Daetrin

Good looking kit - well done

Instructions on how to request a status change are here: http://whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7

Sorry about that Adrian - my error and you're now in the correct group. You can always do subsequent donations. Did it not work a second time?

Absolutely. You cannot be Elite without being 501st first. Elite, like Lancer and MEPD Officer, builds on 501st membership, and does not replace or supersede it.

I'd like to hear from the Elites with FX buckets - it's them that will be affected. Why not let them decide?

Actually this is what you want Elite for Bernard, but for others it may be a different reason. Remember that this is a detachment for *all* 501st stormtroopers. Some people join the 501st to troop, others are mostly collectors, and some are mostly prop builders. Some folks troop several times a month, some once a year. The Elite standards are already higher than the current 501st standards. They were never designed nor intended to be the ultimate of what can be achieved in terms of accuracy. They're meant to lead and inspire members to achieve a higher standard, not put the standard so high it's only attainable by a few. I'm not sure what the MEPD Officer percentages are out of all 501st TDs, but I bet it's pretty high. This to me is a sign of a successful program, not having only 10 people who went the Mike Harrison route. And yes, when the majority are "deployed" then it's possible to raise the bar yet again. If we really wanted something that meant the most accurate of the accurate, I'd suggest some other designation in a different program.

I'd suggest we put this to a vote!

Very sweet news! I look forward to being a repeat customer

I think the tube stripes are air intake filter covers. I also think that what we call the thermal detonator (or alternatively 02 [oxygen] cylinder actually contains rations. As we all know it's easy for this thing to be taken off you or fall off, sandy's don't have them (presumably this kind of thing is in their pack). I mean, there are no pockets in this uniform at all. Where do you put personal items or fruity oatey bars?

I'd be completely happy with dis-allowing the FX bucket for Elite standards. 1) It's the most visibly inaccurate of the entire FX kit 2) It's too large proportionally on most anyone under 6'3", and for folks that size there are other makes that look fine. 3) Other makes are readily available. 4) It's on it's way out already. It used to be that sporting an ANH lid was pretty rare, but more and more I'm seeing that they are displacing FX Legion wide. My observation is that the sandtroopers are already ahead of the curve, but it's getting more and more standard in the TK ranks as well. 5) Cost is less of an issue. Presuming you can sell your FX lid for $100, the delta on upgrading is less than $200 in kit form for pretty much any other model. Gets my vote in a heart beat

Here's some more food for thought... Even if Elite means no Hasbro, it doesn't mean you can't troop without one. What I mean is that while MEPD requirements specify that you have to be *able* to troop as 100% MEPD, it doesn't mean you have to. For instance, at times I just troop with an E-11 instead of a BFG, or at a con or other place with little room I might ditch the pack. So even if we ban Hasbro from Elite and you use a nice resin job to get Elite status, you're perfectly free to troop with your Hasbro should you wish too. I guess in light of this I'm more in favor of dis-allowing it. The question is this: how to codify it? I mean, if someone scratch builds an E-11, how do we determine it's Elite quality as opposed to Hasbro quality?

Yes, yes, YES!!! Perfect summation

That is correct, blasters are not required for pretty much any character. The only exceptions I believe are Sith Lords (light sabers) and sandtroopers (who need a BFG, but no blaster).

Yeah, pretty much everything is up to whatever you feel it should be. It's all fantasy - who's to say that your explanation isn't better than what some hack writer for LFL comes up with?

I think that's taking this beyond common sense.

Like I said guys - that was my opinion and you guys have some really valid points. Heck, I'm half convinced already You're certainly free to request a poll from the command staff. Ed - what do you think?

Done!

All set Adrian

It's because the Sith Lord detachment has been very active in pushing the accuracy bounds for quite some time, and that it's a face character. This detachment is not much more than a year old, and as there was no central body pushing it, the standards for the stormtrooper costume have not kept pace with some of the others. In fact, getting the standards tightened was one of the reasons I started this forum, so it's not like I don't have empathy for where you're coming from. I'm totally open for having Kenner removed from Elite, but it's worth bearing in mind that there are tons of "out of the box" TK's in the Legion. The Elite standards as-is are quite a step up, whereas the base Vader is probably not as far away from an outstanding one. I think that ditching the Kenner is certainly a long term goal, as is getting rid of FX helmets. But in the short term, I'd rather this detachment put it's efforts on getting people to what is now Elite before making Elite and even higher target. (Consider there are over 1200 Legion TKs, but only 9 Elite)

Don't feel bad Kevin - it's not like any of us knew this stuff out of the womb either.

Whoa! What many have dreamed and few have tried - making molds! Neat to see you on this - can't wait to see more progress.

Hi Darlene, My recommendation is to use canvas or stretchy fabric (or similar) strapping material affixed via velcro or E6000 to the underside of the chest & ab. This way the plastic straps on top are purely cosmetic and are not load bearing at all. I velcro'd the fronts and left the back flapping freely, though at some point I'll glue down the fronts methinks.

Realize though that TM doesn't trim armor for free - you have to pay for the service. For myself, I paid someone to do most of the trim/assembly on my TE2. There are certainly people who offer this service for clones, and I've seen some on MEPD who pimp out their skillz on TK/TD armor as well. Don't get me wrong, I really like the look of TM too and am not knocking it at all! It's just that I don't think - esp. with the exchange rate - that if you're in the US that the cost/effort barrier is as great as it might otherwise appear.

For normal trooping it holds up great and I haven't experienced any tearing, etc.. I think if you went mechanical bull riding in it or tried to play tackle football or similar like some guys do in their FX then it won't hold up to that kind of abuse. But aside from extreme stress like that, it's been working for me. Mike Harrison also troops in TE(2) and has been doing so for longer. They can provide even better long term feedback.

Look at my avatar. That's TE2.