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@Sly11 after 4 years as DL! I'm just a simple man. I'll let the rest of the Meme Squad and others create more descriptive content.

A major benefit of teaching college/university courses in communication is the relative ease of connecting the subject matter to what we experience in daily life. Although this results in thinking of my academic discipline a little too much during my off hours, I (and my students) benefit from bringing lots of cool and interesting ideas into the classroom to enagage course concepts in various ways. Working through this habit, the question arose: How can I connect being a professor and a stormtrooper? The series Social Science with a Stormtrooper grew out of this question. These are supposed to be short videos of up to a few minutes that connect a specific concept in the social sciences (mostly within Communication Studies) to Star Wars. The most relevant and believable context for these videos is an academy for stormtroopers, with me playing the role of an instructor who helps stormtroopers with their abilities in interpersonal interaction. In these videos, I try to use plain language to avoid the lecturing and academic-speak common in college classrooms (not sure if I hit the mark). I hope these videos will eventually be a teaching tool for the classroom, but I thought it would be best to show some of the videos here first. I've also thought about posting these videos on Instagram for public consumption. This video (helmet hair and all) is a test to see what I did well and to determine what needs improvement. I had created a basic script and worked from memory during the recording. Clearly, I need to improve the video quality the next go around. I am also thinking about how to make the video itself more engaging, because the plain background seems pretty dull. Given all the flaws, this video is currently unlisted on Youtube, so it can only be accessed through the link here. If anyone is interested, give it a watch and let me know what you think!

Thank you so, so much for making this Detachment a fantastic, safe and wonderful space for all us Stormtrooper enthusiasts. FISD wouldn't be the same without you, Andrew, and I'm very impressed by not only four years in office, but also by all you did during those four years. Cheers! (You can't.)

I think we need a meme capturing and celebrating Andrew's FOUR TERMS in office as DL. One is quite exhausting, that he's hung in there this long and done an AMAZING job is quite notable, IMHO.

Hello everyone. I wanted to first say thank you to everyone on this platform. As a newbie to this (trying to decide what to build, etc.) I've literally spend the last few months diving down this rabbit hole of information. It's was a little overwhelming at first, but as I started getting more knowledgable about the information layout it definitely got easier. And I'm very appreciative of the knowledge you have all been willing to share, especially for people like me who are just getting into this. I've been to a few of the build parties with my local chapter, helped volunteer at some of their events and I couldn't be more excited to start the process myself. I just got my TK kit in (much to the surprise and chagrin of my wife haha), but in truth she thinks it's pretty cool, and I can't wait to get started building it. Thanks again.

Oh, and since it's that time of the year again:

This new visual checklist for TLJ Captain Phasma is now available. This checklist matches the current CRL. I've intentionally left this dated 12/2023 to give opportunity for the rest of this year for any updates. A printable PDF is also available: 02 FISD TLJ Captain Phasma L3 - Ver 01 12-2023.pdf

This new visual checklist for TLJ Captain Phasma is now available. This checklist matches the current CRL. I've intentionally left this dated 12/2023 to give opportunity for the rest of this year for any updates. A printable PDF is also available: 02 FISD TLJ Captain Phasma L2 - Ver 01 12-2023.pdf

Thanks for the reply. Yes, he has mentioned weathering, but I'm not sure I'm at that level in painting yet. I have other projects that would require it, so I may practice on those before I try anything on this blaster. My biggest fear is messing it up, even though weathering is technically messing it up anyway... lol... And thanks for the certification info. Even though I've been on this forum for about 6 months or so, I'm still learning. And even though I won't be getting the full armor, I'm still going to be here to keep myself updated. I really learned a LOT since I've been here, and it's been AMAZING!

I have 4 of these beauties holding up my armor. https://voicebooster.com/collections/mannequins

Stand is somewhat complete. Still need to sand and paint it, and the vertical support isn't glued in yet. Still looks pretty good...

True, but maybe i can add them later on gloves i have

Knowing me, I probably will build up to it, even though I say I won't... but Princess Leia's line "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" will most likely apply.. lol... 5'5" and shrinking... lol

This new visual checklist for TFA Captain Phasma is now available. This checklist matches the current CRL. I've intentionally left this dated 12/2023 to give opportunity for the rest of this year for any updates. A printable PDF is also available: 01 FISD TFA Captain Phasma L2 EIB - Ver 01 12-2023.pdf

That's the kind of feedback I am looking for! Thank you! I have plenty of concepts lined up to address, so I hope this project becomes quite the series over time!

If I may offer a humble suggestion - either a mic hidden under your chest or an over the ear mic which many of us use in our buckets anyway. The volume levels were quite low. A green screen with a starry window projected on it might be a pretty awesome backdrop. Just since you mentioned it and were after suggestions. But yeah, great idea! Post a bunch and keep tweaking. You'll have some very engaging ones for classes in short order!

I really appreciate it. I've decided to go with the TK (Stunt) from ANH, and I purchased my build kit from RS Propmasters. I've been watching their build videos on YouTube and found them very insightful and interesting. I've also been watching a few others on top of reading the threads on this site. I know there's definitely a lot more that goes into the process, but my OCD is ready for the challenge haha. I was initially torn on whether to do stunt or hero, but the stunt spoke to me and seemed like a the best fit.

My bucket flew in the cabin with me, along with all batteries (they can no longer be in checked bags and have to be WITH you... so strange). I checked my armor. No damage to anything. I added Tile and Airtag trackers to the bin so I could keep an eye on it and have help finding it regardless of platform. Very very few TKs can sit comfortably long enough to do a whole flight in armor. I'm one of them. I didn't want to put my armor through that, or any of my fellow passengers. I'm a small guy but those seats are even smaller. Just check your armor bin.

So other than the tabs on the Hengstler, and the stand, this build is complete! 6 or so months later.... lol... I'll post a final picture when the stand is complete, probably by the weekend. Again, I REALLY want to thank @justjoseph63 for his EXTREMELY EXPERT guidance throughout this build. And if anyone has any questions or comments, PLEASE let me know. I'm sure I didn't do some things right, so I'm not afraid of criticism. After over 40 years I FINALLY got my blaster!!!!!!!!!!!

The power cylinders... I got the base assembly from this build on Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/162480-sterling-smg-mk4-l2a3-and-anh-e-11-conversion I saw that Blaster Factory was selling their power cylinder builds, but they were WAY over my budget, so I modeled mine from theirs. I designed the tiny cylinders in TinkerCAD, painted them brown, and painted the lines on them. I bought 10lb wire from Home Depot to mount them. The wires on the "metalmite" capacitors is actually solder wire... I used it because it was easily bendable. I bought the Greeblies kit from @justjoseph63. I used his bolts on the big cylinders, and the kit came with the red wire cover, so I used 5lb. wire for those, so they can bend and keep their shape (solder wire would never work...). I think it came out pretty darn good...

Here is a closeup of how the T-Tracks fit. I learned that there should be a tight fit into the barrel holes, but I'm at the mercy of the build. I hadn't painted the barrel yet at this point. The "ribs" on top were printed in black TPU. It may not look too rubbery, but it feels like it.

Welcome to the FISD, Danny! Depending on how well the armor fits, my advice would be to post a few photos (front/back/sides) of you wearing it so that we can help with any issues if there are any.

Well, I have these with the name of my two sons.... Not very impressive, but full of great sentiments...

Just got a tattoo yesterday. Initially I was going to get the Imperial cog mashed up with another of my interests (the Wheel of Time) but decided to change it and add a stormtrooper helmet and my TK ID. The helmet is the same as in my profile picture, which was one of the first pictures taken of me in armor.