PiettLives

TKs of the Florida Garrison (and one TK from Georgia) made a surprise appearance yesterday marching in 2 squads throughout the park all day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Taking 4 different routes, we marched with an officer (Disney's) through the crowds stopping occasionally to pose for photos. It was a long 8 hour shift for each squad of 8 (with some overlap) but extremely fun and Disney and their crew took great care of us! The guests had no idea we were coming and all the while, our officer was barking out Imperial decrees and ordering hecklers to be shot. It seemed like everyone who wanted or posed with us for pictures had some sort of Star Wars gear on even though HS wasn't doing anything special (other than us) that day at the park. So many fans celebrating "on their own" made me constantly smile. It was well worth the 4 rather large blisters on my feet from a full day of marching...in unison no less!

Eek! $450....ummm...no thanks!

Jonathan, I just saw a post last night of someone working on the gasket issue and had 3 samples with different thread used. edit: Just found the thread and Crow is working on them, shoes and gloves.

So after over 60+ troops in armor I set up my first troop as a POC. Back in October an arcade called "Replay Amusement Museum" opened with over 100 classic pinball and arcade games. For a one time fee you can play all day! I've been contacting them on and off for a while and finally locked in the date of April 4th for a troop. We're a very busy squad with over 130 troops last year alone. They wanted to do a video to promote the event to post on their Facebook page. That first video now has over 10,000 views! Lulaville Pictures did a great job with it and then were there that day to film as well. I've posted both videos below for everyone to enjoy. ------------ Recap video:

Here is a pic of the Tampa Bay Squad of the Florida Garrison at the Clearwater Threashers Star Wars Night.

TK group photo is locked in for the first Saturday (the 16th) right after the parade so everyone look your best!

Velcro the shins only as there's no need to do the arms. Have the cover strip attached to the "outside" and use the soft Velcro on the "inside" and make sure to wrap it around the edge. Put the hard Velcro on the under side of the cover strip.

Anyone have any "thoughts" on this video?

Andrew, signups are open till May 8th so get cracking!!!

Cool! I'm only marching Saturday the first weekend so I'll see you there. Depending on the TK count, we may get a group photo right after the parade.

Try using Meguiars Plastx first. I've been using it for over a year and it's awesome. You can get it at local auto parts stores.

Matthew, I ended up taking quite a lot off of mine and I'm 5'9. Like Joe said, use a pencil and do it in small amounts until you're happy. Just make sure you keep the contour the same and don't "round off" the tops like I've seen happen before. You want the top of your thighs to follow the cod piece like the group photo above.

Hahahaha!!! Joe! Welcome to the Florida Garrison.

Tim, Usually only the first Saturday has been close to full. Just make sure your on the thread and submit as soon as it opens. TK's are always welcomed by the Mouse...if they had their way, it's all they'd want for the parade. Looking forward to meeting you and make sure you hydrate starting the day before.

Your biceps could come up some and I agree the bells need to be rolled forward just a bit. Also, I'd get a little better bend in the shoulder straps so they lay on your back plate better. Your forearms are also rolled back too far. looking good overall though.

I just heard that they are shortening the time between the "dog sniff" and suit up. Looks like they are going to preassemble the line up for each weekend before hand so it may go: Dog sniff/morning meeting, bins in and suit up, march to stepoff and line up there. Overall time will be shorter this year.

Here are some pics of the displayed TK in Seattle. Enjoy! -----------

Looking good trooper!

James, you can also use Meguire's Plastx polish. It's a lot cheaper than Novus and works great. You don't need much product and it's an easy on easy off process. No need for elbow grease or rough polishing. I use a washcloth to rub it in then a microfiber cloth to buff it out.

2 RT-Mod suits! Lucky dude! Congrats and good luck on your "builds". Do lots of research and make sure you start a build thread yourself to document and also for questions. Welcome to the Legion in White.

Mine took about a month to finally arrive to me in Florida...be prepaired to wait.

I second Jim's awesomeness! Great guy and great product! Get a setup if you have the means...the ICOMM/Aker combo really brings the "wow factor" at troops.

Tim, Have them camp either on the steps of the American Idol theater or even better, just before Star Tours right before the gate is a restaurant where there is hardly anyone. They won't see the Disney or guest stars part but if they just want to see you then it's the best locations. Otherwise they will have to fight tooth and nail to claim and hold their spot for up to 2 hours before.

Hey Tim, great to hear you're coming to march with us in the Florida Garrison! Troopers from all over the world come to this awesome event and we welcome them all. Pretty much everyone here would answer this question the same way: "What has been your favorite troop?". There's nothing like marching out that gate for the first time and hearing and seeing the fans cheer. As you make the quick left and see yourself on their Jumbotron...goosebumps! (even in the heat) Make sure you hydrate starting the day before as even though the march itself is only about 12-14 minutes, we're outside in armor almost an hour. Looking forward to meeting you and I hope you have a safe trip here and back.