tkrestonva

Have you signed up at the Midwest Garrison yet? http://www.midwestgarrison.com

For ebay "is this kit worth buying?" questions, we use this section of the forum: http://www.whitearmo...hp?showforum=51 But in response to your question - no. It is recast FX, recast in fiberglass (heavy and fragile) at that. Except for the helmet - and I have no idea what that is.

This is a great way to bridge the gap between Star Wars and anime, especially since some anime cons are starting to reach out to other fandoms. Needs more stormtroopers, though.

http://www.501st.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72616&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

No.

I think the question shadow stormtroopers actually get more often than any is - "are you Darth Vader?"

Agreed. The iComm is actually engineered specifically to work with the line of Aker products, and it greatly enhances the trooping experience.

+1 Yep, use in a well-ventilated area or the fumes will definitely make you feel pretty loopy (unless you're into that kind of thing - which I'm not). I do my kit work in my garage, and I always have the garage door open when I do.

I am 100% serious about a third-tier, apex program. I was 100% serious when I proposed it to the rest of the staff well over a year ago, and for all the reasons I previously stated. Why not add a couple of simple, strict amendments to the Centurion program and call it done? Because it's not just a couple of simple, strict amendments to the Centurion program. As of a couple of days ago when Mathias started the now-locked thread, it was quite a long laundry list - and according to your initial post in that thread - going to get longer. Furthermore, my cynical self sees where this is going, so why waste time at interim steps? Maybe a 75% - 80% solution (and what is that baselined against, i.e. what is the starting point from which you measure your percent to complete accuracy?) is satisfactory for the high-end crowd for now, but I can almost guarantee you that within a year it won't be. Then we are right back to where we are now. Why do our EI and Centurion have to be such inclusive, "all-in" programs? Because whatever else they may be, they are 501st Legion programs. And if nothing else, inclusiveness is part of what makes the Legion the place that it is. Once you reach the threshold of basic 501st acceptance, you are a brother or sister and the world is open to you (so to speak). Should artisan programs encourage members to strive to go beyond what is considered entry level? Of course! But to make these programs so difficult that you guarantee only the most very dedicated few can achieve them, in my humble opinion, flies in the face of what it means to be part of the Legion. You mention the "Vader freaks" and how their standards for admission are - relatively speaking - much higher than that of the stormtrooper. Yes, I agree. The same can be said for other Legion costumes as well, in particular the Flagship Eclipse costumes, where their attitude is all-or-nothing, "you've either hit the mark or you haven't." It's a battle that those of us on staff have been fighting for years. I imagine as a GML, you saw some of it yourself. For whatever reason, the powers that be at Legion are content to force the basic TK requirements to remain relatively low, while allowing the requirements for other costumes to evolve as new discoveries are made. It's a battle that will continue to be fought - no matter what the outcome of the current DL election is. Yes, I agree with you. It's good that all this will ultimately come down to a vote by those who have the most to gain or lose - the members of this community.

The observation that people feel personally attacked has more to do with how you make your points, as opposed to the points themselves. A skilled communicator can give someone the worst news in the world, but do so without making an enemy out of them. If how you say something makes the intended target so angry or otherwise upset that all they can hear is the sound of blood rushing through their ears, then you have accomplished nothing productive. But I digress .... There is at least one factual error in your above statement. If by "the first FX/AM Centurion applicant" you mean the individual who recently applied with his FX kit (whose thread was the origin of this current thread), he is definitely not the first AM applicant and although I'd have to check, I don't think he is the first FX applicant. That first AM Centurion applicant? That would be me. http://www.whitearmo...showtopic=15719 Not all that long ago, your same arguments were made for raising the FISD Elite / Expert Infantry bar so high that the program would no longer meet its original intent of encouraging tip-to-toe FX wearers to make some simple, affordable upgrades that, despite being doable for under $300 USD (half of that being the cost of a new helmet) and a weekend's worth of work, and we would never be able get those folks started on the path to greater accuracy - something we all want and that has at least as great an impact on the overall Legion TK Corps as the handful of Legion troopers (not counting the non-Legion prop builders) that push the accuracy boundary to its extreme. The Expert Infantry program continues to evolve (as it should), but fortunately it is still reachable by those who we are really targeting - the lower-tier troopers. Now I see the same arguments being made for Centurion. While Centurion is certainly meant to be a good bit above EI, it is still not meant to replicate (and I use that word deliberately) what is seen on screen. It is meant to represent what is seen on screen to a high degree of fidelity. The difference is subtle and a matter of degrees, but it is there nonetheless. I have a proposal for you - would you like to see a third and final artisan program focused solely on uber-accurate, prop replica armor and blasters? I actually suggested such a program to the staff over a year ago once the Centurion program was firmly established, as a way to appeal to the prop replica element of the FISD - both 501st and non-501st alike, thereby encouraging them to stay and continue to push the envelope since we all ultimately benefit from their leading-edge work. It would have also been a way to, by inviting the LSD cabal to take part in shaping the requirements, provide an opportunity to heal the still-fresh wounds that were a result of the split. While it was well-received, it was also tabled due to having many other, higher-priority items on our collective to-do list at the time. As I envision it, such a program would absolutely exclude what you consider to be the non-accurate sculpts - FX, AM, RT, perhaps even AP and ATA given how far they are from the original TE-owned suit in generational terms. In addition, the prospective applicant would be required to pick a single screen-seen stormtrooper (since we know they were all different in the minute details) and emulate every visible scuff mark, paint run, armor crack, mismatched part, and scrap of gaffer tape. The interior would have to be built using the original strapping system, the materials used would have to be correct, and any added details that could not be divined from high-resolution screen shots would have be supported by behind-the-scenes photos, archive photos, costume designer notes, and other suitable evidence. The suit would also have to be sized to fit an original sized actor - see my example requirement in an earlier post. Because of this, it wouldn't have to be wearable by the owner - anyone with an appropriately-sized mannequin and the means & desire to do so could participate. Best of all, this would be an effort run entirely outside 501st Legion auspices - meaning it would be open to folks like Paul (troopermaster) and we would have free reign to make it as challenging as possible. By definition, those who are able to do this would be only a small handful, but isn't allowing the very best of the best to be separately recognized part of the point? So how about it - does that idea scratch your itch?

AM aside, as one of those bigger troopers this is something I need to address. When the Centurion program was conceived and nurtured (I was there and actively participated), the fundamental tenent laid down by Paul (Daetrin) was that this was to be seen as the highest level of accuracy achievable by a 501st-approvable costume. It is not about dead-on reproduction of what is visible on screen when looked at frame-by-frame in high definition, although I would personally be in favor of creating such an award and opening it up to the non-501st members here. While a good GML will encourage a prospective member to pick a costume that is in keeping with their physical characteristics, by law neither the 501st Legion nor any of its subunits can discriminate based on race, gender, age, body type, etc. If we were truly to create a program that replicates a screen-seen suit, then the very first requirement would go something like this: All applicants shall fit the body type of the circa-1977 actors who portrayed stormtroopers as seen in the movies, that is, approximately 5'9", 150 lbs, and of slim build. That alone would have gotten the Centurion program shut down by Legion. Yes, this is our program and we get to make the rules - as long as they do not directly contradict the rules of the Legion at large. Had we tried it, I guarantee you that Legion would have stepped in and decided what is best for us - and that decision would likely be made by someone who neither has the knowledge nor the passion for stormtroopers that the active members of this forum have. As a garrison XO and Legion Council member, I've personally witnessed Legion reverse the decisions of detachment leaders, even if those decisions have no impact outside the detachment, so I know it can happen. If the IOC has a artisan-level program, the same principle would apply in terms of whether or not female officers would be permitted to participate. So in order to keep in line with Legion rules and yet be as accurate as possible, compromises need to be made and departures (which we all would like to see kept to a minimum) from straight-off-the-set accuracy are necessary. I realize that the word "compromise" is a four-letter word to the purists among us, but such is the price to be paid for being part of a worldwide costuming club vice a prop-replication club. That's also why in many cases on other forums such as the RPF, when a prop replicator is asked if they ever publicly wear the work of art they've created, the answer is no - and the reason is because they can't.

We have a tradition here of defining screen accuracy in terms of degrees, one that has served this community quite well over the years and has enabled us to become the big-tent organization that other groups only dream of. From that perspective, I have no problem saying FX or AM in it's current iteration will never achieve "screen accuracy" as I believe you are defining it. However, one should never say never, because the word never assumes moulds do not change - even TM evolves his moulds over time based on new discoveries - and I can tell you that even now AM is reworking some of the moulds to address the issues that have been discovered on this very forum. FWIW - I personally agree with FX not being permissable for Centurion. Given that FX isn't even (legitimately) manufactured anymore, I don't see that as a bridge too far. But again, I emphasize that having owned both kits and often trooping next to older, FX troopers - the improvements in the AM kits over the older FX kits are clear. We have a saying here in the U.S. - sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it. Passion is fine if used for a good purpose - in this case, to put a spotlight on a problem that might otherwise be ignored. But it's also a double-edged sword, and if not used properly (i.e. used as a blunt instrument) can hurt more than help. Much like the incident following C6 with the local news station, the heat of passion will bring attention to a problem. But it's the light of calm reason and good-faith collaboration that will resolve the problem.

This isn't about going one step forward, two steps back. This is about improving accuracy standards in at way - and at a pace - that is still supportable and achieves buy-in by the majority of the active TK community that this detachment is meant to serve. That service includes all of those TKs, from those who need a lot of pushing simply to meet current base CRLs, to those who have already achieved dead-on prop accuracy right down to the paint runs, cracked armor, and gaffer's tape - and are still looking for ways to up their game via proper movement, staying in character during troops, etc. To do anything less makes this a much smaller place, and flies in the face of the primary reason why this detachment even exists - to serve as a home for ALL Legion stormtroopers and prospective stormtroopers. If that means we have to take an incremental, one step at a time to improving the written standards (as opposed to giant leaps towards total screen accuracy) - so be it. If it means you have to personally work harder and in a one-on-one fashion with the holdouts of your garrison to get them to up their game on all of our behalf - then do it. If you really think we have been moving backwards, I invite you to view & compare the group photos from Star Wars Celebrations I - VI. Next, I invite you to review the language of the CRLs and artisan programs (EI and even Centurion), and witness how they have evolved over the months and years. Finally, all one has to do is look at the photos of the Elite / Expert Infantry submissions over the years (including your own), and the forward progress becomes clear. Debates are fine. We should have them, since that's how the available space is explored, good ideas come to the forefront, and we all ultimately benefit in the end. But at the end of the day each and every change will require a yes-or-no vote, and it goes without saying that when it comes to voting - majority wins. Hence the need for an approach that encourages, instead of demands. A brutal honesty, no compromises approach will only harden attitudes on all sides, sows the seeds for obstinance simply out of spite, and ensure that no further progress can be made because of a poisoned atmosphere. FWIW - insisting that FX and AM are essentially the same kit is flat out wrong. That is no more a valid statement than saying AP and RS are essentially the same kit because they both are traceable to actual costumes. Anyone who spends time looking at them can see the differences.

As an owner of both (retired) FX and AM, I can assure you - aside from the helmet, the two are quite different.

You can download photos of up to approximately 1600x1067 via the photographer's website that Mathias provided the link to. There are of course full resolution versions of the photos, but each photo is 6 - 7 MB in size. Multiply that by 27 photos, and you end up with a lot of megapixels. We are working on getting those emailed from the photographer and posting them to a staff-owned server that will be accessible for download to the members here.

That is also what I do (turn it up until I get feedback, then dial it back down to just below the feedback level). Judging by the position of the volume thumbwheel, it usually works out to be about 50% of the device's max volume. Very interesting points on how the chestplace itself acts as a speaker, and the potential for feedback in small, confined spaces. The thought never occured to me.

There is another thread around here that discusses this very topic, including a post with a good technical explanation as to how these types of mics work. I've found that setting the Aker volume at about 50% is optimal, especially when using it with the iComm. You'll also want to have the mic as close to your mouth as possible (actually touching your lips is perfect), and be sure to speak clearly.

Congratulations, and well done.

Have you ever played with the action figures that have simple, built-in electronics that can activated with the push of a button located, for instance, on the action figure's back? Push the button - he says something cool!! Button #1: It's them - blast them! Button #2: Move along, move along. Button #3: The Death Star plans are not in the main computer. Button #4: There's one - set for stun! Etc, etc, etc.

This may be all OBE since it appears you put your kit up for sale. However, I'll try to answer your questions: 1. I'm having a bit of trouble visualizing that last sentence, but I tend to think how it looks from behind is a non-issue. 2. Many people use the extra built-in cover strip material that was trimmed off as "internal" cover strips. Basically you use the scrap to reinforce the join from inside the bicep, making it much stronger than if you were to use a single exterior cover strip.

You have to consider that the Legion was FAR smaller back in the days of CI (1999), CII (2002), CIII (2005), and even C4 (2007). The Legion was also initially stormtroopers-only. As the Legion grew, more costume types were accepted. Also, a lot has happened since the days of C4 and back - primary among them being the Clone Wars cartoon series. So I think it's less about the gross numbers dwindling and more about the decreased proportion of approved stormtroopers relative to the Legion at large - and even then if you look at the numbers, the TK is still the single most popular costume by a wide margin. http://www.501st.com/

It looks like these are your first two posts. Where are you located? Maybe someone with your local garrison can provide some hands-on assistance. A new AM kit - be it black or white - comes with four strips of ABS. Three of my garrison mates own black AM kits, and I've seen all three of them. If yours didn't have them, you need to contact the seller and have him provide them to you. When you get them, the printed instructions will tell you to use two of those ABS strips for the belt. Don't do it. Get a black canvas belt instead, or if you are looking to go Specialist - a black patent leather belt. As for your concern, I found that although the kit is designed to use the overlap method of construction, not only does the butt-join & cover strip method look better, it makes the kit come together easier and is a far superior method if you have to trim it down. Especially with the biceps. When I began assembling my kit 2 1/2 years ago (!) I tried to put together the biceps with the overlap method and it gave me fits - and I do *not* have small arms. I ditched the overlap method for the butt-join / cover strip techique, and with every AM kit I've built since them (at least 6) I've used this method. If you insist on using the overlap method, the only thing I can recommend that will preserve the shape of the bicep is to assemble it as you show in your second photograph, then pad the inside so that it doesn't slide around on your arm.

I have two - I picked them up as souvenirs for my kids at Dragon*Con. The New York Jedi and other lightsabers dueling groups commonly use them in their performances. Pros: relatively inexpensive, and virtually indestructible. They make excellent dueling sabers - unlike Master Replicas / eFx sabers, you can bang them together as hard as you like. Cons: no power up / power down lighting effects, nor do they come with the whoosh / clash sound effects that make MR / eFx such cool toys to play with.

The intent is to encourage members to actually participate in our community, as opposed to viewing the FISD as simply a Craigslist for stormtrooper armor and accessories. While we do have a very active marketplace here, it is not the primary reason we (or any other detachment for that matter) exist. As was said, since you are already a 501st member you can request and receive access to the 501st Only sections. That should partially alleviate your frustration.