October 2010 FISD Newsletter
In this Issue...
1. From the Commander
2. Academy Updates
3. The FX Helmet's Legacy
4. From the Provost Marshall
5. From the Communications Officer
FISD News
From the Commander
Greetings Troops!
The Legion census is now open for those that have not yet gotten the word. Our XO Terrell (SuperTrooper) will again be handling all the requests for additions/removals, so if you have any questions regarding your status please PM him or we'll create a simple post on the boards.
I'm happy to announce that the Heavy Weapons Trooper now shows up correctly in the database as being under FISD, and also that the Incinerator Trooper has been added to the database as well. If you have either of these costumes, please check your 501st profile and ensure that you're marked correctly.
In other Incinerator Trooper news, Mason Carson (TK-4603, dashrazor) became the first FISD Expert Infantryman for the ICN, and has also created the first flamethrower model for this costume. Kudos to Mason for his excellent work, and look for him as our CRL model when we make our Legion submission later this month.
As always, we strive to give you the most up to date information from the field of white armor. Please drop us a line if there is anything you'd like to see us cover in the future, or anything else that's on your mind.
With Unquestioned Loyalty,
Paul "Daetrin" (TK-8020)
FISD Detachment Leader
Academy Updates
Intelligence Officer Report
Greetings troopers! With Halloween just around the corner, there's no doubt that many of us are prepping our costumes for various events. Here's some great tips and details gathered over the past month.
Screen accurate strapping techniques revealed
Several members of the UK Garrison and Troopermaster have done it again with great reproductions of how the screen used suits were assembled. In the past, there were only a few photos showing the interesting strapping techniques used on the original suits. With some more recent photo reference, ingenuity and creativity, these skilled and talented troopers have recreated what is undoubtably some of the most accurate Stormtrooper replica builds ever!
http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12218
http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12470
http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12775
Where to buy Stukatrooper's replica elastic strapping brackets
http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12511
Some discussions on the types of brackets used for the elastic strapping
http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12836
Rolf - TD252 Sandtrooper armor mods:
Rolf over at the MEPD has been working on yet another fantastic TE2 build. He added some interesting modifications in terms of accuracy for matching the ANH TD armor, and some other details to make the armor more troopable. These include:
- Adding a sharper return edge to the chest armor in the shoulder / armpit region (to match the screen look)
- Adding the "ANH" style thigh top notches in the thigh armor
- Shortening some portions of the belt to match the film belt
- Revised left side ab hinge area with elastic, washers and rivets
- Detail of the crotch / butt rivets
- reinforcing the plastic for the chin strap inside the helmet
- securing the ammo thigh strip
- modifying an area below the 3 ab buttons to create 2 "strips", as well as adding the small circular impression on the ab button plate. This was a detail on the original suits and is captured on the TM suits.
You can read his build thread here:
http://forum.mepd.ne...opic=6800&st=80
Painting HIPS armor:
Some great armor painting tips from Rogue Trooper / Tom on how to achieve a glossy look if you are planning to paint HIPS armor.
Terry "Pandatrooper"
FISD Intelligence Officer
The FX Helmet's Legacy
What is the future for the FX helmet?
The original FX helmet was created many years ago, and was one of the first widely available "fan sculpted" helmets. Fan sculpted meaning that it was sculpted from scratch, and it did not have any lineage to screen used or tour suit type armors / helmets. It has become regarded as one of the most commonly used helmets within the 501st Legion for some time, but in recent years - many more helmet options have become available.
Unfortunately, the FX helmet and armor have been recasted many times over, and they are commonly found on Ebay for unreasonably high prices. Those that are just getting into the hobby may not understand the differences or inaccuracies of the FX helmet, and fall into the trap of making an uneducated purchase, and pay a lot more for something that may not even be "original FX". While its is definitely usable and still acceptable for use within the 501st Legion, the variety and lowered costs of other helmets have caused the original FX helmet to drop in popularity over the past few years.
Image from StarWarshelmets.com
This review hopes to point out some of the unique characteristics of the FX helmet, so that prospective buyers know what to look for and expect when purchasing the helmet of their choice.
Overview:
The FX helmet is constructed out of white ABS plastic. The helmet is generally considered to be oversized. It's the largest of all helmets available, and while for some this is a benefit (allows extra space inside for fans, mics, etc.) the proportions are quite different from the original screen used helmets. There are several parts to the helmet kit including:
- the cap / dome
- the "back"
- the faceplate
- left and right ears
- left and right ear caps
- separate vocoder / chin
- smoke bubble lenses
- rubber trim for the brow and neck opening
- decals for the vents, etc.
- adhesive and other assembly parts like hardware, etc.
Parts detail:
The original FX helmet cap / dome was a separate piece from the back. On screen lineage kits, the cap and back are 1 piece. The original dome itself had sharper corners, resulting in a flatter top than most helmets. The rear trap / vents sit much higher on the FX dome, resulting in the back of the helmet looking taller / bigger.
Image from StarWarshelmets.com
The back and face are bigger and wider than the original screen used helmets, and have less of a "curvy" shape to them. In particular, the cheek areas do not swell outwards as much as the original helmets. The eyes tend to be slightly bigger, and have sharper corners - where as the screen used helmets have rounder corners and a more curvy shape to the lower edge of the eye openings. The tear ducts are much bigger on the FX. The mouth shape is more straight, and doesn't conform to the shape of the face as much as the original helmets. There are 3 teeth sculpted into the design on each side of the mouth, which matches the Hero helmets - but the Stunt helmets had 4 teeth sculpted in. The nose or profile of the front of the helmet, seems to angle away from the brow, making the face seem longer or more pointy.
Image from StarWarshelmets.com
The most obvious change in proportions are the cheek tubes, in particular where they terminate at the front of the helmet. They are considerably larger on the FX helmet, and tend to angle down more than the original helmets. This tends to make the lower half of the helmet appear bigger than the top half of the helmet.
Image from StarWarshelmets.com
The ears and the ear caps were also sculpted much larger in size. The ear caps are separate (screen used was molded in) and they are also bigger in proportion.
All of these factors contribute to the size of the FX helmet being much larger than it's screen used counterparts.
The vocoder was a separately molded piece, and needed to be painted black and glued onto the chin area of the helmet. The decals included the tube stripes, grey traps / vents and even decals for the teeth (grey strip). These were created specifically to match the FX helmet proportions.
The rubber trim that was included with the kit provided the details for the brow and the neck opening. While they did their job, the brow trim tended to be quite thick and tall in proportion to the screen used helmets. Since the FX helmet, discoveries have been made on more accurate and available rubber trim.
Conclusion:
The makers of the original FX kits - who now produce the AM armor, still offer the original FX helmet kit, but the dome has been updated to a more accurate shape (less sharp / flat top). This updated helmet is available with the new AM "Full" and "Lite" kits. AM has plans to update the sculpts for their helmet, to match their updated AM armor and look more accurate to the screen used helmets.
Recently, Daetrin / Detachment Leader of the FISD conducted these polls and discussion threads to see if the majority of Legion members were using the FX helmet. Many websites and online auction sites tout that "90% or more of the 501st Legion" use the FX helmet, however this is far from the truth with even the 501st data showing only 25% on the helmet and approximately 50% for armor.
While there may be higher concentrations of owners / users of FX helmets in the Central United States, some areas of the USA (in particular east and west coasts) and Western Europe favor other helmet types / makers. While it's not true that "90% of the Legion wears FX" it's indicative that FX armor is still being worn by about half the respondents, and that the armor still competes favorably to other makes whereas the helmet does not.
You can read the results here:
501st Legion FX helmet forum poll
While the FX helmet is still completely acceptable, we hope that this information will be useful for those shopping for a new helmet in selecting one that suits their trooping / costuming needs.
To contact AM (Armor Master) or other helmet / armor makers, please see this thread here:
Armor Makers and where to find them
Jez's site "Starwarshelmets.com" is the definitive resource for information on the film used helmets as well as fan made versions
From the Provost Marshall
Security Report
With Halloween fast approaching, I’m seeing the expected spike in new members – in particular those who are looking to get into a TK costume in time for Halloween. While I have my doubts about being able to put together a 501st Legion-worthy costume in so short a time, I certainly understand the desire. Whether it’s to dazzle your friends, bring squeals of joy (or shrieks of fear) to the neighborhood children, or win the grand prize at the big costume contest, who wouldn’t want to own a kick-butt stormtrooper costume? Isn’t that integral to the reason why we’re all here?
However, I’m also seeing another expected but unwelcome trend – a rise in the number of “Want to Buy armor/helmet†threads. In particular, this seems to be happening among our newest members, and my “newest†I mean generally less than 10 posts. Let me reiterate one of the cardinal rules of the FISD when it comes to buying and selling merchandise:
DO NOT POST WANT TO BUY armor/helmet threads. Violations will be deleted.
This is the #1 rule in the Imperial Commissary section of the forum, and appears at the beginning of every buy/sell thread. There are very good reasons for this rule, among them being (1) we want to stay out of trouble with LFL, and (2) the FISD is not WalMart or Craigslist - meaning if you are here we expect you to be a good member and actually make some sort of contribution to the community. While it is very tempting to want to zoom in, pick up a completed costume, and zoom out, IMO you are much better off in following the time-honored process of educating yourself and getting to know the community before you commit what could easily amount to over $1K on a costume – and later regret it.
On a related note, I want to state that pricing information is better handled via PM and email, and not on the open forum. Again, there are a number of reasons for this, foremost among them is out of respect for the wishes of the resident armor providers. Not to mention the constantly changing variables that play into the cost of a set of armor. For example, has anyone else noticed the spike in costume prices (TK or otherwise) and the number of people bidding on them at eBay? It’s called “supply and demandâ€, and it happens every year around this time. Although the idea of a posted “price list†has been brought up, I think with a bit of consideration most people will realize that it is ultimately an unworkable idea.
We all take pride in knowing the best stormtroopers and armorers in the community call the FISD home. Our reputation for costume excellence is well-deserved, and is continually honed with practically every new build. However, if you wish to take advantage of all this community has to offer, please follow the rules.
Happy Halloween, Troopers. Go easy on the candy – you still have to fit into that armor. There will be an open-ranks inspection on 1 Nov. 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,
Brian (tkrestonva)
TK-2918
FISD Provost Marshal
From the Communications Officer
What is your goal?
The FX helmet has been quite the hot topic as of late, and I have heard people weigh in on both sides of the issue. On one hand, I have heard troopers talk about how they want to increase the accuracy of their costumes, and their main complaint with the FX helmet is the inherent design flaws. On the other hand, I have heard troopers say that they have what works for them, and they feel that the move away from the FX helmet is a way to for the 501st to become more elitist, and possibly push people out.
I have heard both sides of this issue, and in my opinion, both of these arguments miss the point.
Before I get into my reasons for that statement, I want to make a couple of things clear. First off, this is a discussion about the helmet, not the armor. FX armor is still very serviceable, and has a good reputation for both its' appearance and durability. The helmet is the issue here, and I believe that it must be viewed as separate from the armor, despite the fact that they both exist under the FX name. Secondly, absolutely no move has been made to "ban" the FX helmet. The FX helmet is still acceptable for basic 501st entrance. The only thing that the FISD has done is to state in our detachment EIB requirements that the FX helmet is not acceptable for EIB status, an optional goal for increased costume accuracy that we as a detachment have set for ourselves. Finally, this discussion is worth having, since we always have new members seeking their first set of armor, as well as existing troopers looking to upgrade their kits. Isn't it part of our job here to make sure that we provide people with the best information available?
To get back to my previous statement, I believe that the point of this issue is neither design flaws nor people being pushed out due to old equipment. The point is whether we want to keep improving our gear, and how we choose to spend our resources to that goal. This is a process that everyone goes through, whether that involves repairing equipment, buying a better sidearm, or picking up that shiny new set of armor. Everything that we do is geared to improving what we do, and simply put, if we find something better than what we have, we then must decide what it is worth to us to obtain that improvement. Now, yes, the FX helmet has design flaws...that's a given. However, most things that we use here have design flaws. I'd be surprised if anyone has any equipment that doesn't have some slight blemish or imperfection. It so happens that on the FX helmet, the design flaws are pretty evident, and there are plenty of reasonably-priced, obtainable alternatives, which does seem to make a strong case for that upgrade, provided that you feel inclined to spend your money in that way. There really is no good reason not to change helmets, because unless you are just really strapped for cash, there are many good kits or even pre-assembled that can be obtained. This is simply a matter of making an upgrade, something that we do all the time with things like cell phones, laptops, and automobiles.
Now, on the flip side of this, I do not believe that this trend against the FX helmet is designed to push anyone out of the 501st, create an elite group, or even to make troopers feel unwanted or unwelcome. As I said before, this is simply a matter of an upgrade for a product being available, with the question being not about flaws, but about whether the upgrade is worth doing. I have and will continue to troop beside people who have the FX helmet, and I suspect that many, if not most, of you are the same way. This is not an issue of troopers being forced to upgrade and facing repercussions if they choose not to, and this has nothing to do with elitism, since there is no issue with 501st membership having to do with the FX helmet.
The bottom line is that the choice is up to you. We want to make sure that our members have all the information available to them when they chose what they will spend their money on, but the choice is an individual one. Whether you choose to upgrade or not, and whatever helmet you choose to join the 501st with is your call, provided, of course, that you meet the Legion requirements. I think I speak for many people when I say that I will gladly troop with anyone here, FX helmet or not, but I want to make sure that you have enough information to make good decisions. Keep trooping!
With unquestioned loyalty,
Daniel "Debater2nd"
TK-2618
FISD Communications Officer
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