Jump to content

TK-33348 Reporting for Duty!


Recommended Posts

Hello, fellow troopers!

I’m thrilled to be here. My hands still hurt from holding the Lexan scissors too tight and cutting through 2mm acrylic-capped ABS. Do you feel my pain? Ha ha!

 Anyway, I can’t wait to get out there and troop! 

 

If Only You Knew:

 

Well, I thought I needed to buy everything under the sun to make this kit, and after buying way too much stuff, I realized, man, I only need glue, my dremel, some sandpaper, blue tape, and some magnets. A few clamps, too. But I just had way too much stuff lying around that I never, ever used. In that case, I made the job seem harder than it was because I thought I needed all this “stuff.”

 

Top 5 things I learned:

 

 1) Take your time. Accomplish only one “big” thing each day. Today I’m working on the right shin. That’s it. If you go too fast, you will screw up!

 

2) Don’t start without mentors. Make sure you have some guidance from experienced troopers and send them pictures as you build.

 

3) Listen to your mentors. If you ignore them, you will make mistakes! Stubbornness does not equal screen-accuracy!

 

4) Your family may not be as excited about you getting your thigh piece to fit as you are. Don’t be disappointed. Once they see you fully suited up, your appearance will blow them away.

 

5) When using the dremel and sanding roller, hold the piece tightly against your chest and use smooth, light strokes. Ignore the dog licking your leg no matter what.

 

Oops!:

 

My kit was a little big on me, and after fitting it, the entire torso was sitting too low and the thighs had no room to move. I had to redo my shoulder straps (tighten them up), and cut the neckline on the chest plate to give myself more room, and then take a full inch off the backs of my thighs to get them to fit properly. It was a pretty big challenge, especially when I thought I was nearing completion. Time to "embrace the suck" and take a risk! And so I did...

 

gcvFYU6.jpg

 

Warnings I received were mostly about being too OCD versus screen-accuracy. Sometimes the screen-accurate way looked ugly to me, but in most cases I got over that and learned to love the asymmetric and wonky nature of these kits.

 

A funny thing happened on my way to the Death Star:

 

I decided to become a stormtrooper after teaching a Star Wars class at the University of Central Florida:

 

 https://news.cah.ucf.edu/news/star-wars-telep/

 

RtSmnB6.png

 

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/637681

 

I invited the Makaze Squad to visit my classroom and talk about the 501 and about trooping in Central Florida. After hearing the fun and inspirational stories, I couldn’t help but want to be a part of this great community. That was last October, so it’s been an eventful eight months to say the least.

 

8NQx7dP.jpg

 

My armor did take a long time to reach me (ABS plastic shortage when I ordered) so I was taking pictures of myself looking like a James Bond henchman from a 60s movie, LOL. I kept telling my friends, my armor will come soon! This is the best I can do for now:

 

fYA0WGy.jpg

   

Shout Outs:

 

I received great tips and advice from my armor builder, Troopermaster, who treated me like a good friend and answered all my questions as though he was standing by his phone, waiting for me to ask. This was a GREAT first experience with an armor builder, and that made it even more memorable.

 

VmiILyt.jpg

  

I also received incredible help from Gary Collins, Sr, his son Gary, Derek Zink, and Daniel Branton. All of these generous troops spent a lot of time answering my questions, sending me pictures and videos, and trying to put me at ease as things didn’t come together as I’d planned.

 

Of course my family put up with me and with stormtrooper parts lying all over my kitchen and formal living room. The place looked like a plastic warehouse and smelled like E6000, ha ha.

 

 v3Pj7Uu.jpg

 

 

Finally, I’m really excited to be here, to start trooping, and to put some smiles back on people’s faces during a very challenging time in this world. In that way, I guess we are entertainers and should help make people forget about the cares of the world, at least for a little while.

 

TK-33348, ready for duty!

 

yYfNlUV.jpg

Edited by 4Runner
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Peter... Excellent work and great advice ...Now we have to wait...Hopefully everything returns to normal as soon as possible.Soon you'll be trooping:jc_doublethumbup:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
×
×
  • Create New...