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Happy holidays to all, whichever and however you celebrate, to you all and yours [emoji4] This is truly a unique, and inclusive space. Well done to all for making it so! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve been a big Stormtrooper fan ever since I’d seen Star Wars as a young boy. Even back then I can remember obsessing over the armor, blasters, and other accessories the Stormtroopers carried. I remember really wanting that grappling hook Luke used during his escape from the Death Star, and dreaming of the day I could collect all the parts to build a E-11 Blaster replica. Of course one of the more mysterious items I wanted to know more about was the Sandtrooper Pack! I actually recognized some parts on it myself such as the Tupperware Lid, and the Canteen, but the rest of the pack was a complete mystery to me growing up. Then one youthful day while surfing the early internet(on dial-up 56k modem connection I might add) I came across the old ‘Parts of Star Wars’ website, which is still active to this day! This was a wealth of valuable information to me back then, it actually identified all the parts I needed to build the E-11 Blaster I’d been dreaming of. This also began my search of trying to find out what parts were used on the Sandtrooper Pack. I came across the 501st Sandtrooper Detachment Forums at MEPD.net and found that many of the parts had been identified, but not all of them. In particular one of the mystery parts appeared to be an obscure AM/FM Radio of some kind. I scoured the internet for information endlessly for years until someone eventually discovered and identified the radio used on screen. This was huge news!; It was a “Sonix Victory 75” radio, unfortunately the Sonix company turned out to be an obscure one indeed! Very little information is known about the company to this day. Then in 2011 a Canadian version of this radio was found in Nova Scotia under the brand name “North Star”. This got me very excited being a Canadian and my mind wandered with dreams of finding one of these vintage radios in the back of some pawn shop, or under a pile of old audio equipment in some thrift store. Well it’s been another eleven years since then, several more radios have been found both under the Sonix and the North Star brand names. But unfortunately, none of those radios were found by me. Alas, I never gave up my search and eventually I did end up finding one of these radios for myself. Not only that, but I also discovered a third previously unknown brand variant! This was only made possible due to the discovery of the Canadian variant 11 years prior. When that North Star radio was found, another was found not too long after that. One of these Canadian radios had a sticker with a model number on the back which read “Model: MT-1809”, this is what ultimately led to my discovery of the Solar brand variant. One day while searching eBay for the query “Vintage Radio MT-1809” this Solar radio just popped up for sale. $45.99 plus shipping, and the best part; it still works! I don’t think I’ve ever clicked Buy Now so fast in my life. My hands were literally shaking as I was checking out, as I’ve had hot ticket items like this sell out from under my nose before I had a chance to finish checking out. Thankfully this purchase went smoothly and it showed up at my door fairly quick. It was found on October 20th, 2022 in Bath Township, Michigan which is about a two and a half hour drive from where I live in Sarnia, Ontario Canada. The seller informed me it was from an estate sale. The reason I want to share my find is that these kinds of discoveries tend to have a cascade effect, and I’m hoping more of these radios will be found yet in the future. I can tell you this version is from an American company that produced radios in the 60’s and 70’s (more of that later) which was a great time for the electronics industry so I’m hoping there was a higher number of units imported for this American version of the radio, though all the companies that offered this model seem to be obscure. And so without further adieu I give you the Solar model: MT-1809

Dear memebrs As the Holiday season is now well and truly upon us, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for a tremendous year here on FISD. If not for the high level of member engagement, our job as care takers of the forums would have been a lot harder. What I love most about these forums is the will for so many to help others. Be it a simple supportive post in another members build thread, or the generosity we see from day to day in members just wanting to give back and pay it forward. To be honest, I couldn't be prouder of you all. I'd also like to thank our staff, who without, this place wouldn't run as smoothly. Much of what we do is behind the scenes, be it maintenance, building new sections of the forums, keeping the spam out of our posts and pages, the monthly newsletter, brain storming for merch and anything more we can do for all, the list goes on. Thank you team. How ever you celebrate this time of year, please be safe, spend time with loved ones, or enjoy a break if you are lucky enough to be able to. Thank you from all the team here at FISD Much love Andrew Franke TK11469 Sly11 With unquestioned loyalty.

Thanks for this!

After many years here on the FISD I truly consider this my "happy place" and everyone here as my extended family. Just like a "real" family, some of us don't always see eye to eye on everything, but still we encourage each other, provide help when we can, share lots of laughs and revel in one another's accomplishments. We lend an ear (and the occasional shoulder) when needed and know that we have each other's backs like no other Detachment. It truly does make me proud to be a part of this group, and whether you be just starting down the path on your TK odyssey or are a seasoned vet, know that I appreciate you all and wish you the very best of what the holiday season and new year has to bring. Let's make 2023 the best year EVER on the FISD, and please help me keep crazy uncle Louie away from the Christmas punch.

Hope everyone has a safe and prosperous festive season, best wishes for 2023

This really is one of the greatest communities I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of. Thanks Andrew, staff, and all the members for everything you do, seen and unseen! Have a pleasant holiday season! Caleb

Your TKID appears to have a "classified record" which means you are no longer an active member, you will need to discuss this with your garrison command.

I believe I'm at 23 troops with this bin now. It's been incredible all year. Some early morning troops are coming up that'll have me suiting up at 4am in pitch dark fields. I added a little rechargeable camping light to my bin for those mornings. The lantern has 4 brightness settings, 3 color settings, and claims 72 hours of contestant use. It can even be used as a power brick for phone charging if needed. It fits well in the remaining lid structure and is riveted in place.