Dark PWF

When the US Army makes changes to uniforms and equipment, the intent or the end goal is that they are all going to have the same equipment and uniform and will all look the same. Specialized equipment is exactly that, specialized. Sandtroopers are an exception because of how the MEPD founded separately from the FISD. They specifically went with the screen accurate/prop-replication route that depicts a specific "character" among the Stormtroopers in a dirty and gritty field environment where they would have some different equipment being used by different Troopers dependent upon their assigned tasks - ie, a commo specialist would have a radio/backpack, a heavy weapons specialist would have a heavy blaster and any support equipment that goes along with it, a medic would be carrying medical supplies and equipment. A "standard" Stormtrooper - white armor, blaster of some type, holster, TD should look nearly identical to every other one around them.

Yeah, while the words screen accurate are used to describe the 501st by many different agencies/people it doesn't apply to the costumes governed by the FISD. Other costumes can be done to screen accuracy with less consternation because the Stormtroopers, and really, to an extent any Imperial Troop costume (I'd say Sandtroopers are the exception) are a representation of a military uniform and as a result, standardized appearance across the globe is a very seriously desired goal of the Stormtrooper CRLs. A good number of our members have spent time in a branch of the military and can instantly relate to this idea. Many more likely have not and for them it may be a pill described as a little painful to swallow. All of that aside though, as Daetrin mentioned above, screen accurate tends to imply that if it is seen on screen, it is approvable, and that is a slippery slope that instantly degrades uniformity.

Congratulations Doug! Welcome aboard!!

Thanks, Christine!

Great show of support so far everyone! We fully understand that this year's drive hit right around Christmas time, and we apologize for that. As of right now, we're at about $650, or a little over two thirds of the way to our total of $999.99. We are truly grateful for each of you and your support of the FISD every day!

Thank you for the heads-up, agree. We will definitely be keeping an eye on activities here at the FISD site. Good luck with the unfortunate situation.

Let's go with KEEP the FISD Great! and thank you.

Thank you, Paul. I agree completely. In the absence of prepared kits, we should allow for some degree of flexibility for our members who wish to pursue the modifications of currently available kits to recreate this new TK costume. Looking at this armor, it will likely be a little challenging to do, but the level of fine details in the costumes worn in screen will allow for some incredible translations for L2/3 standards development.

As mentioned in the first post, there was a substantial increase in the cost this year. We are currently around $425, or almost halfway there. Our share this year is $999.99.

If you're feeling froggy, go for it. Otherwise, I will do so in January, as planned. Need to poke the staff on the CRL updates first.

If you do this, you'll be in my hall of fame eternally. LoL. I have it on my To Do list for January.

Oddly enough, within the last 24 hours, someone on Facebook (someone here, actually) said "Where is the love?" and my response was "Love is shiny and white!" LoL Thank you everyone that has donated so far!

Additionally, all of that code stuff leads me to believe that you're posting in Safari in an Apple product. I feel you go to the top of the browser page before you post, and you hold your finger on the "refresh" symbol (the 3/4 circle with the arrow point on one end), a pop up will appear that says "Request Full Desktop Site." If you select that option, you won't wind up with all of those code characters in your posts.

Also, on a related note, if you are an XBL gamer and you happen to have a subscription to EA Access ($5/month or $30 annually) Star Wars Battlefront will be joining the list of vault games on December 13th. If you aren't a subscriber, that means that if you pay the subscription fee, you will have over twenty five free games at your disposal so long as you are a member, and one of those games is about to be this one.

Donation made, of course.

I'm with both of you... This armor is NOT OT TK armor. Current kits will need to be modified and accepted for the time being, unless kits start popping up and then we'll eventually see proper CRL annotations and models in use.

Fans, Friends, Users of the FISD! (If you're reading this, that's you - just to be clear) As you know, we have a website. I hope that you realize that the website is not magical. I know that sometimes it seems that way but I promise you that it isn't. That's another fandom that has magical websites. I think. Anyway... The forums aren't magic, and that means that someone works to make them happen. Someone works to make them happen, and that means that they cost money to host and to a certain degree to maintain. Each year, we make a request for donations to keep the site up and running, and each year you blow our minds with your support and generosity. Well, this post is our annual request. If you'd like to donate to keep the FISD running as it has, please make your PayPal contributions using the Friends and Family option to: powrfwd37@aol.com This will ensure that the Detachment website and forums are here for you to continue doing what you do, and to continue to foster the sense of community among our globally deployed Stormtroopers. One Change For This Year... Our original hosting agreement expired with last year's contribution drive, so the cost has gone up a good deal. As a result, there will be a far greater opportunity for more of you to contribute. Thank you, for your continuing support of the FISD, and the work that we do here. Carry On, Stormtroopers, Fans, Friends, and Users of the FISD!

Yeah Andrea... I see clearly in the screen shot that you're not seeing one, but we all do see yours, and I see everyone else's here in this thread and others. Has this cleared itself up for you yet? EDIT: Should be good... Somehow, your settings were off, and now they shouldn't be.

Thank you Mark. As the guy sitting in the DL seat though, I hope that you can see how a lot of people might take that statement to mean me.

Additional point, there isn't any allowance of the use of a particular weapon vs another, as weapons are not a requirement for approval by the Legion.

It isn't really my style to air dirty laundry, but since it is out here on the floor, I'll help Eric since he started picking it up. First thing first - I agree with everything that Eric has said above. There isn't an army of anyone against anything. Second, the rivet question was brought to the Detachment Staff on behalf of one of your customers due to an EIB approval issue, discussion has been ongoing. The discussion was last left with me personally saying that I am not opposed to changing the CRL to include the rivets at higher levels - however - I don't do that unilaterally. There is a Detachment process that must be followed for it to happen. I also personally said that when (not necessarily if) clear screen-grabs are presented which definitively show that there are rivets on the bridges of the majority of the TKs (not promo shots, not tour suits, not hot toys statues, or crayon drawings on the refrigerator) I will present the proposal (assuming that they are presented while I am the DL) to the Detachment for discussion on making the change, followed by the Detachment vote. To this date, those pictures have not been brought to me, or any other member of the staff involved in the discussion, that I have been made aware of. Clearly, based on activity within the Detachment already this year, we are not afraid to change the CRLs, as there have been changes made to them. The notion of being afraid to change the CRL is absurd. It is a standard which we as a Detachment control. What is there to be afraid of? Being hated? Being wrong? Most importantly, since we are the 501st Legion who do set our own approval standards at the end of the day it is impossible for us to be wrong. We can become more hated, but where our CRLs are involved, we cannot by definition be wrong. This doesn't mean that they cannot or will not be "improved". There is an on-going set of discussion threads in the Staff section for CRL review for incorrect photos and poorly worded things like the AM shin note in the ROTJ CRL to be addressed. None of the changes that occur as a result of that action will change the standards. They will hopefully clear the mud a bit and make things more easily understood by the masses - to include the GMLs who are by and large the biggest stumbling block to the questions being raised in your post above. Holster - ROTJ, Optional, and by and large non-existent in the movie. Shouldn't be an issue, but if it is, once again I'll refer to the GMLs. If a GML comes to me and asks me if they should approve a ROTJ TK without a holster, my answer will be: Yes, read the CRL. Thermal Detonator... There are more pictures of ROTJ TKs with them in this thread than without them. ROTJs very own Mr. NoStripes... (My opinion) If a GML comes to me and asks if they should approve a ROTJ TK without a detonator, my answer will be: No, read the CRL. Overlap (GMLs) should not be an issue based on the way that the CRLs are written. If a GML comes to me and asks me if they should approve a ROTJ TK who has their overlap construction going outer over inner vs inner over outer, my answer will be: Yes, read the CRL. Speaking solely for me. I can unquestionably state that I have never told you or anyone that in order for you to be heard, that you must join the 501st. On the contrary, you are recognized as one of - if not the - leading knowledge guys on the planet where this armor is concerned. Your opinion is meaningful without question, but at the end of the day, we are not a prop-replication club, and simply seeing something on screen does not mean that it belongs in our CRLs. There are countless instances of missing detonators, no stripes, no drop boxes, no holsters, extra drop boxes, taped parts, missing parts, etc seen on screen in the OT. Because of what we do, and how and why we do it, we seek the happy balance between seen on-screen and uniform appearance with an emphasis on a uniform appearance. I'm happy to answer any questions, and I'm simply waiting for the clear screen captures to begin the process of proposing the change to the CRL to allow for rivets at level 2 and 3 - which GMLs have absolutely nothing at all to do with. Those are done here at FISD, and here alone. Hopefully this will help you to understand things more clearly. In the future, if a customer tells you that their GML is giving them grief about approval, direct them to the FISD Detachment Leader and/or the LMO. GML education is something that we currently enjoy doing, and we're good at it too. Thank you. Tim

Looking good, Jim! I managed to miss the start of your thread, but I'm following it now. Feel free to check my build thread out, it's linked below in my signature. Had I seen your question before you found the answer, I'd have told you that your kit is fine for butt join construction.

Updated, Troopers! Do great stuff!! . Buy Merch!

I'd have to ask for the number, and given the knowledge that our hosting costs just skyrocketed, I'd expect it to be pretty substantial but I can ask easily. No telling how much space we'd actually need to do it, but we already use the overwhelming majority of the shared sites' bandwidth in the hosting plan.

Thank you for sharing Robert. This is so bittersweet... great turnout with some fantastic costumes, for a truly great but heartbreaking cause.