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...and a special greeting to those who get the reference. Well, after a few years, several moves including a cross-country one, and dealing with oh-my-goodness-so-much death (being related to me is, apparently, a high risk activity), the Tiny TK herself is back! To prove that my time away wasn't ALL grief and taxes, here's a quick photo from Galactic Starcruiser. This was my very first foray into the excellent madness that is being a Twi'lek. Won the lekku in a raffle at a Garrison event a few years prior... Never knew I'd be using them for this! This post is mostly because as I dusted off my armor (figuratively. We all know it was kept nestled snugly in dust-free safety!), I realized I'd like to finally get that replacement ab piece I've been talking about since I first assembled my kit. It seemed odd that the ATA fb page was down, but I figured maybe I had an old link. Until I emailed Terrell and the email bounced back. ☹️ Finally found the sad news on here - how heartbreaking, y'all. Of a much lower priority, does anyone know what happened to his molds? I heard auction, but any updates since? Well, anyway, I'm still reserve, trying to fit in a troop before the census so I can get back to active. Scheduling is a challenge due to exams for my new career path, and handling estate stuff (see? I told you. So much death) but where there's a will, there's a way, and I'll see you fellow shiny whites soon. I hope your years were - and continue to be - as peaceful as possible! Aight, imma head out.

Other thigh

Trimmed the bottom of the thigh. Still going to trim more return edge on the bottom but I hope the back looks good!

In regards to Intergalactic Supply, I believe he appealed to this forum to remove his company from this list, and spelled out a perfectly sound case as to how he was put on it in the first place, which implicated the OP in a business deal that had gone bad. The OP isn't even a member of the Legion anymore, was in the same Garrison as the owner of IGS, had motive to disparage IGS. FISD needs to recognize that IGS may have been falsely accused, and also read his appeals in this very thread, including his photos of him designing his own sculps, he posted a link to his sculp progress in his Jolly Roger Squadron Thread. This one stinks, and I can tell you that Jason's work is well thought of and respected in the Carolina Garrison "First through the door, last on the floor." Pretty much every Tie Pilot, Gunner, TD, and TK in our Garrison is wearing his armor, and giving out his helmets at our hospital troops. False accusations like these drive good makers, like JJ Industries (with Kylo) out of the Legion. JJ Industries is one of the best makers in the world for SW stuff, but false accusations of "recasting" and intellectual theft did him in, now Kylos have no fabric to make TFA Kylo from, because he was the ONLY maker in the world........Knights of Ren Facebook group did Luke Daley in, and the original Dawn Bright. Therefore these dispersions need some official investigation process before they are published, and then there need to be an appeals process to remove them. Jason is a decent human being, and his work is solid. I hate that these forums have disparaged his name, as he has done and still does so much for the Carolina Garrison. I have trooped with Jason, and this is all very sad. Being an "artist" myself, and having my coding work stolen, I understand your concerns with "theft". But Jason has explained that his kits were a Frankestein of models when he bought his company, and he has worked to refresh his TK kits by creating his own unique molds with 3D printing, and he has done that. I understand the need to post where people can buy quality armor, and trustworthy supplies, but at some point in this deal, there was personal animosity between the OP and Jason, and I'm not sure why independent parties aside from OP have not investigated the claim by the OP and been more transparent about why IGS remains on this "recaster" list.

Hey all, please be aware that the vendor *RubberBlastersEtc should be avoided at all costs*. They have been removed from every Legion forum and the proprietor banned from the Clubs due to confirmed previous conviction of the most severe type of criminal charges. Please DO NOT support this individual or recommend/link their page, and always research and check your Detachment/relevant forums for lists of vetted vendors and those to avoid BEFORE making any significant purchases. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, I am not inviting discussion but you can PM me if you have pressing concerns. Thank you. My goal is for the only thing to show up when people Google or search any 501st forum is a post clearly stating not to support this individual. It is potentially damaging to the FISD and Legion in general when members leave reviews citing their membership and support, and members should be strongly deterred to avoid the perception that the Legion in any way approves of or is affiliated with this vendor.

Thank you! Yeah putting on the full armor I felt more like a protocol droid then a stormtrooper XD So some fine tuning will definitely be needed

Looks great Brendan.

Certainly getting there now Eric. Make sure you don't do any adjustments to your calves without wearing your boots so you get the right fit at the ankles. Easier to remove material than to try and add it back on if you trim them too much. Once you have the shoulder bridges attached you can start making strapping adjustments so everything sits as it should. Post plenty of photos of this part of the process so we can guide you in positioning and fit. Final tuning may consist of reducing the return edge on some parts for comfort and movement and tightening/shortening your strapping. Great work so far.

Awesome! Will do! Thank you

I didn't care much about snap brand/quality when I was building- I liked the convenience of buying snaps down the street when I needed them instead of ordering online and waiting. That said, I'm sure off brands vary a lot in quality. I did break a few of mine hammering them together, but it could have been my own skill issue at the time or poor qc on that particular snap. Either way, the only issues I've had so far with snaps coming loose is my ab/chest connection, but I'm 99% sure that is because of the angle and tautness of my strapping (which I need to adjust), and not the snaps themselves.

You can also trim the ends of the cover strips which are also over hanging, and cutting on an angle is fine

Congratulations on your 1st troop

Congratulations Trooper

7/29/23 - Rudi Foundation 5k Charity Run 70th TK troop, 25th for 2023. A fun run to benefit the Rudi Foundation who donates to cancer research. We had a great turnout. The organizers requested we be there to hand out awards and cheer them on at the finish. Me and Brandon became the finish line. It was very warm work out in the 88* sun (like 31C?) but we managed thanks to our superior white armor. (do I want to rethink that wording? hmmm... honestly, the white is just far better in the heat than anything else...) Liz and Chuck (reserve and Boba) were both on their first troop with the DRG. Liz was one I recently got to approve! Fantastic to have them both. A small Sergent showed up later in the event. We gave him the appropriate welcome. Vader is turning over a new leaf. Nose boops instead of force chokes. A TK could really get used to this! TKs in action. Look at those buttplates. Once all the runners were done, they had the Kids-K event. Kids would run a kilometer around the park. There were only three of them and the event organizers were trying to drum up support... @elwessbrandon and I looked at each other, nodded, and went off to join them. We ran a kilometer in armor in the late morning heat. It was EPIC. Memorable. Amazing. Crossing the finish line! I don't know how folks run actual marathons in their armor. 1K was very much enough for me. But man was it fun. And the props/accolades/high5s!!! Worth getting a little (more) sweaty.

Remember, having a public facing website where you sell a notoriously litigious company's intellectual property for personal profit is a great way to get a cease-and-desist letter from the Mouse. Some companies operate in countries where they don't have to care, but many makers are intentionally low-key. There's a reason that research is strongly suggested before spending potentially thousands of dollars on any hobby.

I will be honest. I was a little skeptical, at first, when I saw people using FB as their storefronts. Or just using Etsy. To me, it just didn't seem as legitimate as having a web presence with a traditional website. But clearly, I was wrong. And I was even more surprised when Dave from DDD called and spent 30+ mins on the phone telling me about everything. I ordered my Audio System w/ Voice Modulation yesterday from UKSWrath and was pleasantly surprised that it had already shipped out this morning. I am starting to see commonalities with the people involved in Star Wars costuming. Everyone is willing to help and support each other and everyone wants to see others succeed. Maybe that is me being naive as a new person to this. However, it's nice to see. From the folks on the forums, suppliers to my local GML. Good stuff and excited to get more involved.

What’s worse is there’s a bunch of Social Media influencers who are going and buying stormtrooper costumes from places like Jedi robe and then posting all their videos with 501st hashtags etc. This is then leading astray people to buy these costumes thinking that the posters are 501st members and that their costume is going to be approved too. I actually commented on one the other day to just indicate whoever was interested “buyer beware” and “research before you buy” only to have everyone and their dog on the internet go on straight hate mail and crap for me to the point I just deleted my comments and had to say “Oh well, guess everyone can just learn the hard way.” Social media influencers doing what they do best… DDD armor is fantastic, that’s what mine is. He may have some slow times, but the wait will definitely turn up a fantastic kit!