Dark PWF

Maybe it sounds strange, but I appreciate this share. I really do, Ingrid. It is difficult enough in a lot of situations to gel into a new group or hobby, not only the "troopers helping troopers" attitudes on display by current 501st members but the camaraderie of the new FISD forum members combined certainly makes it an easier transition for everyone. Having a build buddy definitely makes sense to me (obviously) but the waiting still sucks. LoL Thanks again for sharing!!

Looking good (except for that awful green shirt )!! Keep up the good work!

Andrew, Thanks for sharing. I actually did see this article already (perhaps through a share on FB), and was truly impressed with your build. Excellent work, you've clearly done your research, and the labor required to get to that point. However, it is said that it's better to be lucky than good sometimes. You apparently know how and when to be both. Congratulations on the fine appearance of your Boba Fett (I do think it is truly awesome), and the inclusion in the article!

Coming along brilliantly, Alexey! Keep sharing!

Definitely a tremendous amount of information to take in before you even decide which armor to order, Samuel. You nailed it there. Looking forward to adding TK to my list of occupations/hobbies. Thanks! When do your board results come out? Good luck.

Great looking job on the painting Alexey! Truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing.

Tyler, first off, CONGRATULATIONS on your 501st approval!!! Totally awesome build thread. Greatly appreciate that you have shared your progress along the way. I just found your build today, because of the new comments on it. Reading through it, only one thing jumped out at me that I'd comment on looking to change and Oztrooper commented on that a bit earlier today - the L thigh strip. Otherwise though, as I said - I greatly appreciate the build thread that you put together. Really very solid, and I did learn a few little things in reading it that I hadn't really seen/picked up on before, so thanks again for sharing. Someday, when my kit arrives, I'll be able to apply what I've learned. Congrats again!

John, although I cannot tell you exactly where it is linked here on FISD, I can tell you that it is because I have seen it before. I don't have my kit yet, and I've been reading tons of threads here to learn all I can before I receive it and I know that I've seen that site/link before. It is a very helpful resource though. As for where to learn about the Armor differences, I'd say to just go to http://www.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL and read the CRLs in addition to reading through the build threads and the application threads for EIB/Centurion status (http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/113-advanced-tactics/). All of those posts have some very good, mostly HI-Def photos of the armor with close-ups so that you can see the details of each type. I'm not a whiz-kid at knowing where everything is in the forums yet, but those links should point you in the right direction when it comes to learning the differences in the armor from movie to movie. Also... Go to those threads and when you're done reading, ask questions. All of the troopers here (and a lot of the non-troopers or not-yet troopers ) are really helpful if you genuinely need assistance, but a lot of people appreciate that you've done some reading first. Welcome aboard, and good luck!!

Looking great Josh. I'll be following closely, as I hope to begin a build before the holidays!

Brenton, obviously at this stage in the game, you are further along than I am because you have your kit. I'm going for centurion myself, when I get my kit. Why? Glen covered it for the most part, but I'll add this: I'm doing this (FISD/501st) for several reasons... Love of Star Wars, Love of being able to give back to people, and the pride in being able to combine both of those things in one awesome environment. If nothing else, I feel that all three of those reasons deserve nothing less than the best that I am capable of giving to them and I'm planning on doing my best to achieve Centurion status with my first build, right out of the gate, no matter how much extra work and/or time that takes me to get it right. Without having put a blade or a paintbrush to a piece of armor yet, I truly believe that it is worth it. I think you'll be fine. Keep at it!! Looking forward to seeing you post your applications!

Oh wow. That is really pretty awesome, Soren. I haven't seen anyone else mention anything like that so far. Very cool indeed but alas... I don't think I'd fit into a TM kit very well so I'm waiting, waiting, waiting and then I'll be building, building, building. LoL

When the time comes, you can certainly expect that I will, Glen!

Looks like a good time was truly had by all! Great work, troopers!

So, so awesome. I'll probably be pestering the living daylights out of you about the E-11 build. You and several others. There are so many good looking ones out there. Good luck with the fully built armor. Hopefully it fits you alright and you don't have a ton of extra work ahead of you.

Beautifully done, Glen. I'll definitely be scouring this page for fine details when I do my build. After-all, it is what I aspire to do myself... ANH Hero Centurion build!

Chad, Congratulations on your son's birth!! We've got a son that will be two in late October. So I understand the needs of the newborn. My wife keeps telling me that I should just wait until the armor is ready and then buy everything at once. I'm like... Nah... You probably really don't want me doing that. My undergarment bottoms arrived today, so I updated my spreadsheet, LoL. Other than that, not much else to do but wait for October to get here so I have some more money to spend on stuff. I'm actually up on the local garrison's forums. Unfortunately for me, there isn't a member that lives within a four hour drive of me right now. There will be one transferring from New England down here to Fort Rucker in November, so if he does go up to a troop, I'll probably car-pool with him to act as a handler and perhaps pick up some tips/tricks/parts from some garrison members. Odds are that I'll wind up PCSing before my armor is done, so I have no idea where I'll be at the time just yet. Will know more by the end of the year though. Once our E8 list comes out, my branch manager will be able to pinpoint where he can send me because he'll know which bases will have available slots, and which will be filled by E7 promotables. I'm probably just as excited about the list coming out as they are. LoL

Awesome stuff, Soren! I long for the day that I can say "I expect my armor kit to arrive in a few weeks." As opposed to "I expect my armor kit to arrive next year." LoL Looking forward to your progress, and congrats on the airbrush kit! I received my undergarment pants today, so I have a full undergarment now!

2 minutes each, with no less than 10 minutes, but no more than 20 minutes in between the three events. Sequence goes like this: Push-ups for 2 minutes. 10 minute break. Sit-ups for 2 minutes. 10 minute break. Run 2 miles.

As a newbie, currently on a wait list for my armor until next spring sometime, all I'm going to say here is that you really, really should read more on the forums. Reading is fundamental, even in galaxies far, far away.

Ben... First, congrats on the weight loss. Progress is key to getting to the goal, for sure. Second... The APFT is 2 minutes for the pushups and situps. Probably much easier than doing it in 1! Third... Challenges are a great way to stay motivated - especially when you've got others involved! Keep at it!

I have to say that Glen pretty much stole my answer. LoL. The moment that I saw the TKs pouring through the smoke on the Tantive IV back in 1977 at the age of 4 or 5, my life changed. My armor has not been fabricated yet, and I've been talking hero build the whole time, because to me that was what the TKs were really SUPPOSED to look like, they were the "ready for close-up" versions of the armor. The thought that it could be a rebel in the armor had occurred to me already, but the point that the first ones you saw were stunts does make me take a second to reconsider hero vs stunt. There are other hero armors visible in ANH... I've been looking a lot lately. LoL. There is a stunt in ANH that doesn't even have tube stripes on his helmet, and he is a pretty critical TK stunt - he stuns Princess Leia after the TK that sees her and tells everyone to set for stun gets taken out. I'll have to go and look at the stunt CRL. I've never read it. From the moment I decided that I had to become a TK, I've been leaning towards the hero build because it was the "idealised" version. Food for thought though.

Kevin, He is a member here at FISD, so you can send him a Private Message to contact him.

Probably a good idea, Brent. Although I'm in shape normally, there was a time (in 2007) while I was assigned as a recruiter that I gained a bunch of weight and had to drop about 50 lbs to get to where I needed to be, and I concur that a change in your regimen is probably a good idea to bust through that last five to ten pounds. Keep at it, I'm sure that you'll get there!

Hey everyone. I've just gotten involved in the forums here at FISD within the last month or two (as a poster at least - I've been lurking intermittently for awhile now) and am on a wait list for armor finally. None of that is why I've stopped in though, I've started branching out from "What do I do to join" threads and into the other areas of the forums, and found the thread here. First thing I have to say is that this is an awesome idea, and I'm happy for all of you who have made progress and continue to do so, as well as those of you that have decided to get underway. I'm in the US Army, so I stay in shape for the most part, but I see a lot of you doing some great things, and I thought that for those of you who are using exercise as part of your fitness plan I could share a few internet based tools to hopefully help some of you out. I'm not a trooper (yet) but I still want to help troopers where I can! This first link is to a tool that can be used in conjunction with our Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), which consists of 2 minutes each of push-ups and sit-ups, and a 2 mile run. There is a mobile version available, too. You can use it to score yourself on an Army APFT, measure your body fat by inputing some measurements, age and gender, things like that. http://550cord.com/products/info.asp?ProductID=7&product=Army-Fitness-Calculator This second link is to a page with a lot of useful fitness information links. http://www.military.com/military-fitness/army-fitness-requirements/weight-control-program Not sure if anyone will be interested in this or not, but perhaps someone will be able to use some of the information to reach their goals. If so, then it was worth the time that I took to post it. Best wishes to all of you in reaching your goals. I offer this in the spirit of Troopers (or maybe prospective ones) helping troopers!!