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revlimiter

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Posts posted by revlimiter

  1. 14 hours ago, Nairy said:

    Amazing Adam, happy Trooperversary:happyandcheerfulbirthday: This makes me so happy and excited to continue myself! :wub: Are you going to smash the troopaward75.png badge next year? :popcorn:

    Thanks!!! And whew, the 75 badge.... I hadn't thought. If the calendar is kind to me, I'll get it! :salute:

     

     

    12 hours ago, Morgi said:

     

    Of course I did! Us fun-and-crazy TKs gotta stick together :salute:

     

    So many amazing pictures and memories, it's awesome to see how far you've come in one year. Congratulations and here's to the next successful year of TK Mischief :smiley-sw013:

    Thanks Morgi!!! This next year can only get better with my newfound sitting and kneeling powers. :peace: I gotta try laying down soon.

     

    8 hours ago, Scimitar said:

    Congrats on the 1 Year Trooperversary Adam! You have definitely made the most of it!!

    I've burned both ends of this year's candle to the best of my powers. :laugh1: Soon we will troop TOGETHER!!!

    • Like 2
  2. 11/11/22 - Deluxe Design Re-Opening

    36th TK troop, 33rd for the year, and my 1 year Trooperversary

    CDZ-5435 - troop 12

    TI-50597 - troop 5

     

    troop2021-1-1.jpg

    On Nov 13th, 2021, this was me. Shiny and fresh. Never trooped. Barely knowing the joys of wearing the white armor.

     

    troop2022-33-1.jpg

    11/11/22 - here's me after 36 troops in one year. Thumbs up. Waiting in the hot sun for a ribbon cutting. A bit dirty. Far more smiles than a trooper ever deserves to have in a year.

     

    troop2022-33-2.jpg

    Got another one with my whole family (that's my wife bombing in the middle). Family troops are possibly my favorite thing in life.

     

    troop2022-33-3.jpg

    If you look carefully you'll notice I'm holding my daughter's hand. That's to keep her from stealing each and every E-11 down the line.

     

    troop2022-33-5.jpg

    WHO STOLE THE E-11s?!?!?!?!?!  Yes, she has an arsenal under that robe.

     

    troop2022-33-4.jpg

    Some selfies hit different. This one really captures that ominous feel of a bunch of Imperials waiting to create some smiles.

     

    troop2022-33-6.jpg

    With Gus, who was there on my very first troop a year ago. One of my favorite people in the world to troop with.

     

    troop2022-33-7.jpg

    With the boss. That's Jeff Vader, that is.  Ready to force choke and blast a whole hot dog stand.

     

    troop2022-33-8.jpg

    This IS the hot dog I'm looking for.

     

    troop2022-33-9.jpg

    Hot and tired, but ready for this dog.  Note the COMFORTABLE SITTING!!!!! A billion thanks to @Morgi for sharing the dark arts of advanced TK sitting and mischief with me.

     

    What a year.

     

    Best year I've had in my 45 on this planet. :wub:

    • Like 7
  3. My current fitness could be better, but I've been in great shape. Thanks for asking! We walked about 70 miles last week (no kidding) in Disneyland. My feet are begging for mercy but I'm feeling good. Gonna get back into the gym swing shortly.

     

    verrry very slowly gaining weight even, which is good. My Crohn's disease is in remission again.

    • Like 3
  4. 10/29/22 - Boo at the Zoo

    35th TK troop, 32 for the year.

     

    troop2022-32-5.jpg

    Good morning troops! It's 33* (1*C) out at 0800, I'm in a park full of duck poo at the zoo, and I'm wearing my winter underoos. Gonna be a great day!!! (and it was)

     

    troop2022-32-4.jpg

    This was our group for the yearly Trick r Treat at the Zoo. A good showing! I'm, of course, kneeling, because I'm addicted to it now.

     

    troop2022-32-6.jpg

    There were over TEN THOUSAND folks in attendance. I got some pix with the cream of the crop, including this tiny Master Chief...

     

    troop2022-32-9.jpg

    These EXTREMELY tall people.... (they were amazing!)

     

    troop2022-32-7.jpg

    Edward Scissorhands... (she was incredible)

     

    troop2022-32-1.jpg

    And we ALLLLLL had to get in on this mermaid photo. 

     

    troop2022-32-8.jpg

    They had basketball, in which I totally made every shot.. yes... every shot.  Very accurate you know.

     

    troop2022-32-10.jpg

    And a blow up skee ball in which I DID actually get a ball or three into the hole.

     

    troop2022-32-2.jpg

    We visited the reptile house to get out of the frigid outside temps and found this ice cave.

     

    troop2022-32-11.jpg

    I got nice and  warmed up in the next foyer.

     

    troop2022-32-3.jpg

    A 10/10 day. Would troop the zoo again!!! 

    • Like 5
  5. 10/26/22 Make A Wish Trunk R Treat

    TK Troop 33 (30 for the year, 6 in my HWT)

    CDZ-5435's 11th troop

     

    troop2022-30-6.jpg

    I'll be honest, I see "Make A Wish" on a troop title and I sign up. I'm not sure how this one was a MAW troop, as it seemed like a regular trunk-r-treat, but it was still a very good time. Lots of super-done-up cars, tons of candy, and many very happy kids.

     

    troop2022-30-5.jpg

    Yes, I missed.

     

    troop2022-30-8.jpg

    Missed again. Then my daughter made me pick it up. :laugh1:

     

    troop2022-30-4.jpg

    Even APD had a trunk in attendance. We posed. I knelt. I'm addicted to kneeling now.

     

    troop2022-30-1.jpg

    It was my first troop with the pack in full Kenobi mode with the lights and blaster and antenna

     

    troop2022-30-3.jpg

    My Jedi buddy James agreed, it looks super cool. I *felt* super cool. Having the pack I really wanted is super satisfying.

     

    troop2022-30-7.jpg

    My daughter and I clowned around all night. We gave away candy, she stole it back and re-gifted. Lots of smiles.

     

    My favorite bit of the evening didn't get a photo. There was a little FOTK and a little Vader in attendance. We escorted them around for a while. They seemed to super enjoy having their own TK and Jawa escorts. I did my standard thing of "MAKE WAY FOR LORD VADER!!! DARK LORD OF THE SITH COMING THROUGH!!! YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET FORCE CHOKED!" and got lots of laughs from kids and trunk workers alike. Though I couldn't see, I know Vader had a huge smile under his bucket as the trunks HEAPED candy into his bag. I sure had a matching smile under mine.

     

    ---------------------------------

     

    10/28/22 - Haunted Death Star Halloween AM

    TK Troop 34 - 31 for the year, and back to my ANH Stunt setup

     

    troop2022-31-1.jpg

    A school across town had a Star Wars theme for their Friday Halloween festivities. One of the teachers is a member. We had seven (Celina as a rebel pilot taking this pic and another teacher as white dress Leia who was not RL) in our group.

     

    troop2022-31-4.jpg

    We welcomed the kids to school at drop off, inspected their pumpkins and deserts, hassled the parents for their identification, and generally made an Imperial nuisance of ourselves.  Tons of smiles, photos, and fist bumps.

     

    troop2022-31-2.jpg

    A couple of the class pumpkin projects that kids were carrying inside past us. The little pine cones in the Falcon clamshell are wookies. Super adorable.

     

    troop2022-31-5.jpg

    One class did baby Yoda punkins. They got the blaster.

     

    troop2022-31-3.jpg

    Then we visited classrooms for most of an hour. SO MUCH FUN!!! I brought a bunch of stickers and handed them out to the kinder and first grade classes. The more well mannered classes got to come up, give high fives, and take class pix with the funny plastic spacemen. One class had a little Vader.

     

    I *love* when there's a little Boss to pose with!!! My TK heart grows 10 sizes. The above shot is one of my favorite troopy pix ever. Kneeling, y'all. It's the next level after Centurion.

     

    Though it doesn't seem like a huge and important event - just welcoming kids to school and going in some classrooms - but it was SO much fun. It was up there with the best troops I've done in the past year. I'm so happy I got up early today to do it.

    • Like 7
  6. I FINISHED IT!!!

    I've got a bunch of pix to put up and will try to sound coherent whist being excited to have the HWT pack I saw on Kenobi.  (totally geeking out here)

     

    hwt62.jpg

    I sourced all my parts from amazon. I know there's better places, but this was the easiest for me. I work a lot so just getting to hit an order button on one site really helped.

     

    I couldn't find everything in 5v, so I settled on 12v lights. I figured I could make the power work easier than finding 5v pilot lights and toggles. LEDs are easy but those pilot lights are a pain.

     

    Pilot light: The "Keenso" red 4 pack is a match for the lamps used in Kenobi. 12 volt, about $6.50. They bulbs are not held in those metal housings very firmly. I added a bit of glue to each internally.

     

    Toggle switch: I absolutely hate the ones I got, but they match the screen used pack. This is the "Twidec" 8 pack SPST. 12 volt, about $10. If anyone else builds a Kenobi pack, try to get a switch that has a screw mount on the back. Mine clip on and would not stay in place on my thick radio box. I had to cut off the clip mounts to keep the switches from pushing themselves out and glue them in place. Easy, but annoying.

     

    LEDs: Any white LED will work. These are 3mm "Edgelec" in a 20 pack for $7. Pre-wired, non-flashing, 12 volt. All the white ones in my parts bin were 5v, so I had to buy these.

     

    hwt63.jpg

    The Kenobi pack has a whip antenna, so I needed one too. Metra 14" universal. It's not lightweight either, but it seems to be the exact one used.  (About $19)

     

    hwt64.jpg

    I removed my printed blocking plate and used the round one that came with the antenna. It's a lot more sturdy than my printed one and covers all but one hole. I set the printed one aside in a bag with the screws for reinstallation in the future if I needed. 

     

    And yeah, the base got sanded to match the pack shape before I finished the project. :engel:

     

    hwt65.jpg

    I held the laser cut fascia on with just a few dots of E6000 so that I could peel it off later for this purpose.

     

    hwt66.jpg

    I glued some speaker cloth over the radio face. I have tons of it from my daughter's jawa kit and like the look of the radio having a speaker element.  This isn't on the Kenobi pack, but seemed like a worthwhile small addition.

     

    hwt67.jpg

    Er... the dremel slipped and I cut a bunch. Oops.

     

    Actually, this was planned. I want sound to be able to escape from the radio box, so I cut some ports to be hidden by the speaker cloth.

     

    hwt68.jpg

    Speaker cloth and fascia reinstalled. Switches!!! installed. And I figured out a decent mounting method for my Disney Parks radio knobs.

     

    I want the knobs to still be able to spin like the 3D printed ones could. A 2" machine screw is long enough to let the knob mount to the radio surface. I double nutted the screw near the top so that the knobs could spin without unscrewing the hardware. Inside the case, the screws are held in with nyloc bolts to prevent loosening.

     

    hwt69.jpg

    Three LEDs per knob. Overkill? Very likely. But I have all of these LEDs and I need to get enough load to prevent my power supply from shutting down by itself...  Nine LEDs on the radio itself will help that.

     

    hwt71.jpg

    I drilled things and made a wiring harness for the inside of the pack. This connects the red lights on top of the vent and button box as well as the two white LEDs on the drop siphon. I glued it in place along the outer edges of the pack to prevent the straps from bothering things. Near the internal LED connection, the wiring harness has some metal worm clamps holding them in place.

     

    hwt72.jpg

    Here's the finished internal radio box. I spent WAAYYYYY too long running these wires, but I'm nearly as proud of this as I am of the whole pack. Nine LEDs worth of wiring and the pack's internal wiring harness all got neatly sorted and tucked, allowing the radio box to be opened  without being a rat's nest.

     

    The power pack is a "TalentCell" 12v 3000mAh tiny guy from amazon. It weighs 400g and can power both 12v and 5v. It has an on/off switch (hiding behind the plug in this shot) to turn the pack on and off. It should run the pack for a couple days before needing a recharge. It was about $28.

     

    I've also got a little Bluetooth speaker velcro'd inside. It won't live in here permanently, but I wanted to see how it works. Spoiler: AMAZINGLY!!! The hollow interior of the radio box gives everything a slightly more tinny sound. The TK Chatter loop sounds super authentic coming out of this. Stupid loud too.

     

    And lastly, I added expanded metal to the face plate cut out holes. Whilst wiring things up I nearly put my stupid finger through that speaker cloth at least five times. I know it would have been punctured accidentally on a near-future troop. Some mesh protection seemed to be in order. And as a bonus, it looks super cool from the front when the light happens to hit it.

     

    hwt70.jpg

    The last bit I needed was the Imperial Cog for on top of the wipe box. I lasered this tiny 40mm guy out from the same acrylic I used on the radio face plate. It's delicate but securely glued to the top and away from harm. Hopefully it won't shatter right away... or ever?

     

    And here it is... my finished Kenobi pack.

     

    hwt73.jpg

    Daylight with power off.

     

    hwt74.jpg

    Blaster side. I used 3 strips of velcro tape to keep the blaster from moving around.

     

    hwt75.jpg

    Top. You can almost see the wipe bottle cog and my reshaping of the antenna base.

     

    hwt76.jpg

    In the dark garage with lights on!!! 

     

    hwt77.jpg

    I wanted this since July.   It's SO satisfying to have it.

     

    And with that, I think this build is complete. My first troop with it is tomorrow evening at a Make-A-Wish trunk or treat. If I get a good photo, I'll post.  :dancing-trooper:

     

     

    • Like 4
  7. It's not at all required for approval, but your plastic hand armor will fit WAAAYYYY better and be more comfortable if you completely remove the return edge. Make it flat. Then heat it up and form it to the back of your hand. I did this (maybe stupidly) with a heat gun while wearing it. If you're gentle, you won't burn yourself and you won't deform the armor.

     

    And yes, that knee may get push back from your approval staff. It isn't supposed to be riveted on for ANH armor. 

     

    Your ammo pack knee/thigh needs to be rotated up a bit so that it meets the cover strip on that thigh. Pretty easy to do with a little E6000.

     

    Your blaster and bucket look fantastic!  As does the whole armor kit. I'll bet you get basic approval quickly! :salute:

    • Like 1
  8. I want to have a pack mounted E-11, but don't want to use any of the ones in my armory (of which there are three)... so I took an unloved Rubies blaster and painted it up. I didn't manage to take any in progress photos. Sorry about that.

     

    rubies.jpg

    They start out looking like this.

     

    The thing weighs about 5 oz, so it fits the weight requirement for me. I don't have a Rebels E-11 in my collection yet, so it's not a duplicate for me. And if it gets destroyed on the side of my pack... I can just get another. Perfection!

     

    hwt57.jpg

    This is mine after paint and weathering. I sanded the seams and filled the holes (visible on the other side).  I also put a screw in the side of the grip. No other mods. The grip got a coating of gloss clear while the rest is painted in matte.

     

    hwt58.jpg

    The ejection port is done with brushed metal foil, which the phone totally blew out. It looks a bit nicer than the bright blob in this pic.  I weathered it a bit heavier than my usual taste so that the details would be noticeable from 10 feet away.

     

    hwt59.jpg

    I gave the front of the scope a small epoxy covered black dot to let it catch some light and look better than a piece of hollow plastic.

     

    hwt60.jpg

    And the back got a counter sticker and a printed holofoil scope decal - also better than hollow plastic. Not that these will really be visible on my pack...

     

    hwt61.jpg

    Just needs some velcro strap tape (on the way from amazon) and it'll be mounted up.

    I also added a couple latches to the side of my radio box to allow easier access than removing the 4 corner screws. The factory radio corner screws got removed and I glued (JB Welded) matching screw heads in their place. Now all of the boxes have the same mounting hardware, which satisfies my OCD.

     

    Gotta say, the latch details on the sides also make me happy. They look quite period correct for a 70s vintage piece of Star Wars tech.

    • Like 3
  9. 6 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

     

    Gotta' say, Adam, that was one of the finest builds I have seen in a long time.  Seeing all that attention to detail was an absolute pleasure, mi amigo.  Now that you have set the bar so high, I hope we continue to see more HWTs follow your example.  ;)

     

    5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

    Congratutlations trooper

     

    6 hours ago, MaskedVengeance said:

    Congrats dude! As others have already said, excellent build and weathering. I know you'll now be hurrying off to clean and polish that white plastic. :smiley-sw013:

     

    5 hours ago, Doggydoc said:

    Congrats Adam. Very well deserved.  

     

    4 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

    Congratulations Trooper ! Well deserved ! :th_AnimatedBravoSmiley:

     

     

     

    4 hours ago, magni said:

    Congratulations :th_AnimatedBravoSmiley:

     

    Great looking Centurion :salute:

     

     

    4 hours ago, Nairy said:

    Congrats Adam!!! :smiley-sw013:

     

    4 minutes ago, Aradun said:

    Congrats Adam! Amazing job!

     

     

    Thank you all!!!!

    Seriously over the moon about this. :dancing-trooper::cantinabandf::R2D2::salute:

     

    • Like 1
  10. :dancing-trooper: I GOT CENTURION TODAY!!!! :dancing-trooper:

     

    My pack build was approved! Huge thanks @Chemi @TKSpartan and @justjoseph63 :wub: You guys made me very happy.  And I'm specifically mentioning you all because... I'm now changing my pack. :unsure:

     

    See, I wanted to build a replica of @equuspolo's Kenobi pack when I started this. Step 1 was getting the pack built and Step 2 was reaching Centurion. Because Ardeshir started out with a Centurion pack before modifying it for the show, I wanted to start from the same place.  It makes sense in my head anyway...

     

    So. No disrespect meant to the DOs at all by my modification of an approved pack.  Thanks for declaring my build Centurion Quality!  I just am moving onto Step 3 - Recreate the Kenobi HWT Pack.

     

    hwt-42128-11.jpg

    I was SO excited when I saw these two run onto the screen. Seriously. I liked the Heavy Weapons Trooper pack and CRL before, but seeing it on the screen, even if just for a few seconds... it ignited a fire. I started buying parts for it that same week.

     

    hwt-42128-10.jpg

    This was the best screen grab I was able to do myself. It shows all the lights, the E11 mount, and pack config. I will not admit to buying software just for this... I used it on my E-11 ANH Leia Leveller replica build also!! So I already had the screen enhance software laying around... heh.

     

    All photos below were taken by and shared publicly by Ardeshir. They are not mine.

     

    hwt-42128-5.jpg

    hwt-42128-6.jpg

    Ardeshir shared these photos with the FISD staff and on the Facebook HWT group. Ultimately, it was decided against having a CRL for the Obiwan HWT... but I still want to build the pack.  So I'm gonna!

     

    hwt-42128-9.jpg

    Very close to its roots. It just has some extra lights, switches, and the beautiful Disney drink bottle tops.

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    hwt-42128-8.jpg

    Cog on the drop siphon, nice weathering, oval Meguiar's wipe bottle. I believe that's a battery box glued to the side of the radio box.

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    hwt-42128-4.jpg

    Mortar tube side - pretty stock looking over here, just with the lovely weathering.

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    hwt-42128-3.jpg

    The blaster side - I will likely paint up a Rubies E-11 because I don't have a Rebels one in my armory. Nice use of velcro tape! Also, Kenobi confirmed the existence of velcro in the SW universe (close-up of Leia's gloves). 

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    hwt-42128-2.jpg

    And LOOK AT THAT!!! That's the pack lights at night. Note that the blue lights are in fact white LEDs. It's a camera white balance making them appear blue.

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    hwt-42128-1.jpg

    I cannot wait to have this. It will be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least there will be another one in the universe made out of my own pack.

    (photo by equuspolo)

     

    So that's the next step in my HWT pack build - lights, an antenna, some switches, and a pack mounted E-11.

     

    • Like 4
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