TK-1422

I looked pretty bad in TE and SDS armor and I'm 6'4" and 220lbs (not overweight for my height). It looked way too small on me - way too much black spacing everywhere and I had to shim almost everything, which really distracted from the accuracy. On my buddy who's 5'9" and skinny as a rail, he looked perfect.

Yup. This is my last ditch effort to get the event covered or I'll have to cancel it.

Trying to get the word out for one or two troopers to cover a Force Unleashed Troop event in Roseville, MN on Saturday, 8/23. We had a backout from the RL that we're trying to get covered. Sorry about the very late notice, but if you live in the area and can do this event for an hour or two, please PM me ASAP and I'll get you promo materials to hand out. Barnes & Noble Har Mar Mall 2100 North Snelling Ave Roseville, MN 55113 TIME: 12:30pm Contact: Janet 651/639-9256 Kevin Christley 501st/RL Force Unleashed Coordinator

Make sure you drop by the Spec Ops (TX) Det and we'll help you get it ready for inspection. ------------

We used to them at the 501st Spec Ops Detachment (TXs), but my gut reaction was that the FISD should have dibs on this costume. If for some reason the FISD rejects it, we'll be happy to accomodate it and help you gain 501st membership with it. Kev Spec Ops DL (TX's)

I make some really nice MR CE flat lenses with lens moulding included:------------- 3 minute install, premium quality with guaranteed satisfaction. For less than you could do them yourself by buying material and tools/time. You goof on the install, I replace one free. Screw one up on a troop, I replace it for free. Kev TK-1422

I make real 1/8" thick lenses (not a flimsy film) if anyone's ever interested:-------- Kev Spec Ops DL

Your lid looks fantastic! Kudos. I painted a white PA Republic Commando black for the first Omega Squad RC (what a pain in the rear to get that approved, but I did) and the only thing I'll add is that as the armor rubs together from trooping, you will scrape through the paint - it's inevitable. Just keep up on post troop touch ups and it'll look great. Painted TXs are approved - I ran it by the LMO and it's in the TX CRL. You just can't have any white showing (slight battle damage/scratching is approved). I've seen some troopers pack their armor in felt to keep it looking great between troops and I'd advise it. Kev TX Det Lead

Scott - You and Melissa are in my thoughts and prayers. As a fellow Garrison-mate, if you need ANYTHING, just ask. Kev Christley

I'm in the process of rebuilding my suit after years of abuse (removing all the old velcro and fixing the scratches from 5+ years of trooping). I'll post my pics when I'm done later this week - it better look fantastic as I'm the Spec Ops DL.

No, he just strapped them a little high. Lower about an inch or two and it'll look just fine. Great job so far - I'm redoing my FX Black TX at the moment, so I feel your pain. Kev

The FISD has ownership of the Fellucian Stormtrooper Officer (Blue Striped TK) and the Red Striped TK (seen with Palpatine, a direct evolution of the Clone Shocktrooper). Both the Spec Ops Det and FISD officers felt they were TK's with stripes, thus belong rightly here. And they become the first EU troopers in the FISD. The Spec Ops Det has ownership of the EVO Trooper and Imperial Jumptrooper, which uses some TK parts, but is a significant departure from the TK. These are specialized troopers equipped for specific mission/conditions, thus it's a right fit for the Special Operations Detachment. As the Spec Ops DL, I feel the FISD and Spec Ops Det (TX's) are brothers in arms sharing a common lineage. You'll see a lot of increased cooperation between our two Dets as we work together to improve the standards and raise the bar for 501st costuming. EU costumes in general seem to get shunned at official LFL-sanctioned events, so it'll be nice to see if we can gain some legitimacy by working together as a combined force of "brother" Detachments. Kev

My take on it (after a lot of research) is that Hasbro mispainted them. They will be black in the game.

Wow! Thank god you're alright. Cyclists and bikers tend to be much more alert to other traffic than car drivers, but in your case, that's totally wrong. I hope you make a full recovery soon! Kev

Take your time, don't heat all in one place or get it too close (keep the heatgun moving and about 6-8 inches from your work), and just get the plastic barely hot enough to be pliable. If you start to see warping or bubbling, you're doing it wrong. Hit the plastic with a few sprays from a spraybottle of water to cool it down quickly.

My preference is the Stunt, because to the best of my knowledge and research, the only TKs that had hero lenses were Han and Luke in stormtrooper disguise. But again, it's what you prefer.

Actually we have some TX's (Shadow Troopers) that have taken to the upgrade bug and are replacing their FX helms with repainted APs or MR CE helms just like you guys do here and our standards are just as high as yours, with the exception of Elite status, which we haven't explored but it's not disallowed per our CRL. The TX (Special Operations Trooper) Det actually predates the FISD by a few years and the first comic appearance of a stealth trooper dates back to 1978 when they captured Luke and Leia, but we share many common bonds of brotherhood and common goals. When we developed the CRL standard for TX's, we consciously looked to the FISD and BikerScout.net to help define our standard for a sense of continuity yet modified them slightly to reflect our EU differences. As Paul can tell you, we have very close ties to our white TK brothers here and wish for this cooperation to continue in harmony. The only difference between us is in EU lore, as TX's are considered the Empire's special forces. Small attack teams of 2-4 troopers with highly specialized armor vs. the might of a force of white TKs. We scout and clear the way so you guys can do your job against the Rebels. We have a great and friendly community, so if you get the chance, drop in and say hi. Kevin Christley 501st Spec Ops Det Lead

It can be approved quite easily if the costumer meets the specs. Rhonda already has a draft CRL entry for this for when the TX Det was working it, but as it's FISD's now, she'll go with your specs. I've hit up the game devs for screencaps and am awaiting their response. It suits their promotional purposes to provide us with something to go by, but it's their call.

Oddly enough, Thomas brought up the idea and I've submitted the pics to Rhonda already and the only issue she had was the must have, could have, and optional requirements. It's entirely up to the FISD to refine what I started (and I think Daetrin did a great job). It seems to me all we're missing is a finished costume pic for formal submission to the CRL, which was what we were working on at the Spec Ops Det. But like I said, it'd be best to have game captures to be certain of the final look and feel (or at least the artwork from the upcoming "making of" book to nail the spec.

I fixed my link in the first post. Dunno why it was hosed, but it works now.

Here's a first cut at what the FISD might consider as a CRL standard for the Force Unleashed Felucian Stormtrooper Officer (To be approved by the FISD and LMO). Here's research I did on the costume at the TX Det forum, but honestly I personally feel it belongs here because although it's EU, from what I can tell it's not a Special Operations trooper - it's a Stormtrooper Commander. As TX Det Lead, I'll be happy to work with FISD Leadership and the LMO so everything goes smoothly despite some earlier hiccups. As you'll notice in the reference pics, there are some significant detail variances. I think with what pics we have, there can be some healthy debate on how the FISD wishes to work this costume. 3 Picture Rule References (3 different sources): ----------- Must have Armor Details: - White Glossy Stormtrooper armor, made in ABS, HIPS, or fiberglass with rank stripe details in Duplicolor Royal Blue that exactly match the videogame and action figure references posted above. Armor can be battle-weathered (minor scuffs). - Black Gloves made of rubber, leather, or leather-like material with no visible ornamental stitching and TK handplates - Black or Dark Navy Blue undersuit, either one-piece or two piece. Non-textured material. Commonly used items include “UnderArmor” or “Starter” warm-up suits, or dance unitards. - White, ankle high, laceless, Stormtrooper boots. The boots are usually made from leather or vinyl and must have Royal Blue rank stripes on them. - Drop boxes (small rectangular parts attached to stormtrooper’s belts, above the thigh) - Thermal Detonator (aka O2 Cannister) center mounted on the back of the belt - "Buttons and ridges" ab plate, as opposed to the flat rectangular ab plate of sandtroopers - Polygon knee plate mounted on the left shin, as opposed to the diamond knee plate of sandtroopers - Ribbed shoulder straps - Black or Dark Navy Blue ribbed neckseal (must match bodysuit color). The ribs should be horizontal, not be loose, and should extend from the base of the neck to the top of the adam's apple. - Correctly colored and sized ab plate buttons. Buttons are approximately 7/16" in diameter. - Belt may alternatively be canvas or canvas covered, approximately 3" wide. - Holster must be white or black and on the trooper's left side. It may be made of leather, vinyl, or heavy cloth devoid of any ornamental stitching. Helmet Details: - Black or grey cheek, frown, and helmet indents - Royal blue tube stripes & rank stripe matching the videogame & action figure references posted above - Flat or bubble green, smoke, or black lenses E-11 Blaster Details: - Scratch-built, resin cast, hyperfirm rubber cast, or modified e-11 toy blaster based off a Sterling sub-machine gun body. No other blaster has been shown or approved. I hope this helps foster some cooperation between our two Dets. Kev TX Special Operations Detachment Lead

I couldn't pick him out of that pic (and yup, that's the one from Jez's site that he says he's in). And when I searched for the other pic, I came up with nothing in a Google search.

Yup. In 1997, JJ's Offworld Effects shop at Ealing made copies of the Nathan & Bermans ROTJ suits from what I have on my RPF TK armor lineage charts. 36 were made, 15 survived at last count.

Yeah, they had some bad suits out there. Check out this horrid ROTJ (corrected) suit (top pic, click to view it bigger): http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/bts/prof...0707/index.html

Yeah, Paul. There are some parts of his story that don't add up and I'm more apt to believe your hypothesis. I've spent the night looking at ANH screengrabs and can't pick out this armor in the photos, but I'll have to take a look at the pics on Jez's site to see if he's there (can't hit his site because of our proxy software).