SkulShurtugalTCG

I like porgs, okay? Feel free to edit however you want, just be sure to send me a picture (or reply as a comment here). Have fun! I know I did! Full album: https://imgur.com/a/dZ6RR

As of today, I have been in the 501st Legion for exactly one year. And two days ago, I had one of the best experiences of my life. First of all, this was a personal visit for Brodie Pursch. He is 6 now, but in 2015, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He went through eight rounds of chemotherapy to get rid of it, and immediately before our arrival, he had undergone an MRI to determine if his chemo treatment was ready to end. We were invited to come and cheer him on/help him celebrate. I (TK-69004) was joined by Karl Gehring (ST-1292) and Andrew Melton (TI-23274) on this little adventure. I was personally pretty exhausted because I had just trooped nonstop at Fan Expo Dallas the three days before, but I was excited to do another hospital troop after so long. Karl is a longtime 501st member, and in fact was recognized for his intense extra charity work last year on a Legion level. This was Andrew's very first hospital visit; he has only been in the Legion since about Thanksgiving. (That's the last weekend in November for you non-Americans.) We arrived at MD Anderson in Downtown Houston, Texas, early morning on April 3. We were given a private office to change into, made quick work of getting ready, and proceeded down the hall to meet with Brodie. He was still in his big chair after going through something medical-related; I, of course, cannot see a THING in my helmet, so I'm not sure exactly what. I was the designated speaker, so after a round of high-fives, I talked with Brodie for a few minutes about Star Wars. He said his favorite film is the original one, and his favorite character is Luke Skywalker. He showed us a toy of Rey on her speeder from The Force Awakens, and had to convince us that the REAL Rey isn't that tiny. During the chat, he asked where we were from. I told him we live on the Death Star, and to not listen to that Rebel propaganda that it's been blown up. He genuinely believed that we were REALLY from Star Wars, and not just people in a costume. That, alone, made my joining of the Legion 100% worth it. Our hospital contact, Lauren, helped Brodie lead us out of the hospital room and into the waiting room a little further down the hall. For the next 10 minutes or so, we interacted with everyone there, taking lots of pictures, asking if they had seen any droids, and bringing smiles to everyone's faces. After all was said and done, we said goodbye and good luck to Brodie and made our way back to the changing room. We had a quick interview with the local news, quickly changed out, and exited the hospital without anyone seeing us. All in all, it was a very good day to be a 501st member. Local News video: ABC also posted a news video, Facebook-feed style. https://www.facebook.com/GoodMorningAmerica/videos/10154501159502061/ Yahoo! News article on the subject: https://gma.yahoo.com/boy-brain-tumor-gets-star-wars-surprise-185016060--abc-news-wellness.html?cid=social_fb_gma The hospital's Facebook post, containing a summery and some pictures. https://www.facebook.com/kidsandcancer/posts/1411718428851393

This is looking very impressive so far. I look forward to seeing your progress! About how long of a wait is it until your armor arrives?

Jack Sauder 69004 A4 Tony Thanks! Are you sure you want the A4 size, Jack? The letter size is normally the one of choice for those of us in the U.S. as they fit in a standard 8 1/2 x 11 frame. Either way is fine, but thought I'd ask. http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/69004-eib.png

To help promote the release of Rogue One, the 501st was invited to the Memorial City Mall in Texas. Well, technically, it was the theater we were invited to - but we were allowed to roam the rest of the mall as well. Now, who could pass up an opportunity like that? Here are the pictures. Trooping: Me (first troop in my Hero helmet; it's surprisingly comfy); Brandon C, SL-32917; Brian M, TR-12630; Stephen B, TK-60612; Rick C, TK-50879; Sergio Barraza, TK-81018; Andrew M, TI-23274; and also Melissa K of the Mandalorian Mercs.

Congratulations on your approval!

You all look fantastic!

That helmet looks beautiful. I can't wait to see it finished! JAFO's belts are second to none. I personally don't know of any FOTKs that use anything else. And you're right about Imperial Gaskets. I got on their wait list back in June, number 112. I contacted them for an update in early October, and I had moved up to 103. So yeah, it's a VERY long wait. I'm glad you managed to snag some, even with defects! Out of curiosity, how are you planning on chroming the armor? Yourself or by a professional? (And if you are a professional.... well, that works. I'm just curious)

It was a day like any other day.... no, not really. It started with my alarm going off at the dark hour of 5 am, Turkey Day 2016. Me and my wife, Theresa, begrudgingly got out of bed and packed the car. We made our way to downtown Houston, met up with several other members of the South Texas Squad of the 501st Legion (as well as the Kessel Base of the Rebel Legion and the Arqet Clan of the Mandalorian Mercs), and got ready for the HEB Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lots of pictures here. We had 4 original TKs (including one from the Galactic Academy), and I was the only one wearing the First Order TK. We also had Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, Boba Fett, several Biker Scouts, a Snowtrooper, a TIE Pilot, a Shadow Stormtrooper and Darth Nihilus from the 501st; Rey, two Rebel Pilots, an X-Wing pilot, Old Ben, a Jedi and Jyn Erso from the Rebels; and a Mando. Two Galactic Academy members were present; a TK, as stated before, and Ezra Bridger. We had 5 handlers today. Two were given the Rebel Legion and 501st Legion flags and walked alongside myself, Kylo Ren and Rey at the beginning of the group. One had to lead our Darth Nihilus as he is legally blind. The other two, including Theresa, were in charge of picking up fallen objects, and both did a tremendous job. We ended up with only two fallen objects, and thankfully no human casualties. Pre-parade, I was pacing around killing time, holding my helmet in my hand - and low and behold, it knocked my holster off my leg. (I shall screw it permanently in place to remedy this). DURING the parade, one of my belt boxes fell off (nobody saw, I'm sure; it was picked up by a handler almost immediately), and Boba Fett lost a piece of his jetpack. By the end of the parade, his holster was beginning to tear off as well, but it held. Otherwise, our group marched 1.5 miles to cheering crowds and television cameras. Many, many people called Kylo Ren "Darth Vader", so you know it was a success. Below are pictures and a video of the event. Happy Turkey Day, everyone! And for those of you who don't care about Thanksgiving, fine. More turkey for me.

I found out very quickly that it's impossible to put this armor on by yourself. By impossible, I mean LITERALLY impossible. I can only ever troop in mine when I have my wife around to help put it on. That being said, you have done an excellent job with yours! You definitely put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this build. It's one of the most documented ones here on the forums and I think you'll help a LOT of upcoming FOTKs with their builds with your pictures and comments of the process! All in all, you've made a suit you should be VERY proud of, and from what I can see nothing sticks out as needing fixed. Should be an easy approval (once you get that butt straightened out). Thanks for sharing your journey with us; it's been a wild ride!

Mine arrived today. NOW I consider my FOTK complete!

Just purchased one. Can't wait to get it!

So one can expect about a 6 or 7-month wait period?

A terrific read as always!

This will be my last update for this thread. I took my pictures today for my 501st profile, and decided to turn it into a mini-photo shoot. First the two pictures for the profile: With and without helmet. ^You know Finn? He is a TRAITOR!^ ^Figured I would do something unique for my profile picture, rather than just looking straight at the camera^ Now on to the fun pictures! ^You think just because I don't have a blaster I can't look cool? Think again, traitor.^ ^Ready to whack some traitors^ ^Look at all the traitors I can whack. Look at them, Anakin.^ ^Insert blaster bolt, shot by a traitor^ That does it for this thread! Thanks everyone for watching!