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Troop 28 May The North Be With You. Second Annual Star Wars Collector Convention - Day 2 Oakville, Ontario Aug 6, 2023 The second day of this convention was a toy sale for the general public. It was a bit busier but still a fun and fairly laid back troop. We were stationed with the panel guests and would often chat and fool around during down times. My parents came by as they have never been to a troop or a con for that matter. They loved seeing what we do. This was one I found from yesterday that I thought looked cool. Some shots throughout the day. Some fooling around with Larry Jacob who worked on animation for the Ewoks cartoon. A shot with my mom and dad.

Go back to: Troop 23 Some images from my latest troop, photographer: Theodor Andersson Söderlund (if they are to be used on our social media or something)

The forearms and lower legs did not get any treatment from PlasticWeld before I switched gears to bring caulk into the picture. These parts have (or will) have caulk used to cover the seams, and as I bough caulk that can be painted over, the white paint will go over everything. The caulk is working quite well to hide seams between the parts of the forearm armor!

Despite the turmoil today, I have made a lot of progress with my build over the last week, and the issues that presented themselves today are recoverable. The big piece of news is that I completed constructing the leg armor, and I constructed the arm armor as well! I was so excited about having constructed the leg armor that I wanted to take another photo of me wearing it! This time I was very strategic with the placement of the masking tape and hid it all from view! Here's the completed armor for my left leg (minus the kneecap armor), showing the velcro on the lower leg armor. This view shows what is the inner seam that will be between my legs when wearing the armor: I also constructed the arm armor. The first photo shows one of the two pieces of the forearm armor as it was being glued. The second photo shows the glued forearm and bicep armor on my right arm: I mentioned the modifications needed to enlarge the bicep armor in my previous post. Here's a photo of the bicep armor with the spacers created: I have made a lot of progress this last week, and even with the troubles today, I am still on course to complete this build within the next couple of weeks! I have decided that I will debut my armor at a con coming up at the end of the month. I live in Indiana, so I will be attending Indianapolis PopCon during the last full weekend of this month!

Permission granted to use photos on social media appropriately Troop 1: Hamilton Comicon Sept 25, 2022 Off to an early start, I kitted up for my first big event. Once I got to the con floor, I met up with Lord Vader. We posed for many photos with the locals. Soon enough, we were ambushed by rebel scum, who managed to capture one of our pilots. Lord Vader and myself recruited a Doctor. Who he is, I wasn’t sure, but his strange craft could move us through time and space. We soon arrived at some time in the future where we encountered a new type of stormtrooper. Together, we mounted an assault on the rebels. The battle was fierce with many casualties. We managed with sheer determination to capture one of their droids. Little did we know, this droid was somewhat of a celebrity. Once back home in our correct time, we took a moment for photos with friends All this to raise money for a great cause - Ronald McDonald House. ‘’Trooper TK-96004 signing off.

Hi my name is Kian and I'm 29 and I live in Aurora Colorado and I love All kinds of Star Wars Villains even Stormtroopers.

Length around the pipe dependant on control panel placement and width of pipe. I normally make some templates out of cardboard for correct length (cereal box or similar works well)

Troop 29 Big Lick Comic Con (Summer Event). Got to meet Sam, and give her a patch and a pin.

Those are awesome! Bart

And this has been quite the learning experience! I have applied some caulk over the dried putty on the thigh armor and this has successfully blurred the roughness. I sanded and sanded the dried putty prior to doing this, so it has been a multi-step process. I will probably apply another layer or so of caulk before I consider it good. The biceps will get the same treatment. I still have to apply the paint to all leg and arm armor pieces, so that should help as well. EDIT: My lack of familiarity with the PlasticWeld material meant I did not recognize the level of sanding required to get everything off, and not to mention I put too much on the surface anyway. Unfortunately, although I can easily go out and get an electric sander, I do not want to run it in my apartment, and I have no access to an outdoor space where I can tackle the task (having just moved also means I do not know anyone local who can help...yet...). This is all to say I will be at a decision point eventually where I may want to affect a more thorough fix to this situation, but I am satisfied with my "fix" for now. Fortunately, I have much more familiarity with caulk (thanks to the many summers of house remodeling jobs with my grandpa), including removal from plastics, so a change to this arrangement may be in my future. I really don't want to use PlasticWeld again without more guidance from someone more familiar. As such, let these couple of posts stand as a cautionary tale. Here's what the thigh armor looks like right now:

Adding a piece of plastic behind the join with help with the strength of the joint. FYI you can get larger tubes of JB weld although not the needing type, I find works out a lot better price wise. Try not to heap it on, a few thinner coats will dry quicker and should give extra strength. Like anything it's all a learning curve and just adds to your future experience

Paint work is looking great. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Depending on fit too you may find you choose to trim a bit more off the top to fit better, but yeah trim the points and see how things fit before you do that. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes you can trim the point

I have really enjoyed the smaller troops (which compared to a lot of people here is most of mine) and this one seems especially cool! I need to work on sitting I think... Bart

Troop 27 May The North Be With You. Second Annual Star Wars Collectir Convention - Day 1 Oakville, Ontario Aug 5, 2023 This was the first of a 2 day convention. Today was mainly for collectors of Star Wars toys, with guest speakers giving panel discussions through the day. We were there to interact and take photos with the guests. It was a fairly small and intimate venue with about 40 people attending and we were invited to sit in and listen to the panel discussions. Panels were given by the creative team that did the animation for the Star Wars Christmas Special, Droids and Ewoks. I got to eat lunch with John Celestri, who designed and animated Boba Fett for the Christmas Special. In addition, we were entertained by a discussion by the design and production team for Irwin Toys (Canadian branch of Kenner Toys) who created the original 12 action figures, as well as the x wing, tie fighter and millennium falcon toys. Finally the highlight was an hour and a half talk with Roger Christian, production designer for ANH and Alien as well as Second Unit director for ROTJ and the phantom menace. I was able to get Roger to autograph the inner part of the magazine on my E-11 as it was him that actually created the original blaster for the movie. … and they had Cookies Picked up a fun sticker for my bin Then sat and listened to the panels.

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.

7/20/23 Inova Fairfax Children's Hospital

Gloves - check ✅

Troop 26 Bricks in the Six Lego Builders convention Mississauga, Ontario July 23, 2023 We were asked to come out to interact with guests and take photos for a local Lego builder gathering.

Troop 25 Make a Wish Foundation 40th Anniversary Party Toronto , Ontario July 18, 2023 We were invited to attend the Make a Wish 40th Anniversary Party. This event was the kick off for 160 people (kids and their families) who were in attendance and then the next morning were flying out on a chartered plane to Disney World for their wishes. It was truly an honour to be invited and participate in this event to give smiles and support to so many brave kids and their families.

Troop 24 Niagara Falls Comicon Day 3 Niagara Falls , Ontario June 11, 2023 This was the most amazing Comicon Day I ever had. Not as busy as day 2 but so many amazing experiences. While acting as a target for blast a trooper in the morning, our CO asked if I would be willing to be one of the escorts for Giancarlo Esposito after my shift was done. Well - that was a no brainer. We were taken to his room where he was giving his panel and entered as he finished. As we came in, he introduced us as the 501st and went on to tell the audience about the charity work we do. He concluded with “These people are my heroes”. He then came down and took some photos with the group and then shook all of our hands individually. When he came to me, he taped me on the chest piece and said “this here is the real deal’. We then escorted him from the room back through the show floor to his autograph table. He carried our Din Djarin’s dark sabre and called out long live the empire as we walked. I am over his right shoulder Escorting him out of the panel room. preparing for the escort through the convention floor. I am right behind him. After this, we returned to our booth where we were informed that Trish Stratus (WWE wrestler) saw this and wanted 10 of us to do an escort so she could record it and show her instagram biewers how she gets an escort. She also was very gracious and posed for a photo, shook all of our hands and donated an autographed photo for our next Comicon coming up in August. After this, we had planned a TK walk through the convention floor earlier in the day. We suited up with 5 of us and walked the floor. We visited a couple of comic book artists that had mentioned that they were fans of the 501st earlier in the day and made quite the stir as we marched through. At one point Billy Zane (Titanic) stopped us and asked to get a photo. Later on, a few of us went by the celebrity autograph area, I spotted Jerry Mathers (Leave it to Beaver) who I loved to watch daily as a child on TV. There was no one in line, so I approached to tell him how grateful I was for all of the happiness he brought me as a child. He gave me his biggest Beaver Cleaver smile and came out from behind his table to shake all of our hands and get a photo with us. All in all, this was an amazing day all I. Support of Ronald McDonald house. Tons of fun but a very long and tiring weekend. TK-96004 signing off

Troop 23 Niagara Falls Comicon Day 2 Niagara Falls , Ontario June 10, 2023 This Con got better and better every day. Day 2 highlights included taking part in a “Meet the 501st” panel. This was my first panel and our CO asked me if I wanted to attend in costume to answer any questions about the costume making process. This was such a great and interactive experience. Most of the day was spent doing Blast a Trooper and interacting with guests for photos, fist bumps and high fives. Walked the convention floor later in the day and got yo meet one of my heroes, Wendel Clark (former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs). Finally, this is the end result of taking on 5 kids with Neef blasters at the same time.

Troop 22 Niagara Falls Comicon Day 1 Niagara Falls , Ontario June 9, 2023 Time for another big Con, Got up at 5:30 am and drove to Niagara Falls to be there for 9 am to help unload and set up our display area. Lots of fun stuff for people to see at this one, we have Jabba’s throne room, droid salvage area with speeder bike and blast a trooper (signed up for all 3 days).

Troop 21 JDRF Walk for the Cure Waterloo , Ontario June 4, 2023 This was a troop that hit close to home in more ways than one. It was in my city, and my daughter has Type 1 diabetes. It felt good to get out there and support a cause close to my heart. We cheered on the walkers and mingled with them before and after the walk. Great outdoor troop that was not too hot and there was a breeze to help keep us cool. This was my first troop changing at the car as they had no change rooms for us. Interesting to say the least. Had a passer by help me with my shoulder bridge elastics. He was more than happy to help. After the troop I had a couple of people ask to take pictures, so I put my helmet and gloves back on and obliged.

Troop 20 Mackids Walk and Wheel Hamilton, Ontario June 3, 2023 This was a fundraising troop for McMaster Children’s Hospital. Lots of fun interacting with people, playing games, taking photos and cheering on the walkers, runners and riders. Group shot at the start / finish line. The boss watched intently as I played a game of connect for with one of his mechanics. Victory. Had a go at some calisthenics. Need to keep in shape to run up and down all those deathstar hallways. Stopped for a bit and mingled with some of the local law enforcement. A great turn out and big boost for the hospital. This is why we do it.

Troop 19 Mississauga Star Wars Collectors Expo Mississauga, Ontario May 28, 2023 This was a dangerous troop for the pocketbook with a tone of vendors selling all Star Wars collectables from original 1977 merchandise up to new current items. It was a pure star wars crowd and mainly adults who were all very happy to see us and take photos. In attendance were Roger Christian - Artistic director on the original trilogy who created the light saver, E-11 blaster and R2D2. It was so awesome to see him and just grasp the concept of what he created for all of us. Also there was Shawn Crawford who played Yakface on Jaba’s barge in Return of the Jedi.

Troop 18 Gillie Bean’s Fun Day, Whitby Ontario May 27, 2023 This was the 10th annual Gillie bean Fun Day. It is a memorial troop for a little girl named Gillian who lost her battle, in 2010 at the age of 8, with a rare cancer that affects children called Rhabdomyosarcoma. This event raises money for Sick Kids Hospital to fund research to combat this horrible disease. We were there to interact with guests and helped draw participants to their cake walk fundraiser. It was a fun troop with tons of interaction, clowning around and even dancing at times.

Troop 17 New Dundee Community Fireworks Event May 21, 2023 This was a fun troop. Outdoors on a beautiful evening. We trooped for 4 hours before the Victoria Day fireworks display. we generally interacted with guests and took photos while they waited for the fireworks. I played some Frisbee and actually managed to skip rope (sorry no photos were caught of this.

Troop 16 Oshawa Comicon, Oshawa , Ontario April 22, 2023 A small Comicon to raise money in support of the Oshawa Community Centre. We started outside and grabbed a photo in front of the tank outside of the Armory. Greeted people passing on the street and sidewalk. Rainy weather forced us inside after a bit where we mingled and interacted with guests. The other TK whom I have trooped with several times, always has a dog squeegee in his glove that he squeeks when the kids high five or fist bump him. He brought a bag full this troop and passed them out to everyone else. It really makes the shy kids come out of their shell when they fist bump you and they get the big squeak. Last but not least, I achieved a perfect level 4 sit in a fairly low chair. This should solidify my level 4 achievement now.

Troop 15 Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario Day 3 March 19, 2023 Another awesome day. We had a group photo with Emily Swallow today. I am out of costume but am in the lower left front of the photo looking back over my shoulder. The final day seemed to be the busiest day at times with a constant line up for photos and blast a trooper all day. All in all, we were probably somewhere over $3000 raised for Make a Wish Foundation.

Troop 14 Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario Day 2 March 18, 2023 Returned with sore feet from the day before but once you kit up, the pain is gone. Another fun day of trooping. Had the good fortune of being at the speeder bike -owing for photos when Emily Swallow - “The Armorer” from The Mandalorian stopped by for a visit and took some photos with us. I am the storm trooper on the left.

Troop 13 Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario Day 1 March 17, 2023 This was my first big Con and it did not disappoint. Helped with setup on the Thursday before the Con, we were featuring our Mandalorian street inspired Droid Scrap Yard. We featured photos on the speeder bike, which was repainted during our setup on Thursday, Blast a trooper and an Auction to raise money for Make-a-Wish Foundation. Day 1 was spent mainly trooping the booth and a 1 hour period of being the target for blast a trooper with a second 3- minute blast a trooper shift to cover someone who did not make it. Very tiring being the target, but so much fun that I would not give it up for the world. Set up photos. Trooping photos Could not resist a photo with the droids on the speeder bike when we had a free second.

Troop 10 Tricon 2023 Day 2 -The Museum, Kitchener, Ontario Another fun day with lots of guests to interact with. One little girl opted to skip the ballon room and asked to come back to visit the stormtrooper. I gave her one of my trading cards, and she gave me a Psyduck sticker. It will go in my collection for sure.

Troop 9 Tricon 2023 Day 1 -The Museum, Kitchener, Ontario We had a huge turnout for this event with 501st, Rebel Legion, Mando Mercs and the 5th Deep Core Army costume club. Also attended by Hacksmith - a local group that fabricated science fiction items into real life. They brought along a working lightsaber - very cool ,or hot, depending on how you look at it (5,000 degrees Celsius or 30,000 BTU). Oh and our very own George look alike.

Troop 8 Vaughn Winterfest This was a community family event with attractions and activities for everyone. It was a non stop 5 hours of line ups for photos, fist bumps and high fives. This is by far the busiest troop I have done. We did take some time to have fun for a bit though. We stood in for a game of checkers since we were all black and white, except for that crafty little Jawa. Like any good Canadian, we had to play a bit of hockey as well. Finished up with a quick game of bean ball. I think I missed every shot.

Troop 7 December 17, 2022 Burlington Starlight Secret Santa This was a very special troop for me and is the main reason I wanted to join the 501st. Starlight children’s foundation is a charity that helps seriously I’ll children and their families have some joy through in hospital and community events. For this troop, they teamed up with Toys ‘R Us and had the children and their families come into the store before it opened to provide a safe environment for them. Each child was given a gift card and allowed to go on a shopping spree. We were there to greet, interact and take photos with the guests. Highlights of the day: One mom asked me if I knew where the laser blasters were, so I gave her and her kids an escort through the store to find them. On the way back, a child confined to a wheelchair was very excited to show me the TK that he had picked out to buy. Seeing kids that are so brave over and over again smiling and getting to be a kid without the worry of hospitals and doctors. One dad wiping the tear from his eye as his little one came up and high fives all of us and held our hands.

Troop 6 - November 26, 2022 Hamilton Retrocon This was an absolutely awesome troop. We were lucky enough to have Garrick Hagen (Biggs), Angus MacInnes (Gold Leader) and Roger Christian (Set Decorator and Production designer) From A New Hope. They were all very friendly and happy to share stories of their experience working on the original episode. Roger is the person that made Luke’s lightsaber, the E-11 blaster that we all love as well as the other blasters and even R2 D2. We raised money for the local Children’s hospital and 4 of us had the honour of escorting the trio into their evening panel discussion to the Star Wars Theme song. That was truly the highlight of the day. Some shots of our group during the con: Photo ops with Garrick and Angus: Also picked up a jacket from one of the other garrison members that he was no longer using that had an FISD patch on the shoulder and the large 11” 501st one on the back. The escort of the guests into their panel.

Troop 5 - November 21, 2022 Cambridge Santa Clause Parade This was my first real cold weather troop at -2 degrees Celsius. Had several layers of undersuit that helped a lot but the wind was bitter and standing waiting for an hour at the staging area in what essentially amounts to underwear covered in plastic, it was chilly. Once the parade started though, the cold was not noticeable. Walking helped a bit but the cheers and reactions of the kids and their parents was so warming, especially when a small 2 or 3 year old child walked up to me as I stoped to wave at her and gave me a big hug around my legs. This was the first time that we were at the parade and we were very well received. We were also joined by the Mando Mercs group, who were also a great bunch Pre parade group shot We were asked to not bring any blasters, so I rigger up the candy cane instead.

Troop 4 - Oct 22, 2022 The Great Pumpkin Trail - Royal Botanical Gardens - Burlington Ontario My first Outdoor troop on a beautiful fall evening. Lots of some smiles and high fives from kids and parents. Found this poor guy floating in the water and tried to give him a hand Leave it those darned Jolly Roger Squadron folks to be pulling pranks.

Troop 3: Oct 16, 2022 - Mississauga Awesome Toy Show Spent this afternoon trooping at the Mississauga Awesome Toy Show. Supporting a toy donation drive for Toronto Community Housing Children in Need. Lots of fun and some great cosplayers there as well. Ours and the Rebel Legion group. Joined by some Cosplayers. Took some time to wander and do a bit of shopping. Followed up by a bit of grounds security. Some pics with friends enjoying the beautiful fall day. This little guy was too cute, had to ask him to take a picture with me. (Yep, that’s as close as I get to kneeling).

Troop 2: Adopt -A - School fundraiser. Oct 1, 2022 Money donated to help support a local school. Troop was in a book store that has been running this campaign for the past 3 months. Each store sponsors a school. As usual, lots of smiles from both kids and especially parents.