LadyInWhite

I have nothing against Trooperbay, but I'd recommend painting some Chelsea boots.

You can get info on the armor makers here and then PM or email them to ask if they have helmets available, etc. These will be good ones Ideally whomever you buy from also convinces you to dive into a superior suit of armor, too? hehe Also go to the Introduction threads and help us get to know you

Haha that's fun! Great looking bunch!!!

Regarding the CRLs, the way it works is we, as a detachment, vote on what we want to require. Then the DL and, if he chooses, his staff or a committee or just him or whatever, decides which of those to present to the LGMLOGWOL whatever those people are in the Legion who say yea or nay to these things. (I'm never sure what any of the titles are, I should probably educate myself on that.) And then things *may or may not* be revised in the CRL. There's some politics and diplomacy and timing and other factors involved that aren't as simple as "just change the CRL." And don't forget we did up the requirements this summer! It is quite possible that we simply spell it out on the detachment level and all level 2 and 3 points in the CRL state, "See detachment award description for details." But for now that is not the case, sorry, things are what they are.

Yes, they look good and clean. For the vent stripes, remember on the trap they go outward at the bottom, a little flare. I mussed that up myself... still mean to fix it. Press lightly so your vent lines are a little thinner. I used some horizontal tape to mark the top and bottoms of these after my gray had completely dried.

Nice. It's all about the edgework.

I don't see where the width of the tan straps is even relevant. This suit is perfect and he wears it perfectly. He is being an extremely good sport for this level of nit-pickery that isn't even on the CRL. The back of the thigh was a reasonable request, and we all know that sometimes during photos our armor doesn't always line up perfectly, but that doesn't mean a few millimeters means it's completely off. I know it's not "just a checklist" but sometimes I feel like our level of anal retentiveness encroaches on the ridiculous. Especially when the same holster has already proven itself acceptable for Centurion, and it doesn't even have to be leather much less leather of a specific color or width. And this is still EIB not even Centurion. I'm just stepping in to remind *everyone* who watches and contributes to the EI and Centurion threads to be realistic about this process. EI is about going beyond "15 pieces of flair" and though we want to make sure the wearer looks good and puts some pride into it, there's a point where we should be able to recognize when it's enough. I'd say holster strap width isn't even one of those pieces of flair - if it needs to be, we should consider amending the CRL. Holster For 501st approval: Holster is worn on left side of belt. It must be made of black leather or leather-like material, and must be attached via two leather or leather-like material straps to the belt from behind instead of front, with no loops covering the outside of the belt. The holster must be affixed with only two fasteners at the bottom (one per strap). The fasteners may be rivets, snaps, or Chicago screws. . For level two certification (if applicable): For level three certification (if applicable): {{{5}}}

Not to mention, thermoplastics are "thermo" plastics... they soften with heat. This is what makes them form to the mold. There are many kinds of plastics, and I believe styrofoam is a heat-sensitive type that will melt under low heat, which makes it not ideal to make sheets from. Crafting foam is similar, and it is mostly air. I'm just talking out of my a very impolite person, here, because I don't know the chemistry, only my observation of what happens to these things when you heat them. Many other plastics are hard and do not soften under heat, and obviously don't work for vac-forming. And then not to mention the smell!

What!? That TK is the best looking guy out there! Wampa's not bad.

Woot!!! HUGS!

At least this one doesn't scream "501st APPROVED!" and other lies. ("will pass muster" is not exactly the same thing, but still a claim that can't be upheld.)

Mark all of these as Prohibited. They violate Craigslist posting terms. Evetually the perp(s) will stop bothering. (5) false or fraudulent content

I'd challenge the 3/8" on arm and leg pieces and say 1/8-1/4" ... less bitey that way. Ab to chest and back to kidney should be about 1/2." And there are plenty of places you don't need return edge at all, and will be more comfortable, like the top of the biceps and the bottom edge of the forearms and bottom of the shins.

Ha, yes, well, this is the "hobby of waiting" most of the time!! Thanks for the kind words

It's cool to see you guys all making friends and being "build buddies." I probably would have given up without my "build buddy" when I started Keep it up. Even the long-distance friends you make here can become more, and it's always exciting to meet them in person. By the way, so many of us have young children. For me the trick is to share the costuming love!!

Attention FISD Attachés! Do you post a link to the NL on your garrison or outpost web page or FB page? It's a great way to keep your local troopers in touch with the detachment. Don't have an Attaché in your garrison or outpost? You can still be the one to share the news!

From the Detachment Leader Around the Detachment McQuarrie Stormtrooper Crew Attaché Call to Arms Tip of the Month Merchandise Troop of the Month Keeping Your Cool Off Topic Aloha kakou, Welcome to our long overdue FISD newsletter. Much has happened since we last wrote. Two big trooping events have gone unmentioned. Our detachment was well represented both at Celebration Europe II and Dragon Con. FISD has enjoyed, and still revels in, a long history of being one of the friendliest internet forums around. In spite of what is said erroneously about our elitism and accurnazistic costume harshing, we are actually a rather civil and community minded bunch. If you have ever frequented forums for other hobbies you will realize how peaceful and helpful FISD actually is. Because of that pleasant atmosphere we have become lax in our roles and responsibilities when it comes to managing the conduct our our members and staff. Maybe our complacency also comes from a period of being a leaderless organization for far too long. I would like to remind everyone we have a staff position called the Provost Marshall. His job is to keep order. He is the arbiter of all disputes, big and small, on this forum. It is everyone's (staff included) responsibility to alert him at the first signs of trouble. Not everyone has the capacity to remain polite during a disagreement, but luckily we have mechanisms to help out when people get emotional. I accept that we of FISD are an amazingly informed and opinionated bunch. When we disagree we usually do so with the same passion with which we freely offer our passionate opinions. With that, I ask you to please take the "Keep Calm and Click Report" section of this newsletter to heart. FISD patches went back on sale but we ran out of the blue version quickly. More blue patches are on order and should arrive in a few weeks. Keep an eye on the patch sale thread for updates. I keep a close eye on the troop reports in the Field Training Exercises forum. Here are a few of my favorite images from troops since the last newsletter. Bikini car wash fundraiser TK geronika (TK-20736) struts his stuff: Troop report machine 4165gorilla hamming it up with a TB outside Ark-La-Tex Comic Con. FISD Ambassador Clamps (Chookaboom TK-25267) gets his snack on. This is what happens when you put your armor in the dryer. EP!C fireteam's Zebrabuse (TK-77847) helps out with a scavenger hunt. SW1's (TK-7270) amazing mini TM with an equally incredible micro Boba in the UK. One of FISD's resident TKCs Thalizar (TK-3967) gets hitched in his ultra creepy Lord Adrass. My email and PM door is always open. Please let me know if you have any issues, questions, concerns, gripes, or suggestions about FISD and all things TK. With Unquestioned Loyalty and Aloha.... Eric Brager TK-9674 "Darth Aloha" Detachment Leader Current Tallies: Centurion Awards: 96 Expert Infantry Awards: 331 Fire Teams: 15 Attachés: 0 new Twitter Followers: 1047 Facebook Followers: 2024 Big welcome to our newest Fire Teams! #14 "Liberty Fire Team" from NY's Empire Garrison #15 "Alpine Strike Force" of Utah's Alpine Garrison! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Ingrid Moon TK-6818 "LadyInWhite" Executive Officer Special Recognition to the Ralph McQuarrie Stormtrooper Crew The stormtrooper costume we know and love started with concept drawings that Ralph McQuarrie (RMQ) did for George Lucas. For over 30 years those of us who know and love the stormtrooper costume have always looked at then and wondered "what if?". This year several FISD members dared to make that dream a reality. Anchored by the armor sculpted by Kevin Weir (TK-812), 4 members of the UKG spent many hours getting the costumes in to a ready state for CEII. Their work is impressive, and a singular achievement not only for FISD but also for the Legion as a whole. As a commemoration, FISD has awarded the Celebration Europe II Ralph Mcquarrie troopers each an FISD Achievement Award for their amazing accomplishment. Pete Brebner - TK-2165 (stukatrooper) Billy Haggis - TK-1650 (Billhag) Steve Weir - TK-7270 (SW1) Gary Hailes - TK-2739 (89batman) Kevin Weir - TK-812 (kwdesigns) This is Billy and Pete's second award for their contributions to FISD. Beyond the fact that KW captured the utter essence of the concept trooper, he did so in an amazingly short time frame. His first post was in January of this year and 7 months later KW and the UKG debuted his armor at CEII. There are few people around that could sculpt and pull sets a new armor design that quickly. The UKG's incredible skill and dedication allowed them to assemble and fit the armor in record time as well. For those that haven't been following the RMQ thread here on FISD, Gary was recently cleared as the first concept trooper in the Legion. Congrats guys and thank you for sharing your hard work and passion. - Eric "Darth Aloha" (Detachment Leader) - Paul "Daetrin" (Detachment Founder) What is the FISD Achievement Medal? The FISD Achievement Medal award program was created in 2009 to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service rendered to FISD and its membership. Anyone can nominate someone for this award, though it can only be awarded by the Detachment Leader. More Info: http://www.whitearmo...evement-awards/ With Unquestioned Loyalty, Paul Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder and Eric Brager TK-9674 "Darth Aloha" Detachment Leader Attaché Call to Arms Greetings troopers! Its great to see so many new folks out there coming on board with the love and desire to become a TK! I remember not too long back how my journey began with great wonder, awe and a ton of confusion. What the heck was I getting myself into? I had no experience with costuming or construction and it was information and forum overload. The fantastic troopers of this site helped make my dream come true. Specifically the members of the Attaché team were incredibly helpful getting me pointed in the right direction whenever I was unsure of what to do. The Attaché team needs a little help. We don't really have very good coverage world-wide for each of the Garrisons. Right now we only have about 38% of the Garrisons covered. I would love to get that number over 50% by the end of 2013. Do you have what it takes to be an Attaché? If you are interested, please reach out to me via PM to chat about what we're looking for. For existing Attachés, it's time for a roll call! Only a small percentage are regularly chiming in and providing assistance on the forums. Please don't get me wrong, I am sure on the local level (on the ground) you are doing great things to help troopers and promote FISD, but we need your help HERE too! I'd like to see more Attachés posting in the welcome and build threads more regularly and chiming in and taking troopers under their wing when they are from their region. If no one is popping up from your region, then "adopt" a future trooper and help them along. Troopers Helping Troopers! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Charles Bowes TK-25267 "Clamps" FISD Ambassador HOW-TO: Make waist belt rivet/snap cover How many times have you read about a trooper that posted panicked about losing a snap cover on his waist belt at a troop? How many have assembled a set of armor and found out that the snap covers on the waist belt don't provide enough gluing surface to hold it? Here is what I have come up with to solve these problems. First the list of what you will need: Propane torch, a dime, long nose pliers to hold your dime, a metal or wood dowel rod that comes close to the same size as the dime, scrap ABS, something rigid and sharp like a razor knife, 1 inch or similar size socket.Most finished snap/rivet covers are approx. 1inch x 1 inch. I mark several on the ABS to have an idea of where my placements will be. Grab the pliers and heat up the dime until red hot. Next place the dime onto your mark. Yes I wear spongebob pants...ask anyone in the Midwest Garrison. ANYWAY!!!!!!........place the dime over the socket and grab your dowel rod. The socket will provide support for the plastic around the dime. DO NOT PRESS HARD!!!! It will go right through the plastic!!!! Press gently and evenly. Lift the plastic and look how you are doing. The dime has now begun to cool a bit but the plastic is still hot enough for you to hone the shape by pushing on the dime. When you have your desired shape, grab your razor knife or sharp, pointy object, bend the plastic a little and pry out the dime. The center of the impression will want to collapse. using your finger, push out the center so it remains domed. Cut to size and you are done!!!!!!! You will want to practice on a few before you get the right look of your final button cover. Different ABS or even PVC will melt differently. The thickness of your plastic also is a huge factor to your success. Have patience and you will get the results you need! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Steve Gaza TK-4034 "Gazmosis" Imperial Attaché Greetings, troopers! In an effort to cool down some of the summer heat, the staff has been considering rekindling a universal procedure for reporting incendiary threads. While this is not a change in policy, and probably falls into the "common sense" category, I thought it would serve as a good reminder on how to keep your cool. Oh, you thought I was going to talk about fans? Sorry! What is this new procedure? Did someone say something inflammatory, overly critical, hurtful, or just plain mean? You don't have to be the victim to report it. Looking out for one another is troopers helping troopers. See also this general thread regarding forum etiquette. Clicking Report does not get anyone in trouble. It merely brings the issue to the staff's immediate attention so that we can take a look and decide how to respond. When you click report, DO NOT RESPOND to the post. A staff member will quickly review it and assess it. Communication with the potential offender will be behind-the-scenes, just to clarify things or ensure there wasn't a misinterpretation or change of heart. The poster has the option to revoke or edit the post. If you jump in with your reaction it only starts a long-winded war that becomes much, much harder for our volunteer staff to manage. If an issue cannot be settled, we (staff) may remove posts that go off the rails. This is not because we want to censor people, or because we want to sweep these issues under the rug. It is because these posts generally have zero relevance to the original topic, and there is no need to keep them. If the heated discussion has merit, it can be moved to a new thread. But usually they don't... they just serve to rile people up. This is only if we can't work something out with the involved individual(s) to edit or make effective decisions about their own posts, or if it simply gets out of hand (and is irrelevant to the thread topic). Generally speaking, we don't like to ban, suspend, or otherwise take punitive action against our members. For the most part we are all good people with good intentions, even when we disagree, and most often these issues can be dealt with offline. But sometimes someone may need to step away for a while to calm down or think things through. Unless someone is truly trolling, it is not likely to happen. We would rather work with individuals to help set things right. Remember, IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU. We are not talking about censorship here, unless it's self-censorship. It's all right for people to disagree, have different approaches, and even not like each other. But the public-facing forums is not the place for hostility. It is the place for TROOPERS HELPING TROOPERS. And that is why we are all here. So remember to make mature decisions about what and how you phrase your own posts, as well as your reactions and interpretations of other people's posts. The purpose of this reminder is to help keep the boards a friendly, helpful place, especially for new people. There is nothing scarier than walking into a war zone when you have no idea what it's all about - no history of people who tend to disagree, no context for the start of an argument... and certainly it would make people feel uncomfortable posting their own question or advice for fear of starting a new war. I am pretty sure this is not what any of us want for our community. Also, I am here for YOU, the members. If you feel the need to say something and you want help phrasing it or explaining it in a way that is not likely to come across as hurtful or angry, I am happy to work with you before you post it. That is all! Thanks for listening. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Ingrid Moon TK-6818 "LadyInWhite" Executive Officer Inform Lord Vader we have a Coin Run As we didn't do a coin run last year, FISD had to come out in full force in 2013. FISD coins are once again available for all 501st members at this thread: http://www.whitearmo...challenge-coin/ Stunning, isn't it? (pun intended) Supplies won't last long so order yours today. Once they're gone, it will be some time before we do another run. And we couldn't do a run of silver without also doing a run of gold. Yes, the Expert Infantry gold coins are back as well, each one numbered and guaranteed to be unique. How do you get one? Well, first off you have to have your EI badge on FISD. Note: these are only open not only to EI, but also to EI who haven't already bought a gold coin on a previous run. Yes, we do track these things. Get yours today at http://www.whitearmo...e-coin-40-left/ All numbered and ready to go. More merch is being planned as we type, so keep regularly checking in on the FISD boards as not all merchandise makes it to the Legion forums. EDIT/NOTE: You must be a member of the 501st legion to buy 501st merchandise. So if you are a 501st member and can't see the sales thread then you need to go here and request 501st access, use your name and legion ID and a link to your legion profile and we will get you squared away ASAP. This also sets you to 501st Member on the boards, instead of just Member. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Sam Kisselburg TK-85254 "Kessel Run" Public Relations Officer It's always great to see the 501st bringing its charity work to far-off places. This month's celebrated troop is a hospital visit in Malaysia. Small troops like this show how we bring smiles and a love of Star Wars to children all over the world. We've featured Kirby and his crew's events before, and for good reason. Their troops are always selfless and inspiring. And sometimes one person can make a big difference to a lot of people. The article linked in Kirby's field report tells a beautiful story. PHOTOS BY RONNIE CHIN AND COURTESY PICS You can read more about it with a link to the news article here. There are plenty more exciting Field Reports for your enjoyment here. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Ingrid Moon TK-6818 "LadyInWhite" Executive Officer Troopers Marry in Australia (like Star Wars, not real ) . Two troopers tied the not in Australia recently, the ceremony was conducted by Lord Cad Vader (as he forgot his lid). There was many a tear shed by the Jawa bridesmaid and the bride's father. Once the happy couple's ceremony and photos had been completed, they decided to mark the event with some flag raising. Full story here. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Glen Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Imperial Attaché Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Now with "tip of the week" and other ongoing discussions. If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories! Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st To find out what the Emperor's dancers are up to at any given moment, follow FISD on Twitter! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Sam Kisselburg TK-85254 "Kessel Run" Public Relations Officer On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff. End Transmission.

I'm checking in... thanks, Mark. Everyone take a deep breath. Mathias, thanks for not getting bent out of shape for the mis-identification. Mike, I totally get your frustration. Feel free to chat with me on PM.

I definitely have a cap on volume before the feedback is imminent. It usually starts at a level I barely consider audible through the chest piece. [i frequently do without sound for this reason.] My 12A seems to be a little more tolerant than my 10A, if that helps. Also, my fan adds to the feedback factor.

Looks gorgeous! And I don't mean that in a sexist way!!!

Any snaps will do. I use Joann's "anorak jean snaps" and they are stronger than heck! I rip more strapping and snap plates off than I ever thought possible.

DOH! I usually double check by scrolling up, and I didn't scroll far enough Welcome, RYAN! Okay now to the topic... sounds like you have a crazy new hobby on your hands. If you get good at it, people will be begging you for parts of this and that and sculpt this and that...

Also, most people who do order a supposedly "501st approved" recast FX suit on Ebay: a. don't even get the suit shown on screen, and b. regret it when they stand next to someone in a more modern/accurate suit.

Happy birthday!

Exactly what I was going to say.