and we’ll take it from there. That will probably ”hide it” enough for ComicCon and then we can look into the other options. Let’s try the ”easy-out” first

Merci

What glue did you use? I’ll be blunt honest and say it doesn’t look all that good. First step would be to reglue the cowl on that side if e6000 were used, second step would be to use creative weathering to try and make it less obvious. With that said, you will get the best looking helmet if you redo it. If a total makeover is necessary than do it on a rainy day with nothing else to do

Congratulations Trooper!

Thank you all!!!! Seriously over the moon about this.

Congrats Adam! Amazing job!

Gonna look awesome.

I GOT CENTURION TODAY!!!! My pack build was approved! Huge thanks @Chemi @TKSpartan and @justjoseph63 You guys made me very happy. And I'm specifically mentioning you all because... I'm now changing my pack. See, I wanted to build a replica of @equuspolo's Kenobi pack when I started this. Step 1 was getting the pack built and Step 2 was reaching Centurion. Because Ardeshir started out with a Centurion pack before modifying it for the show, I wanted to start from the same place. It makes sense in my head anyway... So. No disrespect meant to the DOs at all by my modification of an approved pack. Thanks for declaring my build Centurion Quality! I just am moving onto Step 3 - Recreate the Kenobi HWT Pack. I was SO excited when I saw these two run onto the screen. Seriously. I liked the Heavy Weapons Trooper pack and CRL before, but seeing it on the screen, even if just for a few seconds... it ignited a fire. I started buying parts for it that same week. This was the best screen grab I was able to do myself. It shows all the lights, the E11 mount, and pack config. I will not admit to buying software just for this... I used it on my E-11 ANH Leia Leveller replica build also!! So I already had the screen enhance software laying around... heh. All photos below were taken by and shared publicly by Ardeshir. They are not mine. Ardeshir shared these photos with the FISD staff and on the Facebook HWT group. Ultimately, it was decided against having a CRL for the Obiwan HWT... but I still want to build the pack. So I'm gonna! Very close to its roots. It just has some extra lights, switches, and the beautiful Disney drink bottle tops. (photo by equuspolo) Cog on the drop siphon, nice weathering, oval Meguiar's wipe bottle. I believe that's a battery box glued to the side of the radio box. (photo by equuspolo) Mortar tube side - pretty stock looking over here, just with the lovely weathering. (photo by equuspolo) The blaster side - I will likely paint up a Rubies E-11 because I don't have a Rebels one in my armory. Nice use of velcro tape! Also, Kenobi confirmed the existence of velcro in the SW universe (close-up of Leia's gloves). (photo by equuspolo) And LOOK AT THAT!!! That's the pack lights at night. Note that the blue lights are in fact white LEDs. It's a camera white balance making them appear blue. (photo by equuspolo) I cannot wait to have this. It will be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least there will be another one in the universe made out of my own pack. (photo by equuspolo) So that's the next step in my HWT pack build - lights, an antenna, some switches, and a pack mounted E-11.

Congrats Adam!!!

This is the link you want C'est le lien que vous voulez https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=33132

Oh! One quick question, as I'm almost ready to purchase the assembly bits and accessories. Does anyone happen to have a favorite canvas belt vendor? I was going to purchase TrooperBays, and still might, but the one I got for my shadowtrooper felt a but flimsy. My anovos one felt very nice, but that is being used elsewhere.

I wonder if you could do something with rare earth magnets to mount the light… Maybe sink a hole in the blaster and glue a little bar magnet in there and then patch and paint it up, then make a little mount attached to the light with another magnet in it? Or you could just glue a magnet or thin strip of ferrous metal to the side of the blaster and paint it…

Nice!! I bet that was really fun. Armor is looking fantastic too!

It's certainly a bit more difficult, but not impossible -- so far there hasn't been anything where we didn't manage to get up on our own and we've done a lot of fun stuff: I think I'll call this "they said it was impossible" Honestly though: if you're reading this and thinking "Oh, that sounds fun!" please try it with another person who can help you, in case you get stuck halfway through. It took me one try to sit down and get up. One try to lie down and get up. But four tries and a cramp in my foot to kneel in armor Also, just because it works for me and my friends doesn't mean other people won't end up with cracks in their armors. Maybe I'll take the time to write a "how to" in the future for sitting and kneeling in armor, but even then depending on the armor, fit and build you can still end up with cracks.

Well, I layed down on a bench, beach chairs and swings, stuff slightly above the ground. It's easier than laying down on the ground. EDIT: just because I don't prefer to do so, doesn't mean it's impossible to lie down on the ground -- TK-71384 is famous for posing that way Yeah, RS armor is super sturdy -- my friend group (Chaos Division Fireteam) and I have done basically everything in those armors: Playing soccer, falling down, laying down, sitting down, running around, climbing stuff and so on... you think it, we've probably done it. Shout-out to my TK-sister @Swoby who's even more adventurous than I would ever dare If you're curious about my shenanigans, there's either my Troop Log or my Instagram ( @lucamorgi ) -- gotta recommend the second, there's way more shenanigans

Thank you, Sir Honestly, it's not just natural weathering-- there's a fair ton of artificial weathering with advice by @T-Jay, I clean certain types of weathering and it's wonderful to see the progress and know where certain marks came from... beautiful, gotta love some weathering! Not sure if I want to clean it for my application Glad you could be converted to the weathered side of the FISD, I hope you enjoy your stay -- oh, and thank you for your kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed the read-through!

NEW In Memoriam Detachment Leader Merchandise & Officer Census 2022 Just For Laughs Update Your Build Threads Around the Detachment Spotlight Custom Photo Editing INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS Common FISD Acronyms and TK Glossary Pre Approval Forum 3D Section Field Exercise Award Imperial Attaché Program Master Armorer Award Fire Teams EIB & Centurion: What do these terms mean? Need Help Ask the Deployment Officers Advanced Tactics Awards Public Relations Staff List 2020 Follow FISD It is with heavy heart and great sorrow that we report the loss of one of our own, Jim (Rat) Ferrell TK95970 who has sadly passed away. He was a truly a wonderful human being, detachment staff member and trooper. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends in this difficult time. We love you mate and you will be sorely missed by all you have crossed paths with. "Buckets Off" Andrew Franke TK-11469 "Sly11" - - - - - - From the Cloud City Garrison We at Cloud City Garrison are saddened to hear about the sudden and unexpected passing of garrison friend and fellow trooper Jim Ferrell. Our hearts go out to all his family and friends. Affectionately known as Rat, he brought an infectious enthusiasm to any event he did and he will be sorely missed. Cloud City Garrison, Star Wars Oregon, and the entire The 501st Legion mourns the loss of our brother trooper. Rest easy, TK/TK-95970. Buckets off. - - - - - - Jim Ferrell - A Few Words From Staff I would like to take a moment to remember Jim (Rat) Ferrell. Jim was one of the first members that I interacted with when I took on that first run that I ever did. While I had a ton of help from staff on how to do the run and set things up, Jim was the first member that took a minute to thank me for what I was doing and started up a "virtual" conversation with me. While I don't claim to know him as well as other troopers, I was very happy to get the opportunity to meet him in person at Celebration this past year. I know Jim had a bit of a rough go over the last year or so, but it seemed to me like he was starting to come back around and to hear of his sudden passing was a shock. I had just chatted with him a few days before I heard of his passing. None of us know how much time we have on this little blue rock hurling through space. Take the time to talk to your friends, family and fellow Legion members. Do the troops, go to the conventions, spend your time making memories, and try to limit your regrets. I feel I'm a better person for having had the opportunity to know and meet Jim. He will be missed. Buckets Off James Silvius TK-12953 "jsilvius" - - - - - - I struggle to write this posting….As you may recall, Rat and I ran the FISD PR (FB and IG) hand in hand. We checked in daily with each other, and bounced ideas off one another. As a result of working so closely, over time, we developed a friendship. Encompassing legion, detachment, costuming, garrison life, and real every day life. Rat left us earlier this year after the passing of his dear wife Judi. He was trying to find a way to live without her. And I was upset he left me…. Selfish… I know… I cried an ugly cry, telling him I didn’t wish to carry on here without him. And I’ve struggled without him…Jim was my other half here on the Detachment. We worked side by side for years. There’s very few in this entire Legion that truly know me as he did. Not only was he my FISD partner in PR crime, bringing you snappy, witty, beautiful posts of all of you, Rat was my friend. A title of which I do not bestow easily. Friendship is a rare cherished special thing in my world.In all things, he had my back. Supported every hairbrained scheme I may have concocted, every Legion issue I ever wished to fight for or over. Stayed up all night many nights supporting one another personally or this Detachment with shared ideas of how we both could do better here. Filled in for me when I was struggling, and counted on me when he was too. He was an Attaché here in the truest sense of the word. He’d given countless hours full of enthusiasm and wisdom to countless hopeful TKs. He created a fundraiser for me after my fire. As he knew I was barely hanging on. He was the only one who knew how I truly was doing. If you had his friendship, you had it completely.We quietly visited for the first time in person at Celebration this year. Ever so excited to meet. And we talked. And talked. About all things. Hard and light-hearted, and everything in between. About the Legion. This Detachment. Our time as your PR Team. Now there was a trooper that definitely knew the meaning of unquestioned loyalty.My time here has not been the same since he left our staff. And I still cannot believe or wrap my head around the truth that he is no longer a part of this good earth. I cannot effectively communicate the emptiness I feel at his passing. I scarcely believe it.It was my honor to serve alongside Rat for the time we were given, and I will miss him for as long as I have memory. With loyal friendship,Your Captain Sassy/Pink Lady Teresa Nuthall TK-41307 "Soulart" - - - - - - I must admit I didn't have the opportunity to meet or interact very much with Jim "Rat" but when ever we talked I found Jim a really friendly guy and willing to lend anyone an ear or a hand. Thoughts go out to Jim's family, friends and garrison brothers and sisters, you will be greatly missed. Thank you for your service. Buckets Off Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Eternal Legionnaire Gallery: https://www.501st.com/members/memoriam.php Greetings all A pretty solemn edition this month as we mourn the loss of our good friend Jim Farrell. I wrote a small passage in the memorial section and still cant believe that he has become one with the universe. Gone too soon. All staff are honoring him in this newsletter, placing some of our memories and experiences shared with him. We all miss Jim and his contributions as a staff member of this detachment as I am sure his garrison and family do as well. Jim was someone easy to talk too, a very caring man with a huge heart and always wanting to do more for others. In fact, he did more than most will ever know and has definitely left a large mark on many peoples lives. The world is worse off without him, and I am glad to have known him, what he stood for, and the wonderful things he has done. Rest in peace my dear friend, until we meet again. With Unquestioned Loyalty Andrew Franke TK-11469 "Sly11" Detachment Leader HOODIE ORDER THREAD OPEN The FISD Hoodie Thread is now open. This run goes through 20 Nov 2022. Information and ordering here Future Merchandise I am currently looking to get at least one more run out this term, so be on the look out for more info in the next few weeks. With Unquestioned Loyalty James Silvius TK-12953 "jsilvius" Merchandise & Branding Officer 501st Legion 2021-2022 Census has begun, it is the responsibility of all 501st approved members to fill out the census each year which you can find here You must be registered on the main forums to participate in the census:here I didn’t’ troop because of Covid-19 Due to Covid-19 many didn’t get the opportunity to troop during this census period, Legion Command has advised that GCO’s will determine how they want to proceed in regards to a members trooping activity and status, as such check in with your local garrison command. Here's what the charter says about activity definitions: Operations Protocol/Membership An Active Member is defined as a member in good standing who meets the following requirements: Meets all 501st Membership Requirements (i.e. ownership of an approved costume, is over 18 years of age, etc). Has an approved membership record in the 501st Legion Membership Database Maintains active contact with their Garrison CO or GML. Active contact and participation will be confirmed during the annual Legion Census held each year during the month of October. Maintains contact information/membership record in the 501st Legion database either through their Garrison CO or GML. Participates in at least one Garrison or Legion activity per year while wearing an approved 501st costume owned by said member as recorded in the Legion Census. (One year is defined as the period from Legion Census to Legion Census). Examples of an activity include, but are not limited to conventions, charity events, or any activity designated as an official event by a coordinating administrative unit of the Legion. Members who serve in military branches are exempt from activity level requirements if their service renders them unable to meet these requirements. These Minimum Activity Level Requirements should be administered as justly and with as much common sense as possible. A member may retain active status, even if they do not meet all of the requirements listed above at the discretion of their unit Commanding Officer or Legion Command. Filling out the census only takes a few minutes and you also have the opportunity to update your contact information ie: address, email, phone and so on. THE LAST EVENT TROOPED is the most important piece of data. Because our trooping year was cut short due to Corona-virus, Legion Command has recommended membership status changes are left to the discretion of the Unit Commander so please check in with your local command prior to filling out your census. NOTE: members who were not able to troop should enter "COVID-19" as their last troop. Any questions you have in regards to the census please contact either your GCO (garrison commanding officer) or your GML (garrison membership liaison) Census form layout With the last forum update the viewable area of the census may not be full page, as such change your page magnification to 75% and you should be able to see the whole page. Note: make sure you tick the box "Is the above information correct?" please tick YES If you have any problems with the logging in please contact the LWM team here: [email protected] So stand up and be counted troopers, you have until 31st October. "FISD Memes" Thank you to Luca "Morgi" TK-66744 for starting a FISD specific meme thread, hope to see more of these in the future not only by you but by others as well. You can find the thread here. WE NEED YOU TO UPDATE YOUR BUILD THREADS As most would be aware we are diligently working through the forums updating watermarked images, missing images and broken links, this has taken over a year so far and has been a monumental task but there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Members build threads are one of the biggest areas of watermarked/missing images and we are asking you the membership to help and update your build threads yourselves as this is just too big a task for staff. Build threads requiring updates are being moved over to this area https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/241-build-threads-requireing-maintenance/ Thank you in advance for your cooperation. New FISD Tri-Fold Brochure We have launched our revised Detachment Tri-Fold brochure. It's been quite a long time since we actually had these available and since then many things have changed leading us to updating some of the text to include new costumes, and have more relevant information. Originally these were done in a limited run by the member who created them, but nowadays, we have moved this to a print your own service making them accessible to all countries around the globe. Files are available to all full 501st members on request, and are completed in a very high resolution to ensure quality in a finished product. The thread can be found here for more information and how to access the files. Hot to put on a full Stormtrooper Costume Here's another great video by Dan Branton (CableGuy) TK-42911 If you’re new to trooping, or just fancy a look, this video might be right up your street. In this video, I run through how to put on a complete stormtrooper suit, along with tips and tricks along the way. For those aiming for accurate armour, this could be a good resource. Any questions or comments you can find the thread here Ever wanted your action image edited on a cool background, an awesome signature banner or profile picture made, well Jonatan "Nairy" TK23592 has offered to edit photos for our membership. For more info head to his thread here INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS For a full list of FISD awards head here. Are you new to the FISD and wondering what the heck all those abbreviations and strange sounding terms mean? To help you @justjoseph63 has started a list of the most commonly used ones that will give you some insight. If you have ANY questions about a particular term that is not listed or suggestions for new ones please contact Joseph. You can find the list here. Pre Approval Forum allows future Troopers the opportunity to submit photos of their completed build to be reviewed by the Staff, Imperial Attaches and others in preparation for forwarding it to their GML for approval. Any and all advice/suggestions given will be specific, constructive, helpful and respectful. Please note that this program will NOT take the place of your local GML, as Detachments are not chartered for costume approval and can not override a GMLs decision, but is instead a peer review program designed to help you look your best and offer guidance and positive feedback. For more information on this program, please visit the link here. Don't forget to visit our 3D section when next surfing the FISD forums, there is plenty of useful information to potentially help you on your next TK adventure. You might be feeling may generous and share with our community a new TK related 3D file and maybe win yourself a 3D contributors award so check out the details below and be part of the in house 3D community. Here is a link to the FISD 3D Contributor program. Congratulations to our latest 3D award recipient Justin TK61490 "TheRascalKing" Don't forget to create a troop log here on FISD and get awarded for your adventures The list of accomplished troopers keeps growing, so get on board and register your troops today Simply start (or update!) your troop log, keep the running total in the title, and post (at least!) a date and name for the official 501st event where you wore your TK! Once you've hit a milestone count, go over to the "Field Exercise Awards -- Post your milestones here" thread to request your profile be updated! Simple, right? By the looks of things many are returning back to trooping, the largest amount of awardees in one month, well done troops, stay safe out there. Award Recipients September - October TK-83751 "fishgoh0nk" James - - - - - TK-19551 "theswissofficer" Vanessa - - - - - TK-89400 "revlimiter" Adam - - - - - TK-61596 "MakeNoiseMan" Brendan - - - - - TK-66744 "Morgi" Luca - - - - - TK-42174 "BIGDEAL" Phil - - - - - TK-99901 "IRoS" Mario - - - - - TK61490 "TheRascalKing" Justin - - - - - Are you an approved TK that spends more time on the boards than the average Trooper? Do you enjoy using your knowledge to help out future and existing Troopers? If so, we would like to invite you to join the Imperial Attaché program! Members of the I.A. team are chosen to help out not only those here on the boards, but on a local level as well. Our aim is to have at least one in each and every Garrison, Squad and Outpost in the entire legion to be the eyes and ears of the FISD on a local level. For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here. Some of the benefits: Access to exclusive Attaché merch., including patches, IA patch , IA Rocker For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here. You may also be in the running for an Imperial Attaché Award Imperial Attaché Award for those attaché's who have gone above and beyond [minimum 1 year of service]. You can find a list of prior recipients here. The FISD Master Armorer program is an optional, detachment only incentive award to recognize individuals who have directly helped another 501st stormtrooper to achieve Expert Infantry status. Some people spend countless hours helping others, and want to reward their results as well as incentivizing new people to help as well. To register a “win” in the program, the assistance must have provided hands-on help trimming, building, and/or fitting of said armor for the person who was awarded Expert Infantry status. More information can be found here Congratulations to our latest award recipient Justin TK61490 "TheRascalKing" Want to setup a "Fire Team? the Fire Team program is completely optional, and is intended to help form a common identity and spirit of camaraderie among 501st Legion Stormtroopers in the same geographic area/garrison that troop together. Fire Teams are not officially recognized by the 501st Legion nor the FISD, although they will be able to access a Fire Team sub-forum on the detachment website. You can find more information here. So what exactly are and levels? These programs were designed for those who choose to take their armor above and beyond the minimum requirements for basic 501st Legion approval. It gives you the chance to show a level of dedication and pride that takes your armor closer to being as "screen accurate" as possible, without as much extra work as you may realize! You can find more information on the programs here. For those unaware it is possible to achieve extra awards at Expert Infantry for each additional version costume you have approved, additional awards are not issued with another Expert Infantry number (you are only issued 1 Expert Infantry number) but you will see a star above the award on your profile and the thread title will show [APPROVED] 2nd, [APPROVED] 3rd, [APPROVED] 4th and so on. Multiple EIB award recipients and info here NOTE If you are approved with a "2nd Version" of a particular costume that you are already approved with you do not receive an additional award, there is only 1 award issued for each costume version ie: only 1 x Hero, 1 x Stunt, 1 x HWT, 1 x ESB, 1 x TFA and so on. If you have a second/additional version costume approved you will see "2nd Version" and [APPROVED] added to the thread title, no additional profile stars (more info on profile awards here) ASK THE D.O.s For those of you who have a particular issue (or issues) before or after submitting for Expert Infantry / Centurion level approval, in order to get you an answer faster you can now privately contact the entire Deployment Officer team at one time! Questions about fitting, repairs, CRL standards/requirements or anything pertaining to reaching Levels 2 and 3 are not only welcomed, but encouraged. Keep in mind that no question is too small, and that your queries will only be seen by the D.O. Staff. We are here to help in any way we can, so please feel free to send us a message by clicking on this link: @Deployment Officer Team and we will get back to you A.S.A.P.! This area lists all those who have gone above and beyond basic approval toward screen accuracy and obtained EIB or Centurion or both. FOR September - October the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate the following. Expert Infantry Badge Award: Jonatan "Nairy" TK23592 EIB 1051 Jonatan "Nairy" TK23592 EIB HERO - 2nd Award Gerald "Doggydoc" TK96004 EIB 1052 GREAT job on your approval, now on to Level 3! Request your free EIB certificate here. You can find a list of multiple award recipients here. --------------------------------------------------------------- Centurion Badge Award: Jonatan "Nairy" TK23592 Centurion 516 Jonatan "Nairy" TK23592 Centurion Hero - Second Award Outstanding job on reaching Centurion, Troopers! Request your free Centurion certificate here. You can find a list of multiple award recipients here. If you see any of these Troopers around your Garrison or Squad, be sure to congratulate them! Newsletter Editor If anyone has any content for the newsletter please contact me via PM. For anyone interested in having a look through any of the older newsletter they have now been moved to a new archive sub forum which you can find here. With Unquestioned Loyalty Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" PRO, Newsletter Staff List 2022 -2023 Detachment Leader (DL): Andrew Franke (Sly11) TK-11469 Executive Officer (DXO): Steven Sheades (starsaber25) TK-10466 Chief Deployment Officer (DCA): Joseph Pedigo (justjoseph63) TK-10963 Deployment Officer: (DCA): Mario E RT (TKSpartan) TK-48117 Deployment Officer: (DCA): Jose Maria Sanchez (Chemi) TK-30173 Provost Marshal (DCOG): Dan Branton (CableGuy) TK-42911 Provost Marshal (DCOG): Tim Waychoff (Dark CMF) TK-51878 Provost Marshal (DCOG): Chris Pearson (themaninthesuitcase) TK-10911 Merchandise and Branding (DMBO) James Silvius (jsilvius) TK-12953 Personnel Officer (DPER): AC (Novatie) TK-5597 Fire Team Relations (DPRO): Mark Ryner (Captsafe66) TK-4584 Content Editor At Large (DPRO): Christoph (Danny) Lauber (Ripper_L) TK-55550 Content Editor Support (DPRO): Tony Jobe (ukswrath) TK-10116 Content Editor Awards (DPRO): Handled by the XO Newsletter Publisher (DPRO): Glen Rhodes (gmrhodes13) TK-85421 HOF Director (DPRO): Aaron (Bronx) Gibson (Pyrates) TK-99725 Attaché Ambassador (DPRO) Frank Peranteau (Frank75139) TK-75139 Social Media Relations (DPRO): Teresa Nuthall (Soulart) TK-41307 Social Media Relations (DPRO): Justin Reed (TheRascalKing) TK-61490 Systems Administrator (DWM): Eric Brager (Darth Aloha) TK-9674 Systems Administrator (DWM): Mathias (Locitus) TK-2959 Detachment Founder (DF): Paul (Daetrin) TK-8020 Trading Cards Content Support (IPM): Eric Ho (Hoda) TK-77520 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Brien Edick (Harbinger) TK-92802 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Jeff Salt (wingnut) TK-50297 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Richard Tibbitts (CallMeMrTibbles) TK-46116 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Adam Wolf (revlimiter) TK-89400 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Daniel Melin (TheSwede) TK-99665 Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Facebook Group: 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (FISD) Official Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st Instagram: www.instagram.com/fisd501st On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department

Here’s an exciting update! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So he said, naively, and continued to ignore said application for the next few months. In my excuse, I moved to a place where there's seemingly only the three other TKs in a 100km radius, so not a lot of people who could take pictures of/for me. Maybe I'll get around to it at some point, but it's actually not that much of a priority right now, as I'm hoping to get my ESB TK approval pictures taken soon and I'm about to start a Clone build. Also, I got to help a few recruits and if you're building a whole TK in six days, that's enough to keep me occupied. Trading Card Box Certainly not CRL-conform and I'm still facing a bit of improvement potential right now, but it's a good way to transport them and people just love trading cards. Additional Padding Always trying out new ways to improve the armor fit and this one might have been the most helpful in a while: thigh padding. I've got X-legs and some firm padding on the lower inside of my thighs helps me conceal that fact really well. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better. Butt-Kidney Strapping Yes, I'm back at it. Although I certainly liked having only the V-tabs, I found that construction to be too rigid for activities, such as sitting down. Therefore I removed the middle tab and replaced it with glued elastic straps. Holds just as well, but it's far more flexible. Knee Rivet Placement One of the details that doesn't get mentioned in the CRL but is constantly remarked on during EIB/Centurion Approvals is the placement of the knee rivet -- oftentimes it's too close to the edge, aimed for a perfection that doesn't exist with Stormtroopers. Unlike with other such fanmade perfections (eg ear gaps) this one gets called out regularly, so I decided to change this one in advance. Not sure if I like the new placement though, the other looked better in my opinion. Official Approval Why am I even aiming for Centurion anymore, if I have the approval by Brian Muir? The man who sculped the armor complimented mine and signed it for free. I'll wear this autograph proudly and am so grateful for this opportunity Weathering One year of trooping and 31 troops left their marks and I'm proud to say that I finally reached a point where I will have to clean some of the black marks as well, and not only all the colorful ones. Still, it just adds something wonderfully realistic. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I prefer this to the shiny, polished armors you see on many TKs. Haven't seen a single polished armor in the movies, after all

Alright... I've now had three (3!!!) heavy weapons troops. I did two troops on the first day for a total of about 5 hours with the pack. Five hours. These little straps were TORTURE DEVICES. There are no words for how much pain my shoulders were in with these little 1" guys. And as a bonus I had the buckles right up on the front of my chest. It's four days later and I still have bruises. I skipped a morning troop and redid my straps. This is a 50oz Camelbak hydration pack. It's the smallest Camelbak I could find. I bought it with the idea of wearing it under my actual TK armor on extremely hot troops. I did a test fitting and with the bottle full, I can't get my armor to strap shut. It's honestly a very small hydration pack. I thought it could fit inside the OII, but it's still just too big, so it has been sitting in my closet for about 3 months now. Then I had the death march with those terrible 1" straps. Then I started eying all the backpacks and padded laptop straps laying around my house. I noticed this guy just waiting to go into service. SCORE. The camelbak came with this sort of strap connection. Not at all a quick release. I sliced the old buckle free and installed my own. It was quite easy with an X-acto knife. Held together with pop rivets like most of my pack. I'm not sure if the DOs will be happy with this for EIB and Centurion, but I can always paint them black. I liked the little pop of metal on the strap. The new straps are 1.5" wide vs 1". Not a whole lot wider, but it's honestly enough. I strapped the empty hydration pack on and had my daughter climb on it to see how the straps felt with weight. Uncomfortable due to the bruising but not at all painful. So... I hacked the holes up a bit more in my oil can. And there it is installed. It's a thing of beauty. Note that the chest strap extensions (loose 1" webbing) are still there if, for some reason, I figure out how to have a chest strap on this rig. The buckles are also nice and low near the bottom edge of the pack. This makes it much more comfortable and much easier to strap myself into. I actually did a full solo suit-up on my third HWT troop. The little plastic buckles are also still present. Their purpose is to hold the hydration pack hose in place on a shoulder. They hide under my armor and are completely invisible when worn, so I'm leaving them in place for now. My wife sewed some hook-side velcro onto the webbing at the shoulder rub zone after some test fitting. I've got cheap paintball helmet padding velcro'd in place to give my shoulders a bit of extra padding. And it's WONDERFUL! I can dance, run, jump around, and troop happily for hours even with previously bruised shoulders. The hydration pack storage pouch is still accessible if I want to try having water in my HWT pack. It would be a bit of a chore to wedge in there, but I think it could be done. And there's a hole in the side of the oil can to let the hydration hose come out of and into my bucket. All closed up under the velcro & jersey liner.

Actually I've just done a search and this is your first request Hang tight and A.C. will be along soon.

A hearty hello from the south of Germany (Baden-Württemberg, not Bavaria ) I joined the 501st (German Garrison) at the beginning of the year. It all started with my TB and for a long time I was able to resist a second armor... What was meant to be a winter project was "unfortunately" completed in three weeks: My new TK ANH stunt. And last week I got my approval I am happy to be one of the white guys now. And: I am especially proud to be part of the 69th Fireteam (hot number ) and the Chaos Division together with my great friends (you will have heard of them ). Until then, I wish us all many great Troops, and maybe we'll see each other at some of them. Yours TB/TK-70815 (Floowbee)

Having taken a short break to build my ESB helmet, troop, work on real life stuff... I'm back with some armor updates. Replacing the Ab-/Kidney Rivets Back in April, I got the following feedback after my EIB approval: This meant, I had to replace the rivets. I started prying the rivets off, only to irreparably damage said rivets. Therefore I had to buy new ones. Cue hours of internet searches, only finding wrong or overpriced options everywhere, until I asked an acquaintance if he knew where to find such rivets. He gave me different keywords and on my first attempt I found correct rivets. (Tovetis Zweispitznieten 8 x 9,5 8mm, if anyone's curious. 38cts/rivet). So here's what I did: I removed the existing strapping and rivets. I marked out a new cutline, cause I didn't like the old one. Cut to size. Marked up correct rivet placement. Filled in holes with ABS paste. Glued strapping back in. Then I added in the new rivets, first testing the whole process on a piece of scrap ABS, because I could do without repeating this entire process again, just because I didn't know how to set the rivets correctly. The new rivet placement was set precisely according to this: Afterwards I repeated the entire process on the abplate and then I painted the rivets white. I'll probably do some gentle colour corrections on the ABS paste in the future, due to the fact that my armor already yellowed a bit in comparison to the used paste. Adjusting the Chestplate Maybe it's just me slouching, maybe it's just something that I'd prefer to change for no other reason than the fact that I spotted it twice on some pictures, but I oftentimes got the feeling, that my chestplate was sitting a bit low, sometimes even catching on my an plate buttons (yikes). So to fix that I had to bring the chestplate higher up. Now, one way of doing that could have been a more rigid strapping at the bottom of the chestplate, such as the original strapping, but I moved away from that for a reason (less mobility and easier to pack). Therefore I had to pull it higher up by shortening the shoulder straps. Looks good, right? Had to heatform the shoulder bridges to conform to the new shape and loosen one of the elastic keeping my shoulder bell connected to the shoulderbridge strapping a bit, as the shoulderbells moved forward a centimetre, but overall I'm happy with the result, even if it was a lot of work that could have been avoided by having a better posture in armor Kidney-/Buttplate Strapping With me always sitting down in armor, it was probably inevitable that I'd get a crack in the return edge right to the screw, thanks to the original strapping in that part of my armor. Once it finally happened, I took out all the old strapping and replaced it with Glen's V-tabs instead. So functionally, I currently only have one plate of armor for both parts, and I got a pretty good gap between them thanks to it. Also, no risk of anything cracking -- worst comes to worst, the V-tabs will simply pop off and I'll have to reglue them. Boot Repairs Piece of advice: Photoshooting in the middle of the Netherlands in nature? Awesome. Wild growth? Dangerous for your boots. I must have gotten caught on a thorn or something with my boot during the shooting. Luckily, the local officers knew how to work with fabric of all kinds (shout out to ID-14445/Robin) and gave me the advice to simply go over it with some superglue. Worked really well, and with some additional help by a white outdoor marker, they look pretty spotless again. Other stuff I reworked my padding a bit, repaired some other things and am currently working on a trading card box. This weekend I'll have another troop, and I hope I can get a friend to check my thigh armor position and what I can fix without having to cut away (much), as that is the last to-do on my EIB Application Feedback List. Obviously, there's another few things that I might work on as well, but hopefully I'll continue on to my Centurion application within the next two months (no promises, I've got a few busy trooping weekends ahead, am still working on applications and will move again soon). Looking forward to any and all feedback!