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Obey Wann

501st Member[501st]
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Everything posted by Obey Wann

  1. Thanks, guys! I still have a couple of things that I will tweak to make it better. I'm also desparately trying to lose weight, so that it fits better in the ab/cod. New bells are shipping now, and I'll trim a bit for mobility this weekend. But it's nice to have another costume on the books, and to be out trooping in it. Heh, at this last troop (pictured above), I got my wife into my X-Wing pilot costume --her first time in any SW costume after 11+ years of doing this stuff witht he RL and 501st. 5 minutes into the troop, she tells me, "you guys get all the love." (After a gaggle of squeeing, giggling teenage girls came up for hugs and pictures with me as a TK.) Luckily, she had fun, and is willing to troop in the X-Wing (or IN) if we have a troop that is really short on people. It's a start. It's also a good thing that she doesn't know about the "Chicks Dig Armor" thread, eh?
  2. It looks fantastic! Have you received your approval yet?
  3. If you really, really want to see more TKs in your garrison or squad, you have a few options... 1) fork out the money for new kits for folks [sarcasm warning] (ha, like that's going to happen!) [/sarcasm warning] 2) sell kits at a more reasonable price (not really possible due to the increasing costs of raw materials, quality TK armor costs a LOT to finish, and there is always the "Rule of 3") If you want it done quickly and accurately, it will not be cheap. If you want it cheap and accurate, it not be done quickly. If you want it done quickly and cheap, it will not be quality 3) help new people get kitted up as soon as they get their kit - host an armor party 4) Make it cool to be a TK without beling elitist The first two options really aren't feasable unless you are insanely wealthy and want to fund your private army or subsidize new TKs. [sarcasm warning] If so, I'll send you my PP address. [/sarcasm warning] The third option is relatively easy - host armor parties and go out of your way to help anyone trying to finish a kit. I'm having a very difficult time getting armor parties organized in my squad. Yes, we all have lives and families. Yes, we have (tons!) of local troops going on. But if we don't get new people in costume --any costume --quickly, we lose people. I have hosted an armor party out of an RV in a campground... I might not have a lot of tools, but if I can do it, then anyone with a garage or a back yard can. Bonus points if you have power tools. One of the worst things is when someone gets a kit and can't get help from their local garrison / squad mates. So if you see anyone within an hour drive from you that has a kit and wants to get it built, help them. I hate to see it when we get new people who are interested, and they sign up on (local) forums, try to get help, they get platitudes (general "post up if you need help responses), but can't get real help from established members --and then we lose them. Do what you can - loan an extra costume, or encourage them to handle or be a photographer, anything to get them to events and see what it is that we do. It's even better when you get them into a kit that has a full-face bucket so they can see what it is like, and how much the public responds. Mainly, the best thing any of us can do is to just get people in a kit, any kit, and get them trooping. Help them get them approved. Welcome them into the "cool kid club." Be open and encouraging to new people. Worry about what kit they are wearing later (if at all.) The fourth option is relatively easy if you want to see more TKs: encourage TK pride (without beling elitist) Do something like the Jolly Roger Squadron's wings where people get patches or swag based on the number of troops they do in that particular kit. I know several people who went out of their way to wear a TIE pilot kit so they could "get their wings." From what I have seen, Blizzard Force (Operation Whiteout) is doing something similar to encourage people to wear TS kits. The Mountain Garrison command staff recently purchased rocker patches for our garrison patch, to be given out based on the amount of troops people do: ---------- These are a great way to get people back out there and get out trooping. Beyond that, any swag is good for encouraging Detachement pride. Patches, T-shirts, beret flashes, whatever. But I'd love to sport some "TK participation" rockers on my helmet bag. I'd also love to have a FISD T-shirt to go with my CTN shirts. -------- I might just have to encourage the Rebel Legion Starfighter Command to do the same thing... my X-Wing pilot bag could use some rockers:
  4. I cut mine at an angle so that the rear hole was how you have it and the writst hole was just big enough to get it on over my wrist.
  5. Here are some pics from last night. LMK... I can tighten up the cod-butt plate strap, and sorry about the belt slipping under the butt plate.
  6. Interesting. I wonder if this is something I can fix on mine...
  7. New shoulder bells shipped today, I tightened up the back, and added a butt to cod strap. I'll get fresh pics tonight.
  8. Do you have anyone local in your garrison that could help?
  9. Looking good so far! Hey, want to trade a pair of slightly trimmed down shoulder bells for your untrimmed shoulder bells? I cut of about 1/2 to 3/4 all around on mine, and they feel a bit small... but I'm 240 lbs and 5'8." That's if you find your bells look too big.
  10. These are easy fixes, I can add the strap tonight. I emailed tupperwaretk, just waiting on a response for the bells. Anything else?
  11. Thanks! I'll give that a shot. I'm also looking into replacing he shoulder bells. I think there is too much gap, and they just feel small now. I cut off about an inch... regretting that decision. And I think I need a strap from the cod to the butt. Or I need to heatgun the cod and pull it in a bit, because it looks like it's floating out too far.
  12. Here you go: More pics here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/23895-ows-ne-build-anh-stunt/page-3
  13. So here it is... complete with smoke from the Black Forest fire in the background... Adjusted the shoulder bells: The neckseal didn't tuck in right, I'll fix that in the future, and make sure that the straps fall correctly. Green lenses from Kevin Christley and the best helmet pad ever from Darth Hair, Fan by Evilboy:
  14. Give me a month or two to save up for it. ;-) I spent all of my excess cash (and the wife's patience) getting this finished. That, and I live in an RV... I'll have to see if a friend/family member could store it for me in between troops. What are the approximate dimensions for it? Depending on how I rearrange things, I might be able to fit it. We bought this rig specifically because of the large storage on the left rear... I *might* be able to fit it... depending. Thanks! I'll try to tighten up the straps that I have to pull up the thighs a bit. I'd also like to trim some of the back of the calves and thighs... I can't go up and down stairs yet. I'll peek into the TD clips, see what I can do. Thanks! I'm going to try and kit up tonight for approval pics. Time go git'r'done.
  15. Here is my kit as it stands today. I am going to replaced my lost Chicago screw (post screw) for the holster, and I think I'm ready for approval. Paint colors are standard Testors colors. I can't do a full HWT, since I don't have a backpack yet, so my approval pics will be of a sterile kit... I will just do this for informal troops, which is 95% of the events around here. The goal is simply 501st approval. I can't even think about EIB until I can get a new blaster. Please LMK if you see anything that would keep me from getting approved.
  16. I did a troop with ScottM today, he helped me kit up and we double checked everything. It should be really, really close now. Thanks for the feedback! I trimmed part of the side today on the kidney... it was excess, and I think you're right, the belt was too tight in those pics. We're debating if I need to trim some of the rest from the ab section. I cut off that extra front vertical line on the kidney. I am debating trimming the ab plate in a vertical line going from where the chest stops down to where the belt stops: I used the standard Testors paint colors, not sure why they look off, but I can snap a pic of the ones I used if needed for approval. They came in extra handy today, as one of my Chicago screws (screw posts) came off on my holster, and I couldn't find it while kitting up. I was going to just go clean TK, but after the holster went kaput, I put on the side pouches. They worked great!!! Many thanks for those, I love them! Scott took a couple of pics of me, he should post them up tomorrow. It's funny, but I'm still not used to how I look as a TK. I kept seeing myself in reflections and I still couldn't believe it was me. Heh. That and it has been years since I wore a full armored kit. Kinda forgot what that was like. Most of my recent costumes have been open faced soft goods ones (X-Wing Pilot, Imperial Navy Trooper, Hoth/Endor Troopers... so it was odd, but good to be back in full kit again. And speaking of full kit, the 2-fan kits by Evilboy rock. It was fairly warm at the troop, mid-70s to mid-80s by the end. I never felt like I was overheating and I didn't fog up. I'll call that a win!
  17. OK, here is my next run through after a lot of tweaks. I think there are still some spots that I can/should trim, and it definitely needs more trimming for mobility. I glued the shoulder straps on right after these were taken, and I forgot the TD. I also see that the shoulder strap was too loose, I can tighten that up easily. I'm open to any feedback to get this thing approveable. It ain't pretty, but the belt stays in place now: I think I fixed the front, I think it looks much better than it did before (from the front.) From the back, it's a mess, but I had to do a lot of work to get it lined up right. The back still looks wonky... should I pull the kidney piece up higher? Seems like my butt is sagging with the kidney.
  18. Here is fix #1. I added a strap to the pouch to drop it a bit lower.
  19. I'll be adding a pauldron and pouches for non-canon events. Here is my first op-test, just trying to fit the pauldron strap through the existing straps on the pouch. I think it might be too high. If so, any recommendations on how to make a solution?
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