Brattie

Oh come on skinnymalinky longlegs, Keep eh heid!!! Yur Heids Mince! Yer Bums oot the windae on that one! Grins big

I have a message from the shiny armor side.. <- Raspberry KIDDING! Laugh Be sure to keep me up to date on your Sandy build.. that way I can spray you with a hose later on to clean you off!! LAUGH!

Dan, That's a good idea.. I have heard mention of the passport holders that hang. I was at the Fergus festival that they broke the Caber Toss World Record last year Was Awesome! I hope to travel to Scotland some day in the future to take pictures of the culture and castles, etc. I love the accent..

Thanks Dan.. my concern with bending knees is that I've seen thigh armor that goes up really high which I would think would pinch and hurt as it stabs into the hips and crease area of the leg. I would think trimming them down slightly to ensure your leg can move would be appropriate. As for Kilt.. I like Kilts.. but I'm also a lady so I know how to walk in skirts. Laugh. Have you worn a kilt? I love the Scottish accent and all of their culture (minus the haggis) I can't wait until the next Fergus Festival.. I try to make it each year.

hahhaha.. sometimes I think auto correct is our worst enemy however it does make for some interesting conversations. Thanks for the tips and information Scott!!

Aaron - Deep relaxing breath.. Listen to this. It helps me sometimes. Listen, I don't have a lot of experience but I have been reading thread after thread of builds, tutorials, videos, and talking to everyone I can as well as watching you guys progress in your builds. What I can say is that all comes in time. This is a "Journey" to the 501st and it's part of the whole process. Don't be afraid to reach out to Tony and Andrew.. I doubt you are bugging them. FISD Is about troopers helping troopers and Members of the 501st are like a family willing to help. They were once where you are now. Besides I have to bug someone when I'm stuck in my build don't I? I understand the money thing.. but why do you have to do everything at once? With my Armor not here I have been trying to clear up the little things that I'll need and spreading out the spending money wise. If I run into issues.. well it's just one way to say slow down. Nothing is ever perfect. Everything can be resolved in time. This leads me back to a very good quote from someone in all of our Pasts... Sir Winston Churchill wrote "If you are going through Hell, Keep going". I've lived by those words through many challenges in my life. Keep your chin up, take a step back, re-evaluate, and move along forward..

@ Scott - You were talking about the Boot Loops!!! Hahahah When you said Belt loops I was thinking wow.. he runs an elastic all the way up to his belt! I get it now. Awesome Idea.. requires snaps.. I'll have to think about that one.. great idea though! Thanks @ Chris - I can only imagine what the neighbors thought. Laugh. Good to know you can move so well though in some of the armor. I think it's important to ensure stairs and other items can be easily handled. Even if it requires a little trimming. Not only for safety reasons but for comfort and so you don't have to do the "peg leg" walk. @ Dan - With all the conversation about people calling the cops on Troopers.. I don't think I'll have my bucket ON when I need my ID. But I do think it's a good idea to ensure you have ID no matter what. When I looked at what people had done I thought it was a great idea to hide away ID and such. However I don't want to be going into my back plate to retrieve things. @ Gary - I would have rather had Tigger deliver it! - chuckles - @ Eric - Good idea however bondo can be used for so many things. I am looking into how to best mount lenses now. Might be handy for building something nice. As for you two Sandy Troopers TK traitors!! - Laugh - I hope you get sand in your under-roos! I would hardly say you are "Fat" - "Phat" Maybe..I'd have to ask your other half - chuckles - You are just a bigger guy.

Gary.. you are correct in the language.. but hey.. it's all star warsian to me! Laugh.

UPDATE!!! BUCKET PADS HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

Alrighty.. Having a little fun with learning how to hand write Star warsian if that's a word.. Laugh.. To save space in my bucket I have removed the 2 hand written pictures for one I did quickly in Paint. Alright.. fine I'll translate!! ______________________ I AM SLOWLY GOING CRAZY 1,2,3,4,5,6 SWITCH CRAZY GOING SLOWLY AM I 6,5,4,3,2,1 _____________________ Watch this for a laugh

oh no.. he's back! Laugh hide the Candy!!

Thanks Scott.. everyone here is truly amazing. People I've met when I was able to get out to Collectors Con were awesome. Just very nervous about it all. It's a lot of money and could cost a lot if I mess it up. Laugh. That is a really long elastic Loop if it goes through your belt loop!!!

BUILD UPDATE AND STATUS Okay.. getting my thread back on track a little here.. LAUGH.. Not saying I don't love the other information n stuff.. so don't stop.. just need to re-focus myself a bit here... Armor Transport - Complete and takes up the whole back area of my Jeep. Armor - Update - All going well for meeting expected delivery dates. Binders - Completed for fun.. meh on the finished product - upset that i can buy some for under twenty bucks! Pads - Waiting on Pads to arrive for bucket Choices - I want to paint the inside of my bucket when it arrives (Plastidip available at Crappy tire) - I would like an audio system - hearing assist and mic (eventually) I found out that Oatly - Fix-it-stick is the putty some are using to create mounting posts in their buckets. I still need to find out what kind of bondo people are using for smoothing out areas. Calf hooks or Velcro - still haven't figured that one out. I have seen videos of people trooping and having issues with their calves. BLAH. Same with twist but that's easily fixed. Others have mentioned putting in a looping or hook system within the calf armor to hook to the loop on the back of their boots. However TK Boots advises in the instructions not to pull on those loops too much. So unsure on that one. Build has slowed to a halt almost.. sigh.. Running out of stuff to work on or research. I've read most of the threads about the builds and videos etc. I have to wait and see when I get my armor in hand when I can sit down and think through exactly how I want the set up. Everyone seems to be adjusting how they are working through things. The scariest part I would say is that 2 people I have been following through their build that are "Yoda Green" like me at all this gave up on a TK build and went Sandy.. that doesn't promote confidence in my abilities. I just hope I can get this done. I have been talking with Clamps off and on as well as a couple others. Really cool people. I look forward to meeting them and such down the road. To take up some of my time I created a new "emblem" for me.. it's neat.. you can see it in my signature and profile picture (as of Feb 2016 as it may change again). I figured the Imperial Cog with a TK bucket and Leaf would be nice - as well as Brattie written in Star Wars type. I am actually learning to write that text for fun. It helps with taking notes at work as well as no one else can read it. Laugh. Belt I have decided to leave the back of the drop boxes so they can be opened. Another Trooper mentioned using sock ends to create a pocket that can be closed with Velcro. I like this idea for being able to easily get to ID and a Debit card for Troops etc. ID especially.

I hear ya Dave, I don't want to rush when I get my gear so I probably won't make Comicon. With luck though I'll be around for other stuff later on! Still can't believe Eric is going Sandy.. BAH!

BtW Ken doesn't like Vent Screens. Just in case you didn't know that. It isn't Canon. The purpose was to better hide that there is a person inside the Armor. If you wear a balaclava and pull it over your nose then it accomplishes the same thing. The problem with the balaclava idea is that breath = moisture = ewwww against your face. And from what I've heard you are going to be providing loads of moisture as it is under the armor. When I complete mine, I think I'll velcro it in.. so it can be Kenified if he's around. Laugh.

OMG you guys and your necklaces of ears! Dave the Mesh Comrade!!!

yeah.. to cheese or not to cheese too! Too many choices.. I will be scuffing up the inside a little bit to help the stuff adhere when I get my bucket.. I just like the look.. A good point was brought up on the topic of the painting in the buckets about using cheese cloth and how it could interfere with the adherance of the velcro for the padding. I am thinking a good few coats of the stuff and then all will be good as many have mentioned in the above mentioned thread about painting the buckets and using Plastidip.. Laugh.. was that kinda cryptic or what? Anyway I like the idea..

Couldn't agree more Eric.. but it did bring up something that I think many of us deal with. The original was on Tantive. As for those that comment on my stuff.. I ignore them.. they aren't worth my time. They need to be told to FOCUS! ~ GRINS ~ I can't find "plastidip" in Home depot.. is it at crappy tire? Nevermind.. FOUND IT!

Looks awesome!!! Question: when you are waiting for the paint to dry are you shooting on the cute little hockey net in the background? I didn't know that Beer and Spray Paint causes Farts.. Laugh.. Good thing I don't like beer.. Rye all the way.. Laugh!

BUILD UPDATE Back to the Build... What I want to do with my Bucket Here's my question... PLASTIDIP.. where do you get it.. what is the name of the product in Canada? I would rather not use Tremclad as I have used it for other projects and know that stuff smells HORRIBLE! Looking at products at Home depot mostly as it's close to home. Thanks in advance for your help. Would this work? - Truck Bed Coating Black - Laugh.. Look at the description.. It's abrasion resistant, Non-skid, Protects from Impact, and reduces noise!!! Plus it's durable, and protects the surface from impact.. I wonder if that strengthens the bucket?? Laugh.. Or what about this one - Painter's Touch 2X Flat Black Primer - that "BONDS" to Plastic?? Or This might work - Leak Seal.. Chuckles Would ensure I never leak during a Troop - Enter laughter about washroom breaks here - Or am I stuck with Tremclad? Gah.. I hate having too many choices.. thus Paint is a Pain in the butt because there's a zillion of em!

Alright.. a question came up on another site about comments being made by Family or Friends regarding all the effort and money going into creating/building a stormtrooper Armor / "costume".. I replied to this question with the below: My family teased me about it all until I explained all the good things the group does for others. I showed them You-tube videos of the 501st in action, and educated them on it a bit. Yes I am doing this to be fun for me, because I love star wars, and have always wanted to have TK Armor. I am also doing it because I enjoy bringing smiles to others faces and helping in good causes. "Waste of money and time... " A comment I have heard both to my face and behind my back.. thin walls talk. 1) it is none of anyone elses business how you choose to spend your money even when you don't have a lot of it. 2) Someone doing what makes them happy so they can share happiness should be praised not ridiculed. 3) most often hurtful comments are due to jealousy or a desire to have something you have 4) Being a part of the 501st is like giving charity to those in need. You should always feel good about yourself and trooping. I don't know about others but I am by no means rich. In fact I'm probably considered below Poor. LAUGH. I won't get into my hardship as we all have challenges. I won't go into being a survivor of "stuff in my past" ... not getting into it.. I'm not here for pity or for people to feel sorry for me. I'm not here for it to be all about me.. I am here to do something I love, to have fun, to meet new friends, and to bring a smile to others faces. Like I said in the quote above.. the only thought that truly matters about what I'm doing here... is my own.. To all the others.. F.O.C.U.S (If you don't know what it means.. look it up -> F--- Off Cause U're Stupid) Laugh. Have a great day! ♥

Yes.. it looked really helpful. I meant to ask him what grit he was using. I have heard the same thing about the plastic gears. I am thinking of looking at a good attachment to my dremel.

That's so great and I love that idea of the new Blaster and ability within Canada.. now we need to get Heavy Blaster Rifles going too!! so dream big my friend! Chuckles

It's great to hear things are progressing Pyrates.. Reading that you are moving forward no matter how slow or fast is a big help. I'm glad you made it to an Armor party. Having people that know I am sure helps. I couldn't believe the information I received just meeting some of the 501st guys and talking to them at Collectors Con so I can only imagine how much of a help it was! Keep posting progress!!! Hope your little one gets well soon!!!

Good Morning everyone... I was lucky enough this morning to catch the last hour of Khro's Non-stop ANOVOS TK build and get to chat with him a bit on it. Was interesting. Around 21 hours of straight building. I know it's a good idea to take your time and he is an experienced builder having built other things before, but I have to say it was nice to see how some things were done. The Sanding of each piece before gluing to help things along, the difficulty with different parts. Anyway, I look forward to him posting an edited version of his build so I can see the beginning. I have to say it is funny that ANOVOS sends a Hero set up on the belt with a STUNT bucket. Anyway.. was interesting. If you caught any of the build I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. I have to say it put my mind at ease seeing some of it done. Lastly.. his room looked like the left over pieces of the death star when he was done. Laugh.. Prepare for a mess!!