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  1. Troop #11 April 20th was a two-troop day for me! The second troop was at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert! We provided the proper atmosphere for the performance by trooping the lobby of the theater before the show and during intermission. Following Legion guidelines, we remained outside the ticketed areas. Many photos were taken, and I should receive those soon, but here's the one photo I have in the mean time: We took part in the Star Wars Indiana tradition of getting photos near the Soldiers & Sailors monument (the theater is right next to it) that Indianapolis is known for. I'll also post that photo when I get it!
    5 points
  2. Troop #10 A favorite troop among many members in Star Wars Indiana is the Republic Airways Plane Pull. This is a charity event put on by Republic Airways to raise money for children's hospitals, and teams that sign up for the event (and raise money) are given their turn to, literally, pull a plane a short distance. The Republic maintenance hangar at the Indianapolis airport was set up for the plane pull itself, as well as included different food vendors, booths and activities with the local professional sports teams, and different aircraft on display. The event started with the mascots of the local sports teams pulling a small, single engine airplane. This was followed up with children directly benefiting from the charity event pulling the small plane! Star Wars Indiana was then given our turn, but we were given the rope to the plane all the other teams would be pulling, which was an Embraer 175 regional commercial airliner. Wikipedia notes the empty weight of an Embraer 175 as 21,890 kg (just above 24 tons). I was surprised that we were able to get the plane moving so quickly and covered the pull distance (15 feet) in such a short time, but we also had 18 of us pulling the plane, and aircraft are supposed to roll pretty easily. Someone was in the cockpit of the plane to apply the brake as soon as we reached the max pull distance, and they certainly weren't playing around with getting the plane stopped! Here's a photo of us pulling the plane! After we had our turn with the plane, we were let loose to roam around the open areas of the hangar and tarmac. I headed with some of our TIE pilots to go in the other commercial aircraft on display. We made sure to verify the credentials of the captain before the TIE pilots examined the controls of the plane. Not being able to negotiate the small space of the cockpit, I decided to make sure the coffee maker was in working order in the event our pilots needed coffee. Our pilots may have had the more exciting job: Plenty of photos were also taken with the smaller aircraft on display on the open areas of the tarmac! TIE pilots and rebel pilots alike had fun taking various cockpit photos, and like usual, the public absolutely loved us!
    5 points
  3. Howdy Folks. I found some photos of myself in high school wearing my MovieFX armor. This had a three peice helmet and was made of HIPS. I saved up three paychecks and sent two money orders to Germany IIRC. That was over twenty years ago and a lot has changed, I no longer have my old armor for one. Recently I found a rotocast of a screen used Move Along helmet in my garage from the same time period, it sparked interest in me to recreate some old props that I miss. Hopefully I can contribute more to the 3D Depositary as in the past two years have successfully self taught CAM/CAD. You can find my ANH Hovi tips and soon I will have some ROTJ tips as well. Have a great day! P.S. I Think I'm going to buy a MovieFX suit again, although I love the TM suit.
    4 points
  4. Would you look at the time, seems like it's pew pew o'clock. So let's get to it! Due to airsoft guns being outright illegal in Australia (sigh), I wasn't able to get the initial base gun I wanted. Nor was I able to obtain the import permits for a deactivated Sterling due to it requiring permission from my states AG. So instead, I acquired a 'basic build kit' from BlasterFactory. The BF E-11s are based on the traditional Sterling SMGs used in the OT films; where as the Rogue One and anthology series E-11s use an airsoft variant as the base, both real and casts. So basically this build is a kinda love child of the two, or a mutant.. anyways, the primary reference I used for the build is this one from the reference library: It is what I've been referring to as the 'hero' version. Much like OT blasters, there's decent variation between the E-11s we've seen on screen in recent years, so I wanted to have a specific 'fallback reference' to come back to, despite the airsoft/sterling differences. I also prefer it's scope rail over the block ones so there's that too. Delivery was super quick with no import issues thankfully. My previous experience importing blasters hasn't gone so well in the past. Despite me jumping through the many hoops that be our ridiculous import laws, I had one of my resin blasters quite literally broken and destroyed by customs (with what I still believe was malicious intent). Here's how I received that one: Forever salty about that, but anyways, here's the basic BlasterFactory E11 with a (not destroyed) resin E11: She's a beaut. Chris really does fantastic work. - Got it dis-assembled and ready for prep: -Vintage folding stock was delivered with no issues either: -Sourced a vintage R1 appropriate scope that was re-purposed for civilian use and repainted, so it needed stripping: - After removing it from the mount I used acetone to remove the blue paint which was easier than expected. The large optic ring was shiny brass so I repainted with hammer finish followed by flat clear, which was the closest match to the rest: I did keep the original mounting screws, but still have the mount itself if anyone's interested in that sort of stuff. - Also bought the replica 'Surefire' flashlight and rails. Link to my rails post HERE Flashlight link HERE. - As mentioned before, the new era E-11s use a number of different scope rails/mounts so I just bought one from BlasterFactory. The counter mount isn't accurate but I'll probs mod that in the future. Ordered a vintage end cap too, but decided against the vintage grip as there's almost no difference besides the age and weathering. I do plan on swapping some minor stuff too, like the stock screws for example. Sterlings had a smooth dome where as the R1 version had flat head ones, and the BF replica uses hex ones. The aluminum folding stock also uses grub screws instead of a pin-locking system but that's part of the design with the reproduction so I don't think there's much I can do there. Another is the rear sight screw being flat-headed instead of a hex, I think? Will have to double check, but this is just me being picky. - For the Hengstler, I'm waiting until I can find a vintage small eagle version for a good price, but for the time being I just used an already finished resin one I had spare, though it is a medium eagle one (with a small crack/split). I did print up a Rogue One style counter (thanks Trooper96) but haven't gotten around to getting it completed just yet: After getting almost all the required parts, it was now time for primer and paint. - I painted certain pieces (barrel for example) with straight-up flat black, but parts like the mag-well, front sight and rear catch got coats of etch primer to retain as much detail as possible. - Got the trigger housing/grip assembly and power cyls complete, then slightly weathered for now. Just sandpaper for the grip, but for the cylinders I used gun-metal paint and liquid latex before the flat black, then removing the latex to reveal a gun metal colour instead of the base aluminium, finished with flat clear. Everything here got the same black and clear, though the selector switch is untouched at this point: I used a thin disc magnet glued to the base of the cylinders to attach it, this way the mag-well details aren't ruined by glue or anything. The magnet is strong enough to reach the magazine inside and is secure enough that it won't fall off easily. - Probably unnecessary, but the main body tube got some etch primer for texture before the other etched parts were attached and ready for final paint. When painting/priming I suspended most parts from wire and cut coat hangers. For body tube primer and then final paint, I used a set-up similar to what Chris does in THIS video and can't recommend it enough, made everything way easier. - Now, the final paint was rustoleum hammered with flat clear. I tried multiple paints and primer combos on scrap aluminium before settling on the etch+hammered+flat clear. I wanted to closely match the vintage parts without repainting them and I am happy with the result. I did consider trying wrinkle paint but felt the forces of Vern cursing me so I decided against it. Because this is a weathered build I also applied gun-metal paint to spots across the blaster, followed by liquid latex before the hammered. Same as what I did with the power cylinders. - Found the sling mount and talon swivel thingies at a local gun store which was a bonus. It was easily swapped with the bayonet lug. (Still really wanna use a sling with the R1TK, crl update maybe? Plz? I beg) - Bought some "M-Loc t-nuts" for the rail, these seem to be the best solution to attach it securely for trooping. I did this step almost last and it was a pain, I'd suggest doing it earlier in the build. I couldn't use the included rail screws as they were too short, so I used the ones that came with the t-nuts. Not accurate, but it'll do for now. I found the t-nuts locally but you can find the same type on Amazon HERE. I picked up some accurate t-track and installed it using THIS method as hot water didn't work for me. I cut the tracks to these lengths: 1 x 7.25" 4 x 6.5" 2 x 2.5" Once installed they're actually quite secure, I only used glue on one that was a little loose. And without further ado, here it is completed (for now): (scope works too, couldn't pickup the crosshairs with the pic but its way more clear irl) With R1 being ANH adjacent I was going for a more 'real' look and feel with this build, more Sterling and less airsoft if you will. Total weight comes to 2.2kg/4.85lbs for anyone wondering. This was my first proper, full blaster build and I'm very happy with the final product. Test-trooped with it too and everything held up great, even against some VERY grab-happy younglings. My resin and printed ones would've had pieces break off in that situation. Still got some upgrading to do, gotta get a vintage counter, add a dome hex bolt to the mag and a lil more weathering, but I'm deeming it finished as of now. (is anything ever truly "finished" in this hobby though xd). I also can't wait to see how it fares in the coming years, with the wear and tear of trooping I really hope it gets more of that grubby, beat-up R1 look to it. Side note. Unfortunately I had to ditch the vintage stock because of issues when installing. The catch sits further back on the vintage one and doesn't lock into the folded position, even when swapping the catch parts with parts from the included aluminium one. I really tried to make it work without any serious modifications but it just won't. It also didn't wanna work with both the aluminum and vintage end cap for whatever reason.. Really disappointed as it not only wasn't cheap, but it looks, sounds and feels amazing compared to the aluminium. The only bummer of the build. I do plan to build a non-weathered version, expanding on what I've leant from this build. I am also considering doing a few R1 E11s in a run at some stage, once I work out the most viable (and accurate) parts from the currently available vendors/sellers that is. Now, now it's time to blast some rebels!!
    4 points
  5. Lighting of the Armor There are 4 parts that need lighting to be screen accurate: - The jetpack grill - The two gauntlets (2x red lights) - The chest armor (1 red light on right side) The jetpack grill was straight forward as I already had done the red transparent part (see thread above) inside the top grill. I simply put a white light you can find at any hardware store that has a remote and works on 3xAAA batteries. I will last several 10ā€™s of hours before replacement, as with a remote no issue opening the top cover each time to power it or shutdown. For the other parts, I went with easiest way forward for me, which was to use discrete LED. The ones I picked are rectangular 2x5x7mm red LEDs that work with 15-20mA/1.9-2.2V from Amazon. I have put the link belowand hope it will stay there, but these are pretty standard and can be easily replaced by Digikey/Mouser equivalents. https://a.co/d/a1I6r5v I used a small 3xAAA battery pack with rechargeable batteries that generates 4.4V and will also last 10s of hours in the Gauntlet (around 8-10h on the chest), which is perfect for using with the LED (I put 2 diodes in series). I simply added a small resistor adjusted to number of diodes to limit current. (ex: 4ohms for 2 x 2 diodes). For the 4 squares in the gauntlets, I used 4 LEDs (2 x 2 in series), for the larger rectangle, I used 6. As for the large rectangle in the chest, I used 20 (10 sets of 2 diodes in series). I glued them on an aluminum sheet (from dollar store), it helps reflect back the light in the right direction. The reason for the aluminum is to dissipate the heat from the LEDs, you don't want those to heat up and melt the PLA. As those are still discrete LEDs, you have to diffuse their light to have a uniform red glow. I used 2x 0.3mm layers on white PLA sheets I printed, cut and glued in front of the transparent red plastic of the gauntlet/ chest armor. I soldered them, then added a layer of insulating tape between the leads and the aluminum sheet to avoid shorts. I also potted the lead in clear silicone to further insultate and prevent leads from moving around. and attached them to the gauntlet with white duct tape (so that they can be removed if broken). Took me around 3h to get it done for all the parts, pretty straight forward stuff. Could be nicer looking, but nobody sees itā€¦! N.B. I added aluminum foil on top of the duct tape and secured it with yet another layer of duct tape to block the light... otherwise the armor was glowing from the inside šŸ˜Š Below is a schematic of the assembly and basic concept of LED assembly. You should do your own circuit and validate with someone familiar with these kind of circuits prior to assembling the lighting system Below is the LED arrays prior to soldering and insultating. Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture after final assembly... The inside of the gauntlets after assembly Very difficult to take pictures of the light with a phone without over exposing the light/ under exposing the armor (phones hate LEDs), but here is a first pic that show the functional light. The most realistic view is actually from reflection on the floorā€¦! For nicer images, I did use my reflex on the chest with two light settings and take some longer exposure to get the color right, gives a pretty good idea.
    4 points
  6. A bit of delay as I was completing the lights for the jetpack, chest and gauntlets (will post some nice pics later, but very satisfied with low cost solution to get screen accurate lighting ). Here is one nasty part that gave me a lot of trouble... the ABS Abs section Probably the most challenging part is going to be the ABS section. The canon pictures are showing flexible armor With only one seam on the right side. On top of being accurate, I really did not want a hard armor, since either will be too large of a fit, or will be very uncomfortable (I can relate with my sith trooper). So I decided early on I would cast the ABS. I designed a mold out of 3D print (+bondo+ filler+ clearcoat to get perfect smooth finish) based on many pictures. 3D models online are not perfectly accurate and of course cannot be made flat. I will have the 3D model available on my Etsy soon for everyone. It had to be printed in 4 sections on my large printer to be approx. 330mm x 1000mm, as I am 5ā€™8ā€™ā€™ /165lbs but I want the ABS mold to be fitting a bit larger/taller troopers if needed. casting material So I did a LOT of research on best suited material (I didnā€™t want to go to silicone, unless last resort as it cannot be painted ( except with costly stuff) and with the size, would be also costly. I went with Smooth-on Tuff Stuff 15, which is supposed to be designed for cosplay. Ok, that was a learning experience which cost me 4 full bottles, chat with Smooth-on tech guys, frustrations,ā€¦ I colored it with so-strong pigment white and black to end up with a grey. Just black is not accurate or enough qty. Lessons learned: - Works great if : - You cast it with a room that is 20-23C. Donā€™t do it in hot or cold environment. The foam WILL collapse - You have to use the proper mold release and donā€™t be cheap on it, urethane is very sticky - Donā€™t remove it out of the mold before 24h, even if they say 3h,ā€¦ it WILL collapse in some areas - Mix it with color in part B only. Mix it with mechanical mixer ( I used Allway HMQHelix paint mixer drll attachment on Amazon) in a high container (from 1$ store- you will throw it away) so that your mixer on your power drill will not inject air into it. Mix it for 1min at full throttle, after the first 30s, poor in new container, otherwise you will have some areas that will not cure. - Once mixedā€¦you have 1min to poor it and level. Youā€™ve got to be fast and accurate as it will expand 4x, not to have thin and way too thick - You have to put a plate with stoppers over it to control thickness uniformity (aim 8-9mm) and have a nice surface finish. - Even with all this, you will end up with marble finish (after several chat with smooth-on staff) , but surface finish will nice and even, so when you apply the paint it will be smooth and nice. I used Tulip grey fabric spray paint ( you can get it at Michaelā€™s if your in US or Canada). Fabric spray paint is the best for this flexible material. Itā€™s scary when you apply it, but when dried it is very uniform. Below are images of the mold open and closed with the cover (showing white stoppers to have 8-9mm thick ABS ( I tried several thickness and this is the optimal for this product). Here is the ABS as demolded. Painted The ideal is to use straps on the ABS to support weight of the belt, cod and holster. I used velcros from brand 'Velcro' heavy duty, white from Amazon) inside and outside to secure the parts to the ABS
    4 points
  7. Whoever says that you're done with working on your armor once you get approved is lying. So here I am, once again! Aside from the usual clean-up and crack repair, it was time for something more unusual: Bleaching my armor Now, if you've taken a look at my troop log, you might have noticed that every since June last year my armor color hasn't quite matched up with that of my fellow troopers. Long, long hours of trooping in the sun can do that to ABS. After a bit of looking around and researching, I stumbled across the fact that you can bleach your armor. Here is a good tutorial. First things first, I got rid of everything that didn't need bleaching or that might make the process more difficult. Just look at this part of my helmet: you can clearly spot which parts were covered by the ears and which had some sun exposure! By taking my helmet apart I could more or less guarantee equal sun exposure during the bleaching process, as well as making sure the screws, the lens foil or the rubber parts wouldn't get bleached by accident. The paint however won't be impacted by the bleach. Similarly, I made sure to remove padding and strapping wherever possible. For bleaching the armor I used this hair bleach. I put a dollop of it onto the cardboard and painted a layer onto my armor. I then wrapped the armor in clingfoil and sealed it as airtight as possible with see-through tape. Remember to only use bleach whilst wearing skin protection and being in a ventilated area -- I forgot the gloves at first and my skin got really itchy and a bit spotty. Once I had everything wrapped up, I put the armor parts out in the sun, making sure to give them the most sun exposure they could get. Originally, I had planned on leaving them there the entire afternoon whilst I relaxed inside, but it was a rather windy day and I instead spent the next two hours playing catch with it in the garden. After those two hours I decided enough was enough -- at this point it was fairly likely that all the tumbling around would mean risking cracks and there were storm clouds coming up anyways -- so I carefully removed the cling wrap and wiped off all the bleach with water. Since I was already dedicating that day towards armor maintenance, I decided to give everything a good clean up as well, getting rid of some of the scuffs with a magic eraser. At a first glance, my armor certainly appears to be less yellow than before. I didn't get around to bleaching the whole armor, but only the more yellowed parts -- shoulders, helmet... anything with sun exposure from the top -- so we'll have to see just how well I will fit in with my fellow TKs at the next troop.
    4 points
  8. Troop #47 G-Note Comic Con Bellahouston We attended a small local comic con raising funds for Glasgow Children's Hospital charity today.
    4 points
  9. Hey Mike, this is Greg. Yeah Iā€™m happy to share my mods with anyone that has purchased Nicoā€™s original files. Feel free to DM me with some sort of proof of purchase and I can get you the files Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    3 points
  10. 77) 25/04/2024 - HOTTOYS Darkside of the Force Event Press & Media Tour @ CityPlaza
    3 points
  11. 86. Bradley's Honor Walk - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Sun. 4/21/24 (ANH-S #56, FTE #65) TK-61490 Celebrating TK-4/21 Day with TK-62345, SL-88667, TK-20413, and TK-50311 - we were at our post supporting organ donation awareness!
    3 points
  12. ... Oops, I did it again~
    3 points
  13. Troop 3+4 Gold Coast Supanova April 13+14
    3 points
  14. 41. 21/04/2024 - TORREJON DE LA CALZADA - MADRID - II DUATLON MENUDOS CORAZONES - Stormtrooper ANH Stunt
    3 points
  15. 7) April 20th, 2024 - Star Wars (for our UWS Bravo Explorers) (Greenville, SC)
    3 points
  16. Doing some forearm trimming on a rainy Sunday. Next step is to get them sized and then move on to the biceps. Sent from my SM-N981U1 using Tapatalk
    3 points
  17. What do you mean, it's been almost a month without memes??
    3 points
  18. Hey all, I'm hoping to document my first order TK build here! This will be my first build, and I will inevitably have a million questions, so I'm hoping I can have some guidance! Here are my current plans: My dream is to make the TFA version of the trooper, as this design is what truly got me invested in stormtroopers years ago when I first saw them walking around Hollywood Studios. The DN kit is obviously intended to be used as a TLJ/TRoS suit, but from what I can tell, it can be made into a TFA kit. So that leads me to my next question, are the only differences between the two versions the helmet, forearms, and cod piece, or are there more? My plan is to order the individual TFA pieces from Imperial Surplus, and make both versions of the suit. Long term, id like to have an approved TFA kit, TLJ/TRoS kit, and Executioner kit. Lofty, but doable I think. As far as the helmets go, I would love to have both of the DN premium helmets, however, im not keen on dropping nearly $1,300 on the two of them. I will certainly get the premium TFA one, however, for TLJ, im going back and forth between the premium and standard line. The premium line helmet is very accurate. The standard line helmet is slightly inaccurate beneath the mouth, using the TFA chin. I thought about converting a black series helmet, as the chin is more accurate, however, I have quite a large head, and worry it won't fit. I have 3D printed 5th Horseman's F11-D, and SE44-C. Geeky Pink seems to be the go-to for gaskets, however, I am looking for rubber ones, as I hope to apply for centurion. I believe there are runs of accurate metal holsters, as well as well defined resin hand plates, both of which I hope to purchase. In addition, I may upgrade to Dino's spats. Any guidance and/or tips are greatly appreciated! I have completed a few ANH TK kits before this, and I'm excited to add this to the roster!
    2 points
  19. Troop 12, also listed in Fire Team Sousa Troop Log (Hong Kong Garrison) Event: Hot Toys The Power of the Dark Side Media Event Location: Cityplaza, Hong Kong Date: 27th April 2024
    2 points
  20. These have been over in the Pre-Approval forum for a bit, but I suppose I should post my photos now that I have been approved! I do intend to get back to updating this thread, as I'm feeling much more confident in sharing my build now that it is complete. I also am helping a few squadmates with their builds, which will afford me opportunities to take more photos of my process on subsequent go-arounds. I think it came out well enough and hope this thread has been helpful to others even in its current state, and I'll do my best to finish it out in the future.
    2 points
  21. started to work on the helmet some. I'm not happy with how it printed, so I reached out to @TKModder421 to see about getting his modified files for the Nico R1TK helmet. He sent them on to me, so I'll start printing those today. I've sent some of the smaller bits (ears, ear caps, traps and tears) to one of my friend for resin printing. I hope that they will turn out as well as Greg's pictures did on his post. Here is what I was working, with. I'll hold on to it to practice finishing work on.
    2 points
  22. I looked into the garder system for the thighs, but decided to just add a loop of elastic, snapped to the inside of the thighs. I use a 1" black leather belt to hold them up and have never had any issues with them.
    2 points
  23. Premium Anovos Helmet is arriving Monday!
    2 points
  24. Troop 125: 4/23/2024 - Thomas Jefferson Middle School READCON - Vancouver, WA (292nd troop overall)
    2 points
  25. I got to spend the majority of the day working uninterrupted Anyway I took the clamps and magnets off the forearm and it looked good so I stuck the final cover strip on and hung it up, along with one of the interior cover strips on the right bicep. After I hung those up I discovered a simple but excellent way to catch ABS waste, that being a tupperware. I also got to work on the legs, and trimmed pretty much the entire left leg, only thing I didn't get done was the top of one of the shin halves. I trimmed the top of the thighs and bottoms of the shins completely, I left the bottom of the thighs at at 5mm and the tops of the shins at 10mm, tomorrow I'll work on the right leg, and fitting. Today was quite productive. (Pictures have been added!)
    2 points
  26. *WonderCon 2024 - Anaheim, CA - Sat. 3/30/24 (ID & Lt. Gauge)
    2 points
  27. Back to MA (memes anonymous) for you, you didn't even manage your 1 month chip.
    2 points
  28. Forearms and biceps rough trimmed and taped so we can size, then glue. Sent from my SM-N981U1 using Tapatalk
    2 points
  29. Also don't cut into corners, best to drill then cut, the round hole should prevent splitting
    2 points
  30. Mision 1 22/11/2023 ā€“ MADRID ā€“ VISITA HOSPITAL UNIVERSITARIO LA PAZ
    1 point
  31. Thanks for all the links! super, super helpful. And thank you for also pointing out the thermal detonator
    1 point
  32. Francois, you have gone all out on this built, this is seriously good stuff. To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. Fantastic work and great details in this build thread, I'm sure this is going to make it easier for other potential builders.
    1 point
  33. Well done Luca! Looks like this has been a very successful task.
    1 point
  34. Troop #48 Today's troop was at Summerlee Car Show in Coatbridge. Helping raise funds for St. Andrew's Hospice. It was a wet day for all, but we still managed to put smiles on faces.
    1 point
  35. Any foreign material mixed can change the color of the ABS paste.
    1 point
  36. I would for sure trim at the red line you've created. trimming that edge off will for one, stop the cracking on your butt plate and two reduce armor bite. I have bruises on the inside of my thigh from armor bite at the codpiece.
    1 point
  37. Welcome back Tyler. with respect to the ABS paste. When you say sawdust, if you are referring to the abs sawdust, that should not make any difference as it will dissolve into the acetone. If it is wood sawdust however, that would be a different story.
    1 point
  38. 76) 20/04/2024 - Books for Love 2024 @ Taikoo Place (QuarryBay, Hong Kong Island)
    1 point
  39. 1 point
  40. TK-54815 requesting 25th Troop https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/51226-25-tk-54815-troop-log
    1 point
  41. Troop 49 Niagara Falls , Ontario April 6, 2024 Niagara Falls pre Eclipse Party This was a Star Wars themed pre eclipse party put on by the City of Niagara Falls. We were asked to be there to interact and take photos with guests. Unfortunately the event was not well attended and only 20 to 30 guests came. We still had a great time dancing away in our costumes. Pre event group shot Obligatory elevator selfie There was an odd pole in the middle of the room we used to change. So I had to try it out. Got a bunch of credits for my effort from the FOTK in the back. Had to also grab a photo with my new transport vehicle. They said the barrel ride was completely safe. Not so sure
    1 point
  42. 1 point
  43. Troop #8 The Bloodfin Garrison and the Taakure Clan of the Mando Mercs teamed up for a showing at a school carnival in Lafayette, Indiana. Most of the troop was spent inside in a designated area for taking photos with Star Wars characters, but we did venture around the school and went outside at one point. Vader wanted to get some photos of his cape fluttering in the wind, so I provided some help as well. Like many troops, we got a bit goofy toward the end. One of the students told me I slayed, so I joined her and her friends in different slaying poses! I later recreated one of the slaying poses for the camera: I think it is a decent pose!
    1 point
  44. I was so into my new build, trying to get it done before our last big event, now I'm eh, I'll get to it eventually. Guess that's the problem with having a working kit already. Sent from my SM-N981U1 using Tapatalk
    1 point
  45. 1 point
  46. Bonus: Small little me with Stormtroopers at Star Wars Celebration V (Orlando FL) in 2010 I came across some pictures of me (I'm the child) when I attended Star Wars Celebration V! It's funny how now I'm a stormtrooper. I hope that one day some child that I meet at a convention will be inspired to join us in the future! Edit * Found better quality versions of these photos plus an additional photo added it below
    1 point
  47. 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!
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