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Hello. I was asked to make an introduction and explain my/our background. I personally have worked in the film industry for over 35 years. From Independence Day to Pirates of the C to Transformers to Dark Knight to Iron Man to Avengers, etc. I've been a 501st member since 2003 or 2005. I created the original rubber blasters for the 501st as Sci-fire.com and then later Hyper-Firm. I gave that company over to someone else to continue so I could spend more time with my wife and son. In 2017, I created Praetorian Blasters designed to do less quantity but higher quality. In 2021, I was hired by Lucasfilm/Disney to be the Property/Droid Illustrator and oversee all prop and droid manufacturing for the series "Obi-Wan". I was then re-hired to "Mandalorian S3", "Ahsoka" and more recently in 2024 "Mando and Grogu". I've also worked on "Boba Fett" and "Skeleton Crew" to lesser degrees. Many of my blasters from Praetorian were used on these productions simply because I'd already done the work to create masters, etc. I've been making rubber blasters and armor for over 20 years (I'm old). Now that we're done with Mando for the time being, I've returned to our shop in Louisiana and we are working on several shows at once and continuing the blasters for the 501st members.

I did see this, I'm not sure if my brain could manage it, the electronics looks about 5 times bigger than anything I've attempted, it's like looking at a bowl of spaghetti and thinking "can I finish this"

@gmrhodes13 Looks like another project for you.

Awesome! Welcome.

Welcome John! I've been watching your Social for a while. I was unaware that you were working with Disney/LFL. That's awesome! I look forward to seeing more of your work and definitely interested in a blaster (or 2).

Hi Zachary, thank you for your patience and I apologize again for taking so long to get back to you. You have done a great job on the corrections that we asked for but I am going to need just a bit more work on the abdomen button panels. The paint should be smooth and yours is still textured. I suspect you will need to sand everything smooth and then just apply thin coats and slowly build the paint up. The size of the buttons is much better now. References On the new photos, your posterior plate is flaring out at the front right corner. You may need to add some strapping there to keep it in place, or as many have done previously, secure it with a V tab clip. References With respect to the overall suit up, we are seeing quite a bit of wrinkling in the undersuit between the thighs and the posterior plate and at the elbows in the back. When dressing for the next set of photos, please make sure that the undersuit is pulled tight over these areas. References For you thighs, they are sitting a bit too low in the latest suit up and the strapping should be adjusted slightly to pull them up a bit. References

So the SE-14R that is in Obi-Wan and then Mandalorian is the one that we made. It's slightly different between Obi-Wan and Mando S3/Ahsoka

Congratulations!!! You are looking absolutely amazing!!!!

Welcome Jake and congratulations. Enjoy your first troop.