TK-31198 Requesting ANH Stunt Centurion Status [ATA*][108]

[Techne[TK]]

Name = Chris Wildrick

ID = TK 31198

FISD Name = Techne

Garrison = Garrison Excelsior

Armor = ATA

Helmet= ATA

Blaster= Doopy’s full resin, built by me

Height = 6’1â€

Weight = 190 lbs

Boots = TK Boots

Canvas belt = Trooperbay

Hand Plates = Trooperbay rubber

Electronics = I have an Aker amp and ROM/FX Raw, and two hand-built squirrel fans, but don't currently use them

Neck Seal = Trooperbay

Holster = made by me

 

Here are my blaster and armor build threads, and my EIB thread, if anyone wants to see them.

 

It was suggested in my EIB thread that I make a couple changes before I applied to Centurion--to make the painted area of my ab buttons smaller, and to cut down the ends of my plastic belt to reduce the size of the 45-degree cuts at the ends.  I've made both of these changes and feel happy with them.  I put them at the very beginning of the pics, below.  I didn't re-take the rest of the pics after making these changes, since they were pretty small and cosmetic, and didn't affect the fit of the suit.  But, I can re-shoot anything if desired.

 

Otherwise, I'm mostly copying the text and images from my EIB thread, and adding the new ones required for Centurion when appropriate.

 

Once again I'll say that I've had a great time making this build.  It was a real challenge and it was very satisfying to finally complete(?) it!  Thanks to the very many troopers and their threads that I've followed in order to build this, obviously I would have never been able to do it without them.

 

Here are the pics.  I have others, and can always take more, if you want to see anything else.

 

 

New change: Ab Buttons repainted to cover just the tops of the buttons.  The paint colors are Testor's 1138 grey and Humbrol French Blue.

 

 

New change: Belt corners reduced in size to 1/2"

 

 

 

Now on to the standard pics:

Front

 

Back

 

 

Right, Arm Down

 

Right, Arm Up.  I have 1" shims of ABS on both sides to close the side gap.

 

Right, Arm Up, Detail.  The upper-ab snap is partially visible here, a detail shot may be found below.

 

 

Left, Arm Down.  I'm embarrassed to say I forgot to take this pic during my most recent photo shoot, so I am substituting this pic from the previous shoot.  I didn't make any major changes to the armor between shoots, I just didn't like how the green-screen cloth reflected green onto the armor.

 

Left, Arm Up.

 

Left, Arm Up, Detail.  3 split rivets on both sides of the ab and kidney plates.  There's a bit of a space between the kidney/shim and the ab plate here.  When I normally wear it that's not usually there.  I must have left my belt a little looser than normal (although I see it in the green-screen pic too, strangely).  Again, I can take pictures again to show how those parts are normally flush, or show other older pictures, if necessary.

 

 

Action Shot

 

Bucket Off.  Lower your chin, TK-31198, it makes you look annoying!  Argh.

 

Cod and Butt Plate Attachment, Outside and Inside.  2 snaps and a split rivet.

 

 

Interior Strapping; Kidney Is Separated from Butt Plate

 

Detail Showing the Inside of the Kidney/Ab Split Rivets

 

Detail of the Right-Side Ab Snap

 

Shoulder straps float free and are held down by elastic.

 

White elastic is used to connect the chest and back underneath the plastic shoulder straps

 

 

Arm strapping detail, so you can see the black strap that goes around my arm from the shoulder bells, which isn't visible in the main picture.

 

No return edge on forearms

 

Thigh pack is attached by split rivets, and the corners are curved. Outside and inside pics.

 

 

Shin Sniper Plate, No Rivets.  Front and side pics.

 

 

Shins close in back using the hook method.

 

 

Helmet Front, including Hovi mic.  All helmet details are hand-painted.

 

Helmet Back

 

 

Helmet Left.  Both ears have 3 screws and 4 bumps, with 1 of the bumps painted.  Sorry my neck seal got all bunched up here.  And I see my shoulder strap elastic came off.  Very slick of me.

 

Helmet Right

 

Green Lens Color

 

S-trim on bottom of helmet

 

Scuffed boots

 

Black Gloves with White Rubber Hand Guards

 

 

 

Blaster, Left.  6 total T-tracks and 2 power cylinders.

 

 

Blaster, Right.  The center painted bolt section looks kind of gold in the light here but is actually silver.

 

Blaster, D-ring

 

Blaster Mods: working trigger, moving selector switch, moving bolt

 

Neck Seal

 

Thermal Detonator.  It has black pan-head slotted screws and aluminum 1" clips.

 

Holster

 

Close-up of the holster attachment from front and back.  I used split rivets that go through the outside, but connect to a snap on the inside, so the holster can snap on and off, but it looks like a rivet on the outside.  Also shows the drop boxes are closed in the back and attached by one rivet.

 

This is a picture of my belt BEFORE I cut the ends down to make the angled parts smaller.  See the top of this post for a pic of the current angles.

 

 

 

Holster reversed to show the snaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I believe that's it.  Again, if you have any questions, or would like me to explain something in greater detail, or want more pictures, please let me know.  Thanks!

[Rezablad3[TK]]

Looks good.... I like the changes you have made. Good luck trooper..

[captsafe66[Admin]]

Looks Great!!!

 

 

Good Luck!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Good Luck!!!

[SMUDGE]

Hi Chris, that is a seriously super effort - you should be a shoe in! All the best, Steve.

[Techne[TK]]

I saw I had the [102] appended to my tread title...but isn't that only supposed to go there if I've been approved?

[Mr. No-Stripes[TK]]

Good luck comrade!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Chris, 

 

I apologize for taking so long to review your Centurion application and provide feedback. Darth Life has me by the shorthairs. 

 

I really like your armor build. It is one of the nicer ATAs out there. It's a great fit on you and well strapped up. I really dig what you did with the split rivets by putting the elastic through the rivets on one side and using snaps on the other. I may steal that from you someday. You've got a great attention to detail including the black screw heads on the thermal detonator and your cool blaster build. Your ab buttons look much much better. I didn't have a strong opinion about your belt corners before but the belt still looks fine. Also thanks for taking such clear and well organized photos that make the review process easier. 

 

Here are my comments:

 

CRL Related

 

You hit all the marks on the CRL. No comments here. 

 

Other - Fit and Assembly

• The only thing that I suggest changing for Centurion are the size of your cover strips on the back of your thighs. I can see by the inside photo of your right thigh that you're not using the cover strips to gain a little room. Usually people put in wide cover strips because they need more room in the part. Are you able to thin them down? The thighs are supposed to be around 20mm and the shins 25mm. 
• I'm not going to require it for Centurion but would it be possible to suck in the top of the right ear closer to the helmet? There's a big gap that won't stop you from getting your Centurion but would certainly help the helmet look better.
• The other minor thing that isn't stopping you from attaining Centurion are your side shims. Your armor would be improved by finding a way to blend them in better, but they look fine for Centurion. 

Please let me know if you have any questions at all either in this thread or PM.

 

-Eric

[Techne[TK]]

Chris, 

 

I apologize for taking so long to review your Centurion application and provide feedback. Darth Life has me by the shorthairs. 

 

I really like your armor build. It is one of the nicer ATAs out there. It's a great fit on you and well strapped up. I really dig what you did with the split rivets by putting the elastic through the rivets on one side and using snaps on the other. I may steal that from you someday. You've got a great attention to detail including the black screw heads on the thermal detonator and your cool blaster build. Your ab buttons look much much better. I didn't have a strong opinion about your belt corners before but the belt still looks fine. Also thanks for taking such clear and well organized photos that make the review process easier. 

 

Here are my comments:

 

CRL Related

 

You hit all the marks on the CRL. No comments here. 

 

Other - Fit and Assembly

• The only thing that I suggest changing for Centurion are the size of your cover strips on the back of your thighs. I can see by the inside photo of your right thigh that you're not using the cover strips to gain a little room. Usually people put in wide cover strips because they need more room in the part. Are you able to thin them down? The thighs are supposed to be around 20mm and the shins 25mm. 
• I'm not going to require it for Centurion but would it be possible to suck in the top of the right ear closer to the helmet? There's a big gap that won't stop you from getting your Centurion but would certainly help the helmet look better.
• The other minor thing that isn't stopping you from attaining Centurion are your side shims. Your armor would be improved by finding a way to blend them in better, but they look fine for Centurion. 

Please let me know if you have any questions at all either in this thread or PM.

 

-Eric

Hi Eric,

 

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.  I just saw your post about your new format for reviewing EIB and Centurion requests, and it makes a lot of sense to me.

 

I appreciate all the kind words.  As a teacher myself, I know it always works best to compliment people before starting the criticism! 

 

Actually I'm just joking there because everything you said under Fit and Assembly was very reasonable.

 

The thigh back cover strips are huge, I know.  But I wasn't able to make them any smaller.  Actually as you can see in that interior shot, the back connection between the two thigh pieces is pretty wide.  I made the front strip the regulation size, but then in order to make them fit, I had to make the backs much larger.  Somehow I just have huge thighs.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make them smaller, because it was silly to me how wide they were, but they just wouldn't fit otherwise.  Even at that size, they were really tight when I first built them.  They're now a bit less tight.  I've been losing some weight, so perhaps eventually they'll be loose enough where I can make them smaller.  If you want I can post some close-up pics looking down on them while I'm wearing them.

 

The same is basically the case for the side shims.  At the moment I need them in order for it to fit with no gap.  The shims are actually why I did the thing on my left side with the rivets on the abs and snaps on the shim...that way if I ever manage to get rid of the shims, I can keep the rivet side attached, and just put new snaps on the kidney plate.  At any rate, I'd welcome any suggestions for visually minimizing them.

 

As for the ear gap, you're right, that does look bad.  I knew there was a gap but it must have gotten worse since the last time I attached it.  I'll see what I can do and post some pics.

 

Thanks and I'll get back to you soon,

 

-Chris

[Techne[TK]]

Well, the ear wasn't too hard.  Much better now.

 

 

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

 

Other - Fit and Assembly

• The only thing that I suggest changing for Centurion are the size of your cover strips on the back of your thighs. I can see by the inside photo of your right thigh that you're not using the cover strips to gain a little room. Usually people put in wide cover strips because they need more room in the part. Are you able to thin them down? The thighs are supposed to be around 20mm and the shins 25mm. 

-Eric

 

The thigh back cover strips are huge, I know.  But I wasn't able to make them any smaller.  Actually as you can see in that interior shot, the back connection between the two thigh pieces is pretty wide.  I made the front strip the regulation size, but then in order to make them fit, I had to make the backs much larger.  Somehow I just have huge thighs.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make them smaller, because it was silly to me how wide they were, but they just wouldn't fit otherwise.  Even at that size, they were really tight when I first built them.  They're now a bit less tight.  I've been losing some weight, so perhaps eventually they'll be loose enough where I can make them smaller.  If you want I can post some close-up pics looking down on them while I'm wearing them.

 

What Eric is saying is, people who use very wide cover strip in the back is for hidding a gap, like on the diagram i made below.

 

But on the inner pic of your tigh we can see there's no gap, each half of your thigh close edge to edge with its opposite. So there's no real need for such wide cover strips.

I understand if you go with thinner ones , the ridges of the two halves wouldn't be hidden by the cover strips edges however i think your look would be really better with thinner back cover strips .

 

Also, a bit awkward but i think you have mounted your kidney plate upside down...   I might be wrong, but looking at Ref pics you can see that the kidney flares more at the top rather than at the bottom:

 

(Hig-res pics)

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/sizes/514-screenshot73007jpg/large/

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/sizes/458-screenshot72881jpg/large/

 

To be confirmed and anyway, it might not prevent you from obtaining your Centurion.

Edited November 6, 2013 by The5thHorseman

[Techne[TK]]

What Eric is saying is, people who use very wide cover strip in the back is for hidding a gap, like on the diagram i made below.

 

But on the inner pic of your tigh we can see there's no gap, each half of your thigh close edge to edge with its opposite. So there's no real need for such wide cover strips.

I understand if you go with thinner ones , the ridges of the two halves wouldn't be hidden by the cover strips edges however i think your look would be really better with thinner back cover strips .

 

Also, a bit awkward but i think you have mounted your kidney plate upside down...   I might be wrong, but looking at Ref pics you can see that the kidney flares more at the top rather than at the bottom:

 

(Hig-res pics)

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/sizes/514-screenshot73007jpg/large/

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/sizes/458-screenshot72881jpg/large/

 

To be confirmed and anyway, it might not prevent you from obtaining your Centurion.

 

 

THIGHS

Ok, I understand what you mean with the thigh. You’re right, there’s no gap between the two parts in my thighs.  But do you really think that it would look better with a thin cover strip covering only part of the flat ridge?  I mean, I did think of that when I was first making it, but decided against it.  While I agree that the wide cover strip doesn’t look great either, at least in my opinion it looks better than a thin strip that only partially covers the flat section, which would be the only place in the armor in which that occurs.

 

Part of my thinking on this, as I made my thighs, was based on reading the threads of other people with wide strips.  This thread is one in particular that shaped my thinking:

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22285-quixotic5891s-anh-stunt-build-ata/page-3

 

Now I think this guy’s are even bigger than mine.  But it seems, based on the comments from Locitus and Troopermaster, that the wide cover strip is fine in his case.  Anyway…things may have changed, and everyone probably has different opinions anyway.  I’m just saying threads like this are why I made them the way I did, and I have to say it still seems like the best solution in my own mind.      That doesn’t mean it is acceptable under current Centurion expectations, of course, I leave that up to you all, and if it's not, I can accept that.

 

KIDNEYS

You took me by surprise with the comments about the kidneys…most of the other comments about possible changes are things I’ve already had in my own mind, but I thought I got the kidneys right.   So I immediately spent a couple hours searching through ATA-specific EIB, Centurion, and build threads, looking at other people’s kidneys, as well as screen captures.

 

In terms of other people’s threads, what I’ve found is that some people do it one way, and some people do it another way.  Apparently, whichever way is right, a lot of people get it wrong!  So not much help there.

 

Before I get to the screen captures, I want to explain how I originally decided which way is up on my kidneys.  I was originally totally unsure, but then when I placed it against my butt plate, it became immediately clear which way it should go (or at least that’s what I thought).  As you can see here in the picture on the right (from my build thread), if the kidneys are placed in one direction (the way I have it connected in my current armor), the curve of the kidneys lines up perfectly with the curve in the butt plate.

 

But if you flip the kidneys the other way, like in the picture on the left, then there are two bumps in the kidneys that don’t match up with the butt plate curve.  This seems like a clear sign that the bumps are supposed to be on top, against the back plate (where they do line up), and the smooth part of the kidneys should be on the bottom, lined up against the butt.

 

 

This idea of the continuity of form also makes especial sense when you figure that some suits have continuous butt/kidney plates, like this one from the Star Wars Identities tour suit, so they must have been designed to have continuous shapes and not discordant shapes:

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/36-aagqeign/

 

Here’s another good picture from Jose Andres’s recent Centurion application.  He attached it my way and you can see how the kidneys and butt lines up.  If you want I can send you some links to people who did it the other way, in which the bumps make for an obvious mismatched set of shapes at the butt/kidney line:

 

 

It’s on this thread:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/25211-tk-80403-requesting-anh-stunt-centurion-status-ata-96/

 

 

Anyway, it seems to me that the visual evidence leans towards the orientation that I’m using right now.

 

In the screencaptures I looked at, the kidneys do angle up and out, like you said.  But depending on what angle you’re looking at my kidney plate from, mine does too, so that seems ambiguous.  More importantly to me, there are several shots of the division between the kidney and butt plates, and none of them have the curves/bumps that you’d see if you flipped my kidneys upside down.  They’re all flat and perfectly matched in shape, like in the direction I have mine in now.

 

To be fair, the ATA kidneys may be inaccurate, and the original suits may not have those bumps at all, it’s a little hard to tell.  But at the least, they didn’t have the bumps at the bottom:

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/917-armor-backjpg/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/892-kidney-butt-01/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/891-kidney-butt-02/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/1442-star-wars-a-new-hope-bluray-capture-01-166/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/1356-star-wars-a-new-hope-bluray-capture-01-19/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/1465-star-wars-a-new-hope-bluray-capture-01-189jpg/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/1466-star-wars-a-new-hope-bluray-capture-01-190jpg/

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/1511-star-wars-a-new-hope-bluray-capture-01-235jpg/

 

 

So between the screen captures and the shape of the armor itself, I feel like the kidneys are correct as they are now.

 

Sorry if I’m going into this at length.  I just enjoy getting into the details of things.  I really do appreciate your opinion on this, I'm just arguing for why I made the decisions I did.

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

About the Thighs: You're right, i'm just presuming the look would be better with thinner back cover strips, and i'm maybe wrong as i haven't seen what would be the result, unlike you  .

 

About the kidney: I just noticed that because my bro is currently building up an ATA and we had the same problem but we went with the opposite way.

IMHO i don't think a perfect match up between the kidney and the butt plate matters that much, if an ANH stormtrooper requires a separate Butt/kidney plate that's because there was separate molds for them. The picture you linked with an unique kidney-butt plate shows a ROTJ suit, which were really different from ANH. 

 

Anyway, as i said i don't think it would prevent you from obtaining your CENT (if i'm the one who's right), and the fact Jose Andrés had his centurion conforts me in that way!

The DO will have the final word

 

And sorry if i made you spend so much time in research about it ^^

 

 

[piklz36[TK]]

The build looks pretty great, man.  Nice job. 

 

A small piece of advice (this has nothing to do with approval):

 

Once I started trooping, I found that a lot of my strapping (especially elastic) would fail due to the snaps pulling through the elastic straps.  I only had single layered straps at the time.  I see you've done the same thing for many of your straps.  I would suggest (or at least be on the lookout) that you double up the elastic straps.  Use the same length, just fold them over once and put the snap through 2 layers of elastic.  Things will feel more solid as well. 

 

Just a small tip from someone with an ATA, and a similar strapping setup. 

 

Good luck with the approval, sir.   

[Techne[TK]]

About the Thighs: You're right, i'm just presuming the look would be better with thinner back cover strips, and i'm maybe wrong as i haven't seen what would be the result, unlike you  .

 

About the kidney: I just noticed that because my bro is currently building up an ATA and we had the same problem but we went with the opposite way.

IMHO i don't think a perfect match up between the kidney and the butt plate matters that much, if an ANH stormtrooper requires a separate Butt/kidney plate that's because there was separate molds for them. The picture you linked with an unique kidney-butt plate shows a ROTJ suit, which were really different from ANH. 

 

Anyway, as i said i don't think it would prevent you from obtaining your CENT (if i'm the one who's right), and the fact Jose Andrés had his centurion conforts me in that way!

The DO will have the final word

 

And sorry if i made you spend so much time in research about it ^^

No problem at all, it was actually very interesting to look at all that stuff and try to figure it out

 

I believe the ATA kit was actually molded from an ROTJ suit, and then modified to become more like ANH, is that right?  I think I read that somewhere but all that armor lineage stuff is confusing to me so I could well be wrong.

 

 

The build looks pretty great, man.  Nice job. 

 

A small piece of advice (this has nothing to do with approval):

 

Once I started trooping, I found that a lot of my strapping (especially elastic) would fail due to the snaps pulling through the elastic straps.  I only had single layered straps at the time.  I see you've done the same thing for many of your straps.  I would suggest (or at least be on the lookout) that you double up the elastic straps.  Use the same length, just fold them over once and put the snap through 2 layers of elastic.  Things will feel more solid as well. 

 

Just a small tip from someone with an ATA, and a similar strapping setup. 

 

Good luck with the approval, sir.   

Thanks...and advice well taken.  I have worn the suit a fair amount for informal things, and have already been replacing straps and snap plates as they fail  , doubling up the number of snaps and the thickness of the elastic.  All my elastic ends are currently folded over so the snaps go through two levels of elastic, but I've found that doubling the entire piece of elastic and not just the ends works even better, so when they fail I've been switching to that.

 

 

 

Thanks also to all the other people who have commented above.

[Techne[TK]]

Any other comments or things I should work on? The only thing we haven't talked about in detail was the suggestion about possibly minimizing my side shims.  I'm not sure exactly how to do that, or what it would theoretically look like in the end.  I don't think I've ever seen pics of side shims that have been "camouflaged" into the armor (I assume that's the goal here).

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

I would say ABS paste, sandpaper, then novus polish would be the best way to hide a transition.

[Jancelot[TK]]

Check my Centurion thread below for samples of smoothing out the side shim transition. ABS paste and wet sanding with fine grit.

[Techne[TK]]

I would say ABS paste, sandpaper, then novus polish would be the best way to hide a transition.

 

 

Check my Centurion thread below for samples of smoothing out the side shim transition. ABS paste and wet sanding with fine grit.

OK thanks guys.  I had seen a few threads a while ago that seemed to frown on the ABS paste for the shims since it's kind of a permanant change, but I'll take a whack at it.  Maybe I'll try the white silicone first since that's more removable and ideally I'd like to be able to remove the shims in the long-term.  Nice to see your thread, Jancelot.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Techne

[SCTrooper[TK]]

The kidney piece is fine, your belt is sitting way to low. The belt should be above the space between the butt and kidney piece. If you move the belt up it will fit you better and look nicer.

Edited November 12, 2013 by SCTrooper

[Techne[TK]]

The kidney piece is fine, your belt is sitting way to low. The belt should be above the space between the butt and kidney piece. If you move the belt up it will fit you better and look nicer.

Do you mean, the belt should be entirely on the kidney piece in the back?

[SCTrooper[TK]]

yes

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Any other comments or things I should work on? The only thing we haven't talked about in detail was the suggestion about possibly minimizing my side shims.  I'm not sure exactly how to do that, or what it would theoretically look like in the end.  I don't think I've ever seen pics of side shims that have been "camouflaged" into the armor (I assume that's the goal here).

 

A seam is allowed for Centurion. I wouldn't worry about your shims for now. 

 

I also wouldn't worry about the belt location. Yes the TKs in ANH had their belt going around the kidney but I think its acceptable to have it go where you have it, across the seam of the butt and kidney. 

 

Here is a photo of the cover strips on the back of a screen used thigh:

 

 

Thanks!

 

-Eric

[Techne[TK]]

A seam is allowed for Centurion. I wouldn't worry about your shims for now. 

 

I also wouldn't worry about the belt location. Yes the TKs in ANH had their belt going around the kidney but I think its acceptable to have it go where you have it, across the seam of the butt and kidney. 

 

Here is a photo of the cover strips on the back of a screen used thigh:

 

 

Thanks!

 

-Eric

Thanks Eric.  I am actually currently working on the side shims.  I tried some silicone a few days ago but it didn't look as good, so I put on some ABS paste yesterday and will be sanding it down today.

 

I am happy to try the belt higher or keep it where it is.  My blaster is pretty heavy so it does weigh it down.

 

So far I think you've only been talking about the thigh cover strip as a suggestion.  If you're making it a requirement, please let me know.  I used that thigh pic as a reference when building it.  I just can't make the cover strip that small and still have it fit me.  Or at least, if I made it that small, the flat ridge of the back of the thighs would show for about an inch on both sides of the cover strip.  Which in my opinion, at least, would look even worse than a wide cover strip.  A wide cover strip isn't great, I know.  It's inconsistent with the cover strips on the arms and the front of the legs.  But on the other hand a thin strip with a wide ridge on either side would look unfinished, to my eye, and also be inconsistent, since the ridge isn't visible under any other strip.  I just see it as the wide cover strip creating one problem (inconsistent with other strips), and the thin cover strip creating two problems (unfinished-looking and inconsistent with the lack of visible ridges elsewhere).

[Techne[TK]]

Finished removing the seam between the kidneys and the side shims.  It looks pretty good, I'm happy with how that turned out even if it wasn't necessarily required.  Nice to have a bit of a push to go a step further tnan I would have on my own.

 

 

Meanwhile, I'm going on my first official troop tomorrow, and it's the biggest thing my garrison does each year.  Excited and nervous.  This will actually be my first in-person contact with other troopers