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Parenthood is a gift and a blessing. It’s also an incredibly humbling experience that is not often discussed, especially by men ( which is unfortunate ) It is truly a privilege and honor to be a loving Father to my two beautiful and extraordinary little girls. The joy they bring me is unparalleled, as is the way they have forever changed me. The moment you lay your eyes on your child at birth and hold them in your arms you sense a change. Your DNA, your state of mind, sense of responsibility, how you process emotions and how you react to them ( physically or emotionally ) has changed in an instance. It’s profound. Some may simply say that parenthood made them “soft” but it’s more than that, and I believe it’s for the better. I openly admit that my little angels have made me more sensitive and much more emotional. Good News, Bad News.... it really doesn’t matter. Through empathy I suppose, I transpose and associate everything with myself. If I can’t relate, I image going through it myself and consider what I might feel like if it were me and my family. The result; overwhelming emotion and waterworks. Yes, WATERWORKS. If you have children you know exactly what I’m taking about - whether you admit it or not. I took my daughters to see Frozen ( both 1 and 2 on separate occasions ) and yup.... I cried. Today, for Christmas, I took my Dad to see Star Wars Rise of Skywalker... and you guessed it, I cried. At the end.... yup, I cried EVEN MORE. I wish I was wearing my bucket. It’s too funny! But I love it. Merry Christmas everyone! It’s been a pleasure being a part of this community, having you all as friends, getting to know you better and trooping alongside you. Enjoy the holiday; regardless of what you do or do not believe in, whatever your faith is or is not, our differences make us stronger and we are united by a common purpose... giving back to our communities through costuming and selfless charity. Bad Guys, Doing Good. I hope 2020 brings all of you and your family good fortune. Respectfully, TK-41808

Troop #0001 (of 60) First official troop in my FOTK, Troop number 60 across all my costumes Think Brick Awards night 15 Aug 2019 The Palladium, Crown Casino Together with (L-R) TK-6673, TK-27120 and TK-19819

TK-41808 Reporting For Duty : I'm very excited to join the ranks of the 501st Legion / Georgia Garrison / Terminus Squad and FISD. I'm thrilled to be a part of such an amazing community and am looking forward to trooping with you.

Here:

December 2019 DC Candlelighter's Pediatric Oncology Holiday Party (Santa hat is from Wally's Custom Creations. It's awesome!)

Thank you for sharing your story Phillip. Having a child is indeed a blessing and definitely changes you in more ways than you can believe. Best wishes and good fortune to you, your family, and the whole of our costuming community. FISD is a great place, so here's to a fantastic 2020 for everyone.

Well I'm sure there will be more questions after Friday. Who was it that brought the T-21 to the E-11 fight? SB

4. Regal Henrietta - The Rise of Skywalker Premiere; 20 December 2019 -----------

Inner chest armor edge fixed.

Best of luck. Rooting for you!

Based off your list, you have some great research done, and your off to a great start! Can’t wait to see your progress! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats on the purchase! Looking forward to your build!

Looking forward to seeing another AP armor in the making.

Hello, Brian, and a big CONGRATS for pulling the trigger on your AP purchase! Fantastic to know that you are aiming for Level 3 approval, and we will help get you there. As has been mentioned, commissioned armor may need a bit of tweaking here and there to get that badge under your name, but you can do it! Once you get the armor, what I would recommend is to check out this thread, and then post the required pics/info/ here. This will allow us to give you advice and suggestions (if needed) before you submit for Basic 501st approval. After Basic approval, on to Expert Infantry and then Centurion!

Looking forward to the progress, good luck

24) 12-22-19 --- Mt. Pocono, Pa., Rise of Skywalker at Casino Theater & Malt Shop (2nd of two Episode IX Troops this weekend...) This indie Mom-and-Pop theater (a dying breed, sadly) also had a small restaurant, so naturally we had to conquer the kitchen, as well...

Regular (enlisted) Stormtroopers rarely wear any type of overt outward insignia, and are said to use the identification scanners built into their buckets to determine rank and seniority of other TKs. Yes, only the Sandies in ANH wore pauldrons. They are worn by TKs in SW Rebels and FOTKs (and of course HWTs ), but some folks get a little carried away, lol.

Troop #9 Rise of Skywalker - Scotiabank Theatre

OP (MV) Post #7 Hey there all you popcorn lovers! Grab a bucket—this is going to be a lengthy (or perhaps simply photo-filled) update! I've been busy putting together my Reference Guide folder, with formatted copies the 501st CRL, [just]Joseph's quick reference guide (PRINTABLE), @Billhag's excellent diagrams, Cricket's magnetic shin closures, the GA Garrison's Handler Training Guide, and several other documents. More will be added as my research continues, and it won't be long before I outgrow my current binder! As for the continuing receipt of items for my build, I was excited to hear that my ImperialBoots 421 boots order from the December wave has already shipped and is anticipated to arrive tomorrow. That's far earlier than I expected, and it means I'll have another pre-Christmas MBB day! I also received some mounting hardware the shiny flexible hand guards from Joseph, and boy do they blow away at least some of the competition. Add me to the list to builders who initially ordered some from TB only to find theirs to be thin and dull—generally not matching the color, shine, and lines of TK armor. Below are some comparison photos, and keep in mind that I did not correct the white balance on these phone images, so they appear more tan in color than they actually are. TB on the LEFT (or first), Joseph's on the RIGHT (or second) Observations of these two sets of guards: Those from TB are of even thickness throughout, and have overly crisp lines which will not match TK armor. Their color is also slightly off-white (not enough to be intentionally for a Sandy), the finishing is dull, and some molding lines are visible. On the contrary, those from Joseph are very white, have shiny finishing to match TK armor, and have no visible molding lines. Joseph's are also quite a bit thicker, featuring a tapered design with the greatest thickness at the the base of the fingers. See the last photo above to compare the thickness of the two guards at that same point. I suppose my pair from TB will now serve as a backup on troop days, but boy do I wish I had found Joseph's sale thread before purchasing the more expensive ones. I thought I'd also take a moment to mention my method of posting photos, since this build thread will feature quite a few of them in the coming months. I have already been a Flickr user for many years, so I decided to utilize their services for photo hosting, as opposed to Imgur, which seems to be the most popular service here on FISD. However, instead of using the normal image sharing links provided by Flickr (or Imgur for that matter), I found a back-door method to link to the original high-resolution images hosted on the Flickr servers (AWS). This means that the FISD DOs or other users can click on my embedded thread photos, and instead of being redirected to an actual Flickr page or album, the full-resolution image opens immediately in the browser. This will hopefully make it easier for the DOs and other users to zoom in on the tiny details and provide accurate feedback. Also worth noting is that Flickr was recently acquired by Smugmug and the storage capacities for free users have already been decreased (similar to the Photobucket debacle), so I'm hoping that no further action will occur in the future, and that my galleries will remain intact. Then again, the Flickr CEOs letter to users could be interpreted in a less positive light... As I've continued to wait on my TK items I've also been further exploring scratch-builds of several larger blasters such as the DLT-19 and T-21. I think I've come down with BFG syndrome. In fact, I just received this pair of "Build Your Own Blaster" bases which I found on eBay for $30 shipped, and I'm considering trying two variations of a DLT-19 build based on Astyanax's and HappyTrooper's builds. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. First I need Trooper status. So now back to popcorn. Literally. This weekend was the Episode IX premiere, and obviously I had a ticket to go with the guys. Below is a photo of my opening night (Thursday) ticket, taken yesterday (Saturday). Notice anything odd? Some of you will remember that I have an almost nine-month old baby girl, and this was also the last week of the semester for my wife who teaches kindergarten, so let's just say that a MASSIVE sleep regression coupled with an immeasurably difficult week and semester meant I needed to be home to support my family. I joined the guys at our traditional pre-premier Chinese buffet, right next to the theater I might add, then went straight home. This was a new experience for me—not participating in the opening night festivities—but throughout the day (before my plans had changed) I had a little fun at work. My Rogue One Black Series helmet was a gift from my wife, and the first stormtrooper helmet I ever wore, so it holds a special place in my heart and served as a catalyst on this 501st journey. I'm looking forward to seeing what a completed ANH stunt bucket looks like next to this one! And while we're on the topic of gifts, for Christmas this year my nephew asked for the Jar Jar figure shown below, which I was slightly embarrassed to purchase for him. Then again, he is only seven years old, so I'll give him a pass, at least until I can properly indoctrinate him. Final thoughts. My build is becoming more and more real with every component package which is dropped on my porch. This immersion into TK armor has also really opened my eyes to details I previously missed when screening the OT. When recently watching ANH and ESB I was shocked at all the dropped biceps and taped armor! (Also what was up with the bubble wrap strips on the should straps of the Rogue Group snowspeeders on Hoth?!). I'm looking forward to continuing this process, and intend to continue to document my progress with lots of supporting photos and questions—pre-cut and pre-adhesion. Next up, photos of my 421 boots when they arrive. MV

Just recently approved on Dec 1st, just in time for a hospital troop. I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this organization and how rewarding it was to interact with the kids and faculty. Had a few audio hiccups (velcro wasn't strong enough for the speaker in the chest plate, and since reinforced) but all in all was a great experience! Shout out to the forums,@ukswrath's very helpful guide and members of Star Garrison who helped make my first build a reality!

Sydney Australia The Rise of Skywalker Premiere Event Cinemas Red Carpet Event VIPs and Guests were greeted by R2 then were forced for inspection by Kylo Ren and his 2 elite stormtroopers A photo of attendance to identify each citizen was taken to identify any rebel scum or potential jedis. After all citizens were seated in the cinema the storm troopers escorted an official for the first order into each cinema where a declaration of the first or Eder was announced. After safely escorting the first order official back to their transport both troopers returned to the garrison for a debriefing Nil injuries Nil blaster discharges Nil infiltraters identified.

Date: Oct 28, 2018 Time: TBD Place: 5 Chome-1-30 Edanishi, Aoba-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 225-0014 Request: 2x Stormtrooper No images from this event. Event: Tokyo Comi-con – 3 Day Event (Disney/Lucas Booth Flash Mob) Date: Nov 30(Fri) - Dec 2(Sun), 2018 Venue: Makuhari Messe 2-1, Nakase, Mihama-ku, Chiba-city, 261-8550 Japan Event name: Petit * Dashiya Raku School 9th Venue location: Higashi-Totsuka Community Care Plaza and Higashi-Totsuka District Center Gymnasium Venue Location: 4-4 Kawakamicho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Location: Kanagawa Prefecture Start date: May 19, 2019 End date: May 19, 2019 Time: 10: 00-13: 00 "Force Friday III" in Shibuya LOFT Date: 2019 October 3 (Thursday) - 4 (Friday) Time: 11 pm~1am around Location: Shibuya LOFT Disney/Lucas 2019 December 1 (Sun) Marunouchi Bright Christmas event Date: December 1 (Sun), 2019 Gathering Time: 12:30 Pm Activity Time: 2 ～ 3Hours Venue:. Marunouchi Bldg (2-4-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo) Request: !! Any As Much As We can Deadline: November 7 Kanagawa 'S Medical Centre Children and House of Lila Toy / Household Goods Drive Date: 2019 December 6 set time: 9:00 Administration Building 4F first conference room Location: Kanagawa Children's Medical Center http://kcmc.kanagawa-pho.jp/

008 — [Dec 21 2019] Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Sherwood Park, AB I finally got my troop fix for the month. Three days in a row, with 4 troops total for the movie premiere.

23) 12-19-19 --- Millersburg, Pa., Rise of Skywalker Twin Valley Colonnade (1st of two Episode IX Troops this weekend...) The theater treated us like royalty and started us off with our own private screening, after which we suited up to greet attendees for the first public showings.

Troop 51 Rise of Skywalker Mt. Zion 12/21/2019

Troop 50 Rise of Skywalker Premiere 12/19/2019 Savoy, IL

#16 - TROS Opening Night Galaxy Theaters - Sparks, NV

53) 21/12/2019 - The Rise of Skywalker Fans Screeing @ Metroplex Cinema E-MAX (KLB, KLN)

Troop: #3 Date: 2019/12/21 Event: Star Wars 9 Premier Cinergy Location: Amarillo, TX

Look what I caught these mini bucket heads doing to my Bucket

#143 TROS @ Greenwood Corner 12-20-19 Selling tixs for the New Star Wars Movie. Imperial Credits only!!

007 — [Dec 19 2019] Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Sherwood Park, AB What an awesome troop filled with a roller coaster of emotions while watching the movie.

Troop 016 -- 2019/12/19 -- Rise Of Skywalker Opening Night in Kansas City, MO

TK Troop 20: 12/20/2019 AdventHealth Orlando: Walt Disney Children’s Pavilion Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

11/16/2019 Star Wars night w/UVM men’s hockey Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12/19/19 Rise of Skywalker Premier @ Essex Cinema, Essex VT Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

52. Tros Midnight Launch 18/12/19 Chermside Event Cinemas

TK-Troop #13 The Rise Of Skywalker 18/12-19 (Click the link to watch the videos and don’t forgot to enable sound) Not to concerned about Kylo - he can hold his own. Apparently he didn’t approve... Added some photos.

52) 18/12/2019 - Rise of Skywalker Opening Night @ Arthouse K11 Musea (TST, KLN)

Troop#84 (SC) Dec 17 - Make-A-Wish Party (Greenville) Event Details/Description: Make-A-Wish South Carolina Upstate Wish Kids Party This is a yearly gathering of wish kids in the upstate area that have already been granted a wish. A time for food, crafts, and fun.Where: Make-A-Wish SC 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Suite C-17 Greenville, SC 29607 Costume worn: Shock Trooper

Troop 49 Toys for Tots Champaign, IL 12/12/2019 (third from the left)

Another personal Trooping first for me -- Two Troops in one day! 21) 12-7-19, 10:00am-2:00pm -- Lehigh Valley (Pa.) Comic Con 22) 12-7-19, 4:00pm-6:00pm -- Wind Gap, Pa., Toys for Tots Community Toy Drive

TK-39093 Troop Log 2017 – Part 2 (back dated) 26) 26/11/2017 – Star Wars Run 2017 @ Disney Resort Hong Kong 27) 09/12/2017 – Christmas Party @ Spastic Association Hong Kong (SWK center) 28) 13/12/2017 – Star Wars The Last Jedi Premier Gala @ PALACE APM 29) 16/12/2017 – Star Wars The Last Jedi Fans Premier Hong Kong @ Metroplex Cinema KLB 30) 22/12/2017 – Pediatric Ward visit @ Alice Ho Nethersole Hospital