Lucky

Is there a HWT patch out there? I thought I saw it once but now I can't find it.

Thanks! That's what I was going for!

First HWT in the Midwest Garrison. Just got approved!

I weathered a bit of my armor too. To much? To little? Looking good?

Had a little time today so I weathered it a bit. How's it look? I just mixed a bit of a light grey paint with some black since I did not have the grey I wanted.

I've finished the build of my pack. I followed ukswarth's excellent thread http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/30034-hwt-backpack-build-part-1/ Big thanks to justjoseph63 for all his info he has up and for his guidance. I started weathering a bit to give it a rough kind of look. I'm going to do some painting to it this weekend to get it dirty. Hopefully I can weather my armor this weekend as well.

TK604 and myself were invited to a xmas party at a special needs residents home, The Zachary House. It was a blast and neither one of us has ever received so many hugs in a single troop!

Trooped the Gail Borden Library in Elgin, IL this past weekend for there RetroGeeky Holiday. We will be featured in many Christmas card this year! Trooped with DZ 10428, IG 80870, DZ 6443, and TK 19803. Unfortunately we were unable to get a good group picture.

TK 24543 and myself took up bowling this past weekend for Brain Injury Association of America. We actually did fairly well, but got beat by a stinking Jedi dressed in plain close the last game.

Thanks for the complements! I'll try and keep up this year! Here is the rest of my first year troops. 06/11/16 IL Hoffman Estates - 2 Year Old Cancer Patient's Birthday (TK) * 06/25/16 IL Elgin - Library Special Needs Event (TK) * 07/03/16 IL Bartlett - 4th of July Parade (TK) * 07/24/16 IL South Elgin - Branch Library Grand Opening (TK) * 07/30/16 IL Chicago - Fire Up A Cure (TK) * 10/01/16 Apraxia Walk (TK) Aaaand...we've come full circle. I had to solo my anniversary event and I did not get a picture in armor. Once I dressed down I ran into Ariel! So you know I had to get a pic. There was a few events that I could not find pictures for, but I got the majority!

One of the things that I love about this site and what kept me motivated during my build was seeing all the good that everyone did! Seeing all the troops kept me going even though I got frustrated at times. I always meant to prevaricate by posting my own events, but I never did. So, I figured to just do a year in review starting with my first event and ending on my anniversary troop! So here we go...! 10/17/15 IL Westmont - Walk for Apraxia (TK) My First Event! I saw it on our boards and no one was picking it up. Apraxia has affected my family so I could not pass it up. So I ECed my first event and it was with Jodo Kast! * 10/25/15 IL Brookfield - Boo at the Zoo (TK) * 11/09/15 IL Winfield - CDH Child Life Visit #5 (TK) * 11/22/15 IL Rosemont - Wolves Star Wars Night (TK) * 12/13/15 IL Geneva - Public Library Star Wars Event (TK) My first solo event! * 12/17/15 IL Woodridge - TFA Movie Premier (TK) * 01/19/16 IL Elgin - May The Market Place Be With You (TK) * 02/08/16 IL Winfield - Central DuPage Hospital Child Life Visit #1 (TK) * 02/28/16 IL Schaumburg - Kid's Expo (TK) * 03/02/16 IL Tinley Park - Discover Tinley Park (TK) (No pic for this one.) * 03/06/16 IL Bolingbrook - St. Baldrick's Foundation (TK) * 05/01/16 IL St. Charles - Walk MS (TK) (No pic) * 05/04/16 IL Naperville - Pinot's Palette MTFBWY (TK) Can I paint in armor. Check. * 05/14/16 IL North Riverside - Children's Miracle Network (TK) (No pic. I ECed it and I didn't get a group picture!) * 05/21/16 IL Wheaton - Matthew's Special Visit Day 1 (TK) This was a birthday surprise for a special kid with a degenerative bone disease. We made his day! * 06/05/16 IL Geneva - March for Mason (TK) * 06/06/16 IL Elgin - Gail Borden Library Ice Cream Social (TK) We got attacked by an Ewok. It wasn't pretty. 16 IL * More Coming...

My TK number and name go hand in hand. The unlucky number 13 has always been lucky for me. Anytime I use it, games of chance and what not, my number comes up. 13132 is an easy number to remember and Lucky easily goes with it.

I put a bit a foam on the inside of my forearms. This holds in place against my undersuit. I have never had any slips. Doing this allows me to put on my forearms second to last, just before my gloves. My shoulder bells and biceps are connected. Without the forearms attached to my biceps I have a pretty good range of motion. This allows me to snap my shoulder bells on. The added benefit to this is that I can be fully kitted up, minus gloves and forearms, and still make adjustments, put on my helmet, and help others, with relative ease. Once it's go time I slip on my forearms and gloves and I'm good to go.

You're correct on the name. Thanks!

My kids wanted to join the Academy and they thought the Cadets on Star Wars rebels would be cool and I agree! Is there a maker out there for the helmet?

I have an Icomm, but set up looks like it would be about the same. Mount the speaker in your chest. I have seen some mount it in the ab section as well. I used Velcro to hold it in place for easy removal after trooping. I have had no trouble with it moving or coming loose while trooping. Run the wire up through you neck seal, then to your bucket.

I used my IComm on my first two troops using VOX. From the suggestions on hear I tried taping the back side. When I tested it at home I found it still triggered from time to time, but not often. I cut foam (extra from my helmet) and put it on the back side, then covered it with the foam mic cover. The first troop was outside in a pavilion with a DJ playing music. Very hard to hear, but mic never triggered other then when I talked. Second troop was at the zoo. Lots of people talking all around me, but again never triggered other then when I talked.

The number 13 has always been a lucky number for me and my family. Hence the number and call sign.

Just had a kid ask me on a troop. I replied, "Darth Vader doesn't allow it." He replied, "But he's not here." (Which he wasn't) My reply, "He has the Force. He always knows!"

I agree with the saving for the armor. It is an expensive hobby, but it is also a patient one. It took me about two years to go from wanting to become a TK to actually being one. I saved for my armor for about a year. My advice; relax, save your pennies, and it will come in time.

I did not update my thread to often, but I was on this site a lot. Without the help and resources available there is no chance I would have been able to finish. Thanks to everyone on this site! I was just going for basic approval and was not shooting for EIB or Centurion. I was very unsure of my skill, so I did not want to over extend myself. After a year or so of research (and acquiring funds), months of building, frustration, and many, many curse words I am now TK 13132 (Lucky)! And here are the photos I used for application:

Requesting access. TK 13132 http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=19609

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/4369-mic-tips-mic-tips-mic-tips/ He just goes by Keith.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28304-how-much-can-i-realistically-expect-to-pay-to-finish-my-stormtrooper-costume/ This post helped me out a lot.

I am almost done building my AP kit and I should have my application in by the end of the month. So, I am starting to think about storage. I was about to by one of the hard cases that everyone buys when I thought about my old rucksack I used when I served. It was just collecting dust so, I test fitted it and I got every single piece in, including the boots, with space to spare. I didn't want it the woodland camo that it was, so I tried dying it black. It did not take as well as I'd hoped, even after dying it twice. It turned out well though. It kind of looks like a black camo pattern. Now I want to patch it up a bit. On the main flap, measured below, I want to put a fairly good sized patch on it. 501st, Imperial, or something else defining. Any suggestions? ----------