Holnave (evan_loh)

In Memoriam From the DL From the XO Legion News Around the Detachment Notable Troops Memoirs of a Stormtrooper The Everyday Trooper Tip of the Month Advanced Tactics Awards Follow FISD We honor the fallen. On the 4th of January, 2016, Mason Barker, TK-9765 of The UK Garrison, passed away. Mason is remembered for his side-splitting humour and his generosity. As an organ donor, Mason’s has already affected other lives in a positive way. With humility and honour we now add Mason’s name to The Hall of Eternal Legionnaires. ‪ On the 17th of January, 2016 Justin Manning (ID-6872 of the 501st New England Garrison) passed away. Justin was well loved by all for his gentle and compassionate demeanor. A dual member of both The Rebel Legion and the 501st communities, Justin could be found in costume as much as behind his camera lens, documenting events and preserving the moment. It is with the same noble purpose that defined his service that we now add Justin’s name to The Hall of Eternal Legionnaires. Greg Sebren TI-24244 passed away on 2-11-16. He had transferred from Garrison Tyranus to Star Garrison in December. He was a member of the IOC, Jolly Rogers & Spec Ops Detachements. RIP & buckets off trooper. It's with sadness that we report the passing of another Star Wars celebrity. Alethea McGrath, the actress who portrayed Jocasta Nu in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones has become one with the Force. Our deepest condolences to her niece who was kind enough to let us know, to her family and to her friends. She was 95 years old. (theforce.net posted on Feb. 9, 2016) (photo jeditemplearchives.com) Buckets off troopers. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Clint TK-16311 "cm325i" FISD Imperial Propaganda Department Greetings Stormtroopers, Cadets, Recruits, and groupies! Quite an eclectic greeting there perhaps, but I feel it is both appropriate and accurate. Some may scoff at the inclusion of the term groupies, but consider this for a moment: The 501st Legion has 3,463 approved Stormtroopers. The 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment has over 15,000 registered members. Seriously. Over 15,000. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, enough fun with language and statistics for one newsletter write-up, I’ve got a lot of things that I want to say and this is a newsletter, not a novel. I’ve been known to ramble - perhaps you’ve noticed that while you’ve been here. So to actually get started, I have to say a few thank yous. For starters, Paul (Daetrin) and Eric (Darth Aloha), the transitioning Detachment Command Staff, and the trusted advisors to that group of individuals. Each of you has played a massively instrumental part in me becoming the Detachment member that I am today. Your years of continued dedication and service to the Detachment have shaped the 501st Legion and its world-wide impact on the Star Wars Fandom. That is in no way an understatement, and it may not be strong enough to truly convey what all of you have done for all of us. Thank you. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, I have to thank every one of you reading this newsletter. A leader is a reflection of those that he or she serves, and in that regard I owe each of you a great deal of gratitude for allowing me to serve you, the members of the Stormtrooper community, in such a capacity. What a community this is, too. Read through some of the build threads, the older ones and the newer ones, and see the ways that techniques and methods have evolved over the last ten years. You’re a remarkable and talented group of people here. I’ve made it a point in my time here to make myself available to any and all of you as needed, and that will continue while I serve you as the Detachment Leader. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. To the incoming or remaining Detachment Command Staff, thank you. I also apologize to this group specifically, as we’re going to be busy. Very busy. But, we’re going to have a great time, and you’re going to help me in making that happen – in fact, you’re really going to do all of the work, who am I kidding? I know that you’re up to the task though. Let’s have a good time folks! Let’s get on with it then, shall we… It has been said so many times that it may seem cliché at this point in time, but isn’t it an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan? Think about it, this year we’ll celebrate 10 years of the FISD, next year we’ll celebrate 40 years of Star Wars! There are now three generations of families that have shared and loved adventuring in a galaxy far, far away! Similarly, we’ve seen generations of TK armor that share that adventure, every day, somewhere across our planet. From FX, to ANOVOS and every possibility in between, we’ve worn and continue to wear the best looking Stormtrooper costumes the world has ever seen. We set the bar high, and have continued to look forward while continuously reaching out. We reach out to anyone who sets their mind to joining our ranks by moving from one of the 15,000 to one of the over 3,000. We welcome all of the shiny white plastic spaceman wannabes with open arms, and a spirit of Troopers Helping Troopers to ensure that our legacy continues, and that all of those costumes can share in reaching out to our communities in so many ways. I don’t have a crystal ball, or the ability to see the future in Force visions (wrong Detachment folks, I’m a Stormtrooper, not a Sith Lord), but this is going to be a fun and exciting year at the FISD. That, I can tell you with some great certainty. At this very moment, the Command Staff for the next year is being finalized (you’ll see some more about them during the next month), and plans for improving what we do here and how we do it are being laid out. Celebrations are being planned, and commemorative swag is being brainstormed and designed, and will be coming to a Detachment sales thread near you throughout the next year. So my first request of you, the readers of this newsletter, as your incoming Detachment Leader is a simple one: Share this. Tell other TKs in your Garrisons - Troopers that have maybe stepped away from the Detachment to focus on the Garrison sites; tell the other recruits who have not found their way here yet; tell the groupies that you know who might love to check us out… Tell them to have a look at the newsletter. Tell them to join you in an armor party, and share what they know with someone. Tell them to re-join, or to join in the fun that we’re having here. If it’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan, it’s a better time to be a Stormtrooper. We’re in for a fun year, Troopers. Spread the word, share the love! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tim TK-51878 "Dark CMF" FISD Detachment Leader “Difficult to see. Always in motion is the future.” – Yoda Ignorant words, from a senile, Rebel scum, sympathizer. Hell yeah the future is clear, and it’ll be awesome! I’d like to congratulate Tim on his appointment as Detachment Leader! Great times are surely ahead under the leadership of a trooper who’s best described as “a man of the people”. I’ll bet almost each and every one of you has come to know Tim, either directly or indirectly. Why? Because he has always been friendly, kind, and accessible, and I certainly don’t see that changing now. Tim is a trooper of the people for the people, and I’m really excited for the future of FISD. As for myself, I’d like to thank you all for tolerating me as your XO, for a time. You won’t be rid of me yet, as I’ll continue to contribute in any way I can, for as long as I can. For the most part though, I now step back into the ranks, and do what we do best, have fun trooping and bringing smiles to faces. always, have fun building, have fun trooping, and have fun helping one another! Thanks everyone! Now if you’ll excuse me, I'm tracking down that little green, negative-Nancy, Yoda, and there’s been reports of puppet activity in the area. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Danny TK-66668 "MechaPumpkin" FISD Executive Officer Don't forget to vote for your next Commanding Officer of the Legion! There are only two days left and the candidates are: GM-2452 Daniel Rodriguez TB-101 Aimee Jorgensen DZ-895 Michael K. Washko TK-978 Stefan Cembolista CC-290 Bryon S. Mesarch For more information please visit their Q&A that are linked in each of their names above! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer The “shiny” that LadyinWhite loves so much took on a whole new meaning with Captain Phasma, the Chrometrooper from The Force Awakens. She put together an incredible build and a thorough build thread, and got her Phasma done in time for the red carpet premiere of The Force Awakens! Starting with a set of TFA Stormtrooper armor, she collected pictures to examine for things to modify. Helpful people shared closeup photos of potential mods on the hand plates, and together they determined the pesky fingers were most likely C3PO parts, and that the cod looked to be that of a TFA Flametrooper. Ingrid began gluing the armor and building out the bones of Capt. Phasma. Next she moved on to the bucket - a piece from Thorsson, and also got to work on the cape. After analyzing the pictures, it was determined that it was made from canvas drop cloth. After many experiments with napkins, scrap fabric, and an action figure - it was found to be “kind of” triangular/trapezoidal with two seams and four pockets. Chroming the pieces could be done so many ways - vinyl, chemicals, even bringing it through an auto body shop. Ultimately, she decided to go Alclad. Her process was as follows: Rinse pieces in distilled water to remove dust, tape residue, and other grime. Paint gloss black, sand to a smooth finish with 2000-grit paper as needed. Wipe on car polish until you can see a mirror image sharply. Buff lightly. Dilute and spray on the wetting agent. Dilute and spray on sensitizer. Mix, airbrush silvering agent onto pieces using fine spray setting in sweeping motion. Buff lightly with tissue/toilet paper, touching up silvering as you go. Mix violet tint into clear coat and coat parts, following with hardener. When cured (not dried), use Elmer’s glue for weathering - scrape or rub to reveal shine. Assemble parts. And away she went. Painting and glossing and sanding and painting and sanding and painting… In the eleventh hour, over Thanksgiving, the last pieces came together. With her trusty handler Ralf, Ingrid got all put together and we got to see her shiny chrome-y armor! Phasma made her big debut on the red carpet, commanding the TFA TKs and snagging shots with Gwendolyn Christie and Adam Driver. What’s next? Putting together some language for the CRL and a google doc build for Phasmas to come. When someone proposed a name change from LadyInWhite to LadyInChrome, Ingrid declined - that white shiny is her first love. But I think I speak for a lot of us when I say we love her Phasma just as much! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Alison "manyhighkicks" Imperial Propaganda Department Purdue University Basketball Star Wars Day This past November the Bloodfin Garrison was asked for the first time to troop a Big 10 basketball game. Two of their starters are apparently huge fans of the movies. The troop was a great success and experience. We were allowed to go out on the floor during a TV time out, and TKs were allowed to escort Vader onto the court for photos will the students, public, and staff. This was my first troop at a large sporting event, and there was nothing quite like it. It was made all the better with the extremely helpful and kind staff of the university. More here http://www.whitearmo...-star-wars-day/ Kyler - Lancer - 87243 Convoy for Cancer - Australia The annual convoy raising funds for cancer families has about 400 motorbikes and 400 trucks travel from one side of town to the other. The 501st got asked to troop, but I wanted to ride in the convoy too. Combine the two! Kitted as a snow trooper so I could sit and bend my legs properly I painted my helmet white (plasti-dip) and made a visor screen out of insect wire, painted white and black. My buddy, made a facemark out of a kids mask and a shortened cape for the ride - rest of costumes as per 501st. We then kitted up properly for the 'troop' after the ride. Was a bunch of fun. The looks on peoples faces lining the roads! What? Has no one seen a snow trooper and Vader ride motorbikes before.... More here http://www.whitearmo...ncer-australia/ Ian - Sith Lord - 11409 Susan G Komen Race for the Cure West Palm beach, Fl More here http://www.whitearmo...-palm-beach-fl/ Brian - Polar - 11669 With Unquestioned Loyalty, Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Imperial Propaganda Department This month's Memoir can be considered a gift. A late Christmas Gift, if you will, from our beloved Uncle Walt to the Legion, and even the world. TK-60168, Ken Heavenridge of the Tampa Bay Squad shares with us a tale of a troop with an awesome plot twist! Disney Christmas Parade 2015 So what started as a request from Disney for 20 "elite" Tks for a mystery event in November ended up with 100 501st and Rebel Legion members marching in the 2015 Disney Christmas Parade! It began with a posted troop looking for 20 similar sized, top notch TKs for a yet to be disclosed event for Disney. As we've done the "May The 4th" event a few times for Disney's Hollywood Studios we expected it would be along those lines. Little did we know at the time that that was NOT the case! It was slow going for a while getting enough TKs that fit the bill signed up for this Friday troop. Disney was getting restless and opened it up to "white armor" and Snowies, Sandies, Bikers and a few select Clones were invited to sign up. Still not enough they then welcomed Officers to the party. That changed again and the Rebel Legion and their Pilots, RFTs, Endor Troopers and "Alien only" Jedi were added to top us off at 100!!! Later we learned that it was the parade that we were going to do and everyone was excited. We were all to meet at their abandoned airfield just inside the main gate for bin inspection, passes, a quick pre-lineup test then a bus ride into our changing hanger backstage. As always, strict instructions that there would be NO PHOTOGRAPHY of any kind backstage! Two bus loads later we were all inside a large room staging for our long walk backstage to the front of the park. Just behind the Main Street area we all stood in formation with our Disney handlers awaiting our emergence into the circle just inside the main gate. The Rebels were grouped in front (like our prisoners!) : ) and were brought out first. The TK group led out first with Disney's Vader and 4 of their TKs. Behind us were the rest of our group with Disney's Phasma and 2 TFA Troopers bringing up the rear. Everone was staged in the circle in formation for a while waiting for the order to go. We could hear the director on a PA giving instructions to his crew. Only the "Star Wars" segment was being filmed at that time so we had Main St all to ourselves. We also had several members in the crowd (including our GCO) snapping photos of us and shooting some video. The order was given and we marched around the circle and down Main St toward the castle with a steadycam weaving in between us, an overhead boom camera and several stationary cams filming our every move. Once we got most of the way down the street we heard "Cut...Reset!" and turned and walked back to our starting point. After a brief time we heard "Action" and did our second take. Sadly it was our last and we continued down the street and stopped in front of the castle. Oddly, we waited there for a while before we got to march through Frontierland and out a gate by Splash Mountain. An incredible experience and troop for sure!!! I do have to report that I heard 3 buckets dropped during the day: One in our dressing area, one right before we entered the staging circle and one at the gate by Frontierland! I am happy to report that no buckets were damaged in said droppings! Oh and I was honored to lead the TKs in the front right position!!! Tremendous thanks to Ken and the Legion members who represented us all so well on one of the world's happiest and grandest stages! Additionally, I would be remiss if I neglected to mention that I'll be taking over a different column of the Newsletter effective with this very edition - maybe you noticed? With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tim TK-51878 "Dark CMF" FISD Detachment Leader It’s easy to forget, when you gaze over a sea of shiny white stormtroopers that the FISD is made up of individuals from around the world, each with his or her own personal story and unique reason for joining the ranks of the 501st. It’s impressive that such a diverse group of people can come together, despite vast separations of culture and geography, to form the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment – For the love of the empire. This month I continue my quest to strengthen the legion by introducing two more troopers that are just like the rest of us in many ways, yet each unique in their own special way. It’s common for us to discuss the details and stories of the troops we go on, but how often do we think about the individuals, from all over the world, that make up this incredibly vast organization that makes up the FISD. What drives a grown man or woman to put on the armor? How do they manage the juggling act between their everyday lives and the dedication to the multiple charities to which the 501st contributes? What role do our families play in our unquestioned loyalty to the Emperor? I plan to search for answers to these questions and more as I make my way around the galaxy speaking with Everyday Troopers from all corners of the Empire. Last month we heard from troopers in Italy and Canada. I am working on putting together a digital map to put pins in for every city that has been represented in this column. This month takes us down to South America where I interviewed Stormtroopers from Peru and Brazil. These two troopers have as much heart as I’ve ever seen. I’m proud to include them in this month’s edition. Manuel Alpaca is the executive officer from the Peru Garrison (formerly Outpost Peru). His favorite contribution to the 501st is visiting hospitals. He spoke of his experiences with temporarily distracting children from their suffering. Making appearances in his armor takes these children away from reality, if only for a couple hours. He emphasized his dedication to children, in general. He feels he can set a good example without feeding his own ego. He has been instrumental in executing the Peru Garrison’s collective goal of building bridges between those who can help and those who need it most. Manuel refers to himself as an average Stormtrooper and strikes me as a man with a great deal of humility. He is the perfect example of the Everyday Trooper who is being pulled in every direction by his responsibilities: “The photo without my armor was taken a few days before Christmas. My goddaughter was going to sing at school and I had an all-day troop taking the kids of an orphanage to the zoo. So, I had to go out with my Outpost shirt to go see my goddaughter and then return to the trooping. It was a very busy day! “ The goal of this column is to help spark conversations between troopers from around the world. If you have any comments or questions for Manuel, he can be reached here: Name: Manuel Alpaca Email: [email protected] Facebook: Manu Alpaca Twitter: @ManuAlpaca FISD forum: ivanovo Our next trooper is also from South America. His biggest concern with the interview was that his English wasn’t strong enough. I disagree, but it did highlight the fact that our organization is made up of troopers from many different backgrounds and cultures. We may look the same on the outside, but we couldn’t be made up of a more unique group of individuals. I’m proud to introduce André Luiz Marques da Silva from São Paulo, Brasil. Andre troops with the Brazilian Division Garrison. He works as the CEO of an import/export company. Andre spends time in his personal life as well as in his trooping life with a close knit group of friends. He has aspirations of leadership within the legion as an officer or squad leader. He, like many of us, is fulfilling a childhood dream of being a stormtrooper. He had a chance to join some friends at the Rock in Rio (the world’s biggest music festival), to help spread the word about an upcoming film last year… He later had a chance to go see the film with a bunch of his buddies: What struck me most about Andre was a story he told me about helping fulfill one of his friend’s childhood dreams. Andre is clearly a selfless man who spends his time thinking of others. He strikes me as an inspirational member of the 501st whom we would all be lucky to one day refer to as an officer in the FISD. He spent very little time in the interview speaking about himself. He spoke about how his participation in the FISD has allowed him to focus on various forms of philanthropy. And he certainly finds unique ways of making other people smile: “I was escorting a friend who lives in a mobile ICU, since suffering infantile paralysis as a child. His dream was to attend the Comic Con 2015 in São Paulo and meet his idols. We made one of his dreams come true and we can grow as human beings.” If you would like to follow up with Andre or just use him as a resource, he can be reached here: Name: André Luiz Marques da Silva Email: [email protected] FISD Forum : andre21978 With Unquestioned Loyalty, Derek Lotz TK–26212 “Dlotz” Imperial Propaganda Department Since last month, I’ve been seeing more signature graphics popping up around the forum. I’m glad to see January’s tip was useful. This month’s tip is for those of you that want to keep your thigh pieces up without having them connected to your upper body armor. Some troopers opt for this method because it’s a lot less stress on their shoulders. Without a garter to hold up my thigh pieces, I probably wouldn’t be able to troop. I have MS and it causes a lot of pain in my joints so I take every advantage I can. Another advantage I like to take is saving money whenever and wherever I can. The garter I use can be made for just a few dollars if you’re making it from scratch, and even cheaper if you already happen to have some of the materials left over from your build. Materials needed: 1” nylon strapping (enough to go around your waist plus about 2 feet extra) 1” parachute buckle 4 snaps 8 denim rivets The first step is to cut a length of strapping that is equal to your waist size plus 3 inches. The extra 3 inches is what you will use to attach the buckle. Cut the remaining strapping in half and attach two snaps to each piece as shown. Do not attach your hanging snap plates just yet: Next, attach the other side of the snaps inside the top of the thigh pieces as shown. It’s better to do this step and let the snap plates inside the thighs dry before continuing. Now that your snap plates inside your thighs are dry, it’s time to assemble your garter belt and attach the hanging snap plates at the proper length. The first step in assembling your belt is to attach the parachute buckle to each end of the belt. This can be done using denim rivets. To use the denim rivets, simply poke one end through the strapping into the female side of the rivet. Make sure you have a flat piece of wood under the rivet and strike it with a hammer. It might be a good idea to practice hammering a couple rivets if you haven’t used them before. It’s pretty easy, though. Here’s what it looks like after the buckle is attached to both ends: Finally, put on your belt at the desired location on your waist. Then, snap your hanging snap plates into your thighs and pull them on. Get them to the desired height and mark the strapping where you want to attach each one to the garter belt. Remove your thigh armor and attach the hanging snap plates at your marks onto the garter belt using the denim rivets. I put a couple extra to be safe. It looks a little messy this way, but you can’t see it when your armor is on. In the picture there are four snaps on each hanging snap plate. This is not necessary, but it allows me to wear the belt at different heights depending on how much weight I put on during the holidays. J Feel free to contact me with any questions on my tips each month or any general questions. If I don’t know, I’ll find you someone who does! With Unquestioned Loyalty to the Empire, Derek Lotz TK-26212 “Dlotz” Imperial Propaganda Department This month the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate: Expert Infantry Badge Award: Lorenzo Russo "elleerre" TK-10212 Aaron Brudvig "Squimspickle" TK-19513 Rob Csorba "Ltchobs" TK-12621 Michael Howard "Superbee" TK-44701 Samuel Rodríguez "Hades" TK-24637 David "JodoYodo" TK-30307 Antonio Silva "Replicom" TK-15511 Christoph Lauber "Ripper_L" TK-55550 Brandon Lauletta "brandontrueblue" TK-12001 Jaime Gomez "SG JIG" TK-25358 Centurion Award: Alberto Lanz "ZARAL" TK-27639 Steve Davie "Stvd201" TK-42200 Jay Bath "Coaster" TK-73427 Davide Pedullà "lorddavids" TK-92011 Aaron Brudvig "Squimspickle" TK-19513 James Suerdieck "JDTrooper" TK-11075 Stand tall and be proud of what you have achieved troopers. You will now be deployed into the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Advanced Tactics Roster. Make us proud troopers! The FISD is always looking for new applicants for our Advanced Tactics program so please do not hesitate to apply if you meet the standards! Our Deployment Officer and armorers are here to help and guide you through to success! Feel like your armor is up to standards and worth of recognition? Apply for the Expert Infantry Badge Program now! Want to go the extra mile, raise the standards of Stormtrooper armor, and be the envy of your peers? Apply for the Centurion Program now! Note: Applicants need to be EIB approved before applying for Centurion. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/followfisd.png Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories! Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st follow FISD on Twitter! Instagram: www.instagram.com/501stfisd With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department, <End Transmission>

The quality of their kit is not up to par with the price you pay for. Fan made trooper kits have better quality than Jedi Robe. Jedi robe caters to more casual/Halloween costumers.

Thank you Eric for all your past work! The DL role is indeed a big role and not an easy one. Congratulations Tim! I'm sure that you are more than capable of taking us to greater heights and we look forward to your plans for this year!

Rod and Leanne of Blue Milk Special have decided and we have a winner... Mark "Themarko" TK-11497 in the Police Box! Mark, I have sent your email address (the one you registered your FISD account with) to BMS so they can email to you your sketchcard. I want to thank you all for participating in this fun little competition. The pictures were all great and fun and I sincerely hope that we keep this tradition of posting our troop photos in the Field Training Exercise forum!

Thank you for all your submissions! The competition is now closed and we will be announcing the winner soon. Stay tuned!

Don't forget that there are still a few more days left to post your photos before the winner is decided! Looks like Eric made it to their blog post! http://www.bluemilkspecial.com/comic/wedding-dress/

People keep saying blaster ban this blaster ban that. There was no ban. There was just a polite request and we were left to our discretion whether to use blasters or not. I'm beginning to think they say blaster ban because it rolls nicely off the tongue. "Polite request not to use blaster" is a lot more of a mouthful than blaster ban.

Great stuffs guys! Just wanted to announce that the competition will run until the end of January. Here's a photo from our Facebook page! Honey, I shrunk the kids! --------------- *This photo is not part of the competition.

Click on the link to view more: http://www.bluemilkspecial.com/ Following up from our latest newsletter and the Q&A we did with Blue Milk Special artists, Rod and Leanne: We have a competition to announce! Rod and Leanne will be giving away a personal BMS-style sketch card of a Stormtrooper to the winner! These are the rules: 1. Post a photo of yourself in the comments with your Stormtrooper armor with or without your helmet doing something funny or posing in a wacky manner! 2. Only 1 entry per person. These are some of our pictures so far... Derek Andreas Aaron Mark Clint

I like what you've done with your boots. It's original Soon after a number of troops you'll see the paint crack and look just like the Stormtroopers boarding the Tantive IV!

Why not? The more the merrier. Maybe use one for display and use one for trooping. That would be the ideal combination for me.

My bad for bringing up our own jargons. TE is the initials of one of the early fan made kits. That aside, as I have said earlier, if you want the original assembler and vac former. SDS is your best bet. But his moulds used to make the his SDS sets will not be the same ones he had used to make the original suits. The connection you'll get to an SDS and the original suit is the maker. There is no dispute that he made those helmets and costumes. RS is a copy/recast of a screen used suit. You won't get the same maker making it but you'll get a suit made from new moulds that were casted from an original suit made from the original moulds. Chances are...AA also made that original suit that RS has. Make the decision on what you want the most. A copy of an original or a copy made by AA.

So if your end game is to have fun with a good looking stormtrooper suit why not have at it? At the end of the day diving into this old court case and trying to find what's fact or not is not going to make it any more or less enjoyable when wearing a suit and making other people happy as well. Once you've made your purchase and have a suit those concerns of whether AA is genuine or not don't matter anymore.

TE armour is derived from from ROTJ armour. As can been seen in the gallery pictures. If i recall correctly AA's claims were that his moulds were original. So they made a comparison with the original suit in the archives (ANH version). AA's suit was ROTJ derived. The only originally casted suit at that time was TE. The question is: If he made his own moulds why would he make them exactly like TE? AA's were also that he had the original ANH moulds but his products has tells that are clearly not ANH Stormtrooper.

Also there's nothing to stop you from getting SDS. IT is indeed clearable with some modifications. If you accuracy to the original suits is what you're aiming for, then you can get better with the price of SDS. But if you like SDS because you want the original Vacformer and movie accuracy is not your priority then yes go for AA. At the end of the day, go for what makes you happy the most. That's my suggestion. We're here to help. Not to trash of people's armour.

But AA recasted ROTJ armour which was probably TE and had nothing to do with the original moulds. If you want the guy who vacformed to original suits then yes go for AA. But he was just a vacformer. That's his only connection to Star Wars.

Don't forget to post a photo of yourself in armor with or without helmet doing something funny if you want to win a personalized sketch in BMS style!

*January Newsletter cover by Aaron of the IPM From the DL From the XO From the PRO Around the Detachment Notable Troops Celebrity Q&A with Blue Milk Special (Rod and Leanne) The Everyday Trooper Tip of the Month Swag Alert! Advanced Tactics Awards Follow FISD Aloha kakou, Welcome to my newsletter article of reflection and navel gazing. 2015 was a jam packed year for FISD and the Legion as a whole. It is an amazing time to be a Star Wars fan, and more so for the extreme versions that we are. I will not be running for Detachment Leader in 2016. I need a break. I am a forum admin and run the web server. You likely won't be rid of me after the new DL is elected. FISD is my home on the legion internet. As I'm fond of saying, my heart is made of cold hard shiny white ABS even when I wear all black. I do not know what 2016 will bring for me, but I suspect I will not be able to stay away from Legion leadership in some form. From a Detachment Leader's perspective here are my highlights of 2015: Star Wars Celebration 7 - I have never been more proud to be the DL than at C7. To feel the brother/sisterhood of our community in person was enough to make me well up now and then. In Hawaii they call it the spirit of Aloha. The spirit of FISD's Aloha is a powerful force. I loved walking around the con (ok maybe I spent more time in the hotel lobby than in the con) spotting our racing shirts and feeling free to harass that troper. But to meet and hug many of the screen names that have flowed through this forum over my years as a member was a thrill. The kind words and gratitude from everyone was overwhelming too. You know FISD has a positive impact by seeing the results of everyone's build threads. To hear actual testimony while looking into someone's eyes reinforced my resolve to carry on our mission here. The other thing I noted was that when the FISD staff gathered, it was as if we had known each other for years, because we have. Those nerds were so easy to be around and laugh with I only wish we could gather more often. The Force Awakens TK - While the subject is fraught with drama that continues to poison the legion, we still managed to make a CRL (Costume Reference Library) go green before the movie even came out. Why is this important? We set a paradigm in motion that is now the norm for new costumes to the Legion. A CRL must be created before anyone is approved in it. What this means for FISD and other detachments is that CRLs may be authored by the community. A DL may choose to write it themselves without buy in from their detachment, but that is not how we do. We have two new CRLs sitting and waiting for me to put them on the wiki. Phasma and the Battlefront Shocktrooper. I hope to finish them as my last act as DL. FISD also became the defacto source for help in building a TFA TK under our mission of Troopers Helping Troopers. I believe that FISD is perfectly equipped to provide that help and is the best caretaker of the related CRLs. What is in a name? That which we call a stormtrooper. By any other name would it still be able to aim and shoot a rose? Expert Infantry - We hit 500! We keep trucking along. We should not lose sight of why the EIB program was created. It should be an easily attainable way to ensure that your basic TK not only looks good but the same as the next trooper. Back in the day of prolific FX armor EIB was a quick jump into a better look. EIB is less about accuracy and more about just looking good. The difference between those two notions is subtle. Meaning that you can still look great as a TK without being the pinnacle of accuracy. The reality of EIB in this era of easily available accurate armor is that most new TKs that want EIB can easily do so. Additionally if you want to go EIB, Centurion is not a big leap. Web Server Move - Damn you Celebration and The Force Awakens! Our site was too slow. We moved yet again to a new server with more resources to accommodate the extra traffic. Soon there will be hoards of people looking for help to build yet to be shipped armor. I hope the forum is up to the task. I will just leave these stats up here for those that care. Merch - This year saw a really great run of First Order TK coins this year. I have no great affection for coins and I have to admit this coin was rad. Patches are now more available than ever too. And we did two massive runs of the FISD racing shirt that nearly caused a two separate nervous breakdowns from stress. Unfortunately we did not produce the amount of merch I planned when I was elected. Hats, bottle openers, and lanyards were on my list. I hope the next DL will find willing members to manage these runs, which was the hardest part of merch. Elections and Detachment Affiliation Elections are approaching. That means it is Legion roster update time. The only reason you affiliate yourself with FISD on the legion web site is for voting. We are working on automated system to approve people's FISD affiliation on the Legion site. Most do not know it but to be able to vote in a detachment election you must have logged into the forum in the last year. After you request affiliation the DL or XO must check your last login and approve accordingly. I suspect what will happen is that many of you will lose your detachment affiliation while we work on the automation. I will be sending a mass mailing out right before elections occur as well a posting a thread about it. Please have patience with the Legion Data Droid and me as we work out the wrinkles of this new system. Hopefully this year's election process will smooth and drama free. I urge everyone to vote for a candidate that has FISD's best interest at heart. Please vote for somene who will best carry on our founder's vision of transparency and Troopers Helping Troopers. Thank you all for making FISD the best detachment forum community in the Legion. I remain proud of all of you for what we collectively accomplish on a daily basis. With Aloha and Unquestioned Loyalty, Eric Brager TK-9674 "Darth Aloha" FISD Detachment Leader Everyone seems kind of down lately, and trooping enthusiasm seems to be at a low. I thought it might be that the holidays are behind us, and the cold and dark winter ahead, but I couldn't help think it might be more. Then it dawned on me...we've been carrying TFA for over a year, and now it’s passed. We’re suffering from post premier depression! To learn more about this condition, and what to do, I turned to the experts over at the Canadian Mental Health Association. Here are some helpful insights from their web site (albeit, altered very slightly for continuity)… Post Premier Depression Bringing a new episode into the franchise can be challenging at the best of times, both physically and emotionally. It is natural for troopers to experience mood swings, psyched to get out there and troop one minute and staying home and eating Cheetos the next. These feelings are sometimes known as the “blue harvest blues,” and often go away soon after the premier. However, some troopers may experience a deep and ongoing funk that lasts much longer. This is called post premier depression. What is post premier depression? Post premier depression is depression that may start during marketing or at any time up to a year after the premier of a new Star Wars film. Signs of post premier depression include feeling bad about the plot, that the whole franchise is worthless, hopeless about future instalments, guilty for not seeing it enough times, or anxious about initial comments (and stuff you may have posted on Facebook). Some feel irritable or angry, but those troopers just need a snack. Troopers lose interest in things they used to enjoy and may curb their Battlefront play time. A trooper with post premier depression may not enjoy The Force Awakens and have frequent thoughts that they’re a bad fan. They may also have scary thoughts about abandoning the franchise altogether. Although it’s rare for a trooper to act on these thoughts, this situation is serious and requires urgent viewings of the original trilogy. If you believe that a trooper is at risk, don’t hesitate to take them out for beers and reminisce about how awesome that Tantive boarding scene was. How can I help a fellow FISD member with PPD? - Make sure your own expectations of your fellow trooper’s opinions and day-to-day comments are realistic. But also feel free to hammer on them until they see things your way. After all, that’s what makes us fanatics. - Remind them that every episode is unique and it’s not useful to compare two movies. If they insist, buy them another round. Eventually they’ll give up and start appreciating TFA objectively, or possibly barf and pass out. Either way . . . problem solved. - Accompany the trooper on troops, bait them with chicken wings, if it’ll get them out there. Remind them that staying home, and not trooping, only let’s their significant other win, and what kind of precedent would that set? Remember, the best cure for a lackadaisical trooper is the smiling face of a fan, so get out there and troop! If that still doesn't shake off the post premier meh, don’t forget, we’re knocked up again. This one’s due in 11 months, and it’s a rogue! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Danny TK-66668 "MechaPumpkin" FISD Executive Officer Calling all Imperial Citizens who like to take part in the Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM)! One of the IPM's duties is to inform the masses of our latest news and to remind that the Emperor's will is supreme. This is done by releasing our newsletters. We are looking for loyal citizens who would be willing to contribute to the Newsletter Team through writing articles or thinking up of new ideas. Please send me or any of the staff members a PM if you're interested! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer Storming Australia's Scott Loxley Update For all of you who donated to the Armor Needed For A Trooper campaign for Scott Loxley (Storming Australia) earlier in 2015 and wondered where is he now and did he ever get his armor replaced, the answer is YES. Scott was approved with his First Order Stormtrooper on 3rd December Seen here at Kidsflix - Richmond (Hoyts Cinema) Saturday 5th December, his first official troop in the armor Congratulations again Scott and well deserved With Unquestioned Loyalty, Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Imperial Propaganda Department A collection of troops attended by members across the globe at Christmas South Dakota Christmas Parade: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34212-south-dakota-christmas-parade/ Clermont FL. Christmas Parade: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34217-clermont-fl-christmas-parade/ Armadale Christmas Parade: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34232-armadale-christmas-parade/ Toowoomba Christmas Wonderland: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34487-toowoomba-christmas-wonderland-18122015/ Salvation Army Bell Ringers: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34318-salvation-army-bell-ringers-greenwood-sc/ A Star Spangled Christmas Parade: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34169-a-star-spangled-christmas-parade-ninety-six-sc/ With Unquestioned Loyalty, Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Imperial Propaganda Department http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/celebrityqa.png This month we have Rod and Leanne from Blue Milk Special. If you haven't heard of them Blue Milk Special is a non-profit and donation-based web-comic strip series by Rod and Leanne that parodies Star Wars starting from A New Hope. They are now halfway through ROTJ. They are also honorary members of the Legion and are very familiar with it; even immortalizing a few of the Legion members in their web-comics as characters. We have been slowly releasing some of their comic strips to lead up to this interview. I always been fond of their humor and how they love to just mash up other franchises. I reached out to them because I wanted to discover how Star Wars has become such a big part of their life. BMS has been around for a long time and they have been so emotionally invested in their work through the ups and downs of Darth Life. I find that their comic strips are an easy distraction at work and they always cheer me up. We also have a competition for you readers! Rod and Leanne have been kind enough to gift a personal BMS sketchcard of a Stormtrooper to the winner! This is what you would have to do: post a photo of yourself in the comments with your Stormtrooper armor with or without your helmet doing something funny or posing in a wacky manner! Only 1 entry per reader. Without further ado, welcome Rod and Leanne! IPM: How did you get into illustration and comics? Leanne: I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil, and even when I was very young I gravitated toward comic books and action cartoons. I eventually started creating my own characters and drawing my own comics, and as I got older that love for comic books never faded. I went to college and graduated with a degree in Illustration, and made some great friends and contacts over the years. After I graduated, I moved to Virginia and became an illustrator and editor for MVCreations, where I was able to really live a dream and be involved in the comic book industry. In addition to doing work for toy company Hasbro, I also worked on comic properties like Masters of the Universe, Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, and worked with musician Rob Zombie. Over the past several years I have been doing freelance illustration work in addition to working on Blue Milk Special, of course! Rod: To keep this answer short, being married to Leanne helped me out! IPM: What was your first Star Wars experience? Rod: I was three years old, sitting on my potty in front of the television screen as my parents and I watched Star Wars screening live on UK television, probably around 1981. I remember I had a knitted black afghan wrapped around me. The stormtroopers burst through the doorway of the Tantive IV and Darth Vader emerged from the smoke. I'm pretty sure I thought that my black afghan made me look like Vader. As he marched down the hallway, I know I had no trouble at all using the potty. Leanne: I first remember watching A New Hope when I was very young, but it wasn't until the films were re-released in the late '90s that I really got into Star Wars and the mythology behind it all. Then it just snowballed from there. IPM: How did BMS first come about? Rod: We were looking for a way to work together without it being a project so big that it would take time away from Leanne's professional paying work. It just so happened that we'd been viewing Star Wars together at the time when inspiration hit. I was doing my usual thing, speaking all the dialogue in each scene, but giving it a silly twist. Then I thought how funny it would be to capture some of those alternate takes in the form of a comic strip. Leanne already had a really cool cartoony style she had been toying with and it seemed like the perfect blend for the sort of spirit we wanted to go for. The reason why we decided to go ahead with a webcomic project was the concept of re-using stock artwork to help save time. We envisioned a paper doll method where Leanne would not need to draw brand new panels for every strip if I just made the odd tweak here and there. It helped cut down on the scale of the project, however it ended up finding other ways of growing in scope to nullify our best intention of economy. I think most 501st Legion members can probably relate. You start out with an Imperial Crewman, but you end up with multi-layered Snowtrooper before you know it. IPM: Who are some of your favorite characters from the sci-fi universe and why? Rod: For me it is Leia. I think she is criminally underrated and had a personality and story every bit as compelling as Luke's if Lucas had chosen to explore it. I think what Leia was put through in the films is also a tragedy on the part of good storytelling. She was dealing with a lot of heavy stuff and I think she should have ultimately been allowed (by the writers) to at least be involved in the final confrontation with her father. Consider what he personally put her through, including the destruction of her home planet. It doesn't change the fact that Return of the Jedi still gave us an incredible finale, but I just think Carrie Fisher brought so much spirit to the role that she had earned herself a more satisfying ending than what Leia ultimately got. I also love Biggs Darklighter. That Tatooine costume of his. It says so much. It gave Biggs a whole new life in our comic. Leanne: Probably years ago it was Darth Vader, but the prequel films really sapped my enthusiasm for him. Nowadays, especially after working on BMS, I really find myself enjoying the characters that didn't get much screen time. Biggs Darklighter is an absolute favorite and we were so thrilled that he became so popular in our webcomic. Dude's awesome. But I also love the mainstays, of course, and I am a total Han/Leia fangirl. IPM: How have you interpreted your favorite characters into BMS? Rod: Leia is a modern day girl. She loves her smart phone, a bit like Leanne. And much like Carrie Fisher, she's got only a passing interest in sci-fi and everything going on around her. The BMS Leia is much more interested in her phone's games and social media than she is in defeating the Empire. And after the loss of Alderaan, Leia becomes a caricature of Carrie Fisher, whose autobiography and comedy standup talks about her vices of smoking and drinking. In order to try and keep her nerves together, BMS Leia becomes a heavy chain smoker. Our strange circular homage to Carrie Fisher. I'll just add that neither Leanne nor myself smoke or endorse it. Vader is another favorite. BMS Vader is basically a big kid. There was just something about the way Leanne drew the eyes on his mask them. It gave him this surprised but happy sort of look. We thought it would be funny if we made him hold a coffee mug to help illustrate his casual attitude towards his position and Rebel hunting mission. It was Leanne's idea to add the Star Trek Federation logo to the mug. Star Trek is one of BMS Vader's obsessions. We know for some fans Star Trek is a divisive subject, but that makes it even more fun to toy with as an interest for Vader. And fun is what drives every strip we do. BMS Vader is also less willfully violent than his film counterpart. The only time I can remember that we had him kill anyone was an accident owing to too much coffee that morning. IPM: What were the inspirations for your character parodies? The actors themselves or self-made ones? Rod: Carrie Fisher was the most obvious inspiration for any of the characters. Her personality kind of overwrote Princess Leia's as the story went along. Grand Moff Tarkin wore the slippers that Peter Cushing wore on set during half his scenes. We also drew from the Expanded Universe, notably with Tarkin, who was having an affair with his mistress, Admiral Daala. We chose to show his actual wife, Thalassa Tarkin and create a bit of a sitcom on the Death Star. With Chewbacca, we were inspired by the outtakes from A New Hope that showed Peter Mayhew delivering his lines before they were overdubbed with the famous Wookiee growls. We opted to have all of Chewie's dialogue translated, and in some cases, have him deliberately steal Han Solo's lines. Boba Fett is an object of idolization in BMS, much like he is among Star Wars fandom, to the point that his underperformance in the films is endlessly justified by those who witness his actions. The closest parallel I can think of would be the character Mr. Satan (Hercule) from Dragon Ball Z. For the most part, we draw upon obscure Star Wars trivia and a host of comedy films and television that we grew up with. The Three Stooges, Red Dwarf, Airplane, Monty Python, Spinal Tap, Blackadder, MAD Magazine and South Park. We've soaked up a lot of material, across a multitude of sci-fi properties in our time and it's fun toying with tropes and cliches, especially subverting expectations. That's kind of necessary nowadays given how many Star Wars parodies and jokes are now out there after 40 years. IPM: Biggs Darklighter somehow survives the Battle of Yavin and becomes an unsung hero in BMS. He still continues to save the day from time to time and has become a favorite of your readers. What made you choose Biggs? Rod: I think it was his costume that did it. Not many people outside of Star Wars fans have any clue who Biggs Darklighter is. If they do know of him, they probably only know him as a Rebel Pilot. Few people recognize who he is when he is wearing his costume from the deleted scene at Anchorhead. In a way, it's a sort of secret code that we die hard fans have. Just like when you buy a T-shirt with an obscure Star Wars reference, you know that only the people who love Star Wars as much as you do are going to recognize it, compliment it, and strike up a conversation with you. In some cases, the little badges of our nerdiness that we wear can lead to long term friendships. Biggs is a little like that for BMS. Practically no one has done anything with Tatooine Biggs. Yes, he's been given a brief nod in an issue by Dark Horse, but he and his heroic costume deserve more. I hope, through BMS we have improved Biggs Darklighter awareness. To return to the question, Biggs' costume and the cape defined how I wanted to approach the character. He was going to be the guy who thought he was the star of the show. The goofy knight in shining armor, who is a little slow. Heck, he always arrives late to the rescue! Too late... IPM: You travel quite a bit for conventions. What were some of your best moments in a con? Rod: We travel a lot less than we used to these days for health reasons. However, I remember one time a guy emptied a box of paper cuttings onto our booth table. Each piece of paper had a nose drawn on it. He told us he figured we could use them. It took me a second to get the joke, but it was in reference to Leanne's noseless art style for the cartoon strips. That was memorable for it's strangeness. In terms of the best moments, there was the thrill of meeting Garrick Hagon (the real Biggs Darklighter), when we were at Jedi-Con. He was thrilled with what we were doing with his character and that he was getting so much love through the strip. But even that can't compare with having a fan come up to our table and tell us they flew all the way from Australia to meet us. I still find it hard to get my head around the fact that our silly cartoon strip can mean so much to people. The best feedback we get is that Blue Milk Special is a bright point in the working week for some of our readers. For others, it helped draw them back into Star Wars, or helped them rediscover a side of the hobby that takes itself less seriously. IPM: BMS has started from A New Hope and is now halfway into Return of the Jedi. Is the prequel trilogy something BMS would venture into? Maybe even the upcoming Star Wars films? Rod: We get asked about a Prequel parody a lot. But it's no secret that I'm not exactly inspired by the Prequels. I like there to be a positive undertone to everything we do and I've always feared that if we did delve into the Prequels, I might get too critical and use it as an outlet simply to vent. I know plenty of people love the prequels and others grew up with them, creating an attachment I will never have. If we did go in that direction, I can promise it would be in an abbreviated fashion. Perhaps only a few select scenes. The trouble is, if we keep going chronologically, then next up would be Heir to the Empire, OR Force Awakens. The question for us is whether Leanne and I can afford to keep doing this in our free time indefinitely? It's our hobby, it's fun, but you have to pay the bills and you can't do that with fandom. IPM: Do you have any Star Wars costumes? If not what character would you like to be? Rod: Not a single costume, yet. I've talked with our friends in both the 501st Legion and Rebel Legion about the possibilities, but right now all our resources go into keeping Blue Milk Special going out of our own pocket. I would LOVE to be a Stormtrooper. I know it's hot. I know it's sweaty. I know you can't see a thing in those helmets. But has any footsoldier in sci-fi history looked cooler? I'd say classic Cylons are close, but that's the wrong universe. Biker Scouts, TIE Pilots... I love them. The trouble is, because of my neck arthritis I know I would rarely be able to wear a heavy helmet. And I've never been big on Jedi since I like being able to hide my face, and robes are just a little dull compared to shiny armor. Just remember guys and gals, you may not be able to sit down properly as a stormtrooper, and you may reek, but you look INCREDIBLE on the outside, and that's all most of us general public ever see. Leanne: I don't have a Star Wars costume (for the reasons Rod mentioned), but I'd love to be an Imperial officer if I had to choose. Though if I had to pick a second choice, I'd probably go with the costume Felicity Jones is wearing in the promotional photo for the upcoming Rogue One film. Really fantastic stuff. IPM: How often do BMS strips get released and how is it funded? Rod: We try to keep a regular schedule and publish twice weekly on Monday's and Friday's. The webcomic is free and we don't publish in print. Because we are a fan project, we do not seek to make any profit off any of the licensed characters belonging to LucasFilm, unlike some others out there. While we do sell T-shirts with our own logo design, we don't use the characters as products. We've always been respectful of Lucasfilm and their intellectual property rights and treat BMS as part of a parody of pop culture in general. That being said, everything we do from hosting, time spent creating, traveling, buying table space at shows, etc, comes out of our own pocket, which is sometimes very difficult to maintain. Another reason we do conventions less often now. Thankfully we get the generous support of long time readers through donations that have helped us handle many of the expenses over the last six years and without them, we would never have made it this far. IPM: What other works do you produce? Rod: I was part of the Mice Templar comic series for Image Comics with Mike Oeming, Bryan Glass and Victor Santos which is wrapping up this year. We won two Harvey Awards for the project which was huge for us. I also regularly contributed to the UK animation magazine Cereal:Geek. We published our first children's storybook, Hickory Hippo and the Snow Mystery this year, a perfect Christmas gift for any little one's in your life. I'm currently nearing completion of a children's novel. We have a few comic projects in development as a husband and wife team, but as you can imagine, juggling the time and still producing BMS means something has to give. Our main goal right now is to complete the journey we set out on and reach the conclusion of our Return of the Jedi parody before making any momentous decisions on the future. Leanne: In addition to working on comic projects in the past, I have done illustration work for properties like My Little Pony, Weebles, Duel Masters and B-Daman. Rod and I released our first children's book called Hickory Hippo and the Snow Mystery last year, which we hope will be a long-running series. In between working on BMS, I do freelance work for MVCreations and Hasbro, and have been coloring a lot of Transformers lately. This ends the interview but if you enjoyed their work I will be posting more comic strips in the following newsletters! Or you could always binge on all their comic strips in their very own website: http://www.bluemilkspecial.com/ With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer It’s easy to forget, when you gaze over a sea of shiny, white Stormtroopers, that the FISD is made up of individuals from around the world; each with his or her own personal story and unique reason for joining the ranks of the 501st. It’s impressive that such a diverse group of people can come together, despite vast separations of culture and geography, to form the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment – For the love of the empire. I will introduce the detachment to two troopers each month. I’m talking about everyday troopers who put their armor on one leg at a time… then call a wrangler to help pick up the glove they dropped. I am going to be randomly interviewing members of the FISD from different garrisons around the Empire. The idea being to spark conversation, increase activity in the forums, build the wealth of information available to all troopers, and strengthen the legion as a whole. I’m excited to kick off the new year by introducing troopers from Italy and Canada. Happy birthday to Davide Pedullá, who was born in Genoa, Italy, January 1, 1992. Davide is fairly new to the Italica Garrison, but he had a chance to participate in Star Wars day, in Milan, last year: “My favourite troop is doubtless my first Star Wars day, which took place in Milan. We marched from Arena Civica to the Duomo of Milan. I was very tense, because I was about to walk among thousands of people in the center of Milan, which is the economical capital of Italy. At one point we received the order to march and we simply started. My feet were going on their own. I had taken my duty so really serious, that I was careful to stand straight with my back and wield the E-11 properly. And after 2 km we arrived at the Cathedral of Milan, the Duomo. There, we were surrounded by thousands of people, children, young, old, who stare, admire. In that moment I felt fulfillment.” Davide is fulfilling his childhood dream of being a stormtrooper and is excited to be a part of something bigger than he is. TK-92011 has earned Expert Infantry status and is close to submitting for Centurion. He describes the sense of family he has embraced within his local garrison. He talks about finding not only brothers and sisters, but also fathers and uncles. Besides trooping with the 77th Alpi Squad, Davide likes hanging out with friends in his hometown of Genoa: If you’d like to contact Davide Pedullá, you can find him here: whitearmor.net forum ID: lorddavids email: [email protected] The second trooper I am introducing this month hails from Calgary, Canada’s Badlands Garrison. Layne Greenway got an early start in the armor building game. His mom worked at a plastics manufacturing company when the original trilogy was released. Layne recalls giving his mom one of his stormtrooper trading cards to take to work with her and have the plant make him a set of armor… I don’t think that’s the same kit he used for his approval into the 501st. ;-) Layne recounted his experiences at the Calgary Comic Expo: “As much fun as I had on stage when Weird Al came to Calgary, my favorite troop has to be the Parade of Wonders at the Calgary Comic Expo. It was my first troop and I was amazed how SO many people of a variety of ages connected with a Stormtrooper. I'm sure it took me longer to get back to my vehicle than the actual parade took due to how many people wanted a picture with me! (and yes, I still do smile in every photo even though I am wearing the bucket!)” TK-10502 has achieved Expert Infantry status and enjoys trooping as much as possible because he enjoys wearing his armor. He feels the community has truly embraced the efforts of the FISD and he feels their appreciation. It sounds like the Badlands Garrison is another tight-knit group within the 501st. Although Layne enjoys the interactions with the groups he encounters on troops, the group he enjoys the most is his family. He loves spending time with them and tells me they are his top priority. If you’d like to contact Layne Greenway, you can find him here: whitearmor.net forum ID: Esquirepepper email: [email protected] With Unquestioned Loyalty, Derek Lotz TK–26212 “Dlotz” Imperial Propaganda Department http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/tipofthemonth.png Happy new year, Troopers! As members of the FISD we are, by nature, perfect examples conformity and uniformity; but fortunately for those of us that enjoy standing out, we have certain ways of expressing our individuality. I’m sure many of you have spent hours upon hours…upon hours in the whitearmor forums. I know I have! Have you ever noticed some troopers have a nifty, clever, cool, groovy, keen graphic attached to their signature? Well now you can, too. This is, by no means, a tutorial on how to become an expert in Photoshop (as I am not one). It is, however, an easy way to create your own graphic nameplate to use however you like. I use mine as my Facebook cover picture and as my whitearmor signature. Step 1 – Cut out a picture of yourself Use the quick selection tool (#1 in the photo) to drag over all the areas you don’t want. #2 is an example of half of the unwanted area highlighted by the quick selection tool. You can select all the unwanted areas in one step or do one small area at a time. Step 2- Delete the background Once an unwanted area is highlighted, press Delete. This will turn the unwanted area into a transparency. Save this as a Photoshop file (.psd) as you will use it later. Step 3 – Choose a background for the project Find a background for your project. Make sure you don’t use something that you’re not allowed to. I found a free wallpaper and downloaded it for this project. If you use a scene from one of the movies, make sure it’s the movie from which your armor was used. Step 4 – Put yourself on the background Find the file you created when you cut yourself out earlier. Drag that file right on top of the background. Step 5 – Resize and reposition At this point you can resize and reposition yourself on the project. You can adjust your picture however you want. I like to take this opportunity to make myself skinnier. Best diet in the world! Once you have the right size and position press Enter. Step 6 – Add text If you don’t already have it, add the Aurek-Besh (or Aurebesh) font (circled in the photo) to your font library. This is easy to do if you don’t have it. Just google “How to add Star Wars font.” Using the text tool (circled) I wrote “TK NUMBER” on this project. You can write anything you want: your name, TK ID number, your motto, etc. Then position the text box(es) on the background. I put mine low because I’m going to be cropping the background. Step 7 – Crop background Select the background and the cropping tool (stars on the picture). Once these are selected you can crop the picture as necessary. We will resize the entire project later. This is just to get the desired shape of the project. Step 8 – Add badges or logos Now you are ready to add any logos or badges to the project. In this photo, I am adding the 501st logo. I have already prepared the logo the same way I prepared the cut out of myself in the first step. Drag the .psd file containing the logo right on top of the background then resize and reposition as needed. Step 9 – Personal touches I think it looks cool to adjust the opacity of logos and badges. To do this, choose the logo layer you want to adjust (like you did in step 7), then use the opacity tool the red arrow is pointing at below. This allows you to see your logos and the cool background you chose at the same time. Step 10 – Adjust the size of the project Large images can make threads hard to read. If you are using this for your signature within the forum, please be considerate of others that are participating. Follow the photos here to go to Image à Image Size. Then adjust as necessary. I have adjusted the width to 300 and the program automatically adjusts the height. Step 11 – Export your project to .jpg Go to File à Export à Export as… then choose .jpg and save to your desired location. If you’re going to use this as your signature, your best bet is to upload it to a hosting site like photobucket. Once it’s there, make sure you use the IMG link to paste into your signature. Good luck, troopers. With Unquestioned Loyalty to the Empire, Derek Lotz TK-26212 “Dlotz” Imperial Propaganda Department http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/swagalert.png There are only 7 premium gold coins left available to you Advanced Tactics Awardees! http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/xx316/flyinghome/FisdGoldCoin_zps1djrqfht.jpg If you'd like to get your hands on one please head on over to the Detachment Merch section to order yours today! Please do note that you would need to be a 501st member to have access to that forum section; in addition to that the coins are only available to Expert Infantry Badge members and Centurions and are limited to 1 coin per member. http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/advancedtactics.png This month the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate: Expert Infantry Badge Award: http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/expert_infantry_badge1.png Roy Ice "IceStormTK" TK-93500 Jose Cespedes "Draco" TK-9369 Davide Pedullà "lorddavids" TK-92011 Derek Lotz "Dlotz" TK-26212 Andrew Ledford "fokker210" TK-22308 Rui M Leal "ruimleal" TK-13208 Jose Manuel "DonPolvoron" TK-31191 Erik Duane "GunnerD" TK-71823 Ben DeVries "Buttons" TK-76327 David E Bellimer "davebellimer" TK-10175 Centurion Award: http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/centurion_badge.png Chris Ward "CWard" TK-81477 Rui M Leal "ruimleal" TK-13208 Jose Manuel "DonPolvoron" TK-31191 Andrew Ledford "fokker210" TK-22308 Stand tall and be proud of what you have achieved troopers. You will now be deployed into the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Advanced Tactics Roster. Make us proud troopers! The FISD is always looking for new applicants for our Advanced Tactics program so please do not hesitate to apply if you meet the standards! Our Deployment Officer and armorers are here to help and guide you through to success! Feel like your armor is up to standards and worth of recognition? Apply for the Expert Infantry Badge Program now! Want to go the extra mile, raise the standards of Stormtrooper armor, and be the envy of your peers? Apply for the Centurion Program now! Note: Applicants need to be EIB approved before applying for Centurion. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/followfisd.png Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories! Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st follow FISD on Twitter! Instagram: www.instagram.com/501stfisd With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department, <End Transmission>

Agreed. Many more threads and new members joining us! (and more potential members for the IPM )

Can't wait to see. Great news that there is another suit cast from original!

A bit late tot the party but amazing work Ingrid! The red carpet alone and having pics with the stars alone would have been the payoff for me. The best part is the you get to continue trooping as this awesome looking character! I propose an amendment to your name. LadyinChrome.