September 2010 FISD Newsletter
In this Issue...
1. Celebration V news
2. Spotlight on the Academy
3. Update on the Costume Reference Library
4. Armor News
Celebration V News
White Armor panel after-action report:
Greetings Troops,
Thanks for everyone who participated in, attended, or otherwise supported the Original Trilogy (OT) Troopers panel at C5 last month. By all accounts it was a complete success! Special thanks go to Dan Carlton (TD-2243), Stu Wilkshire (TS-0969) and Scott Magerfleisch (TB-4149) for being my co-presenters and representing their respective detachments. In addition, thanks go to Wellington Eng (TK-1755) for coordinating the entire series of panels and Luis Carazo (TX-3758) for acting as panel host, and of course our prearranged models Tom Musco (TK- 5625), Terry Handshy (TK-2055) and our impromptu panel models – including our own FISD Detachment Leader, Paul Hoeffer (TK-8020). For those who didn’t attend, we showcased the best examples of white-armored troopers from all 3 OT movies, along with our more specialized brothers from MEPD, Blizzard Force, and the Pathfinders. We really put our best foot forward, and showed the CV fans what a stormtrooper is supposed to look like. From what I could see, the room was at near full capacity, with close to 200 attendees – including the Legion Founder and current LCO, Albin Johnson (TK-210), who personally commented on how impressed he was with the panel. We’ve even gained a few new members to the forum as a result. Just as important, we have a product that can be used by the entire Legion for future cons and other opportunities to show off the FISD and the great costumes you all produce with your hard work and dedication. Kudos to all, and I look forward to continuing to spread the word and showing the entire community the best of the FISD.
Brian's Top Three Celebration V Moments:
3. The FISD group photo and the march to the assembly area is definitely in my top three. Being a part of such a large gathering of troopers marching through the convention center as if we owned the place was awesome. 
2. Stormtrooper laser-tag is my number two moment. Can you say "real-live laser battle between Imperial forces and 'rebel' forces - meaning lots of kids who were way too excited to follow even the proprietor's instructions?" I knew you could. Not only was it a ton of fun, it was much easier than I thought it would be, so much so that I've proposed to my garrison that we set up a charity fundraiser laser-tag event as one of our upcoming troops.
1. The White Armor panel has got to be my favorite moment. At some point, you can learn so much about something that your role naturally shifts from being primarily a student to primarily a teacher. It was intensely gratifying to share what I've learned with the audience, and to help solidify the FISD as the place to go for all things stormtrooper. Judging by the audience response and the surge of new FISD members immediately following C5, I'd say we've had a positive impact. 
With Unquestioned Loyalty,
Brian (TK-2918)
FISD Provost Marshal
Update on the The Academy
A Q&A with our Communications Officer
There has been a lot of work done this year on the Academy, and we felt it was time for an update. Communications Officer Terry (pandatrooper) does the honors.
What is the Academy?
The Academy is a great opportunity for us to collect and present the most relevant and cutting edge information, tutorials, and purchasing links for Stormtrooper costuming in one location.
The tutorials contained within the Academy contain the best ideas on how to build your costume. These tutorials will continue to be updated with the latest information and techniques to make your armor or prop the best it can be. This saves troopers of all experience levels a lot of time with their builds, no need to search through the entire forum for the information they need.
Whether you want to submit your costume and join the 501st Legion, or add more detail and accuracy to your costume and apply for your “EIB" (Expert Infantry Badge), the content within the Academy is the best place to begin your journey.
Why are we changing the name to "Imperial Trooper Reception Center?"
We have decided to change the name from the “FISD Academy†to the “Imperial Trooper Reception Center†for a few reasons. “Imperial Trooper Reception Center†is more descriptive in of the intent of the site. We want to extend a warm welcome to everyone visiting the site and help them through easy and accessible information on how to best build their costumes.
In addition we want to avoid any confusion with the “Galactic Academy†which is a great organization of younger costumed members who have not yet reached the age of 18 years old but want to participate in 501st Legion events.
What type of content has been added over the last year?
Over the last year we have created numerous tutorials to help guide individuals in the assembly of their costumes. Within these tutorials are helpful links to more detailed examples of armor or prop builds within the FISD, along with web links to sellers of the parts and supplies used.
The armor section contains 11 articles. Currently, 8 are complete which include:
- Neck seals
- Ab and back
- hands
- Belts
- Belt accessories
- Thighs and Shins
- Boots
- Holsters
The Blaster section contains 6 articles on the E-11 (the standard Stormtrooper sidearm), of which 4 are complete. These include:
- Hasbro blasters and modifications
- Scratch built blasters
- Replica Blasters
- Sterling conversions
The "Tips and How to" section is a giant library of handy tips troopers have discovered over the years to make their costume builds the best they can be.
What is your involvement with the "Imperial Trooper Reception Center?"
As the Intelligence Officer of the FISD, I’m primarily responsible for writing, creating and gathering tutorials for armor and prop creation. There are many talented members within our community, so I often collect and save links of detailed builds or other tutorials that I think would be helpful for everyone, and integrate them into the Imperial Trooper Reception Center website.
Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned 501st Legion trooper, there are always things that we are constantly tinkering with to improve the quality or accuracy of our costumes. The Imperial Trooper Reception Center is a great place to gather and contain all of this valuable information.
Any plans for the "Imperial Trooper Reception Center" going forward?
The plan is to complete the armor tutorials before the end of the year and add addenda to some of the armor tutorials to capture the more detailed and screen accurate builds of late. Additionally the blaster and electronics sections will be expanded and developed further, and there will be more detailed reviews of each armor make.
We'd also like to call on our great FISD community to contribute and provide feedback on the Imperial Trooper Reception Center! There is a steady stream of new innovations and discoveries made every day in the realm of Stormtrooper costume building. Whether it's a new construction technique or a discovery made in a detailed screenshot from the films, we'd like to gather this information and share it with the community.
If you have an idea for a tutorial, or see a helpful link, you will have an opportunity to suggest it for inclusion on the Imperial Trooper Reception Center website. Stay tuned for a new thread on the forums where you can help make contributions and suggestions for the website.
Costume Reference Library Update
The Legion Costume Reference Library will be the visual guide to all 501st approved costumes and will serve as one of several tools for GML’s and anyone wanting to create a costume for 501st membership. While not formal requirements lists, they are nonetheless a key goal of the Legion this year.
The Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM) has been working tirelessly to get FISD’s submissions completed, and I’m very proud to announce that not only is the ANH-Stunt CRL live, but we’ve submitted three more for review (ANH Hero, ESB, Heavy Weapons Trooper), and work has already started on ROTJ.
I bring this up because sometimes it may seem that these projects just ‘happen’, magically, for us to enjoy whereas each CRL represents many dozens of man hours by people behind the scenes.
7 Troopers - Bluehickey, Dmian, No’l, Stukatrooper, TK4702, TKDUENO, and Tray – all deserve your appreciation for a job well done and FISD is indebted to their service.
While 5 of our costumes are done or near done, we are still looking for models for the Stormtrooper Commander and Incinerator Trooper. If you feel your kit is CRL worthy, please contact me as we’d love to hear from you.
With Unquestioned Loyalty,
Paul "Daetrin" (TK-8020)
FISD Detachment Leader
Armor News
Armor Master (AM) Lite Kit Armor Highlight and Review
by Terry / Pandatrooper
FISD Intelligence Officer
As a continuing element of the Imperial Trooper Reception Center, we will be conducting detailed reviews of various armor makes to provide troopers a better idea of what the specific features and qualities of each kit are. This month, we have chosen to highlight the AM "Armor Master" Lite kit.
The AM kit was released in late 2009 / early 2010, and is an updated version of the popular FX kit which can be used to build a TK, TD, or TX costume. The kit itself is available in 2 kit forms: the complete kit which includes the armor, updated helmet dome (with an FX face plate) assembly parts, adhesive, velcro, strapping, etc. The "lite" armor kit comes without a helmet or adhesive or velcro, but it does come with the elastic strapping. While both kits come with detailed printed instructions, many troopers like to combine the guidance provided in the instructions with tips or modifications found here on the FISD forums to create a more detailed armor build.
The kit is considered "fans sculpted", meaning it does not have any lineage to the film or tour suit armors used by other makers. The armor is made from a very shiny and thick ABS plastic, which makes it very durable for trooping events. The AM kit is becoming a popular choice due to it's idealized look, ease of assembly, durability and affordability.
For the full AM lite armor kit review, please refer to the complete article here:
Getting FX Armor Expert Infantry Qualified
Take the Plunge!
I get this question asked a lot so figured now was a prime time do a write-up. Despite what people may say making your FX armor EIB acceptable actually takes comparatively little effort, time, and money. You can pretty much buy everything you need for $60 and a few hours’ worth of work, or if you have lots of free time can do it for about $20 and an afternoon.
As you may know the FX helmet has to be replaced in toto but since that’s an all-out replacement and usually taken care of in one fell swoop, and the fact that most already have swapped out their helmet, I’d like to focus solely on the what’s more important for many, the armor.
The five items that need to be done are:
1. Replacing the ab buttons
2. Replacing the plastic belt
3. Correctly mounting your holster
4. Cutting the butt plate
5. Closing the side gaps
I’ve created a detailed HOWTO about this including pictures, links, and basic instructions to http://forum.whitear...showtopic=12478
Be sure to check it out. I know many of you have made some of these steps already, and I hope this tutorial will help you take it all the way. Not only will your suit look even better, you can now apply for Expert Infantry status on FISD. We only need 20 more troopers to pass MEPD, so come join the fun.
Related Tutorials
"How to add T-racks to your Hasbro blaster"
"How to add the D-ring to your Hasbro Blaster"
With Unquestioned Loyalty,
Paul "Daetrin" (TK-8020)
FISD Detachment Leader
From the Communications Officer
Well, we're heading into that crazy fall season! The weather will hopefully start getting cooler soon, and we will start having troops where we don't have to sweat to entire time, which, in my book, will be a nice change of pace. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to start working with some of the holiday charities, which is always a good thing. One of the best troops I've had the pleasure to participate in was a "Toys for Tots" troop, during which we filled up two enormous bins with donated toys. As we enter the fall, make sure to pay extra attention to your kit, since you'll be using it more than normal, under what can be less than ideal conditions. The FISD staff have been hard at work on the Academy site and supplemental tutorials, which provide our troopers with a high-quality resource that is not available to all of the Star Wars trooping detachments. I would also encourage every trooper to pursue becoming part of the EIB program. It is very do-able...my kit is, in fact, an FX kit, and the heightened attention to detail is noticed by both spectators and my fellow troopers alike. Becoming an EIB is a great investment, primarily of time, and it will pay off as you troop throughout the remainder of 2010.
With unquestioned loyalty,
Daniel "Debater2nd"
TK-2618
FISD Communications Officer
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