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Merugear

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Everything posted by Merugear

  1. To have all of this over with once and for all: I do not want to join the Dutch Garrisson It's been three months or so and during all this time I've been publicly (and privately) harrassed by members of the 501st that somehow feel affected by all of this. Most not even living in the Netherlands. I still do not need to apologise for 'what I have done', since all I did was inquire. The only reason people go ballistic on me now is that I had the decency to put my conversations on here, and people started to make connections. If it was some old hag, none would have been paying much attention. This ordeal has nothing to do with me, being that if the DG had done 4 years ago what I did two or three months ago, they wouldn't be in trouble right now. I had every right to inquire about the weapons law, and if that is an action I am to be convicted for by all of you go ahead. "Since this all blew up, we had several police visits on other events, to check us out if we didnt break the law again." Yes, well and a good thing at that! As a member of the 501st you're supposed to be a perfect example to everyone etc. etc. so LFL won't look stupid. Heck just take one glance at the Legion Charter and you'd think that paying heed to local weapons laws would be in that list wouldn't it? And not to mention... Breaking the law is illegal. So why the hell are all of you cross with me? Cos you got caught and now have to face the consequences of it? I do not have to be more humble or less condescending, because I've been the target of so many bashes ever since this whole crapfest started, all because all of you bashers needed a scapegoat to bash. I had nothing to do with the police checking you out. I have no one to apologise to. Maybe the fact that you all were deliberatly carrying illegal weaponry around might have to do with the fact that you're under surveillance right now? Yes they are toy guns, but not by law. (If you happen to live in a country where guns are abundant, good for you. Here it works differently, live by it.) Accept it: You messed up. You fvcked over the Legion Charter by ignoring the local laws and got busted. End of story. Go and nag, bash or whatever at me for all you want, but that is the bare and cold truth my friends. The only ones being wrongfully condescending here are the people who feel that I should give an apology to them. I have nothing to do with it. The law was there all the time, and you were there waving your toy guns in the air, all knowing it was bloody illegal here. It was a matter of time, and I am sorry that I might have speed up the process, though it was inevitable regardless. As Daetrin said; look at the other Garrissons that are less fortunate and consider yourself lucky. So what if the police force pops up now and then? In a while their attention will diminish because they'll see what charitable people you really are. Heck, bond with them and make it fun. Show them what you do. Prove yourselves to them. They're all humans like us. It's an opportunity to create a bond of trust between the 501st and the police force/dept. of justice. And what if the attention does not diminish? So what? At least now you're certain the law's abided and there'll be more control at the events you're attending. You're still allowed to carry the white toy blasters... It is not the end of the world. You can still have fun with the police around, and even without blasters. Just some odd ideas, but print out an E11 blaster on cardboard paper and turn it into a pamphlet. Same size as a regular blaster, stack em up and put em in your holster, there you go. I do not wish to be part of the DG anymore, and if there's a Garrisson that does want to take me in, feel free to contact me. If all else fails, I'll just apply for a one-man Lone Wolf Squad if need be to get the perks of being a 501st member instead. This thread can be closed.
  2. I understand, it's just that all of this is getting to me, been getting responses like that for the past 2 months or so. Hectic private life juggling with work, school and work studies (going for my MCITP:SA) not to mention a 4 years lasting court case (hopefully) coming to an end this week regarding an accident that gave me permanent back injury (busdriver fell asleep during holiday trip, and we were in the bus) and the remembrance of my late father-in-law who tragically passed away last January at too young an age. It's just that I didn't mean to cause all this trouble, and am sorry for it. The reason for these (at times) harsh reactions is that I simply had enough on my mind allready apart from people calling me a git and a moron for trying to do the right thing. I may be blunt in voicing my opinion and I am sorry for that, it's just a character flaw I am all too well familiar with. Let's try to make this all a better place for all of us, that's what I intended to do from the start. Cheers, Vincent
  3. Very well, I apologise. Publicly, officially... Whatever you want. I am sorry for the troopers that have lost their guns, and gotten in to trouble, I am sorry for not thinking things over while I was excited with my armor and toy blaster that came in the mail that I asked the dept. of justice those questions. I am sorry that I am high-horsed, simple and a git. I am sorry that I appeared not to fit in this hobby for some of you. I am sorry that I assumed inquiring local weapons laws was the right thing to do. I am sorry this thread exists and that I have sent those mails. I am sorry that I ruined some of your precious time by posting here. I just want what all of you guys and gals want: to have fun. And this my friends, is not fun. So please, I realize I have done some dumb things, but be so kind to admit that it's just one side of the coin. I apologise. (if someone could translate this and add it to the DG forums (cos they're MEMBERS ONLY, which is why I haven't posted on it before, Werstrooper. I even asked for admission by mail but it was denied by the CO))
  4. To John, the DG and whoever feels affected by my actions: The CO did tell me not to wake the sleeping dogs but I probably did, even before I contacted him about it. I regret doing that, in such a way, that it has cost some people their investments and credibility and got them into trouble with the authorities. I am sorry for them to have been put in this predicament, as this was not my intention from the get-go. I just wanted clarity from the authorities. On the other hand I think that it's every Dutchman's duty to know the law, and therefore I still believe I was doing the right thing. Even if you help out sick kids and walk around in armor... Wearing white armor makes you stand out above the crowd. It does not, however, make you stand above the law. Emphasizing on the CO having warned me against asking the LEGAL authorities kinda puts all of this in an odd perspective: The young IT geek who wants to become a stormtrooper and asks the legal authorities if it's ok to bear toy guns just for the simple fact that he doesn't want to get his white plastic bottom harrassed when walking around with it is being warned by the local chapter of a worldwide charitable costume organisation condoned by a multi billion dollar franchiseholder who is directly affected by bad PR if the costume group messes up their public image somehow not to inquire the local authorities on their weapons law, cos they're all willingly walking around with illegal props and do not want to get busted. The only thing I blame myself for is that I've spent over 1000 euros and hours on friggin plastic, strapping and tupperware just to alienate myself from the group I am trying to belong to in the first place, just by thinking I was doing the right thing. I mean, you're all high profile, and every layman would see your gun as real if you're not covering yourself up in plastic and shout at them with it. And for that very same reason they're illegal here. And have been for quite some time I might add. So I thought all of you had your legality in check. Correspondance with the CO was slow for a while, and not having access to the forums, I decided to detour and ask the source of it all, namely 'Postbus 51', which is the national front-office for day-to-day questions regarding government policies. It's not that I bashed the Minister of Justice's door in shouting ¡¡OMG GUNZ!1!! allthewhile dragging police officers to event locations just to rat you people out or anything. It sucks bigtime to see such an investment in both time and money go to waste so easily, especially in times like these, and I truly feel bad for those who've gotten into more trouble because of this than they should have. I, like the majority of people, too think the authorities over-reacted. An official warning would've done the same. Even allowing the DG to turn in, or de-modify their props to make them legal again would've been a better course of action. Though I want to make one thing clear: It is not myfault this happened. I do not need to apologise for ANYTHING. If some people don't want me in their club cos mommy took away their cookie just for the simple fact that I asked mommy if it was ok to have a cookie just like theirs and they weren't supposed to have them in the first place... Fine. It would just show what kind of people I'd be dealing with were I allowed to join. To those still mad at me: Don't go all crusadey and offended, cos in the end it was their own decision to buy the bloody things and to walk around with them feeling awesome. It was the police's decision to apprehend them and to put a fine on it all. Be mad at them, not me. I'm just a simple guy who did what he thought was right. To the members of the DG: I am sorry that all of this has gotten some of you into trouble. I just hope we can mend the wounds that have been made, so that we all can see what we're really about: Having fun with eachother and being the best darn tooting stormtroopers there's ever been. If not, I hope there's any Garrisson out there that is willing to take me in instead . Vincent
  5. Some Thread revival LOL! Well being an avid gamer myself, here's my list of favorites! Rogue Squadron II (I was so psyched to see 'another star wars movie' as a game!) I really loved the FMV! They should make another one, though in HD! Screw GCI, we need actors and props and lasers! I always saw it as a nice addition to the realness of Star Wars, made the universe look more alive cos of semi-nameless people walking around with 'real' stormtroopers etc. just like the Ewok movies added a feel of: "hey they got kids just like me in that universe! (well sorta, I wasn't a nagging brat back then ). Force Commander! a 3D RTS and boy dit it rock my socks off when I played it! I like the story of the stormtrooper turned rebel general and such, it was fun . Apart from that the only star wars game I am playing is KOTOR2, though I am getting bored with Kreia. Think I'll go Sith on everybody and just spam dark force powers. Republic Commando was mindbogglingly awesome for me on my old computer, I was stunned that the graphics were soooo crisp and good back then . Well, waiting for Force Unleashed to come out on PC so I can play the story in HD instead of on my PSP.
  6. Personally I expected to see more of a 501st recruitment video. Basically HOAE is a biography on the founder of the 501st, Albin Johnson, and the incredible story of two kids and their parents whose lives have been touched by the 501st. It's not a bad movie, but I personally skipped through bits of the whole Albin Johnson part. I respect the man for what he has done and has endured, though when you're expecting to put in a DVD full of stormtroopers and watch it with the family, it doesn't hold up well for a 30 dollar DVD. It feels too personal, in such a way that it's a great DVD for people close to Albin and the others mentioned, with home videos being edited and talked together but it does drag on a lot if you're not familiar with the people depicted in the movie. At least, it did for me. The Jeremy Bulloch bonus interview though is awesome if you know the man, and if not, it's a great means of getting to know more about this great actor. For me, I bought the DVD and haven't watched it since. It's collectors material now . This is not a bash on the movie or such, it's just my little review to help members out. It's sometimes nice to read first-hand experience instead of the promo-blurb on the seller's site. If this offends someone in any way, feel free to edit or delete this comment.
  7. Well, sure shows a good amount of heroic self-sacrifice Joe . Relax and rejoice Vincent
  8. http://shop.starwars.com/catalog/product.x...duct_id=1314130 Should get one of those! I want one but I don't have a creditcard . Any troops willing to help me out, I got paypal! Also the Leia Bikini is up for sale there!
  9. Well I just checked the first online horseriding store in the vicinity and got me these:----------- As the size was a bit off I sent them back to get the right size with free shipping. I'm wearing them (black) now as we speak cos they delivered it a few minutes back. They're snug so I'll walk em in first before doing actual trooping. I got broad feet and boots like those aren't really forgiving on that part, so better make it a few sizes larger for safety. But, to come back on topic, those boots are like 31 euro's, smaller size are even 25 or such. It's a dutch webshop, and since I am dutch... Well it works for me . I am sure there's a lot of equestrian (or however the word goes) shops around the USA where you can buy just those shoes. Yes they are not easy to find in your local shoestore, but heck I think they're practically obligatory in the horse business! I really love this hobby of mine... To a layman, a big buff dude is buying tupperware, siphons, faucet covers and those really cute little horseriding boots on the internet. He scours the local market for fabrics and snaps, being practially the only man out there, with grannies telling him it is soo good to see the roles being turned for a change... He bugs the local sports store for tight-fitting leotards... Explaining you're planning to do charity work in a move costume really takes the edge off of it . Vincent
  10. Judging from your other costumes I am certain you're skilled enough to make some el cheapo jodphurs look like first-grade stormie boots! I had the luck of getting PVC faux leather boots, makes painting them a bit easier . Vincent
  11. Well if you need any help at all with the Academy, let me know Paul . I'll shut the wiki down
  12. Hey there people! As a lot of you guys and gals love the FISD printable compendium I made a while back, I thought "why not make a wiki out of it?" Well I did. It is extremely empty, it is extremely barebones and I haven't done ANYTHING to it apart from registering. So basically it's a placeholder. The goal of this little site is to centralise the tutorials and such, so we can easily relate one tutorial to the other. So right here, right now I am asking all those tutorial-writers here for a favor; if they could contribute to the wikia for all of us . I will do my fair share of things, but cos of the kidneystones acting up I won't be editing the wiki today. Any suggestions for logo's or favicons are welcome of course! ----- Lets make this thing happen troops ! Vincent
  13. Troopers helping Troopers . Looking forward to seeing your process Jo & Christiaan!
  14. Just out of curiosity, did you cut up the neck trim for a better fit? Cos meh mine's not fitting as a whole . Great progress so far!
  15. LOL no I meant maybe some tweaks with capacitors or such cos personally it sounds a bit too soft still (or my voice too easy to be heard above the speaker).
  16. Today I recieved this in my PM box. Out of respect to the sender, he or she shall remain anonymous. First of all this unfortunate series of events has (as I am aware of) only affected the people of the Dutch Garrisson. On the day the news reached me that several of the Dutch Garrisson's troops had been forced to turn in their blasters, I contacted the Garrisson's CO. I offered my apology to all of them, that I truly (and some might not believe this) did not expect this to happen. I know how much time, money and effort goes into building those blasters. Malice Some might have read what I intended as gaudiness in my posts in this topic as malice. This is the unfortunate disadvantage of textual communication. Where the fable of me approaching the Belgian Garrisson has come from, I can only guess. I for one have not contacted anyone of the 501st for admission to the group, as I've been coping with kidneystones and what not. Several posts in this topic, speculating on what my future actions might be (were the DG disallow my acceptance in the 501st) might have been the source for this rumour, but they are just that; speculations. I have not recieved any communications from the DG concerning acceptance or whatnot after I have made my apology, so please do not run ahead on the facts for the sake of all of us. Too strict? Concerning the 'The DG is too strict' rumour. Nonsense. The only comment I have at times made on this is that my personal opinion was that the DG wasn't the most pro-active Garrisson in helping out new troopers to the ranks, compared to what I saw from for example the UKG with armor parties, or letting aspiring members in on their forum to ask questions or such. This was perhaps bratty and naïeve, but it is nothing that concerns you all since it is my personal preference. This is, as you and I all might agree on, no reason at allto willfully screw them over by tattling to the feds as some might see this action. All this correspondance was done out of a worry for legality. This correspondance was recorded on the open forums as a courtesy for new troopers like me, as well as troops visiting the Netherlands, how the law works here, just so all of us Star Wars geeks don't have to turn in our 1000$/blood/sweat/tears toy gun if you're visiting The Netherlands, since we're part of the strangest countries in the world regarding the legal system (softdrugs and demilled weapons YES / Toy guns with resin greeblies NO ). I was in the vain hope of trying to make a difference for us troopers here. Was it my place to do so? Perhaps not. Personal This was a personal effort, not one of the 501st. This was a personal question to the Department of Justice. They used it to make an example to everyone, so they'd think twice on walking around with a blaster in the Netherlands. Some news-sources might indicate the aspiring member had tipped off the local police on the event. Again, nonsense. I had no ideathey were trooping in Ede, and all the correspondance I have had is right here in this topic, translated to English for all your convenience. They took their own actions. Assumptions Some might go: Good job plunker, you just woke a truckload of sleeping dogs! Thanks for messing up for all of us! You hurt the 501st! We told you not to do it! I can relate to that. I took steps I thought the local 501st had allready taken. I saw no harm in getting an official confirmation so I could walk around in full costume with a blaster without having to worry on getting my butt busted by the police for doing so. Since the 501st is the Star Wars costuming group, and I knew they always walked around with blasters without a problem what else would I have referenced to? There are heaps of re-enactment groups here that use demilled weapons, I just assumed the 501st fell under that category. I just assumed a high-profile international charitable organisation full of adults had their laws in check. Is that so naiëve to assume? The correspondance was shared with the Dutch CO and this was done way before the actions of the dutch police happened. There was no way they couldn't know about the legislation back then. So if some of you want to point fingers at me for being a snitch. Go ahead. I am just stating facts here, do with them what you want. Duality The duality of all this makes it hard to actually be clear to all of you about my feelings on this, but I will try to make it as clear as possible. Again, I feel very very sorry for those who lost their weapons and I truly hope they get away with just a warning. It sucks massively that so much effort has gone to waste. I never wanted to appear maliced or appear being against the DG. I never wanted to screw you guys over, I just wanted clarity on the matter. As you can read from my correspondence I too wanted it to work. I too wanted to walk around with a blaster. For heck's sake, that's the reason why I tried to bring up reasons for allowance in the first place! It might not have been my place to do so, and for that I am sorry. I just wanted to make a difference, and in a distorted kind of way I did. Though I wished it would've gone the other way around. Why I didn't reply The reason for me not replying to all of this earlier is simple. This was between the DG and me. I apologised to them. That some of you suffer from collateral shock cos of this action, that's your issue. So far no news of other troopers getting arrested have reached me, nor has any 501st official stepped up to play the blame-game with me. As said earlier, aspiring members have no access to the 501st or DG forums, so I am and was limited to e-mail correspondence, FISD and MEPD forums and hearsay. It was not neccesary to apologise to all of you in here, as not all of you are affected by this. I think most of us live in a fair country, so if you get arrested for illegal weapons use outside the Netherlands cos of all of this, you should turn that finger you're pointing at me 180 degrees and realise that you should've paid more attention to your local laws in the first place. Vincent
  17. No prob Joey! Troopers helping troopers
  18. Great choice of words . What do you want to become when you grow up Johnny? "A Jedi Costume Snob, Teacher!"
  19. Hey there Tyler! TK-4205 has an excellent tutorial written just for you (and well, others who are asking this question)! ----- It's also in the -----, along with a myriad of other helpful tutorials . Hope that helps? Vincent -Quick edit: link was messed up, should work now -
  20. Merugear

    Still not

    Tonight: cussing that my chestplate might be too small for my build, annoyed by the pinching of the armor in my biceps when trying to put on the pauldron with snaps Hating the sith-armor pouch for the skidmarks on the white armor. (They look great though). Being annoyed I ran out of snaps before I could attach the crotch-piece (just just take some time to imagine that for a while ) Probably going to play Red Faction: Guerrilla or watch The Simpsons. Tomorrow: working on the armor probably, my girlfriend has to work so it's me-time for a bit. Then, tomorrow-evening we're going to the cinema (not allowed to take the almost-done TD with me , shucks) and Sunday it's Vincent & Girlfriend time . And after that, back to studying for my MCITP certificate . Vincent
  21. Any tips on making it sound louder? My girlfriend says my voice is louder than the amp .
  22. Guess they watched Star Wars on a very small screen so they could claim it to be screen accurate?
  23. Man, so many years have passed, and judging from their leg-poses the armor still pinches like heck! I'm still lagging behind on the Yuuzhan-Vong war... Kinda left the EU at Luke's Jedi Academy and Kyp Durron.
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