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(gahhhhhh!!! the browser just ate my reply... ugh... now for retyping) 9/24/24 - NM Railyard Shows Intergalactic Day 78th TK troop, 33 for the year CREB (ooooo) 5435 - 22nd troop and 7th for the year TK9 Mabel - 3rd troop and 2nd for the year This was a huge troop as you can see from the group photo. Wish I'd found one without the frame but it gets the point across. This was INTERGALACTIC Day at the Railyard Market. My family did it last year and it was fantastic. My wife stayed home with our other two dogs who aren't quite ready for this kind of thing. BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My daughter's new costume - Season 3 Sabine!!! I'm so very proud of this. I painted 95% of it. We did the splatter boots, gloves, and blaster together. The rest was my OCD, airbrush, and spray paints. And this guy... that's me. I did this to my ANH armor. The episode aired roughly 4 days prior to this troop. I did alllll this in that time including amazon delivery waiting for the tape. It's makeup, survey tape and some gold chrome vinyl foil. It's just temporary for this one troop. But WOW was it fun! I loved it. Gonna do it for real ASAP. Are they zombies? Are they just slightly yucky and repaired? All I know is they're called Night Troopers. You may have noticed that Mabel even has a matching and weathered red leash. I modified my trading card holder to have a metal latch to hold her leash end. That lets me drop the leash and pose without having to fiddle around on the floor to get it again. A+ mod. Would recommend for all the service dog troopers. Fire Team Rio Bravo showed up!!! My absolute pride, yall!!! SO much pride! And she loves the kit! It's a comfy bucket and armor. The jawa wasn't very good except for winter trooping and she's rather tall to be Little Leia now. So my daughter is a rebel... I can live with that. A panda squad sighting! They're rare and skittish. Gotta be quiet and snap pix quick. Gotta selfie with the squad! And that's one tired TK9. Time for the shuttle back home.

9/15/23 - Western Heights Science Night 75th TK troop ( ) and the 30th for the year OFFICIAL TROOP SELFIE!!! hahaha This one was a small private school science night. They had some crafts for the littles, some balloon inflation via chemicals for the older kids, a ton of birds and reptiles, and dinner/snacks. And troopers!!! We five made the Empire proud. No handlers were about. We helped each other through the uneven terrain. Mine was the only camera. The critter room was the most fun for me. Lots of antics in here. @elwessbrandon and I interrogating a hostage. He didn't talk. (it's a selfie and I'm so proud of the framing) Diane found another prisoner to interrogate. They got along well, as he really went with the robes. I'm not a huge fan of snakes, but this one was so chill. Literal children were handling him and draping him around their necks... I had to try it. AND THEN HE WENT INSIDE MY BUCKET. Let me just say how I didn't freak out. I assume my very manly TK voice rose in volume 300% and in pitch 500% as I calmly asked them to remove the snake from my glorious plastic visage. After a couple hours, we retired to the lounge for some local cuisine and camaraderie. Excellent troop! Would attend again! Just no snake in the bucket plz.

9/16/23 - NM State Fair (2nd weekend, Saturday, 1st troop of the day) 76th TK troop, 31st for the year This was the first day of the 2nd and final State Fair weekend. We showed up in great numbers. I think this is everyone in attendance including handlers. I again carried my Leia Leveller. 4 lbs 14 oz. 2.2 kg. For HOURS. Gesturing, raising, lowering, blasting. It was GREAT. The weather was fantastic and we spent a lot of time on the main street among the crowd. Almost everyone was happy and enjoyed seeing our group. And if I say so myself, we looked GOOD. This was most of our time. About 3 hours of crowd work. Posing, moving, hiding in the shade for the black armor folks, repeat. But I did get a few fun pix. Our Tantive IV hallway. This is SO close to my DRG trading card pose and background, but an actual photo vs a photoshop creation. My buddy Joseph was on fire with his camera. Ready to miss some rebels. A "Big" piano was setup on the other side of the room. When I had a chance I'd sneak up on guests and protect them from the noises. Kids MOSTLY loved it. Mostly. As the doctor said, I was still able to play the piano after The Incident. Dear Boss, Sorry I haven't been at my post. I'd very much like to return. Please send a shuttle for pickup. Any moment now. I'm ready. I'll stay at my post. Really. kisses, TK-89400.

Whew. 2 more updates and I'll be up to date! 9/16/23 - 2023 Rio Grande Down Syndrome Network Buddy Walk 77th TK troop, 32nd for 2023, 2nd for 9/16. I could have stayed at the Fair and had a 2nd troop of the day for free. No extra driving, dressing, and undressing. But there was a walk for Down Syndrome and one of the walkers trains her service dog in the same class that my daughter and I do. I promised her I'd be there, so... troopers moved out! (Leia trains her service dog with them too) I arrived at this troop about 45 minutes early when there were few cars and setup was still happening. I asked where to go and the organizers were like "anywhere you want. maybe in the front?" So I spent almost an hour out front of the gate, greeting people as they came in. I hung out with Orbit the mascot for the Albuquerque Isotopes. I checked identification. I helped the merch people (by keeping an orderly line). I got footage shot by the local news (which I just remembered... hmmm... I wonder if I can find it). I was all by myself. No handlers. No backup. Just a lone TK with a pretty blaster (pretty heavy at this point) and a few hundred people. And it was MAGIC. Could have gone sideways easily, but it was great. People were happy and I did my little plastic best to help out. Shot when I came inside the gate and discovered troopers were trooping! FRIENDS!!!! They'd even done a group photo... without me. At least they let me reshoot with everyone. The blaster created no end of entertainment. The BlastFX is *loud* and pretty bright and I kept being asked "IS THAT THING LOADED?" so I'd spray the pavement or a nearby trooper and get claps and smiles. It was expensive. It's SO very heavy to carry all day. It's rather delicate. But omg is it fun!!! (no, I am NOT shooting the kid in this photo) One of several billion photos. The event ended with a drone shot and most of the participants on the field for the start of the walk. The rather small red arrow points at our group. My buttplate is facing the drone... alas. This was a LONG day of trooping. I left around 7 in the morning and got home near dinner. My little dog Mabel was *crushed* from my absence. Family missed me too, but Mabel was just heartbroken and spent hours in my lap. Not like regular dog missing a person stuff... more than that. It was the longest I'd been away from her since I started training her to be my service dog a few months prior. I work from home, so I see her all the time. Her reaction made me realize my new obligation to her. By training her to be there for me and do these tasks and navigate stores, etc... I kinda can't leave her behind. Certainly not all day. She's lost without me. It really showed. So, most likely I'll have my TK9 unit at most of the troops I ever do from this point on. It's good training for her, and so very good for my mental state. And kids love her. Expect some dog pix.

8/18/23 - Star Wars Rendezvous Fan Film Premier 73rd TK troop, 28th for 2023. This troop was in support of a fan film made by a local 501st member. They had a screening of it and a few other short films by local film makers. We TKs showed up to protect the public from that lone Jedi. I highly recommend this if you get the chance. Get up on stage in a large theater. It feels fantastic! @elwessbrandon singing his little black and white heart out. A+ pipes trooper!!! Annnnd that's about it for pix. We didn't really have handlers and we were all busy entertaining the crowd the rest of the time. I only shot a few pix before helping at the velvet rope. I've never said "MOVE ALONG" so many times in one night. And I could say it another few thousand. It was a great event! We even got some coverage by the local news. Good times! The film is on youtube if you'd like to search. A few local Dewback Ridge members are in it. Quite enjoyable. Just wish I had more pix from the event.

9/10/23 - NM State Fair 74th TK troop, 29th this year This was, I think, the first year that the New Mexico State Fair asked for the 501st to attend. One of the (many many) expo buildings had a movie theme. There was costume rentals and sales, background/extra sign ups (a ton of stuff is filmed here), a photo booth and old tymie movie exhibit... and us! Saturday was broken into two troop events plus a parade, in which FOUR troopers were allowed to parade. They could only fit four in the truck they had... and that didn't sound like a ton of fun to me, so I skipped. And doggie health issues caused me to miss Saturday entirely. But I got to do Sunday! Which is pictured here. Sunday was, unfortunately, a single event. No double troop action. It was still a blast! It looked kinda like a dewback. I had to pose. I spent most of the day with Lucas (fellow GML) and his son Jacob in the fresh Death Trooper suit. I also carried my beloved LEIA LEVELLER, complete with BlastFX alllllll day. Mom, I think my Barbie had a problem at the factory. Can we return it? At our booth, which I managed to NOT get pix of, we had a beautiful new Tantive IV hallway backdrop. Many selfies were taken. My fav was this one with Lucas, giving me the WTF face whilst selfie-ing in the hallway. It's so very TK. Right before Vader followed and the force-applied neck massages began.

Forgive me Vader, for I have sinned. It's been ages since I updated this troop tracker. 8/16/23 - Elijah's Toy Drive 72nd TK troop, 27th for 2023 This was a troop I did in 2022 and was happy to repeat. A toy drive for the organizer's son who died a few years back. That's why we wear the armor, right? Many kids are getting smiles in honor of Elijah. With some of Rio Bravo fire team. We had a good TK showing for this troop. I... I used to be so white. Now I'm a little more movie accurate off-white. However, four of the troopers in this pic have WTF armor, which is incredibly white. I'm not THAT yellow right? I love these. Olaf selfie for my collection And pikachu! I was smiling pretty hard under there. Never trooped with a pika before. Lastly, my buddies Chuck and Randy. Chuck changed out of Boba and into.... THIS for the last half hour of the event. I caught a single photo of Randy's force choke - in my TK with bucket and gloves on! One photo was all that was needed. It was perfect.

EDIT: Here's another!

Thank you!! I have never done a wet sand but keep reading that it’s the best! I’m also stoked to get my sand paper to last a little longer!! Thank you again and hopefully I’ll be able to post a meaningful update (and not just “I’m still sanding!”) in the near future!!

Hello and welcome aboard, this informative thread should help you on your way

Day 17 pt 2 Here it is, the first complete piece (that isn't a single piece). Drum roll. Pretty much everything else is going to require sanding-filling of some sort so those are the next (First) order of business. I have gotten a DIY belt constructed and appears to fit so far. (Sorry for the weird angle. Difficult to take a picture of your belt area. :O ) Lastly a picture of the zipper on the abs girdle. Another challenging shot. Aw yeah, it feels good to have a few pieces that go together.

Respectfully requesting the little 75 badge.

No, no, no, no. I'd have lost it. Bart

They're an (unhealthy) addiction, but I love doing them. And at least twice, our official troop group pic has been one of my selfies. No handler means you gotta get creative sometimes. My phone is really geared well for it too. Double tap the power button to enter camera mode without unlocking. Then hit a volume button to take the pic. My gloves work well with the screen, but that volume button is often the MVP.

Well..not to bad I have to say

Troop 37 Hamilton Comicon Hamilton , Ontario September 23, 2023 Day 2 was fun with us getting to do a photoshoot in the Buffalo aircraft. Got to troop with @Wompet today as well. This was also the same troop 1 year ago when I did my first troop. Some other shots from the day.

James, I didn’t see this a couple days ago because I was torturing myself in another ultramarathon, but you know I’m always more than happy to help. First, I’m glad to see you took the CF Filament advice. Again, yes it is a PLA compound, but the 20% Carbon Fiber changes the entire dynamic and structure. Everything I’ve ever had an issue with regarding PLA is erased with this stuff and I’ve stress tested it excessively including in all that heat we had this year. Also, here’s a little secret for everyone as to why I’m a fan… The office I used to work for was sending components made from this stuff out to Iraq and Afghanistan, so I’ve got full confidence in its ability to handle a few 501st troops. So, starting with the helmet, sand it down moving from 80-220 grit first. You’ll see it start to smooth out after a round of 110 grit, but if you really want to cut your finishing time, get some fingernail files/ emery boards and just go to town. https://a.co/d/54Oe92A The filament will take on a gray, almost cloudy color, then you’ll be ready for filler primer. Here’s a 000 head I’m working on: Once there, I now hit it with a coat of Upol Expert Sandable Primer which you can grab at Autozone for about the same price as Rustoleum Filler Sandable. This stuff dries fast and almost creates a shell over the part. Once dried, it feels like hardened resin. It’s been hiding under our noses all these years. This is how one of my FOTK buckets looked after sanding + one coat of Upol. But, I’m sure you didn’t post this for 3d print instructions, so let’s get back to the bucket. Rubber trim is easy to find and looks great on the neck ring: https://a.co/d/epvrCqt For the lenses, I would encourage you to grab a set from Paul Prentice. You can use the buck Nico provided in the files to form your own, but Paul’s are cheap and he already did the work for you. Shipping was quick enough from the UK. While you’re at it, ask him for some metal shoulder bridges. I’m not a fan of Nico’s Hovi Mics, mostly because I wanted a real steel screen in there. They work, but there’s more accurate files out there. I stole @TheRascalKing’s idea a couple years ago and now spray the interior of every helmet with bed liner. This helps with darkening everything as well as filling the gritty inside of the dome. I think Justin was doing it to add a little stiffness to ABS helmets, but it’s been a huge benefit in 3d printing. Thanks Justin. Anyways, I’ll be watching this with great interest and I’m sure we’ll be at another troop together soon. Hit me up with any questions and I can’t wait until you get the armor.

It was amazing! Always a very special event for most of us. And, yes, there were a lot of TK's And thank you @BAZINGA, glad to hear that [58] 23.09.2023 -- Family Day at VW Global HQ, Wolfsburg, Day 1 Since this might be my last troop for the next few months I was determined to make the most of it. We entered the factory premises early in the morning after a security check and were shown to our changing room next to the photo studio. Alongside eight troopers from the German Garrison, VW had invited another eight costumers from a local club. To cover the whole area we were split into four groups with different troop times. So as the first group (pictured above) started, we, the second 501st group, got to tour one of the factories out of armor. Afterwards we headed back and got changed into costume an hour early, anticipating a delay in getting to our post due to the crowds outside. As it turned out, we had naively underestimated the crowds. It took us nearly 3.5 hours to get to our post, at which point our 2 hour shift was over and we managed the 600 meters back to the changing room in a record time of 1.5 hours. All along the way we were stopped for pictures, never managing more than a few meters before being crowded again. This was the only picture I managed to take during the troop. Next to me is TK-56347 with whom I trooped the whole day as a group of two (we'd early on found out that as a group of four we would move even slower). After we got back to the changing room we took a couple of pictures in the photostudio. Later that day I found out that there had been about 40000 visitors that day. [59] 24.09.2023 -- Family Day at VW Global HQ, Wolfsburg, Day 2 place holder for group picture Having learned our lesson from the previous day, we started off in private, using the photostudio to its fullest extent. This day we were only five troopers from the 501st, but we were an amazing group to troop with. Then we braved the crowds. This time around we didn't even try to get far from the changing room and instead got to participate in a few of the activities nearby. I got a perfect score in hockey, missed all my shots at the football goal and danced along to the music playing. Of course we also got a picture with the DFB (German Football/Soccer Club) mascot. We went on to taking even more pictures with visitors. One kid even had a Lego StarWars figure with him because he had heard that there'd be Stormtroopers at the event. All in all, it was a really fun, but exhausting event. I hope we'll get to troop this again in the future -- but with twice as many troopers. TK-66744 signing off

8/11/23 - Eldorado High School Senior Sunrise 71st TK troop, 26th for 2023. This was a troop for a senior year kickoff at an Albuquerque school. Six of us answered the call. Well, 6.5? My trusty TK9 unit was at my side the whole morning. She may not be an approved trooping accessory, but the kids LOVED Mabel with her little rider. In fact, why not share some cute puppy pix now? I'd never trooped a high school before. Elementary kids LOVE seeing troopers. Middle schoolers would prefer to not live on the same planet as us. I was worried about the HS kids. I thought maybe a cute puppy might grease the wheels. Plus, I had to get up at 4:15 in the morning. Mabel wouldn't get her morning walk otherwise. It was a great time. The seniors were fantastic. Happy to have us there and VERY happy to pet the tiny attack Dewback. After sunrise, we were free to play. We thought a little baseball practice might be just the thing. I was pretty proud of this shot of Brandon and Chuck getting a few hits in. And then I got the finest troop selfie I've ever shot. There's no improving on this one.