Shooter

Happy Halloween Troops! I'll keep it short and sweet this month as the real news is all the articles. Halloween is a great time for us costumers, as it's the one time a year that the general public gets dressed up like we do on a regular basis, and some will find that they like it so much that they want to join us. So there are excellent recruiting opportunities as well as an excuse to let our hair down and have fun with our costumes. Did you do anything special for the holiday? If so, send in your pix to Shooter and show off what crazy things you did in armor this Halloween. And in the spirt of Halloween we're proud to announce the approval of Death Trooper in the Legion. Love it or hate it, you can't deny it gives people an option for what to do when their armor wears out. Stormtrooperguy did an excellent job on his build and deserves kudos for his attention to detail. Also - for you merch lovers - keep an eye out as the 12" patch sale will start soon as well as some neat t-shirt options for 501st members. Lastly...EIB, EIB, EIB. I'm seeing a lot of folks just a mod or two away from hitting EIB. If you are in this state - let's get 'er done! There are tons of resources available on FISD to help you out, and even an FX kit can be made EI for ~$50 and a few hours of work. As Vader would say: "No excuses". Even if you are not an Attache, helping other troopers get to EI is a worthy activity for us all and fully in keeping with the spirit of our unofficial motto "Troopers Helping Troopers". Maybe we should have an "I brought a friend to EI" award? Let me know what you think! With unquestioned loyalty, Paul C. Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder Article written by RogueTrooper Back on October 13, 2009, a novel written by Joe Schreiber titled Death Troopers was released. It takes place about a year before A New Hope. The novel, Death Troopers encompasses two major genres, Star Wars and horror. A deadly virus has infected the crew of the Star Destroyer, the Vector. This deadly virus turns anyone into the living dead, and anyone that comes in contact with the Star Destroyers crew find themselves knowing the true meaning of horror…. For all you Star Wars fans, who are also fans of horror, I had the privilege of writing the Death Troopers requirements and I just finished tweaking the Death Trooper CRL in time for Halloween. So if you have read the Death Troopers and want to get your zombie TK on, now is your chance to, especially now that it is a 501st Legion approved costume. And death is only the beginning…. The 501st approval requirements are listed in black. FISD Defines two additional, optional levels of costuming excellence: Expert Infantryman and Centurion. Below, the requirements for Expert Infantryman are listed in blue. Centurion requirements are listed in maroon. For 501st membership only the requirements in black need to be met. Helmet *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. If any large areas are missing from the helmet and skin is exposed it shall with be covered with zombie-like prosthetic skin. *Should have stains to emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Traps (trapezoids on dome of helmet) and tears (area beneath the corners of eye lenses) are gray. *Rear traps and tears have vertical black lines. *Lenses are flat material, green in color, sufficiently dark enough to obscure the costumer's eyes. *The “ear†bars have three or four bumps and should be gray or painted gray, with a black outline. Painting the bumps with rank stripes (highlighted) in black is optional. *Frown is painted gray and does not leave the teeth area. Eight total teeth on the frown are cut out. *Tube stripes are medium blue, numbering between 9 and 16 per side with the curve bends extending backwards. *Vocoder (vertically ribbed chin detail) is painted black. *Aerators/Hovi mix tips (cylinders on either side of the vocoder) are black or painted black. *Tears, traps, and tube stripes may be hand painted, decals, or decals that replicate hand painted. *Mesh may be used behind the frown to obscure the face of the wearer. *Note: The FX helmet is considered deprecated (to be avoided), though is acceptable for Legion requirements. *Shall have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Ears shall have three screws per side, one above and one below the ear bar and one at the base of the helmet. *Ear bars should have four bumps only, not three. *Traps/tears and tube stripes shall have the correct ANH TK details. *Correct 'Hovi mic' aerator tips. *FX helmets are not allowed. *MRCE and/or EFX PCR helmets are not allowed. *ANHv2 helmets are not allowed. *Ear bars shall have only one or two bumps painted in black (rank stripes). *Neck trim shall be of an s-type profile rather than a u-type profile. *Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted (with correct ANH TK details). Neck Seal *Black with horizontal ribs, fitted to the wearer, and extending from the base of the neck to the top of the Adam's apple.| *Neck Seal shall be destressed/worn. *Neck Seal may have some rips/missing areas in the material. If any skin is exposed it shall with be covered with zombie-like prosthetic skin. Shoulder Straps *These shall be securely mounted in front and may free float in back. They may be affixed with rivets, Velcro, or adhesive. *No visible rivets are allowed. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *May have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *One Shoulder Strap maybe omitted from this costume (either left or right but not both) If a Shoulder Strap is omitted, then it should be replaced/tied with *Worn/old looking mummy style bandages to help hold the chest and back together. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *These shall free float in back. *These shall be glued in front. *The plastic shoulder straps need to be held down in the back via a white elastic band to the white fabric that connects/bridges the chest and back piece. Shoulder Bells *One on each shoulder. The shoulder bells are considered effectively symmetrical; they may be worn interchangeably on the left and right shoulders and should have a black elastic strap that wraps around the inside of the bicep. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have some stains that emulate dried blood, Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. Biceps *Biceps are fully closed. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *One bicep may be omitted from the costume (either left or right but not both). *May have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. Forearms *Forearms are fully closed. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Should have some stains that emulate dried blood, Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *No return edge on the inside of the front of the forearm is allowed. Hand Plates *Roughly pentagonal in shape, the hand plates are mounted securely over the back of the glove. As an alternative to plastic, these may be made out of latex or latex-like material. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *One Hand Plate may be omitted from the costume (either left or right but not both). *May have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Should have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Hand guards shall be latex or latex-like, painted white, affixed to rubber gloves in lieu of plastic hand guards. Gloves *Black in color, made of either rubber, nomex, leather, or leather-like material, with no visible straps or logos/designs. The fingers are enclosed, non-textured. *Gloves shall be distressed/worn. If any skin is exposed it shall be covered with a zombie-like prosthetic skin. *Gloves shall be rubber or rubber-like chemical gloves, in black. Chest Plate *Chest plate overlaps the abdominal plate. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Chest plate may have one of the top corner/shoulder strap areas missing. If you are opting to damage/remove this area of the chest plate, then you should strap the remaining area with Worn/old looking mummy style bandages to help hold the chest and back together. *May have blaster wounds. *Shall have stains that emulate dried blood, Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Chest and back shall be connected with a white fabric or preferably elastic strap at the shoulders. Back Plate *Back plate contains a "O II" design. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have a few stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Back plate may have one of the top corners/shoulder strap areas missing. If you are opting to damage/remove this area of the back plate, then you should strap the remaining area with Worn/old looking mummy style bandages to help hold the chest and back together. *Back plate shall have no, or minimal overlap of the kidney plate. Under Suit *Black non-textured material, either one-piece or two-piece construction with no visible zippers or logos/designs. | *Under Suit shall be distressed/worn. *The under suit may have some rips/missing areas in the material. If any skin is exposed it shall with be covered with zombie-like prosthetic skin. *Some area of the Under Suit should have Worn/old looking mummy style bandages. Abdomen Plate *The ab plate has a button area that matches the color pattern shown (3 blue + 6 gray); buttons are approximately 7/16" in diameter. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should have stains that emulate dried blood, but shall not use liquid / permanently wet fake blood. *Should be an aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Any gap between the ab and kidney plate shall be no more than 1/2" wide. Any shims used to achieve this effect should be of a similar material and color as the ab and kidney plate. Shims shall fit flush and seams are allowed. *Shall have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be an aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *The ab plate may have large missing/broken off area/areas. If any large area is exposed it shall with be covered with zombie-like prosthetic skin. *Ideally there should be no gap between the ab and kidney plates, just a single visible seam line. *Rivets on the left side of the ab plate: a total of three rivets equally spaced out along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge. They may be painted white, or not. *A single male snap on the top right corner of the ab plate shall be present. *A single split rivet or brad shall be present on the crotch tab of the ab plate. It does not need to be functional. Kidney Plate *It is allowable to have a single kidney/butt plate for 501st requirements. If a separate kidney plate is used, it should line up with the ab plate, with the top of the kidney plate being flush to or under the back plate. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should be an aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *A separate kidney plate shall be present, split from the butt plate. *Shall be an aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *3 rivets shall be present on the left side of the kidney plate, equally spaced out along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge. They may be painted white, or not. Butt Plate *It is allowable to have a single butt/kidney plate for 501st requirements. If a separate butt plate is used, it should be below the bottom of the belt and line up with the kidney plate, with a minimal gap between it and the kidney plate. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *A separate butt plate is required, split from the kidney plate. *Shall be an aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Two male snaps shall be present on the crotch tab of the butt plate. They do not need to be functional. Belt *Belt face is made of plastic (TK ammo belt). *Belt proper is made of canvas, canvas covered material, leather, or vinyl, 3†to 3.5†wide. The color is be white to off-white. *The drop boxes dangle from the sides of the front plastic belt (ammo belt) via white straps and are aligned under the plastic tabs of the ammo belt. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Belt shall be canvas or canvas covered, and shall have a distressed old look. leather and vinyl are not acceptable. *There shall be three square buttons, one centered in the middle and one on each end of the plastic ammo belt.. *One drop box may be omitted from the costume (either left or right, but not both). If opting to remove one of the drop boxes, the white strap that the drop box normally hangs from shall be ripped/torn. *Drop boxes are closed in the back. *The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle. Thermal Detonator *Attaches to the back of the belt. This is a gray cylinder between 2†and 2.5" in diameter with white end caps on each end, and a white control panel pad, with controls closest to the right end cap. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *The thermal detonator needs to be attached via metal clips approximately 1 inch wide, and shall be all gray without silver stickers or silver paint. Thighs *Thigh armor shall be closed in the back. *The small ammo belt is installed on the bottom of the right thigh. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Should have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *The thigh ammo belt shall be connected by brads/split rivets only – but not by standard rivets. *The bottom corners of the thigh ammo belt shall be rounded off. Lower Legs *Greaves close in the back. The trapezoid knee plate (sniper knee plate) is affixed to the left greave and may have two visible brads or rivets securing it to the greave. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Should have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *There should be no visible rivets or brads used to secure the sniper plate to the left greave. Boots *White leather or leather-like, above ankle height, with a flat sole with a short heel, and small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle with no buckles or laces. Jodhpur/Chelsea-type boots or an equivalent style is acceptable. Elvis or Mariachi boots are not allowed. *Shall have a distressed/cracked/damaged look. *May have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Should be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *Should have some stains that emulate dried blood. Liquid / permanently wet fake blood is not allowed. *Shall be aged white with some areas having a drab olive greenish and yellowed tint. *There shall be no seam on the front of the boot (e.g. CABoots are not allowed). Accessories Holster *Holster may be omitted from this costume. *Made of black leather or leather-like material. *Holster shall be distressed/worn. *Holster shall be worn on the left and be attached to the belt from behind instead of front, with no loops covering the outside of the belt. *The holster will be affixed with two fasteners at the bottom of the belt instead of none or four. These may be rivets, snaps, or Chicago screws. Mummy style bandages *It is optional to have some Worn/old looking (mummy style) bandages. The mummy style bandages may be wrapped loosely around some areas of the costume, but not over 30%. Zombie prosthetic *May be a latex or latex like Halloween mask, hands or body parts. *Shall be profressional movie-like makeup. BlasTech E-11 *Based on a real or replica Sterling sub-machine gun, scratch-built, or a modified commercial toy Stormtrooper blaster. *Folding stock (does not need to function). *No ammo counter shall be present. *D-ring mounted on the rear. *Correct style scope. *No power cylinders on the magazine housing. *Scratch-built, resin cast, Hyperfirm rubber cast blasters shall have a total of 7 U shaped channels on blaster (all holes on barrel shall be covered). *If using the popular commercially available Stormtrooper blasters, you shall grind off the T-tracks and replace them with U shaped channels and cover the open rows of holes (total of 7 U shaped channels in all). *Correct greeblies on the left rear area shall be present (door catch and two "hammers"). *Hasbro blasters are not allowed, even conversions. *Forward D-ring shall be mounted underneath the front sight on the left side of the barrel. *Use of the correct front sight (which differs from ANH and ESB). *The scope rail is unique to ROTJ E11 and is not like the normal open ANH/ESB scope rails, but is a solid, one piece, with a unique sight design on the front. The scope connects to the notched out area of the solid rail. The scope shall be the correct design (as the ones seen in ROTJ), and shall attach to the scope rail via one scope mount. *The muzzle will be unlike the normal ANH style. It shall be flat with two counter sunk Allen bolts (one located at the four o’clock position and one located at the ten ‘o’clock position). *The door catch shall be correct, not a "close enough" attempt as seen on the Cinemastery blaster. BlasTech DLT-19 Heavy Blaster Rifle *Based on a real or replica MG-34 machine gun. *A DLT-19 is an MG-34 with T-tracks on the barrel, ejection port cover added, and a small disk on left side. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK5940 “RogueTrooper“ Tactical Officer Tips for Trooping Halloween Some would say if you're a member of the 501st that everyday is Halloween, and it kind of is. However, Halloween or "Party Trooping" in general is a bit different than your everyday Troops. They are of course a great time, but they definitely present different challenges than going out with your Garrison. So if you are planning on sporting your TK this Halloween, here are some helpful tips and tricks to help get you by: Plan Ahead When Trooping, there's generally a discussion going on over your local garrison forum, you get told what time to show up, where to go, what you're role will be for the day, and you do your bit. When going out on your own, that part is up to you; so when planning, make sure you have the following: Check Local Weapons Laws - A good idea in general for anyone planning on sporting costume with a "weapon" at Halloween. More important for Public Events or Trick-or-Treating with the kids. You don't want your Halloween spent being brought down by local SWAT. A way there - Most of us can't sit in armor, let alone drive, so make sure you have a plan on getting to and from the party, if you can't get a ride, see if you can at least get a place to change at your final destination. If that's impossible, drive in your undersuit and bring a change of clothes. Get a buddy - Spotters are a must at any troop and at Halloween they are no exception. Actually, they may be more important as you run a greater risk of dealing with people that are intoxicated. Enlist a friend, spouse or family member to keep an eye on the things you can't see through your bucket. Plan your time - Give yourself a time limit for the armor, especially if you have to unsuit to use the facilities. Know where the bathrooms and exits are, and if you're going to have to deal with stairs. At The Event Most of the time when in armor we are the centre of attention, however, at Halloween everyone else has the same idea. Also, they will more than likely be in a suit that's not as Field Tested as yours, so mind your company. Secure Armor Storage - If the event can provide a locked room to keep your kit bag, great! If not, figure out a "Plan B" (your car or a friends) and make sure your Spotter has everything you need. Have a "Home Base" - You definitely need a place where you can get some water and take a breather. Remember, at Halloween you can take your bucket off Be Nice - Remember, you're going to more than likely run into some intoxicated individuals and even though it's a "Non-501st" event, by donning that armor you are representing the 501st. Saying that, it's never acceptable for you to get belittled or disrespected. I will quote one of my favourite movies Roadhouse: "Be nice, until it's time to not be nice." Be respectful of others as you would on a Troop, but don't be afraid to put a limit on it if someone is going too far. A good way to diffuse a situation that could escalate is by quoting a TK line from the movies like "Move Along!" Avoid Alcohol - What? It's a party right?!? "Drinking and Trooping" go together about as well as putting a Rancor on a Cargo Barge - there's going to be a lot of banging around and you will probably end up crashing. Treat Trooping the same way you would driving a vehicle and know your limit. A drunk Stormtrooper is never any fun (especially if kids are present) and you don't want to damage your kit. Do yourself a favor and save the drinks until you're unsuited and can enjoy them. Post Party When it's time to call it a night, make sure you have a way home for you and your kit. If cabbing, make sure the Taxi can fit your kit bag and I would avoid the Bus entirely. Remember, this is all about fun, so get out there an enjoy yourself! Have a great time this Halloween and remember to post pics of your event! With unquestioned loyalty, Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer As a special Halloween treat, and a reward for all your loyal service to The Empire, the FISD is proud to offer you these TK pumpkin templates for download. Simply print the PDF files, copy the stencil to your pumpkins and you'll have a Halloween decoration sure to put a chill up the spine of any Jedi who come knocking at your door... Just remember - if you make these or any other TK themed Halloween goodies be sure to post pics on the forums for all of us to see! Click here to download the PDF's: HalloweenStencils.zip Crushing Dantooine, Tatooine and Halloween all at once with unquestioned loyalty, Lucas Bowers ZeroRoom Detachment Webmaster Article By: tkrestonva Love them or hate them, the release of the Blu-Ray edition of Star Wars made for a historic month for Star Wars fans in general and the 501st in particular. Not only do we get to see the films in all of their extreme hi-def glory, we got a TON of behind the scenes and other bonus footage to go with it! Regardless of how you feel about the movies and the “updates†made to them, the bonus features alone make it a must-have for any serious fan. Most notably, the collector’s edition included a hour long insider’s look at the 501st’s participation in the 2007 Rose Bowl Parade! Not that we aren’t visible enough as it is, but now fans from all over get an inside view of the 501st and how we support Star Wars fandom – can you say “new recruits for the Empireâ€? With Unquestioned Loyalty, Brian Robinson TK 2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshall Below is a photo collection of stormtroopers around the world deployed to support and promote the Blu-Ray release: What a week!!!! The UKG were approached by Fox earlier in the year to help them promote the Blu Ray release of Star Wars. Of course we jumped at the chance and discussions ensued about proposed events that we could help them with. We started earlier in the year with a huge Empire magazine event at London’s O2 arena where, along with Anthony Daniels, we did our best to draw attention to the upcoming release. We even featured quite heavily in the magazine! A definite success in my book and a great start to our relationship with Fox and their PR company. This event gave the PR company and indeed Fox more of an insight into what we could do and off they went to make further their plans. I’ll be honest, when they first approached us with some of the ideas I was a little sceptical and as CO I have to think of the safety of our members as well as our responsibility to LFL. Fox were great; they were happy to listen to our concerns and work with us to make the Blu Ray release into a very special week. I arrived back from DragonCon on the Friday morning. The journey home was a complete nightmare with damaged baggage and broken down vehicle (twice!!) amongst other things, all this when you are dog tired. I knew we had a busy week ahead but I still don’t think anyone could have realised just how busy!! I received a call from Steve Smith, one of our EC’s who had volunteered me for a 6.30am start the following morning at a TV studio in west London to again accompany Mr Daniels and start the promo week with a bang. The show was an odd choice, a soccer magazine style show but which also covered hip cool stuff. Now you see where we fitted in! Anthony was completely out of his depth. He confessed to us he knew nothing about soccer and cared even less! This did not, however, stop him from stealing the show. He was fantastic and really upstaged the regulars on the show and step one was complete. Then step two: Early Monday morning, the day of the release, several troopers and Darth Vader were all to parade the famous Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace. I still can’t believe they got the permission for it!! We all changed in a local hotel and then, through London rush hour, we marched the half mile to where the photo shoot was to take place. As you can imagine we caused quite a stir, with commuters chasing after us for pictures and buses stopping so that people could watch the Empire invade London. Marching along the streets of London with Lord Vader leading us was an awesome experience. We arrived at the spot for the photo shoot and although permission had been granted, we still managed to draw the attention of the armed police; that is, they all wanted pictures!! Of course we obliged as it is always fun to arrest a Policeman!!! The shoot went off without a hitch and seeing Vader and Stormtroopers with Buckingham Palace in the background was just amazing. We were then, after getting changed and a short break, moved to a disused platform for Charring Cross tube station were a train awaited us for another photo shoot. We actually held up the new Angelina Jolie movie whilst we had various candid shots of us on an underground train with commuters (local students they had rounded up to help) looking on. This was great fun as it is not every day you see a TK on a train let alone ten of them!! The rest of the day was taken up with various HMV stores and the usual promo stuff but when it is in the middle of London it is never really usual. We caused Oxford Street to almost come to a standstill at one point as onlookers and passers by stoped to have their pictures taken with us!! We attended a couple of stores and finished around 8pm. I, as everyone else, was shattered but in a very good way!! The next day I accompanied two of our TK’s and a different Lord Vader to an afternoon magazine show where Mr Daniels was a special guest. They were so impressed with us that instead of the host coming to the fore at the top of the show, they asked Lord Vader himself. It looked great and was an impressive way to start a show. They then had our two TK’s flank the stage and they stood like statues throughout. They were amazing and looked stunning. They really did look like Stormtroopers and marched off exactly as rehearsed. Awesome work from the two of them. The next event was on the Thursday morning, the day of the big stunt!! Billy Haggis and myself were appearing on a Breakfast TV show. Anthony would also be on but he had rather smartly pre-recorded his segment and managed to stay home. Who can blame him with a 5am start! As Billy and I started to get changed, a member of the production team asked us what we could do as they had no plans. We gave them some ideas and were ushered off for a run-through. Unfortunately the presenters did not want to play ball and were more interested in trying to ridicule us. They clearly didn’t know it was Billy and me!! As I am sure you know, when you are in armour you can take control of a situation and even without voice (new guidelines from LFL prevent us from speaking or being interviewed with helmets on) we still managed to come out on top ; ) Then the BT Tower. To say the stunt was ambitious is an understatement. One of London’s most famous landmarks in London was to be turned into a giant Lightsaber. We showed up early so we could get a good look around and we had all hoped to get to the top where the event was going to culminate so as to see, what I believe, is the best view of London. Stunning. After we were changed we went straight to work as ‘security’ ushering in the celebrities and keeping out the riff raff. The camera flashes seemed to never stop with us being photographed more than most of the stars that had showed up. The appeal of Star Wars is a long way from dead. We featured on the BBC news that evening and in many periodicals after the event. Then the big moment: Turning the building into a Lightsaber. We were all taken to the main area upstairs and stood by whist the countdown began ..10..9..8... you could have heard a pin drop 3..2..1.. Anthony pushed the huge button and we saw a live feed to what was going on outside the building. You can see the pic’s but I assure you they just don’t do it justice!! After mingling with the crowd and having more pictures taken and various arrests etc. we were finally allowed to go back down and finish after another exhausting but fun night. Just as we were starting to get changed, a representative from Fox came running in and wanted to discuss an idea. They had found a vantage point outside with the Tower in the background, where they would be able to shoot a picture where it would look as though Vader were holding the tower as a saber. But this would mean a half mile or so walk through central London past two or three pubs and it was dark. I had to think very hard about this as safety was a huge concern but at the same time this was not an opportunity the UKG should not miss. After agreeing to get the Dark Lord a taxi (there was no way he could have walked) we got as many helpers together as we could and off we marched, no stopping!! We arrived at the location and a guy who was a little alcoholically worse for wear really couldn’t quite believe his eyes!! We spent about twenty minutes making the most of this bizarre photo opportunity and then marched back in the same fashion. These pics went all around the world and I am so pleased we did it!! It was a very tiring week but an amazing experience! Gary UKG CO Article By: RogueTrooper This is a segment of the Newsletter, where we focus on one of our fellow FISD members. We know that all of us here are Stormtrooper enthusiast to some degree, but I thought it would be nice to find out about that person in and beyond their white armor. This has actually been done a couple of times before, but when we were looking for new concepts for the Newsletter, I kind of pulled this out, dusted it off, and said why not bring this back. Everyone on staff that saw it thought it was a great idea. So, hopefully, we will keep it as a staple in the Newsletter. So you may find yourself being interviewed in the future.... This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian Anderson TK7602, who is known as the StormtrooperGuy. Brian has been a member of the 501st Legion since December, 2003. His Garrison is the New England Garrison and he is one of two LMO’s (Legion Membership Officer). Brian has two TK designations, one of which is the new Legion approved costume, the Death Trooper. Brian did some outstanding, ground breaking work on this costume that truly captured what it is to be a Death Trooper and got me stoked about getting “Zombiefied†with some armor. Not only does he have the 2 TK designations in his repertoire of costumes, but also has 1 DZ, 2 BH, 1 CC, 3 TC, 1 CP and 1 TS. WOW! after writing that last sentence, I felt like I was writing some type of computer code instead of all the designations of Brian costumes. LOL!! The photo collage above is of Brian and his costumes (collage designed by RogueTrooper) Below is a photo of Brian beside a few Indiana Jones artifacts at Skywalker Ranch. I asked Brian to tell us a little bit about his life outside of the 501st and what makes Brian, Brian. Brian: I'm an open book really... nothing interesting enough to hide at least! I've been an IT professional for 13 years now, but my original calling was the arts. I enrolled in art school after high school, but switched gears to technology when I started to think that "Internet" thing was going to be big. I figured having a job that could pay the bills would be good, and it would give me the resources I needed to fuel the artistic endeavors. I now subscribe to the theory that we should all do something we like for work, and save what we love for hobbies. That way we don't get burned out on it. I am married, and we are expecting our first little clone in January. It's a girl. We were calling her "the dianoga" before we knew, so we're thinking that will be her first halloween costume. One thing that surprises many people we meet is that my wife and I are both straightedge. No smoking, drinking or drugs. I've been in that camp my entire life, so at 36 years old I've never tasted beer or wine! Further, to get to know a little bit more about our fellow trooper Brian, I sat down had a short Q & A session with him. When did you first become a Star Wars fan? What was the first Episode that you saw? Which one was your favorite episode and why? Which one was you least favorite episode and why? Brian: I was brainwashed as an infant. I don't remember it, but my mother brought me with her to see "Star Wars" at the drive in back in '77. The first one I remember seeing was ESB. The memory really stuck because the film reel broke during the Dagobah training scene so we had to sit in the theater for what felt like forever while they fixed it. ESB remains my favorite. I think it's part because it's the first movie of any sort that I really remember, and part because it's so dark. The heroes just take a beating in that one, which is rare in a movie. Continuing the fan cliche, Phantom Menace is my least favorite. Not because of Jar Jar or any of the classic reasons to hate it, but because it set up 2 very cool, interesting characters (Qui-Gon and Darth Maul) then killed them both! What a waste! Were you into doing the costuming and props before you joined up with the 501st? Brian: Yep. I've done renn faire / medieval costuming for years. I started making my own maile and boiled leather armor when I was still in high school. How did you find out about and when did you get involved with the 501st Legion? Brian: My first exposure to the 501st was an event at a local night club I was a regular at. They did a Star Wars themed night and the 501st was present. When I first saw an adult dressed like Boba Fett I knew I wanted in! How many costumes do you have, counting 501stand non-501st? What made you pick certain ones? For instance, you have an AOTC male Tusken Raider. What made you pick that over the ANH version? Brian: Wow... Let's see. 11 approved 501st costumes, 2 Rebel Legion ones, then about half a dozen or so non-Star Wars... so pushing 20 I guess. It might be 20... I could be forgetting something. I started with the tusken raider thinking it would be a cheap and easy way into the Legion. I caught the accuracy bug right away... I went from scratch building the costume to getting a Godzilla mask kit, vintage bandoliers and a real gaffi stick! I started ANH style, but felt like the prequels weren't really represented well, so I converted him to AOTC style. The Stormtrooper was next, because what kid from the late 70s / early 80s didn't want to be a stormy? Boba Fett was the dream costume though, and he took years and thousands of dollars to get "right". There have been a bunch of Legion costumes that have come and gone. I've had an Imperial Gunner, Royal Guard and Scout Trooper but sold them off at various points to fund other projects. In recent times I've been hooked on the Clone Wars. I started with Rex, sculpting/casting/forming the entire suit myself. Once you have all the molds to make armor it's really easy to churn out suits for whatever you need. We did an event with the Boston Celtics so I made a 41st grunt (green stripes). For a blood drive I did an ARC trooper with red. It's a good thing I have an attic to store it all in! Between all of the costumes that you have, which is your favorite? If your Stormtrooper is not your favorite, then how would you rank it? Brian: It's really hard to rank them. Usually my newest is my favorite. I think Boba Fett really wins the day long term though. No matter what I just keep adding on to that suit to get it just that much better! I just recently got some new Boba parts in the mail that need to be assembled. To me the stormtrooper is the backbone of the Legion. It would be like trying to rank how important water is... I think everyone in the Legion should have one! In the last year or so you built a Stormtrooper costume, was this your first? What made you decide to do one? Brian: I built my first stormtrooper in 2004 (FX armor), just a few months after joining the Legion. My second event with the 501st was Mark Hamill's honorary membership induction as a TK. A few weeks after getting the FX suit I upgraded the helmet to a GF, which at the time was a pretty precious thing. I think that bucket cost me almost twice what the armor did! I traded that in later for a set of AP armor, which I trooped in as a TK for a while then converted to a TD. I ended up selling the TD to help raise funds for my clone armor sculpt. I recently got my 3rd set of white armor, an ATA kit this time. We got to a point in my garrison where we almost never had stormtroopers at events anymore, and that just felt wrong. So I decided it was time to suit up again! The TK world had changed a lot since my last time around. When I built my AP kit there still wasn't an FISD to be a part of! You did an ANH Stunt, what made you choose that version over the other Original Trilogy TKs? Brian: My E-11 During one of the periods that I didn't have a TK, I built up a really nice replica E-11. It's a deactivated Sterling with as many original parts as have been identified and good quality replicas of the things that have not. Since it is in an ANH configuration, that part of my decision was made for me! Between Hero and Stunt it was the lenses. I don't like the bubble lenses, so flat stunt was the way to go. What was the hardest costume that you have built? Which costume did you have the most fun building? Brian: The answer to both would be Captain Rex. I sculpted and vac formed all the armor myself, and had never done anything like that before. It took a year of working around 40 hours a week on it. I would come home from work, have dinner, then be in the garage until 10pm - 11pm. On weekends I'd spend all day and night there when I could. It was incredibly rewarding to see it come together, but it was exhausting! What made you decide on doing the Death Trooper costume? With your Death Trooper costume being approved and since you are the first official one for the Legion, how do you feel? Brian:That's an interesting one, as the Death Trooper has a very polarizing effect on people. When the Death Troopers book came out my feelings were mixed. I wasn't entirely sure that I liked the idea of putting zombies in my Star Wars. I love horror, and take part in local zombie walks whenever possible, but I was skeptical. I read the book and thought it was pretty cool though... I felt like the government experiment gone wrong angle worked within what we know of the Empire. They wiped out an entire planet to make a point, so the idea of them engineering bio-weapons didn't seem like much of a stretch. In June of 2010 a couple of Death Troopers were submitted for approval. LMO Spanos decided that the costumes were within the realm of acceptable for the Legion, but asked that they be implemented differently. As time went on, I kept thinking about them. Inspired by the work of the troopers before me and the direction that LMO Spanos had set, I felt like it would be an interesting challenge to put one together. When it came time for submission, the opinions were just as split as the first time around. In the end, the decision was made to go ahead based on the fact that they had just as much a place in the Star Wars universe as any other Expanded Universe costume. It's definitely not appropriate for most events. But, when those rare events come up, it is a huge hit! I've worn it to a zombie walk already and will be wearing it at a horror convention near Halloween. I'm sure the reaction there will be great! I wouldn't recommend anyone joining the Legion with just a Death Trooper, but it's definitely a fun alternate costume! With the Expanded Universe TK's becoming more popular, do you see yourself doing any of the other ones, like the Stormtrooper Commander (TKC), Incinerator (INC), Sky Trooper (SKY), Heavy Weapons Trooper (HWT)? Brian:It could definitely happen. I really like the look of the Skytrooper, so I think that would be the next most likely one for me to build. You can never have enough armor, right? You have been the 501st since 2003 and you are one of two LMO’s. What made you decide to go for the LMO position and have you ever held any other position in the Legion, your Garrison, or a Detachment? Brian: Everyone is in the Legion for a different reason. Some love the charity work, some the sense of camaraderie. For me, the main driver is the costuming. I love building things! I felt like the LMO position was the best way to use that energy in a way to help the club. I've had a bunch of roles over the years: I became garrison webmaster shortly after joining. I've been GML and XO in the NEG in addition to that, and have been on the Legion web team since its inception. I was one of the initial crew that set up the Legion forum way back in the dark ages. I currently help out on the staff of FISD and the Bounty Hunters Guild. Last year I was on the staff of Clonetroopers.net. Outside of the 501st I'm a costume judge in the Rebel Legion, was the founding XO of the Clones of the Republic detachment there, and serve on the admin team at The Dented Helmet. Wow... I think I need a hobby to get away from my hobby! There may be some readers out there who do not know what the LMO does for the Legion. Could you give a brief synopsis of what the position entails? Brian: The main things we do are: * Review new / uncommon / undocumented costume to make sure they fit with the Legion and are well executed. * Act as an escalation point for GMLs when they need assistance with reviews. * Represent the membership of the Legion to the Legion council. * Issue new Legion IDs to members joining the club. * Work with the detachments to establish the costuming standards for the club. Essentially we sort out all things related to costumes for the club. What do you find most interesting about being an LMO? Brian: Getting to see all the new and creative things people do! I think the one that struck me the most in recent times was Snoova, a wookiee bounty hunter from Shadows of the Empire. We're not talking Chewie with some new accessories here either, this is a full on Wookiee of its own with different fur colors and patterns. An amazing piece of work to be sure. Do you have aspirations for any other positions with the Legion? Brian: No, this is it for me. I'm not at all interested in the political side of the Legion, so I don't want to go down any other roads. My term as garrison XO was enough of that for me! If the Legion will have me I'd love to stick around as an LMO for another year or two. We'll see how things go in the next election cycle! Getting back to your Stormtrooper costume, I noticed that you have not applied for you EI yet. Is there a reason why you have delayed or not taken that step? If you are wanting to go to the next level, then are you considering going for your Centurion? If not, why? Brian: *hangs head* Lack of photos. Seriously. The only thing holding me back from EI right now is not actually taking good pictures of the suit! What is one of you most memorable troops? Also, what was the worst troop that you ever had, that made you wish you had never unpacked your costume? Brian: The most memorable was when Revenge of the Sith came out. Lucasfilm put out a call to the Legion for TKs for a special event in Las Vegas, all expenses paid! I was one of the ones selected, and got to go out be part of an amazing event. This was my first LFL official gig, so I was completely star struck by it all. We ended up with a fair bit of time to hang out on the Strip too, which was awesome. The best part though was the flight back... due to an airline mixup they ended up having to upgrade me to first class! Just picture a tired trooper who hasn't slept in 2 days flopping down in a cushy first class seat. People didn't know what to make of me Worst troop... I've had a few events where we show up and the organizer has no idea what to do with us. We end up just standing there in costume getting in the way of things, with people looking at us like we are crazy people. Thankfully I haven't had any truly horrible events. You sometimes see members who lose interest, drift off, become burned out and then possibly become inactive. What has kept you motivated and a very active member of the Legion over the past 8 years? Brian: I've been a Star Wars fan since I was a little kid. I don't see that going away any time soon. So as long as there's a group of people who revel in that, I'll be a part of it! I truly enjoyed writing this article. I would like to thank Brian for taking time to be a part of it and to congratulate him and his wife on their soon to be little “dianogaâ€â€¦I mean, their little girl. At the time we did the Q & A, Brian was sick and coughing his head off. Hey, Brian, I hope you are feeling better now and get your EI photos done.. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK5940 “RogueTrooper“ Tactical Officer Expert Infantry Badge, Who's Next? Article By: RogueTrooper Everyone Chant: EIB!! EIB!!! E

I went to Dragon*Con this year planning on wearing my Battlestar Galactica costumes for the most part as they seemed pretty popular two years ago. However, costuming can be fickle and what was hot one year is not always the next. I think I had only one person ask for a photo while in my flight suit and no one recognized the tan BDU's at all. So off it went and on went the TK. Funny enough, while walking around with my garrison mate in armor we got tons and tons of photo requests. Two take-aways I learned this year: 1. The Stormtrooper never goes out of style. Unless you are doing something dramatic like a Darth Talon (showing cleavage can't be beat) or a Wookie, pretty much no Star Wars character is as instantly recognizable and in demand as the common Stormtrooper. Nobody ever asked if I was Darth Vader (sorry TI's) or was confused as to what movie I was from. Hanging out at the bar there was no shortage of attention from both female fans (admiring a man in armor) and male fans (admiring armor). 2. The real "Stormtrooper Effect" lies in numbers. The more Troopers, the more the desire for fans to take photos. Walking around by myself gets a few requests for photos. Walking with my garrison mate means we can't go 50' without an ask for a photo op. And the more TK's in the group, the cooler we become. We should all take pride in the fact that the common white Stormtrooper costume is so iconic that 30 years after it's debut it's lost none of it's original appeal and is instantly recognizable by fans of all ages. And what's better, it truly is one of those rare costumes where the more Troopers are together, the cooler we look. One other item I heard loud and clear at DragonCon was how many of our troopers rely on the newsletter to be kept up to date with the latest stormtrooper news. We understand that not everyone has the time to visit these forums regularly, and the team has pulled out all the stops this month to ensure you have everything you need at your finger tips. We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we did putting it together. With unquestioned loyalty, Paul Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Leader After the August Newsletter was published, Matt (Shooter), who heads up the Newsletter, called out to the FISD Staff for article ideas for the September Newsletter. My first thought was to do an article about the women who donned the traditional White Armor. Most of the time when you think of a female and Stormtrooper armor, the concept of “Femtrooper†comes to mind. For those who don’t know what a Femtrooper is, their armor is worn with high heels and uncovered midriff. I knew there were female TK’s in the Legion, but, after delving into and researching the subject, surprisingly there are quite a few women trooping in Original Trilogy TK armor. In fact there are over 164 active women TK’s in the Legion, with a couple having their Expert Infantry (EI) status. It doesn’t sound like a very large number compared to the 5,471 active Legion members, but if you took the 164 women in OT TK’s and put them into a single Garrison, they would be the 6th largest Garrison in the 501st Legion. I had the pleasure of interviewing and getting insight from several of the women that are TK enthusiasts, to find out what made them pick the original Stormtrooper armor. While these interviews were going on, the FISD welcomed its first female Centurion, but more on that later . . . The following ladies were kind enough to respond and help with this article: Lisa Basham – TK6646, Badlands Garrison, Outer Rim Squadron Lisa is a Chef and designs commercial kitchens. Her husband is a TX (Stealthtrooper) and her 5 year old son is a big Vader fan and loves wearing his "mini" Vader costume. Their favorite thing to do is Trooping together as a family. Sarah Brownlee - TK9463, Star Garrison, North Texas Squad Sarah is an office manager in her own company. She enjoys costuming, building costumes and props and breeding Ball Pythons. She says she sometimes finds time to read, or play her Xbox 360. Sarah’s husband and son are also into costuming. Her husband is a Clone Commander Fox and her son is planning to start his Biker Scout build very soon. Leisa Knapp – TK2029, Canadian Garrison Leisa is the GWL for the Canadian Garrison. She works in the IT industry. Lisa told me the following story, and I thought it was remarkable and wanted it to be shared with the readers: “A year or so ago I was attending a leadership training course at work. The instructor had split us up in to groups for some icebreaking exercises and told us to tell the group one thing about themselves that had nothing to do with family or work. Of course I spoke of the 501st and the work we do for Make a Wish. Well, the lady sitting next to me gasped. Turns out her son had brain cancer and they were about to disembark on a trip to Japan courtesy of Make a Wish. She was so thankful. I'll tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Before that point, I really didn't consider the good that the 501st really does and that brought it home in a big wayâ€. Crickette - TK4837, Alpine Garrison, Utah Crickette is a teacher of the deaf and is currently teaching a 5th grade class in a bilingual/bicultural school (ASL/English) program. She says that “being a TK certainly helps with classroom disciplineâ€. In an effort to find out more about these ladies and what made them pick OT TK armor, I sat down and asked the following questions: When did you first become interested in Star Wars? Lisa: I saw "The Star Wars" in theatres when I was eight. I know, I can't possibly be THAT old! I have been hooked on Sci-fi in general and Star Wars specifically since. Sarah: Oh gosh, I first became interested in Star Wars when the original movie came out. My brother, cousins, and I fell in love with it instantly. We had all the action figures, and one cousin even had the Millennium Falcon. Even back then I was on the side of the Empire, though. I cut off my Han Solo action figure's head, and still played with it. Leisa: I think it was back in '77 when I was taken to see the movie. I can remember asking my Grandma to put my hair in buns like Leia's. I was hooked and haven't stopped loving the movies since! Crickette: In 1977, I saw Star Wars. I ran straight to my grandmother's house to make a Vader costume from whatever I could find. I wore it all summer in the Southern California heat. Sometimes with roller skates. That was the beginning. How did you find out about and get involved with the 501st? Lisa: I'm not sure how my husband found out about the 501st but when he gave me my kit he explained the group, its members and its purpose. After a moment's hesitation (was I ready to leap out of the geek closet?), I jumped in with both feet. Sarah: I first found out about the 501st at local Dallas sci-fi conventions. I didn't want to join until I found out about the charity work the Legion does. And when I saw a woman dressed as a Stormtrooper, I knew I had to do that, too. Leisa: I discovered the 501st at DragonCon back in 2001. I met some folks from the Canadian Garrison in Atlanta and decided on the spot that I would make a Tie Pilot outfit and join. I then met Spat who sold me my first bucket and chest box kit and the rest is history. Crickette: I had known about the 501st for years, but I didn't know there was a garrison in Utah until I accidentally found it online. I joined the boards immediately and was at my first armour party a week later. How long have you been trooping in TK armor? Lisa: joined the legion the minute my armour was done August 2010. Sarah: Not very long, about six weeks now. Leisa: Only for a year now. I started off with a Tie Pilot which I bought parts for from Spat back at DragonCon 2004. I reached out to the 501st CDN Garrison back then, but didn't find the inspiration to finish the costume till 2009. To my great surprise, my Garrison CO remembered me from 2004! It was flattering and welcoming all at once. Crickette: My first troop in armour was 11/26/10. I've Trooped in armor 18 times in addition to 13 non-armour troops. What version of the Stormtrooper did you do? Lisa: ANH Stunt. Sarah: ANH Stunt. Leisa: I did the ANH, with hero bucket. I have the grappling hook belt in progress. Let it be known that Luke Skywalker rolled a girl for her belt! Crickette: ANH Stunt Are you considering becoming EI, or maybe even going for Centurion in the future? Lisa: I am planning on working on EIB this winter and hope to have it by next spring. Centurion may be the next winter's project. Sarah: I will soon be EI, and will probably go for Centurion as well. Leisa: I haven't really looked at the requirements. Crickette: I'm definitely considering it. Was the TK armor your first costume and if not what was? Lisa: I had never done anything like the TK before. I was so excited about my first troop that I couldn't sleep the night before. Sarah: TK is my first 501st approved costume. I trooped as a handler and as a Sith Cheerleader while completing my TK build. Leisa: As stated above, my first was a Tie Pilot. I spent many hours playing X-Wing vs Tie back in the day and I fell in love with flying the Tie Interceptors. When it came to making the costume it all just sort of fit in my head. That started it off. Crickette: Yes, TK was my first. What made you consider doing a TK, White Armor costume as opposed to any other 501st costume? Lisa: The TK was a surprise birthday gift from my husband. I had never heard of the 501st and had no idea that there were bigger Star Wars fans than me (incomprehensible until I met them) out there! Sarah: I saw a female Stormtrooper at Dragon*Con last year, and loved how she "owned" it. I've loved Stormtroopers since I was a little girl, so I was inspired to give it a try myself. Leisa: I once borrowed a fellow trooper's gear to troop a wedding. They needed an even team and I was the only one available. I had a blast at the wedding reception and that kind of sealed it for me. From that point in, I knew I wanted my own set of armor. Crickette: Since 1977, my first love has been Darth Vader and my second TK. At 5'10†and 128 lbs, I don't get to be Vader myself, but I'm engaged to one of our garrison Vaders, so I guess I'll have to settle for that! If you do have other costumes, which one do you prefer to troop in more? Lisa: Only the TK right now. Sarah: I enjoy the TK more than any other costume I own. Leisa: Well, it really depends on the situation. I have trooped as a Jedi, Slave Leia, TK and believe it or not, Darth Maul. Each costume has it's merits and the Leia certainly gets quite a bit of attention. When I put on my TK though, I'm part of something bigger. I'm there for the kids who need help and to see the adult kids light up when they see characters from a much loved movie from their childhood. Whatever costume is appropriate for the setting I am more than happy to wear. Crickette: While I was building my armour, I had plans for all sorts of other 501st approved costumes. However, after my first troop as a TK, knew it was the only one for me. Have you ever surprised anyone, when taking off your helmet, that you are not a guy? Lisa: Every troop. There are a lot of photos out there that only she and I know I'm a girl. (I always say thank you after a photo.) It's amazing how many women will rest their hand just under my butt plate when posing for a picture! Sarah: Oh, everyone is surprised, either when they hear my voice amp or when I remove my helmet. Everyone assumes I am male. Leisa: Yes and no! I make it a practise not to take my bucket off when Trooping as much as possible. Normally, we're at functions that involve kids and I don't want to ruin the image or mystique they have of Stormtroopers. Some kids have figured it out when I've been quietly talking to handlers though and it's quite a shock to them. Crickette: I've been told I “stand like a girlâ€, so most people guess I'm female with my helmet on. I've rarely surprised anyone. The armour does attract a lot of male attention, though. With the legacy Jes Gistang costume maybe in the works, is that something that you might consider? Between the OT TK and the Jes Gistang, would you consider one as opposed to the other or maybe having both? Lisa: Jes Gistang is a good looking suit. A legit female stormtrooper is a great thing but my heart belongs to the original trilogy. I love the anonymity of the original trooper. Sarah: Oh, I would definitely consider having both. Leisa: I really like the Jes Gistang figure. I keep hinting to a certain TD that it'd make an awesome birthday present! I'm not sure I'd want a set of that armour though; I like my ANH OT TK. I would consider doing a Zam before any form of Fem Trooper. Crickette: Not interested in the least. How long did it take you from the time you received your armor kit to the moment that you finished your build? Lisa: About 30 to 40 hours. My husband and I worked on it together. The fit was the toughest part 'cause I'm very girl-shaped (i.e. small waist, round hip) and we'd never done anything like it before. And are any of us ever really finished with our build? I work on it for every troop. Sarah: Almost 11 weeks. Leisa: Three days! Crickette: I bought another garrison member's armour. It took almost two months of work to modify it enough to fit me. I'm still having trouble. I'd like to get some fresh spanking new armour and start all over again. What was the hardest part, or were there any problems that happened with your TK build, and what did you do? Lisa: I think the most challenging part of the build was the fit. We bought a great kit right out of the box but hanging rigid plastic off a human form is tricky at best. The learning curve was pretty steep but once we got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. We also relied a great deal on all the fantastic people of the FISD and 501st boards who are always ready with some advice. Our next build, my husband's TX (TX-5575), was a breeze once we knew what we were doing. Sarah: The hardest part for me was painting the helmet. I asked my friend Tim (TK-3121), who is an artist, to paint it for me. He did an excellent job, which will help towards achieving EIB. Leisa: I'm really lucky that I have such a talented boyfriend as I do in Ken Rice (TD-1125). He helped me trim the armour, paint the boots, and paint the pieces (the styrene had a slight pink hue, I didn't want to be the 'pink' trooper). I did all the fitting, fastener assembling, detail painting, bucket adjusting and assembled and installed fans in the bucket for comfort. Without his guidance I would have done things either the long and/or hard way. I think the hardest part was actually trimming down all the pieces; however, my Dremel tool made very short work of that and sanding the edges. White Armor.net provided the pattern for the E-11 holster, the leather I had kicking around from some other past projects. It was a relatively quick build with two sets of hands working on it. Crickette: I had trouble with the chest plate popping up. I brought in the waist a bit and added some strapping. It worked pretty well most of the time. I've added a strip of plastic with velcro which connects the chest and waist pieces. It keeps everything in place really well. Thanks to bluehickey for the suggestion. What has been your most memorable/favorite troop in TK armor? Lisa: CCEE (Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo) was my first big Con. I spent two and a half days in my kit walking the floor and working our charity photo booth. I was exhausted and my feet hurt and I would not have changed a thing. I can't wait for next year! Sarah: The troops to children's hospitals are the most memorable. I have been on one as a handler and one as a TK. My favorite would be the one as a TK. I love seeing the looks of surprise and awe on the kid's faces. Leisa: I would have to say that wedding where I wore borrowed armour. While we were trooping the reception I had two girls sexy-pose with me while my fellow Troopers almost doubled over in laughter! Later that same reception an older lady posed with myself and another Trooper. Just as the photo was being taken she apparently grabbed a handful of our backsides, again my fellow troopers were doubled over in laughter! Later after we got out of our armor, it was suggested that I should have removed my bucket. I distinctly chose not to, in order to preserve the spirit of the wedding. Could you imagine what those women would have felt like if I had? Better for them to remember a good time instead of an embarrassing moment they'd rather forget Crickette: Troops at the school I teach at or troops my students come to. They can pick me out of a line of white armour every time! Do you have any words that may inspire or advice for women who are considering donning the TK armor in the future? Lisa: I find freedom stepping out of myself on a troop. Feet apart, authoritative, confident stance, a big ol' weapon in your hands...great fun! Trooping is a chance to play, meet fantastic people and help others. What could be better?...did I mention I get to carry a blaster? Sarah: My advice is to just go for it. I try to live life without regrets, and I would definitely regret not doing something that brings such joy to myself and others. Leisa: I would say go for it! It's more fun than you can imagine and it's so heartwarming when small kids come running up to you and hugging you. The feeling of family within your garrison and the whole organization is beyond words. My garrison regulars are among my closest friends. The fact that we all do this for charity is like the icing on the cake. Hanging out with amazing people who have 24 karat hearts, having a blast is enough to have me hooked, but to also raise money for children in need at the same time is priceless. Best. Hobby. Ever. Crickette: I would love to see more females in armour in general, but you can't beat a female TK. And keep in mind armour is not just for the young. Nothing wrong with a middle aged woman trooping! At the beginning of this article, I mentioned the first female Centurion recipient. Her name is Olga Plaza, TK9061. She is in the Florida Garrison, Everglades Squad. Olga has been a 501st member since August 20, 2011. She, however, has been trooping with the Everglades Squad since 2010. She has also been a part of the Rebel Legion since April of this year and has had her Jedi costume since just before C5, which was her first troop. Olga was not into Star Wars when she was younger. She first became interested when she was introduced to Star Wars by her boyfriend, Luis, TK-7164 "bobojuice" while making her Jedi costume for C5. She said she really enjoyed watching the Original Trilogy, but has not seen the Prequels yet.. Olga has her eye on many more Star Wars costumes that she would like to make. She is already been working for a while on a Boushh costume. She says the Boushh is a tough costume to make and to get it right, she is taking her time on it. She is planning on doing a Slave Leia costume for C6, and eventually wants to do a Zam Wessell. She has quite a few others in mind that she would like to do, but they have not gotten to the drawing table yet. Out of the three different versions of the ANH Stormtrooper, Olga liked the look of the ANH Stunt the best and that is the one that she ended up building. But, it is not her first costume. Her first was the Jedi Knight, but she has also done a few non Star Wars costumes, as well. Olga said she probably would not have gotten into costuming if not for the influence of Luis. She ordered her TK kit at the same time that Luis ordered his ESB TK kit. Olga said the TK was always a thought in her mind, because it was always her favorite costume. She has found her introduction to costuming, to be a lot of fun, whether going to conventions or doing trooping events. She said she definitely liked trooping more in her TK than her Jedi costume, but her favorite costume is her Leeloo Dallas costume (from The Fifth Element). Olga is a very petite woman at 5’4â€, but with her Stormtrooper boots with lifts, she stands at 5’ 7†and has a wait and see attitude as to whether anyone will know if she is a female in the OT TK costume. Olga says that it took quite a bit of modding, because of here petite frame to make the suit fit right. There was a lot of cutting, heating and bending of parts. They ended up using a new ab and kidney plate because the first ones got trashed. But, all in all, it took less than a month to complete her ANH Stunt. When asked, do you have any words that may inspire or advice for women who are considering donning the TK armor in the future, Olga replied; make sure to do a lot of research and get as much help as you can. It is not that difficult. Once you see the finished product it is totally worth all the effort. When asked, how do you feel about being the first female Centurion, she replied; It’s amazing. I feel very thankful that I had Luis to help me with everything, because I really couldn’t have done it without him. It is nice to know there will be only one, first, female Centurion, ever, and it’s me. So, congratulation to you Olga, for being the very first female Centurion!!! Have fun trooping in your White Armor!!! I would like to thank the ladies in the White Armor that participated and provided information, so that I could write this article. After spending some time getting to know some of the ladies that don original Stormtrooper armor, I have to say guys, they seem to have a very good footing with their Positive-grip boots in a galaxy far, far away . . . With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK5940 "RogueTrooper" Tactical Officer Tom (RogueTrooper) and Mason (Dashrazor) here, saying it’s Time To Get Your Game On!!!!! It is pleasure to announce that the all new FISD “ Set For Fun Arcade†is up and running. Knowing that TK builds can be somewhat stressful we felt everyone needs a moment to take a break from cutting and gluing your suit together. So, Mason and I were brainstorming ideas for something fun to add to the NCO section of the forum. I mentioned the Arcade that the Clone Trooper Detachment has, and suggested that idea to Mason. So we started cloning an Arcade for the White Armor forum. We both worked on finding a Galaxy of Star Wars games to be linked into the Arcade. The â€Set For Fun Arcade†is jammed packed with some of the best online â€flash†Star Wars game titles like “Rogue Squadronâ€, “The Kessel Run“, “The Death Star Trench Runâ€, “Star Wars Triviaâ€, “Star Wars Puzzlesâ€, “Stormtrooper Dress Upâ€, and for those people who are not a big fan of Jar Jar, there is even the â€Gun Down the Gunganâ€. We will be adding more to the “Set For Fun Arcade†as we find games. If you have any comments or suggestions, there is even a place in the Arcade for that. So if you find a game that you would like to see in the Arcade, post it and we will add it to the roster. In the beginning the FISD “Set For Fun Arcade†was in beta form and only 501st members could enter and play. But, we have recently opened it up to all FISD members. So we hope that you will all find time to stop in and get your game on, when you are not hard at work on your armor. The following warnings apply when playing in the "Set For Fun Arcade": If your boss catches you, and you get in trouble at work for playing in the "Set For Fun Arcade", remember the Jedi mind trick may not work on your boss especially if your boss is a Toydarian or a Hutt. The other thing to remember is, if you are playing against a Wookie, always let the Wookie win! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tom Gardner TK5940 "RogueTrooper" Tactical Officer Mason Carson TK4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer New Legion Approved Costume Look, up in the sky! Is it Boba Fett? Is it a Tie Pilot? Is it a Stormtrooper? or is it a Clone Trooper? No!, it is the newest Legion approved costume. It's the Sky Trooper!!! The Sky Trooper is a new Star Wars character that is featured in Disney's newly revamped Star Tours, The Adventures Continue, 3-D attraction ride. The Sky Trooper has combined elements from a Stormtrooper, Clone trooper, Tie pilot and Boba Fett however is still unique as it's own character. The Sky Trooper has been Legion approved and is now an official costume, meaning that there is a CRL and GML's can approve it. This project was no simple task: first I started out with my old Incinerator armor. I did a total re-paint and added all the Sky Trooper markings. This was a very tedious and time consuming task and I had to go back and make corrections. From the very few references that we have of this charcter, I took on the task of building the chest box and jet pack from scratch and tried to use primarily the elements from the screen grabs. I also had to build a DC-15 Clone blaster to finish it up. The next task was to put it forth for approval, but my first submission was denied the first time with elements needing to be tweaked. Finally after fixing the problems it was re-submitted and the Sky Trooper is now approved!! However approval is not where the work ends. I actually started working on the suit before we had all the reference materials. Now with several variations to pick from I am making small improvements to the entire suit to get it to where I am happy with it. Then the CRL will be ready for action! Be sure to check out the new Sky Trooper section of the forums HERE, I hope to see more people making this costume in the near future. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer FISD Intelligence Officer: Pandatrooper / Terry My opinion of the finalcourt ruling :- Ainsworth vs Lucasfilm by Brian Muir My initial thoughts on the court case are that I’m glad it has now finally concluded. Once the judge had labeled the Stormtrooper armour as ‘industrial’ I very much doubted that it could have been overturned. From my point of view, I’m satisfied that the judge found in his verdict that I sculpted the armour. I’m disappointed that as hard as I fought for Liz Moore, she did not get the credit she deserved for the helmet but at least her name and portfolio of work have now come to the fore. Although Ainsworth continues to work the media-machine and put his spin on a ‘win,’ the judgement will always be there for all to read which discredits him and his reputation. It’s unfortunate that the media chose the David vs Goliath analogy, as although it may have made for a good eye-catching headline the story behind it is not such an outstanding victory. Lucas had to bring Ainsworth to task because the licensees, who had paid $2.5 million to make replicas, had complained to them that he was illegally taking their custom. The witnesses for Lucasfilm including: - John Mollo, John Richardson (for Liz Moore) and myself had no choice but to ensure that our contributions towards the creation of the Stormtrooper were recognised and not stolen by Ainsworth. Thankfully, many true Star Wars fans, who have followed this saga, know the truth but still far too many continue to be deceived. Hopefully, with the aid of the collation of facts and knowledge on great sites like this one, ‘the truth will out'. Regards, Brian Muir - by "tkrestonva" FISD Provost Marshall What an incredible experience! This was my third D*Con and by far the best of the bunch! Before I went to my first D*Con in 2009 I was told “the first time you go will blow your mind, the second will be a bit of a disappointment because the expectations are so high, the third and subsequent D*Cons will settle out into just being awesome.†Pretty much sums up my experience so far, although the fact that this year was Dragon*Con’s 25th Anniversary (and the D*Con Parade’s 10th Anniversary) I think added a bit more shine to it. Starting from Thursday: Thursday, 1 Sept (Day 0): I arrived at the Marriott Marquis at around 930pm after an exhausting 12 hour drive. As tired as I was, my energy level seemed to spike as soon as I pulled into the hotel driveway. It was clear that although the con wasn’t to officially start until the next morning, the party was in full swing. Checking into the Marriott and unloading my gear was a breeze, I can’t say enough about the level of customer service. Unlike some con hotels I’ve been to, they are genuinely glad to have you as a guest and will bend over backwards to accommodate your needs. They are definitely my hotel of choice, and the center of the con action to boot. Picking up my con badge over at the Sheraton (an absolute necessity – security is now such that the days of just “showing up†and hanging out in the common areas are over) was also a breeze, I was in line for all of about 5 minutes. I gave them my proof-of-registration postcard (which they mailed me months ago), they scanned it, had me sign for and handed me my badge, and I was done! What to do first? Consult the Dragon*Con 2011 Guide – now in the form of a smartphone app! No more fumbling with paper guides and pen & ink changes. I simply downloaded the app onto my iPhone (also available for Android and BlackBerry devices) and had everything right at my fingertips. Maps, event schedules, speaker lineups, even a feature that allowed me to pick the events I was interested in and move them to my personal calendar! The app automatically downloaded the most recent schedule changes whenever it was opened, so I was always up to speed. Whoever thought of this was truly inspired. Many D*Con regulars I know go simply to drink, take photos, people-watch, and hang out with old friends. While I did plenty of that, I actually like going to the panels and other events – no better way to learn more about your favorite fandoms than to hear from the folks who live and breathe it. Friday, 2 Sept (Day 1): Today’s lineup (in addition to drinking, taking photos, people-watching, and hanging out with old friends while making new friends) – a William Shatner interview / Q&A panel, followed by an intro to the SW Expanded Universe, and a lightsaber dueling exhibition by the New York Jedi. But first, a morning shift at the 501st fan table. There are those who think I’m wasting my time actually “working†at a con (quote from a fellow garrison member: “so I see you got roped into working the fan table, eh?â€) but the way I see it, the fan table is command central for the 501st at Dragon*Con. It’s where nearly every Legion member in attendance (and a good deal of fans & admirers) visits at least once during the con. Not to mention that being in the marquis level of the Marriott right next to one of the registration booths, we were occupying prime territory. Basically, the con comes to you. Plus, you get the satisfaction of contributing to someone else’s memorable experience, and you might end up being the one to recruit a few new members. After the panels and fan table duty ended, what next? You guessed it - drinking, taking photos, people-watching, and hanging out with old friends while making new friends. No armor today, saving that for tomorrow. Saturday, 3 Sept (Day 2): The Big Day. Today’s panels: “Meet the Stars of Star Wars (Fisher/Mayhew/Morrison/Eckstein)â€, a entertaining panel with the cast of “Star Trek – The Next Generationâ€, an informative panel on NASA’s “Dawn†deep space mission to the Asteroid Belt, and capping it all off with the 501st Legion / Rebel Legion Mixer. But first – the Dragon*Con Parade! This is always the highpoint of my con experience and the main reason I’m willing to drive 650 miles each way in a loaded-down, gas-guzzling SUV. It’s hot, it’s early, and there’s a lot of “hurry up and waitâ€, but outside of a Star Wars Celebration convention, you won’t find a larger number of 501st and RL members gathered in a single location anywhere in the U.S. I got to meet troopers who I’d only known and interacted with via online forums. We chatted about trooping, armor, our families, trooping, armor, our professional lives, trooping, armor - you get the idea. Obviously I’m not the only person who thinks the parade is something special – all along the parade route, fans were packed three and four rows deep, standing on balconies, and crowded against windows. Many of them were there specifically to see the 501st Legion and weren’t at all shy about telling us how awesome we are, telling us how attending the Dragon*Con parade has become a family tradition, punctuated by the many children along the parade route watching while wearing their favorite Halloween costume. Even the local and national news outlets (CNN in particular) covered the parade. One moment that stuck out? Hearing a little girl on the sidelines exclaim “now this is a parade!†as we passed. Following the parade and panels (and some time to de-armor, get in a shower, some food, and even a short nap), came the 501st Mixer. It was great seeing old friends and making new friends in a relaxing environment, where we could kick back, swap stories, and raise our glasses. After the mixer – you guessed it: drinking, taking photos, people-watching, and hanging out. On Saturday night, the more risqué costumes are in full effect, with bustieres, fishnet stockings, and corsets being the preferred evening wear for the ladies. Definitely not a suitable environment for young children, but no complaints here. Camera ready – check! Sunday, 4 Sept (Day 3): A morning shift at the fan table (ugh – someone pass the coffee and aspirin), followed by some time browsing the dealer rooms (can you say “buy stuffâ€? I knew you could) and art rooms, and what would be the high point of the day – a Q&A panel with Carrie Fisher. For those of you who have never seen her being interviewed when the LFL censors aren’t around or didn’t catch her “Wishful Drinking†autobiographical one-woman show, the lady doesn’t mix words. Ten minutes into the panel, she had already dropped the s*** bomb twice, the f*** bomb at least that many times, commented on which fandoms were bad in bed and/or suffered from erectile dysfunction, and shared her thoughts on celebrity lapdancing. Throw in an on-the-lips kiss she shared with a random female fan, her experiences on trading choice four-letter words with George Lucas during filming, and some interesting stories on the hazards of wardrobe malfunctions while wearing skimpy gold metal bikinis (!!!) and the hour-long panel was over before I knew it. Despite the 1.5 hour wait to get in and see the panel, I would do it again in a heartbeat. After the panel and some dinner, time to armor up, hit the fan table for some guard duty (read – fan photo ops), and patrol the con, keeping the peace for the good of the Empire (read – more fan photo ops). One thing that struck me is what the FISD detachment leader referred to as the “stormtrooper affectâ€. What’s that? Simple, stormtroopers are most impressive when in numbers. One stormtrooper = “hey, that’s interestingâ€. Two stormtroopers = “that’s worth a quick photo or twoâ€. Three stormtroopers = “can I get a photo of you guys arresting me?†A squad of four or more stormtroopers = Paparazzi City. Under those circumstances, a good handler and helmet lenses made of dark green welders shield are your best allies. Fortunately, there were other stormtroopers on duty besides myself, and we were able to successfully complete our mission that night, much to the delight and appreciation of the Imperial citizenry. Monday, 5 Sept (Day 4): Time to pack up, checkout, and hit the road for the 12-hour drive home. Although the con isn’t officially over until around 4pm today, somehow I don’t think my boss is going to accept the next morning “I was attending a pop-culture convention hundreds of miles away over the weekend while dressed as a Star Wars stormtrooper, and I’m pretty tired†as an excuse for curling up under my desk and sleeping the work day away. So time to get home, start some laundry, eat a late dinner, and get some real sleep. Goodbye to my weekend escape, hello to my weekday reality. Until this time next year, that is. "Trooper Tim" was present and had his "Helmet Cam" in full effect for the Parade. To check out a real Trooper's point of view from the Parade, visit the following link: Thanks Tim for this awesome footage! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" FISD Provost Marshall Congrats to "Rick330!" A forum regular and all-around nice guy, Rich is always willing to help out when needed. No stranger to Armor builds (Rick has built 2 beautiful Troopermaster kits for himself and an AP kit for his partner) Rich needed an ROTJ kit to round out his ANH and ESB suits. Rich invested in the go-to kit for ROTJ and got himself a very nice CFO kit. However, instead of going the traditional "Weathered Endor" look, he went a different route and is emulating an ROTJ "Deathstar" Trooper. For Rick's amazing build thread visit here: http://forum.whitear...l=&fromsearch=1 Congrats Rich!! Star Wars Blu Ray Release event Thanks to "SW1" for sharing these great pics of the UKG at celebrating the Star Wars Complete Saga release on Blu Ray! For the complete thread which includes other UKG troops this summer, visit here: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=16789 Swag Alert! - Trading Cards and 12" Patches! With all the excitement in trading cards throughout the legion we are happy to be a part of that by offering our very own FISD trading cards. As an ongoing run of cards you can get your own FISD card anytime you want. We offer them in quantities of 1000, 2500 or even 5000 with the ability to get 10,000 cards is you so desired. You can even order more if you run out. They are great to give out and the kids love them. You can see the whole collection so far here http://traynichols.c...sd/tradingcards. Come visit us and sign up for your card today. Don't miss out on all the fun. Be a part of the 501st Legion and the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment history. Get your cards today. And from Albin: As Albin was doing maintenance on the 501st archives he noticed there are a lot of FISD cards we're missing. Remember that you must send a set to Albin as part of the trading card process. Darth Vader *is* watching, and you don't want to make him displeased. 12" Patch artwork has been approved and we're getting quotes now. Look for the sale thread to come in the next few weeeks. Hi All, For the very first time, Star Wars will be coming out on Blu-ray. On September 2nd I had the opportunity to get a sneak, full viewing of all 6 Star Wars movies on Blu-ray. Yes, I am disappointed that George Lucas has once again tweaked the beloved Saga. The major thing that has gotten news media attention and every Stars Wars fan in an uproar is the extra Darth Vader dialogue at the climatic scene of "Return of The Jedi". Not only did that have me upset, it was un-necessary to say the least. Here are some of the highlight tweaks that you can look froward to seeing: "The Phantom Menace" Yoda puppet is now changed to a CG version, the Ewoks eyes now blink, the new thawing of Han Solo, the now 3 stadiums long front door of Jabba's palace, the added rocks that R2 hides behind in "A New Hope", a quicker pace of the showdown between Han and Greedo, (I guess they did this so you don't have time to think about being angry that they changed it from the original, where Han is and was the only one to shoot at the table). But, one of the worst mistakes is the re-re-revision of Old Ben's Krayt Dragon howl in "A New Hope". This will be the second time that they have tweaked Ben spooking the Tusken Raiders. LFL tweaked/changed it for the '97 Special Edition, but they have changed it once again and this time they have gone too far. Ben's howl no longer has a menacing sound but is now what I would compare to a guy hollering at a wet tee shirt contest "WOOoooOO Hotties!!" I guess old Ben was at the Cantina having himself a couple of Guinness beers and was coming back when he saw the Tusken Raiders. I could keep going on and telling you about all the things that I saw that were un-necessary changes, but I know most of you will be purchasing it on the 16th. However, here are some of the good points to buying "The Complete Saga" box set. All six movies are in outstanding high definition - I could literally count the pores in Luke Skywalker's face. Plus, all the archived and rarities that will be in the bonus material. One of the major things for the 501st members is that there is a documentary call "Star Warriors". This documentary is about the 501st Legion and their journey to march in the 2007 Rose Bowl Parade. Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures, the 501st members become the action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world. Not only the founder of the 501st Legion, Albin Johnson, and over 200 Legion members from around the globe are in the feature, but our own Detachment Leader / Founder Paul Hoeffer TK8020 (Daetrin) is in it as well... This documentary is only included in the Star Wars "The Complete Saga" Blu-ray box set on the ninth disc. "Star Warriors" has a run time of 84 minutes. Even though there are a lot of good things taken away and a lot of un-necessary things added to the "beloved Saga", there are things to look forward to on September 16th. So, if you have a very bad feeling about this, and were going to say "NO.... NOOOOO!" to picking up your copy of the Star Wars "The Complete Saga" Blu-ray box set, just remember that you never know, you might see yourself or your Garrison mate in the "Star Warriors" documentary. With Unquestioned Loyalty. Tom Gardner TK5940 "RogueTrooper" Tactical Officer Ask what you can do for the FISD! Got info? ideas? or even a theory that you think might advance the quality of Stormtrooper costuming? Don't be afraid to post your opinion or ideas!!! I would urge all members to take a look at this shining example of what teamwork and open discussion can accomplish! Take a look at this new thread: The Best Sterling Templates EVER! This may seem like a insignificant endeavor to some, but for those who strive for accuracy this is a HUGE leap forward in costuming excellency! I would ask that anyone who has the ability to contribute to this project step up and give whatever help they can to achieve the ultimate goal of creating the BEST E-11 blaster templates in the known galaxy 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.

-------------------------------------------- From The Detachment Leader When FISD started out – even before we had settled on the name FISD – our original charter was to focus solely on film canon stormtroopers. At the time it made sense as there weren’t any white armor based Expanded Universe TKs. Once we created a home for the Heavy Weapons Trooper (HWT) – which made sense as it is really just an ANH Stunt trooper with accessories – it was natural to welcome other TK based variants to FISD. While not having the same level of awareness of the canonical classic stormtroopers, the Stormtrooper Commander (TKC) and Incinerator Trooper (INC) along with the HWT are excellent 501st approved options for those looking to branch out from the standard white. And if that weren’t enough, the Kashyyk Stormtrooper (KTK) and Sky Trooper (SKY) should be approved sometime this month. Both are based on standard TK armor with only one or two custom parts. The Legacy/Joker Squad stormtrooper is truly in a class by itself, requiring many non-standard parts that will necessitate new sculpts. Anyone looking for a new challenge in Stormtrooper costuming should feel welcome to join in the process of bringing these troopers to life. While film canon Stormtroopers are and will always be the heart and soul of FISD, EU troopers are here to stay. A vibrant and growing part of our costume category EU Troopers are worth your time to learn about, whether it be for something to do with your old white armor when it wears out or else having some other options to get some variety in to that basic white suit we all know and love. It’s never been a better time to be a Trooper! With unquestioned loyalty, Paul Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Leader -------------------------------------------- The Expanded TK Universe Hello Fellow Troopers and Stormtrooper Fans, In the last few months, a lot has been going on FISD in the Expanded Universe (EU) for the TK’s. Here is what is happening: Stormtrooper Commander (TKC) CRL, with visuals: It has been awhile in the making, but with a lot of hard work and dedication, the task of the TKC CRL is almost finished. Finally the verbiage portion is complete, with the visual portion 98% done. Only, the images of the boots and full model are needed to complete the full CRL, which hopefully, will happen shortly. So I invite you to take a hyperspace ride over to the Legion Board and see the latest CRL installment for the FISD: http://www.501st.com...ng:TK_commander Getting to know the EU Troopers: The original TK has been the structure and backbone of the FISD. We, as Star Wars fans and Stormtrooper aficionados, know the original trilogy TK’s very well. But, when it comes to the Expanded Universe Troopers (EU), there may be some that say, “what is that, that is just another Stormtrooper with a new paint job and some new add-ons, and nothing more to them". Actually, each one of the EU Troopers has a unique story to them. To bring the characters to life, I have written a brief synopsis for each one and have added them to the CRL’s: Incinerator Trooper (INC) The Imperial Incinerator Trooper is an elite unit specially equipped for crowd pacification. Easily distinguished by the red flash on their armor. Their armor is exceptionally heat-resistant, able to withstand high temperatures. Incinerator Troopers are equipped with powerful plasma rifles (A.K.A. flamethrowers) that can burn through virtually any material. This elite unit is used to disperse unruly populations and overwhelm troublesome combatants. Heavy Weapons Trooper (HWT) Heavy Weapons Troopers ( A.K.A. Shock Troopers) are an elite unit of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps, specializing in the use of various non-standard weapons and equipment. Their armor is extra heavy plated compared to the standard Stormtrooper armor. Some, equipped with rocket launchers, act as anti-vehicle units on the battlefield. They are trained to hit hard targets and to guard strategic locations. The Heavy Weapons Troopers operate as splinter units, backing up standard garrisons and fulfilling unique roles on the battlefield. Stormtrooper Commander (TKC) The Stormtrooper Commanders patrol hostile battlefields, leading their troops into fierce combat on dangerous worlds such as the fungus planet Felucia. With razor-sharp minds and steely resolve, these highly trained Imperial soldiers continue the reputation established by the Clone Wars’ fearsome ARC troopers. Clearly visible in their uniquely detailed armor, the Commanders confront enemies such as the savage Felucians with deadly heavy blaster cannons equipped with a devastating stun setting. They are rewarded for their loyalty with specialized armor fitted with an internal shield generator capable of deflecting nearly any attack, with the exeception of a lightsaber. Most importantly, the Stormtrooper Commanders are entrusted with command over the Empire’s elite Shadow Troopers, with authority to call in reinforcements and trigger ambushes without clearance from Imperial high command. Stormtrooper Commanders typically hang back and stun the most threatening enemy, who is then overwhelmed by Shadow Troopers. Sky Trooper (SKY) This newest TK from the Expanded Universe was brought to life in the Disney newly revamped Star Tours, “The Adventures Continue†3-D attraction ride. The Sky Troopers are a highly trained unit with specially designed armor, with distinctive gray unit markings. Their armor is very light weight, but can withstand high altitudes and the pressure from G-forces. They are equipped and trained with Z-7I Jetpacks. The Z-7I Jetpacks were especially designed with a more stable gyro, a larger fuel tank and higher thrusting power for the Imperial Forces, by Mitrinomon Transports. The Z-7I Jetpack, makes the Sky Trooper units extremely fast and maneuverable, enabling them to get behind enemy lines quickly, and to set up ambushes, when ground troops and large vehicles are unable to do so. Wielding the BlasTech DC-15A and DC-15S, the Sky Trooper units are well known for their marksmanship. They are also trained in the use of hit-and-run attacks and often provide Stormtrooper units with air cover during pitched battles. With the combination of the Jetpack and their marksmanship, the Sky Trooper units are a very formidable weapon for the Empire. Requrements for the Sky Trooper In conjunction with working on the other CRL’s, I have also been given the privilege and task of writing and honing the Sky Trooper CRL. So to give everyone a sneak peak into the newest branch of the EU Trooper, without further adieu, here are the Sky Trooper requirements. The 501st approval requirements are listed in black. FISD Defines two additional, optional levels of costuming excellence: Expert Infantryman and Centurion. In the page below, requirements for Expert Infantryman are listed in blue. Centurion requirements are in red. Note: The Sky Trooper CRL is still in the draft form and is subject to change. SKY Trooper CRL: The armor parts shall be made from one of these types of materials or like materials: White fiberglass, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), or HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene. HELMET A unit stripe in a medium gray shall be present on the cap of the helmet. The unit stripe starts between the eyes and above the brow and flares out to cover the outer edges of both back traps. (trapezoidal indentations) and ends at the ridge of the cap where the back meets and extends below the bottom of each trap. Variant to the cap unit stripe: You may have a thin silverish white stripe running through the center of the medium gray unit stripe, from the front to the back of the cap. The two side traps (trapezoidal indentations) are kept white. Variant to side traps: You may have a small black horizontal stripe inside of the side traps. Lens may be flat or bubble, smoke or green in color, sufficiently dark enough to obscure the costumers eyes. Below the brow, and in between the ears and eyes, a gray trapezoid with a black outline shall be present. These maybe a decal or hand painted or decal that replicates hand painted. Frown is painted black and overlaps the teeth area, with the front of the teeth being highlighted in medium gray. Eight teeth on the frown are cut out. The chin area shall be painted gray. Vocoder (vertically ribbed chin detail) is painted black. Chin shall have two hose ports, one on each side of the vocoder, where the ribbed black hoses connect. Tube Stripes, there are two variations that you may have: Variant 1. A solid medium gray stripe, running the length of the tube, with tneds slanting toward the ear. These may be a decal or or hand painted, or a decal that replicates hand painted. Variant 2. Straight stripes, black in color, with medium gray in between the black stripes, numbering between 9 and 16 and slanting toward the ear. These may be a decal, or hand painted, or decals that replicate hand painted. The “ear†bars may have three or four bumps, shall be gray or painted gray, with a black outline. Painting the bumps with rank stripes (highlighted) in black is optional. Tears (area beneath the corner of the eye lenses) are gray with a black outline and have vertical black lines inside the gray area. These maybe a decal or hand painted or decal that replicates hand painted. Mesh maybe used behind the frown to obscure the face of the wearer. Note: The FX helmets is considered deprecated (to be avoided) though is acceptable for Legion requirements. Ears shall have no visible screws. The ends of the frown shall be rounded, not tapered to points (not like ANH). Ear bars shall four bumps only, not three. FX helmets are not allowed. MRCE and/or EFX PCR helmets are not allowed. ANHv2 helmets are not allowed. Lenses shall be bubble, green only. Ear bars shall have only one or two bumps panted in black (rank stripes). Neck trim shall be an s-type profile, rather than a u-type profile. NECK SEAL Black with horizontal ribs, fitted to the wearer, extending from the base of the neck to the top of the Adams apple. HOSES The hoses shall be ribbed, black in color, with a 1.25â€/ 3.2 cm diameter and be 18†to 21â€/ 45.7 cm to 53.3 cm in length. They shall connect from the helmet hose ports to the chestbox side ports. CHESTBOX Main body of chest box shall be white. Rectangular box with a rounded bottom, approximately 7†high, 7.25†wide, 2.5†deep, or 17.8 cm high, 18.4 cm wide, 6.4 cm deep. The top edges of the Chestbox are angled at approximately 45 Degrees. Two round medium gray buttons are present on the left side of the top of the chest box. The front of the chest box has five 1†square x 1/8†thick detail pieces, or 2.5 cm square x 0.3 cm thick detail pieces. The configuration of the detail pieces from center to right is: white - center lower gray - top, black lower red - top, red - lower There are three rocker switches (one black, two red) on the left side. The configuration from center to left is: black, red,red. There shall be two small, round, white buttons on the bottom of the black and outer red rocker switches. At the lower part of each side of the chestbox, there shall be a black gear-like greeblie. From the center to the left side of the tube, there shall be 9 medium gray vertical stripes. On the bottom left side of the tube, just below the medium gray vertical stripes, there is a small angled protrusion, approximately 0.75†high x 2†wide, or 1.9 cm high x 5.1 cm wide. SHOULDER STRAPS These shall be securely mounted in front and may free float in back. They may be affixed with rivets, Velcro, or adhesive. No visible rivets are allowed. Shoulder straps shall not have a flat end at the the ends of them. They shall be ribbed 100%. These shall be affixed in the front (no snaps, rivets or brads shall be visible). These shall be affixed in the back (no snaps, rivets or brads shall be visible). SHOULDER BELLS One on each shoulder. The shoulder bells are considered effectively symmetrical; they may be worn interchangeably on the left and right shoulders. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, running through the center and flaring out at the top, shall be present. Shoulder bells are rounded at the corners. No shoulder bell straps across the biceps. Shoulder bells shall have foam padding inside. Shoulder bells shall be slightly pinched and should be worn slightly higher, compared to the ANH/ESB BICEPS Biceps are fully closed. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, located on the outside of the biceps, shall be present. FOREARMS Forearms are fully closed. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, shall be present on the raised design area that has indention. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, shall be present on the cover strip/overlapping areas. No return edge on the inside of the front of the forearm is allowed. HAND PLATES Hand plates shall be medium gray in color. There are two variances of the hand plates. You may choose from one of the variances, but may not mix the variances: Variant 1. Clamshell or snowtrooper-style hand plates. Variant 2. Roughly pentagonal in shape, the hand plates are mounted securely over the back of the glove. As an alternative to plastic, these may be made out of latex or latex-like material. GLOVES Black in color, made of either rubber, nomex, leather, or leather-like material, with no visible straps or logos/designs. The fingers are enclosed, non-textured. Gloves shall be rubber or rubber like chemical gloves in black. CHEST Chest plate overlaps the abdominal plate. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, shall be present on the chest plate. It will start at the bottom of the center of the chest plate and flare out closer to the neck. A white flexible U shaped gasket or molded lip shall be present around all edges, bottom, both sides and neck area. Fabric or elastic strip connecting chest to back shall be either black or not present. BACK Back plate contains a "O II" design. A white flexible U shaped gasket or molded lip shall be present around all edges, bottom, both sides and neck area. Back plate shall have no, or minimal overlap of the kidney plate. UNDERSUIT Black non-textured material, either one-piece or two-piece construction with no visible zippers or logos/designs. ABDOMEN PLATE The ab plate has a button area that matches the color pattern shown (3 dark blue + 6 black or all black); buttons are approximately 7/16" in diameter. The three dark blue buttons will be the three buttons closest to the belt. A white flexible U shaped gasket or molded lip shall be present around all edges. Ab plate button detail shall be inverted compared to ANH/ESB. There shall be no visible split rivet/brad on the cod/crotch and no visible rivets or brads on the left or right side of the ab plate, unlike ANH/ESB. KIDNEY AND BUTT PLATE It is allowable to have a separate kidney/butt plate for 501st requirements. If a separate kidney plate is used, it shall line up with the ab plate, with the top of the kidney plate being flush to or under the back plate.If a separate butt plate is used, it should be below the bottom of belt and line up with the kidney plate, with minimal gap between it and the kidney plate. The crotch tab of the butt plate area may or may not have visible snaps. A separate kidney/butt plate is not allowed - the kidney and butt plate shall be combined/fused to a single plate/one piece. A white flexible U shaped gasket or molded lip shall be present around all edges. The edges of the hip area should be rounded/curved (not like the straight lines found on the ANH/ESB butt plate). There shall be no visible side rivets on the kidney plate, unlike ANH/ESB suits. There shall be no visible snaps, rivets or brads on the crotch tab of the butt plate tab. BELT Belt face is made of plastic (TK ammo belt). Belt proper is made of canvas, canvas covered material, leather, or vinyl, between 2.25" to 3" wide. The color is to be white to off-white. The drop boxes dangle from the sides of the front plastic belt (ammo belt) via white straps and are aligned under the plastic tabs of the ammo belt. Belt shall be tightly woven nylon/cordura style material, or may be canvas, or canvas covered, and the color is to be white to off-white. Leather or vinyl are not acceptable. Belt shall be between 2.25" and 2.5" wide, not 3" as in ANH/ESB. Belt shall be a tightly woven nylon/cordura style material, and the color is to be white to off-white. There shall be no square buttons covering the belt rivets (there shall be two rivets, one on each side of the ammo belt). Corners of ammo belt shall be cut at right angles, not 45 degrees as in ANH/ESB. Drop boxes are closed in the back. THERMAL DETONATOR (a.k.a. O2 canister) attaches to the back of the belt. This is a gray cylinder between 2" and 2.5" in diameter with white end caps and a white control panel pad, with controls closest to the right end cap. The thermal detonator needs to be attached via metal clips approximately 1 inch wide, and shall be all gray without silver stickers or silver paint. The thermal detonator control panel shall have correct ROTJ details, not ANH/ESB. THIGHS Thigh armor shall be closed in the back. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, running vertically and center of the front and rear of both thighs shall be present. The ammo belt shall be installed on the bottom of the right thigh. The thigh ammo belt shall be medium in color. The thigh ammo belt shall be connected by brads/split rivets only - standrad rivets are not acceptable. The bottom corners of the thigh ammo belt shall be rounded off. LOWER LEGS Greaves close in the back. The trapezoid knee plate (sniper knee plate) is affixed to the left greave and may have two visible brads or rivets securing it to the greave. A unit stripe, medium gray in color, shall be present on the front of both greaves. The stripe is centered, running vertically, and flaring out as it gets closer to the knees. Trapezoidal knee plate (sniper knee plate) shall be medium gray in color, with the small ridge style pattern at the bottom of the sniper knee plate, left white. BOOTS Leather or leather-like, above ankle height, with a flat sole with a short heel, and small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle with no buckles or laces. Jodhpur/Chelsea-type boots or an equivalent style is acceptable. Elvis or Mariachi boots are not allowed. Boots shall be medium gray in color (even the heel and side of sole). There shall be no seam on the front of the boot (eg. CABoots are not alowed). Boots shall be lightly scuffed. Holster It is allowable to have a holster for the 501st requirements. If a holster is worn, it will be made of black leather or leather-like material Holster is not allowed. ROCKET JETPACK Mitrinomon Z-7I Based on the Mitrinomon Z-6 Jetpack, but the anti-vehicle homing missile/magnetic grappling hook was removed in the Z-7I and a modified, larger fuel tank was added. It is allowable to use the Merr-Sonn Munitions JT-12 Jetpack for the 501st requirements. But shall have the 9mm warhead removed and the modified, larger fuel tank added. The JT-12 Jetpack should have the bottom thrusters removed and replaced with the correct side thrusters. Note: The Z-6 is the model that Boba and Jango Fett used. The JT-12 Jetpack was the model that Mandalorians Death Watch and Jango Fett also used. The body of the Jetpack shall be white. A wide vertical strip, medium gray in color, shall be located on the center back of the Jetpack. Two, wide, black vertical stripes shall be located on either side of the medium gray center stripe. The two large indentions, just above the vertical black strips on the fuel tank, shall be a medium gray. Black horizontal stripes shall be present on each side of the Jetpack. There are two variances to the black horizontal side stripes. You may choose between these two variances, either 9 or 11 stripes per side. Each side shall have an equal number of stripes. The JT-12 model may be used, but the bottom thrusters shall be removed and replaced with the correct side thrusters. Jetpack shall actually work. Note: A man can dream. Optional Accessories: WEAPONS BlasTech DC-15A Blaster rifle may be scratch built out of plastic, wood , metal or cast in resin. Total length should be approximately 56 “ or 142.2 cm. Hyperfirms are allowed Because of the scale, the Hasbro version is not allowed. A total of 10 radiator fins shall be present on the barrel. A power setting adjuster shall be present. The correct style of sniper scope shall be present. Charge magazine lock shall be present on the left side. Power setting adjuster, sniper scope and charge magazine lock shall be metal to gun metal gray in color. Sniper scope should be able to be removed from storage position (bottom of rifle) and be able to be attached to the top of the rifle. Parts of the spare igniter shal be copper in color. Front optical sight should be able to flip to the up position. Any bolts and screws should be a metal to gun metal gray in color. Should have some battle wear. BlasTech DC-15S Blaster rifle may be scratch built out of plastic, wood , metal or cast in resin. Total length should be approximately 26 “or 66 cm.. Hyperfirms are allowed Because of the scale, the Hasbro version is not allowed. Folding stock (does not need to function). A total of 12 radiator fins shall be present on the barrel. Spare igniter shall be present on both sides of barrel. Charge magazine shall be present on the right side. Charge magazine should be a metal to gun metal gray in color. Any bolts and screws should be a metal to gun metal gray in color. Parts of the spare igniter shall be copper in color. Should have some battle wear. In the very near future, we should have the visuals and verbiage for the Sky Trooper finished. So get ready to strap on you Z-7I Jetpack and hit the sky. Current EU costume counts: 4 - Incinerator Trooper 12 - Heavy Weapons Trooper 26 - Stormtrooper Commander For reference: 13 - Stormtrooper: ROTJ There are more TKC's than ROTJ, and we're one away from having more HWT's than ROTJ. For all people talk about film canon, ROTJ is aside from the ICN the least done TK variant. With unquestioned loyalty, Tom Gardner TK-5940 "RogueTrooper" Tactical Officer -------------------------------------------- NEW Code of Conduct The members of the FISD are a very passionate group of people who put their whole heart into this forum. And, many times their passion gets in the way of logical thought and being civil. In an effort to make the FISD a more pleasant environment, where everyone can enjoy discussing, sharing, and building white armor, a new code of conduct has been adopted to ensure that everyone is treated in a civil manner. The quotes below are the basic foundation for the new FISD Rules of Conduct. “How you say something can be more important than what you actually say.†“Treat others the way you want to be treated." FISD Code of Conduct: We want you to feel free to post. But first, a lesson in this forum’s Netiquette (internet etiquette): the Do’s and Don’ts below boil down to the two small words “be nice.†B. E. N.I.C.E. –BEFORE EXPOUNDING, NEVER INSULT, CONSIDER EVERYONE So, please b.e. n.i.c.e. to each other! If you violate the Don'ts, your post may be removed and you may be banned. Do: - Start posting. Ask questions, let people know what you’re thinking about, be funny or be serious. You don’t have to write a novel, just break your thoughts down into easily understood bullet points or paragraphs. Don’t go crazy with the color coding, try to avoid one word responses, and don’t yell us by using all-caps. - Be Tolerant. Show respect when anyone ask a question. Understand that not everyone, especially newer members, have had the time to acquire the knowledge that most seasoned members have acquired. Look at how many post the person asking the question has done. If they have a low number of post, consider that when and if you relpy to their thread. - Spell check. We don’t expect you to be perfect, but make sure people can understand you. Run a spell check and make sure your grammar makes sense before you post. Remember, people from all parts of the world visit the FISD, so making your post easy to understand is a courtesy (excessive use of "slang" can be very hard for some people to understand). - Use descriptive & interesting titles. Titles like, “I need help!†does not describe what you’re talking about. Make sure people know what you’re talking about just from reading the title. This will help get your post noticed. Using all-caps or l33t speak won’t. - Report rule infractions. If you think a post violates the Don’ts below, help us by reporting it. The moderators notice who’s taking care of the community and those people are appreciated greatly. If you see something in a thread that needs to be addressed, please notify a moderator. - Check the forums for the topic you want to talk about before you post. Someone may have already answered your question or started the conversation. - Post about topics that don’t have a forum. Can’t find the right forum? Then head to the NCO Club area if you’re posting about a non-Stormtrooper-related item, or the Star Wars genre if appropriate. - Get creative with your signature. There are some guidelines and rules below. Also huge signatures clutter up threads, Try to keep the size to a minimum. Don’t: - Troll, flame, or be offensive. We’ll remove posts that we think are ethically, racially, religiously, sexually offensive, insulting, demeaning, harassing, threatening or just non-constructively negative. We reserve the right to immediately delete any posting or ban any user at our sole discretion. - Swear or post inappropriate, suggestive or graphic images or videos. Keep it clean. We have a language filter that *bleeps* swear words, but we can’t catch everything. Please don’t try to get around the filter. And, just because the offending word is gone doesn’t mean the sentence is appropriate. We’ll also remove graphic content featuring inappropriate material or language, as well as pornography or anything else the moderators think could be offensive and doesn’t belong on the forum. - Violate anyone’s privacy or post your own identifying info. We take down public phone numbers, addresses and other personally identifying information. - Talk about any kind of illegal activities. This is dealt with a strict no-tolerance policy. - Spam. No advertising, solicitations or promotional material (that includes petitions, arranging boycotts, asking others to vote on a poll, and advertising your personal website or other forum that is not directly related to Stormtroopers or the 501st. No making off-topic or redundant threads, no posting multiple times in a row with nothing new, and no: * Bumping: making a new post solely to bring it to the top of the thread listing and push down legitimate discussions. * Quote for Truth (QFT): This applies when you quote someone you agree with, but only contribute a one or two word comment yourself. Try to add something relevant. * Poll Threads: Polls can be a good way to jumpstart a discussion, but poll threads that don’t encourage any kind of discussion may be edited, locked or deleted. - Use ASCII characters or capitals. Online, all caps is considered shouting. Doing so will annoy others in the community. Using ASCII characters in either your login name or your posts is considered childish by many. It also makes the administration’s faces hurt. - BB-Code and Signature Help. You can use limited BB-Code to display graphics and text in your signature. As always, keep it clean – offensive or inappropriate language or imagery is not allowed. Check out the Don’ts above for what we consider offensive. - Word association games: Just say no. Please refrain from starting and/or participating in word association and/or similar threads. While they can be fun, they do not really contribute (directly or indirectly) to the mission of the FISD. Any such threads will be promptly deleted by the staff. Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer -------------------------------------------- Siman Helmet Build Siman Helmets have been the talk of the town since they are the first Armor maker to cast directly off an ANH suit! These much anticipated Helmets have finally started shipping and our very own Combat Photographer - TK-4702 has had a go. We gotta say, it looks great! To follow Jesse's impressive Build Thread, click http://forum.whitear...3&hl=siman&st=0 -------------------------------------------- Forum Updates Unless you've been on the far side of the Forest Moon of Endor this past month then you've noticed some "changes" on the forums. As always, The Detachment Staff are constantly trying to improve the user experience. Special thanks to newly appointed Admin "ZeroRoom" who did the bulk of the work (and by bulk I mean all) "ZeroRoom" is also the main man behind the 5th Anniversary Newsletter Banner, so you can say he's already earning double his Combat Pay. Welcome Aboard! For a complete overview of the changes, visit here: http://forum.whitear...=0 -------------------------------------------- Trooper Awards - Congrats to "Matt Black" and "ZeroRoom!" This month, we are privileged to have 2 Troopers who went above an beyond the call of duty. "ZeroRoom" - FISD Achievement Award For many of the reasons discussed above he really stepped up to the plate this month to make sure the Forum Upgrades went smoothly while contributing some wicked Art Work. Congratulations! "Matt Black" - FISD Trooper of the Month It's hard to think of a Trooper that defines "Troopers Helping Troopers" better than our very own "Matt Black." Well, I remember when he was just a young pup, just starting out in the TK world all wide-eyed and gooey faced. Now look at him! A stone cold veteran with numberous kudos, but still keeping that warmth and goodwill that is so rare in the Empire these days. "Matt Black" went above and beyond when a responding to a thread where a new trooper was looking to better his Blaster. "Matt Black" stepped up and GAVE him an SDS E-11. All in the spirit of giving back to the community that helped him so. Congrats to you Sir, you set a great example we all should follow. You make us proud! -------------------------------------------- Troop of the Month With SDCC this month we KNEW that one of our loyal Troopers would be out there snapping pics for those of us stationed too far away to attend . . . and we were RIGHT, special thanks to "Darktrooper" for answering the call! For more great shots the thread can be found here: http://forum.whitear...showtopic=16376 -------------------------------------------- Swag Alert! The much anticipated 12" patch to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the FISD, is almost ready to go! We wanted the design to be really outstanding so it took us some time to get it finalized. In the end we could not be happier! Special thanks to Synaptyx for another AMAZING piece of Artwork! Below are two options that are under final consideration. We'll be sending these for LMBO approval today so once we have a quote we can get the ball rolling. http://dl.dropbox.co... Patch V7.5.png We should be taking orders on these VERY soon. Stay tuned and enjoy! -------------------------------------------- The FISD Needs Your Help! Once again THE EMPIRE NEEDS YOU! We've received some feedback that as the forums have grown they've gotten too big and too confusing, e.g. it may be hard to know which of the forums to go to in order to find an ANH build thread. Is it in builds? ANH? Advanced ANH? We'd like to ask your suggestions on how we can re-organize the forums to make information easier to find. Let us know 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.

Some staggering results when you think about it, our Expert Infantrymen alone top the numbers of most other Detachments. Here are some interesting tidbits of FISD trivia that you may not be aware of: - People thought there was no need for a "Stormtrooper Detachment" as the Legion was filled with Stormtroopers already and there was just *nothing new to learn* - Our DL and Founder "Daetrin" was worried he could not get the 10 signatures required for a charter (he had also only been in the Legion all of a year.) "Daetrin" Quotes: "The only non-out-of-the-box-FX piece I had ever seen in my life was my own AP helmet, and I was the only one in my garrison who wasn't out of the box FX." - TE2 had just launched - ATA did not exist - Mike Appling wouldn't join the 501st for two more years - Our first CRL was published in 2006 - The original EIB award was called "Mark", e.g. "Mark IV" for an ANH Trooper Award - The first EI program allowed FX helmets So thank you for a fantastic 5 years - we couldn't have done it without you! In this issue: From The Detachment Leader Advanced Tactics New to the Expanded Universe! Jes Gistang, Skytrooper and Kashyyk Trooper!!! Brian Muir - The latest installment from the Father of Stormtrooper Armor! Attache Update Troop of the Month Swag Alert! ----------- From the DL Celebration time! 5 years ago FISD was born and my how we’ve grown. We are now the largest unit in the Legion in terms of members, and even if we counted just Expert Infantryman we’d be #6 in size (and are on target to be #4 by end of year). And if that isn’t enough this month there are more ways to Rock the White than ever before. And best of all, there’s something new for everyone. Like the clean classics? The Advanced Armor building techniques section is now online and there are more topics than ever to help you raise the bar on your kit. Do a little or a lot – the choice is yours! Proof indeed that there is always a new take on how to do something. Want a dirty, rougher look? The Incinerator Trooper and Stormtrooper Commander CRL's are posted and now Legion approved. Of course, Heavy Weapons works too. Speaking of which… Want to sport cool gear? With the Heavy Weapons Trooper you can rock a pack, pouch and BFG! No need to go sandy anymore. Heck, you can even use your clean TK as a base and have two costume options with one suit. Wicked! Need some two-for (or three-for!) options? There are more ways than ever to add some variety to base kit * The ANH Hero option now has its CRL has posted, a great alternate to the standard ANH Stunt. * Kashyyyk Stormtroopers only have one reference but can still be done. In short a second helmet is all you need to get started. For base CRL you can use any ANH/ESB suit, though ideally you’ll rock the ROTJ as a base. Need something even more out there? The SkyTrooper is a base TK with a TIE chest box, Fett pack and clone weapons. This suit is very close to Legion approval so keep your eyes peeled for more news and the CRL. Want to make something never seen before? The Jes Gestang / Legacy Troopers are more than just a helmet upgrade or a paint job. There are new molds being made across the board. Get your tools in order and help bring this costume to life! Want the most accurate suit that’s Legion approvable? Centurion standards are final for all TK costumes - see if you've got the right stuff to stand with your fellow Legion Centurions! 12 so far have been awarded. Want to be help out your fellow troopers? * Join the Attaché Program and get resources on how to be a mentor local members in your garrison, plus previews of new items in the works. * Have great graphics or writing skills? Join the Imperial Propaganda Machine on FISD and help keep this site on the cutting edge of stormtrooper-dom! With unquestioned loyalty, Paul Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Leader Advanced Tactics CRLs, EIBs and Centurions Oh My! Body: The CRL's are currently undergoing a final pass by Tom (RogueTrooper) and the current status is that all film canon CRL's are now complete, and we're doing the last updates to those for the EU costumes. We're driving hard to have all of these wrapped up by the end of the summer, including updated pictures for the TKC and compltion of the SkyTrooper. We're currently at 173 EIB recipients and 12 Centurions. Congrats to gazmosis (TK-4034) for bein the most recent. There's always room for more and we'd love to see you take the plunge and join your fellows in the front ranks of costuming achiemement. Have questions? Feel free to ask on the boards anytime or your local FISD Attache. We bet it's easier than you think New to the Expanded Universe! We've brought in Special Correspondents "BananoPower22" and "Dionaly" to talk about the latest "soon-to-be-approved" Troopers! Skytrooper - By Special Correspondent "BananoPower22" This past month has been quite intense and full of research. Many troopers (myself included) have dedicated hours and hours of research in relation of our newest, soon-to-be TK, the Skytrooper. This particular trooper, featured in Disney World's attraction "Star Tours", is new to the Star Wars galaxy and our next addition to FISD's armory. Hasbro also made a figure of this trooper. Its designer, Glen McIntosh, describes it as a "hodge podge of a Tie Pilot, Boba Fett and a Stormtrooper." Both action figure and CG model presented in Star Tours were made according to the Glen McIntosh design. You can read the whole description given by Glen himself HERE at the end of post #29. The CRL, which is currently under construction, has been carefully inspected and reviewed countless times using references both from the action figure and Star Tours' version of the Skytrooper so that our representation here at FISD, as well as in the 501st Legion can be as accuratel as possible. Its appearance in Star Tours is brief and using what the attraction gave us as references was a challenge, but that's what we all love to do here; work hard and make the FISD's armors look great! I wish to personally thank TK-7100 for all the time he spent riding Star Tours, hoping that the Sky Troopers scene show up and taking multiple pictures, which aided us greatly in our research! Congratulations goes to "Dashrazor" for his incredible dedication in replicating the Skytrooper, making him our new Skytrooper! Jes Gistang - Special Correspondent "Dionaly" Let’s face it, the first costumes that anyone notices at a troop are the Stormtroopers. They’re usually the most numerous and by far the most recognizable costume with that nice shiny, white armor. Even the average viewer knows that Stormtroopers mean Star Wars. For the 501st Legion, the vast majority of the approveable costumes are armored ones, even if they branch out from the iconic Stormtrooper. They are the backbone of every Garrison. Put on the bucket and you become a faceless pawn of the Empire: awesome, intimidating, masculine. On the other hand for female costumers, the options for dressing as a bad guy are very limited. Its only face characters and frequently scantily clad ones at that (Darth Talon for example). What if you don’t have the body for it? What if you can’t do full-body makeup? Take it from someone who has a still incomplete Ventress, the female options for 501st membership are very difficult for most women. Many, like myself, branch out to the Rebel Legion where there are literally dozens of options for women because of main characters such as Leia and Padme. In order to become a member of the 501st, we would have to either sacrifice our femininity or put that femininity on an uncomfortable level of display. This all changed with the release of the new Gentle Giant figurine of Jes Gistang, the first named female Stormtrooper. This figurine provided enough resources for the “femtrooper†costume to be refined and eventually approved for membership. There had always been non-canon “femtrooper†costumes floating around, but Jes Gistang’s armor is far closer to the male equivalent without sacrificing her femininity. Instead of having the masculine chest plate, Jes’s armor features a breast plate but clearly not a “boob†plate as made infamous by the non-canon “femtrooper†costume. The Gentle Giant statue features Jes in a custom set of armor from the Star Wars: Legacy comic series set 100 years after the movies. The armor is a mix of original and prequel movie styles. This armor, nicknamed the Legacy Trooper, is supposed to represent the evolution of Stormtrooper armor, so that it can fit any size or shape trooper, be they female or nonhumanoid. Writing the CRL for Jes Gistang’s armor has been a challenge. The Gentle Giant statue is still in production, and we only have a few pictures to go by (most of which only show details from the front). The comic has a myriad of images, but as with all comics, individual details change from shot to shot. In order to even start making sense of each version present in the comics, I had to first separate the costume into its individual armor pieces. The established CRLs for Stormtroopers were an amazing resource for me to figure out how best to start that process. Once I had separated the costume into manageable pieces, then I started the long, tedious process of staring at picture after picture from the comics. I started with the leg armor. I sifted through picture after picture that showed the leg armor, trying to piece together every angle and detail, making sketches and taking notes as I went. For some of the pieces, this was remarkably easy, but for others this proved very difficult. The helmet remains, for me, the hardest element of the armor to nail down. There are many different versions seen in the comic, each varying on the scale from Stormtrooper to Clone Trooper. Most of the other individual pieces can be described as “same as Stormtrooper, but with…†or “same as Clone Trooper, but with…â€. On the other hand, the helmet is an overall mesh of both styles and would require a completely new sculpt, rather than an adaptation of existing ones. Nailing down which representation to base that sculpt on remains the biggest task to finishing the CRL. Whether it's the helmet or other pieces, unity of design is key. For many pieces, we’ll just have to wait for the Gentle Giant statue to come out so that we can use that as a basis to decide between conflicting portrayals in the comics. For now, we wait and work on what we have. Once that happens, perhaps we’ll see an army of female Stormtroopers join the ranks of the 501st Legion. Introducing the KASHYYYK STORMTROOPER! This is soon to be a new addition to the EU ranks. The Kashyyyk Stormtrooper from The Force Unleashed. New Kashyyyk Helmet This helmet can be worn with a standard white TK, but the armor is a ANH/ROTJ hybrid such as the TKC or ICN. This helmet is a mix between a clone an a TK, with a one piece lens and is VAC formed by myself (after much trial and error.) First off I would not have been able to do this without the help of Terrel (ATA) who allowed me to make the Kashyyyk molds from a ATA helmet. I started with a cast of ATA as the base and re-sculpted the molds from plaster, the entire faceplate and dome needed to be altered to make it possible to vacuum form. I tried to capture the look as closely as possible while keeping it formable and worn by a actual person. Sculpted Faceplate Mold With Unquestioned Loyalty, Mason Carson TK-4603 "Dashrazor" Deployment Officer Guest Editorial: Brian Muir FISD Intelligence Officer: Pandatrooper / Terry Welcome to another Q&A session with Brian Muir in regards to the design and creation of sculpting the original form for the Stormtrooper armor! I can see there are some classic "sculptural" character forms and techniques on the Stormtrooper (the barrel chest, the slimmer waist, the broad shoulders, etc.) What was the inspiration for these elements, were they intentional - were these added to provide a more imposing / intimidating look to the character? Well during the transformation from the 2D reference, it is the sculptor’s job to make the 3D sculpt work visually. Also, with the added input of John Barry and ultimately George Lucas, it was the menacing look that we all agreed was what the Stormtrooper required. Can you describe the steps and materials used to create the original sculpture, before vaccuum forming? (eg: what type of clay was used? Was it directly applied to the plaster cast of the actor?) Buff body clay was applied directly to the plaster cast of the body of the model for the Stormtrooper suit. The plaster was previously prepared with a coating of Shellac so that the clay would adhere. Each piece was sculpted individually with gaps – the edge of each part mirrored the edge of the next part., Then it was moulded and cast in plaster. Then I sharpened the lines in the plaster stage. The pieces were then remoulded and cast in fibreglass to use for the moulds (tools) for vacuum forming. Did you sculpt / create the changes that George Lucas made from the Sandtroopers to the Stormtroopers (eg: new abdomen button box, the button strips, the sniper knee plate, etc.) No, I sculpted the armour but none of the additions. The hand plates were originally simple plastic cut outs but then look to have been sculpted at a later date. All the other additions ie: ammo belt etc were made from wood by the carpenters for using as mould for the vacuum forming process. I had read that the back of the Stormtrooper armor (the cog and boxes or "OII") was not in Ralph McQuarrie's original sketches. What was the inspiration for the back design? Was it found items in the shop, etc. There was no inspiration as such it was just how it looked aesthetically and yes the back section ‘OII’ was made up of found pieces from many boxes that were stacked in the Props Dept. Have you ever considered resculpting the armor or any other Star Wars item for yourself? To date I haven’t considered resculpting the armour or other Star Wars items as I am still busy working in the film industry but it is something that may be a possible project for the future. Never say never Did Liz Moore sculpt the ears? I always suspected that AA had created these...? I can’t say for sure who sculpted the ears. Your work has become iconic and I don't believe you have any originals (Stormtrooper helmet or armor). Do you have any interest in owning or displaying the replicas that are available? Funnily enough I do have a small collection now but not Production pieces. I have a Vader helmet that came from the original Return of the Jedi mould and am honoured to have been given one of Troopermaster’s Stormtrooper helmets. They are both on display in my home and I take them with me to conventions to show on my table as they always generate plenty of interest. Attache Update We are still looking for FISD Attaches to represent the detachment at the local unit level. If you’ve benefitted from your experience here at the FISD and would like to see other troopers new and old reap the same benefits, this is the perfect way to do it! Remember - this is YOUR detachment. Not all troopers are able to spend time here, so we need you to spread the word on all the good things happening at the FISD to the garrison/squad/outpost level, and encourage them to check it out for themselves. Whether it’s the Advanced Costuming forums, the Centurion program, the FISD’s Facebook and Twitter pages, the abundance of available costuming supplies and FISD-branded merchandise, or simply the esprit de corps that is epitomized by “Troopers Helping Troopersâ€, there is a lot to be proud about. Don’t keep it to yourself – spread the word! With unquestioned loyalty, Brian Robinson TK-2918 "tkrestonva" Provost Marshal Troop of the Month In a Special Edition of "Troop of the Month" we're featuring "gazmosis" on his first troop. His heartfelt write-up of what his first troop meant to him was so good and hit so close to home that we broke our own rules and posted the whole thing instead of just a brief write up (hey, we can do that, we're the Empire) Enjoy! It has been an epic last couple of weeks. After a two year battle to fit into my armor, I was accepted into the 501st and was honored to receive EIB all in one week. This was just in time to participate in my first trooping event; Star Wars celebration weekend at Legoland in Schaumberg, Illinois(just west of Chicago.) Up to the time of the opening night, I received information only through correspondence with my new local Garrison. I drove to the site in my undersuit and neckseal. I wore sandals and lounge pants to save the public from the sight of my well outlined backside. I walked in the front door with my armor in tow (a suitcase for now.) I was met at the front desk with a smile and a statement that made my heart soar...You are 501st....follow me. I was lead to a large service corridor behind the store that would serve as our dressing area. To my surprise, I was the first on hand, but not for long. TK's, TD's, X-wing pilots and T.I.E. pilots soon followed. I was finally able to put faces to names and speak without punching a keyboard. I of course felt out of place initially, but with every friendly hand I shook those feelings quickly diminished. I was still a bit intimidated and kept a watchful ear to gather as much information so that I could successfully "unlearn what I have learned". Although I did not receive it, I expected more of a hazing. After we were all suited up, we looked each other over and made the necessary adjustments to ensure that we all looked our best. We were lead to the main doors leading back into Legoland. That is where the meaning of my experience began to unfold. The doors opened and jaws dropped around us. We walked as a unit to the front of the store to receive a briefing and the rest of the night was up to us. Although I am comfortable in front of people and have been waiting for 34 years to be a TK, I was not prepared for the reception that followed. It was difficult for me to remain in character for I was consumed by the level of joy, wonder and excitement we were providing to kids from 3 - 43. I watched (through green tinted lenses)as grown men turn 14 years old all over again. My emotions swelled as the smallest Star Wars fans told me of their adventures with their tiny, shaking little voices. I didn't know what was harder; for the child to stand still for the photo or the overexcited parent to take the photo. I wish to thank Kevin "Rebeldoughboy" for allowing me to stick to his side and follow his lead, but soon, things were on auto pilot. Crowds gathered, traffic slowed, flashes went off and the store filled. We moved between floors inside and ventured outside from time to time. Although the event was 4 days, I could only attend 2. Sunday was the same adventure except for 10 fold the amount of people and 3 times the amount of time I was able to be in character. Just before our time was up, I was standing alone watching Boba Fett, a biker scout and a Rebel Endor soldier have their time in the spotlight. I began to think of all the big and little ones that we provided memories for them that will last them a lifetime. Then I thought of the fact that after I took off the armor and if I stood next to those same people, they would never know that it was me in that armor. Did that matter? Not at all! I had the honor of making someone smile that day. The honor of maybe fulfilling a dream for someone. The honor of creating a memory. I will never forget these feelings. Nor will I forget the honor I feel to be part of all this. Just to hope that one day I can again make someone else smile. Swag Alert! - All Patches have now shipped. The next run will be in the fall. - All 5th Anniversary coins have shipped with some exceptions to Canada due to the post strike there. - EI Only Gold Coins are still available for order - 31 still up for grabs. - As always t-shirts, hoodies, and decals are avaialble via TK-4510's website. - FISD Trading cards are also available. Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Twitter: www.twitter.com/@FISD501st Matt MacNeil TK-4887 "Shooter" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.