TheBlooperTrooper

17. Summerfest, Lyndhurst Ohio, August 6, 2017 - 2 hours Today I took part in a troop at a local high school in Lyndhurst, Ohio. The troop featured a large variety of activities and other costumed characters. The crowd was fairly nice, but had one or two moments where situations got a little hectic and my fellow troopers came to the rescue. You know who you are, and thank you so much! Overall thoughts: I still need a better solution to the trading card issue, but it worked out well enough today. Otherwise, everything held up rather well! Photo with a bunch of people from the 501st and Rebel Legions as well as others that I originally met in Wizard World during my first troop! A photo with one of my mentors from when I was still building my kit!

16. WEPLcon, Willowick Ohio, August 5, 2017 - 3 hours Yesterday I took part in a smaller troop at the Willoughby-Eastlake library. It functioned as a smaller comic con with an array of vendors and artists at hand for the crowd to mingle with! I attended the con with a fellow TK. After kitting up, we wandered around the library for over an hour, taking a few photos here and there before meeting up with a guy from the Midwest R2 Builder's Club for a few photos with his half-completed R2. After a few more hours of this we decided to call it a day, as the crowd was starting to wind down. Overall thoughts: Everything held up rather well, but I had one minor issue. This was the first troop with trading cards, and the holder I have is a little wallet with only two pockets that I have to jam between my armor and my belt when not in use (not to mention how long this process took - 15/20 seconds total). I've found a workable replacement for this, but it won't arrive before I go off to college in a little over a week. If anyone has any ideas on where / how to get a workable trading card holster, let me know! Pre-troop photo! Blastercam 2.0 is back in action! Blocked the poster a bit, but still, your Empire needs YOU! Anyone a fan of Charlie's Angels? We found some valuable intel while on patrol... Not sure what to do with this green-screen shot. Any ideas? We even ran into a member of the First Order! Hoping to get a kit together myself in the near-ish future. The partially-built R2 from the Builder's Club! A familiar face from my 6th troop, Comic Heaven owner Jim!

15. Barnes and Noble Pop Culture Fest, Woodmere Ohio, July 29, 2017 - 3 hours It's a tad late in being posted here, but my latest troop took place at a Barnes and Noble in Woodmere, Ohio. As I got into the changing room, I realized I forgot my underarmor. After racing home to grab it (Yay super close troop again!), I joined the others in kitting up. The event taking place allowed anyone to come in in full costume and enjoy a bunch of pop culture icons in the graphic novel and literature worlds (GoT, TWD, SW etc.). We stationed ourselves by the main door, taking photos with people who came in . After about an hour of this, we started roaming around the store, grabbing a photo here and there with both people and props. To wrap up the first half of our day we all took part in a game of Star Wars Trivia for the kids in attendance. After a brief break, my parents made a quick visit and got to meet a bunch of the other troopers. Following this, we made a trip next door to visit a bunch of people who had made a special request for a photo! To wrap things up for the troop itself, we walked up and down the strip mall that the store was located in, spreading the word about the event to anyone and everyone! After we kitted down, we held a special little birthday party for one of our rebels who trooped on her birthday! Overall thoughts: My helmet received its first crack when I tried to quickly take it off one-handed. Thankfully, this was hidden almost completely by the S-trim near the mic tips. It was an easy fix with some epoxy and mesh inside the helmet as additional reinforcement. First part of the troop photo! Our awesome handler and TK to-be Alex! We troopers are all prepared for battle! Blaster-cam 2.0 with the behind-the-scenes employees helping us out throughout the day! Full group of troopers, plus who I believe is snow Padme? Wasn't sure and didn't get a chance to ask. At the trivia event! We saw something that looked vaguely familiar! Guarding the front door! Next door taking some photos with friends! Even when leaning over I still wind up being the tallest trooper in the bunch! My parents made a special visit to meet the other troopers and to check out the event! Official final photo of the troop in the store before going to spread the news of the event! We were asked inside a local Apple store, but soon wound up getting a fair number of the customers there to follow us back to our troop before calling it a day! And there aren't any videos or photos available, but we had a bunch of cake afterword and enjoyed the exhaustion that follows an awesome troop!

Welcome aboard! AM armor works for all levels in its current form - I'm currently EIB, and will likely stay there due to the rules on helmet decals. Best of luck on your build!

14. Orange Community Center, Orange Ohio, July 16, 2017 - 2.5 hours Yesterday I took part in a troop at the Orange Community Center. Compared to my other troops with hour plus, this was a rather nice 5 minute drive to the troop! We kitted up in a nearby firehouse dorm and went outside to take a few quick group and individual photos. After that, the event for children with Fragile X began. The crowd was small, but very into Star Wars, and was ecstatic about seeing us! We took a bunch of photos for awhile, then went inside for a brief break. After that, we went back outside for more photos with the children and the volunteers there. Following this, we weren't sure what was going on next, and wound up taking a bunch of photos with the kids and staff before calling it a day. Got two last quick photos with the other TK before packing things in and calling it a day. Overall thoughts: The troop was great, but one piece of padding came out of my helmet when I took it off while packing up. A very easy fix with some industrial velcro, so no long-term harm done. Everything else held up really well, although I might need to readjust the height of my thighs to be a tad bit higher based on the photos. Quick photo with the new guy! (RS Props kit on him) Blaster-cam back very briefly! Mid-troop break! I think we've found our newest recruit! Our ever-official Imperial Gunner! Group photo with the volunteers and coordinators! The other TK had one or two of the stereotypical height questions asked. I think I'm the odd one out in my garrison, as there's maybe one or two people that I've trooped with as TKs that are my height or taller. We TKs possess some golden pipes! Odd deployments can lead to some odd transports, but it always works out for the best! As a kid I wanted to be a fireman, so I thought this moment was darn cool! Technically a pre-troop photo set begins here, but it fits better as a post-troop sort of thing. While the event itself was done with weapons, we were given the okay to use them for photos away from the crowd. The new guy in his shiny RS Props kit! Yours truly, ready for battle! I plan on using this as part of my Ohio Garrison trading card, which I will hopefully be getting soon! Trading card photo part two! Rather happy with this one!

Bit of a status update: Removed the Anovos visor easily, but I'm having some difficulty getting the visor from VaderPaint to fit in the helmet. Seems a little oversized for the Anovos bucket. Looking into possibly having an optic shop cleaning the original visor to remove the warp effect. Would still prefer the VaderPaint one, as it is much easier to look through, but it's always good to have a backup. I'm also looking into a chin strap that loops through the spots where the hard hat liner was originally. Padding itself is quite easy, but I don't want to make any long term decisions until I can get the visor issue sorted.

13. New Philadelphia Parade, New Philadelphia Ohio, June 30, 2017 - 2 hours Yesterday I took part in a parade in New Philadelphia, Ohio. This was probably the warmest troop I've ever taken part in, with temperatures never going below 85 F, frequently creeping up to 90 F or higher. We kitted out in a nearby high school before securing our gear in our cars. We walked about half a mile to the parade route's start and started walking. I had tweaked my thigh strapping before the troop so I was able to walk quite fast along the route if required. Sadly anything beyond that would require trimming of the leg pieces, otherwise I'd just menacingly waddle everywhere. After about 2 hours of parading around, we reached the parade route's end. Important note: I was suffering from heat exhaustion by the end of this troop. If you don't already know the symptoms of it, click here to see them. Thanks to the actions of those around me who did recognize these symptoms, I was alerted to the issue and was able to quickly recover. Pre-troop photo: Mid-troop photo, was hoping to get the sun in the background but I'm still quite happy with the end result! Just a moment later, this time with the full group!

12. NSO Pops John Williams Concert, Kennedy Center - Washington D.C., 2.5 hours Last night I took part in a troop at the Kennedy Center along with members from the Old Line Garrison, Garrison Tyranus, Garrison Corellia, as well as some rebel Legion members and a very well-built R2D2. My family and I are in town on vacation, so a few weeks prior I looked up the local garrison calendar and found this troop. Everyone there was very kind and welcoming! We began the troop by taking a few photos where everyone was streaming into the concert hall, wrapping things up just as the first part of the performance began. Shortly before intermission, we took our places once again and took more photos, even one with the conductor, who is a HUGE fan of both the group and the saga. After this we kitted down and moved back to the concert hall one final time to listen to the Star Wars segment of the program. As we entered to take our seats, we even got a cheer from the crowd and a really nice compliment from the conductor! What followed was about an hour of the best music I think I've ever heard, not to mention a little encore of the Cantina Theme to round it all out! All in all, the friendly troopers, large crowds, enthusiastic and the National Symphony Orchestra combined to make one of the most memorable experiences I'll ever have! Huge thanks to the local troopers for being so welcoming! In terms of overall thoughts, my kit held up pretty well. One of my helmet fan batteries didn't work, but I had a backup that worked quite well in its place. Also, I noticed a minor armor bite in the return edge of my left forearm, which I can easily trim down when I get back home. Group photo! Might've accidentally blocked out the R2 owner and an Imperial Officer on accident. Got a photo from the other view as well! wish it could've been a clearer photo, but we had to run back to our room to kit down to hear the performance.

Thanks for the visuals! I plan on doing the same thing and it's great to finally see what I'm doing!

Thanks! Would've been darn near impossible without some top-notch help! Not to mention some TKs in the above photos looking extra awesome!

Hi! I picked up an Anovos Standard FOTK helmet from someone on eBay (I got lucky, it was a good one!), and am going to start work soon on customizing it. I'd like to paint / plastidip the interior, or if really possible line it with some dark soft fabric. Given that this helmet gives me much more room around the sides than my OT one, I was also hoping to get whatever comm system FOTK troopers use, along with an iComm if needed and the respective battery alongside two helmet fans. To start with, I removed the hard hat liner, as I couldn't fit my head all the way into the helmet. Once this was removed, my head slipped in to an almost perfect eye level. My first reaction was that the lenses are HORRIBLE. I had heard from other members that they weren't great, but I thought that meant something along the lines of an OT's view. I'd appreciate any tips on how you guys customized your own FOTK helmets, and/or where to go with mine! Note: Sadly this won't evolve into a full FOTK build for some time (likely many months / years) due to me starting college in a few months. Just wanted to get a full head-start on this helmet and make it self-contained to as high a degree as I possibly could.

I've PMed you the email of a guy who sells AM supplies. I'm not sure if this is the same guy as the AM armor maker himself or not, as I have conflicting results. Regardless, we should be able to get you parts of AM kit. I've gotten handgaurds, a right forearm piece, and my thigh ammo belt from him. Best of luck finding your parts!

11. Lake Erie Crushers Star Wars Night, Avon Ohio, June 10, 2017 - 4 hours Tonight I took part in the lake Erie Crushers Star Wars Night event at Sprenger Park in Avon, Ohio! It was the hottest troop I've taken part in at about 80-84 F. We were set up in the owner's suite behind home plate. I was excited to rig up BlasterCam 2.0 for the first time with the downright amazing DLT-19 that I bought from the folks over at Hyperfirm. The crowd started flooding in, taking photos with us right next to the front entrance. After a few hours, we made a visit to a suite to bid a fan a very happy birthday! We took a quick break and got some chow courtesy of the staff of Sprenger right in our room! We got back to the action, splitting up briefly to allow those who could climb on top of the dugout (Not Chewie and I ) to do a small dance competition. We ended our evening by arresting a very enthusiastic fan and taking a few photos with him. Overall thoughts: The DLT-19 worked rather well, but the E-11 at my hip, while firmly secured, was odd to adjust toward wearing rather than holding. Otherwise, everything held up remarkably well! Non blaster-cam photos credit towards Alex F. and his nephew, whose name I forgot. Second half of the troop, but the first full group photo I could get! The size of the DLT-19 honestly caught me off guard. I had seen it in person, but holding one for more than 20 minutes really puts its size and heft into perspective! The handler pictured in the first photo acted as Chewie for the first half of the troop. It was very entertaining to see how limited his line of sight was even when compared to mine or the Imperial Gunner's sight. Kylo and Rey took a small break during the first half, but I managed to get a photo of the rest of the group, including our other Chewie / handler Alex! During the second half of the troop, Chewie and I were taking photos while everyone else was off conducting the dance competition. Taking photos with kids who weren't as tall as my gun was long was great fun! This kid in particular was a little overzealous, interrupting the flow of the photo-taking. End well in the end though! Got one last outdoor photo as we were heading in for the evening. Got a very impromptu group photo in the elevator to wind up the day and complete the troop!

Even the lower tier quality Hyperfirm guns are amazing. I've trooped with a B Grade for several months now - It is ROCK SOLID! The elite version makes me quite envious though. Possibly another future upgrade...

I just got mine yesterday and get to troop with it tomorrow. I'd say it's worth every penny!

It just arrived today - holy cow is it worth every penny! Can't wait to use it during my upcoming troop this Saturday! HUGE thanks to Lewis for such an amazing product, and to Joseph for the recommendation.

10. Lake County Captains Star Wars Night, Willowick Ohio, June 3, 2017 - 4 hours Last night I took part in the Lake County Captains Star Wars Night. Parking was quite easy and very close to the changing location. We had six TKs, two scouts, an Imperial officer / gunner, Rey, Jyn Erso, a Rebel pilot, a Jawa, and a Wookiee in attendance. We originally deployed behind right field to an upper terrace where we took a few photos with people near a special access buffet that smelled tantalizingly good. After about an hour of that, a few others, along with myself moved out towards the front gate, taking photos as we walked. After some time, others joined us and we split into two close by groups to get lots more photos in a much shorter amount of time. A few people had to leave early due to a long drive, but most stayed till the end of the game! We remained near the main gate till the game's conclusion, changing before the fireworks began to beat the crowd. Overall thoughts: Everything held up rather well, but I need to make some to my belt to let it hang higher. I'm thinking of adding another snap to the cloth belt and possible a rivet to hold it in place even better and keep it from drooping. DLT-19 is slated to arrive Thursday a few days before my next troop! Non blaster-cam photos credit to Linda G. and David C. TK-only photo! Accidentally blocked out a 6th TK who happens to be my GML! We took a suspicious Jawa prisoner soon after our troop began... We were joined by many loyal Imperial citizens! The food I mentioned before was JUST out of the camera's view here. Was a solid challenge to not take off our buckets and chow down. We were honored by two dark lords of the Sith! Blaster-cam back in action! Hopefully to be upgraded to 2.0 before our next troop! Front gate view as people started to stream in! Empire only photo! Missing one TK sadly The best part of the troop was how people didn't realize that we could talk. Made me think of possible rigging some short range radio between TKs to allow TK-to-TK communication or to handlers if needed during troops. I tripped on the magazine rack pictured here several times... The Imperial / First Order vibe was strong! More group photos! Wish we could've synchronized our poses a little better, but everything went relatively well! Our gunner made the switch to an officer's uniform and requested a photo to prove he was there for our local troop logs. One of the split-up group photos! Our wookiee, NOT Chewie, from Episode III! Not sure exactly which wookiee he is portraying though, it's not my forte! The wookiee was the guy playing Kylo from my previous troop for the Indians (9). He towers over the rest of all the members. If you call him Chewie one too many times this happens We made up and I snagged a quick blaster-cam shot! We had a mix of ESB and ANH TKs in attendance. The game ran late but the Captains won with a grand slam just after this photo was taken! Some of the awesome staff of Classic Park! Full group shot, minus one TK and a Jawa. Ten troops down, a lifetime to go!

9. Cleveland Indians Star Wars Night, Cleveland Ohio, May 26, 2017 Last night I took part in a troop for Star Wars Night at Progressive Field. Attending was three Jedi, Rey, Han Solo, three TKs, one scout trooper, Kylo Ren, two imperial officers (one of whom changed to from an imperial gunner), a mandolorian merc, Boba Fett, and a royal guard. We initially set up near the gates behind left field, taking hundreds of photos in two groups with those coming in. The TKs were then invited down to escort people to the mound for the first pitch. After that (2 hours in), we took our first break. We then went out and about into the stadium behind the outfield area to take photos in two groups once again. After some time of this, a few people had to leave, so we condensed to one group to continue photos before taking our final break (4 hours in). We finished the evening by taking a few more photos before proceeding down to the field as an entire group of all who were left to help with some Star Wars trivia and fireworks. Total trooping time was about 6 hours including breaks. Overall thoughts: I had one of the straps on the webbing that held up my thighs break, but I had a backup in my emergency kit that worked perfectly in its place. Also, I used a balaclava for the first third of the troop, but decided against it for the second half. It was a tad too warm for me despite the fact that it prevented my helmet from shifting at all on my head. Making the upgrade to a Hyperfirm DLT-19, will hopefully have it in use at my next troop next week! Non blaster-cam photos credit to Debbie S., wife of the mandolorian merc and a frequent trooper at many other Ohio events! On the field photos by David C., a future trooper! Partial group photo. I'm in the middle! Full group photo. This doesn't do justice to Kylo's height. He towered over everyone there and nearly was eye-level with Chewie. Before we walked out for pre-game festivities, I got a photo with the other TKs at the left field gate. With our awsome handler and future trooper, David! Tried to get a grand shot near home plate but that angle was a tad crowded, so I tried for a full-field shot. I like this one better, but kept both in just because. With our awesome event coordinator! Didn't catch her name sadly. Final photo before walking out to the pitcher's mound! We could've been a little better on our timing, but it ended up quite well! Post-break one and back in the action! The trooper favoritism was high! It's always a little funny to see how people don't know where to look for a blaster-cam photo even when I point to it and say "This is a camera!" Shout-out to the other TK here: He helped me build my kit and trooped with me at Wizard World! Partial group photo of those who chose to stay late into the game. Pre-firework fun behind home plate!

I'm currently using a GoPro Hero 5 Session with a GoPro Remo. I've got the Remo inside my helmet using some industrial velcro on a spot just underneath my helmet's frown. Its battery lasts at least 4 hours at a time. I can use voice commands on it to control my GoPro much easier than in the past. For the GoPro itself, I've discovered that if you press the button on the back once, then the top button (the recording button), that is the shortcut to turn the camera itself off. Anytime I need to take a photo or video, I hit the button on the back once and about 3 seconds later the connection has been made, leaving me free to take any photos or videos I need!

Sent in my order for an HFx a few hours back - can't wait!

I'm considering picking up a pre-made DLT-19 for use with my GoPro as a blaster-cam. I'm slightly worried about whichever gun I pick not being able to take the stress from a selfie style pose. I'd want to try and hold it one-handed by the grip for brief periods if possible. I'd appreciate any input you guys have! For reference, using an E-11 instead of a DLT but the same concept / pose:

8. Oddmall - Canton, Ohio, May 20, 2017 Today I joined a few others at Stadium Park in Canton, Ohio. After some issues with finding out where we would be changing, everything else went quite well. I met up with another TK, two Jawas, an Imperial Officer, and Boba Fett. The way the park was set up resulted in us going down one side of a stream, taking photos with people along the way, taking a bridge to the other side, then looping back to our starting point where we had our changing room. We were joined by a Scout Trooper halfway through our first lap! We did two laps total, lasting about 3.5-4 hours overall. We finished up by taking a few individual and group shots. Overall thoughts: Bringing a lot of extra waters on a hunch paid off, as the only water we had was from a single fountain that half of us couldn't access while kitted up. Also, my mic came unplugged once again, but this was at the very end of the troop as we were taking final photos about 5 minutes before we called it a day, so it seems like only a minor detail. Funny troop moment: When we were taking a break, the other TK went over to one of the Jawas (Who he thought was his wife), and started asking questions like "How're you holding up honey?" etc., only to be surprised when we all realized he got the wrong Jawa. He was actually talking to the other one, who was the son of our Boba Fett guy. Needless to say, laughs were had all around! Non blaster-cam photos credit to Linda G., one of the Jawas. Pre-troop group photo Blaster-cam is back in action! The guy dressed as Vader tagged along with us for a sizable portion of our troop. Never come across someone happy to be arrested before, but you see new things every day! There were people of all sorts out today! With the event's mascot. Unsure why he had a vest though. Our host Andy, pictured, told us to look for him by looking for Danny DeVito Full group blaster-cam shot! Boba got arrested by a local cop. Full group official photo, including the entire cast from the MAPS Air Museum troop a few posts up on this page Buckets off shot Our glorious Imperial Officer: Officer continued: The other TK / soon to be Sandy (TD?) with his own custom made DLT. TK / Sandy continued: Jawa #1, main photographer of the post troop group and individual shots. Our ever-menacing Boba Fett Boba continued: Jawa #2, the taller one in all the photos: Our Scout Trooper. He was gloating a lot about his ability to sit and lift his visor at will to make us poor TKs jealous Scout Trooper continued: And last but not least, yours truly!

7. YMCA Movie Night - North Canton, Ohio, May 19, 2017 Yesterday I attended a showing of Rogue One at a YMCA facility in North Canton, Ohio. The rain forced the showing inside, but there was still a sizable crowd! Had my first experience with some less than polite people when a few middle schoolers kept trying to jostle me around and annoy me. Ignored them and they quickly got bored and left, leaving me and my three fellow troopers / rebels to take photos in peace. Overall thoughts: My kit held up well, but my mic became unplugged when I had to make a strenuous move to take a photo. Otherwise, everything went well! It was Old Rex's first troop! Full group photo: We went out front to direct people inside, assuring them that the rain wouldn't have an effect on our movie night. We were stationed in a gym for the indoor location of the movie. Not able to see it, but I got to use my Imperial binders (upon request) to hold these two together. People of all ages were getting photos for a few hours! With our host, Christina! Was a great troop!

Holy cow thank you so much! I'm honored!