Order and Justice

National Night Out - Gig Harbor, WA - 01AUG2023

UPDATE Well, my last post in this thread was thirteen months ago, but I just got home from an eight month deployment and decided it was time for an update. At the time of my last post I was just getting started on training, I began with nightly cardio and cutting out sugary beverages. My routine has changed considerably since then, but the biggest change has been dietary, not so much a change in the kinds of foods I’ve been eating, but the serving sizes. Recently, I’ve started a new weight training regimen consisting of 1-2 hours in the gym five days a week (M-F). I’d be happy to go into detail if anyone would like to know more, but for the time being I just wanted to post some progress here. Posting keeps a little bit of healthy pressure on me, and this journey is far from over. Keep working hard Troopers, keep making progress, it’s never too late to get started. Best of luck to all of you. Progress Troopers, Progress! Last Update: 248.5lbs Current Weight: 217.5lbs Updated Goal: 200lbs

Salute to Navy Kids - Bremerton, WA - 23JUL2022

Alright, 1 week down, many more to go! Current Weight: 246.5lbs Im down 8.5lbs at the end of my first week, which is quite a lot of weight, but as many of you know, that’s to be expected in the first week, I expect that to slow down pretty considerably. I’ve cut my caloric intake in half, keeping it below 1500 calories per day and I’ve kept up with jogging a mile every night. I’m gonna keep this going, while I know this kind of weight loss won’t be consistent every week, I’m going to allow it to motivate me to the end of another week. Progress Troopers, Progress!

I can commit to weekly updates! I’m happy to have support from a couple of fellow Troopers in pursuit of similar goals, and I’m here to offer whatever support I can offer as well. Stay on target Brothers!

Definitely. The fitness requirement is one of the many reasons I chose to become a Stormtrooper. If I’m going to wear the armor of the Emperor’s finest, then I need to train like the Emperor’s finest.

Greetings Troopers! I have wanted to post something here in the Trooper Fit Club ever since finding this topic in the forums some time ago, but haven’t worked up the nerve to do so. I think this whole thing is a great idea for Troopers like me who don’t feel as comfortable in their armor as they would like to, and who want to make changes to improve their Trooping experience. I joined the 501st back in the Summer of 2019, back then I weighed about 230lbs and had my armor custom made to fit a slightly smaller version of myself. When I tried my armor on for the first time, I LOVED the way I looked in it, it was a snug fit, but I had good intentions to lose a few pounds at the time, so that didn’t bother me at all. I was eager to start Trooping! The pandemic began at the end of that year and unfortunately, in my area, that meant no events for the foreseeable future. I spent that time doing photo shoots, adding electronics and other modifications to my armor, and earning my EXPERT INFANTRY BATTALION award (#996) to become one of the first 1000. Regrettably, since then, I’ve put on another 25 pounds, making my armor more and more uncomfortable to wear. I was going through the photos of my most recent Troop this morning and couldn’t help but feel ashamed of myself for letting it get this bad. I realized that if I don’t make some changes now, I may not even fit in my armor soon, and then I’ll have robbed myself of some great Trooping experiences that I’ll be sure to miss out on as a result. So, here I am. The purpose of this post is to hold myself accountable, because no one can do anything about any of this but me. This way however, I’m amongst other, likeminded individuals who understand exactly where I’m coming from and exactly what I’m aiming for, so thank you in advance for any support you offer me along the way. This will not be a short journey, but it will be worth it in the end. Height: 6ft 0in Current Weight: 255lbs Goal Weight: 215lbs My plan to lose weight starting right now is to begin jogging a mile in my neighborhood every night, an easy enough exercise goal for a beginner, and to cut sugary beverages completely out of my diet, a big issue for me, and drink only water in stead. These are certainly not the most drastic of changes and I’ll certainly add other exercise and diet goals as time goes on, but this will be the foundation that I intend to build on, as I do so I’ll post updates here. Thank you fellow Troopers for your invaluable support. With luck, and hard work, I’ll have good results to report back here with a month from now.

Washington State Summercon - Puyallup, WA - 18JUN2022

POST 12 Washington State Summercon June 2021 Puyallup, WA Garrison Titan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Washington State Summercon - Puyallup, WA - 19JUN2021

Thank you Aaron, I'm honored to be inducted into the Stormtrooper Hall of Fame.

Holiday for Heroes - Silverdale, WA - 07DEC2019

Congratulations on your approval David, that's an excellent looking suit of armor! You do The Empire proud!

Cameron Blair TK 22020 EIB Letter Joseph http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/22020-eib.png

Thank you so much! I’ve learned quite a lot, gotten some hands on experience with new techniques, and really enjoyed this whole application process from beginning to end. There are many more hoops to jump through on my path to Centurion, and I’m looking forward to each and every one of them. Watching the final positions filled by my fellow Troopers on our march to 1000, my perspective changed from worrying that I wouldn’t make it in time, to accepting that I’d get approved when I got approved, and that the important thing was having a suit of armor I was proud of, and enjoying the journey as well as the destination. That said, I am of a mind with Firedog, I’m overjoyed to be one of the first thousand Expert Infantry! I have a lot of work ahead of me, but rest assured, my Centurion application is on it’s way. Thank you again to the DO staff, and to everyone for your guidance and support along the way. Next stop: Centurion. For The Empire! Cam Blair TK 22020

This countdown to 1000 was a great Idea! Watching that number get higher, reading everyone's excited responses, getting clues of what's to come once we reach 1000, it's all been a lot of fun! Not to mention it has provided some healthy pressure for us to get our applications submitted. Whoever was behind this, well done!

Thank you very much for the quick response, here are the requested photos: Thank you again for the quick reply, let me know if there’s anything else you need, and thank you and everyone following along for all the encouragement! I’m looking forward to joining the lofty ranks of the Expert Infantry! Cam Blair TK 22020

Update: Just wanted to add a couple more photos before the DO’s take a look. First here’s a look at the completed inside of the kidney armor shim. And because I noticed it on a recent submission from a Trooper who also obtained their armor through RS, here’s a look at all four of my thermal detonator screws, painted black.

Thank you! I’ve applied ABS paste to the seam on my kidney armor and I’m gonna go ahead and take this opportunity to move my Han snap outward, as advised. I do need to pull those gaps in between the thighs, the shoulders, and the torso armor. For now I think shortening the elastic loops will help, and losing a little of my extra bulk aught to help with that in the future as well. As for the thighs, the strips are straight, but that photo certainly makes it appear that they are at an angle, it must be the way I’m standing in the photo or the way they fit. I’ll have to see what I can do to adjust that. Thank you for the advice, I fully intend to eventually reach level 3 after I reach level 2 and as staggering as that may seem, each small adjustment is a stepping stone along the way. Thanks Again Troopers, Cam Blair, TK 22020

Update: Alright, so I went ahead and attached a shim to my kidney armor to close the gap on my right side. Also, Goo-Gone was an excellent recommendation for removing the paint from my metal snaps. I scraped the paint off and then cleaned up the snaps so they’d be shiny. If there’s anything else I need to take care of to get me to that EIB, please don’t hesitate to let me know, looking forward to earning that badge! Thank you all in advance for your invaluable help. Cam Blair TK 22020

Greetings Troopers, So if I'm not mistaken, the requirements for EIB state that as long as the gap between the ab armor and the kidney armor is less that 1/2"(or was it 1/4") than you're good to go. Also it states that a shim may be used to accomplish this effect. For EIB a seam may be visible where the shim meets the kidney armor, but for Centurion there can be no visible seam. I've successfully attached a shim and the gap between my ab and kidney is closed, all I have left is to create some ABS and conceal the seam, but for the sake of getting my EIB approval, would my shim be acceptable in it's current state?

Excellent question, my armor is made by RS Prop Masters in the UK. I was very much concerned with making sure the additional ABS was the right color and the right thickness, so I went directly to the source, contacted RS, explained my situation, and asked if they would sell me a couple cards of ABS. They were kind enough to send them to me free of charge, their customer service is excellent.

Moving forward, Once the E6000 had fully dried, I went ahead and did a test wear to ensure that the gap was closed and the lines were correctly, well, aligned. There are different requirements for shims depending on whether you are seeking EIB (Level 2) or Centurion (Level 3) approval, but moving forward, what remains is to create return edges on the top and bottom of the shim to match the kidney armor, and to conceal with ABS paste the line where the working edge of the kidney armor meets the shim. (And that canvas belt could use a little love too.)

Greetings Troopers, I decided to go ahead and document my process closing the gap between my ab and kidney armor. For my project, my right side had a gap that was about 3” wide at the top and 1.5” wide at the bottom. This was acceptable to be approved as a 501st TK, but in order to achieve level 2 (Expert Infantry), the gap needs to be closed. (Disclaimer: This project is currently a work in progress, I’ll continue to update this thread as I progress through the process. Be sure to read through the tutorial, start to finish, before beginning work on your own armor.) The supplies I used were as follows: 1. ABS plastic 2. Exacto knife 3. 6” ruler/ Measuring tape 4. Small clamps 5. Small super strength magnets 6. E600 glue This project is a work in progress, so if I end up using any other supplies I’ll be sure to annotate them below. With my supplies gathered, I began working. First measure the working edge( the edge you’ll be attaching the shim to) of the kidney armor to prepare to make the first cut. And always remember, measure twice, cut once. Using the Exacto knife, cut a piece of ABS to fit the length of the working edge of the kidney armor. I left a little length on the bottom to be trimmed later. Better too much than not enough. Next, prepare your kidney armor for the shim. You may not need to, but I trimmed away the return edge and removed the nylon strap and snap used to attach the kidney to the ab. I then went over the edge a few times with the exacto knife to ensure the edge was as straight as possible. Prepare your shim and a connecting strip of ABS that will be used to attach the two pieces together. My shim is 7” by 4”, and my strip is 1” by 5”. Yours will be different depending on your kidney armor working edge length and the width of the gap you’re closing. Before gluing, using the clamps, position the shim and the connecting strip on your armor to ensure that: 1. Edges are straight 2. Lengths are correct 3: shim will hold position on its own E6000 glue needs to be left for 24 hours to dry, so you’ll want to ensure your shim will not move during that period. This step is important, ensure the shim will fit exactly how you want it before applying any glue. Apply glue to one side of the the connecting strip. Holding your shim butted against your kidney armor, apply the connecting strip to the inside of your armor. Ensure the connecting strip is evenly placed half on the working edge of your kidney armor and half on the edge of the shim. once I had the shim held in place by the clamps, I used the super strength magnets to keep the shim held tightly during the drying period. And now we play the waiting game. It’s recommended that E6000 be given 24 hours to dry, so make sure your armor is positioned somewhere it will not be disturbed. (As stated above, this is a work in progress, so I’ll provide updates to this project as I continue working. In the mean time, any and all input is very much welcome, I’m by no means an expert and any tips or advice will benefit not only me, but anyone else this tutorial may help in the future. Thanks in advance!) to be continued...

10 spots!? Alright, that's it, no more procrastinating. I have my work cut out for me, but I'm gonna be one of those final 10!