Dracos

Awesome! I think this is one of the best solo opportunities around. Great work!

Thanks for all of the feedback! Once again this is a great easy way to put the armor to use. A lot of times you have your choice of locations and hours - no super long drives or having to get off of work to participate. You do not have to coordinate the troop with a group - it simply takes a single call into SA to schedule. Make sure to mention the 501st and what that means in the phone call. Our local SA administrator thought the idea was great. And that was it. Super easy troop! Because I was doing this with my daughter I chose the day before Thanksgiving hoping that generosity would be higher. To be honest I was pretty shocked at how many people did give. So it was a nice way to introduce my daughter to community service, and a whole lot of fun. I know we will probably be doing it again next year, if not before then. . . . I am pretty sure they still have openings during the next month.

LOL that's one way to carry a blaster!

My daughter and I signed up to ring the bells at the local grocery stores Salvation Army post.

Heh, I find that the bucket has a certain sense of understated class. It certainly is the best of the squad.

Milwaukee area in Wisconsin

I understand. I did without my blaster this last week too. A shooter here took lives last weekend at a temple in my community. We didn't think that the blaster would effect the kids I worked with, but felt that it could especially make adults feel uncomfortable given the tragic events in the area. I was just glad that they let me come, since there were concerns about representing a character that in the movies is a soldier who shoots at people. I do think the distance of an event several states away is much different than when someone opens fire five minutes from where you will be trooping. For me I really understood the concerns and was very open about the fact that I would be leaving the weapon potion of my costume at home. In the end I was actually glad that I didn't have it because I am sure that some of the campers that were a little less than well behaved would have undoubtedly been grabbing for it. And you guys look great anyways with both hands to hold babies!

I got to take the TK out to its first public appearance at a local camp. One group of campers was going through a different holiday each day of this week and today they had an egg hunt. I got to help be a hiding place for one of the eggs. Unfortunately my brow trim came off while greeting campers in the morning. I had a great time and definitely faced my fear of being mobbed by a large group of children several times during the day. While it may take some time to polish out the scratches, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think I'm hooked.

I so need dance lessons. I did my first public stint in the armor today and I cannot count how many people asked me to "bust a move" "dance" etc. It was at a camp and the energy was very high. We played a full body version of rock paper scissors, but it was man gorilla net. For me it wasn't so much acting as just fitting in with the routine that was already going on. We were working with kids so there was a lot of silliness and I played along as well as I could. I did have an awkward moment when a couple of preschool classes from a near-by day care came by. The little ones looked really scared. I kept my distance and started playing peek-a-boo. Some of them warmed up, but not enough that I felt confident approaching - so I stayed back and waved.

Aww - well so much for my logic . I'll try to do my part - just finished hand painting the helmet tonight. I have a great appreciation now for steadier hands.

OK - good to know it is well within the range of normality. I may try the moleskin though - interesting idea. Thank you all for responding - I don't know what is right yet and tend to think I've messed up somewhere along the line. Thanks for a little peace of mind - even if accompanied by clanking armor. . .

OK tried my suit on with the strapping today and gave it a spin around the house. I can maneuver up and down stairs with difficulty. And a whole lot of noise - even when just walking - is this normal? I know that range of motion is an issue, but how much limitation should I expect? And how much noise - I think that most of it is the drop boxes and the legs - whew not sneaking up on anyone in this costume!

Why not EIB. . . . Could it be that MEPD has a higher ratio of screen accurate costumes due to the fact that the troopers there may have older armor, or be members of the 501st for a longer period of time? I know it sounds a little odd, but follow my logic for a moment. I'm brand new to the whole trooping scene. I don't want a scratch in my shiny new armor right now. But it will happen, especially if I actively troop in it. At some point it will get beaten up enough and, since the 501st creeps in as a lifestyle for some folks, I may want to change things up and go sandy. It offers a way to keep trooping with a bonus that I get a cool shoulder pauldron and other new goodies to put some life back into the build. Could it be that MEPD has a higher number of "old timers" who have already proven that they are ready to go a little further on the detailing because they have already gone a little further in wearing their armor out? Maybe we need to see FISD as a feeder program for MEPD. One that may not have new recruits reaching for EIB or Centurion right away, but that grabs folks and eventually gets them there when they are ready to transfer to the Sandy side. Might put a different light on the issue and make it look less like a failure. -------------------------------------------------- I am trying to make my first build EIB - we'll see if I manage to do it.

Thanks - I'll do that. Heh, power tools are a new thing to play with here, can you tell?

Could someone tell me what size hole you drill for the ears? It's looking like 3/32 to me - but I really don't want to mess this up. . . . Thanks

OK I have to back track. I am having to shim both the thighs and the torso on my build. But I need to state that I am female and carry my extra weight lower than the average guy. That diet is looking like a reality at this point. From the build threads and EIB requests that I've seen from guys in the same height & weight ballpark - ATA looks pretty good.

LOL! I needed that smile tonight.

I am scheduled to help out as part of the welcome committee in a couple weeks at a local camp. They have a Star Wars derived theme and were ecstatic about having a TK on-site. I have a team put together to help me out, and we've gone over the basic safety considerations, visibility, mobility, crowd control etc. I have hydration breaks scheduled. My one major concern is the blaster. Given my prior experiences in the public school system, I lean towards keeping it holstered the entire time, since kids are present. I've heard mention on the boards that having it stealthily taken out of the holster and grow wings is at times an issue. I've been considering making a hole in the back of the leather holster to run a zip tie through - effectively peace bonding it and making it much harder to remove without my explicit notice. Has anyone else done this? Are there any suggestions in dealing with large crowds of kids? (400+ of them)? Would you even take your weapon with or leave it home? Has anyone ever had trouble with the general public getting nervous about the faux weaponry?

I don't know if this would apply, but Tandy leather sometimes sells oil tanned scrap by the pound. I just picked up a scrap big enough for probably 2 holsters for $12. It means you have to make your own, but if you've already set snaps for your kit you've done the hardest part. There are templates and instructions out there that only need a little modifying. Trace them out on paper first to make sure that they fit your e-11 and all works well. It's a pretty easy leather project - I found it a lot less intimidating than cutting into the plastic.Granted I've done leather work before - so familiarity probably helped some. So very budget conscious, but you have to invest a bit of time. P.S. - skip buying leather needles for a sewing machine and instead buy a thonging chisel - it runs between $6 - $9 and you use it to punch the holes needed to stitch the leather up. Lot less frustration and broken needles when you have the right tools.

I've been reading threads about concerns with the elastic band connecting the shoulder bells pulling to the back or the front. Has anyone thought about connecting them to the neck-seal proper? I'll be sewing the seal and my harness soon and I've been wondering about making it all into a single unit. Does anyone see a downside to this that I an not seeing?

Thanks - sounds like a great start. There are a lot of things in there that I wouldn't have thought of.

Someone mentioned and emergency repair kit. I will need to take one of those with I am sure. What do you all put in such a kit? Right now I'm thinking that some white duct tape and maybe plastic weld with magnets - there are more things I should consider. . . just not thinking of them yet.

These are great! Thank you so much for all of the input. I love the ideas and will be digging through the fabric bin for scraps of fleece and I will hit the storage are at Home Depo - now that I know what to look for!

Not sure that this is the correct forum to ask in, but how do you travel with your armor? A big bag? Do you wrap up the pieces in any particular way? Do you use some sort of hard sided case or a big box? Trying to wrap my head around this. Photos of your set-up would be appreciated. . . .

Thanks all! Kinda good to know that I'm still on track. There's this part of you that starts to really doubt your abilities - since you know they were pretty shaky to begin with. You sit with all these plastic shards around your work bench and start to think - man the prop house must've turned these out like nothing else for the movies. I absolutely know that there have to be quicker ways to do this out there. But I also know that a lot of the equipment and skill levels are far beyond me. The info might also help for those who want to have a suit done by a certain time. You would have to be fairly dedicated to get one done for Halloween if you start on October 1st. Though I imagine it might be feasible.