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Shooter

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  1. Hi folks, TK/TS-4887 (RET) here. I used be fairly active here back in the day and was on the Command Staff many moons ago (Looking at my last DM was about 9 years ago lol). Not looking to come out of retirement, but I found an old E11 build with a real tanker scope on it, so I thought I better finish it up. Happy to see how FISD has grown since my day and it's great to see the Newsletter (which I started) still going strong. Great job everyone.
  2. Hey Paul, Correct you are sir! I'm sure I can speak for the CG Leadership in that any information on how we can improve or serve potential recruits is appreciated. The moral of the story: Information on how to continuously improve = Great! - Public flaming of a longstanding, well reputed CO = Very bad. It is honestly that because we have never had this come up, that it is so surprising.
  3. Hey folks, A little late to the party here, but I just wanted to say that this thread is really quite surprising. Roy is a founding member of the CG and has been re-elected as CO for the past 10 or 11 years, maybe longer. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and the CG is truly a family because of him and his hardwork of over a decade. When I started my TK journey I stumbled across the FISD first as well. Soon after I found Roy's contact info on the CG site and was quite surprised at how outgoing he was and he offered great information, tips and advice. He shared his recommendations on armour and ultimately gave me some great information to get started. Roy quickly invited me to the annual Xmas party and an upcoming armour party. I attended the Xmas party and was very pleased with the warm welcome and immediate acceptance I received. I'm wondering why people tried to sign-up for the boards without contacting anyone first? I'm not sure what is said in that message, but to me the logical step would be to make an introduction with someone and letting them know your intentions? Second, I'm pretty disappointed how fellow 501st members were so quick to jump on and condemn a brother without all of the information. Someone with a great reputation and tenure such as Roy should be given the benefit of the doubt.
  4. Greetings Troopers! First, I would to thank everyone who supported and voted for me during the recent campaign for Detachment Leader. There have been several changes to the command staff. Here is the new command staff: Detachment Leader (CO) - Dashrazor - Mason Carson (TK 4603) Executive Officer (XO) - RogueTrooper - Tom Gardner (TK5940) Personnel officer (S1) - novatie - A.C. Meyers (TK 5597) Deployment Officer (S7) - Locitus - Mathias Rodstedt (TK2959) Intelligence Officer (S2) - Star Raider - Corey Andrews (TK 4524) Public Relations Officer (S5) - AdamScottFM - Adam Scott (TK 6124) Chief Tactical Officer (S8) - DarthAloha - Eric Brager (TK 9674) Provost Marshall (PRM) - bobojuice - Luis Diaz (TK 7164) Detachment Webmaster (S6) - ZeroRoom - Lucas Bowers I would like to take this time to thank Paul and the members of the 2011 command staff and Imperial Propaganda Department that continue to devote there time and show Unquestioned Loyalty to the FISD. We have high expectations for the upcoming year. Here are a few projects that are already in the works: Baseline requirements for the EFX/MRCE have been added to the CRL’s and we are working on a visual guide for the baseline modifications. New forum skins Forums re-organization Further refining of the CRL's Major updates to the main page Wiki On another note, we are also currently wanting to make the CRL’s global by translating them into other languages. We will be looking for bilingual members that want to help with the translations. We are also currently looking for more 501st members to round out the IPM (Imperial Propaganda Machine). So, if you have photo editing skills, writing or just want to generally help take the FISD to another level, let us know. Let’s make this a year a stellar year for the FISD!!! With unquestioned loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "dashrazor" Detachment Leader First off, congratulations go to Mason for winning the 2012 FISD Detachment Leader election. Furthermore, a BIG thanks to both Mason and Mike for running clean campaigns, and to everyone who participated by asking insightful and thought-provoking questions, without coming off as trying to entrap or otherwise manipulate the candidates. This election was a pleasure to administer, and I can only hope future elections go as smoothly. Now for some participation statistics … If you look at the numbers, this is how it breaks out. Note that these numbers are a snapshot of the population immediately following the end of the election: Number of Legion-approved TKs: 2,311 Number of full forum access detachment members: 634 Number of DL-approved detachment members on the last day of the election: 507 Number of votes cast: 283 Explaining the categories: Item 1 is the total number of Stormtrooper costumes registered at Legion. Item 2 is the subset of those who have been granted access to the Detachment Only area by the FISD Membership Officer, which is where the election Q&A took place. Item 3 is the number of “registered voters†– note that simply owning a TK and having a Legion number does not make you automatically eligible to vote in a detachment election, per Legion rules you must be verified by the DL. Item 4 is of course self-explanatory. My take on this is although we are doing reasonably well in getting our full Detachment members (and status as such can be achieved simply by posting a request in the “501st Trooper Status Requests†thread) registered to vote, there is more of a gap between those who are registered to vote and those who actually do. Of course the biggest issue by far is the large gap between (1) and (2), which is a broader and more far-reaching issue than mere election participation. At the end of the day, the numbers tell me that only 12% of the Legion’s Stormtroopers chose to exercise their right to vote in FISD elections, which is of course the single most important tool one has in influencing the direction of the detachment. As a result, a small minority of troopers wield an outsized level of influence on extremely important issues such as CRLs – issues that affect ALL Legion Stormtroopers. As I stated last month, although this is *your* Detachment, if you don’t participate then you have no moral standing to complain about how things “should beâ€. For those who exercised their right & responsibility to vote – thank you. For those who didn’t – let’s do better next year. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" FISD Provost Marshal Emeritus Paul C.Hoeffer (TK-8020) is the visionary who founded the FISD and has been the main driving force of what this Detachment has become. Without his hard work and dedication there would be no FISD as we know it today. In the recent past, Paul told some of us that he felt that the FISD was established enough that he could step aside and not run for another term as DL. Paul said he needed to take some time off and re-charge his batteries. Paul is now lending his expertise as the XO of the Imperial Officer’s Corp Detachment, GWL and GML for his Garrison. I have to say, if this is taking some time off , I would hate to go on vacation with you. Paul in his Imperial Officer uniform: From all of us on the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment to you Paul, many thanks for all that you have done. For those that did not get a chance to thank Paul, here is a link where you can express your appreciation for all of his hard work: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18666 With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK-5940 "RogueTrooper" FISD Executive Officer Ralph McQuarrie - Visionary, Illustrator. Artist passed away on March 3, 2012 at the age of 82. McQuarrie is best know for his concept artwork and matte paintings for the Star Wars Saga, which catapulted him into to working on some of the best known movies in the past 35 years. George Lucas said at one point, if it had not been for McQuarries’s concept art that Lucas used to promote the original script to the to the studios, the original movie probably would not have been made. McQuarrie’s contributions to the first film, not only shaped the look of the movie’s landscape and vehicles, but his illustrations also help create some of the iconic characters such as C3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader, and our beloved Stormtrooper. Not only did the world lose a great talent, but we the 501st Legion, lost a brother. In 2008 McQuarrie was inducted into the 501st Legion as an honorary member. Here is the ceremony: McQuarrie’s talent and foresight has influenced the past two generations of artist and will continue to influence future generations of artist. There is a saying that the work of most great artist is not appreciated until their passing. McQuarrie is the exception to that rule. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK-5940 "RogueTrooper" FISD Executive Officer Special Correspondence by UKG CO - Gary Hailes, TK-2739 As many of you may know Allen Poole TK-1615 lost his long battle with cancer last September leaving behind a wife, Clare and little boy , Luke. He also left a great many friends. Allen loved the 501st and the UKG with great passion. He would troop whenever he was able and involved his family where he could. He would always be amongst the first to volunteer his time should anyone need help and genuinely put others before himself. In his last months, Allen was actually in close communication with another 501st member who was also suffering with Cancer and spent much of his time giving him support. A true testament to Allen’s unselfish nature. Allen married his long time love and mother of his son Clare last summer and I had the honour to be invited. It was an amazing day topped off by members of the UKG changing into costume to welcome the evening guests. Needless to say Allen was arrested and only released on the word of his beautiful new bride. It was a very special day and I was proud to have been a part of it. The next time I saw Allen was at his last Troop. He was awarded a gold patch for his above and beyond service to the UKG. Allen was very ill that day but despite this, insisted on going out in costume to help a raise money for a local charity. Once Allen was in costume it was as if there were nothing wrong! Allen trooped with us all day and no one would have believed how ill he was. I loved running a couple of arrest routines with him and he had certainly not lost his touch!! At the end of the day I hugged Allen and we said goodbye. He knew it was probably the last time we would see each other and it was an emotional moment for both of us. I walked back to the car and I tried to fight back the tears. Allen was one of the bravest people I have ever met and his strength during the last months of his life was phenomenal. He really was an inspiration. Allen sadly passed in September and the very Church where he was married that summer played host to his funeral. Myself, Chris Baker, Steve Chafe, Kieran Thomas, Matt Sparling and Colin Wright were on duty in TK to assist with the funeral. The Coffin was escorted from Allen’s home by Chris and Steve and then myself and Kieran accompanied them as the coffin was taken to the front of the church for the service. The highlight, if you can have such a thing at a funeral, was the church organ playing the Imperial March! Just like Allen to make sure his funeral was done properly!! We then attended the crematorium where Colin and Matt were on duty for the most solemn part of the day. All in all it was a very fitting send off and most of all, Allen would have loved it! We in the UKG have felt this loss deeply and are trying to make sure that Allen’s family still remain a part of us and continue to get our support. Later this year there will be a run of patches to honour and remember Allen and we currently have a run of 501 wristbands with which we hope, with your support, to raise almost £1000 towards his son’s future. For more info on how you can support the wristband fund raising, here is the link: http://forum.whitear...l=&fromsearch=1 Gary Hailes UKG - COMMANDING OFFICER Gary Hailes TK-2739 "89Batman" UKG Commanding Officer Starting from this year, I as the Deployment Officer will be dismissing EI and Centurion applications if I deem the picture quality too low to make judgement on, and/or details cannot be easily seen in submitted pictures. Therefore I would like to provide some examples of what would be a bad picture, and what would be a good one. This is too dark, and somewhat "grainy" in the darker areas of the armour. Also see how the lights on the left make that over exposed, in turn making my armour somewhat under exposed. Detail is too hard to make out in this picture. This one is also underexposed. However, it is hard to make out any special detail in this picture This third picture would be alright to use in your application. It would, however, not be good enough as a full front picture (which will be required to submit) as it is cropped at the knees. Lighting and detail is good however. This picture was taken in the exact same conditions as the previous two, only with flash added to the picture. This is good full front picture that covers several important details in one single picture, using the same camera as above, but taking advantage of the natural light from the sun coming in from the windows. The same goes for the full back and full left and right side pictures (not pictured here) Taking individual pictures for required elements is also a good idea. For example the sniper knee plate that in my case is not attached with rivets and for Centurion is a so called “should beâ€, that means that it is currently allowed to be attached with rivets, but that may change to require glue and no rivets. A good full side view of both left and right of your blaster is also good to submit when making your EI or Centurion application. So with that, I'm looking forward to seeing more Expert Infantry and Centurion applications. With unquestioned loyalty, Mathias Rodstedt TK-2959 "Locitus" Deployment Officer HAWKEYE HAWKEYE ( TK-8555 ) is this month's trooper of the month. Kirby is a great example of what a big part of 501st is all about - putting smiles on kids faces that don't have much to smile about in life. Working with the Make a Wish Foundation, Kirby has done several Troops in the paediatric hospital's around Malaysia. Although Kirby works hard and often away from home, he always finds time to spend with his son and devotes many of his free weekends to helping the less fortunate. For those of us that have never rooped for kids in terrible situations like this, it's hard to imagine how upsetting it must be to see time and time again. However, in true Trooper fashion Kirby keeps doing all he can along with the Malaysia - Brunei Outpost to bring a bit of happiness at some of the darkest times. Well done Kirby, you make us proud. With unquestioned loyalty, Rob Kingman TK-7546 "matt black" Imperial Propaganda Machine The 5th Anniversary patches have all been shipped. We would like to thank everyone that purchased the patches. Can’t wait to see them on a jacket - so post your pics! There is an FISD lapel pin being put into the works. So keep an eye out for them in the near future. There are still about 17 gold challenge coins left, and for the 2012 FISD Calendars there are only 4 left. Plus, there are tons of 5th Anniversary trading cards available. Don't miss out on these....... Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  5. Not much available in Canada, most guys mod hasbro's or do pipe builds. Honestly, stay away from importing pre-built blasters, it's not that it's impossible, it's just risky. Matt
  6. You won't have any trouble Trooping with a Blaster with your Garrison. However, if you show up at a Wal-mart unannounced and start threatening people with it, that's a different story Doopydoo's will ship to Canada no problem, as it's a model kit, but you'll have no chance of getting a deactivated Sterling shipped here, or even Hyperfirm's for that matter. There is a place in Regina where you can get Sterling parts, but your looking in the $1500-$2000 for a complete one.
  7. From The Detachment Leader Election Time! From The Detachment Leader Attaché Report Troop of the Month: Georgia Garrison Swag Alert! Greetings Troopers! This is my last newsletter as Detachment Leader and what a ride the past 5-1/2 years it’s been. From the start the vision of the 1st Imperial Stormtroopers has been about having a place where we can come together and celebrate the Stormtrooper costume, a place where over caf and cakes we can share what we’ve learned and encourage each other to push our suits just that little bit farther. And always, doing son in the spirit of Troopers Helping Troopers. Some ask “where do we go from here?†Every year people tell me that there’s nothing new to learn, and every year it seems indeed there is always more that’s discovered than we had thought possible. New makers, new ways of building suits, and new facts about the original suits. Some people think the Expert Infantryman Badge program is just an award, but that viewpoint is missing the larger picture. There was a time when the TK had the lowest level of accuracy across costumes in the Legion, and people were just slapping them together with whatever came in the box - regarless of how inaccurate it was - and calling it “good enoughâ€. I believe people should be proud of their costumes and proud of the character they portray - we're supposed to be the best troopers in the Legion after all. I'm not advocating that every suit needs to be Centurion quality, but EIB is not about the utmost in accuracy for a Legion approvable costume. It’s about taking the next step past the bare minimum. Doing those small yet noticable tweaks that really make your TK shine. The cost and effort to go EI has never been lower or easier actually, with most makers creating suits that are able to get EIB out of the box if built correctly. Even for an out of the box FX suit, EI has never been more than a small cost/effort to bring the suits to a nice standard. MEPD has 33% of all Legion sandtroopers MEPD deployed – and their jump from CLR to Deployed is higher than ours. Think about that – what would the Legion look like if there 700 EIB TKs? What would *your* garrison look like if 1 out of 3 TK’s were at that level of quality and accuracy? Take a moment and think about that. The stormtrooper is a great costume by itself, but nothing can beat the site of a group of clean white TK’s en masse and the effect they have on a crowd. My dream is to never again have the TK be the worst costume in the Legion – I hope it’s a dream we can all work on together. If you’re not EI already, it’s a great time to ask for help to get there. And if you are EI already, why not lend a helping hand to others? The better you look, the better we all look, after all. J Signing off, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder As many of you know, February is election season for the 501st Legion, with elections happening at the Legion, Garrison, Outpost, Squad, and Detachment levels. The “2012 Election Forum†section at Legion has everything you need to know, including nomination criteria, campaign/election timelines, campaign rules, etc. You can also get an idea of how past elections went (and as a result an idea of how this year’s election might go) from looking at past year’s election forums. However, here are answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions: Q: When does the election period officially start and what is the election timeline? A: Legion election cycles typically start at 0001 GMT (12:01am) on the first Saturday of February. For 2012, the election period started at 0001 GMT on Saturday, 4 February, beginning with the opening of nominations. Nominations will close on Wednesday, 8 February. At 0001 GMT on Thursday, 9 February, the candidate Question & Answer (Q&A) phase will begin and run for five days, closing on Monday, 13 February. The next 24 hours (Tuesday, 14 February) are reserved for candidate closing statements. Voting will open at 0001 GMT on Wednesday, 15 February. Voting will end at 0000 GMT on Saturday, 19 February. The remainder of February is reserved for transitioning between administrations. Elected candidates will assume office at 0001 GMT on 1 March. Q: Who gets to nominate candidates and/or vote in elections? A: You are eligible to nominate and/or vote in units that you are listed as an active member per that unit’s membership rules. For the FISD, that means you must be an active Legion member with a Legion-approved TK. Simply being a forum member does not qualify – you must be a full Detachment member as shown in the Legion database. You can verify your FISD status by checking your profile data within the Membership DB on the Legion board (one of the selectable menu items on the far left of the screen). If you meet the above criteria but your Detachment Affiliation does not say “First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (Approved)†please contact the FISD staff immediately. Q: What FISD positions are open for election, and how do I nominate a candidate? A: At the FISD the only electable position is that of Detachment Leader (DL), all other positions are considered Detachment Staff who serve at the pleasure of the DL. In order to nominate a candidate for DL, both you and the nominee must be an active Legion member in good standing (i.e. currently not under disciplinary sanction). All nominations are handled centrally by logging into the Legion board, selecting “Legion Elections†from the menu on the far left of the screen, and selecting a candidate from the pulldown menu. If there is a candidate you’d like to nominate but their name is not listed as one of the pulldown options, please contact the Legion Captain of the Guard. Note that you cannot nominate yourself - you must be nominated by someone else, the nomination seconded, and the nominee must accept the nomination for it to go forward. Q: How do I ask the candidates questions? A: A Q&A thread will be created in the Detachment Only area of the forum similar to the LCO Candidates Questions thread on the Legion board. This thread will serve as the place for Detachment Members to ask questions of the DL candidate. The DL candidates will copy and paste the questions in their own threads, and respond to the questions in their threads. As is the FISD standard, appropriate decorum is required. Flaming, baiting, prolonged “discussions†in order to bend the candidate to your personal viewpoint, or any other questions designed to harass, humiliate, or otherwise manipulate a candidate will be met with disciplinary action. Nor will this thread serve as a platform simply to make statements promoting one’s personal agenda – any such posts will be deleted. The FISD Guidelines apply here just as they would during any other discussion, if not more so. Q: What happens if there is only one candidate? A: If there is only one candidate, then at the close of the nomination period that candidate will be declared the winner by default. No election will take place, nor will there be a formal Q&A period. The candidate is however encouraged (but not required) to create a Q&A thread and field questions, similar to what would happen if a competitive election were taking place. Q: How do I vote? A: The voting process is the similar to the nomination process – log into the Legion board, select “Legion Elections†from the menu on the far left of the screen, select a candidate from the pulldown menu, and press the *Vote* button. Remember, this is YOUR Detachment and elections are your most important opportunity to influence the direction of the FISD for the coming year. Good luck to the candidates, and if you are eligible to participate – do so! With unquestioned loyalty, Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshall Greetings fellow troopers, We have had some great achievements in the EIB and Centurion programs over the last month. FIrst, I would like to congratulate Graeme Noble (TK-3896) from the UK Garrison for becoming the FISD's 200th EIB recipient! Great work trooper!!! I would also like to congratulate Adrian Lighton (TK-4347) from the UK Garrison for being the first trooper to attain ANH Hero Centurion Status! Outstanding!!!! Looking back at the history of the EIB program you can clearly see that the program is becoming the baseline for most new troopers. From the beginning of the Expert Infantry program in 2007 to 2010 we had 100 approved EIB recipients. From 2010 to 2011 the number had almost doubled to 200. With that in mind, I am setting a goal of another 100 EIB's, which will give us a total of 300 recipients by the end of 2012. This may seem like a lofty goal but with the current trend of Troopers making there costumes EIB and Centurion out of the box and with the success of the Attaché program, I can see us attaining this. Sooooo, come on EI and Centurion troopers, get out there and help your fellow troopers reach this goal!!! Now with the availability of screen accurate armor and better accessories, combined with the information that can be attained from whitearmor.net, going to these levels is easier than ever!! You can see in the photos below how the face of the Stormtrooper costume has changed since the legion began. Since the Stormtrooper is one of the most iconic and recognizable characters from the Star Wars Saga and since it was the very first costume in the Legion, it should be portrayed in the best light possible. By going for EIB or Centurion you are doing your personal best to improve the appearance and preserve the iconic image of the Imperial Stormtrooper. Let's do it for the pride of the Empire!!! With unquestioned loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer First and foremost, Thank you for such a great concept, Vern! And to Brian for heading it up! I can only hope that every 501st detachment one day has the "Attache" program. When I first began building my RT kit back in 2010, there really wasn't a person I could go to for TK advice. I did all the research myself and built it myself. With the help of the folks here, of course. I think that may have contributed to why it took me 18 months to finally decide to buy my armor. I was told by SL/CC/TK 585 to do my research and to read everything I could on here, which I did. But, if I had had someone to call or to get advice and ideas from, I would have made the decision sooner. I take pride in being able to help new guys/gals who are looking to join the 501st with the building process of their costumes. I take even more pride in helping the members who came before me, take their costumes to another level in accuracy. I had the privilage of having a future prospect, Thalizar, come to my home on December 26th for an all day mini armor party. He had just received his new ATA full kit and was eager to start the build process. He arrived around 9am and after a short introduction we headed downstairs "where the magic happens". He had some parts trimmed and many that he was unsure how far to trim. I must have said "always measure twice, cut once" a thousand times...poor guy. He was really worried about the helmet and didn't want to mess it up. So, I helped by adding 2 rivets to the sides to attach the cap/back to the faceplate, but that's as far as I was going to go. I told him he could adjust the faceplate to get the brow where he liked it and that the rest was up to him, explaining that he would get more satisfaction of finishing the helmet on his own rather than me doing it for him...he agreed. Of course, if he would have insisted that I finish it, I would have, but that wasn't the point. Getting someone to feel comfortable working on their armor is more rewarding than anything I have ever experienced. The night before, I was asked by TK-5270, if I was available to do a short troop for her family who had flown in from AZ for the holidays. Her cousin's young boys were Star Wars nuts like us and it would make their visit, a memorable one. I asked Dan if he would like to join us as an observer to see "who we are, what we do". He was all for it. We got suited up in a garage, a 28 degree garage, and proceeded to the front door of the home. We were greeted by the kids with mouths open wide. After a short visit and a round of picture taking, we headed out to change. Dan really liked the experience and thanked me for taking him along. I think we got him hooked! We got back to armor around 7:00pm and worked until around 10:30pm. We got almost everything trimmed and assembled the shins. I tried to pump him full of confidence so he would feel comfortable working on the rest at home. He lives about 6 hours away and I wasn't able to swing over and help after his visit. If anyone has seen Dan's, Thalizar's TKC build thread, it looks like he's well on his way to becoming the next TKC Centurion...at least, that's what he is shooting for. There is another armor party coming up soon where we will work on his strapping and possibly submission photos. I'll also be helping a few others with their builds. Thanks for reading and thanks for allowing me to be a part of this awesome community! With unquestioned loyalty, Brian TK-5569 "SolderMaster" Imperial Attaché * Only a few 2012 Calendards are left - don't miss out on the last chance to get the best artwork we've ever produced! Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18149 * 5th Anniversary Trading cards are now available in 50 and 300 count packs. Get 'em while they last! Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18487 * Gold 5th Anniversary Coins are still avaialble (EIB only). Once they are gone, there will never be a second run. Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=15729 Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  8. Greetings Troopers! This is my last newsletter as Detachment Leader and what a ride the past 5-1/2 years it’s been. From the start the vision of the 1st Imperial Stormtroopers has been about having a place where we can come together and celebrate the Stormtrooper costume, a place where over caf and cakes we can share what we’ve learned and encourage each other to push our suits just that little bit farther. And always, doing son in the spirit of Troopers Helping Troopers. Some ask “where do we go from here?†Every year people tell me that there’s nothing new to learn, and every year it seems indeed there is always more that’s discovered than we had thought possible. New makers, new ways of building suits, and new facts about the original suits. Some people think the Expert Infantryman Badge program is just an award, but that viewpoint is missing the larger picture. There was a time when the TK had the lowest level of accuracy across costumes in the Legion, and people were just slapping them together with whatever came in the box - regarless of how inaccurate it was - and calling it “good enoughâ€. I believe people should be proud of their costumes and proud of the character they portray - we're supposed to be the best troopers in the Legion after all. I'm not advocating that every suit needs to be Centurion quality, but EIB is not about the utmost in accuracy for a Legion approvable costume. It’s about taking the next step past the bare minimum. Doing those small yet noticable tweaks that really make your TK shine. The cost and effort to go EI has never been lower or easier actually, with most makers creating suits that are able to get EIB out of the box if built correctly. Even for an out of the box FX suit, EI has never been more than a small cost/effort to bring the suits to a nice standard. MEPD has 33% of all Legion sandtroopers MEPD deployed – and their jump from CLR to Deployed is higher than ours. Think about that – what would the Legion look like if there 700 EIB TKs? What would *your* garrison look like if 1 out of 3 TK’s were at that level of quality and accuracy? Take a moment and think about that. The stormtrooper is a great costume by itself, but nothing can beat the site of a group of clean white TK’s en masse and the effect they have on a crowd. My dream is to never again have the TK be the worst costume in the Legion – I hope it’s a dream we can all work on together. If you’re not EI already, it’s a great time to ask for help to get there. And if you are EI already, why not lend a helping hand to others? The better you look, the better we all look, after all. J Signing off, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder As many of you know, February is election season for the 501st Legion, with elections happening at the Legion, Garrison, Outpost, Squad, and Detachment levels. The “2012 Election Forum†section at Legion has everything you need to know, including nomination criteria, campaign/election timelines, campaign rules, etc. You can also get an idea of how past elections went (and as a result an idea of how this year’s election might go) from looking at past year’s election forums. However, here are answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions: Q: When does the election period officially start and what is the election timeline? A: Legion election cycles typically start at 0001 GMT (12:01am) on the first Saturday of February. For 2012, the election period started at 0001 GMT on Saturday, 4 February, beginning with the opening of nominations. Nominations will close on Wednesday, 8 February. At 0001 GMT on Thursday, 9 February, the candidate Question & Answer (Q&A) phase will begin and run for five days, closing on Monday, 13 February. The next 24 hours (Tuesday, 14 February) are reserved for candidate closing statements. Voting will open at 0001 GMT on Wednesday, 15 February. Voting will end at 0000 GMT on Saturday, 19 February. The remainder of February is reserved for transitioning between administrations. Elected candidates will assume office at 0001 GMT on 1 March. Q: Who gets to nominate candidates and/or vote in elections? A: You are eligible to nominate and/or vote in units that you are listed as an active member per that unit’s membership rules. For the FISD, that means you must be an active Legion member with a Legion-approved TK. Simply being a forum member does not qualify – you must be a full Detachment member as shown in the Legion database. You can verify your FISD status by checking your profile data within the Membership DB on the Legion board (one of the selectable menu items on the far left of the screen). If you meet the above criteria but your Detachment Affiliation does not say “First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (Approved)†please contact the FISD staff immediately. Q: What FISD positions are open for election, and how do I nominate a candidate? A: At the FISD the only electable position is that of Detachment Leader (DL), all other positions are considered Detachment Staff who serve at the pleasure of the DL. In order to nominate a candidate for DL, both you and the nominee must be an active Legion member in good standing (i.e. currently not under disciplinary sanction). All nominations are handled centrally by logging into the Legion board, selecting “Legion Elections†from the menu on the far left of the screen, and selecting a candidate from the pulldown menu. If there is a candidate you’d like to nominate but their name is not listed as one of the pulldown options, please contact the Legion Captain of the Guard. Note that you cannot nominate yourself - you must be nominated by someone else, the nomination seconded, and the nominee must accept the nomination for it to go forward. Q: How do I ask the candidates questions? A: A Q&A thread will be created in the Detachment Only area of the forum similar to the LCO Candidates Questions thread on the Legion board. This thread will serve as the place for Detachment Members to ask questions of the DL candidate. The DL candidates will copy and paste the questions in their own threads, and respond to the questions in their threads. As is the FISD standard, appropriate decorum is required. Flaming, baiting, prolonged “discussions†in order to bend the candidate to your personal viewpoint, or any other questions designed to harass, humiliate, or otherwise manipulate a candidate will be met with disciplinary action. Nor will this thread serve as a platform simply to make statements promoting one’s personal agenda – any such posts will be deleted. The FISD Guidelines apply here just as they would during any other discussion, if not more so. Q: What happens if there is only one candidate? A: If there is only one candidate, then at the close of the nomination period that candidate will be declared the winner by default. No election will take place, nor will there be a formal Q&A period. The candidate is however encouraged (but not required) to create a Q&A thread and field questions, similar to what would happen if a competitive election were taking place. Q: How do I vote? A: The voting process is the similar to the nomination process – log into the Legion board, select “Legion Elections†from the menu on the far left of the screen, select a candidate from the pulldown menu, and press the *Vote* button. Remember, this is YOUR Detachment and elections are your most important opportunity to influence the direction of the FISD for the coming year. Good luck to the candidates, and if you are eligible to participate – do so! With unquestioned loyalty, Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshall Greetings fellow troopers, We have had some great achievements in the EIB and Centurion programs over the last month. FIrst, I would like to congratulate Graeme Noble (TK-3896) from the UK Garrison for becoming the FISD's 200th EIB recipient! Great work trooper!!! I would also like to congratulate Adrian Lighton (TK-4347) from the UK Garrison for being the first trooper to attain ANH Hero Centurion Status! Outstanding!!!! Looking back at the history of the EIB program you can clearly see that the program is becoming the baseline for most new troopers. From the beginning of the Expert Infantry program in 2007 to 2010 we had 100 approved EIB recipients. From 2010 to 2011 the number had almost doubled to 200. With that in mind, I am setting a goal of another 100 EIB's, which will give us a total of 300 recipients by the end of 2012. This may seem like a lofty goal but with the current trend of Troopers making there costumes EIB and Centurion out of the box and with the success of the Attaché program, I can see us attaining this. Sooooo, come on EI and Centurion troopers, get out there and help your fellow troopers reach this goal!!! Now with the availability of screen accurate armor and better accessories, combined with the information that can be attained from whitearmor.net, going to these levels is easier than ever!! You can see in the photos below how the face of the Stormtrooper costume has changed since the legion began. Since the Stormtrooper is one of the most iconic and recognizable characters from the Star Wars Saga and since it was the very first costume in the Legion, it should be portrayed in the best light possible. By going for EIB or Centurion you are doing your personal best to improve the appearance and preserve the iconic image of the Imperial Stormtrooper. Let's do it for the pride of the Empire!!! With unquestioned loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer First and foremost, Thank you for such a great concept, Vern! And to Brian for heading it up! I can only hope that every 501st detachment one day has the "Attache" program. When I first began building my RT kit back in 2010, there really wasn't a person I could go to for TK advice. I did all the research myself and built it myself. With the help of the folks here, of course. I think that may have contributed to why it took me 18 months to finally decide to buy my armor. I was told by SL/CC/TK 585 to do my research and to read everything I could on here, which I did. But, if I had had someone to call or to get advice and ideas from, I would have made the decision sooner. I take pride in being able to help new guys/gals who are looking to join the 501st with the building process of their costumes. I take even more pride in helping the members who came before me, take their costumes to another level in accuracy. I had the privilage of having a future prospect, Thalizar, come to my home on December 26th for an all day mini armor party. He had just received his new ATA full kit and was eager to start the build process. He arrived around 9am and after a short introduction we headed downstairs "where the magic happens". He had some parts trimmed and many that he was unsure how far to trim. I must have said "always measure twice, cut once" a thousand times...poor guy. He was really worried about the helmet and didn't want to mess it up. So, I helped by adding 2 rivets to the sides to attach the cap/back to the faceplate, but that's as far as I was going to go. I told him he could adjust the faceplate to get the brow where he liked it and that the rest was up to him, explaining that he would get more satisfaction of finishing the helmet on his own rather than me doing it for him...he agreed. Of course, if he would have insisted that I finish it, I would have, but that wasn't the point. Getting someone to feel comfortable working on their armor is more rewarding than anything I have ever experienced. The night before, I was asked by TK-5270, if I was available to do a short troop for her family who had flown in from AZ for the holidays. Her cousin's young boys were Star Wars nuts like us and it would make their visit, a memorable one. I asked Dan if he would like to join us as an observer to see "who we are, what we do". He was all for it. We got suited up in a garage, a 28 degree garage, and proceeded to the front door of the home. We were greeted by the kids with mouths open wide. After a short visit and a round of picture taking, we headed out to change. Dan really liked the experience and thanked me for taking him along. I think we got him hooked! We got back to armor around 7:00pm and worked until around 10:30pm. We got almost everything trimmed and assembled the shins. I tried to pump him full of confidence so he would feel comfortable working on the rest at home. He lives about 6 hours away and I wasn't able to swing over and help after his visit. If anyone has seen Dan's, Thalizar's TKC build thread, it looks like he's well on his way to becoming the next TKC Centurion...at least, that's what he is shooting for. There is another armor party coming up soon where we will work on his strapping and possibly submission photos. I'll also be helping a few others with their builds. Thanks for reading and thanks for allowing me to be a part of this awesome community! With unquestioned loyalty, Brian TK-5569 "SolderMaster" Imperial Attaché Congrats to the Georgia Garrison for helping the Make A Wish foundation make a dream come true! You make us all proud! http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18478 * Only a few 2012 Calendards are left - don't miss out on the last chance to get the best artwork we've ever produced! Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18149 * 5th Anniversary Trading cards are now available in 50 and 300 count packs. Get 'em while they last! Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18487 * Gold 5th Anniversary Coins are still avaialble (EIB only). Once they are gone, there will never be a second run. Sale thread: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=15729 Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  9. Hello Troy, you will need TK Detachment Status. You can make your request here: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=16
  10. From The Detachment Leader Beating The Trooping Off-Season Blues Legion Elections: DashRazor Runs For FISD DL! Trooper of the Month: Darth Aloha Swag Alert! Greetings Troops! Legion elections start in just a few weeks and as such, now is as good as time as any to let everyone know that I'll not run for DL in 2012. FiSD has been an incredible journey for me: from our inauspicious start where I was wondering if I could convince 9 others to sign the application form to today, where we are the largest detachment in the Legion and are also - by raw membership - the largest unit in the Legion. Not surprising on one hand - with 2300+ TK's in the Legion we should be - but if you compare this to other detachments, stormtrooper costume counts are only holding steady while others like TB, TI, and IC are growing like gangbusters and could overtake us in the future. As FISD has grown the time commitment to being at the helm has grown too. Even with a cracker-jack staff the hours one puts in are not for the faint of heart, or for someone not dedicated to fully serving the needs of our members. After some 5 years of this I need some well earned R&R. While I'll never fully leave FISD and will still participate in our community, it will be from the side-lines and someone else can have the big chair. Thanks to everyone who's supported me and FISD through the years, and even to those that didn't support me but still supported FISD. If anyone is thinking about running for DL my advice is to start planning and getting a move on now, as it's not a role one can step in to without a deal of forethought. I also suggest people carefully think this over - it would be a shame for the greatness of FISD not to continue, so please only nominate people you think are able to lead FISD to a new direction while still preserving our core values that have made us successful. Thanks all. With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder If your Garrison is anything like mine, you are now in what I call the trooping “off-seasonâ€. The Christmas & New Year’s holiday troops are past, and there isn’t much going on in terms of trooping opportunities until springtime. What to do?!? How about knocking out those costume upgrades that have been on the “I’ll eventually get around to it†list? If the idea of Expert Infantry or Centurion appeals to you, now is the perfect time to get your armor out of its bin and make those upgrades prior to the onset of trooping season. With Celebration 6 coming up this summer, you’ll definitely want to look your best. Another idea is to start on an entirely new build. Whether you’re a Stormtrooper loyalist who is looking to take the next step (or grand leap) in armor, or if you’re looking to expand your costume repertoire and try a new costume, now is the time. While we all love our white armor, it’s also nice to have a secondary costume that allows for a greater degree vision and mobility, especially when you just want to hang out for a bit. A third option is to help grow the Legion, your Garrison, and your Detachment by bringing along a new Trooper. As most of us have observed at some point, the only thing cooler than a Stormtrooper is LOTS of stormtroopers! Garrison armor parties are a great way to keep in touch with your Garrison mates, and at this point in my time with the 501st I actually derive more pleasure out of helping a prospective Trooper assemble his armor and earn his TKID than working on my own costume. Building my own kit is fun, but teaching/coaching brings a sense of fulfillment that is hard to describe. Whatever you choose, just because we’re in the offseason doesn’t mean that you have to be inactive. Get up from in front of the computer, break out your armor and tools, and get going! Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshall Greeting Fellow Troopers, Today, I am officially announcing my candidacy for the Detachment Leader of the FISD. One of my goals as Detachment Leader will be to continue the forward direction of the White Armor Forum. Taking a look at the past few years at how the Forum has grown and matured gives me hope to my aspirations of what we can achieve in the year to come... Currently the FISD has one of the most solid Staffs to date. With that in mind, I still will be looking towards expanding the staff in order to accomplish the goals I have in mind. If I am nominated and elected as the FISD Detachment Leader, here are a few of my goals for 2012: *Improved multi-lingual support *Improved site functionality *Expanding and improving the visual references for the costuming standards If I am nominated, I will appreciate your support and vote in the upcoming election. If I am elected your new Detachment leader, please be assured that my door will always be open to any and all FISD members for their causes, concerns, and ideas. With unquestioned loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer This month's well deserved Trooper of the Month is the FISD's resident Hawaiian funny man, Darth Aloha. As many of you would be aware in the second half of 2011,http://www.whitearmor.net decided to revamp the reception centre and switch over to the more in depth and interactive wiki format. While RogueTrooper and his team crafted the CRL's Darth Aloha enthusiastically put his hand up to format and build the wiki based Reception Centre from scratch. Darth Aloha had a good year here on FISD under his belt, but had only just begun his official membership with the 501st when he burst out of nowhere with the offer of his skills, and he hasn't let up since. He has worked tirelessly and non-stop to get the Reception Centre up and running and make the FISD knowledge repository better than ever before. In addition he somehow finds time to contribute constantly to the forums, in a meaningful and helpful way, offering advice, hard earned from his spectacular RT-Mod build, making new members feel welcome and always dishing out his inimitable brand of hilarious commentary to every aspect of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Department forums. With his friendly and gregarious attitude Darth Aloha is exemplary of the Troopers Helping Troopers unofficial FISD motto and a truly deserving winner of this month's Trooper Of The Month Award. Congratulations DarthAloha! Time is fast running out to order your 2012 FISD Calendar. Only a limited number have been made, and once gone, they are gone. Order today! The 5th Anniversary 10" patch run is closed and items have been ordered. We should have those shipping in a few weeks. FISD trading cards are in stock and the for sale thread will go up soon. These are also in limited quanties and will be sold in fast packs of 50 and also larger packs of 300. (add picture) I still have a chunk of EI gold coins - so if you are an EIB or Centurion recipient and haven't already purchased a gold coin, please do so. Only 20 left and when they are gone, there will never be another run. Lastly, if you haven't ordered your trading cards, now is an excellent time to do so. Only a few slots remain for our inaugural design, and the pricing can't be beat! Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  11. Greetings Troops! Legion elections start in just a few weeks and as such, now is as good as time as any to let everyone know that I'll not run for DL in 2012. FiSD has been an incredible journey for me: from our inauspicious start where I was wondering if I could convince 9 others to sign the application form to today, where we are the largest detachment in the Legion and are also - by raw membership - the largest unit in the Legion. Not surprising on one hand - with 2300+ TK's in the Legion we should be - but if you compare this to other detachments, stormtrooper costume counts are only holding steady while others like TB, TI, and IC are growing like gangbusters and could overtake us in the future. As FISD has grown the time commitment to being at the helm has grown too. Even with a cracker-jack staff the hours one puts in are not for the faint of heart, or for someone not dedicated to fully serving the needs of our members. After some 5 years of this I need some well earned R&R. While I'll never fully leave FISD and will still participate in our community, it will be from the side-lines and someone else can have the big chair. Thanks to everyone who's supported me and FISD through the years, and even to those that didn't support me but still supported FISD. If anyone is thinking about running for DL my advice is to start planning and getting a move on now, as it's not a role one can step in to without a deal of forethought. I also suggest people carefully think this over - it would be a shame for the greatness of FISD not to continue, so please only nominate people you think are able to lead FISD to a new direction while still preserving our core values that have made us successful. Thanks all. With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder If your Garrison is anything like mine, you are now in what I call the trooping “off-seasonâ€. The Christmas & New Year’s holiday troops are past, and there isn’t much going on in terms of trooping opportunities until springtime. What to do?!? How about knocking out those costume upgrades that have been on the “I’ll eventually get around to it†list? If the idea of Expert Infantry or Centurion appeals to you, now is the perfect time to get your armor out of its bin and make those upgrades prior to the onset of trooping season. With Celebration 6 coming up this summer, you’ll definitely want to look your best. Another idea is to start on an entirely new build. Whether you’re a Stormtrooper loyalist who is looking to take the next step (or grand leap) in armor, or if you’re looking to expand your costume repertoire and try a new costume, now is the time. While we all love our white armor, it’s also nice to have a secondary costume that allows for a greater degree vision and mobility, especially when you just want to hang out for a bit. A third option is to help grow the Legion, your Garrison, and your Detachment by bringing along a new Trooper. As most of us have observed at some point, the only thing cooler than a Stormtrooper is LOTS of stormtroopers! Garrison armor parties are a great way to keep in touch with your Garrison mates, and at this point in my time with the 501st I actually derive more pleasure out of helping a prospective Trooper assemble his armor and earn his TKID than working on my own costume. Building my own kit is fun, but teaching/coaching brings a sense of fulfillment that is hard to describe. Whatever you choose, just because we’re in the offseason doesn’t mean that you have to be inactive. Get up from in front of the computer, break out your armor and tools, and get going! Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshall Greeting Fellow Troopers, Today, I am officially announcing my candidacy for the Detachment Leader of the FISD. One of my goals as Detachment Leader will be to continue the forward direction of the White Armor Forum. Taking a look at the past few years at how the Forum has grown and matured gives me hope to my aspirations of what we can achieve in the year to come... Currently the FISD has one of the most solid Staffs to date. With that in mind, I still will be looking towards expanding the staff in order to accomplish the goals I have in mind. If I am nominated and elected as the FISD Detachment Leader, here are a few of my goals for 2012: *Improved multi-lingual support *Improved site functionality *Expanding and improving the visual references for the costuming standards If I am nominated, I will appreciate your support and vote in the upcoming election. If I am elected your new Detachment leader, please be assured that my door will always be open to any and all FISD members for their causes, concerns, and ideas. With unquestioned loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer[/size] This month's well deserved Trooper of the Month is the FISD's resident Hawaiian funny man, Darth Aloha. As many of you would be aware in the second half of 2011,http://www.whitearmor.net decided to revamp the reception centre and switch over to the more in depth and interactive wiki format. While RogueTrooper and his team crafted the CRL's Darth Aloha enthusiastically put his hand up to format and build the wiki based Reception Centre from scratch. Darth Aloha had a good year here on FISD under his belt, but had only just begun his official membership with the 501st when he burst out of nowhere with the offer of his skills, and he hasn't let up since. He has worked tirelessly and non-stop to get the Reception Centre up and running and make the FISD knowledge repository better than ever before. In addition he somehow finds time to contribute constantly to the forums, in a meaningful and helpful way, offering advice, hard earned from his spectacular RT-Mod build, making new members feel welcome and always dishing out his inimitable brand of hilarious commentary to every aspect of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Department forums. With his friendly and gregarious attitude Darth Aloha is exemplary of the Troopers Helping Troopers unofficial FISD motto and a truly deserving winner of this month's Trooper Of The Month Award. Congratulations DarthAloha! Time is fast running out to order your 2012 FISD Calendar. Only a limited number have been made, and once gone, they are gone. Order today! The 5th Anniversary 10" patch run is closed and items have been ordered. We should have those shipping in a few weeks. FISD trading cards are in stock and the for sale thread will go up soon. These are also in limited quanties and will be sold in fast packs of 50 and also larger packs of 300. (add picture) I still have a chunk of EI gold coins - so if you are an EIB or Centurion recipient and haven't already purchased a gold coin, please do so. Only 20 left and when they are gone, there will never be another run. Lastly, if you haven't ordered your trading cards, now is an excellent time to do so. Only a few slots remain for our inaugural design, and the pricing can't be beat! Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  12. It really depends on the size, shape of your thigh. I would recommend as Terry showed to put together the Front first, then do some test fitting and trimming until you have the fit you're looking for.
  13. Hey Folks, On behalf of the FISD Staff, here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy Holiday Season! Be safe out there and be sure not to indulge so much that your Armor doesn't fit come 2012 Happy Holidays!
  14. This post has been promoted to an article
  15. Greetings Troopers! I want to wish each and every one of you the very best this holiday season. Whether you are home or away, there is no better way to celebrate the season with your family and friends, even those friends on FISD. The staff has put together a really nice holiday letter this month to celebrate the spirit and also to cap off another outstanding year on FISD, so grab a glass of nog (or Red Solo Cup!), kick your feet up, and enjoy! With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder It’s hard to believe that 2011 has already come and is almost gone. This year we celebrated our 5th year in existence and by any metric the growth has been phenomenal. Starting from 10 members and a few posts we are now the largest detachment in the Legion. If we were a garrison, the number of Expert Infantry Badge recipients alone would make us the 6th largest unit in the Legion. Centurion has lived up to it's name and we are actually at the mark where 1% of the Legion TK's hold that title, an excellent start in it's first year. We now have completed CRL's for every costume we support and have added to new Legion approved costumes: the Sky Trooper and the Death Trooper. Gone are the days when the only thing to do with a worn out suit was to go sandtrooper, the advent of having 6 EU costumes provides ways for troopers to stretch themselves creatively. In fact there are more EU stormtroopers than there are canon ROTJ or ESB, so they are definately gaining in popularity. For those who are fans of the canon stormtroopers, just as last year was the year the ESB troopers really came in to their own, this year we've seen a run-up and invigoration of the ROTJ trooper. There are now solid sources for ROTJ armor, helmets, and accessories so it's no longer the case that you have to modify ANH armor to do this costume. Several troopers have really done bang-up jobs in re-creating these costumes and I think next year we'll see even more as we get closer to the 30th Anniversary of ROTJ. Looking back further we can see another measure of success that this detachment has been part of. Five years ago the average Legion stormtrooper looked much like this fellow - 100% out of the box FX, with black drop box straps no less: Today, most Legion stormtroopers are far more accurate and look like the fellow below, which was good enough to use in an LFL book shoot: And yes, in this case it's the same fellow (me). The advent of the CRL process has provided more detailed and correct guidance than there ever has been before for new and existing troopers alike, whether on their first costume or upgrading that old FX kit. The constant evolution of armor makers is that kits get cheaper and more accurate every year, which in parallel means that it's never been easier to create costumes of a level that was considered rare, expensive, and difficult to achieve only five years ago. Lastly I'd be remiss if I did not clal out some special troopers on staff for recognition. While we have the Achievement Award to recognize outstanding troopers in the field, staff work day in and day out with little reward and are deserving of our thanks and gratitude: Lucas (ZeroRoom) for rescuing our website from a less than stellar upgrade and giving us a fantastic skin again Matt (Shooter) for being the force behind getting these newsletters out. Not an event goes by that troopers don't remark on how the newsletter helps them stay in touch Brian (tkrestonva) for keeping the peace for several years now. When was the last time we had a flame war anyway? Tom (RogueTrooper) for getting our CRL's in order, keeping our wiki updated, and also for being an all around helpful person Mason (dashrazor) has helped many troopers on their accuracy journey as Deployment Officer, and also pioneered the SkyTrooper A.C. (novatie) for not missing a beat in keeping membership issues squared away Aaron (Synaptyx) for being our resident merchandise artist, creating all our 5th Anniversary designs and also our Centurion tab Damian (Dmian) for taking the helm with numerous site issues earlier in the year, and also helping update our branding graphics Terrell (SuperTrooper) may not post much anymore, but he's been taking my phone calls weekly (or more) and coordinating many areas behind the scenes Also members of the IPM team, who've been working as a machine to keep this place hopping Ryan (bluehickey) has been doing near all the EI and Centurion photo processing, plus many of the CRL images Jesse (TK 4702) for numerous graphics and also the incredible calendar that will be released soon Luis (bobojuice) for stepping in and helping out with many graphics requests Tray for the trading cards - he's been unstoppable! Wyatt (TK4205) for our coin run & patch run My apologies for anyone I left out - so many people worked together this year to make FISD the best place to go for everything stormtrooper related. It truly has been a team effort, and we thank you for the privelege of serving you. There is no more fun group of guys and gals in the galaxy. With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder In an effort to strengthen the levels of the FISD programs, I am proposing some changes to the Centurion program concerning the AM/FX chest plate, back plate and greaves/shins. For the Requirements: 1. The AM/FX style stock/unmodified chest plate needs modifications to meet the requirements for the Centurion level. 2. The AM/FX style stock/unmodified back plate needs modifications to meet the requirements for the Centurion level. ​3: There is also a major assembly problem with the AM greaves/shins armor that affect all levels of the requirements. Note: This may be added to the base CRL requirements. *The AM greaves (shins) shall be on the proper legs, with a new cover strip. The cover strip edge shall be facing the inside of the leg. Also the base CRL will be updated to clarify that the MRCE/EFX helmets will need to be modified to meet legion standards. While this is something known by most members here, the addition of this to the base CRL's will be helpful to new members when deciding on a new helmet. 501st members can view the discussion HERE The Poll is now open to vote: Please vote and tell your friends who are full detachment members to do the same. 501st members can vote on the amendment HERE UPDATE We are currently up to 192 approved EIB's!!! just one more month to hit our goal of 200! The Centurion ranks are growing as well, currently there are 23 approved Centurions!! I would love to see this number get up to 30 by the new year. Keep up the great work troopers!! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer Article By: RogueTrooper With the upcoming 5th Anniversary of the FISD, what better way to get some history and insight into the forum, than to sit down and talk with the person who has been here from the beginning. I am, of course talking about the founding member and Detachment Leader, Paul Hoeffer (TK 8020) Daetrin. Collage designed by RogueTrooper I could go into Paul’s background and what his favorite foods are, his love for motorcycles, and his family life, but I thought instead, that I would share the first time I met Paul in person. I had been on the FISD for awhile, but never really met anybody that was on the forum, face to face. It was the first day of C5. I had just purchased my tickets to meet some of the Star Wars’ celebrities and while meandering through the exhibition hall I saw a guy dressed in all black, wearing a beret. He was talking to a man in a Stormtrooper costume. I actually walked up to survey the guy’s armor. When I heard the man dressed in all black giving pointers to him, about going EI, I chimed in with a few things myself . The guy in all black with the beret gave me a quizzical look, like how did you know that? I threw my hand out to him and said “how are you doing, Paul, I see that you can’t take a break from the FISD work, even on your vacation." He still didn’t know who I was even after I told him my full name. It wasn’t until I told him my forum name, RogueTrooper, that it clicked with him and we had a good laugh. After having a conversation, he and his Garrison mate and I went our separate ways to enjoy the convention. I didn’t think I would probably see Paul again, since it was such a big convention with so many people there. But, the next day, I showed a guy that I struck up a conversation with while waiting in line, the 501st room. He was astonished by everything he saw in the room. I noticed a group of Stormtroopers standing over to one side of the room and made my way towards them. Once again, there was Paul talking about TK armor. The TK’s were just a few minutes away from doing a troop. They were going to be walking their captured Rebel Fleet Soldiers through the main exhibit hall. I thought to myself afterwards, that if I had walked into the room a few minutes later, I would not have been a part of it, and probably would have missed the fun. As they started their march with the prisoners, I noticed Paul did a little half skip as though he was out of cadence.. Most people would have thought he was trying to get back in stride with the group, but Paul wasn’t out of cadence at all. Even without being able to see his face, because of his helmet, I knew that the little half skip was his “Oh What a Feeling†moment, and he was simply enjoying every minute of being in his TK armor. At C5, I got to meet some well known Star Wars’ celebrities, such as, Hamil, Kurtz, Mayhew , Peterson etc. and have cherished memories of the time I spent at C5, one of which is the memory that I just shared with you above. Photographs and collage designed by RogueTrooper Now on to the Main Event. I asked Paul questions that I hoped would bring insight to the workings of the last five years in one of the largest Detachments. So open the blast doors for the Q & A session to begin.... Where did the “lighting bolt†come from that triggered the idea that a forum for TK’s was needed? Paul: My garrison was small at the time and there was little local help to be had. When doing my TD & TK, I had great experiences via detachment forums – all of a sudden instead of me and my buddy trying to read static content on someone’s website, there was the whole community of people that we could turn to for help. After a while I wanted to upgrade my suit and there just wasn’t a really good place to turn. Sure, there was the Legion boards, but what about folks not in the Legion? I remember having an awful time trying to get transparent and reliable information locally – it was all “well, you have to know someone who knows someone†or “when you’ve been in awhileâ€. I thought it was quite silly to require new people make the same mistakes we did over and over again. When I asked on the Legion boards about a TK detachment, the answer I got was “you’re in itâ€. At that point it seemed that if I wanted the thing done I had just better do it myself, as I was determined that new folks not have to go through the same process I did when I was getting started. When the concept of a forum for TK’s arose what were the expectations and what was ultimately expected to be achieved? Paul: For myself they were quite small. I think most of the old timers wanted it to fail or just didn’t care, but for myself I figured if it stayed small and I helped out even a few people, then I’d be happy. In the end I just wanted a place for stormtroopers like MEPD was for sandtroopers. Knowing that the TK was the first costume in the 501st, and encompasses the largest group in the Legion, with that in mind, did you think back then, opening up a forum, where all Stormtrooper enthusiast could and would bring their point of view to the costume, would create an environment where the costume would grow and mature or possibly create a situation where the “A†bomb would be waiting for the button to be pushed toward disaster? Paul: I thought it more the latter. There was some real negativity when I started – after all I had been in the Legion only a year so who did I think I was? But I had my mind made up that there was an unmet need for new folks in smaller garrisons or who didn’t have local help and needed a forum to ask questions on, so I stopped caring about the naysayers. One thing that was critical I think was creating a vision statement about what I wanted to achieve. This really set the tone for the forum and anytime a question came up about how we should operate, it kept coming back to what our goals were. Reflecting back on the ‘07 Rose Bowl Parade (Star Warriors Documentary) that is now featured on the Star Wars Blu-ray saga set and having the best of best chosen to represent the Legion, it is really funny to see that it was a common practice that the armor was assembled with rivets protruding from the shoulder bells, forearms and other parts of the suit, and the irregular FX style helmets were the mainstay of the group participating in the Parade. Do you think that was a shot in the arm to try to help the 501st members improve the image of the TK armor or possibly start the program that has come to be known as the Expert Infantry? Paul: Actually not. The EIB program was conceived before the Rose Parade. I had seen how effective the Police Officer program was for MEPD and how it really incentivized people to take their costumes above base accuracy (back then, a 501st sandtrooper could have a TK sniper plate, TK ab buttons, etc. and was basically a dirty TK with accessories). At the time TK’s were mostly out of the box FX, yet around me I saw other Legion costumes accuracy being increased, and with that I was determined not to let the TK become the “an impolite person end†of accuracy in the Legion, so to speak. Once again, I was on a mission. J Before the FISD, what were the major sources to help someone assemble their TK armor? Also, on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the highest, how far do you think the TK costume has improved in the past five years? Paul: It depended greatly on where you were. If you were in a big garrison with a lot of local help, some garrisons had tutorials on their forums, plus there were sites like Dean Plantamura’s White Armor Chronicles that had some good information. Otherwise though, you were out on your own and we really had to dig for information. As far as costume accuracy has gone – it’s near a night and day difference. Back when we started most of the Legion was still in out of the box FX and some folks had upgraded their helmets, and fewer still were in AP or TE armor if they could find it. Today TE derived armor is really more the norm. The FX helmet is all but gone from most of the Legion, and even in suits of armor what used to be Expert level requirements are now base CRL. In this case though, the TK is on par now with other costumes in the Legion, e.g. I think the standards are pretty consistent and fair cross-costume. Thinking back five years to the inception of the FISD, did you have any idea that the forum would grow and want a program like the Centurion or even possibly go beyond? Paul: Not at all. People were criticizing the EIB program (known at various times as the Mark or Elite program) as being elitist, too hard to achieve, and too restrictive. We did a lot of work to ensure that the EIB standards were achievable with only a modest investment of time and energy and thought it would just increase gradually over time as the base standards increased. However in the past year there has been a group that has felt that they wanted a path towards even greater accuracy, so rather than making the EI something only 1% achieve, we did Centurion (and as of today, only about 1% of Legion TK’s are a that mark, so Centurion indeed). In the past five years, if there is a moment, in your eyes, that totally changed the FISD and the TK costume, what would it be? Paul: Aside from getting Legion approval? J I would say it was the advent of affordable TE type armor on the market. Up until then FX was the least expensive way to go, so moving up the accuracy bar meant an investment in serious money as TE/AP type suits were about $800 or so compared to $500 for FX. Once the pricing for TE type suits became on par with FX, then we saw waves and waves of new people going straight to kits that were EIB out of the box as well as people replacing older FX suits with TE type armor. FX was even forced to change its molds to make them EIB out of the box to compete, so now pretty much new trooper can go EIB with no extra cost or time invested. Compared to the main characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Yoda, and Han Solo, the Stormtrooper was considered to be a secondary character and was the main structure of the forces of the Empire. When you think of the Stormtrooper in these terms, why do you think it became such an iconic character that people gravitate towards and want to build the armor? Paul: From a character standpoint I think it’s the fact that troopers stick together. They are hard core – doing what needs to be done without any complaint fuss. Who can’t respect the qualities of a professional soldier? From a trooping standpoint I think it’s partly because of the helmet. When you have an exposed face people can make judgments about you in costume, e.g. maybe they don’t like the way you look for some reason. But with a helmet, I can be anybody. That anonymity is very appealing from a trooping standpoint as I can yawn, close my eyes, roll my eyes even and no one knows. The other part is that it’s a group costume. There can be only one Darth Vader at an event and you have to play that part, but with a TK you can hang out with other TK’s and also have a little of your own personality shine through. Why do you think that the Stormtrooper is one of the costumes that has such a fanatical base,(they are rivaled only, by a few other costumes in the Legion, such as Darth Vader, Boba Fett, etc.) that are not only striving to get to level of screen accuracy but are constantly debating about the original materials, tools, etc. that were used to create the screen used suits? Paul: Actually I think all costumes in the Legion do this. If you go on MEPD they are scouring their old auntie’s cupboard for old tupperware parts. Biker scouts are equally fanatical about their details as well. I think we as TK’s simply think we’re more fanatical, but the reality is we’re all the same. J When originally set in motion, the FISD was a forum based just on the canon TK’s (ANH, ESB, ROTJ). Now that the FISD has broadened its horizons with the Expanded Universe section and with new generations of Star Wars enthusiast that may have been introduced to a Galaxy Far, Far Away through the Prequels and other mediums, such as video games, etc. For these generations, the Original Trilogy, probably was not a part of their heritage. They may not have a passion for the “plain vanilla Stormtrooperâ€, and may have more of an interest in building a Clone Trooper. So with that in mind, do you think that the EU TK’s will help generate interest from the new generations in the OT TK’s that otherwise might not have been interested in them, or, on the other hand, someone who had an OT TK and lost interest, then found the EU and revitalized their interest? Paul: I think it’s more the latter. Young kids are all about clones, and they keep cranking out new clones with new colors, etc. every season of Clone Wars. If you look at people who do TK’s, they are mostly older people (I think) who are more attached to the original series. The advantage of the EU TK’s is that they can provide an option for old suits. Before if you had a banged up TK you made it a sandtrooper, but now you can just make a Commander, Incinerator, or Sky trooper out of the suit. The Commander and Incinerator seem to be especially popular. With the FISD’s Fifth Anniversary upon us, what do you wish had been done differently over the past five years, if anything? Paul: I think the Reception Center is the one thing I had really high hopes for that never really made it out of the park. The idea was that this would contain the best of the best tutorials and overviews of armor and assembly. I’m really not sure what to have done differently on it, I’m open to suggestions! What challenges and what do you see ahead for FISD? Paul: The biggest challenge is just ensuring that the forums & wiki site are kept up to date so that it’s easy to find information. Also, my overriding concern is we never lose the Troopers Helping Troopers spirit that we started with. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the accuracy wars or cool merch, but at its heart a detachment exists primarily to help new and existing Legion members get help with their costumes, and also to provide a sense of community and esprit de corp. Collage designed by RogueTrooper Thank you Paul, for taking the time to be a part of this article. I also wanted to thank you for striving to create this forum where your dedication and hard work has given help to TK enthusiast around the world. I would also like thank the FISD members for making the forum a quality site for information, help and camaraderie. It is truly hard to consider a time when there was not a Stormtrooper Detachment. I can tell from all the newcomers, starting their journey, as well as, the veterans that find themselves looking to upgrade from their 8 year old armor, that they are truly appreciative for all the help and information found in this open forum to help them make informed decisions when it comes to their TK armor. Here is to the past 5 years and the future of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment. Salute With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK-5940 “RogueTrooper†Tactical Officer The Christmas season is once again upon us, and as we all know Christmas is the season of giving. It is of course also the season of receiving! So what's a self respecting Stormtrooper asking Darth Claus to leave under the Christmas tree this year? For those of you whose loved ones might need a nudge in the right direction, we've taken time out to prepare a short list of the best in TK merchandise, guaranteed to please even the most hardened Imperial Trooper this holiday season. HALLMARK STORMTROOPER TREE DECORATION Before the big day even comes, make sure to pick yourself up one of these great white plastic tree decorations to display your loyalty to the empire where it counts - your Christmas tree! These bad boys are surprisingly well sculpted for something costing under $10, and although officially discontinued by Hallmark are still widely available from places like Amazon. I can safely assure you it's the first thing to go on my tree every year ACTION FIGURES We all know there as many star Wars action figures out there as there are planets in the galaxy. For the completists out there some form of TK or another has been released in pretty much every figure collection since the revival of the franchise with the Powers Of The Force range back in 1997, so there's no shortage of options out there this Christmas. For my money though, the must have release is the Joker Squad 6 pack, featuring the first officially sanctioned female Stormtrooper and a girl who's been creating quite a splash around FISD this year - Jes Gistang. Also featuring, Anson Trask, Sergeant Harkas, Hondo Karr, and Vax Potorr, this limited edition set of six 3 3/4-inch action figures features removable lids on all figures and is still available at Go Figure Action Figures and Amazon.com. The other great Multi pack no trooper should be without is the Star Wars Evolutions set. Featuring each iteration of the trooper from the original AOTC Clone trooper through to the classic Sandy, as the name suggests you can display the full evolution of white plastic in the Star Wars universe. Consider it a quick visual history lesson for any less informed visitors to your quarters. The Evolutions pack is available in two editions: regular troopers and a commander set and comes with two extra guns - a clone rifle and a clone blaster rifle. THE EVOLUTION CONTINUES... Of course there's more than one way to skin a Bantha. Another cheeky way to explore the trooper evolution is with these adorable little TK Russian dolls from Hot Toys. Starting with the original clone armor as the smallest 'babooshka' creations nest, one inside the other, all the way through to the classic TK on the outside. Best of all - with this great nested system you can always have them on show according to the amount of space you have! NEED MORE IMPERIAL CREDITS? Still saving for that RS Propmasters kit or a CFO ROTJ to complete the trilogy set? There's no better place to stash those imperial credits than in this TK Bucket shaped piggy bank from Disney. Although it suffers a little from the MRCE symmetry issue, this a nice scaled piece of trooper merch that can fulfill your needs for both form AND function as it sits atop your shelf. Pick one these fiduciary aids from Amazon or Disney. GOT A BAD TRANSMITTER? Instead of pointlessly tapping on your helmet pick up a pair of these Funko Stormtrooper headphones. Although I can think of a more obvious design for a set of TK earphones (ear caps, product designers?) all you audiophiles out there will appreciate the great sound quality these affordable earphones put out of their 40mm drivers. With a standard 3.5mm audio jack, these ear blasters are fully adjustable and compatible with most iPods, MP3 players and game stations. If the giant DJ look isn't your thing they also come in a smaller foldable version and Entertainment Earth has both. IMPERIAL APPAREL Can't stay out of armor but keep getting odd looks at Barbeques? These simulated armor tee shirts from Forbidden Planet should satiate your desires. Looking just like your chest and shoulder armor you'll always be rocking the white no matter how casual the situation. Of course this simply won't be enough for some of you. In that case zip up your hood, give up on breathing and order the Freelance Studios Stormtrooper hoody from The Big Bad Toy Store. This toasty little number is perfect for those frosty winter days, and can get you to and from troops without ruining the mystery of who's behind the helmet... JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG... Of course we all know this just scratches the surface of what's out there in the TK Merch world. For the tech heads there are TK iPhone covers, Stormtrooper thumbdrives and Stormtrooper mousepads. If your handy in the kitchen Big Bad Toy Store are offering TK Spatulas and helmet shaped icecube trays. For the fun lovers there are bobbleheads and backpacks and for the serious collector there are brilliant pieces of sculpture from ArtFX, Kotobukiya and Sideshow. All that being said - the top of my Christmas wish list this year belongs to Gentle Giant. They are well known around here as purveyors of fine TK sculpts but they've outdone themselves with these glorious bookends portraying Luke and Han in white armor as they struggle for their lives in the trash compactor: Whatever your tastes and budget, there's no denying that with the right wish list in your gloved hand there'll be a grin on the face of every loyal trooper this Christmas. And don't forget - whatever white plastic shows up in your stocking this year, post it here for all to share the love With Unquestioned Loyalty, Lucas "ZeroRoom" Webmaster December is not only the busy month for Santa Claus, but for the 501st, as well, with parades, Toys for Tots, and the DK in your stocking tour, or just having a lot of merry fun at holiday parties. It is truly a wonderful time to be trooping. CAROLINA GARRISON IN THE FAYETTEVILLE CHRISTMAS PARADE: This year's Fayetteville Christmas Parade was rocked by the boys in white from the Carolina Garrison who sent the crowd wild representing Star Wars in the flesh, as seen in the video posted here: STAR GARRISON ARRESTS SANTA: "Look sir - Candy Canes." Star Garrison put Santa under Imperial scrutiny but kept in the Christmas spirit by letting him go to delivery presents galaxy wide. Read about black and white meeting red and white in the troop reports here: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=17848 GARRISON CARIDA: DK STAR WARS IN YOUR STOCKING TOUR: Garrison Carida spent two quality hours doing a DK Books "Star Wars in Your Stocking" event swamped by a sea of kids. Read about this hugely popular event at http://www.danbeltz....wordpress/?p=98 THYLACINE SQUAD: SPECIAL KIDS CHRISTMAS PARTY: Australia's Thylacine squad put an army of kids through their paces at a Tasmanian sports stadium for a special kids Christmas party. The troops of Thylachine Squad share their experiences in this video below: Just in time (almost!) for Christmas, Darth Santa has decreed that there should be a bounty of gifts for one and all! Where shall we start? -> 10" 5th Anniversary Patches are now on sale - get this one of a kind patch here: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=18038. -> 2012 FISD Calendars are available. These are incredible and perhaps the best 501st calendars ever made. -> 5th Anniversary Trading Cards Also in stock... -> FISD Expert Infantry and Centurion tab patches- still a lot for sale. -> Gold 5th Anniverary coins are still avaible for any EIB holder who hasnot bought theirs yet - only 20 left! Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
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  17. Congratulations to everyone who was able to enjoy Halloween with fun, good costuming, and good company. While Halloween has become a time to enjoy ourselves, in November in the US falls the holiday of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday where we not only take time to count our blessings, but also share our good fortune with others, especially those in need. Truly a time for helping others, it's a perfect time also to remind ourselves of the primary mission of this detachment so concisely summed up in our unofficial motto: Troopers Helping Troopers. This month then I'd like to encourage everyone to take a moment to reflect on this and look for an opportunity to help out a fellow trooper in need. Perhaps it's helping get their armor squared away, answer new people's questions, or taking the time to create or update a tutorial or even just some well found tips in trooping or armor building. Whether here on FISD or locally at your garrison level, big or small, with many or helping even one person, the spirit of giving your time freely to help another is always worth acknowledging. Come share your stories on FISD this month at http://forum.whitear...showtopic=17418 - together we can truly make a difference. With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder By Brian Robinson (tkrestonva) On Saturday, October 29th Garrison Tyranus played host to our Old Line Garrison brothers and our comrades-in-fandom from the Rebel Legion (Freedom Base) and R2 Builders Club (Washington, D.C. area) at Air & Scare, the annual Halloween event at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the U.S. National Air & Space Museum, near Washington Dulles International Airport. As Halloween celebrations go in the National Capitol Region, this is the premier event and draws fans from all over the region. It is an indoor, safe, family-friendly event that's free to the public and largely staffed by volunteers from a number of different organizations. This year we had over sixty Star Wars-themed costumed participants, and that number doesn’t include the lesser-known Star Wars costume groups and non-Star Wars costume fan groups who were also in attendance. Although the numbers aren’t in yet, last year drew approximately 30,000 fans for this one-day event, an attendee number larger than many multi-day conventions and a museum visitor count second only to the museum’s Opening Day. If the massive and extremely enthusiastic crowds (many of the museum visitors of all ages were dressed in their own Star Wars costumes) are any indication, this year we expect an even bigger final count. If you love Halloween, Star Wars, or aviation and spaceflight history and are in the Greater Washington D.C. area around the end of October, this definitely is a must-do event – your children (including your inner child) will thank you for it! On a personal note, this was my fourth "Air & Scare" and being able to participate is part of what caused me to seek out the 501st Legion to begin with. Every year I look forward to it with the same level of anticipation as Dragon*Con or a SW Celebration, and this year was no exception. I’m already looking forward to next year. Check out photos from the event here: http://forum.whitear...=0 Or head to Flickr for the full set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zhunter/sets/72157628040265768/with/6307171133/ With Unquestioned Loyalty Brian Robinson (tkrestonva) TK-2918 By Jesse J. McClear "TK-4702" Hi Guys! Today I'll be sharing my secret to getting a nice even trim-line around a thermal detonator end-cap. Here's what you'll need to get started: - A flat (sturdy) surface - X-acto knife (or utility knife) - 1" (or 3/4") roll of masking tape. The screen used end caps were 3/4", but some people prefer the look of a 1" end cap. Today we will be making them at 1". First, place the roll of tape on a flat surface, and put your end cap inside (opening facing up). Next, place the tip of the knife about 1/16" (or so) past the inside edge of your tape roll. Then, place your index finger on top of the blade to hold it in place (please use caution when handling the knife). Now, lightly hold and rotate the end cap against the blade until it comes full circle. Note: You don't need to press very hard, just enough to score the surface. Also be sure to keep the end-cap flat on the surface for an even cut. For the rest of this tutorial... Please visit the link below. http://forum.whitear...56 With unquestioned loyalty, Jesse TK-4702 Imperial Propaganda Machine by Matt "Shooter" MacNeil Return of the Jedi goes down as one of my absolute favourites in the Saga. It was actually the first Star Wars movie I saw in theatres which my Dad took me to when I was 3 and I remember forcing him to take me to find an ROTJ Luke figure immediately after. Despite so many pluses of the movie such as the Battle over the Sarlacc pit and Speeder Bike chases, it was not a good showing for us TK's. Not only did we get a royal thrashing by a group of primitive Teddy Bears, but our suits seemed to have a weird look with our lips painted black and window trim around the armor, a far cry from our shiny whites on the first Deathstar in ANH. By the time we got to ROTJ it had been six years and two movies since our introduction and by then while some suits were made new, a lot were recycled ANH and ESB. Repairs had to be made, sets were mismatched and ultimately thrown together, and shooting was done in a backwoods forest. Ultimately, we were not pretty. However, that got me thinking - were they suppposed to be pretty? I mean, after all, they were stationed on a FOREST planet. A lot of talk goes to the specialization of Sandtroopers, but no credit is given to the specialized force that was sent down on some intergalactic camping trip. They weren't even given any special equipment to deal with their environment and who knows how long the deployment was. One thing that struck me about the Endor Trooper was the size, they looked big and mean. Now, this could be relative to the fact they were throwing around Ewoks, but for the first time, TK's looked like a Brute force. With their big shoulders and black teeth, they looked menacing. I remember when Luke is being escorted to Vader and they towered over him, they for once looked like the Imperial Badass they were meant to be. Even their voices sounded meaner, in the scene where they have Han and Leia "trapped" at the Power Generator, the voice on that Trooper means business. In retrospect, the image painted of the Endor Trooper was one of a rough, hardened Trooper, I mean you would have to be, to be able to deal with small furry like creatures with such coldness and tenacity. Still, the popularity of the ROTJ Trooper in the Legion is clear in it's handful of numbers. There are more Expanded Universe Troopers in the Legion than ROTJ, that says something. However, the tide is changing and the uprise of this overlooked Trooper is commencing. One of the main issues which made it difficult for ROTJ Trooper fans was there was a clear lack of supply, reference and research. Most armorers focus on ANH or even ESB, but until recently, there hasn't been much focus on ROTJ at all. Also, the ROTJ Armor is very different from the ANH and ESB and not interchangeable as the first two were. Introduce "Cast From Original" (CFO) - CFO is the first armorer to offer ROTJ kits exclusively, and not only that, they look great. The introduction of an "ROTJ Only" armorer answered some serious questions about this Trooper and no longer were new ROTJ builds a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. CFO kits are designed for the exact purpose of being all that encompasses ROTJ. With that came along the first replication of the "Endor Trooper" one that many of us (myself included) never gave much thought of. Here at the FISD we mainly focus on "clean TK's" and leave the "getting dirty" part to the MEPD. Now, we have a Trooper, from the original movies, that we can get uniquely dirty and have as our own. Not sand blasts from the desert, but the dirt and grime of a harsh woodland forestation, Cool! Here's what I'm talking about: CFO Founder Mark "sskunky's" Endor Trooper And Rich's "Rick330" Endor Trooper And here's a video on Rich's weathering technique: I also strongly urge you to check-out Rich's complete build thread found here http://forum.whitear...opic=16442&st=0 it is Amazing! So, things are changing in the Trooping World and the ROTJ Trooper is back in full force! Who knows, maybe next year they may have their own detachment, just like our brothers and sisters at the MEPD, I for one hope so! With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer The FISD would like to send their Condolescences to the friends and family of Fallen Trooper Allen Poole. Our hearts and thoughts are with you during this tough time. Hi everyone - three items you should all be aware of this month: 1. FISD patches will be on sale this week. There is limited stock on most items, but we will have lots of tabs. It will be the last run of the year, so do get your orders in. 2. Large 5th Annivesary patches will also go on sale this month. We've got our vendor issues sorted and found an even lower price, so look for the interest thread also this week. 3. MEPD/FISD is considering doing a joint ops coin or patch this year to celebrate their 10th and our 5th anniversaries together, and to celebrate that these two detachments and costumes work so well together. So - come to FISD and post your thoughts! Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.
  18. That is great news, looking forward to this picking up steam again!
  19. Nice. Keep Calm and Chive On!
  20. ********** THERE WAS AN ERROR IN THE E-MAIL BLAST WHICH DIRECTS YOU TO THE OCTOBER NEWSLETTER INSTEAD OF NOVEMBER. FOR THE NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER PLEASE VISIT HERE: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=17456&hl=&fromsearch=1 ***************************** HalloweenStencils.zip This post has been promoted to an article
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