TK8018-TrooperErin

Sorry, man. Add me to the "I'll wear a pauldron when I go sandtrooper" group.

I'd like my CABoots a lot more if they came in smaller sizes. Again, the disadvantages of gender-bending stormtroopers... I have to stuff the toes and wear insoles, as my boots are a full size too big for me (the joy of wearing the equivalence of a men's size 6). Otherwise, no complaints.

With the fans, it's like being in Death Valley in July. Without fans, it's like having your head in a blast furnace. I'd say that this is the one modification that everyone needs. It's hot in the armor anyway, so you'll do massive sweating. If you do not have some air circulation in there, it'll be intolerable for long periods of time and could be dangerous on long marches. Also, if you consider the sweating/breath factor, you're going to have even worse fogging issues than normal. Of course, this is speaking from experience living in Georgia (home of hot and muggy). I'd really suggest wiring in some computer fans. They don't take up a lot of room, don't need massive amounts of power to work, and they do wonders as little as they are.

As one of the gals who does this, I've got to keep in mind that bathroom breaks are going to be hell in a one piece under suit. What I've found is that dancer's leggings make for a good bottom, and you can find "snap crotch" style leotards that have the full length arm and turtleneck neck. It's not ideal, but at least it means I can hit the ladies' room without having to completely lose the entire armor.

Of course my hubby (TB 3389) and I'll be there. Considering our garrison, we'd have no excuse to miss it.

Just noticed that it was your birthday. Have a great one, eat some cake, live it up.

My fiance's one of the Biker Scouts. During the past six months, they've had some discussion on their board about fiberglass helmets as an option. Somebody did a run of the TB helmets in fiberglass. You nailed the problem on the head. Fiberglass can be shipped with all sorts of precautions and padding and can still show up cracked.

I'd really recommend avoiding anything with "White Knights" in it. After living this long in the south, you pick up on things you'd like to pretend that don't exist. The "White Knights" thing has a KKK implication to it that could be seen badly. Just a heads up.

Yeah, to the point that some of us women end up deciding to armor up. I'll probably have lots of stories in the future about being groped by drunk women who think I'm a he. No way in hell am I dressing like Leia or a generic stuffy Imperial officer. The stormtroopers just have so much personality. You can't help but love them. At the very least, the armor is the ideal costume for taking hilarious photos. Nothing's funnier than a stormtrooper doing something out of character. No other costume quite has that same effect.

I've been able to get off any scratches or dark marks so far just using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (handy, because I use them all over the house anyway). I have yet to need a good armor polishing beyond that.

TK-8018 of the Georgia Garrson, requesting 501st status as well.