Holnave (evan_loh)

Not to take the spotlight away from the other EIB members but this 500th EIB marks a major milestone for the FISD and the end of our Road to 500 goal. Congratulations Brad on clearing for EIB and being #500 and also a job well done to all EIB members who made this Road to 500 a spectacular achievement!

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/user/76-troopermaster/ You can reach him by pm-ing his account here on the FISD.Link above is his profile page. I've seen a TM up close many times and I'd say it's definitely worth your money as it looks amazing and is faithful to the screen used sets!

In light of the upcoming movie it will be good to have a spotlight onTFA. At FISD we'll share what we have done so far for the FO Stormtrooper (I mentioned that this would go into Oct NL but I've decided to push it to this Nov NL instead). And the SLD can share what they have done for the Kylo Ren builds. We could feature close ups of shots taken on screen-used Kylo Ren and also what SLD members have worked on so far such as sourcing the soft parts, helmets and all. Also since this is our first FISD-SLD NL it would be nice if each of us could run through the different parts of the OT Stormtrooper and Darth Vader. While this would be regular info for those in their respective detachments, it could be new info for those on FISD who have not made a Vader and are not aware of the Vader parts (soft parts and hard parts) and vice versa for SLD members.

Thanks for notifying! Sorry about that. I was waiting for the day when I would slip up and make a typo error as there are so many Legion IDs! XD I have edited that part to reflect your correct TK number.

Welcome Pumpkin!

In Memoriam From the DL From the PRO Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper Kylo Ren and the First Order Stormtrooper Darth Maul Makeup Memoirs Notable Troops Just for Fun Advanced Tactics Awards and Sith Spotlight Swag Alert Follow FISD Star Garrison member Zac Sotman (TD-6753) passed away Thursday night (10-29-15). Some of you may remember him when he trooped in Austin, TX at Panera Bread where he managed the store, or from other troops in the area. Some may remember him from when he lived in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and trooped since at least 2006. Remember when you troop with the 501st, you never march alone. Rest In Peace brother. Zac Sotman served the MEPD with honor and integrity. He will be greatly missed. Please keep his family in your prayers. Buckets off troopers. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Clint TK-16311 "cm325i" FISD Imperial Propaganda Department Aloha kakou, In case you have not heard, there is a new Star Wars movie coming up in about two weeks. The rumors are true. Will you go see it? I am on the fence about it. And by on the fence I mean seeing it twice the first night in two different locations. For me it does not seem real. Even with the 30-inch First Order Stormtrooper in my foyer greeting me with blaster drawn I might be in denial. It is part Episode I PTSD and part being exhausted from excitement and anticipation. I know I am no alone in this convoluted emotional muddle. This newsletter is special to me because I have a foot in both camps. I spend time in both detachment forums with an approved Return of the Jedi Vader as well as my A New Hope Stunt TK. Both forums have radically different cultures and forum tone from another. Regardless of how both detachments go about helping people the intent is the same. The Sith Lord Detachment (SLD) and the 1st Imperial Stormtroooper Detachment (FISD) both care passionately about making sure members look their best. No one on either forum wants to see someone unnecessarily spend money on something they will end up regretting. We both preach research research research to buy once. It would be easy to use this space to dwell on the subjects of our recent spate of forum melodrama here on the FISD and on the Legion level. I am doing my best to take the high road in these situation. I encourage everyone to do the same. We effortlessly to let our strong opinions fly out of our fingertips until our own blind hyperbole incites more unnecessarily strong opinions. This behavior is counterproductive to FISD’s mission, which is to help people buy and build the best Stormtrooper armor they can. If you find yourself with a strong opinion about a hot button topic, please take a moment and ask yourself if it is helpful to others. Reflect on why you are posting it. If it is for the sole purpose of reading your own opinions on the forum or if it is to state some overly politicized stance, then do not post it. If you cannot stop yourself from posting please know that I prefer to see over used Fry memes, cats dressed as Vader, and other attempts to make people smile. More fluffy bunnies, puppies, and imperial rainbows please. Maybe everyone can post a knock knock joke instead? Knock Knock Who's there? Little Yoda lady. Little Yoda Lady who? I didn't know you could yodel! With that out of the way have you seen Clint (camprandall) and Q’s (gmrhodes13) recent creations?! I am typing this with a bandaid on my thumb after a utility knife went through my thumb trimming shin armor. That is what happens when I try to do simple tasks with ABS. These two nutballs have created two TFA weapons out of household items and thin air. You can see Clint’s Heavy Gunner Canon build photos below. Once the movie is released I intend to push to get this TK’s CRL approved in the Legion. Also check out Q’s Riot Trooper Baton with lightsaber sounds. Pretty darn clever no? His thread also includes a little video of it in action. TKSonic is making the shield to go along with the the baton. I would post a photo of it but I am waiting for one of a completed shield. There is another topic that has been overlooked in this newsletter that pertains to both of our detachments. That is Costume Reference Library (CRL) creation. If our current LMO has his way all new costumes to the Legion will have a CRL before they are approved. Recent changes to the Legion operating protocol puts the CRL on us on the detachment removing a lot of randomly wielded power to the Legion Membership Officer (LMO). The next step for changing the ops protocol is to really put the screws to the detachments and force us do the CRL heavy lifting before a costume is approved. If this actually happens we should see the end of new empty white boxes in our CRL lists. Both SLD and FISD have been on the forefront of this new detachment centric movement. The Kylo Ren CRL and the new TFA TK CRL were both written by their detachment’s communities with transparency and openness. A mockup of the Ralph MacQuarrie concept Vader CRL is underway on SLD, mostly for fun. If I could look into my Sithy crystal ball for 2016 I would put money on a Rebels Vader happening within the next year. On FISD we will soon see the development of Captain Phasma, Battlefront Shock Trooper, and Clint’s Heavy Gunner. My hope is that this new methodology will be come the paradigm across the legion sooner than later. We will not have another newsletter until after the premier of the Force Awakens. Until then please be safe and enjoy yourselves during the week where the Legion’s world stops for a few days. Happy TFA my fellow Siths and Troopers. With Aloha and Unquestioned Loyalty, Eric Brager TK-9674 "Darth Aloha" FISD Detachment Leader 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 our future newsletters both column writers and graphic artists! Please send any of the staff members a PM if you're interested! Greetings fellow Stormtroopers, Sith Lords, Cadets, and Imperial Citizens. Just a quick word to kick of this newsletter: As you have read this is a Special Edition Newsletter! And this time it's a cross over newsletter with the Sith Lord Detachment (SLD). The IPM (or Imperial Propaganda Machine) has collaborated with the PRO of the SLD, Matt, to bring this to you. Matt is also a member here at FISD and we are proud to be working with him. We will be introducing the A New Hope TK armor to our Sith Lords and in return we will be introduced to the different parts of Darth Vader's armor. And in parallel we will be showcasing what members of the FISD and SLD have worked on for The Force Awakens Stormtrooper and Kylo Ren. We have much more to show you and we hope you will enjoy this Sith Edition Newsletter! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer FISD Achievement Award Troopers Helping Troopers. How many times per day do we see those words here at FISD? There are countless singular examples of it here daily. They come in many forms, encouraging others to keep on building when it gets overwhelming, congratulating individuals on achieving EIB and or Centurion, or even supplying advice to new forum members when it comes to considerations to look at before choosing armor. As previously mentioned, examples abound. Still, it is rare that any one member does something that has a legitimately tremendous impact on the TK community at large – but it happens. Recently, one member did something that can be described in exactly that way. With a new movie imminent, there are bound to be many new costumes and props that enter our universe. Naturally our world is a-flutter with detail debates, and photo analysis while everyone attempts to learn what is right and accurate so that the costumes and props can be accurately reproduced. At the height of these discussions Germain Graziano, TK-14492 of the French Garrison (FISD’s own “The5thHorseman”), taught himself to use 3D rendering and print software in order to complete a personal project to bring a very accurate printable representation of the F-11D, complete with some functioning parts, and ready for electronics installation with very little modification. As if being able to have a near-screen accurate blaster months before the movie even premiered was not enough, Germain made the files available for everyone to have and print - for free. This undertaking that he poured himself into is the epitome of Troopers Helping Troopers, and it is these actions that have earned Germain the FISD Achievement Award. You can see this announcement and the other award winners here, in the Achievement Award thread. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tim TK-51878 "Dark CMF" FISD Amabassador When I think Star Wars I think of space and lasers, good vs. evil, tyranny and freedom, spaceships, heroes, lightsabers, Darth Vader and Stormtroopers. Not necessarily in that order. But we can’t deny the icons that Darth Vader and the Stormtrooper have become today. Even people who have not seen Star Wars recognize the all too familiar imposing figure clad in black and a swishing cape surrounded by loyal unquestioning soldiers in white, shining armor. Sure we have seen them before but have we seen what’s under the hood? How all the pieces of the costume fit together to make such icons? In this article we will get to see how the costume is put on. This is a newsletter for costumers after all. Darth Vader First parts on: leather undersuit, boots, shins, and cod. Next on: Inner cape and belt. Next to last: Face mask and chest armor (over mask) Finally the cape and dome. Stormtrooper The undersuit and neck seal goes on first of course! After that the thighs are attached to the belt and put on first and then followed by the shoes and shins. The chest and abdomen plates along with the back pieces (called the back and kidney plate) are then put on and hung loosely on the shoulders. There are different ways the armor can be strapped but we won't go into that detail for now. The belt then goes on tightening and holding the top half of the armor together. After that the shoulder bells are attached to the shoulder straps of the armor. Bicep and forearm pieces go next followed by the gloves and helmet. And finally the thermal detonator/canister is hooked onto the back of the belt. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Matt and Evan SL-8596 SLD PRO and TK-24127 FISD PRO For my next section the Kylo research by asking our 2 Kylo experts on the SLD how they got started: From Dawn Bright SL-13377 My name is Dawn Bright (SL-13377) I am proud member of the 501st Southern California Garrison. I am a seamstress by hobby and I love putting together Legion 1st ( 1st in the Legion) costumes and assisting my fellow costumers with their creations. I am proud to say that I have five completed Legion 1sts between the 501 and Rebel Legion. When I saw Kylo Rens "leaked" image November of 2014. I knew that was going to be a costume I would be making. When I arrived at C7 (Celebration Anaheim) I had one thing in mind. Get up the stairs and see that costume in person (On display at the Force Awakens Costume Room). I stood in line for almost and hour and was able to take hundreds of photos Thursday at Celebration Anaheim. Click on the link below for more detailed photos: Kylo Ren Costume The costume in person was in shambles from being incorrectly placed on the dummy. They even had the back of the door to the costume unlocked. This is where I got shots of the boots, midcoat and both sides of the pleated tunic peeking from inside the armpit. Seeing the costume in person allowed me to analyze the threads and fibers of each piece and match them with the plaque which was on display. Initially after getting home on the 21st of April I did a quick write up on the Sithlord forums (you'll need to sign up to be a member to view the thread: http://forum.501stsi...pic=9148&page=1) and headed to the fabric district. April 21st in the rain on my sons birthday I trenched the Los Angeles fabric district. After searching for hours, showing hundreds of fabric vendors close ups I found a bolt of fabric with a 2x2 weave that would be accurate enough for my liking on the surcoat. It still wasn't perfect but it was the closest thing I'd ever seen. I took it (and the rest of my fabric home and begin my intense research and break down of Kylos costume. One of the best ways we originally stated gathering information on parts for Kylo Ren was a board on the Sithlord forums "Kylo Ren research and Development". I started there in the early days of the build and we helped each other pick apart the sections. I began sewing quickly, hoping I would be able to finish and have a quality costume worthy of Legion approval. It felt like every time I "finished" the costume something new would pop up. The vanity fair video and article showed us many in-depth details we had originally missed. That's when I met Luke Daley (BH 21313) from the UK Garrison and his research on the basket weave surcoat (as well as a number of the other fabrics). He had found a custom material maker in the UK to begin producing the surcoat material in bulk. Fortunately by the time he was ready to start taking orders, we knew how much material would be needed. I had already completed tutorials and write up and was able to assist with how much material would be needed per coat and cape. Yet again I started my costume over with the surcoat when I received my batch of Luke's perfect 2x2 basket weave material. But I still had a problem, how do I coat it? I took dozens of scraps before I found a suitable coating. Something that shines that doesn't crinkle when dry and is still flexible. The costume has been a labor of love for me as it has for many others, from the pleated sleeves right down to the pleated boots. I have never felt such a strong connection to a character I know nothing about.... I proudly sweat through all five layers of my waxed and resined Kylo Ren costume. There has been an awakening.. From Luke Daley BH-21313 I started my Kylo Ren journey similarly to many others by knowing nothing, and then there was that first trailer within 88 seconds my mind was blown and who the hell was that guy with the weird lightsaber.. I tuned in along with millions of others to the constant stream of videos and photos from Anaheim when I first caught a glimpse of the Kylo Ren Costume at this point I knew it was going to be a costume I wanted to have. First things first I got some super high res shots from the constant stream of content online and designed the Kylo Ren Buckle, everyone asked me how I stumbled upon the dimensions I started the way i always do with a photo by scaling the photo of the costume to Adam Driver’s height the belt measurement came out to just over 5 inches I standardised that down to 5 inches for simplicity and A-typically most leather workers are cutting in whole inches and it lined up by the time you accounted for the boot heels and helmet It didn’t take me too long but I wanted it to be an open job so I took comments from members of the RPF and refined my design within a few days I had the final design nailed I printed it and tested the Scale out i was very happy with the part so I had a master printed at shapeways and began to cast buckles for myself and the community I even gave the files away because we’re all in this together and if it feels good to share! I’ll be honest after i finished that part I turned my gaze to other parts on the costume, the belt, the fabric the helmet what more could I learn from these pictures My next project was to begin the Saber Clip project that is still on going from the side shot we had i created a 3d model just to help people try and track down the real part but after no result I made it a finished functioning clip i discovered it’s a fantastic design and as we see in trailer one it is used to great dramatic effect since he can just slam down on the sabre and withdraw it vs the almost cumbersome covertec clip method, with every new photo i get i revise the design I've now reached my 5th revision and it’s looking better than ever i’m even having it made at a machine shop each clip consists of no less than 34 parts including mounting hardware.. Somewhere among this I kept hearing the crazy notion on how hard this fabric was to find and I mean hard like you aren’t going to find it in a year of searching, within the space of 2 months I learnt more about fabric construction and weaves than I did in my entire life until that point, I began to consider what if I got this custom made.. That consideration evolved into a now staggering 800 meter order of fabric for various Kylo’s globally it involved about 3 draft revisions with a mill I worked with and various diagrams and specifications on the fabric to get it just right, the coating is another topic still being looked into by many but we now have a solid fabric to work on! Aside from all of this I’ve had my hand in specing leather and designs to make seamless closures as well as even discovering a flaw on the Anaheim display (the buckle is upside down) i had this confirmed by a Lucas Film representative when i asked which felt like a great detail to find. I also made the huge dive into designing helmets i’ve never made 3d item’s so large so it was a challenge i enjoyed for sure after some 105 hours of design i had it done (at least for version 1.0) i also decided to give this away for free too because i just want people to have access to stuff that might not get. I've also been constantly scrubbing information on the costume having late night skype conversations to help people and discuss costume points as and when it came in and running a group on facebook that now exceeds 1000 members of absolute kylo fanatics, I have to give those guys credit also for supporting my work and keeping up the spirit of openness and exchange within the community, they have been the BEST people to work among. On FISD’s side we have had brilliant individuals who worked on the First Order Stormtrooper (FOTK for short). In the previous newsletter we featured Germain’s 3D files for the FOTK blaster (F-11 blaster). You can access his 3D files here and they are free to use. Germain has generously allowed these files to be 3D printed for yourself and friends. They can also be recasted for 501st Garrison members only. However please note that these should never be recasted for sale. Greg’s Hand Sculpted Helmet We start off with Greg who started his helmet from a Pepakura file. Using bondo the shape of the Stormtrooper helmet was sculpted. Making the mold… Helmet! Jim’s Old School Sculpting of Stormtrooper Helmet and Armor We also have Jim who scratch built the First Order Stormtrooper helmet and armor. Jim’s templates were based on photos taken at Celebration Anaheim. He then based his sculpt on the size and dimensions of an Original Trilogy Stormtrooper helmet. XPS foam was used in the initial sculpt. Clay was then sculpted over the foam master. The same foam and clay process was done for the armor (the original stormtrooper helmet looks pretty good on the new armor as well!). Flexible fiberglass is used to make the armor kit. Clint’s Heavy Gunner Canon Build Finally we’d like to feature some pictures from Clint’s Heavy Gunner build. This bad BFG was scratch built using a harmony of everyday materials (pipes, primer, bondo, and wood) with 3D printing. Wood was used to make the overall frame of the gun. 3D printing was used on some parts. Pipes and bondo for the scope then painted over. Here's the completed canon! First Order Heavy Gunner! Each build had tons more pictures and details but we can't fit all of them into this Newsletter! If any of you are aspiring prop makers or just in awe of what these three talented individuals have done click on the links below to see the full build process: Greg’s Hand Sculpted Helmet Jim’s Old School Sculpting of Stormtrooper Helmet and Armor Clint’s Heavy Gunner Canon Build With Unquestioned Loyalty, Matt and Evan SL-8596 SLD PRO and TK-24127 FISD PRO The SLD's How to: Applying Darth Maul Make-up by SL-6096 (also TK-6096) Pre makeup: shave head and face, trim eye brows. Take shower and wash head, neck, and face thoroughly to remove oils. Applying horns: using pros-aid, or whatever high quality prosthetic adhesive you choose, (this tutorial is specific to pros-aid) apply to horns and let dry clear. Then once it is dry clear, apply a second coat. Once that coat is dried clear then wipe the surface of your skin where the horn will go with rubbing alcohol and apply horn. Hold the horn in place for 10 seconds and then it is good to go. (I would love to be specific on where to apply the horns but it is slightly different from person to person, use a screen accurate picture as reference) Contacts: I usually do this right after applying horns because you have a high chance of messing up your makeup if you do it after. Applying makeup: now this is the tricky part, everyone does this a little different, but having good Ray Park reference pictures is key for everyone. Also paint varies, but most guys I know use either Reel Creations (which is what I use) or Ben Nye paint key is to use something alcohol activated so you will sweat through it and always use the same brand for everything so the colors match up. This is how I do it; first of all I use an air brush and air brush specific paint from reel creations, first for the large red area on the face and then the large black area on the head and neck. I use a big baby bottle cap to cover my horns while spraying around them. Then on to the detail. I use the reel creations color pots and hand paint all the detail. There is a specific formula to how I do it so that my fave looks more like Ray Parks, but everyone's face is different so you just have to practice and get to know your face, and better yet, get to know Rays face. Once you are done with the fine detail, spray on sealer if you wish, this holds the paint on better and it won't rub off when your suit rubs it. Teeth: using coffee stain or light brown and black tooth enamel, apply the brown color first to all teeth that show when you scowl. Completely cover the teeth. Once the brown is dry then go through with the black and only put it in between your teeth and put a couple dots here and there at the end of the teeth to make them look rotting. Once you are done with that, make sure you stick in your screen accurate ear stud and start revealing yourself to the Jedi You are done. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Matt SL-8596 "thechosenhitman" SLD Public Relations Officer This edition of Memoirs comes from three Stormtroopers and is centered on a Troop that took place just about a month ago – 7 November, 2015. Daniel Nickeson (TK-7586, ZacMuleer) the Garrison Events Coordinator for Star Garrison, and Andrew Repasky (TK-24218, Fuumantroop) and Bob Martin (TK-82954, BobMerge) of the South Texas Squad, Star Garrison. Each of these troopers were involved in a recent Star Wars centered, globally significant event. #ForceForDaniel recently was a very highly circulated hashtag, being heavily campaigned for by no less than John Boyega and Mark Hamill. The Story of Daniel Fleetwood was one that we are all likely familiar with, and were all very likely touched and moved by in a very personal way. If you’re not familiar with the story, then I invite you to read the following accounts of the troop for Daniel, and then do a quick internet search to become familiar with his story. Nearly every time we put on our shiny white armor, we have an impact on people’s lives – many times, we will never know this. Once in a while, a person or a troop have an impact on our lives, and these moments are the stuff memoirs are made of. Daniel Nickeson: As we all know, being members of the 501st, our facebook feeds tend to catch Star Wars stories early in their cycle. I was immediately drawn to the story of Daniel Fleetwood, and his call to Disney and JJ Abrams to see The Force Awakens early - the exact plot of Fanboys, a movie very close to my heart about a group of friends' love of Star Wars and each other. In addition to the early stories about the Fleetwoods, we received a message from Joshua Rhoads, a friend of the Fleetwood family and 501st member with more information about the severity of Daniel's diagnosis and how he was working to do what he could to help the family - and more importantly - that the Fleetwoods resided near Houston, TX. We began discussions almost immediately amongst the Star Garrison leadership to coordinate a troop, while we attempted contact with Ashley Fleetwood. With the story gaining traction and news and blog sites all over the world starting to reach out to her, I was frankly amazed and relieved when I was able to reach her. She was so incredibly kind and thoughtful and generous with her time. We expressed interest in visiting Daniel as soon as he and the family would be willing: after all, we didn't want to take too much time away from his family. Ashley was so excited for Daniel to meet our troopers; something she knew would give him a huge boost of joy. She wanted to make sure he knew of the troop to give him something to look forward to. While I asked if we should limit the number of troopers (knowing we were trooping in the residence and not wanting to overcrowd the family or Daniel), she initially said that maybe 8 troopers should attend. A moment later, she came back and said, "Scratch that. Daniel is so excited to see you that he wants as many as can make it." Within days, we had a dozen troopers from all over Texas willing to stand by Daniel, hoping to bring a smile to his face and more attention to the #ForceForDaniel campaign. Little did we know that Disney, Lucasfilm, and the Bad Robot company were granting Daniel's wish, showing him The Force Awakens at his home. There was no objection among the leadership to grant Daniel immediate Honorary Membership into Star Garrison. We were able to contact Damien Metz and get plaques and name tags made and shipped, and put out the call for our members to send in donations for the traditional "swag bags" that go out to honorary members. Except more than the usual swag came in - including a full metal DL-44 blaster - showing again how the Fleetwoods story had touched the lives of 501st members around the world. When the news story came down the wire that Daniel's wish had been granted, we also heard that his condition had taken a turn for the worse. We limited the number of troopers and time out of respect for the Fleetwood family, but were encouraged by Ashley - Daniel definitely was looking forward to our visit. He wanted to meet the troopers of the 501st. Sometimes, as troopers, we forget that there are fans out there that love Star Wars as much as we do, but just don't get into costuming or prop replicas. So when they see us, they aren't just seeing other fans, but the entities they love. The day of the troop came, and you could see the love and awe that Daniel felt in the photos and videos of the visit. Any troopers who could not make it to the troop personally posted videos to the Fleetwood's facebook walls to welcome him to the garrison and congratulate him on his honorary garrison membership. Ashley was so grateful afterward. She noted that Daniel gets tired easily, especially when excited, and after the troop he slept most of the next day. Which she was grateful for, because when he was sleeping, he wasn't in pain. She thanked us for giving him that. We heard he passed a few days after the troop. Compared to screening an unreleased movie, coordinating the troop in a short amount of time is a piece of cake. Everyone in Star Garrison wanted to help the #ForceForDaniel campaign in some way, and many altered their schedule in order to be a part of it. He brought us all together in a way few have, and we were honored to be a part of it. We are honored to have Daniel as an honorary member of Star Garrison. Once a trooper, always a trooper. Now, a collaborative Memoir from Andrew and Bob: Only days before our arrival to boost everyone's spirits, Daniel Fleetwood and his wife, Ashley, were given the chance to see "The Force Awakens" before the release date in December. This gift, directly from J.J. Abrams, Disney, and Lucasfilm, was granted to Daniel due to a simple hashtag that took the internet by storm, #ForceForDaniel. This seemingly acute movement, started by his wife Ashley, began on social media and was implemented, with force, due to Daniels ongoing battle with spindle cell sarcoma. This rare form of cancer, which effects connective tissue, began to worsen, and would ultimately claim his life, but not before the power of the internet made its presence felt. The day started off as any other day before a troop. Some people I knew were scheduled to be there, and some were there I hadn’t met before. We all had our directions to Daniel’s house with the loose plans that we would be changing in the street or in our cars for our surprise appearance. His story had globally inspired tens of thousands with his (and wife Ashley’s) fight with cancer and his unparalleled love of Star Wars. As we all began to arrive, we were greeted with warm faces by excited family and friends. Since it was raining, they had us all pile into a front room so we could get suited up. They tried to cover doorways with blankets to hide us until we were all ready. Our secret was kept until Daniel caught a glimpse of a Tusken Raider through the doorway (way to go DZ-24241!). We then, one by one, marched into the living room where Daniel and his wife were. Though it was difficult, Daniel stood up almost instantly as we entered the room. His face was full of excitement; he couldn’t decide who to look at first. Daniel shook hands with a Sith Lord (Darth Nihilus), got photos with a Shadow Stormtrooper, and Ashely was handed a bag full of goodies like t-shirts and stickers. A fellow member donated an all metal DL-44 blaster and Brandon Crismon(TK-32917) presented it to him. Daniel was bursting with excitement, he must have said “Wow” about 5 times and then turned to his wife Ashley to say, “but I don’t have anything to give them!” We all felt that genuine appreciation and we, in the South Texas Squad, were absolutely honored to be there. Marshall Conover(TK-7932) stepped up to present him with his Star Garrison Honorary Member Certificate, his official name tag, and an engraved Plexiglas plaque commemorating his membership. As Marshall tried to read the certificate out loud, he choked up a bit, as I am sure any of us would have. I think everyone with buckets were glad to have them on. We all got to thank Daniel for sharing his inspiring story with the world, and it was so rewarding to see the smile on his face, even if it was only for a couple of moments. This is what trooping is all about. After we had all removed armor and uniforms, we headed outside to load up vehicles. Marshall stayed behind and was talking with Daniel’s father in the doorway. Daniel’s father was attempting to pay us for our visit with Daniel, and just would not take no for an answer. Marshall wanted no part of it, but eventually agreed to take it with the excuse that we would use it for lunch. Once we were all out of earshot, the easy decision was made to donate the money right back to the Go Fund Me account that Ashley had set up to help cover the medical expenses for Daniel. It was only three days after our visit that Daniel passed away. It was amazing how little time we spent with both Daniel and Ashley and how connected we all felt afterwards. The love of a movie franchise, along with something as small as a simple hashtag, touched the hearts of tens of thousands across the globe. Forever in our memories, until we meet again Daniel, thank you for sharing your time with us in the 501st Legion. Buckets off. On Wednesday, November 4th Daniel received a phone call from JJ Abrams, informing him that representatives would be at his house the next day to allow him to see an unedited version of The Force Awakens. The Troopers of Star Garrison (and members of the RL’s Kessel Base) visited with Daniel on Saturday, November 7th. It was early in the morning on Tuesday, November 10th that Ashley announced to the world that Daniel had passed via a Facebook post that read: "Daniel put up an amazing fight to the very end," she wrote. "He is now one with God and with the force. He passed in his sleep and in peace. He will always be my idol and my hero...Rest in peace my love. This was the last selfie we ever took together.‪#‎forcefordaniel" Daniel Fleetwood was 32 years old. Thank you, Daniel and Ashley, for sharing your story with the world, and thanks to Dan, Andrew, and Bob for sharing their Memoir. With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tim TK-51878 "Dark CMF" FISD Amabassador On October 17, members of the Wisconsin & Midwest Garrisons, along with The Knights of the Howling Moon from Nar Shaddaa Base of the Rebel Legion, came together at Discovery World Sci Fi Day to raise money for Make-a-Wish by performing 4 saber demonstrations. Admission for each show cost $2 & each show had a full house with the final show having people stand on the steps & sitting on the floor in front of the first row of seats. Following each performance was a short introduction of us, info on both legions followed by a Q & A. At the end of the day over $2000 was raised for Make-a-Wish which includes a custom made saber that was constructed by the bases sabersmith. Pictured Above: Jason Stoxen, John Hartley, Dan Christy (TK-10408), Melanie Thompson, Matt Frysztak (SL-8596) & Nick Klein. Video of the show can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dhCsPMrZb0 The Empire Has Taken Over Changi Airport! I went to Changi Airport, Singapore in November and found myself jaw-dropped in front of a life-sized X-Wing Starfighter. I’ve never seen one that size before and just to see it there made Star Wars suddenly all so real to me. The Star Wars themed All Nippon Airways (Japan) jet landed in Singapore that same day and the passengers were greeted by a reception of Stormtroopers and Rebel Pilots. Probably the only day I get to see the Empire and Rebellion working together. The passengers were then brought to the X-Wing where they awaited for Changi Airport to officially launch their Star Wars celebration. Other bystanders in the airport were drawn in by the event as well as it was out in the open. The MC made his introductions and greeted all the guests and soon after that the Rebel fanfare was played out loud and we saw a squad of Rebel Pilots flocking in the X-Wing waving at the crowd and then proceeding to do some check-ups on the X-Wing. And then suddenly March on the Jedi Temple song was played and 10 Imperial Stormtroopers came marching in from the floor above and stormed (forgive that pun) the landing bay and a battle between the Pilots and Stormtroopers ensued. Another 10 Stormtroopers came by later to barricade the landing bay. Probably releasing all that pent up tension when they were “working together” earlier that morning. The battle ended (probably because the crows was begging for photos) and they soon had to work together again and pose for photos. After a while the music stopped and Duel of the Fates was queued in. No Darth Maul wasn’t there but two Imperial Pilots showed up and all the Stormtroopers fell in line. 20 Stormtroopers led by the Imperial Pilot duo started to march to another part of the airport. A little kid dressed as Darth Vader rushed to the front to lead the way. I bet it was one of the best days of his life. Along the way they had to cross a big glass bridge which swayed and shook a little (due to a larger than expected turnout of the public) causing the airport security to temporarily cordon off the area to allow the Empire to finish crossing the bridge. I’m sure the Empire wanted to take credit for it. #ImperialMight after all. After marching some more the Empire reached its destination. The largest TIE Fighter I’ve ever seen (outside the movie of course). They posed in Imperial fashion around the TIE Fighter for the public and press to get as many photos as they liked. The MC then announced the event has ended and that the public was free to take photos with the Stormtroopers and Pilots. It was all in all a surreal and amazing day for me. One that I won’t forget anytime soon. I am so much more excited to watch the movie (500 times!) in the coming weeks. *Photos belong to various individuals and were collected and used with permission. 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 honourary 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 will be posting more Blue Milk Special over the coming newsletters so here's a taste! *All Blue Milk Special strips are posted with permission. You can visit their website here: http://www.bluemilkspecial.com/ With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer Sith Spotlight: Congratulations goes out to Ronald Lares (Darth Benz) SL-5928 of Empire City Garrison for being the FIRST Darth Vader to complete 200 troops in the Sith Lord Detachments Great Jedi Purge program. His 200th troop was at FARE Walk @ Eisenhower Park, NY on 10/24/2015! His very first entry in the Jedi Purge was way back on 2/16/2011 at I-Con 30 at Stony Brook NY. Event: 200 Event Name: FARE Walk Location: Eisenhower Park, NY Date:10/24/2015 The Jedi Purge Program awards 1 "kill" for each troop in your approved Sith Lord costume. Each member must have their own thread and provide 1 photo of them in character for it to count in the program. Currently patches/sticker for each of the 10 levels is in development. This month the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate: Expert Infantry Badge Award: Stein Ryther "Ryth_" TK-78346 Kris Yalung "VenicioKristylz" TK-70714 Richard Smits "VulpX" TK-19979 Stuart McLean "Disco" TK-90373 Justin Havins "Mordsith" TK-99421 Brandon Miller "Khazid" TK-19725 José María López Caballero "Chemalakita" TK-25377 Steve Davie "stvd201" TK-42200 Brian Hall "Bulldog44" TK-42114 James Suerdieck "JDTrooper" TK-11075 Chris Ward "CWard" TK-81477 Centurion Award: Dan Nickeson "ZacMuleer" TK-7586 Mark Templeton "sylverbard" TK-69323 Richard Smits "VulpX" TK-19979 Stein Ryther "Ryth_" TK-78346 Justin Havins "Mordsith" TK-99421 Stuart McLean "Disco" TK-90373 Bradley Davies "68Brick" TK-21814 Shane Anglin "TK-61214" TK-61214 Lucho Quiroz Saravia "luchoimperial" TK-10953 José María López Caballero "Chemalakita" TK-TK-25377 Brian Hall "Bulldog44" TK-42114 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 Coin Giveaway! Open to non 501st members only. Keep your eye on the forums some time this weekend (12/5 and 12/6) because we will be giving away one of our new First Order FISD challenge coins. One entry per person when it happens. Stay tuned! Many thanks to Wyatt (TK4205) our Merch officer for coming up with this fun idea. If you would like to find out more about the Sith Lord Detachment: http://www.501stsithlords.com/ 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>

Apologies all, the three videos that Pickles put up were meant to be in the Newsletter and somehow the videos got lost in the formatting. I've edited the Toronto FanExpo article to have the videos now. Or you could also watch it from Pickles' post! Enjoy!

From the DL In Memoriam Legion News Around the Detachment Notable Troops Just for Fun Memoirs of a Stormtrooper Advanced Tactics Awards Follow FISD Aloha kakou, It has been far too long since you have heard from me in a newsletter. For that I aplogize. Darth Life has had me in an unending force choke of late. There is a lot going on around FISD in spite of my silence. Consider this newsletter entry my Gratitude Edition (possibly also the "I love you man" edition.) Read on to find out why. First Order Stormtrooper CRL The biggest news of the month is the initial completion of the First Order Stormtrooper from the Force Awakens (TFA) Costume Reference Library (CRL.) The CRL is now green on the 501st Legion main site and now people who own the costume may be approved members of the Legion. New costume additions are rare in the Legion these days. It is also unusual to add a costume for a movie that has yet to be released. What is even more rare is that the CRL was created collaboratively with transparency right here on FISD. Anyone who cared to was able to provide input on every detail of the text. This is the very first pass at the CRL and there will be corrections and additions as more people are approved locally. Thank you FISD for your help realizing this CRL. FISD Achievement Award In First Order TK related news I am proud to announce that Clint Randall (Camprandall/TK-61281) is the most recent recipient of the FISD Achievment Award. It has been some time since we handed one of these out that you may not know what it is. The little gray ribbon next to some member's names is given to non staff members to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service to FISD. At some point during the development of the First Order Stormtrooper CRL I realized I did not have the wherewithal to finish what we had started. I contacted Clint and asked if he would lead the charge. And lead he did. If it were not for his diligence, dedication and perseverance the CRL would not be green today. As the first wave of TFA TKs were building their kits in secret a private forum was opened for everyone to post build photos and ask questions before Celebration 7. Clint was the binding force during the arduous and quick build. He pioneered building techniques, kept us organized, and cheered us on. While that all did not occur on FISD Clint embodied the true spirit of Troopers Helping Troopers. He continues his thankless work here on FISD with his build thread and helping other TFA troopers get up and running. Please stop by Clint's TFA build thread and thank him for his dedication to FISD and to the Legion. Unsung Heros of FISD In giving out an Achievment Award I began thinking about all the troopers that allow FISD to be community that it is. There is a lot that goes on without too many people knowing. Some are staff members and others are FISD addicts you know and love. All mostly go unnoticed. The first on my list is Bluehickey. Few know it but Ryan is the guy who photoshops nearly every single EIB action photo into the trading card style image on the EIB page. When an EIB is granted our DO posts the photo in a thread in the FISD PR area. Ryan quietly comes along and photoshops them to be uploaded to the server. He has been doing this off and on for years and has been a member of FISD since April of 2009. Next is NoVATie our Membership Officer. Here is another trooper who does his duty without much notereity or fuss. A.C. handles all incoming requests for accses to 501st or TK only areas of the forums. He also helps in keeping track of all of our Attaches around the world and answers emails from users having trouble logging in. The duties he performs are done tirelessly and happily with dedication beyond most. The guy seems to log in just about every day and does his thing and has for years. I have not done as many merchendise runs as I promised I would during my campaign but this summer two troopers have sucked up more personal time than they signed up for to do so. Both Clint (a different one)/cm325i and Tim/DarkCMF were both pulled into the merch vortex full force with patches and racing shirts repsectively. While Tim has yet to feel the full pain of a giant shirt order, Clint has been captain post office for patches. I will not be able to express my gratitude full until I meet both of them in person but I still give them my endless thanks for picking up my merch slack this year. The unoffical FISD welcoming committee needs a mention too. These are the troopers for years have posted in nearly every introduction thread and typically answer the same newbie quesion over and over again. I apologize if I leave anyone out but many thanks to Glen/gmrhodes13 (who has declined many staff postions because he is too humble and busy), Eric/Tolo, Tony/ukswrath, and Andrew/Sly11. No one asked them to be the welcome wagon but here they are every day doing it regardless. Our quiet helpful resident arbiter of accuracy is Germain/The5thHorseman who is ever helpful and vastly knowledgeable on all things TK. One of my favorite things about Germain beyond his dedication to Troopers Helping Troopers, is his willingness to admit he is wrong or does not know something. If you are in the midst of a TK build I guarantee Germain has read your build thread and likely commented on it. Our New Web Server As I am sure everyone is aware we moved our web server to a different host. Starting around the time of Celebration 7 all the way to now we have seen an increase in web traffic due to the impending release of The Force Awakens and related activity. It was time for more computing horsepower at a reasonable rate. The move of data went very well but I managed to forget one small step pertaining to domain name services. For about a week this caused two thirds of our users to not be able to reach the server. The site was up and chugging along but most people could not reach it. I consider that a ridiculous amount of time to have a site unreachable and I thank everyone for their patience and keeping their cool. I was surprised I did not get any hate email while it was occurring. The new server is much speedier and even the most casual of users will notice an improvement. While the forum search still cannot find it's butt plate with both hands, at least it returns the wrong results faster now. One of the nice things about the new server is that we are automatically backed up safely and securely. My thanks go to Mathias/Locitus for helping me with the server move. When he isn't being terse on FISD, he is (and has been for years) my unix helpdesk support, collaborator, troubleshooter, technical moral support and all around server nerd. I could not do this detachment web hosting thing without him. Very soon I will be passing the hat to help pay for this year's hosting cost. Please give whatever you can. Maybe this year I'll get around to giving out those supporter badges that I neglected to do last year. Cleaning up the Legacy Female TK CRL On my todo list is tidying up the Legacy Female Stormtrooper CRL. There are a handful of wording problems that need to be addressed after the initial release of the CRL. Bzb/Bobby has been been amazingly helpful and insistent in the CRL cleanup. All the mods have been approved by the LMO. I only need to make the edits. Once I add the blasters and other details to the TFA TK CRL I will move on to the Legacy trooper CRL editing. Here is a short, incomplete and off the top of my head list of pending changes: Clarify the number range of tube stripes. Remove the need for belt boxes to be functional and attached with clips. Add the word "approximately" to any measurement. Remove some of the OT thermal detonator wording. Remove the seamless requirements on parts for later use in L2. Blaster Reference Madness Are you building an accurate E-11 blaster? If so please head right to the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference thread. Months ago I was approached by a handful of blaster nutballs about setting aside a corner of FISD to cover all things E-11. I agreed and they worked off the forum for a while and I had even forgotten about the request. Then one day they said they were ready to start posting. The group created their own FISD user and image hosting so no one user owned the content. I gave them a private area on FISD to start posting the content. My eyes literally went wide when I saw what they had done. Five members from around the world came together and defined the word collaboration to produce the most detailed series of HOWTOs complete with linked table of contents in the first post...33 chapters of blaster building madness. Even if you do not care about blasters please look at the level of care and detail these dudes created. This effort is a model for many things that include how to write and format tutorials, what real collaboration looks like, and Troopers Helping Troopers. Congrats Bulldog44 (Brian), Dark CMF (Tim), Sith Lord (Ian), T-Jay (Tino), Usaeatt2 (Aaron) on job well done. Changes to the Legion Operating Protocols A small but important change to the Legion's Operating Protocols have been made recently. It concerns how CRLs are changed and effects every detachment in the Legion. Does anyone remember my FISD CRL Change Policy I was so proud of? While still relevant it is slightly made irrelevant by this change that our current LMO wrote and proposed. Here is the section: What does this mean for the detachments? We are in charge of our own CRLs not the LMO. It also means that the LMO is the approver for the changes we propose and cannot just make changes to our CRL arbitrarily. This also states that the members of each detachment should ask their members about the changes to be made. The most fun of all is that DLs may edit the work in progress CRLs directly on the 501st site once the LMO approves of the changes. The DL - LMO relationship has finally been defined with neither party having full autonomy to do as they please. I am pleased by these changes as it means that we have a framework to get along with every LMO that comes along. FISD Gets a New XO After some discussion with our current XO, Squeaky, we have decided to swap him out for another Canadian Garrison TK. Like me, Squeaky has been wrapped up in life outside of the forums this year. His heart is always in the right place and has made his mark as XO. What FISD needs right now is at least one of the officers to be fully engaged in the goings ons. I think of the XO as more of a Chief Operating Officer of a corporation who deals with the day to day runnings of the company. That leaves the CEO or DL to deal with higher level stuff or to spend too much time traveling internationally for his work. With both Squeaky and I off living our non FISD lives I felt we needed someone to dive in with enthusiasm. Squeaky thankfully will remain on staff and help out as he can. Meet Mechapumpkin our new XO. Danny has the time, skills, and talents for the job. He is an active member of the Canadian Garrison and is deeply passionate about the Legion. Danny has hosted many armor parties at his house to get new recruits as much help as possible. To get to know Danny and his style check out his AP build thread. Danny and I are just now starting to work on a list of his tasks and goals. I have no doubt that you will know his intentions to effect change around our forums sooner than later. Danny and Darth Aloha, your FISD XO and DL. With Unquestioned Loyalty and Aloha, Eric Brager TK-9674 "Darth Aloha" Detachment Leader Hiroyuki Hayashida TK-2006 of the Japanese Garrison A Japanese Garrison member by name of Takefumi Tenshima wrote this about the sudden passing of Hiroyuki Hayashida: I've heard a sudden news that old retired JG member Hiroyuki Hayashida (TK2006) passed away yesterday(Aug 3). He had been a well known 3DCG artist, he participated a lot of works of TVCMs, movies and video games. The most popular work is Final Fantasy the movie. 11 years passed since he retired 501st activity, now only a few people know about he was the 501st. But still I remember he enjoyed building TK armor and trooping. I wish I could see him until the eternal separation... Hiroyuki-san, enjoy trooping in heaven, your TKID is eternal. I won't forget you. - Takefumi Tenshima Dianna Ronald of the Canadian Garrison was sick for a few years and recently passed away. The IPM contacted Dianna's son James to write about her: I know the 501st is a tight and ever growing family which is powered by the never ending kindness of all of its members. So I know a great number of you were hit really hard with the passing of my mother. When she first discovered the 501 she was an enthusiastic participant and loved going to the different events and connecting with the Star Wars fans. There was one little boy who followed her, who would insist his parents take him to see her at different events, and would wait however long it took just to talk with her. She made people feel special. Dianna was a very kind and light hearted person. Always jumping at the opportunity to make jokes and be herself. One of the places she could most be herself was the 501st. It was very important to her. She had a place to express her passions with other people. It was most important to her over the past few years when she couldn't get out and socialize in person. This collective experience changed her life and was a beacon in her final days. When you are as sick as she was for as long as she was the world can seem super small and by being able to still connect with you all through the internet made it seem a bit bigger. She was always proud to tell people about the wonderful charitable work the 501st does. So I'd like to thank all of you for being so important in her life and making her an important part of yours. You all do amazing work never stop doing it. - James Dan Bergeron SL-3967 of the Wisconsin Garrison On the 21st of August, 2015 Dan Bergeron (SL 3967) of the 501st Wisconsin Garrison passed away. Ever since his first convention, Dan wanted to become a Stormtrooper. That dream was realized with the support of his friends in the 501st Legion. Dan delighted most in having his family join in him in costuming and helping others realize their costume goals. Dan is survived by his beloved children Paige and Brandon. To his wife and soulmate Julia, Dan will forever be her “Sith in Shining Armor.” It is with great pride that we enter them into the Hall of Eternal Legionaries. Buckets off troopers. Kevin Doyle's wife Eileen had two battles with cancer and after losing to the second one Kevin decided to honor Eileen by walking the West Coast of California from San Francisco to San Diego on June 6th 2015 in Stormtrooper armor to raise the funds to create a nonprofit foundation Eileen's Little Angels that will help children battling cancer. The following was taken from Kevin's 501 Mile Walk Facebook Page (https://www.facebook...o?tab=page_info): My name is Kevin and this is a story about my wife Eileen. Eileen Shige Doyle was so full of life and energy and she always had things to do and places to go and people to see...she was always putting her family and friends first. In High School she was so passionate about gymnastics and drumline and boy did she love to dance. At the end of the day it was all about her relationships...the kind of friendships that stay with you for a lifetime. After high school it was her new born son Jaymes and he put the wind into her sails and at times it was not an easy life but for Eileen it remained a fairytale life...she had such a strong spirit. And it was this strength that carried her through her battle with cancer, a battle that robber her of a year of her life. For twelve months she called Abbott Northwestern Hospital her home, suffering through days of treatment that nearly killed her only to repeat it over and over until she had finally beat it. Eileen continued on with hope, and family as she lived each day never looking back, living in the moment with a new life in front of her. Moving forward several years...Jaymes now a young man and on his own, Eileen and I were introduced by mutual friends and in 2010 on a beautiful October afternoon we were married in our back yard garden in East Bethel, Minnesota but our fairytale life was torn apart in October of 2011 when Eileen was diagnosed with cancer once again, so for thirteen months our hope and faith was challenged but on November 7th of 2012 Eileen lost her battle with cancer. From that day forward the sun does not rise for me, everyday is November the 7th, my candle has burned out. Eileen was the most amazing person I ever knew, she was so beautiful, so thoughtful and she was loved by everyone who knew her. Eileen was the center of so many lives just as she was in my life but while our time together here on earth was so very short my devotion to her is life long and I can't imagine my life without her. So I honor her with every breath I take and I keep her spirit close to my heart as I continue on. One of the things that Eileen and I loved to do each and every day was to draw, we would sit side by side and draw for hours on end, she was such a talented and wonderfully creative person, drawing so many adorable characters and each reflecting her unique personality. Eileen was so popular at the Comic Book Shows...appearing as a guest artists, her fans were of all ages and would surround her table with smiles on their face and full of conversation. But most importantly...they were all her friends. And now, with Eileen no longer with us to share her inspiration and kindness I still attend the comic book shows, but not so much for myself but rather more to honor Eileen and the art she created and to keep her presence at the shows. Her fans still stop by to enjoy her artwork but because I do not have her original work available...I have recreated her characters in new artwork. It is in her spirit that I have created several items featuring her artwork which I will share with children battling cancer and it is for this reason I am walking the West Coast of California from San Francisco to San Diego come June 6th in my Stormtrooper armor to raise the funds needed to not only create these things but to also create a nonprofit foundation in her honor...Eileen's Little Angels. My walk will begin from the world famous Star Wars museum...Rancho Obi-Wan in Petaluma, California just north of San Francisco and finish up in San Diego at Comic Con on July 9th. Eileen and I both shared a passion for Star Wars and are members of the world wide costuming organization the 501st Legion and as a member I regularly participate in charitable events, fund raising and various walks. This time I will be walking in Eileen's memory. With the money raised I will be able to create such things as a coloring book, bandana's, a blanket and plush toys...all featuring Eileen's artwork. It is my hope that this walk will help me to heal and give my life purpose by sharing Eileen's spirit through her artwork with children battling cancer and put a little sunshine into their lives. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Eileen's story and for helping me to keep her spirit alive. To donate please use this link. https://www.crowdris...ser/kevindoyle2 All my best, ~Kevin Doyle Tune in to the 93X Half-Assed Morning Show (93.7 FM KXXR) on Friday, September 18, 2015 at 8:30am to hear Kevin live for his Minnesota-exclusive post-walk interview! Please give him all your support troopers! Toronto FanExpo 2015 Another FanExpo has come and gone for Toronto and as always, it leaves us with fantastic memories and new friendships. Sorry, I had to do a sappy line. The incredible 4-day event takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Center. The MTCC consists of 2 buildings, North and South, with a combined floorspace of over 600,000 sq ft. And that floorspace gets utterly packed to the tits with people. As you'll see in the photo below there are a significant amount of escalators, "eleventeen" as our DL once put it. I have not yet found the event attendance for this year. Last year we reached 127,995 attendees. This year, we had almost 100 members attend between the 501st, Rebel Legion, and Droid Builders. The Canadian Garrison happily hosted multiple Garrisons: Garrison Excelsior, Capital City Garrison, Forteresse Impériale Squad (Canadian Garrison), Old Line Garrison, and New England Garrison. Each one of these Garrisons were represented last year and most returned from previous years. It’s exciting that that these nerds keep coming back for more. Booth Sections This year our booth footprint was 20’x50’. We may or may not have extended a little further :| We built on last year’s successful design, reusing existing sets and props. The idea behind our booth build is that it is made up of modular (10’x10’ sections) which allows us to swap entire sections or single panels in and out for near-endless set-up possibilities and the ability to conform to the different spaces we get at events. The Tantive/Death Star/Red Control Room were built last year over approximately 2 months. The Garrison pooled together funds and mad-skills to make it happen. The Emperor’s throne was built last year but given a facelift this year with new upholstery and a modular 10’x10’ window (with a great view into utter blackness). The window took about 2 weeks to complete and was built by our master builder, Ken. Tantive IV Door - This section we use for Blast a Trooper which is always an enormous draw for fans. Watching the kids, young and old, get so much joy and satisfaction from covering our ever-patient troops with little foam darts is fantastic. Being the trooper on the range is one of my favorite booth duties because I love taunting and playing with the kids. It’s even better when we have double troopers on the range and you can play off each other, trying to convince the kids to hit your partner instead. Tantive IV Hallway - This section is where we housed our raffle table to one side while the rest was open for droids and costume characters to interact and take photos with the public. Red Control Room - This is our dedicated Information Center. Staffed with Legion members to answer questions (including where the washrooms are). We have multiple touch screen information kiosks containing information on the 501st, Rebel Legion, and Droid Builder groups and their costume CRLs. Death Star Throne Room - Here we have the Emperor's throne prop for photo ops. People can make a donation and get a photo of their sith-wannabe selves. This area is staffed with a handler and costumers. Endor - A full scale speeder bike prop, a ½ scale AT-ST, and an 18’ forest mural background. We used this section for people to donate and get a photo op on the bike. This was a huge hit. We also had a high powered floor fan in front of the bike. It looked extra-badass having people's hair blow in the wind. The bike was built by Ken in about 2 months. There was also a mounted video screen showing the proper way to mount the bike for people to watch as they waited in line. This video was created by one of our members, Paul Jursa, and it captures some of the booth setup and goings on at the event. There are some really neat candid moments shown as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5vGm_6guOc Money Raised for Make a Wish So here’s the important part because aside from the comradery we nerd-folk get from dressing up together and having a blast at conventions, we also have a purpose. It is with a significant amount of pride in my 501st brothers and sisters hard work and dedication that I can announce our total funds raised over the 4 days for Make-a-Wish Canada. Well done troops! Marches The Saturday TK march has been a FanExpo tradition since 2011. Last year additional marches were formed on the other days of the event. I wasn’t present for the marches, except the TK march or the panels so I went with the difficult task of outsourcing people’s opinions. The authors of the following sections are as noted below. Friday Tattoine March (by Michelle D - Canadian Garrison) On day 2, the Denizens of the Empire invaded Fan Expo for a Tatooine March. As the Canadian Garrison’s roster of Tuskens and Sandtroopers has grown, this has become a Fan Expo Friday tradition — with our numbers made greater by friends from Garrison Excelsior, New England Garrison and Capital City Garrison. The march was a milestone for two Canadian Garrison members: our regular handler Glenna Williams (DZ 19722) notched her first-ever troop as a member, and Derek Wong (TB 1605) took his Tusken out for the first time. This year’s march was the biggest yet. Four Sandtroopers (TD 7174, TK 9464, SL 3090, TD 10300), eight Tuskens (DZ 7436, DZ 9572, DZ 9215, TB 1605, DZ 19722, TK 17011, SL 9223, CC 3720) and Boba Fett (BH 6036) snaked their way through the crowd in single file, joined by five Jawas — children of Canadian Garrison XO TK 25267, and TD- 7174 and DZ-7436. TK March (by Danny/MechaPumpkin - Canadian Garrison) Saturday September 5th, FanExpo, high noon . . . A stirring begins in the area directly in front of the 501st booth. A TK emerges, then another, and another. 29 TKs in all assembled for the white march that afternoon, and boy was it shiny. Just prior to this, Darth Slolee (Brian Slowleigh) had taken a small contingent of troopers along the planned route. Dominic Sinopoli, Lobo Morse, Ryan Casey and myself. We briefly walked the North building, where the 501st booth was located, and out the doors into the 30C/86F heat. Along Front Street we marched, down between the buildings of the convention and into an elevator. From there we went down 2 flights of escalators and into the South building. On this lap, we stopped at a few booths. Saying hello to friends of the Legion, and providing photo ops for their patrons and surrounding con goers. We harassed a few gamers playing the Battlefront demo. Standing behind them until they noticed. "Hey, are they?" "Yeah, they're shooting Stormtroopers!" "Bro! You shootin' troopers bro?!?!". Back through the food area we went, up the escalators and back to our booth where the assembly took place. 29 shiny Stormtroopers and handlers then marched that route at a steady clip. Darth Slolee’s shouts of, "MAKE WAY FOR THE EMPIRE!" could be heard through the hall and above the din of con chatter. Ken Stremlaw, along with other handlers in Imperial uniforms, helped keep the civilians in check, and the troopers on target. We filled the escalators from top to bottom. We filled the rows from end to end. A minority were put off, and vocal about it, but even they couldn’t hide their awe at our numbers. The sweet outweighed the sour and the march was a huge success. We stopped for a thorough inspection, which we passed with flying colours (FISD rules!) and then back to the North building we trooped! Inspection Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usM-5tENm2o Out of armour, a day later, I was stopped and interviewed for a local TV station. When asked what my favourite part of the con was, I informed him (full disclosure) I was a member of the Legion, and that for me it was the march. The interviewer smiled and said, “That’s what a lot of people said”. I smiled back. It was a record setting march for the Canadian Garrison, and my humble privilege to have been among them. Sunday Tie Pilot Fly-by (by Tom K - Garrison Excelsior) Fan Expo Toronto , was the setting for Fan Expo's 1st ever Tie Pilot Fly-by. The Mission was to tour the North Building of the Toronto Metro Convention Center during the last day of the 4-day Fan Expo Comicon. A group of 9 Tie Pilots gathered in front of the magnificent expo booth created by members of the 501st Canadian Garrison. This group consisted of: three 181st Pilots: Husband & Wife Pilots Luc (TI-18610), Teresa (TI-12787), and myself, Tom (TI-9767) Count Aztec. I took this opportunity to celebrate the premiere of my newly Legion approved 181st Pilot costume as well as my 300th troop as a tie pilot. There were also four standard tie pilots: Roy (TI-829) the Canadian Garrison CO, Charles (TI-25267) Clamps the Canadian Garrison XO, Ken (TI-9418) Ponyboy, and Paul (TI-34624) Butters. There were two reserve pilots: Husband & Wife Pilots David (TI-9215) and Kimberly (TI-9572) Ramsey. Led by Brian (SL-4338), we departed the 501st booth at 12:30pm and proceeded through the North Building for approximately 30 minutes, making stops for photo-ops, and ending the fly-by back at the 501st Booth. Panels Kids Hour (by Andrew M - Canadian Garrison) The Star Wars Kid’s Hour is a panel that is run by the Canadian Base/Canadian Garrison/R2 Builders at Fan Expo Canada. This year, our goal was to make each session informative, interactive, and engaging for the kids in the audience. We ran three sessions this year, one per day on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. In the first session, we taught the kids how to draw Jedi Master Yoda using techniques employed by artists and animators. The second session focused on our droids and how we build them. The kids also participated in a craft in which they built their own droids. The final session included some Star Wars trivia and a lightsaber building craft. Costume, Mask, and Prop Panel (by David R/TrooperPX - Garrison Excelsior) This panel had approximately 200-300 in attendance and included costumed Characters: Steve “Squeaky” - TK, Keith P - Biker Scout, and Kimberly Ramsay – Sand Trooper. The panel moderator was Roy (CG CO), and the Panelists were 501st members: Jordan, Doug “Bobafuss”, and David Ramsay. After Roy welcomed the room and introduced the panelists, Jordan walked us through his recent Chewbacca project. He explained how for him, he wanted to build the head using the same construction techniques as the original. Having spent years gathering reference and behind the scenes images, the head was built in separate, serviceable and replicable elements. The skull understructure includes a movable jaw and upper lip, using casts coming from the film-used teeth. The “skin” and fur is removable so it gives an accurate look and feel to the persona. Roy continued by fielding questions about sculpting and fabricating armor. Differences between plastics were explained, and the vacuform process to pull armor and helmet pieces. He briefly touched on how helmets such as the Clone and Boba Fett helmets are made from resin. The discussion then went to Doug, who discussed the different fabrics used in various costumes. He explained the differences between the way fabric looks versus hangs. You can get fabric that may look correct but does not drape and wear the same way. He gave examples of how most of the costumes use natural fibers such as wool, linen, silk, etc. and how cotton/poly blends, while cheaper, will not look quite right. He continued about making accurate patterns, or correcting purchased patterns, to make garments from scratch, over modifying a store-bought item. After another brief question and answer period, David discussed the use of found-objects in the Star Wars universe. He noted the origin of the term “greeblie” and produced several examples. He displayed a vibroaxe and pointed out the found-objects used. Using the Sand Trooper costumer, he pointed out the various Tupperware and other found-objects on the TD backpack. He concluded his exploration with the evolution of the bee-stinger part used on the Sand Trooper backpack. With each video format improvement (VHS to DVD to BluRay), the MEPD (Mos Eisley Police Department, Detachment for TDs) was able to improve the details over the years. Then how in 2014, the original part was finally identified, and the process for making their own version available to their members. The panel concluded and the guests were welcomed up to have a closer look at the props that had been on display, and to ask the panelists questions one-on-one. Toronto Star Wars Unboxing event and TFA Promos (by Krista C/KME1682 - New England Garrison) In the star system that is the Toronto Fan Expo, our cadre of TFA troopers and assistants celebrated Force Friday through a TV spot and product unveiling. In many respects, the local TV spots were like any other troop. There was delight, awe and appreciation for life-size walking action figures. There were questions about costume tailoring, how to join the Legion and convivial discussion about Star Wars. I greatly enjoyed the theatrics of our weather newscaster, who creatively shared info about Star Wars merchandise, the 501st and Star Wars in general. I felt especially welcomed as one of the four TFA TKs. Local garrison members, Phil and Clamps made an extra effort to put together a TFA blaster so that I wouldn’t be an “odd one out” or excluded from the event if the TV station wanted symmetry. It was such a generous and kind effort. The Legion excels at direct, interactive fan experiences, which the First Order quickly brought to those in line as Hasbro unveiled their Force Friday booth. We met and had pictures special guests such as Elsa, Wonder Woman, (Clone) Cody and a few Jedi all under 10 years old. We shared mutual appreciation for costuming fandom with exuberant adult attendees. All in all this was one of my two favourite experiences regarding FanExpo Force Friday, which is engagement of diverse fandom who enjoy being a part of that galaxy far, far away. The second was the comradery with my fellow troopers and assistants. It was very similar to my experience working among the Alpha 75 builders, which became my favourite experience of Celebration. There was synergistic, collective energy to support a common goal. During FanExpo this common goal, to costume with excellence, echoed beyond Force Friday. As I reflect on my experience as a TFA (FO) TK, I think in many ways this reverberation continues on FISD as troopers help troopers to build to the best of their ability, to learn and hone skills to better their ability and to generally support this pursuit of collective excellence. I enjoy being a part of the supportive work on FISD, and was very glad to have trooped FanExpo with my TFA TK buddies in the Canadian Garrison! Celebrity Visits to the 501st Booth Our booth even attracts the eye of celebrities from time to time. Last year we had visits from Nathon FIllion, Garrick Hagon (Biggs), and LeAnna Vamp. This year we were visited by Steve Blum, the voice of Star Wars Rebels ‘Zeb’ and also Rick Mercer, a Canadian comedian, television personality, and political satirist. Zeb Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlVhQd3kGP8 There is a running joke in our Garrison with one of the members, Ponyboy, who makes the same face in all his pictures. We call this the "Pony-face". After having Steve visit our booth we now have the "Zeb-face". First Time Out in a New Chewie (Sean S - Canadian Garrison) Long time Vader (SL-8350) here, newly born Chewbacca (neither of which are white I know but Private Pickles asked for this write up). After years of discussion with our wizard-like GML, a brief mention to him that I wasn't going to DragonCon this year because of the exchange rate (Thanks Obama) led to him declaring..."well, we have 4 weeks to FanExpo, lets go for it". Not thinking it was possible we dove in head first.... namely he cast my head. It should be noted that he works in the film business as a makeup artist so this stuff is second nature to him. After that it was a dizzy few weeks of after hour clandestine meetings, scotch, measurements in odd places, express mail orders, emptied bank accounts, hairs everywhere and a continual "we're not gonna make it" feeling in my gut. But, and as they've shown many a time before, our Garrison (and as I'm sure many of you have experienced with your Garrisons) has some really amazing members with a wide variety of skills, people with big hearts who were glad to help. Whether it was with electronics, scratch-building or sewing, they came through selflessly. To all of them, once again, thank you. Chewie 1.0 debuted at Fan Expo. Donning my sexy unitard (stay back ladies), strapping a big speaker to my chest for the bass-heavy wookiee roars, slathering my eyes in black makeup (which I could never really get rid of giving me a Jack Sparrow like look all weekend) and then finally getting into the fur, I made it out to the floor. Man, people F'n LOVE Chewbacca. I couldn't go anywhere without high fives, people warbling wookiee roars at me (best part...roaring back...loudly) and constants yells of "CHEWIE". My only regret is that we never got to recreate the infamous ANH chase through the Deathstar. Namely, our resident Luke, Leia, Han and I were to run (ok..trot) a few minutes ahead of our famous Saturday TK march (30 strong this year), constantly looking behind us like we we're being pursued. It would have been a lovely "in-joke" for the fans. Regardless, it was a good debut, and the best part as always, were the smiles on the kids (and many adults) faces. Even better though then all of that, our Garrison raised 21K this year for make-A-Wish Canada, a new record for us and one I was glad to be part of. Group Photo And finally the group photo. Again taken by our amazing photographer Slam (You may recognize his handiwork from the official C7 FISD photos or the fantastic C6 group photo). With Unquestioned Loyalty, Andrea Loar TK-6093 "Pickles" Imperial Attache & Canadian Garrison PR Minion http://whitearmor.net/images/newsletter2015/notabletroops.png Imperials and rebels from the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Indonesia all showed up at Hong Kong Disneyland to march at the Star Wars Fan Parade organized by Disney Asia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=81&v=9fx3ZAAazT0 The Great Lakes Garrison, Great Lakes Base, and the Midwest R2 Builders attended Maker Faire Detroit held at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn Michigan. This was a special troop for me because it was my first! After a year of building and waiting and then building some more I finally got to show my armor to someone other than my family. The Maker Faire is a place where people can show what they are making, and share some of what they are learning. For the Faire we displayed some of the props and costumes we all make and manned the booth to explain to attendees how we created our costumes and weapons. One of the more popular areas of the display was the Jawa Junk yard. The turnout from the group was great with sixty members in attendance. We also had a nice contingent of TK's including fellow FISD members, R4ZORBL4DE, Devilmann, and TKed. It was awesome meeting these guys along with the rest of the garrison in person. On Saturday we did a march around the Museum followed by a TK photo session. The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday when we had a visit from a young boy who was blind. His father asked if he could feel one of the helmets because he was a huge Star Wars fan. We took the boy behind the tables and let him feel many of the items on display. He got a visit from R2 and loved the droid. We also asked him to wait a few minutes while we tried to find a special guest for him. After a little wait Darth Vader himself came out to pay the boy a visit. He was so happy to see the Dark lord and had a smile from ear to ear. It was that moment that made all the hard work and frustration I went through building my armor worth it. I can't wait to get back out there again! Posted by Zarlon (Kyle) With Unquestioned Loyalty, Glen Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" Imperial Propaganda Department We are one step closer to hyperspace travel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evXqQjpQLjk All Nippon Airways (ANA) in association with Disney is planning to release Star Wars themed flights. Regular service starts in mid-October and to celebrate the ANA STAR WARS Project they announced a Fan Appreciation Flight event on October 17th at Haneda Airport where passengers, which required to board wearing Star Wars costumes, will be the first to experience the R2-D2 ANA JET. 〈Event Details〉 Scheduled Date: October 17, 2015 Number of Guests: 89 Destination: From Haneda to Haneda Flight Duration: Approximately 2~3 hours (tentative) Guests will have the opportunity to enjoy a special photo session and exclusive experiences offered only on this flight. Want to be a lucky flight member? Follow the link below to find out how to join! =========================================================================================== All Nippon Airways have also released two more flights with their routes as follows: ① BB-8™ ANA JET (Boeing 777-300 / International routes) Here comes the new character "BB-8" from the latest "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" as the new aircraft's painting. ② STAR WARS™ ANA JET (Boeing 767-300 / Domestic routes) A lovely combination to have both "BB-8" & "R2-D2" on both sides of the jet. ③ R2-D2™ ANA JET will start to fly around the world from October 18 on NH116 (Tokyo Haneda - Vancouver). Other destinations included USA (Seattle, San Jose etc), Europe (Munich, Paris, Brussels etc.), Australia (Sydney) & China (Beijing etc.) " Look out for Stormtroopers in this commercial! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r_wl6QhTKE&feature=youtu.be With Unquestioned Loyalty, Evan Loh TK-24127 "evan_loh" FISD Public Relations Officer This month's Memoir comes to us from Star Garrison member Steve Page (FISD name: YouCantBe Sidious). As much as we may collectively hate to admit to adulting, when it comes down to it, Steve is the master. In short, he is a very, very busy guy. When I say busy, let me clue you in a little bit as I know he's also the type of guy that won't toot his own horn (although he may play his own guitar). Steve works for a law firm in Dallas by day. He's also married to his lovely wife Cheri - by day and night. Steve and Cheri recently (August 24th) welcomed their first child, Jude, into their family. Oh, yeah... Jude is already an approved Galactic Academy Cadet (Kylo Ren) - so parenting done ever so right by Steve and Cheri. In addition to that full slate, by night, Steve serves as the singer/guitarist/keyboardist for Dallas area Rock/Metal band RIVETHEAD! (check them out at www.rivetheadonline.com - If you're into loud, fast, heavy music, you are in for a treat!) When Steve isn't taking care of law firm business, daddy or husband duties, rocking everyone in earshot, he's also a very active and involved member of the Star Garrison's North Texas Squad. Steve manages to squeeze in troops every month in either his TK, Death Trooper, a newly approved TB, or a very impressive Tarfful and at the same time serves as a mentor for new recruits and an ambassador for Star Wars in every possible way. A few months back, Steve and a few other TKs from the Star Garrison had the opportunity to be cast in an LFL event here in Texas that may seem a bit familiar to you as you read through his "Memoir of a Stormtrooper." We’re not just Stormtroopers… We play them on TV! So, you join the 501st. You’ve got some beautiful white shiny armor, and you troop, troop, and you troop. For those of us old enough to see the first movie when it came out (Uxbridge Odeon for me in England), getting to wear this armor is something I never thought could happen, but, it did. Fast forward a few too many lights years… As members of the 501st, we get some call-ups from Lucas Film every now and then. If you are really lucky, like Eric Richardson, Luis Garibay, Scott Harrelson, and myself (Steve Page), you may get an opportunity to be in a TV spot or some featured advertising. That chance came in April of 2015. We all submitted our approval photos, and by luck, our squad leaders and Rachel Bartlett (Lucas Film) chose us to participate in the shooting of a new TV spot for All Nipon Airways (ANA Airlines). After being selected, travel plans were put together very quickly by Lucas Film, ANA, and Mt. Melvil, LLC, the production company. Hotels rooms were booked, flights were booked, and we all had the time away from work approved. On the 20th of April, 2015, Luis, Eric, and I were flown into El Paso to meet with our driver, Jennifer Lucero, a film student, who picked us up in a rental minivan. We began our road trip to Big Bend, Texas, where the filming would take place early the next morning. Scott was already in the area on a trip, so he met us later at the hotel. If you had filmed the ride for a reality show, it would have been worthy of a watch. The conversation was great, we had lots of laughs, and it was a great chance to get to know some 501st TKs and our driver. Absolutely great people, all in all. El Paso to Big Bend, TX is roughly a 4-5 hour drive. We arrived late (somewhere around 9PM, if I recall correctly) to the Lajitas Hotel in Big Bend, TX, and immediately met with Miki Murata (Mt. Melvin) and Rachel (LFL). We went over the times we would need to be ready, and a good bit of what we should expect. Then, it was off to bed. They were picking us up around 3AM for an hour drive or so to the location. I don’t know if anyone got any sleep. How could you? You were about to be a Stormtrooper in a television commercial!!! My alarm went off around 2AM or so. I jumped up, took a quick shower, got in my compression gear and TK headed to the lobby of the hotel. Eric, Scott, Luis, Rachel, and I were picked up by a bigger van. We had an hour’s ride with a Lucas Film employee. Are you kidding? We asked her question after question. Poor Rachel. She was fantastic. Our first stop, was at catering. There was a full crew, trailers for gear, trailers for toilets, and tons of food. This was an awesome setup. We were on a proper production set! After food, we were taken a few blocks down the road. It was cold out. It was dark. The Texas skies were full of stars, like you never get to see in the city. It was beautiful. We had a tent to use to get into out TKs. We got our gear on, and walked past the crew, who you could tell were all huge Star Wars fans. Having four Stormtroopers walk out in the middle of nowhere in full gear must have looked wicked! We were lined up in a staggered position for the shoot. First I was in front. “Woah! I’m in front!” Then, a hand on my shoulder walked me to 2nd place. “Nice, I’m 2nd!” Nope, then I got moved to 3rd, and then 4th. Haha! It didn’t matter. We were on camera. We were in our kits. We were shooting a TV spot as Stormtroopers! We had our places. We had our directions from the Assistant Director. They would call out, “action” and we would all turn our heads and look up as if we saw a plane. Luis was in front. He actually had to take a step and look up, while the rest of us basically turned and looked up a bit. The ad was going to show a plane flying by, and we were looking up at it, but as allies to the plane, so no holding weapons or anything like that. We did this over and over and over. When we took a break, they even covered us with blankets. We had assistants! This was all done with a huge light on us, which was about 25 yards away, until the sun started coming up. The huge artificial light was taken down. It was time to shoot for real. “Wait!”, said the Assistant Director, “Whose truck is that in the back of my shot?”. The catering truck was now in the back of the shot. We were starting to get daylight. The shot was about to be ruined. The bit we were filming was dependent on just the slightest of natural morning light to illuminate us against a wash of beautiful Big Bend, Texas stars. Finally, they radioed the truck and got it to move. The roads around us were blocked off by state police for miles. We started back in on the repetition, but this time it was for real. “Action!” – there we were looking up, “OK, hold!” – we are still looking up. They were taking stills for the advertising campaign. “OK reset”…”Action”… You know, over and over again. So there we are, standing there on camera. We are Stormtroopers. We are about to be on TV. This kept going through my head. THIS IS AWESOME!!! As quick as it started. It was over. We walked back to our tent and dressed down to normal clothes. On the drive back, we again, had a great conversation with Rachel. We hit the hotel, had breakfast (again, ha), and then began our drive back to El Paso. It was a whirlwind of a couple of days. Everyone was great to us. The TV spot is now up. The billboard style walls are up in Japan. While the TFA’s have their Alpha 75, please say hello to the ANA 4! See you at a troop soon! Steve Page, TK9727, TB9727 – TK, TB, Death Trooper, and sometimes a wookiee! So this month’s Memoir was a bit picture heavy, but I felt that the pictures truly helped to illustrate a lot of the points that Steve was sharing in his write-up. It isn’t often that we get a peek behind the curtain for an event unless we’re a part of it, and since opportunities like this one are not everyday occurrences for us, I’d like to thank Steve for sharing it. Speaking of sharing… Do you have an awesome story that you’d love to share with the Detachment? We’re always happy to accept submissions for Memoirs of a Stormtrooper, so if you’ve got a story that’s just begging to be told, send me a PM with the title “Memoir” or something like that, and we’ll talk. Thank you! With Unquestioned Loyalty, Tim TK-51878 "DarkCMF" FISD Amabassador This month the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate: Expert Infantry Badge Award: John Kenyon "Altair" TK-11157 Ryan Casey "Racasey06" TK-51978 Torben Rasmussen "Guffe10" TK-21271 Jordi Bastida "cuacpato" TK-24419 Phil Hogg "Fidgell" TK-42174 Josh "Kredal" TK-44678 Christoph Karn "K@nne" TK-31713 Dan Dalessio "LaserBrain99" TK-14421 Michael Martin "Skypig" TK-91101 David "Nacho" TK-46700 Johan Warden "yoshix" TK-42131 Sascha Raabe "Darth Raveen" TK-14469 José Gustavo "gusynet" TK-24976 Felix Premm "KaitoTrooper" TK-16084 Carlos Quezada "Carlos_Centurion_Tk" TK-52713 Pete "WhiteRoseSwampy" TK-17606 Jaydon "Teekay YYC" TK-74614 Centurion Award: Stephane Verreault "Somatophylax" TK-15359 Kyle Fisher "Zarlon" TK-26113 John Kenyon "Altair" TK-11157 Phil Hogg "Fidgell" TK-42174 Russell Rucker "russellr2d2" TK-20017 Jordi Bastida "cuacpato" TK-24419 Andres Gonzalez "anderche" TK-50541 Christoph Karn "K@nne" TK-31713 Tomas Martin "jariche" TK-61164 Oscar Suarez "0skar" TK-60571 Josh "Kredal" TK-44678 Tim Magoolaghan "JoblessPunk" TK-31689 José Gustavo "gusynet" TK-24976 Carlos Quezada "Carlos_Centurion_Tk" TK-52713 Pete "WhiteRoseSwampy" TK-17606 Edwin Fabian "edwinfabian" TK-30000 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 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>

Humbrol french blue and admiral grey and satin/gloss black. Someone insert that popular img of the different Humbrol paint code needed please! --------- If you're planning to follow the "move along" trooper the brow has a smoother curve and the rubber trim has a flatter look. Also the best folks to advice you on a sandy build will be over at http://www.mepd.net/ as they specialise in sandtroopers.

I have been waiting for this...a Phasma build!!! Looking forward to it Ingrid!

I see what you did there with the pun.... I was actually hoping the Flametrooper falls under FISD just so I can view WIP threads all on one website (sometimes I am that lazy) but I won't complain if it falls under Spec Ops. In logical terms, a Flametroop does feel very spec ops-ish.

Glenn is indeed to the Q (Quartermaster) title as usual! I love you just convert stuffs and make them so much more cooler

Thanks Nick!

From what I've heard MLC is a clone maker based in the Philippines. Nice to hear he's doing TFA Stormtrooper runs. Joe, can you link us MLC's RPF thread on the helmet and armour?

Hello guys. In light of the upcoming movie (Star Wars TFA of course!) and the new First Order Stormtroopers we have decided to introduce a new skin to the website to reflect the new movie and trooper. Members will get to choose between the new skin or the classic and current skin which we all are used to and love will still be available. Any takers? Or would you guys know any Star Wars fan not on this forums willing to help out?

Steve Sansweet was talking about twerking Stormtroopers as well in Rebel Force Radio podcast. He might have been there

Hmm...there will be debates whether the Flametrooper would belong to FISD or Spec Ops. As for the Elite Speeder biker the description on the box describes it as Special Edition First Order Stromrtrooper. So I'm not sure if it appears in the movie. Would be cool though. And since its black Spec Ops would want ownership over the CRL as well.

Hi Joseph, welcome to the forum! For more detail on the paint schemes, refer to the Costumer Reference Library in the 501st.com website: http://www.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_incinerator Also there are INC trooper builds in this forum so you can see how they assemble theirs.

Nice! You planning to use this as a mold for vac forming?

Ah I see. Would be nice to work with an ABS kit in the future to see differences.

Nice to know it's ANH style. A stormtrooper is a stormtrooper. There is technically no difference from a non-propmaker, non-costumer and canon point of view. I'm sure they took the different Helmet styles into consideration. I'm already thankful for that (although I can't say so for the upcoming Battlefront as it's ROTJ TK revealed so far) I also suspect that the changes to the RO TK is more practical both stunt/acting-wise and in-universe-wise as it's easier to run and behave like an actual soldier in those. That being said I'm just thankful that there is/are: 1. A Star Wars movie being made 2. An OT timeline used 3. Stormtroopers! Stormtroopers! Stormtroopers! 4. Real physical TK armour

My boots are spray painted. Over time and trooping the paint cracks and chips off (just a little) and it give the weathered effect that very much reflects the one in the Tantive IV boarding scene.

1.5 cracks for me on PVC but only in a couple of areas on the kidney plate and that is after 2 years of trooping. Depending on your physical build and the make of the armour some kidney plates are wide. I am smaller than the intended wearer of the kidney plate and so when I tighten the belt the kidney plate flexes more.

i can't sit in mine. If you want to dress up at work you could try only doing it for the time you go to the daycare and entertain the kids. If you plan on doing work with the armour it will restrict lots of movement.

It takes a lot of modding and work (to me at least ) to make an overlapping construction armour type to the ANH style and then even more to bring it up to Centurion standards. Congratulations and well deserved!