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27) 01/25/2020 - Pig Bowl, Guns and Hoses - Sacramento, Ca

Troop 52 Lodge Con Peotone, IL 02/08/2020

Hi, my name is JR and I'm 22 years old. I've been looking to join the 501st for years, having met some members from the Dune Sea Garrison (I live in Arizona). I'm currently waiting for approval to be able to access the Dune Sea Garrison forums so I can ask various questions about the garrison there. In the mean time I was hoping to get some advice from here. I've been following TK 1636's videos on youtube to get a better grasp of the building process among various other youtubers. I'm a bit of a larger lad being 6'1 about 240lbs with a 38" waist, gonna try to cut that down a bit though in anticipation to eventually trooping. After doing research, deciding on the armor, then doing more research and settling for a different kit, only to do more research... I think I have come to the conclusion that I would like to go for an Armor Master ANH derived TK. I've read that it suits larger troopers and fairly easy to assemble for noobies such as myself. I wanted to get some opinions before I take the plunge and send the email. Thanks!

Hey guys my name is sebastian and can't wait to join the 501st in the future. I just recently got my FOTK armor and all I need is my helmet and boots unfortunately lol. However, I'm still not giving up my process on joining the 501st. Just wanna say hello and can't wait to meet great people within this community. I live in Orange County, California btw lol.

Hi my name is andre (real name) and I always had a love for starwars. Now that I ran into one of your members by accident I have now gou d this site. I am wanting to join the ranks and have no idea where to start. As I am a big guy I am leaning toward something like jabba the hut sorry if I spelt that wrong. Not sure how complicated this design might be but it's something I liked and would suit my size. Either way hi and look forward to meeting you all.

Hi all! My name is Paige and I'm a nerd residing in Nashville. My boyfriend is just about to get his first armor kit and I'll be helping him build/potentially acting as a handler if there's need for it, so I wanted to have access to the build guides and other resources around here. Someday I'd like to put together a Phasma build myself, but for the time being I'm just around to spectate. I look forward to learning from all of you!

Almost ready for final paint. The fool as I am, I didn't buy the right black.

Butt problem fixed...? I tried to make some plastic tabs like @gmrhodes13 mentioned, but they didn't come out any good. So I used a car heater to bend the butt a little and shortened the elastics by around half. It can't get much better than this: With belt:

Congratulations and welcome to the rank. Those photos are beautiful Philip, you look amazing.

This is so impressive Jorge, cant wait to see the finished product.

I would say yes, as that's what I'm using for my R1 TK

Looking good, I noticed just the side of the butt plate was flaring out a little, I came up with some tabs than can help, just add one to both ends

^^^ What he said ^^^ Great work once again

I love the detail, patience and time you put into these builds and subsequent videos and build threads. You are an asset to our Detachment Dan.

Looking forward seeing it! As it happens I will be the one doing the approval as the new GML in our Garrison

Hi folks, Took some natural light photos so thought I’d share. Just a little weathering to go, then this lid is complete. Armour build to follow. :-) [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

Yea, not sure why they are so compressed. Here are a few more. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Working on bringing another member on board. Hopefully can have him submit this month.

Progress is being made. I'm going with a suspender setup that the Trooper helping me uses. I'm not looking for L2/L3, just want to be able to troop, so I hope this passes.

Oh yeah, I'm already on my way for a cert 3 build, and my dad is planning to also!

I’m sure there SHOULD NOT be a problem.... enjoy the TK BUILD with your dad..... BUT DONT STOP THERE.... go for a level2 EIB & 3 CENTURION BUILD [emoji51] !!! We are here for the help !!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quick update: Trimmed the gaskets. These will get a wash and a fresh coat of plasti-dip to rejuvenate the black color. For kicks I tried on the yoke, chest, and torso. I could stand to drop some weight, to say the least. At least the yoke can be put on now. I may have to extend the wings of the chest plate to reach the yoke as it was barely making it now. I've decided to diet until this build is over. Here's hoping!

Hello Leo, Good to see another TKC advancing towards EIB. Here is what I have done to clear Expert Infantry, just duplicate the format and replace with your personal information should help our DO in assessing your application. Best of luck!

Also WTF makes all the pieces for a Commander. If you ask he'll send the 5 button ab plate and his butt/kidney is already attached. I just want to let you know you have more then just 2 options. IMHO if I did it over again I'd use CFO for my body. And TM for my ANH bucket. Good Luck Future Trooper!

Haven't forgotten about ya', Katie. Working on a few items and will be with you ASAP.

Hey trooper, If you haven’t had a reply just yet, quickest contact route for RWA Creations is through their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/rwacreations/?ref=share). Best wishes Dan

26) 01/19/2020 - Winter StocktonCon - Stockton, Ca

This is a picture of the kit, 2 years after build. I was invited to Jordan for the Middle East premiere of Rise of Skywalker. This is where they filmed several scenes from the movie (Wadi Rum desert).

Dave Conklin is a personal friend of mine. He has built many AM kits for the Empire City Garrison! I have an AM 2.0 and recently just purchased AM 4.5. He completely helped me build the 2.0, with Centurion accuracy, and even years later is still sending me little scraps and rivets for my newest build. The AM 4.5 comes pre-trimmed. Green lens, helmet decals, extra ABS. The only thing you will need to purchase are Boots, gloves, soft part of belt, and neck seal. Also, the needed tools for build and extra accessories (such as Testors paint or Split rivets).

25) 01/17/2020 - CHP Retirement Celebration - Rancho Cordova, Ca

Hey folks More updates to share. Slightly out of sequence due to editing time and some camera issues, however, we’re looking at the helmet construction and ear trimming/fitting. CableGuy Builds: (Part 4) Troopermaster- helmet construction https://youtu.be/odSd9UXwPUs CableGuy Builds: (Part 5) Troopermaster build - ear caps https://youtu.be/0kMGLrFilcc More to come soon. :-)

Current Year Troops: 12 Troops Since we started Tracking: 17 Recent Tour of Duty 2019-09-15: Rose City Comic Con RCCC 2019 - Sunday 2019-09-14: Private Event 2019-09-13: Rose City Comic Con RCCC 2019 - Friday 2019-09-07: Daniel's Celebration of Life 2019-08-14: Weird Al - Troutdale 2019-07-13: DonorFest 2019 2019-06-28: Doernbecher Children's Hospital Visit - SW Portland 2019-06-23: Private Event 2019-06-16: Portland Pride Parade 2019-05-16: Private Event 2019-05-11: Vancouver 2019 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation�s Great Strides 2019-02-16: Private Event 2018-12-15: Bridge the Gap fundariser 2018-12-08: Star Wars Holiday Special 2018-09-09: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 3 - Sunday 2018-09-08: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 2 - Saturday 2018-09-07: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 1 - Friday I'll collect up photos as I go. Sent from my VK815 using Tapatalk

Yeah I forget you have to edit something to edit any part of the post. Sent from my 5054N using Tapatalk

So it seems I'm now up to 21. Current Year Troops: 16 Troops Since we started Tracking: 21 Recent Tour of Duty 2019-12-22: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie premiere - Sunday 2019-12-21: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie premiere - Saturday 2019-12-20: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie premiere - Friday 2019-11-30: Star Wars Holiday Special 2019-09-15: Rose City Comic Con RCCC 2019 - Sunday 2019-09-14: Private Event 2019-09-13: Rose City Comic Con RCCC 2019 - Friday 2019-09-07: Daniel's Celebration of Life 2019-08-14: Weird Al - Troutdale 2019-07-13: DonorFest 2019 2019-06-28: Doernbecher Children's Hospital Visit - SW Portland 2019-06-23: Private Event 2019-06-16: Portland Pride Parade 2019-05-16: Private Event 2019-05-11: Vancouver 2019 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation�s Great Strides 2019-02-16: Private Event 2018-12-15: Bridge the Gap fundariser 2018-12-08: Star Wars Holiday Special 2018-09-09: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 3 - Sunday 2018-09-08: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 2 - Saturday 2018-09-07: Rose City Comic Con 2018 - Day 1 - Friday And again I'm not seeing where I can edit the title. However I added all of them to date.

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

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

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

Troop 48 Marshall Holly Days Marshall, IL 12/7/2019

Troop 47 OSF Festival of Trees Danville, IL 11/17/2019

Troop 46 Troops & Cops for Kids - Fundraiser Hockey Game Springfield, IL 11/16/2019

Troop 45 Cub Scout Awards Meeting 11/9/2019

Troop 44 Trunk or Treat - Antioch Christian Church 10/27/2019

Troop 43 Rantoul Township Marching Band 10/25/2019

Troop 42 Downtown Halloween 2019 Kankakee, IL 10/20/2019

Some updates! This may be a long one... Realized that I don't think I ever posted my helmet... but here it is! Arrived safe and sound. The detail is impressive and while it is decently sturdy and very lightweight, I will definitely be reinforcing it - I don't think it would take impact or a fall from any height well. I also mentioned having had my undersuit tailored... well, here's some pics of that too! It fits much better now that a lot of the slack was taken out. It's still a bit loose so I have good mobility, but we'll see if I end up needing to have it taken in more once there's armor on top. I'm wearing a black t-shirt underneath so you can't see where the mesh is that well, but the internet didn't need to see my back and stomach lol I also went and dug around until I found the velcro-based strapping kit that I pulled out of my Anovos suit when I switched to snaps. I will likely use it to help start mocking up fitment for the suit. Sure, I'll waste some Velcro, but I think it'll be worth it to learn and size the kit properly. I will also likely let any of the other group build members try mine on so they can adjust and mark theirs for trimming, if needed. Mine may need some off the top of the barrel, and I will likely be splitting the back of the thighs at the cover strip to overlap them and size them down a bit. The kitten's name is Zero and at 10 weeks old, he was terribly curious about what was going on. I also started playing around with coatings and ended up spraying the back of one of my handguards with Flex Seal to test it out. I was pretty pleased with the finish and it stopped the itchiness that the armor still caused, even after a thorough washing with a red Brillo pad. I'll probably be spraying the entire inside of my kit with this stuff after I have reinforced it (still figuring out how to do so). I was also pleased to see that industrial Velcro still stuck to the finish and was able to attach the handguard to my Endor Finders gloves securely. The gloves are awesome and the lining is very comfortable, if likely a bit warm for us out here in CA. Finally, I started trying to mock up and assemble the forearms and biceps - it's been a topic of much debate how we want to end up attaching the pieces together, but I decided to give 1", regular (non-industrial) Velcro a try. I wasn't super stoked on how it came out - it's pretty visible, though mostly from the back. I may try to reposition it further from the edge and see if that does anything. The thickness is also somewhat concerning, but we need to be able to get these apart, as I confirmed that there's no way my hand will fit through the hole at the wrist without opening them up. I'm hesitant to use glue pretty much anywhere on the suit as a result. There's some discussion of Boba-gauntlet-style magnets, but we'll get to that. Can anyone also confirm that this is how the pieces are supposed to sit? Feels kind of awkward for sure. From the elbow down: And from the wrist down: I also realized that when we distributing all the pieces after the bulk shipping, I ended up with two of the same outside bicep, when I need with a cover strip on each side for it to assemble properly. Gotta figure out which of the 7 other guys has the same problem and switch with them! D'oh! Anyways, more test fitting with some assistance coming soon. I mocked up the chest how it should assemble (except the shoulder straps will go UNDER the chest plate - I just couldn't get it to sit like that for the photo), but I think I'm going to hang the cod, then use that to help position the barrel, then fit the chest OVER that. Gonna need some extra hands though, so not today. Aaaand finally, I was able to take the kit to my paint guy Andrew "Bondo" Babish with Paint by Bondo - he quoted $500 flat to surface prep, prime, and paint the whole kit with flexible automotive quality paint, handpainted color details on the helmet and ab, and clear coat on top. Not too shabby and this is likely the route I'll go. Just for fun, he sent me a pic of a helmet he painted for the big 501st TK Helmet art exhibit they had a while back. At the time, he was painting for West Coast Choppers, so there's Jesse James next to him if anyone remembers that guy. Pretty cool. Plain white paint and a couple helmet details should be no problem for him, I daresay. More updates soon, but things are moving and we're problem solving as we go!

Next steps: - I picked up a 5 yard spool of 1" velcro the other day ($$$?!?!), so my first test "assembly" will be soon. - I will be dropping my undersuit off for some tailoring this week (it came a bit big, but better than it being too small!) - I found a place somewhat near me that specializes in fiberglass and has a showroom/dealer area. I'm going to bring a few pieces of my suit in and see what the pros recommend for reinforcing the kit in key areas. I don't want any cracks and the kit is light enough that I won't mind adding weight. - My gloves are already in, but I'm helping coordinate a group buy from Imperial Boots for some FO boots - we are even bringing other folks from our Garrison in so we can all save a few bucks. Our build group is meeting up this weekend to go play "The Void", the virtual reality Star Wars experience in Downtown Disney, have a few brews, and strategize, so I'll have more to share this weekend and I'll try to post some more pics too. This will be part instruction thread, part just random info and documentation of our adventures - thanks for coming along for the ride!

Paul has been chatting with the staff to identify the roots of my kit. I would like to confirm the base kit is TE derived . I am very pleased to say i have now been added to the "Vetted makers" list Thanks Ross